Septien smiled back at Peace. “I take it you think Dave is stringing you along?”
“What do I care?” Peace shrugged. “It won’t change what I’m doing any, so I’ve decided to opt for the Alfred E. Newman outlook: What, Me Worry?”
Septien laughed, and turned to sit up, putting his viewfinders carefully back in their case. A moment later, Peace sat up next to him.
“You want to talk about it now?” Septien asked.
“Only if you want to,” Peace replied, wiping off his scope. “I know you all ain’t out here playing Rogue Warrior with Julio. I doubt he thinks so either, so if a mutual usage is in order, I’m happy if he’s happy.”
“The stakes are still high,” Septien affirmed with a nod of his head. “We’ve had Julio under surveillance since he walked out of the hospital. He has a chip embedded, courtesy of our superiors. We believe him about the General, because we heard the conversation take place with his informant. Ibrim and I have been with him every step of the way, with some very intricate equipment so we never came even close to him. We only left him when we saw he was getting ready to contact you.”
Peace whistled quietly. “Would you tell me if I had a chip?”
“No.”
“Prick,” Peace chuckled.
“You know how it is, Peace. We can only allow so much leeway. When Chuck gets too many big thinkers in his crew, he gets nervous. I don’t think you have one. I wouldn’t worry about it though. Unless you’ve had an operation, where they had to put you under, I doubt you have a chip. When did you suspect something was going on?”
“I was only kidding about the chip. I smelled a rat right after Julio said he had Chuck staked out.”
“Yea,” Septien agreed, “that would have had the hairs on my neck standing at attention. Julio must think he’s really good, or he don’t know ol’ Chuck too well.”
“I don’t think he cares if he could get a crack at grabbing little Connie,” Peace added. “He’s in love, Edwardo.”
“No friggin’ way!” Septien retorted. “He’s playing you, Peace. Our boy Julio wants to make a lampshade out of Senorita Matuse.”
“I thought the same thing until the trip down here. Julio has grand visions, my brother. Hey, they ain’t shooting those little chips into people like in the movies, are they?”
Septien shrugged with a little smile. “You ought to be glad if someone wants to know where your troublesome butt is. We know all about his aspirations to be President of Mexico. Do you think Chuck would have let you funnel secret campaign contributions by way of our operations if he didn’t know. Chuck’s been watching Julio build a complex network down here for over a decade. He’s put you two together for a reason. You two bandits think alike.”
“You mean to tell me Chuck thinks he has a chance?” Peace asked in surprise.
“Not only that,” Septien answered with a nonchalant wave of his hand, “Chuck thinks Julio can pull it off in the next election if this scandal hits at the right time, and we mean for it to hit at the right time. Did Julio tell you about the contacts he’s made with the media down here in the South?”
“He said he had contacts, but I figured he was exaggerating a little.”
“If this goes off as planned, Julio will be a household name in Mexico by next week, and we will be helping his cause along in the North,” Septien said.
“I hope CIA doesn’t think they can call the shots in Mexico because Julio gets his El Presidente title. He has his own ideas about cooperation.”
“Hell, they’ve figured that out, Peace” Septien laughed. “The bigwigs know one thing: they have a hell of a lot better chance of good relations if Julio is in charge. I think the suits are getting a little tired of being screwed on such a grand scale by our supposed good neighbor down here. This latest bullshit was the last screw-up they plan on letting happen. This thing came too close to a meltdown.”
“I haven’t been as sneaky and devious as I thought, have I?” Peace sighed, looking down at his feet.
“Hey, you were straight with Chuck, and he was straight with you. You didn’t get booted out of the Seals, did you? You think that was easy. They eat guys like your Commander Jessup for lunch. Chuck told the right guy he needed you on Seal Team Six, and you stayed on Seal Team Six. Personally, the guys and me want you to quit playin’ sailor, and come aboard with us. We thought the wounds would have driven you out; but having ate your dust all the way up here, I had to rethink my assessment,” Septien remarked, pushing Peace in the side of the head.
“I’m glad you guys ain’t hanging out on a limb. It’s one thing for us banditos to ride the outlaw trail, but I don’t want any Snow White’s getting caught up in our back wash.”
“Snow… why you little prick,” Septien chuckled appreciatively. “You were kidding about Julio wanting to make an honest woman out of that bitch from hell, weren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t get too familiar with the word bitch, and Julio’s ladylove, around him, amigo,” Peace warned. “I guess you guys don’t know everything.”
“Christ, I guess not,” Septien whispered in amazement. “He must not plan on sleeping much.”
“Walked that trail with him already,” Peace replied. “He don’t care. How come you know so much, and why are you telling me?”
“Because you asked, and they knew you’d ask,” Septien answered cavalierly. “Do you think I’d know anything if they didn’t want me to? This ain’t the turn of the century, compadre, or even 1990. I doubt anyone in the loop with us knows the extent of what we can do. Man, I’m glad I’m an American. That’s all I can say.”
“Roger that,” Peace replied. “With all our power, and high tech know how, you ever wonder why we keep tiptoeing around this border issue?”
“I have no clue, Peace,” Septien admitted. “Don’t think you’re the only grunt questioning why they don’t lock down the borders and ports until we house break all the terrorist nations.”
“Maybe too many people upstairs, with their jobs riding on border problems,” Peace offered. “If Julio can really get in, maybe we can finally get a lock on cooperation with Mexico.”
“Let it be, Lord, let it be,” Septien added with hands clasped comically. “Hey amigo, was it cold in the water when you went after the tanker with your buds from Six?”
“Seals don’t feel the cold.”
“Heh, heh, heh… it was cold as a coal miner’s ass, wasn’t it?”
“That’s need to know, partner, and you don’t need to know,” Peace laughed. “When do you go on-line with Dave?”
“Twenty minutes,” Septien replied. “El General’s not supposed to be in the neighborhood until tomorrow morning. What do you think of the setup?”
“The wind’s negligible. Otherwise, a shot from over half a mile would be chancy. I don’t like trying to take him down on the way in though. What if he dresses up a couple of doubles or something?”
“He don’t have doubles, Peace,” Septien chuckled. “Until Julio tied the pieces together after his girlfriend’s father was turned over, no one suspected Cortez. El General has played footsies with so many bad guys, he thinks everyone who’d do him any harm, loves him.”
“In other words, he thinks Uncle Sam’s a pussy.”
“Exactly,” Septien nodded. “He’s the head of the armed forces of Mexico. He’s above the law. Now, he gets a third eye, compliments of a scarred up little gringo; and at the same time, launches a CIA operative into the President of Mexico’s office. Don’t you love the abstract subtleties of this mission?”
“I’m still chewing on the scarred up little gringo part.”
Septien laughed, and clapped Peace on the back. “No offense, Peace; but as a handsome secret agent, you make a great little bandito.”
“I don’t know if you’ve been around any mirrors lately, Edwardo, but you ain’t no bowl of fruit either.”
“Compared to you, old buddy, I’m Errol Flynn.”
“You don’t even know w
ho Errol Flynn is, you ignorant smuck,” Peace laughed.
“I saw him in The Adventures of Robin Hood when I was a kid,” Septien retorted, turning his face sideways for Peace to see. “Many people have told me I’m his spitting image.”
“Oh yeah,” Peace said, grasping Septien’s chin as if to get a better angle. “I think they’re right, Edwardo, but I’m a poor judge. I never saw Errol Flynn with his pants down, but…”
Septien grabbed for Peace. In a split second, Peace had bounded up, and now stood in front of Septien, just out of reach, shaking a finger at the CIA operative.
“Really, Edwardo, what childish behavior. We are on a desperate mission to save the world, and here you are playing grab-ass. You should be ashamed.”
“Sit down, you jerk,” Septien ordered, standing up. “I’ll call Dave.”
“Fine, keep me informed, Errol,” Peace retorted, sitting back down, and picking up his sighting scope again.
As Septien initiated an uplink to their mission commander, Peace scanned the house again. He had not seen any movement when they had begun their observation; but now, he saw lights in a few of the windows. Sound carried well to the butte, and Peace heard a low rumble. He scanned towards the road, and saw a dust cloud forming in the distance, approaching from the only access road to the hacienda.
“Hey Errol,” Peace called out softly, not taking his eyes off the road, “incoming.”
Septien returned to his former spot in an instant, the satellite phone in his hand. He grabbed up his digital range finders, and scanned immediately toward the access road.
“We have an approaching dust cloud, Dave,” Septien said over the phone.
“Shit!” Dave retorted angrily over the phone. “Is Peace ready?”
“He’s assembled, but he thinks we should take the shot when Cortez comes out, instead of going in,” Septien replied, as Peace was already getting his sniper rifle ready.
“Tell him to take the shot. We’re out of time. We don’t know when the prick will ever exit the hacienda.”
“Roger that,” Septien acknowledged, switching to a headset uplink to Dave. “Peace, we are a go now. On my mark.”
Septien began calling out distance, and coordinates in an even voice as the small caravan approached in the growing dusk. As Septien watched, he heard the muffled sniper rifle fire off a round. The front tire of the lead vehicle blew out.
“Christ, Peace, what the hell are you doing? Houston, we have a problem.”
The next discharge, and a hole appeared in the now stopped armored vehicle’s windshield. The man on the passenger side scrambled out of the vehicle with his rifle, but Septien watched blood and brains blow out the back of his head, as two more discharges from Peace’s sniper rifle double tapped the soldier.
“What the hell’s going on?” Dave asked urgently.
“Wait one control, we are mission enabled,” Septien replied.
Peace put two shots into the windshield of the stopped armored vehicle behind the limousine, causing three other men to hurriedly exit the vehicle. Two died while trying to gain cover. The third made it under the armored vehicle, only to have Peace put a round through his leg, and then through the soldier’s head as he gripped his wounded appendage. Peace fired into the limousine then at will, his enhanced rounds playing havoc with the inside of the limousine. Septien continued watching for movement around the vehicles, without further comment. When Peace finally ceased fire, Septien continued to scan for survivors.
“No movement, Peace,” Septien called over to the Seal sniper. “How long you want to wait?”
“I’ll go down now, and finish up if need be,” Peace replied. “We can’t wait long. They may have gotten a call out.”
“I doubt that,” Septien mumbled. “Peace is going down to recon the site of his adlib, Dave. I’m going to pack up while I keep an eye on him.”
Peace was already up with his MAC 10 in hand, jogging down towards the three vehicles in the distance. As Septien settled in, scanning between the stalled vehicles, and Peace’s shrinking figure, he heard Dave’s voice in his ear.
“What did he do?”
“He blew the tire on the lead vehicle from almost a mile away. The Cortez caravan came to a halt, and Peace executed all of them, or at least all the ones I can see.”
“Christ, what brought that on?”
“Don’t know Dave, but that was one cold little piece of work. If Cortez was in the limo, he ain’t happy. It’s getting dark, and maybe Peace didn’t want to give Cortez a chance to get in the hacienda.”
“That makes sense,” Dave sighed. “When will you know?”
“At the pace Peace is setting, I figure ten minutes max. We have any assets in the area if Cortez made a call out for the cavalry?”
“You mean besides me, chum?”
“Yea, that’s what I figured,” Septien replied, smiling to himself.
“Let me know. I’m putting Julio on alert to grab the princess.”
“Roger that.”
Septien watched Peace slow down as he approached the three vehicles. Peace systematically went from one body to the other, checking each armored vehicle’s contents before approaching the limousine. Septien then heard the MAC 10 open up as Peace fired into the interior. Peace dragged the two passengers and driver from the limousine. Septien saw Peace reach into his pocket for the picture of Cortez he had been given. He pointed a beam from his mini-Mag-Lite in one of the passenger’s faces for a few seconds. Peace stood up, and signaled okay to Septien, who watched him through the low light lens.
“He got him, Dave.”
“C’mon home, and tell that cold hearted son-of-a-bitch I said nice work.”
“Roger that, control,” Septien laughed.
“It will be imperative you and Peace do not get rounded up in any kind of sweep the government boys do. If all goes well, I will see you two in three hours at rendezvous.”
“What do you mean if all goes well,” Septien joked. “I have Super Peace with me.”
“Yea, well you and Super Peace watch your backs. When this hits the headlines, I want only bad Cortez press clippings, not American assassination squad nabbed on site.”
“You got it, Boss.”
When Septien looked back down at the road, Peace was loading the last of the bodies into the back of the rearmost armored vehicle. He then drove the three vehicles a hundred yards into the desert, parking them neatly side by side. Septien made a quick sweep of the area from the road back to the hacienda. Although there had been gunfire, Septien could see no movement outside of the hacienda. Looking back towards Peace, he saw the Seal going around the vehicles locking the doors.
“Not bad, Peace, not bad at all,” Septien whispered under his breath.
Peace came up onto the butte as Septien made a last check of their equipment.
“Buenos Noches, Señor Peace,” Septien greeted him, handing Peace his pack.
Peace grinned, his face barely visible in the gathering darkness. “Sorry about the delay. I took a chance they didn’t get a call out. We don’t want this to break too soon. Did anyone from the house peek out to see what was going on?”
“Nope,” Septien replied as Peace slipped his pack on. “Nice touch with the vehicles and bodies. Dave said good work, and don’t get rounded up in any sweeps.”
“Did he say whether to proceed to the rendezvous?”
“He said he’d see us in three hours, so I guess he wants us to take the scenic route to Mexico City. Want to ditch the weapons?”
“I’d rather not,” Peace admitted. “I ain’t too crazy on getting taken down here.”
“Want to go out in a blaze of glory, huh?” Septien asked, turning to lead the way to their vehicle.
“The blaze of glory possibly, but I was thinking of using the extra firepower to live through it,” Peace replied, following his friend. “Did Dave give you a bad time about my altering the plan?”
“I told him you probably didn’t want to miss,
and let Cortez get inside the hacienda.”
“You have it right, Edwardo,” Peace confirmed. “I didn’t want Julio’s informant’s sister to take a stray slug. Our media plan would have taken a big hit if he jumped out at the ten o’clock news, grieving for his sister.”
“That was a lot of collateral damage, amigo.”
“If you think that was a lot, then you don’t want to hear my ideas on this ongoing war on terror,” Peace retorted.
Septien laughed. “I imagine there wouldn’t be an ongoing war.” “Exactamundo.”
“Want to go get a beer when we hit the city?”
“Not until we see how Julio does on his snatch and grab,” Peace answered. “A Dos Equis would go down real good right now.”
“After Julio gets his love life back on track, we’ll grab a couple of six packs in San Diego, where we don’t have to watch for soldiers to come busting in on us.”
“It will be my treat,” Peace promised. “Are you sure you guys can be seen with me North of the border?”
“Good point. Wear your Frito Bandito disguise.”
__
Peace looked up from his hand of cards as Dave opened the door of their small safe-house. Julio walked into the room with a gagged and blindfolded Senorita Matuse, Mancuso following close behind. The two men were all smiles. Dave shook hands with both men, as he shouldered the MAC 10 he had held at the ready. Septien, who had been playing gin with Peace, met Peace’s knowing glance, before shrugging and throwing his cards down.
“Okay, you were right,” Septien whispered. “It’s love.”
“You can tell just looking at the happy couple,” Peace sighed comically, before standing up to greet Julio and Mancuso.
“Ah, Poncho,” Julio joked, hugging Peace. “I heard you have been improvising again.”
“Si, Cisco, and I see you still have a way with the women,” Peace retorted, causing a stir of laughter amongst the men.
“Yes, my beautiful Consuella has made her first phone call to Daddy Dearest,” Julio explained, shaking hands with Septien. “He was very upset, and of course the American authorities with him were outraged. They pretended we fell off the proverbial vegetable truck yesterday, Poncho. It was all very amusing. My love and I will be calling them again in one week.”
Peace - A Navy SEALS Novel (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 3) Page 56
