Not Quite a White Knight Vol. 04.5

It was a short briefing, everything was on track. As expected, Saturday the Five's girlfriends had left in a SUVs, leaving in mid-afternoon. The unidentified couple was with the Five in the house. Ten of their 12 guards were on site. Our spotters reported the other two guards spent the night in the whorehouse in Salaverry.

After their girlfriends left, the Five plus the unknown woman got out guitars, drums etc., making up terrible a 6-piece band. They recorded the stupid "Pizarro" song, tinkering with the arrangement and drinking until about 2 in the morning. The guards were an enthusiastic audience, which proved they also had terrible taste in music. At 2 they all went to bed. Two guards were posted as sentries.

At 5 in the morning my scouts severed the phone line, the sat-phone jammer was turned on, the escape tunnel "bombs" were activated and the M-113 rumbled off the Hercules. In the dark about 20 Colony troops rode to the house on the M-113 and the Hummer, which was carrying two recoilless rifles.

Also at 5, the two sentries were dosed with curare. One was sleeping and the other was stroking one out with a porno mag when the needles went in. Sorry. Next, the advance troops flooded the barracks with military sleeping gas, went in wearing gas masks, and gave the remaining guards some drugs. They were chained in their bunks.

The troops deployed on arrival, and after the Hummer was unloaded it returned to the airstrip to wait for me. We had control, but we wanted to announce our presence after sunrise, when it was easier to shoot anybody who ran.

I arrived in the Hummer just before sunrise.

The house was brick and had no first floor window. Thomas had IR cameras mounted in trees around the house and had the combined feeds fed to a screen. It showed the 7 people sleeping in the house, one to a room except for the couple on the third floor who shared a bed.

As the sun rose, two groups were in their staging positions in front of the house.

On one side was the menacing armored box of the M-113, painted light blue with the letters "FBI," surrounded by a half dozen men in blue windbreakers that said "FBI." Irene looked like she was in charge.

Troops in Peruvian military uniforms were behind cover on the other side and around the house, with the pair of recoilless rifles (bunker busters) aimed at the front corners of the house. The military uniforms indicated an elite (impossible to bribe) unit, the Presidential Guard. Captain Thomas wore the uniform of a Major and appeared to be in charge. They had a loudspeaker system mounted on the Hummer.

As the sun cleared the horizon, Thomas used the loudspeaker to play "Reveille," then called to the house, saying he had a warrant to search the house and ordering all occupants outside.

All the people in the house moved out of beds and took quick looks out the windows. They saw death. When they were up Thomas announced that the escape tunnels were rigged with explosives, and he had a warrant to search the house for "a terrorist bomber, a Chinese national, wanted for murder of a US Judge."

The people inside scattered to their rooms, then gathered in a second floor room as Thomas repeated his order to exit the house. Perhaps one person went into the escape tunnel, saw the "bomb" and returned to the group. After 5 minutes Thomas upped the ante by saying they must all exit the house, or his men had orders "from the highest level" to bring the house down and ID the bodies after.

After a few minutes one person came out. It was the male we had not identified, he was holding up a white handkerchief as a flag, and was wearing a suit coat over his pajamas. He looked the troops over as he walked toward Thomas. This was the first time he was aware of the helicopters overhead, the huey could be private but the two-rotor Chinook said this was serious business.

Thomas told him to stop and identify himself.

"I am Iker Gold of the law firm of Chavez and Gold in Lima and Moyobamba. As the lawyer for some of the people in the house I would like to see your warrant."

Well, that explained who tried to call my office some time ago, after Grisha gave the Five my card.

Thomas gave him a copy of the warrant. It stated that the FBI was to search the house "for the known terrorist and explosive expert... after it was rendered safe for their entry" by the military. A picture of an Oriental was attached. If the house was not vacated and rendered safe for the FBI, "it was to be destroyed." The signature was an extremely good facsimile of a Peruvian supreme court justice.

"This is a very unusual warrant," Gold stated.

"This is a very unusual case, the man uses liquid explosives and traps," Irene said, stepping close to the two. Thomas seemed upset at her for speaking, but with her FBI uniform he acted like he could not stop her. "Like the Major here, I also have a warrant. Mine says to take the terrorist to the United States... safely... to stand trial... along with his accomplices."

Thomas made a face at those last words, it was clear to Gold that he would prefer to destroy the house and all inside. Thomas spoke again, like he was trying to convince Iker to surrender... or not. "Now that you have seen the document I can assure you that time is of the essence and this case holds the interest of the highest level of our government. It seems that a US Judge was killed along with a female Peruvian official who is... a relative... close to the highest levels. My orders are clear. We believe this individual is inside." He clicked his watch, starting a timer. "In ten minutes the FBI enters the empty house," he motioned to the IR screen, "or my men open fire. That will not take long. We are using scanners and anybody in the house or the escape tunnels will die. Please, inform your clients."

Gold saw that the military wanted to destroy the house and were looking for any excuse. If they did they could say "mission accomplished" to the authorities for the relative who was killed. It was the way they thought, Gold was sure. What were the choices?

Gold insisted that he needed to call his office and verify the document. Thomas agreed he could, "take your time," but said that the clock was running and the terrorist would not be allowed to escape because of "his lawyer's stalling tactics." Looking at his watch he then said, "You how have nine minutes."

There was a clinking sound and the lawyer glimpsed, through the window of the Hummer, leg shackles with chains. That suggested an old fashioned quickie show trial was Plan "B" if they surrendered to the military. He rushed back in.

Thomas called out the time each minute.

Inside the house the seven people had a brief discussion. I could almost hear it in my mind. Gold was lawyer-smart enough, he sensed that the military was keeping something hidden with the chains and that Irene had more information than he did but could not say something she knew. So he made a suggestion nobody liked, to surrender to the FBI. It was the option that was not mentioned, but why else would the FBI be here, in this place, in force, with a fucking tank? Clearly THEY didn't trust the military, and they had brought the force needed to protect themselves... and their prisoners. He mentioned that the military brought chains along, something they didn't need to search the house, so there were probably more orders, something dire the Major had not mentioned. That was likely to end in a show trial. The military could not be trusted, that was a given for people who treated bribes to the military as a regular cost of doing business. But Gold was sure the FBI had to play straight and protect them in custody. That was why they had the tank! Plus the Five were innocent, there was no Chinese terrorist here, but there was only one way to prove that! If the military destroyed the house, Gold was sure a body would be found. Finally the Five saw the sense of it and agreed.

Right after Thomas called "One minute left," the Five, along with their lawyer and the unknown woman, came out of the house heading for Irene. They tried to stay huddled behind the lawyer as he announced, loudly, "My clients are unarmed and surrender to the FBI." As he spoke the whole group moved toward the M-113 and the protection it's substantial armored body offered them. Irene barked an order and the 6-barrel Gatling gun mounted on top of the M-113 turned towards the major, as if reminding him they did not have a choice about this.

Most of the Five had an idea of what that gun could do.

Irene smiled at Thomas like she had outfoxed him. Then she said that FBI policy required them to cuff those in custody until they are searched for weapons or explosives. "This is not open to debate... but it does not have to be unpleasant."

Plastic pull-ties were produced. The Five plus the woman were allowed to cuff themselves in pairs. The lawyer was not given any. They were moved into the M-113's metal body where they were bagged. "Just a precaution, in place of handcuffs." Once that was done I moved Gold out of earshot from everyone else and introduced myself to the other lawyer with a broad smile.

"Mister Gold, I am a US attorney from the LA office and am pleased to meet you. I am sure we have a great deal to discuss. My name is Paulo..." he automatically smiled at his victory and put out his hand. Qwit, who is extremely strong, grabbed both of Gold's hands, twisted them behind his back. Then I slapped the cuffs on. "I must wonder, how deeply were you involved with your client's operations?"

I would have liked to see their faces change. Gold and the others suddenly got the idea that we really weren't the FBI, and things had taken a sudden turn. Well, they really had no concept of what would happen before they died.

The word "deeply" was the signal for the curare needles to go into all seven. It really is amazing stuff.

We called in the Huey (for our seven special guests) and the Chinook (for the guards and whatever we found searching the house), plus we radioed the crew on the Hercules to take off for their date with some Asian ladies. Li's mother was on board to help calm people down once the two guards got their taste of curare.

-

Chapter 43. Return To The Colony

Our guests were stacked uncomfortably in the Huey, it was a effort to breathe but I am sure they had time to think many things. Most of the thoughts were likely not bad enough, but we can hope they also did some reflection on how they got to this place.

I was concerned about the interrogation of the prisoners. Simple brutality did not result in maximum useful information, and we really wanted to squeeze some critical data out of these bastards in a short amount of time, before somebody else stole it. I would feel a lot better if we had twice as many people who were trained.

As we flew into the Colony, I saw whipping stocks were being set up. For my grandfathers, old habits are hard to break.

In movies depicting England or New England you have probably seen stocks used to hold minor criminals and vandals in some public place, on display as punishment for their act. Those had a certain element of comfort and ease of use, since the primary punishment was exposure to public humiliation and shame.

The Colony went another way, have you heard of the Spanish Inquisition? Let's just say that we had a history of punishment as public entertainment. Our stocks held the ankles in place with shaped wood pieces. Then we used a simple pipe crosswise under the chin, and a chain around the neck to keep the head in place. Adjustable locking cuffs were welded to the chin-level pipe. It was uncomfortable to even look at. Wooden panels stood between each prisoner, so they could not see each other. Not knowing who was alive, injured, dead or escaped contributed to a feeling of isolation, which was so useful. Prisoners would be brought to the stocks bagged and fitted with headphones that played music too load to think.

The stocks were terrible punishment for holding prisoners in the sun for a time. The greater problem was that my grandfathers wanted a crowd gathered to watch, and what they would watch was a brutal whipping with real fucking bullwhips. The Patron found it hard to let go of some of old traditions, but this was contrary to modern methods in so many ways. The shock of a real bullwhip could kill somebody.

I said repeatedly, "I cannot waterboard a dead person."

There were about two dozen stocks set up in an arc facing a hill forming a natural outdoor theater large enough for the Colony and the Tribe. We had the Five plus the couple, a total of 12 guards, and at least one spy among the Chinese, so there were a couple of extras. Well, better to have too many than too few. Still, with that many the odds of somebody having a heart attack from the whipping were dangerously high, these were not heart-healthy specimens.

"For anybody who dies, it means some of their wealth might escape us," I told my grandfathers repeatedly in emails. But I could not dissuade the pair from their public chastisement of the Five using bullwhips.

I did convince them to delay the exercise until Monday afternoon, so I could get some clean facts first. "Could I at least get names for everyone? Plus, we can get more of our people back." They bought that last argument, Monday it was.

-

It was important that no prisoner had any contact with any other prisoner unless it provided a clear benefit. My guys stuck to the program. As soon as the Huey set down, before the drug wore off, I had everybody photographed, then bagged and the cuffs moved to their backs. Then they were moved in wheelbarrows to a set of windowless one-person shacks that were their new last homes. At the shacks all clothes were removed, cut from their bodies, even the woman. People would not think of escaping naked so they would focus on clothing, which was a waste of time. Once they were secure I was ready for the next arrival. That would be the C-130 Hercules with the Chinese female spy and last two guards for me. Plus Chin and the released captives.

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Chapter 44. The Chinese Girls

Before Dawn, Sunday August 17, 2008

A Pier at Salaverry, Peru

Right on time, a member of the Cousins watching the Five's ship "Cinco Alono Medicale" saw two drug company heavy trucks pull up to the pier. It was still dark, but he had night vision equipment. As soon as the trucks were in place, girls were marched down the gangplank and loaded onto the trucks using steps. In the dark, human nature is to move toward the light, so the girls were easy to direct with dim lights on the plank and the steps. The operation was quick, and in the dark nobody was watching as the human cargo entered Peru.

They were chained together with waist chains in four groups of 11 each, plus they were cuffed. Interestingly, there was a man included in one of the groups. They were not bagged but they had tape across their mouths and were dressed in super cheap paper jumpsuits. Each chain of girls was directed by a member of the crew waving a pistol. There were two guards from the Five giving directions, they held M-1 carbines that were probably five or six decades old. Relics of D-Day, Korea and VietNam, a lot of these guns went to Latin American militaries.

Once they were loaded one guards rode in the back of each truck, and one crew member rode in the cab of each truck. By the time the trucks cleared the dock and got on the coastline road the sun was up, which told us that these guys had the timing down. Early on a Sunday the roads were pretty empty, any car following the trucks would be easily spotted. A Cousin launched what looked like an RC aircraft, it was set up with a TV camera and a much longer range than usual. The Cousin's ship sailed north, parallel to the coastline at 30 knots. The trucks were pulling away but not much, the RC plane followed and watched.

As the trucks got close to the airport a van passed them. Inside the van a man, an indian with a crossbow fired through an open window into the canvas cover on the back of each of the trucks. The bolt was designed to stick in the canvas and was fitted with a small microphone and transmitter. I got the tape later.

A few minutes before the trucks entered the airport, the guard in the lead truck got a phone call. The caller identified himself as "Juan" at the charter aircraft company. He said that there was a mechanical problem with the Caribou that had been chartered. He understood the cargo was time sensitive so another, larger plane had been dispatched. The replacement would be a little late. People "at the other end" had also been contacted. The guard acknowledged the call.

The trucks pulled up on the freight area in the airport where they were supposed to, on time. Without a plane handy there was a conference held between the guards and the truck drivers. They met between the trucks so the microphones picked up every word.

The delay and the change of planes was explained. Their schedule was pushed back, but that just meant overtime to the drivers so they were fine with it.

Obviously the girls had to stay in the trucks.

One of the guards had expressed concern, because putting 44 girls in the Caribou would be tight. Now he wondered about any other type of plane landing at the house in Troma, he was not sure any larger plane could land on the relatively short driveway. The Caribou was designed for suck things. He was told not to worry, they were not pilots. The guy didn't give up, he said if the pilot landed at the airstrip it was a three-mile walk for the girls in no shoes, as well as for them. There was no answer.

The other guard was more concerned about the unfamiliar crew of the substitute airplane, not everybody co-operated when the cargo was a bunch of chained young Chinese girls, without documents, guarded by 2 guys with rifles. Nosey flight crews seemed to think they could give advice about such things. On the other hand, sometimes the aircrew wanted to take a girl into the cockpit, to "try out" the cargo for entertainment.

In either case, one of the guards said that they were the guys with the rifles so they made the rules. The other guard agreed. Both guards agreed that shooting the pilot was probably a bad idea, something to keep in mind.

Both the guards and the truck drivers agreed that the current inventory at the brothels was in bad shape, "past the expiration date." One of the guards said, "I almost considered going someplace else and paying for it last night. But business was slow so I snagged a second girl and used her tits to keep my eyes covered. We worked things out."

During the wait there were the usual problems with the girls wanting water or needing a bathroom, the guards just told them to let it go and keep quiet. Their paper jumpsuits would be trash soon enough, and there would be showers before the fun began. This did not make the girls feel better.

Finally the Hercules arrived, when it landed at the airfield there was a phone call to the guard that this was their plane. The trucks were repositioned and some canvas was used so the girls went directly down some stairs onto the aircraft's rear ramp without anybody else seeing. In short order the girls were transferred. As soon as the girls were unloaded the truck drivers left, taking the two sailors back to the ship. The two guards stayed with the girls.

The plane loadmaster insisted that everybody be seated, with a seatbelt, for takeoff. No comment was made about the guns or the chains or the tape. One guard sat in the back of the plane, the other sat up front next to the cabin door.

As the ramp started to close one of the Chinese captives made a fuss. Her hands were suddenly free of the cuffs, she had the tape off, and she gave an order, in Spanish with a local accent, for one of the guards to unchain her waist "NOW."