Chapter 368

If I couldn't talk the government into calling the attack off, then it might be a rogue officer leading his unknowing men into battle. Something like an even worse version of the Captain, who I had met earlier. If I could keep the army from backing his play, then maybe we could hold them off until the real Army came to rescue us. It was as good a possibility, as was three men and a skinny woman slipping off into the Jungle, and then fighting there way to a friendly border crossing. Since that was a very real possibility, I made damn sure to carry my passport.

I drove a rental car to within a mile of the monastery at Saint Marie Tomas. At that point I left the car on the side of the road. I knew there would be a road block in place long before the army unit or units began to arrive. They would have to stop any reinforcements or heavy resupply of the Monastery. The road was the only reasonable way to do it.

That meant that I was forced to hump the two large packs through the jungle. I had never gotten used to the smell of rotting vegetation, even though my sensors were not as sensitive, while in the stand-bye mode, as my human ones had been. I could not remember how people like Jerrod and the Irishman could stand the assault on that part of their brain without being able to regulate the sensitivity.

Even with two fifty pound packs, I made good time moving along the Indian trail up to the old monastery. I followed the satellite map in my brain. One of the few advantages of being able to communicate directly to the damn things. I told myself that it was like talking to a third cousin. I laughed, knowing that was the kind of thinking that could get me my own TV show again.

The two men at the road block, within sight of the Monastery, were so busy watching the road that they didn't see me slip up on them. I had them covered with one of the chopped up AK47s by the time I cleared my throat to warn them.

"Now gentlemen, and I use that term loosely," I said in classical Spanish. "You may leave your rifles and anything else you brought with you and run like hell back down that road. Of course you can't stop till you get somewhere with a phone. If I find you on the road, I will kill you in a most painful manner ... Now run!" I watched with a smile as the two big strong men ran away from the skinny chick, with the really bad hair. I did of course have the chopped down AK47 on my side.

I went up to the gate of the tiny walled city. There were a couple of buildings, which were in fact very old dormitory type buildings, whose backs were part of the walls. There were no windows in the walled part of those building. The chapel was also part of the wall as well. I noticed as well that there were parapets along the spaces between the buildings. There were no opening into the buildings from those parapets, only ladders to reach them. Since the jungle came within several feet of the walls, it was going to be RPGs to breach them. Even if the government approved it's use, it would be days before heavy artillery could be in place...

Holding out in the old monastery was a possibility for sure. Winning was out of the question, but bringing the world's pressure on the clowns outside those walls was very, very doable. If we could make the opposition withdraw in disgrace, then we would have won the battle at least, if not the war.

I walked up to the closed gate, "Ahoy inside," I shouted in English. "Jerrod, Mr. Williams get someone to open the gate."

A moment later the skinny ass Jerrod ran out and hugged me. "God am I glad to see you and sad as well. I'm sorry to say this could be your Alamo."

"Yeah or your Dien Bien Phu," I said.

"Hell yes," he admitted. "Of course neither of us was alive at the time."

"True, also I hope modern communications will make a huge difference. Not to the men outside those walls, but to their commanders in the air conditioned offices and the hotel suits, I hope."

"That is possibly our last hope," The large thick framed American, who had joined us commented.

"Mr Williams, I presume?" he nodded. "No the hole we are going to blow in the wall, and ex filtrate through is our last hope." I admitted.

He simply nodded.

"You are a fucking lot of trouble," I suggested.

"That's what all five of my ex wives said," he agreed smiling.

"Well I hope you can fight," I said sarcastically.

"Do you think a man can have five ex-wives still living, and not be able to fight?" He asked, as he grinned openly.

"I guess not," I replied. "So Jerrod, how many men willing to fight do we have."

"These guys think they are Jesuits," he suggested. "Everyone able to lift a rifle wants to fight."

"They also think the are the Knights Templar, defending the faith against the heathens. To them this is a holy war," Williams said. "They will fight and they will fight well."

"We will make a statement with out death." The withered old man who had walked up with Williams said.

"I would prefer to make a statement with the other people's death, That is, if it's all the same to you Father." I said.

Yes Ms Stone, that is acceptable as well. Mr Jerrod told us a great female warrior was coming to die with us." the old man added.

"Actually not, I came to make a statement to the world, then slip off into the jungle and over the border. That makes me less of a martyr and more of a soldier." I said.

"I would say it makes you even more of a great politician, if it were not an insult of epic proportions," Williams added.

"It is, but in this case I deserve it and worse. If Jerrod had been willing to walk away, these people would be on their own." I admitted.