Not Quite a Fair Fight

"Also, Sister, from this point we must trust strangers. A bit of extra help from above would be appreciated."

She agreed, "That is always true my son... and I must also give thanks for you..."

"If you are praying, the one who hears knows my name. If you don't know it, you can never tell my enemies. I have a family, but those people killed my wife."

She was satisfied with that.

-

In the morning, looking around the boat in the light, we found new coveralls which fit surprisingly well.

"Do you know where we are?" the Sister asked.

"Only roughly, our path rests on the kindness of strangers. But I have faith."

I saw in the Sister's eyes an understanding that this was not just providence. She and her charge were alive, with thoughts of what had happened on the pyramid Saturday and Sunday nights behind them, so she allowed it to continue.

"Herbie" and "King" were both tracking the Zodiac, out of sight but in radar range. Around 10:00 in the morning the Zodiac ran out of fuel. According to plan I picked up the small handheld radio and sent a short SOS, but after repeating it once the battery seemed to expire.

The idea was for "Herbie" to position itself with the Zodiac directly between them and the nearest fishing boat. "Herbie" would then broadcast a strong SOS using a directional antenna, "casting a line." With a bearing the fishing boat would turn towards the Zodiac - on not.

The cousins were tracking fishing boats in the area and were in touch with "Herbie" and "King." One boat named "Tropic Maria" out of Colon, Panama with a crew of 5, was heading back to port with a full load of fish. It was well positioned, less than 40 miles from the Zodiac. So "Herbie" sped to a position where both the Zodiac and the fishing boat where on the same bearing, all three in a straight line. When "Herbie" broadcast the SOS I got a faint crackle on the radio. The fishing boat responded and changed course toward the SOS signal, which led them directly to the Zodiac in a few hours.

When the fishing boat drew close to the Zodiac, "King" launched the ultralight amphibian aircraft. We knew not all fishing boats are manned by good hearted sailors, some were smugglers in disguise with no charity in their black hearts. When the Zodiac was in sight the ultralight found a cloud to hide in. I could not see it, but it was there. If I hit the switch on the "dead" radio they would drop in silently, surprising "Tropic Maria" with death from above. The LAW was enough to sink a fishing boat, and their lightweight FN P90s with AP military rounds could penetrate the hull and body armor.

But no intervention was required.

The men on the fishing boat were in good cheer with full holds, singing in the sun. They were all Catholic so they were on their best behavior for the Sister when they pulled alongside, kneeling and asking for her blessing. Those who make a living at sea are aware they need all the help they can get.

I talked to the captain, he said that he was more than happy to help the Sister. "She will be a Saint someday, and by her looks it will not be that long. I must thank you for the chance to earn her favor like this."

Then I explaining what I could of the situation. He had heard strange tales of the gringos I spoke of, but he had never encountered any at sea. I did not mentioned that they had an airplane in camp, or that they were all dead and would never come here again.

I stressed that there was no need for any delay on our account in his getting to their home port, or for any special attention when he docked. He was relieved with that, a quick turnaround in port was money to him and his crew. If the captain could just fill the Zodiac's tank, then drop us over the horizon as they passed Belize City, all would be well off with a minimum of inconvenience and no troubles with the heathens looking for the good Sister. I even had some US currency to pay for the gas as 4 times the market rate.

I explained that, because my original course was directly out to sea, even if my pursuers caught the weak SOS, they had no reason to expect me to head to Belize. In fact my course suggested one of the many offshore islands of Quintana Roo as a destination. (That was the original plan, but it would raise questions.) I knew that "Maria's" course home was almost perpendicular to the Zodiac's previous course leaving the coast. So we would all be safe as long as we were radio silent.

The professionally skeptical captain agreed it sounded like an excellent plan. Most fishermen preferred not to be delayed, or to attract questions about where his fish were caught. He mentioned that another ship was in the area during the night, northeast of the Zodiac, running without lights. That fit with my story. Out of caution he made one change of course last night and planned another change to steer away from them. (I knew it was "King," they would close to pick up the ultralight, then turn away.)

The captain was sure that if the mystery ship was in fact hunting the Zodiac we would leave them behind.

The captain got out the charts to show me and the Sister, he knew these waters so he did not need them himself. She was surprised at where we were, she forgot about the Yucatan jutting out as far as it did. They would be in position to drop the Zodiac, below the horizon but in range of Belize, in the dark Wednesday morning. I said that as long as I had a bearing we were all better off if I left during the night and nobody could see us together. He agreed.

-

Wednesday Morning

Offshore with Belize City on the horizon.

While it was still dark I and the two women were again in the Zodiac, approaching Belize City. The Good Sister was in her nun clothing, when she was captured Kiera had insisted that she stay in the garb "for the rest of her life." Well, Doggo's witch was not specific on who's life, Kiera died with the others.

(Chantal was not so fortunate. On the plane flight across Mexico Kiera conducted a very traumatic exam and was surprised to discover Chantal was intact. The men were not allowed to rape either woman, but Chantal experienced other abuse on the trip. Now Chantal was wearing the coveralls, with the sleeves and legs shortened.)

At dawn, as we approached the city in the Zodiac, the sunlight seemed to shine from the gold cross on the steeple of a church (Saint Joseph) a few blocks from the the shore. I adjusted my bearing for that cross. When we reached the pier for the charter service I let the women off on a pier, giving them my coveralls and shoes but keeping my loincloth and shirt on. (I kept the waterproof bag with the silenced pistol under my shirt.) As they waited I anchored the boat about 100 yards offshore, swam to them, and got dressed. We made our way through the stadium park and the three blocks towards the church. At Simon Lamb street I hung back, we had not discussed it but the Sister seemed to know that this was the end of our journey together. Her last words to me were a blessing and thanks, then they crossed the street and walked the half block to the church door. I saw the women were admitted by a priest. When the church door closed I ducked around the corner and made my way back to the Zodiac. I was tempted to stop at a donut place, but I had no local currency so I passed it by.

-

I learned the next part during a phone call to the Sister a week later. She recognized my voice. I said we could not meet for now, but maybe someday that would change. She was to know that I was checking in on her till then.

At the church the priest made a phone call confirming who Sister Mary Ellen was. There was much rejoicing but the news was not circulated. It was evening before the LA police were notified that both women were safe. Chantal and the Sister also made phone calls to their relatives. As the women had entered the country without any papers that was better done at the US Embassy so the priest called a parishioner for the favor of a ride. The man was a white-collar criminal on the run from the FBI, but he had a reliable auto and a better heart. He was glad to help.

A few hours later the Sister and Chantal were at the US Embassy in Belmopan, the capital of Belize. There the Sister made a complete statement of events and met some of the press. The Sister declined to name the fishing boat, and had no name for her rescuer, she just stated "He called himself Te, he looked like he might have been a native." This was not a lie, many Mexicans travel to LA.

Chantal's statement of her name added nothing except confirmation, she was clearly traumatized by the past week and was never out of the Sister's immediate contact. Under the eyes of the priest and the US Marines the press did not address any questions to Chantal.

Less then a week later a significant payment was made to the Captain of the "Maria" and his men in Panama "for incidentals during early September." The letter was signed by Monsignor Angel.

In LA, arrest warrants had been issued for the kidnappers. But they were all crispy critters since they had been attending the sacrifice in the Yucatan. The bugs were now feasting on their charred flash. Most of the people who knew them were convinced they had finally come to the bad end they promised themselves short years ago.

-

Chapter 14. Reports Of Ops

by Irene

Summary report sent to the Prince early Monday morning, when the last troops returned to the shoreline.

Sunday Night SitReps from the Yucatan

1. Hostiles included Carlos, the current head of the Crystal Aztexs and Witch, the code name assigned to Tony's estranged wife who was expected to be sacrificed first on Sunday night.

2. Friendly elements are:

Mortar (the M-113 APC, team leader, 2 crew members, 12 mortar troops, 8 mortars)

Tank (the M551 Sheridan tank, team leader mounted, 4 crew members, 6 mounted troops)

Rescue (Tony dressed as an Aztex, with a jeep. A Zodiac is at shore)

3. Other:

Package refers to the good Sister (expected to be sacrificed after Witch) and her associate.

All times local. (Yucatan Local Midnight is LA/Resort Local 22:00) Timeline is set so plan can advance to contingency if Package is moved to first for sacrifice. (Basically this meant that if the good Nun was rigged for sacrifice before the witch then the tank and Tony would jump the timetable and charge the jail before she was brought out. The mortars would open fire on the open field and the tank would use the flechettes rounds.)

4. Location Code Names for Tank

The three locations where the tank would take and hold a position were:

Guard is hull down on the road seaward of Aztex Camp.

Sentry is hull down on the road inland of Aztex Camp.

Jail is at the bend in the dogleg path between the parking lot and the party area of the Aztex Camp.

-

Sunday Night - Real Time Reports

18:00 - All troops ashore. All ships in position. Drones, crew and electronics all show green. Vehicles staged. "King" patrols west and "Herbie" patrols east of "Tuska." All just over the horizon from shore.

18:10 - Mortar departs for fire position.

20:00 - Rescue and Tank depart for Guard.

22:45 - Witch taken from Jail toward stage. Go for primary plan.

23:00 - Mortar ready. Rescue ready. Tank at Guard weapons free. All on time and on location per plan.

23:15 - Aztex party gathers at Pyramid. Carlos on stage.

23:47 - Rescue stage one, various lights out. Tank moves to Sentry.

23:48 - Rescue stage two, inside Jail.

23:50 - Rescue stage three, exit Jail with Package.

23:54 - Rescue calls "Onion Bun" as jeep exits grounds with Package. Witch sees her chest cut open with Obsidian knife, she does not take it well. Chest spreader inserted.

23:58:15 - Tank at Jail. Start fire clock.

23:58:54.5 - Mortar drop volley #1.

23:59:56 - Tank HE away. Reload with Anti-Personal.

24:59:57 - HE impact. Volley #1 impact. Mines armed by radio.

00:00:00 - Mortar #2 drop. All mortars switch to individual fire.

00:00:30 - Red mist sighted behind Pyramid. Vaya con deminio Carlos.

00:16 - Rescue at Zodiac with Packages.

00:21 - Zodiac away. Herbie and King shadow with radar.

00:30 - Mortar hold fire to clear smoke.

00:40 - Mortar selective fire as directed by IR drones.

02:00 - No sign of life at Pyramid. Mortars cease fire and return to coast. Tank to Sentry position.

02:12 - All assault troops have reported in safely. Time is 00:12 in California.

The Pablo Apartment Building suicide attack force is destroyed.

The Nun is at sea.

Estimate Aztex casualties at 175 ± 25.

Friendly casualties - none reported.

Rescue is on course at sea.

Cleanup crew will depart at dawn.

-

Chapter 15. The Morning After

By Irene

The cleanup troops departed at dawn Monday, September 1. The first order of business was to use the Aztex moon tractors, which had foggers that could penetrate the brush, to fog the edges of the party field. It was unlikely that anyone escaped but just to make sure they used some extreme military tear gas Tango brought when he retired. The stuff was developed after Argentina's "Dirty War," it penetrated well then hung in a cloud, the nasty stuff was very effective and was nearing an expiration date so it had to be disposed of anyways. Where better?

Three people in the field survived the night after a fashion. All were heavily drugged, and they bore holes from the mortars, burns, scratches from thorns, spider bites, and were in bad shape to begin with. All had lost blood. In all three cases they had been knocked down early and then were protected when other bodies fell on top of their heads and torsos. They all died from their wounds by noon, so they could not be questioned.

Another group of survivors was discovered, they were scheduled to be the last arrivals at the sexual peak of the party after the Sister's ordeal was finished. The Aztexs did not expect them to survive.

It started when bus with 20 "used up" prostitutes arrived at the parking lot Sunday morning driven by a broker who dealt with the nearby brothels. He was paid for the one-way trip and did not have to be told that he would not have to pick them up the next morning. The Aztexs locked the whores in the back of 2 heavy trucks, each was given two full bottles of water and a pail. A few hours later they were each given some food in exchange for their clothing. They were told they would get new clothing later, as a reward for good service.

The girls were all pretty sure there would be no "later" for them.

Their captors said they might hear fireworks as they waited in the trucks, this turned out to be more-or-less true. The Aztex plan was to insert mouth appliances (so they could not bite), spray-paint the nude girls red, then bag them from the nose up and cuff them. The naked whores would be herded to the party crowd after the second sacrifice was done, when the folks were really worked up and in a mood to party with somebody they could get crazy with. At a 10-to-1 crazed guy-to-weak whore ratio, they were not expected to survive the drug-crazed mob, but they thought they might party on anyways.

When a different form of fireworks came instead of a second sacrifice the whores missed what they thought would be the last brutal serial fucking of their lives. Most eventually got a good night's sleep.

Irene had not known about the whores but was pleased to find them the next day, still in their trucks. She made a note that the Sister and Tony's bravery saved the 20 lives. She gave them a chance to eat, clean up, dress (mostly men's clothing) but would not let them out of the truck, or allow them to see anything. "If you see, you could say... understand?" They did, in Mexico it was sometimes better not to know. When they were ready the two trucks were driven out of the lot and up the road, away from the sea, then on various paved highways for about 3 hours. (Essentially moving north and west well away from the sea.) A SUV followed them.

-

As the trucks traveled North and West they passed an airstrip in a town about 30 miles from the Camp. The field was not that long, it was intended for private jets flying tourists to the coast, only 4 commercial flights - all propeller aircraft - were scheduled per week. However, today a pair of old 727s jets from different operators were waiting on the ramp.

The 727 was originally designed to operate from small airfields with limited services, it had its own internal units including a power unit, built-in stairs, and it used thrust reversers to make landings on shorter fields.

(Authors note: I have been in one, using the thrust reversers they are the hardest-braking commercial jetliner I have known. The pilots used to apply the reversers even on longer runways so they could make the closer turn-off ramps and cut the on-the-ground turnaround time.)

The jets had arrived at the airport just after sunrise. They waited until after lunch, then wrote off the charter and returned to their base. Nobody asked for their 60% deposit back.

-

Finally the trucks stopped. The girls were let out of the trucks for the first time in 24 hours. The SUV that had followed also stopped. They were all dressed and were given blankets.

The Aztexs had driven the two military trucks through Mexico carrying various supplies. Not many Mexican police or criminals would stop a pair of military trucks so they dressed and acted like the military and figured it was safe. (Crooked Mexican cops and criminals are not stupid enough to stop two trucks that might be full of underpaid armed soldiers with flack vests, automatic weapons and minimal pocket money. What is the point?) Like everybody else in the crowd the Aztex truck drivers in uniform had striped to a loincloth and left their uniforms in the trucks as soon as they got to the camp. Going to the party in any military outfit could get one killed real ugly.

Once all the girls had stretched their legs they were called together into a group.

Two girls who could drive the heavy trucks (rural background) were selected and given the military uniforms of the original drivers. Then an election was held where two other girls were elected as leaders and given the officer's uniform from each truck. The rest of the girls got to choose which truck they wanted to stay with.

The girls were warned not to backtrack (south or east) for at least 50 miles, they would be shot if they were seen by any of the sentries or drones. As long as they did not backtrack they were free to go where they could in the two trucks. They had fuel for a couple of hundred miles. (Each truck had a fuel trailer.) Finally the girls, who expected to dig their own graves with their bare hands and catch a bullet, were each given some money, roughly $100 each, compliments of the dead Aztexs who didn't need it any more. The two elected leaders were also given revolvers (empty) and a box of 25 bullets. A few knives, brass knuckles, zip-ties, mace and other personal defense items were also distributed.

The girls were all well-used prostitutes who were originally from Mexico. Collectively they had a fair knowledge of the Yucatan highways and cities. After talking about what they wanted the two trucks split up, drove a few hundred miles, and eventually the girls split off into small groups.

The 49 troopers who drove the trucks from the camp returned in the SUV that had followed the trucks. They made much better speed and got back as the last of the troopers and vehicles were being loaded on "Tuska."

The military truck had radar transponders so "Tuska" could track them the rest of the day.

-

Monday morning while the fogging was being done in the party area, other troopers were gathered the keys, money, rings, papers and other items from the parking lot. The biggest prize was the Kodiak airplane, it was almost new and was worth several million dollars. In planning for this operation one of the Patron's Cessna pilots had taken Kodiak lessons so he could fly the prize to the Patron. A takeoff path was cleared in the parking lot and the plane left. It was impressive, the plane almost seemed to leap into the air from a standing start, using only a fraction of the space.