Chapter 11

5225 – Team Beta

Johann Schwarz – Joe S. in 5225 parlance – was a Belgian, a former mercenary who had worked in the diamond fields of South Africa as a 'security guard.' That really meant he oversaw the search of the black miners daily, had them x-rayed daily, and supervised the cavity searches, daily.

Life for a worker in the mines of the world's largest diamond cartel was not pleasant. They could swallow diamonds, you see ... hence the daily x-rays. Or try to smuggle the raw stones out in a messy body cavity. And searching or x-raying them was cheap and easy. So what if the workers would develop cancer or DNA mutations in twenty years? They weren't expected to live that long, anyway.

Joe S. was the leader of Team Beta for 5225. He ran a tight crew of three fellow mercenaries. Team Beta was competent if not imaginative. His second in charge was Aiko H., also a former merc. She was heavily muscled and an expert in Krav Maga. Both were enough reason for her teammates to avoid making a pass at her. The real clincher was that she was gay. Both Joe and Aiko viewed the arrival in Los Angeles of a REMF from HQ as a slap in their faces. However, for the fees that their employer, 5225, paid, they could deal with a REMF, for a few weeks.

Elroy L., or El as he was called, flew out to Los Angeles to take charge of the Beta Team of 5225. He was full of himself. Having washed out of the U.S. Marines as a Lance Corporal, he was proud to be taking over a team of hardened mercs.

His first mistake was to call a meeting.

"All right, men," he said. He ignored Aiko's hostile stare. "Our mission is to cover the Tijuana/San Diego area to the Arizona border area. We are looking for a Latino in his mid-thirties, a former Navy NCO, about 6'2". We are to apprehend and not injure the man. He may be traveling with a woman, somewhat shorter. They, of course, may shoot us, but we cannot shoot back. Well ... we have no interest in the girl, we can kill her if we have to." He grinned at that.

"We'll be breaking into two squads." He loved the military sound of the word. "Joe and one of the men will cover Arizona, concentrating on the Phoenix area." He didn't even bother to learn the names of the two men involved. "While Aiko and the remaining man will work here in San Diego, under me." After all, why should he take the job out in the desert? It was August, for Crissakes.

"Any intel on where we are to look for him?" Joe asked, glancing at Aiko and rolling his eyes.

"He will be coming into the U.S. from Mexico. That's all I have. No intel about how, when, or where. We have a team in Mexico. They are looking, also. So we may be the anvil while the Mexican team is the hammer."

They broke into teams, as directed, and Joe sent Aiko a text message: "Look for a Latin guy coming into the US, from Mexico? Should be easy. Good luck."

The sarcasm didn't translate well on the text message, but it was clear enough.

She sent back: "I'm supposed to cover border crossings. Zack is covering the port and HE's got the airport. This is a cluster."

He answered: "Yeah. Like a needle in a mountain of needles."

Two days later, El sent out a recall. "We got word he'll be in the San Diego airport, with his daughter, in five days' time. Form up in the local HQ as soon as you arrive." The 'local HQ' was the exercise room of the small building they rented.

The next day, when Joe and Oscar showed up, they went straight to the exercise room. El had outfitted the room with a table for his 'war plans.'

"Okay. Here's what I think. We go in with fake DEA papers, hide in plain sight. That should let us in with guns and vests. When him and his daughter show up, we just take 'em both in to custody. Then we let the girl go later. And he disappears into 5225 ... Comments?"

Aiko raised a hand, to be called on, like she was in grammar school. "You said he was traveling with a daughter. How old? 'Cause if she's there, then maybe her mother will be there. Let's assume it's his wife. That'll be a complication."

But El was on a roll. "Don't know the daughter's age. We just sweep the wife up, too. Then let the two of 'em go at the same time."

"Be easier," Joe said in his Belgian accent, "to just identify them, plant a tracker on him and take him later on."

"We'll use that as a backup plan. But the primary will be just to take him in the airport." El was a great believer in the simplest plan possible. The fact that there'd be armed TSA agents and, customs people and police there didn't impact on his plans at all.

Of course, the fact that the Gold Target would not be cooperating was irrelevant.

Edited By TeNderLoin and an unnamed person who doesn't want a credit.