by J C Ryan
“Okay, okay you win. I get it, I can’t take my chica de jora, please just promise me next time you see me even thinking about drinking it you’ll prevent my suffering by shooting me in the head.”
Luciana’s laugh, which Rex liked so much before, now felt as if it was piercing his skull, and he gritted his teeth.
After a few more minutes, the coffee was beginning to help him concentrate a bit more, and he suddenly had a clear image of Junior and his thugs lying in heaps in the square. Had they recovered before him?
“Shit!” he exclaimed again. “Junior and his men! Are they still here?”
Damn it to hell, this was not in my plan. No more chica de jora for me, ever!
“Relax. Six are still here, nursing hangovers worse than yours. Junior and the rest staggered out of town about a half hour ago, moving slowly. I think their hangovers are just as bad.”
With that news, Rex jumped up but almost lost consciousness from the pain in his head, and he doubled over holding his head in both hands.
Luciana started laughing.
“What?!” Rex snapped. He immediately regretted his tone. It wasn’t Luciana’s fault – it was his. He softened his tone. “What’s so damn funny?”
“You. Listen, if you chew some more coca, you will feel much better very quickly, and we can easily catch them.”
“No, thanks,” he said emphatically, with a bitter twist to his lips. “I’ve had enough mind and body altering substances for now. I’ll tough it out. Come on, let’s go! We have to catch them before they get to the site and overwhelm the police there.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s going to be as big a problem as you think.”
From her expression, Rex could tell she had more to reveal. This time he guarded his tone when he asked, “What? What haven’t you told me.”
“Well,” she said again, with evident reluctance. “Everyone was sleeping so peacefully, I thought… hmm... well, how can I put it? The thing is, what’s a girl to do when her man is naked but passed out? I had to do something more useful than watching you sleep. So, I…”
Rex raised his eyebrows, “Luciana, what is it that you’re trying not to tell me? Out with it already.”
“I thought it might be good to… er… remove the firing pins from their automatic weapons.”
“You what?!” Rex shouted. Then he clapped both hands to his head and moaned, “Shhh… I’ve got a hangover.”
Luciana’s silvery laugh pealed again. “I hope I did the right thing?”
“Damn straight, you did the right thing. But… well, brilliant as it was, I’m not happy that you’ve put yourself in such danger… I…”
She shrugged. “Danger. What danger? Those men might as well have been dead. They never posed a threat to me.”
“How the hell… sorry… but how did you know how to do it?”
“Ah, that’s going to remain my secret. You have your secrets – I have mine,” she teased. “But if you want to catch up to Junior and his group and get in on the fun, we should leave now.”
“What about the six here in the village?”
“Oh, they’re already in custody. The police I called for yesterday moved in right after Junior and the others left. The thugs he left here are all in handcuffs, they just need to wake up and discover it.”
“Let’s go, then. Or wait. On second thought, you’ve done so well so far without my help, why don’t I go back to sleep and you sort the rest of it out? Wake me when you come back.”
Luciana laughed. “Sure, no problem, I can do that for you, but I have a feeling you’re not going to let me.”
“You see, that’s the problem a man has when a woman knows him too well. Okay, I want you to stay here where it’s safe.”
“Mister Davis, I thought we were getting along very well, especially lately. Don’t ruin a good thing. I will not stay here. This is my collar, and you won’t take the final fun and glory from me. I’m going. And if you don’t start behaving, I’ll be having a quiet word with Digger about your manners.”
“I see, not only have you hijacked my operation, you've also corrupted my dog.”
Luciana didn’t reply, she just held his gaze.
Rex hesitated. The joking was over, and this was serious. She was going whether he liked it or not. The only thing he could do was to try and protect her. “Okay, you can come with me.”
“I didn’t ask your permission.”
Rex held his hands up in surrender. “Let’s get going. Now, you didn’t say anything about their sidearms. Did you disable them?”
“Well, yes and no. The guns and two of the pistols they left in the huts, yes, I have disabled them all. Obviously, there was nothing I could do about the revolvers. They don’t have firing pins, as you know. I didn’t want to touch the sidearms the men carried on their persons, in case they woke up.”
“Brilliant! Oh, but where are the Markses?”
“There’s no problem with the Markses. They’re both under the weather. I’ve already suggested they stay here, and they were happy to oblige.”
“Okay, then there’s nothing else to do but lead you into battle. Please follow me and try to stay out of the way of flying bullets, will you?”
“I promise I intend to do exactly that. I’m out of ammo.”
“You can have the rifle. With that you can stay out of the thick of it and be our sniper.”
Rex went outside, gave a piercing whistle for Digger, and then went back in, grabbed his Sig and magazines, the Winchester and a box of cartridges, and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Luciana had thought of everything. The weight indicated the water bladder was full, so he didn’t bother looking for food. She’d have taken care of that, too.
Digger appeared, panting and eager to work. Rex put Digger’s own backpack on him, too. He’d already discovered Luciana had even packed the kibble and water Digger would need. When he straightened, Luciana was waiting for him, her backpack on already, her arms akimbo on her hips again.
“I’m not kidding about the coca, Ray. It will give you extra energy and take care of your hangover.”
He held up a bottle of aspirin. “I took some of these, thanks.”
Without another word, he turned and headed for the trail to the ancient site, moving fast in the hope of catching Junior.
***
TWO HOURS LATER, Rex doubted they’d be able to catch up before Junior and his thugs surprised the two policemen who were waiting to arrest Junior. No one had been able to notify them that Junior would have six men with him. Although they were armed, they expected Luciana and Rex to be with Junior, not Junior and six armed men.
Even though the goons had only sidearms that could fire, the cops would still be outnumbered. He tried to go even faster, but he was at his limit for effort, probably because of the damned fool stunt he’d pulled drinking all that beer when he thought he’d been careful.
But kicking himself now would do no good, so he took his mind off it and pushed harder. Luciana was having a tough time keeping up. Digger was ahead of him. Thank goodness for Digger. Maybe he’d catch them and provide enough distraction for Rex to get there.
“Go get ‘em, buddy,” he muttered under his breath. Digger was too far ahead to hear him.
It wasn’t long before a commotion up ahead and a look at the nearby landmarks let Rex know that the group had reached the site, and Digger had caught up with them.
Gunfire!
Rex began to run. Digger knew how to keep himself safe, if he wasn’t sacrificing himself to save someone else. Rex didn’t know if he’d instinctively protect the police or not. But he didn’t know the police, and nevertheless, from the sounds of it, someone needed help.
He practically stumbled over the first casualty. One of the thugs was cursing and sweating, one leg badly mauled – Digger’s doing. When Rex rounded a boulder and almost stepped on him, the man had his pistol pointed at Digger and was pulling the trigger repeatedly, but nothing happened.
&nbs
p; Thanks Luciana! You’re a star.
With the sounds of gunfire still going on beyond and Luciana coming up fast, he had no time to waste. He put a bullet through the thug’s shooting arm and kept on going, leaving him screaming and cursing even louder.
One down, six to go.
He wanted Junior most of all. The bunch Junior had brought with him weren’t professional soldiers or guards. If they were professional at anything, it was probably at being thugs, and thugs needed a leader. If Rex could take Junior down, the rest of them might just surrender and no one had to die. If they didn’t surrender, they’d probably just abandon their mission and run, every man for himself, which would make it easier for a disciplined soldier to neutralize them.
With all this going through his head, he ran up the trail toward the gunfire, but more cautiously, staying low and darting from boulder to boulder for cover.
A whistling noise near his ear sent him back behind the last boulder whose cover he’d left. He was close enough for them to see him, now. And as if the uneven number wasn’t enough, the police didn’t know him from the thugs. They’d never seen him. He’d have to avoid friendly fire as well as what was coming from the thugs.
“Luciana, stay back!” he yelled. The last thing he needed in this situation was to have to worry about a non-combatant as well as himself, Digger, and two unknown cops.
Rex heard shots pinging off the boulder behind which he was pinned down. He turned his back to it and crouched, thinking. What he needed was a distraction. He whistled for Digger.
A few moments later, his furry black buddy was all over him, wiggling with joy and thankfully uninjured.
“Good boy!” he praised. He ran his hands over the dog, assuring himself that his first impression was correct. No blood, no other apparent injuries. Now he had to send his best friend back into harm’s way. He quickly removed Digger's backpack so that he could move more easily.
“Quiet attack,” he said, pointing in the direction he wanted Digger to go. Digger stopped trying to kiss him and went into alert stance. Then he tore back around the boulder the way he’d come, and a moment later, Rex heard screaming.
Attaboy.
Rex used the distraction and went around in the other direction, running at top speed to the next boulder, where he dived for cover, then peeked around trying to get a look at the lay of the land. No shots followed.
Digger must be occupying the shooter who had me pinned down before.
Before he decided which way to run next, Luciana startled him by nudging him from the back. He hadn’t heard her coming over the screaming of Digger’s target.
“What are you doing?” he whispered urgently. “I told you to stay back.”
“And I told you this is my collar,” she said. Then she launched herself out from behind the boulder and ran toward the screaming.
“Shit! Woman, you’re going to be the death of both of us,” he yelled as he followed her.
They were on the scene of Digger’s fight in a few yards. Digger had the thug pinned, his pistol beyond his reach, and was worrying at his shooting hand. The guy wouldn’t be shooting with that hand again, ever. His trigger finger was missing, and several others were hanging by mere threads of skin.
“Digger, out,” Rex commanded.
The dog immediately stopped biting the guy and backed off. Rex picked up the pistol and shoved it into his waistband. This guy was out of commission, crying, nursing his hand. He’d pissed his pants.
“Two down, five to go,” he said to Luciana.
They were at the ruined wall of the site Junior had salted, and now the maze of half-fallen buildings provided both cover and danger, because the rest of them and the police could be anywhere. In a hurried conference with Luciana, Rex decided that the best way to proceed was not to. They’d wait, concealed, until they could figure out where everyone was, or Digger found someone else.
“Quiet attack,” he commanded again.
Digger seemed to understand the danger, too. Instead of exploding from behind the wall where they were crouched, he dropped to his belly and slunk around. He’d keep that stance for as long as necessary to flush someone out of hiding.
The next thing they heard was another shot. Rex’s heart leaped to his throat.
Not Digger! Please, don’t let Digger be shot!
Without a second thought, he jumped from his position and ran in the direction Digger had gone. Seconds later, someone rose from behind another wall and aimed a pistol at him. Rex didn’t slow down. On the run, he fired first, nailing the guy between the eyes, and kept on looking for Digger.
A shout in Spanish rang out. “Halt! Police! We have you covered. Drop the gun and raise your hands!”
Cops? Only one way to find out.
He kept his pistol in firing position. “Show me a badge!” he yelled.
“Mr. Marks?” came the reply.
Luciana jogged to his side. “Luciana Mamami,” she yelled. “This man is with me.”
Moments later, Rex, Luciana, and the two policemen stood together.
“What happened, Luciana?” one of the cops asked. “You were supposed to lead this Junior Roper to us and let us arrest him. Instead, seven men show up, all armed.”
“Slight hiccup,” she said. “Let me introduce Ray Davis, and his wonder-dog, Digger. With Digger’s help, we’ve neutralized three of them. Where are the rest?”
“As soon as we met them and they pulled their guns on us, we took cover,” he replied. “They headed further into the ruins, and then your dog came running up and chased one of them back the way they’d come. One other followed. A third has had us pinned down.”
“Probably the three we’ve dealt with,” Rex answered. “How do you propose we flush out the rest?”
“Let them come to us. Sooner or later, they’ll have to come back along the trail. We can ambush them then.”
It sounded like a reasonable plan to Rex. He’d have said the same thing. They weren’t likely to strike out through the countryside off the trail, and even if they did, they couldn’t get far without being spotted if he, Luciana, the police, and Digger were concealed strategically. Since they were well above the tree line, the boulders were the only cover. If he and the others simply went back and spread out, chances were Junior and his men would think his three goons had killed them. He’d probably come marching down the trail with mayhem on his mind.
“Let’s do it,” Rex confirmed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
LUCIANA SETTLED THE question of who would lead the effort to deploy their forces in ambush.
“Ray has demonstrated some sophisticated jungle warfare techniques against the Shining Path guerillas,” she said. “I assume you men are equally competent – in the city but not out here? Am I right?”
The senior of the two police officers nodded.
“Then I suggest we defer to Ray for his expertise. You men are the arresting authority, however. Is that agreeable with you?”
The officers didn’t have a reason to disagree.
Rex considered his options. For him, it was merely an exercise in logic.
First, they had to make sure the two wounded goons who they neutralized before were properly secured and silenced. The four of them took care of that quickly, and then Rex assessed what he had available to work with. Luciana had demonstrated during the raid that she was a crack shot. He didn’t know about the policemen, but he assumed they were at least competent. Luciana was the only one armed with a long gun, so he could put her in a safer position some distance away.
He also didn’t know how many working firearms were held by the four men still unaccounted for. Although Luciana had disabled all she could find, it was prudent to work on the assumption that all of them could return fire.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. It was the motto drilled into him by the CRC instructors from day one. And the application thereof had kept him alive on many occasions.
With those factors in mind, he decided
it was best to let most of Junior’s party get all the way outside the ancient site’s walls before springing the ambush. Otherwise, they’d just retreat into the site and hole up. On the other hand, he couldn’t allow any of them to get too far beyond the last ambush position, where he would place Luciana, lest a target escaped while they were occupied with the others.
Accordingly, he placed Luciana at the farthest point of concealment he thought would allow the thugs to clear the site, even if they were going to walk through the ambush one by one, spaced out, rather than bunched up. That’s the way he’d have led his men out, if he were in the same position. Junior had proved himself clever, and Rex knew to never ever underestimate the enemy.
In the middle, between himself, close to the site, and Luciana, farthest along the trail, he placed the two cops. If they were good shots, there was no harm. If bad, he and Luciana would be the mop-up crew, whichever way the enemy ran. Rex kept Digger by his side so he could give him the appropriate commands when necessary. He made sure that each of his troops chose a good place of concealment where he’d deployed them and settled in to wait.
They had a four-way bet going about how long the wait would be. The cops thought it wouldn’t be long. One said an hour at most. The senior man gave an optimistic estimate of half an hour.
Luciana said she thought it would be longer. Maybe as long as four or five hours, but certainly in time to return to the village before full darkness.
Rex told them he hated to say it, but Junior was a clever adversary. He thought Junior wouldn’t move his men out before nightfall. Again, that’s how he’d do it if he were in Junior’s shoes.
He relied on Digger to alert him well in advance of the louts reaching their position. If they couldn’t capture, injure, or kill everyone on the spot, he at least wanted to know as quickly as possible that they’d escaped, so he would know to head at speed for the village to protect the Markses and the villagers.
