They made the Colombian coast without further incident. As soon as it was in view, Johns alerted his crew. Sergeants Zimmer and Bean powered up their electrically driven miniguns and slid open the doors next to them.
"Well, we just invaded a friendly foreign country," Willis noted as they went "feet dry" north of Tolu. They used their low-light instruments to search for vehicular traffic, which they were also supposed to avoid. Their course track was plotted to avoid areas of habitation. The six-bladed rotor didn't make the fluttering whops associated with smaller helicopters. Its sound, at a distance, wasn't terribly different from turbopowered aircraft; it was also directionally deceptive - even if you heard the noise, it was hard to figure where it came from. Once past the Pan American Highway, they curved north, passing east of Plato.
"Zimmer, LZ One in five minutes."
"Right, PJ," the flight engineer replied. It had been decided to leave Bean and Childs on the guns, while Zimmer handled the dropoff.
It must be a combat mission . Johns smiled to himself. Buck only calls me that when he expects to get shot at .
Aft, Sergeant Zimmer walked down the center of the aircraft, telling the first two squads to unbuckle their safety belts and holding up his hand to show how many more minutes there were. Both captains nodded.
"LZ One in sight," Willis said soon thereafter.
"I'll take her."
"Pilot's airplane."
Colonel Johns orbited the area, spiraling into the clearing selected from satellite photos. Willis scanned the ground for the least sign of life, but there was none.
"Looks clear to me, Colonel."
"Going in now," Johns said into the intercom.
"Get ready!" Zimmer shouted as the helicopter's nose came up.
Chavez stood up with the rest of his squad, facing aft to the opening cargo door. His knees buckled slightly as the Sikorsky touched down.
" Go! " Zimmer waved them out, patting each man on the shoulder to keep a proper count.
Chavez went out behind his captain, turning left to avoid the tail rotor as soon as his feet were on the dirt. He went ten steps and dropped to his face. Above his head, the rotor was still turning at full power, holding the lethal blades a safe fifteen feet off the ground.
"Clear, clear, clear!" Zimmer said when he'd seen them all off.
"Roger," Johns replied, twisting the throttle again to lift off.
Chavez turned his head as the whine of the engines increased. The blacked-out helicopter was barely visible, but he saw the spectral outline lift off and felt the dirt stinging his face as the hundred-knot downwash from the rotor subsided, and stopped. It was gone.
He ought to have expected it, but the feeling came to Chavez as a surprise. He was in enemy territory. It was real, not an exercise. The only way he had out - had just flown away, already invisible. Despite the fact that there were ten men around him, he was momentarily awash in a sense of loneliness. But he was a trained man, a professional soldier. Chavez grasped his loaded weapon and took strength from it. He wasn't quite alone.
"Move out," Captain Ramirez told him quietly.
Chavez moved toward the treeline in the knowledge that behind him the squad would follow.
11. In- Country
THREE HUNDRED MILES away from SSG Ding Chavez, Colonel F lix Cortez, formerly of the Cuban DGI, sat dozing in el jefe's office. El jefe , he'd been told on his arrival several hours before, was occupied at present - probably entertaining a mistress. Maybe even his wife , Cortez thought; unlikely but possible. He'd drunk two cups of the fine local coffee - previously Colombia's most valuable export crop - but it hadn't helped. He was tired from the previous night's exertions, from the travel, and now from readjusting yet again to the high altitude of the region. Cortez was ready for sleep, but had to stay awake to debrief his boss. Inconsiderate bastard. At least in the DGI he could have submitted a hastily written report and taken a few hours to freshen up before normal office hours began. But the DGI was composed of professionals, and he'd chosen to work for an amateur.
Just after 1:30 in the morning he heard feet coming down the corridor. Cortez stood and shook off the sleep. The door opened, and there was el jefe , his visage placid and happy. One of his mistresses.
"What have you learned?" Escobedo asked without preamble.
"Nothing specific as of yet," Cortez replied with a yawn. He proceeded to speak for about five minutes, going over what things he had discovered.
"I pay you for results, Colonel," Escobedo pointed out.
"That is true, but at high levels such results require time. Under the methods for gathering information which you had in place before I arrived, you would still know nothing other than the fact that some aircraft are missing, and that two of your couriers have been apprehended by the yanquis ."
"Their story about the interrogation aboard the ship?"
"Most unusual, perhaps all a fabrication on their part." Cortez settled into his chair, wishing for another cup of coffee. "Or perhaps true, though I doubt it. I do not know either man and cannot evaluate the reliability of their claims."
"Two men from Medell n. Ram n's older brother served me well. He was killed in the battles with M-19. He died bravely. Ram n has also served me. I had to give him a chance," Escobedo said. "It was a matter of honor. He is not very intelligent, but he is faithful."
"And his death is not overly troublesome?"
Escobedo shook his head without a moment's pause. "No. He knew what the chances were. He did not know why it was necessary to kill the American. He can tell them nothing about that. As for the American - he was a thief, and a foolish thief. He thought that we would not discover his thievery. He was mistaken. So we eliminated him."
And his family , Cortez noted. Killing people was one thing. Raping children... that was something else. But such things were not his concern.
"You are sure that they cannot tell the Americans -"
"They were told to get aboard the yacht, using the money as their bona fides and concealing their cache of drugs. Once the killings were accomplished, they were instructed to go to the Bahamas, turn the money over to one of my bankers, destroy the yacht discreetly, and then smuggle the drugs in normally, into Philadelphia. They knew that the American had displeased me, but not how he had done so."
"They must know that he was laundering money, and they must have told the Americans this," Cortez pointed out patiently.
" S . Fortunately, however, the American was very clever in how he did this. We were careful, Colonel. Beforehand we made sure that no one could learn exactly what the thief had done." Escobedo smiled, still in the afterglow of Pinta's services. "He was so very clever, that American."
"What if he left behind a record?"
"He did not. A police officer in that city searched his office and home for us - so carefully that the American federales never noticed that he had been there - before I authorized the killings."
Cortez took a deep breath before speaking. " Jefe , do you not understand that you must tell me about such things as this beforehand! Why do you employ me if you have no wish to make use of my knowledge?"
"We have been doing things such as this for years. We can manage our affairs without -"
"The Russians would send you to Siberia for such idiocy!"
"You forget your place, Se or Cortez!" Escobedo snarled back. *
F lix bit off his own reply and managed to speak reasonably. "You think the norteamericanos are fools because they are unable to stop your smuggling. Their weakness is a political failing, not one of professional expertise. You do not understand that, and so I will explain it to you. Their borders are easy to violate because the Americans have a tradition of open borders. You confuse that with inefficiency. It is not. They have highly efficient police with the best scientific methods in the world - do you know that the Russian KGB reads American police textbooks? And copies their techniques? The American police are hamstrung because their political leadership does not allow them to act as they wish to act - and as they could act, in a moment, if those restrictions were ever eased. The American FBI - the federales - have resources beyond your comprehension. I know - they hunted me in Puerto Rico and came within a hair of capturing me along with Ojgda - and I am a trained intelligence officer."