Not Quite a Fair Fight

(The Kodiak is specially designed for short takeoff and landing full of passengers or cargo. With just the pilot and co-pilot it fairly jumped into the air. It would have to refuel a few times on the trip, but it would get to the Colony.)

While some troopers cleaned up the Aztex camp, others at the shore remounted the floats on the tank and the APC. The APC and the floats had driven along the shoreline to the quay. Once they were ready they were each floated out to where "Tuska" could lift them on board with the crane. Irene was not willing to test the old quay with the weight of the tank.

The three Mercedes Benz vehicles (a bulletproof G-wagon with gun ports, an AMG high-performance G-wagon and a Maybach limo) used by Carlos and his top people were worth over $900,000. The rest of the collection of various other personal vehicles (plenty of newer luxury SUVs and 4 door pickups) totaled an equal amount. The two moon tractors (worth $1 million) were also taken. All were driven to the "Tuska" at the quay. Two of the three busses would fit on the ship, the third bus along with the pair of Winnebagos (one an executive-office model, one a modern high volume kitchen) were driven to the Mayan's empty eco-resort, covered under a tarp and left as a wedding present to Coche and the local Mayans, who were at their gathering. They were instructed to hide them for at least 6 months. Not counting the Kodiak which was on it's way to Peru the total value loaded on "Tuska" was over $3 million.

Giving up the two heavy trucks to the whores was a loss, but one I approved of. Simply put, the whores had to be disbursed. The used-up whores had no useful knowledge but they could not be left anywhere near the location and killing them would look bad. Machiavelli, who wrote "The Prince" notes that one of the worst things a leader can do is to look bad to his people. Driving the trucks with military markings, in uniform, was the safest way to get them out of the area.

The troops left Monday afternoon with everything of economic value or evidentiary value (camera, beacons, etc.). At 11:30 Monday night all the self-destruction timers on the mines left in place detonated, they were too dangerous for the 49 guys to disarm, and were not worth keeping. There was nobody near enough to hear. A single, long range drone observed the fireworks and was then recovered by "Herbie." "Tuska" and "King" were already far away, headed to Florida and Texas.

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Chapter 16. Politics

By Irene

After the good Sister's news conference in Belize the Mexican authorities were in no great rush to find the location, they abstained under Mexico's official "see no evil, speak no evil, take a siesta" policy that applied in the economically fragile eco-tourist region in the Yucatan. Safe tourism is vital to Mexico's economic health. Foreign investors and potential tourists had seen previous 5-star tourist attractions turned into running crime scenes by unrestrained criminal activity and the official corruption that came with it. Mexico's economic life depended on that NOT happening to the Yucatan. Mexico would not get another chance.

The church was different, and the state could not stop them. Church investigators started searching immediately and found the location the Sister described within the week. They confirmed it was the place after finding her DNA in the jail. Most of the Aztex remains were in bad shape. However, while the church wanted to get the facts, they really had nothing to gain by widely publicizing the grim details the found.

In terms of the bodies found, one of those in the best shape was the woman at the top of the pyramid. The limbs and some of the body of a woman was still held with handcuffs in a standing position, her only clothing was her California drivers license on a lanyard around her neck and a chest spreader holding open her sternum. The heart was gone - but that was no surprise to anyone who knew Tony's former wife. A few fingers were suitable to fingerprint plus there was DNA. This body was removed for examination in LA.

What preserved the body was the height - it was far enough above the ground and was held in a vertical position, so she was never hit by the flaming bullets which targeted on the ground. DNA confirmed the ID, in due time Tonto was notified of his mother's death. Eventually he got a life insurance check with an amount sufficient to pay for his education. Tony was thought to be dead, although there was no body. His life insurance on his wife eventually went to Tonto as well, but it took years.

Tonto was still 17, so the funds were held in trust for him by Ernie. Tonto expressed a lack of interest in his mother's burial, and he did not oppose the Mayans when they requested the remains on weak religious grounds (she died on the sacred pyramid, maybe she converted). So the remains were shipped back to Mexico.

The Mayans had their own plans for the remains.

(Pammie and Tonto had returned from their tour of colleges. They narrowed their choices to Tucson Arizona, Reno Nevada and Southern Illinois at Carbondale as the mining schools they would apply to. Pammie's grades made her a sure bet to get in. Tonto was a bit shakier, but since he had the tuition they would work it out. Despite the extended trip together Pammie was eager to prove she was still technically a virgin. However, the couple was clearly very much in love.)

After the church found the Aztex site and recovered some remains they otherwise left it to the authorities who waited. In the tropical climate, at the start of hurricane season the jungle re-established its claim. The authorities left the site alone for five months. By then what was left of the rotting burned bodies provided nothing Mexico cared to investigate.

Some folks wondered how the gringos got there, and where their wallets went, but for some things there were no answers available. All the IDs, credit cards, etc. were collected and would be used to forge new IDs for Colony and Tribal residents who needed them.

The highest authorities in Mexico initially declined to recognize the location as the one mentioned in the Sister's account of the kidnapping and rescue. Mexico claimed the Sister was actually held in Cuba or Honduras because there was "no way" criminal elements could have gotten them into Yucatan, which the country needed to promote as a safe and eco-friendly tourist area. In any event the locals could not be bothered to investigate dead gringo gangs, it was entirely too much paperwork for a good siesta. The bullet fragments littering the area were curious, but the only record of their use was in Africa. Because those reports were in a different language they were not investigated. The mystery would lead nowhere good, so why look deeper?

The Aztex members did not return to Houston, LA or their other cities. Nobody expected the suicide squad from the bottom of the gang, but all the top people at the head of the gang along with the prep crew were also gone. They were all known gang members and if they went off for a late summer vacation and did not return, the concentration of missing bangers was not really a priority in any given city. It was written off as gang-on-gang violence.

In time the Mayans reclaimed the land. They buried the well picked bones in a mass grave that was outside the cleared area, spruced up their Sacred Pyramid and made it a tourist location. The former jail was converted into a modern rest room.

The open rib cages of two victims, a male (the politician) and a female (Tony's wife) were billed as lovers from rival families who suffered for their love, creating the novel fiction of a Mayan Romeo and Juliet, with a few extra indian twists to the tale. They were made a special exhibit, along with the obsidian knife found at the site which had been used to open both sternums. The Mayan exhibit used some other bones to complete some female skeletons for the exhibit, it was more interesting than just 2 bodies with the chest split open.

The Mayans claimed the bones were over 600 years old and as sacred bones they could be viewed by the public for the price of a ticket but could not be examined by experts.

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Back in LA, Tonto and Pammie were the only attendees at the ceremony arranged by the Sister to commemorate her ordeal. She saw her rescuer in Tonto's features and Ernie - who she knew from his volunteer work - in Pammie's, so they spoke briefly. They did not discuss specifics, but they all knew there was a connection.

The Sister's helper Chantal spent a year in a church-associated mental institution. Although unharmed physically, her mental state was impaired until she got the right treatment. After that she went to college, became an accountant, and with Ernie's help opened an office that served several charities helping the poor.

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I feel one final note should be added. As planned, a number of parties would have looked into the death of so many Americans with violence on Mexican soil. Troops would have been moved on both sides of the border. Well-meaning people would have made mistakes. Politicians would have raised their voices in indignation, calling for action based on their agenda.

Yet none of this happened.

The good sister's plain testimony, that she was kidnapped in LA, taken to the camp, heard what was planned for her, saw the other acts, and was rescued by a "mysterious force of good, one on the side of the angels," clearly cut off all political posturing of any kind.

All had to agree that the drug in question and those who peddle it are irredeemably evil.

In effect, she closed many doors of inquiry that could have shined light where we needed darkness. My Prince, I must say that we were fortunate, or guided by what we don't understand.

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Chapter 17. Closing The Books

By Irene

The rented boats were returned to the owners in Texas. They included their original crews plus Tony, who wanted to get back quickly. While the crews of the two boats flew straight to LA, Tony drove for hours to San Antonio, then flew to Las Vegas. Tonto and Pammie met him there and drove him to his safe house in Pasadena, where he grew a beard, changed his hair, and assumed a new identity. He wasn't rich, but could be comfortable if he wanted. His son had a bunch of stock tips. Of course, that was not his nature.

Tonto moved into Belen and Ernie's guest house. Pammie's parents assumed, reasonably, that if their daughter were going to cross a line, she would have done so crossing the country while living with Tonto in the camper for a month. Arrangement were made so they would both finish high school using private tutors.

"Tuska" landed the troopers and nerds in Florida. Some had their families fly in for a visit to see the sights. A handful, including the younger nerds, flew back to LA with Irene and Martin, who had chartered a private flight. They landed at John Wayne Airport in Orange County on Friday September 5.

"Tuska" sold the various cars, trucks and busses where they found buyers in the Caribbean. Only the three Mercedes Benz vehicles plus the APC and the tank returned to LA on the ship, arriving at the end of September. The car shop for 49 got these three vehicles, changed the serial numbers, and got them solid papers.

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With there leaders and their most enthusiastic troops gone, the Aztex gangs in Texas and New Mexico were quickly destroyed by their neighbors as new pretenders fought their internal battles.

In LA the remaining Aztexs, with a more moderate silent majority firmly taking charge, wasted little time blowing up the meth houses in their territory and letting people know that the meth dealers were no longer welcome. Those who were in the meth business grabbed the significant store of drugs in inventory but had no place to sell the merchandise. Instead they found themselves being hunted by mysterious Asians who wanted everything they had, including their lives. These so-called Meth-Aztexs soon splintered and disbursed, each looking for safer, greener pastures. Instead, many found an unmarked grave in the desert.

The "old" gang members took the temporary name of "Notexs" and asked for 49 to return to the negotiations for merger. They really needed protection from their neighbors so as a pre-condition for talks they ceded the Seerdon Forest and signed on with the 49 drug policy which meant only selling weed and party drugs.

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