Comeuppance Pt. 05-06

"Which begets another question: if they ARE with King, what happens to the bounties? All this firepower and manpower isn't here to earn a paltry $100k bounty on you, Jack; therefore, if they don't leave, we have to assume you're really the target and the bounties were always on you. Advertising them as being on the girls could have been to throw us off, and protect their cover!"

"And yet another critical question is, how long do we wait? If we can't find anything here or in cyberspace to guide us or illumine us to their plans, do we just sit here and wait for an attack, withdraw, or go after them? These are exceptionally dangerous mercenaries; if they don't attack, do we just let them escape? Rene - are you good with that?"

"No, Captain, but I doubt it will be my call. Our state and federal support was approved for defensive purposes, so they may insist on probable cause before we go after them. On the surface, we haven't seen them break laws here, so what do we do? I'm afraid this is well above my elective office, but I may have to make the call because, while we don't want to do anything they can use to get off on some technicality, we don't want them wandering around Cow County, either!"

Jack interrupted. "Maybe we don't have much on the bunch across the river, although I'd argue a judge in Laredo would issue a search warrant on what we have. But, if they are holding the Franklins hostage, and I'm certain they are, they HAVE committed state and federal crimes. Can we find out quickly, while staying battle-ready here?

"Wait: I have two more germane questions. Knowing what we know about Daniel King, do we let him and his terrorist-supporting sheik escape? Or do we call in the FBI, show them his conversations that are tantamount to confessions, and tell them we believe he has kidnapped April and Janice and is running for the Emirates? After all, we don't know whether they left of their own accord.

"And the biggest question of the day: what do we do with their video journals? They provide names, dates, places, first person testimony validated by the films we have, and reference banks and bank accounts where dirty money is held. If we send them out to all the places they named, won't that cause King to kill both?

"I guess that's also true if we do it in a month, but until we know they are with him and they sold us out, I don't feel comfortable releasing the videos the way we had agreed."

Rene sighed, then answered. "Jack, I have two problems with involving the FBI at that level. The first is, if we show them the videos, they will demand to know how we got them, and they will take them from us - just like they did the gangsters, who still haven't even been indicted!

"Once they have the video and audiotapes, I'm afraid they're going to say we came by them illegally, so they can't use them to prosecute, and the really bad guys win again."

Jack responded, "Okay, then I say were search this place high and low, and have Sue and Croc search their cyber domain. Once that's done, we push the issue with the Franklin Ranch. Neither the feds nor the state can walk away from foreign nationals seizing American citizens and property, and launching illegal missiles from the property at other American citizens... can they?"

"God, I hope not!" Abraham Cross exclaimed. "I understand sometimes politics gets in the way of sound decision-making with law enforcement, but I know damn well the US Military would be most upset, should they be informed."

"Then pick a team, set us down somewhere on a site we know close to the Franklins' home and barn, and let's verify what we believe. If we do, you can contact whomever in the military, Rene can contact whomever in state and federal law enforcement, and we'll see what happens.

Should there be reluctance on the part of any agency, we need to assume King is somehow affecting decisions being made by the top brass..., which is both terrifying and 100% unacceptable!

"If that should happen, or in case we ARE attacked, I say we have Sue, Croc, and Mule, if she's willing, anonymously flood the media outlets, bloggers, and cyberspace with excerpts from King's discussions, and every single time he admits to sex trafficking, running a forced prostitution ring, killing someone, beating and torturing someone, or any other illegal fucking actions he brags about on the videos we have!

"He can't pin that on April and Janice, in case they aren't with him by choice, and the government can't cover his ass and his friends asses. I'd say do it as soon as they have it ready, but that might provoke the attack we might be able to avoid... assuming it was the girls and not me with the seven-figure bounties. So, let's ask them to get it ready, and if things go south, before or after we notify the proper authorities, cut it loose!"

The Captain and the Sheriff nodded in hard-eyed agreement, so Rene opened the door and yelled at Alfred and Charlie. When they were inside the conference room, Jack laid out his idea. They looked at each other and grinned. "Want us to do it right now? That's one of the main reasons we used AI for the search function - we anticipated needing confessions of illegal actions, and videos of illegal actions. In other words, that package can be sent whenever you want with as much detail as you want!"

"Do we need to bring in another law man to screen what they have, or are you going to do it, Rene?"

"I trust Alice, but Danny can check her; it's only a hundred feet to the UAV center in the barndo.

"Captain, how many four-man helicopters do you need for the team going to the Franklin's? I can get at least three that are used for hunting coyotes and wild hogs, and working cattle. They can fly over or around the ranch without looking as suspicious as the Huey. We can use it to ferry a few more to the landing zone, but it would be better if they didn't see it unless we are forced to attack."

"That's nine on the small choppers, counting Jack and Carl, and, what, six on the Huey, counting the pilots? That should work."

"I have their personal numbers, so I'll call step outside and made 'friendly calls' asking for assistance. Should be back in ten minutes or so," Rene said as he hustled toward the stairs.

Jack smirked at Abraham. "The best laid plans... right Captain?"

"Absolutely, Jack, absolutely."

****

Jack and Carl made fun of each other, garbed in camo, vests, and helmets with communication devices. "Don't think they had south Texas in July in mind when they designed this gear," Carl joked.

"No, they had summer in Iraq in mind, where today's heat is just a nice spring day. Quit bitchin - this gear could save your life," Wash replied, while herding them into a helicopter.

They knew and spoke to the pilot, Jim Harris, who had flown them on hog hunts along the river when the feral hog population got out of control. He nodded, told everyone to strap in, and then lifted off. They were joined along the route by the other two small choppers, which fell in behind them a couple of minutes apart, and the big Huey, which trailed them by eight minutes.

As they neared the point they could be seen, the other three veered north, toward San Antonio, and disappeared behind the long ridge that was the reason Turkey Creek existed. The lead chopper flew along the Franklin's southern fence line, as if looking for hog crossings. Carl and Jack weren't wearing their helmets, and were leaning out the open doors holding rifles with scopes, as if hog or varmint hunting.

Wash was scanning the area toward the house with powerful binoculars, and he kept a running commentary. There were guards or scouts on the hill whittled away by the caliche pit, to the west of the house. There were men in the old house down by the woods, and several were stationed around the sagging barn between the house and woods. And, he exclaimed, there are tracks of large, heavy vehicles leading into the barn!

They were flying along the south line of the Rancho Viejo, which bordered the Franklin Ranch on the south and east sides. When they reached the end of the Franklin Ranch, the copter turned left and followed the east fence line to the north. Carl and Jack continued to hunt for hogs and hog crossings, even pointing out a few to one another.

Was that good cover? Did foreign mercenaries even know about hunting hogs out of helicopters? Probably not, if they were really East European mercs, but those they could see seemed willing to watch and let them pass. Once they passed Turkey Creek to the north, they turned west to the rendezvous site.

Jack called Rene with their observations; Rene inserted him into a four-way call that included a DOJ attorney and a federal judge. The attorney and judge asked a few questions, Jack and Wash answered, and then they were told the warrant was signed and sent electronically. Rene informed the group that a mixed group of FBI agents, Texas Rangers, and State Troopers were nearing the turn onto the county lane leading to the ranch house, and Captain Allen advised them that the authorized plan is in effect.

Per the plan, they would move in from the north and west; the mixed contingent would approach from the south, but half would turn left to the ranch house while the rest rushed toward the barn housing the purported missiles.

It was a good plan, and it mostly worked. The part that didn't work was, while they were getting in place, the enemy backed the trucks with the missile launchers out of the barn and elevated them into launch position. Jim Harris saw them first, and quickly relayed it to the others. Wash took one look and said, "Those are ground to ground missiles; they're gonna hit the ranch!"

Red and the Huey were on the way, but two missiles were away before his missiles and guns raked the launchers. The third missile took a number of hits and exploded on its pad, covering the other launchers and a big chunk of the barn in a fire ball filled with shrapnel.

Wash was acting as team lead; he yelled "Attack! Attack! Attack!" and the copters dropped their teams at the designated locations. Red dropped his team, elevated, and began firing at the larger group of mercenaries; those stationed on the ridge. They were trying to get back to the house, but the low brush offered no cover from the air attack, and those not dead soon hunkered down.

The Delta Cross Alpha team worked through the brush to get between them and the house, and began moving in on the prone men. The Beta team, made up of state troopers and rangers, converged on the barn, where they met no resistance from the injured and burned men still alive there.

Charlie team, composed of Wash, Carl, and Jack, met ranger Bill White near the cattle pens, and worked their way toward the house, creeping along in the drainage ditch beside the road. They, and all members Beta team except the one guarding the injured men, surrounded the house, covering the back and front doors.

As soon as they were in place, Ranger White called out to the house with a mini-bullhorn, identifying himself and demanding everyone inside come out immediately: a barrage of shots from the house was the response. Carl and Jack immediately crawled back from the front line, and hustled to a brushy embankment on the house side of the road. They were south-southwest of the house; the land fell sharply away there, so the hillside had been deeply cut for the road.

They were sheltered from view from the house, standing in a grove of old Mesquite and Huisache trees that were taller than most. Jack found the hidden door they were looking for behind a big Blackbrush, and they carefully began trying to open it. They moved rocks and dirt from the base with their boots, used old branches to clear it from around the sides, and then pulled on the side away from the hinges. It creaked, bowed as if about to break, and then opened six inches.

More digging at the base, and soon the door was open enough to enter the tunnel. Rifles strapped across their backs, tactical shotguns at the ready, they made their way into the old, timber reinforced tunnel that dated back to the Cold War days. There was a 'bomb shelter' midway down the tunnel that probably hadn't been opened in a decade or more, but as kids they had played in the old tunnel and used the shelter as their 'fort'.

Flashlights lighting the way, alert for snakes, they made their way toward the house. Just as they reached the reinforced steel door to the shelter they heard noise in the tunnel ahead. They froze; Carl knelt and pointed his shotgun toward the noise. "Check the door; no place to hide in this damn tunnel!" Jack found the handle and pushed, but it barely budged.

"Help me - this thing is heavy and seems frozen."

They both pushed, and it slowly swung open, with minimal noise. When it was open enough to slip in, they grabbed their shotguns and stepped inside. The noise drew closer, and a light flashed passed them. "We have to be close, don't we?" a female voice asked.

"I think so, but I was nine or ten the last time I was down here."

"Daddy, I'm scared," a child's voice whispered loudly.

"Just be quiet and follow me, Baby - I'll get us out of here in a minute," the male whispered back.

The voices were really close; Jack whispered out the door. "Walt? Craig? It's Jack and Carl - we're in the shelter."

"Oh, shit man! You nearly caused me to have a heart attack! This is Walt; Craig's bringing up the rear. We have both families and momma with us."

"Then follow me out of here; Carl will take drag. We both have shotguns."

They made it outside and the families were huddling in the drainage ditch below the door when Carl heard several sets of boots running in the tunnel. Jack handed his rifle to Craig and told him to take their families down the ditch to the east, where other members of their team were laying siege to the house.

"Any other family members or friends in the house?" he asked. Craig shook his head, and muttered no as he hurried down to direct the families.

Jack and Carl laid side-by-side at the entrance, shotguns at the ready, with Carl's rifle between them. The running boots turned into figures they didn't know. "Whites of their eyes," Jack whispered.

"I'm waiting on you," Carl replied.

There were parts of three bodies splattered around the tunnel after they cut loose with the 12 gauge double-aught buckshot at a range of 15 feet. They waited a long moment, backed out of the tunnel and shut the door, then slid down to the ditch and ran to catch up with the Franklins.

It was silent when they got even with the front of the house; they peered through the trees at the front yard and saw men lying face down in the yard with the two rangers and the troopers standing over them. The Delta Cross men were in a tight circle nearby, listening to a satellite call.

The commotion of the Armstrongs and Franklins emerging from the ditch and walking up the road caught everyone's attention, and Wash yelled for them to "get over here!"

"The attack on the ranch commenced when the missiles were fired. The missiles from here didn't make it into Cow County - SAMs took them down - but we understand that the house had been hit several times by explosives, and the fighting is fierce. If things are under control here, we need to fly back now and help out - Red's already gone!"

"Ranger White! Y'all got this? We need to get back to the fight at the ranch!" Jack yelled.

"Go! We've got things under control, and help is five minutes out."

They ran en masse toward the three remaining choppers, which were waiting in the open area halfway to the barn. The pilots fired them up, took off, and made a bee-line for the Armstrong Ranch. About six miles out, Captain Cross directed them to the hay field, and gave instruction for getting behind the enemy positions to the northwest.

Jack and Carl weren't former military, but they were well conditioned and expert riflemen. After an eight-minute run, Wash slowed the group down and gave directions. Carl and Jack would serve as snipers, shooting from behind the large Mesquite trees on the hill northwest of the house. Wash planned to slip closer to the house and set up on the north, where the tunnel from the basement came out. He would protect it, and fire on anyone assaulting the house.

They hustled into position and looked around. "Damn!" Carl exclaimed after getting a look at the remains of the house.

"It's a house," Jack stated. "It can be rebuilt; I just hope no one was killed, and that Alfred sent the packages all over the world - just in case!"

The captain had organized a counter-offensive, but the enemy was well concealed in the brush. Well, they were well concealed from ground level to the front: not from above to their left rear. The heavy retorts of the 30.06s went unnoticed in the beginning, disguised by the cacophony of small arms fire, mortars, and RPGs. They took out three each before Carl hit one in the ass instead of a lethal location; he screamed, looked around, and pointed at the hill. Carl's second attempt took him in the chest, and Jack got another who turned to fire at them.

Then they had to stay behind the trees while bullets whipped past. That only lasted a few seconds, before fire from the advancing troops redirected the enemy to the front and south sides. Hiding behind brush when being fired on by a 30.06 isn't good practice, as the brush doesn't deflect or slow down the big bullets, and five more enemy troops learned that less too late.

With the snipers wreaking havoc, explosive detonating among them, and defenders approaching in and behind two APVs, the attack stalled... and then the Warthogs appeared. It's impossible to describe the BRTTTT sound its 30 mm GAU-8/A Gatling gun makes, but it terrified everyone nearby, including Jack and Carl, whose mesquite trunks suddenly felt like toothpicks.

They were scared; the enemy troops were terrified. The few dozen still alive after the first A-10 pass broke and ran for the river. The Armstrong Boys fired until they had to change ten-round magazines, stopping only when the attackers were over the river and out of range. Jack was reminded of the old Johnny Horton song about the battle of New Orleans -

Yeah, they ran through the briars

And they ran through the brambles

And they ran through the bushes

Where a rabbit couldn't go

Their problem was, the Gulf of Mexico was hours away, and a large contingent of law enforcement officers were waiting on the ranch from which the attack had been staged.

It was quiet for a few minutes, then the firing resumed for a few minutes, and then it was quiet again. They would quickly learn that the mercenaries who weren't dead had surrendered to the overwhelming force facing them.

Far fewer surrendered, however, than were lying in the hot dirt, quickly putrefying.

Convinced it was over, Jack and Carl proceeded down the hill to the remains / ruins of the historic rock house that had stood for over 100 years, providing shelter for four generations of Armstrongs. "Well, the barndomenium looks okay - guess we can bunk together for a while. I assume you're going to build back."

"Hell yes I am! But I'm afraid my insurance company would say 'Hell no!' if I call," Jack retorted, "so I'm gonna use some of The King's money, since he's responsible!"

Cross emerged from the tunnel to the buried shipping containers they had made into a shelter / second command center. He waved and walked to meet them. "Sorry about the house, boys; they had artillery hidden across the river. The A-10s took it out after the second volley, but it did some serious damage above ground. However, Alfred and Charlie say the hardened basement is intact, so there's that.

"Fortunately, none of the four missiles headed this way made it over the fence line, but they did make for some amazing pyrotechnics when the SAMs hit them. The ranchers around here are going to be picking up pieces of metal for a long time, unless the government steps in to help."