Chapter 20

Someone was giving me lots of kisses so I reached up pulling her to me, thinking one of the girls wanted some middle of the night loving. As I held the tiny body to me, Tiani said, "Wake up, Chuck. Your phone is going crazy over on the nightstand. It rings and buzzes and keeps ringing. Whoever is calling calls right back when it goes to voicemail. Answer it, Chuck, it must be important."

I crawled out of bed and reached for the phone to look at who was calling. The phone began its ringing and buzzing again at that second. The ID said it was a DC number, so I answered, "Johnson."

"It sure takes a lot to wake you up. You need to call your contact. Look up the greeting of the day and give him a call. Do it, it's important."

I was confused for a second, then asked, "Is that you, Sam? What are you calling me for at whatever time in the morning it is?"

"It's me, the faithful, fantastic, Sam. Do what I asked; look up the greeting, and call your contact. They need you."

"Why are you calling, Sam? Why didn't they call?"

"You are on restricted access right now. They had to ask me to shake you out because of your status. You can be hard to find sometimes, even if you're not trying. Now make the call."

"Okay, okay, I'll do it. You need to talk to me about all of this later."

The phone went dead, so Sam was gone in the middle of the night. My partner, Lisa, was beside me and was already looking up the greeting. She pointed it out to me as I was punching the contact number in.

The voice of our main contact surprisingly answered at this strange time of the morning. We went through the greeting and response before he began. "We need you here as soon as you can get here, Chuck."

"Where is here?"

"El Paso. I wouldn't ask you, but it's something you've been involved in before. We have some cartel slavers who are bringing a bunch of kids over. Our intelligence has about fifty adult or teenaged females, and about thirty little girls between ten and twelve. We know they will bring them while a couple of inspectors they have paid off are working. If we do a capture, we have to do it after they cross. They will probably come through here during the slow time between now and five our time. I need you to lead this. How fast can you get here?"

I looked at the time on Lisa's cell and it said almost three AM. "I can't get there on time. It's going to take every bit of three hours to fly there and get out to the crossing. You're an hour earlier but it'll still be after five their time before I can get there. Is there some way I can help them by phone? Let me talk to whoever is leading this. Who's in charge on this one? Homeys (Homeland Security)? Or you guys?"

Our contact had a worried voice as he said, "We have to exclude Homeland Security because it could get back to the inspectors on duty. We have U.S. Marshal and Fibbie backup, but they are only in reserve. Our troops are about forty, and should be enough, but they might all be somewhat green. You've done this multiple times with both services and know what can happen. Let me conference in our man in charge."

I looked up at Lisa who was offering me my peg. She suggested, "Let's go down and see if we can get some coffee going. This is going to take a while."

We made it down to the kitchen without making a lot of noise and searched out the coffee and the coffee filters for the Mr. Coffee pot on the counter. I knew that Mina usually made coffee in a huge percolator pot, but we needed coffee fast now, not later.

We finally managed to find the filters and made a full pot similar to the big pot we had at home and the one that was on the counter at Steve's. Lisa and I were watching as the pot filled while waiting for the conference call to be initiated.

The contact's voice came on and said, "I have the leader of the on site team on the phone. Chuck, this is Joe Garcia. Joe, Chuck Johnson."

I had the phone on the table on speaker so Lisa could listen. "Glad to meet you, Joe. Hope we can meet under better circumstances later."'

"Imagine this. I'm talkin' to the infamous Chuck Johnson. You're like a legend, Man. Wish you were here, but the boss says you're too far away to make it in time. What can I tell you?"

"The contact said you and I have similar background. Tell me about it?"

"You're a Marine, I'm a Marine. We both served in the sand. Semper Fi."

"Oorah, nice to know a brother." Lisa and I were both smiling.

"First, give me the facts of who is coming and in what kind of force."

"I can do that. We have a man on the inside and some observers that will keep us posted on when they make their move. They have a safe house about five miles from the crossing and will be bringing the adults over in a truck and the kids in a school bus. These folks stole a school bus from Austin and are using it to make it look like a school trip. Not all that likely at four or five in the morning, but that's what they have. If they do this the way they usually do it, there will be a lead SUV, probably a Chevy Suburban. There will be another SUV between the truck and bus, and another trailing them. Each of the SUVs are probably carrying three or four soldiers. There will be soldiers inside the truck and possibly some in the bus. What we have to be careful of is that some of these soldiers might begin killing the women and kids they're transporting."

"Sounds like you have to do this fast in order to get them to quickly give up. How many men and vehicles do you have for this operation, Joe?"

"I have forty men and eight company vehicles."

"Are these vehicles protected or common?"

"Protected, Chuck. They are all Ford Expeditions and ready."

"Good deal, Joe. You're prepared. So tell me your plan."

"This is the deal, Chuck. We are currently watching the inspection stations and everything is moving about normal. You can tell the officers on duty are looking for something by not doing a real thorough job as vehicles pass through. We will be radioed as soon as the truck and school bus begin to move, so we'll have a chance to get ready. We plan on waiting until the tailing SUV is through the inspection station, and then blocking off the road in front and closing the road behind. We have men ready with amped bullhorns to give them a chance to give up. From there is where we will have a problem."

I could tell the man was nervous, so I told him, "Okay, you need to tell every agent there to make sure they are wearing armor. All should be carrying rifles and sidearms with plenty of ammo. Every one of them should know the people coming across will probably be wearing armor, but not carrying rifles. All of you, every man and woman of your group, have to be willing to immediately fire as soon as they see a weapon. Don't wait for them to fire, but your people must fire as soon as they see any weapon. I'm sure these people have been given training by the Russians, and those folks don't wait for anything. Get that out to your people now before this goes down."

We could hear him tell someone to direct the people, and then we heard that person using his radio to broadcast the order.

"Joe, another thing, you need to tell your people to take head shots. I know you should go for body mass, but you need to take head shots if they're wearing armor. You know the drill, you've been through this."

We heard him tell his second on site with him, and then the second doing the same on the radio.

There was some chatter, then Joe said, "They are on the move. The truck and bus are loaded and moving. I have all of my men at the ready. We have two big trucks and trailers to move in front and behind of the group to block them off when they are sufficiently away from the inspection station."

"Well, get ready, Joe. The shit is about to hit the fan."

Lisa and I refilled our cups and sipped while waiting. We were both nervous for those who were waiting for the confrontation.

Joe came on the phone speaker, "The first SUV came through and handed a fat envelope to the inspector. The truck was waved through as was the following SUV. The bus is getting a cursory look, but is moving and the last SUV is moving through." A few seconds later, "Our vehicles are moving into place. We're moving up toward the vehicles and will make our announcements."

We heard them make the announcement over and over in Spanish and English to give up and all will be okay. After over a minute, Joe said on the phone, "They aren't doing anything. No one is moving or coming out of the vehicles."

"Are any of your Expeditions equipped with push bars on the front, Joe?"

"All of them, Chuck."

"Good. Use three and drive right into their SUVs as fast as you can, and have them immediately back up to give a clear firing line. Be sure to have backup men ready to fire at anyone who comes out of them after they're hit. We'll work on the truck and bus when the three SUVs are disabled."

We heard him giving orders and had the three Expeditions emptied of men and had the drivers drive into the side of the Suburbans as fast as they could.

Joe was describing what was happening, "All of the Suburbans are on their sides with men now coming from the door on top and firing automatic weapons in our direction. I think they are falling as fast as they come out. None have come out with their hands up so far. Our drivers have backed up and are staying down."

There was more sporadic firing, but nothing like it was for a few seconds.

Joe said, "We're going to approach the truck and bus now. We're using vehicles to get close and making announcements."

We heard a lot of activity and didn't hear anymore weapons fire. It was about fifteen minutes later that Joe said, "All of the kids are safe, and all of the women in the truck are okay. I don't think any of them are older than sixteen or seventeen. All of them have their arms tied. We need to get them some medical help as they all look dehydrated."

"Joe, what are you doing about the crossing inspectors?"

"Already done, Chuck. The Deputy Marshals immediately went after them and arrested them. They closed the crossing until off-duty inspectors can be summoned. Homeland isn't going to be happy, but that's what had to be done. We're following what a judge has instructed."

I was waiting for follow-up information, when Joe came on with, "I think we're done, Chuck. We have the kids and the women they were trying to import. The Marshal's Service has the homeys that were corrupt. Thanks, Man. You gave me permission to blast my way out of this if I had to, and we did. Can you believe we have to come home to shit like this? Thanks again, Man, and come see me; I owe you a beer."

Our contact said to both of us, "I'm going to break the conference now. Do what you need to do, Joe, and thanks for your assistance, Chuck."

The line went dead, but my phone rang almost instantly. "Johnson."

"Good job, Chuck. You helped that man do what needed to be done and pushed him to give the right orders. You should have been there, but it wasn't possible. I now have another man who knows what to do. Go back to bed."

"You must be kidding, right? It's now almost six and the world is going to wake up and erupt any second. You go to bed, because I think I'm probably an hour or two ahead of you in sleep."

Lisa came to sit on my lap and said, "Now that's different. We did a mission without ever leaving the kitchen. I felt all of the adrenaline rushes, but none of the panic that we usually feel. It's almost like an orgasm, but not quite. We need something exciting. Find something for us, Chuck."

Mina and Miguel came into the kitchen, surprised to find Lisa and me. While pointing at the phone on the table, we told them that we had just been on the phone for an important operation. Mina was her usual sweet self and hugged Lisa and me before telling Miguel, "Go get the two of them some of what they like in the morning. Make a lot of it as Mr. Dewey and Steve like to have some too."

I almost nixed that, but decided we probably needed to relax this morning and not get too involved with the outside world.

Dewey was the first one downstairs this morning, and held his tall glass of Bloody Mary mix up in a salute. "To my grasshopper. You are so much like Steve was when I first met him, but you are so much more mysterious, so totally committed to something no one else can see. I'm proud to teach you how to enjoy your morning libations."

Steve, Kathy, Sue, Juanita, and Mercy had come down and were all hysterically laughing at Dewey's salute. Dewey said, "Don't get too uppity here. Steve didn't know that the appropriate morning drink was a Bloody Mary when he met me. It took his buddy, Tiny, and me to convince him what to enjoy first thing most mornings. You and Lisa pay attention, Chuck, and you'll learn how to enjoy yourself."

All of them took a tall glass of the mix as well as a mug of coffee. Steve said, "I guess I'll have to have Gene fly us over to the factory this morning. We'll observe the rules here the same as we always do. I'm having this Bloody Mary in honor of our very famous Dewey, the man who knows how to live and how to enjoy his family."

My ladies were coming down the stairs with their little ones. Gina was one of the most impressive, since she had some kind of wrap around her as Carlo was wrapped to her chest nursing while she was moving around. Frieda almost sarcastically said, "You know the wop should have had the twins. She could have fed mine and hers too with the jugs she has."

Gina smiled at Frieda, "Yours nurse on me as much as they do you. They always want me to pick them up so they can undo my blouse to nurse. Tiani laughed at that, as she said that Sam would drain her then go looking for another breast to feed on too.

Maria had given me little Juanita to hold until she had the little girl's food made. Tiny Nita smiled and jabbered at me, giving me the smiles that dads get from their kids. The tiny girl gave me kisses when Maria picked her up to feed her. That's always a way to make me smile.

Tina came into the kitchen and sat on my lap, "What's the deal? I wake up and you're already out and about. I figured you to sleep late this morning after playing music late last night."

Tiani spoke up, "His phone went nuts around two or two thirty this morning, and he and Lisa got up to talk to someone. They were nice enough to leave us and come down here while they did whatever they did. Chuck thought I was waking him up for some loving, but I had to tell him the truth before it woke everyone up."

Tina looked at Lisa and asked, "Isn't there something we could do for some excitement? I want to do something this weekend, find something for us."

I think Steve was the only one to pick up on what she was saying and looked at me with a little bit of apprehension. He didn't say anything, but I could tell he wasn't in favor of his niece going out to do whatever it might be with Lisa and me.

Breakfast happened. That's about the only way to describe all the women, with Mina directing them, as they prepared the morning feast. Everyone was fed and the morning dishes were being finished before long.

Lisa told me, "We do need to do something of value. We could go for something that could make a difference while we have Tina. Call in and find out what might be happening."

I went to an unoccupied area of the porch with Lisa and Tina to make the call. When a strange female voice answered, but knew the greeting and response, I explained who I was and she said, "Oh yeah, your man said you might be calling. I might have just the thing if you're interested in something clandestine."

The female voice on the other end said, "We have two small cartels that are having a territory war and are trashing everything and everyone around them while they are trying to take control. Let me set you up for the briefing on the two groups. Take a look at what the situation is and call me back to ask about support. This is becoming a priority as the war between the two groups is reaching across the border. Go to your site and download the briefing. Look up all of the links on this one as it is a little different."

I wasn't even off the phone when Tina came running back with my Laptop. The two of them had the briefing up and were reading it as I read over their shoulders. Both groups had headquarters in Monterey, Mexico, and both groups brought their product across in and around Matamoros, just south of Brownsville. The problem was that they were both trying to control the bulk of product coming to the U.S. in that area and were attempting to eliminate each other in their greed. That would be good, except that they were having more collateral damage than to each other. The two groups had killed ten people in Monterey and another dozen in Matamoros and the Brownsville area just this past week. The people were using some nasty counterfeit money to pay people off, and it was turning up in the Brownsville area. That brought it to our attention. The money wasn't even that authentic looking, but it was beat up just enough to almost make it look good.

Tina had Lisa's laptop and was doing Google satellite scans of the Monterey headquarters of both groups. Tina was concentrating on what she could find out about the Brownsville and Matamoros locations.

Lisa said, "They each have a house in Brownsville which they use to hold goods to be delivered. Both also have houses in Matamoros that they use to hold goods before they're shipped into the States. It looks like both have a way to get by the inspection stations, so they are equal there. It looks like they won't give up the paid off inspectors, because if they give up the other guys' men, the others will be giving theirs up."

I asked the two ladies, "Is there much contact other than the two groups fighting in Monterey? It seems strange that the two are warring over territory when there seems to be a bigger market than either can handle."

Lisa sarcastically said, "It's the same as always, jealousy, and each thinking they can handle all of the trade and not have to share. I think we should tease each side and let them wipe each other out. That would eliminate the headquarters groups and we can do the same in Matamoros and Brownsville if necessary. We'll hang around at both locations and if there is anyone left to cause a problem, we'll let them join those that departed."

Tina looked at me and said, "You are so sneaky. You don't even want to go in blazing and take them out. You want to make them think the other is doing it and let them do the damage. I like it, but it isn't very exciting."