Tank's Revenge Ch. 01

The captain looks at the task force lead, then back at Robbins. "Bobby, I see what you are saying, but I don't understand what you are saying."

"Captain, whomever killed the gang members is killing them because of the agent and his family. The precision and know how is too unique. I believe we have a killer motivated by vengeance, and not territory. I know this because I was trained the same way, and I can tell a military operation when I see one." Robbins looks over at his captain, "We need to talk to the feds and invite them on this case."

The captain looked over at the task force then back at Robbins. "Ok Bobby, I want you to make the call. If they come then I know they feel the same way, if not then I want you to investigate the way your team lead tells you too. Got it!" Detective Robbins smiled and nodded his head, as the captain walked out of the conference room.

************

October 3rd, 2018

Mark sat in his room at the Motel Campo Real in Ciudad Juarez Mexico waiting for the two gentlemen that wanted to speak to him in person. One was Mario Sanchez, Maria's uncle, and the other he wasn't told about. The past month had been different for Mark, as he was able to feel the pain again like before, when he was on Bravo Team. His purpose and meaning in life were to rid the world of the cartel and all the gangs he influenced, or at least cripple them. His end game of course was to take down Chavez Tejada himself., and he needed intel to help him with that.

A shadow across the window made his head jerk toward the door, as his hand cradled his .40 caliber. A knock, then three knocks in succession, the code for Mario had finally arrived. To be sure Mark already took measures to avoid any surprises as he sent them to the room next door, renting two rooms instead of one. He looked out his window and noticed Mario, and a very attractive woman dressed in black with dark sunglasses on her face. He opened the door and called out to Mario to come in, and as they both looked at each other, they hurried to the room and walked in.

"Amigo, why the cat and mouse games? You do not trust me?" Mario asked him as Mark sat on the edge of the bed, motioning for the other two to the chair's opposite of him.

"I trust you, just not anyone else, and you were being so secretive about who I was meeting. I couldn't take a chance." He stuck out his hand to Mario, "Accept my apology?"

"No apology needed amigo; I understand." Taking Marks hand, shaking it, then extending his hand over to the woman beside him. "Let me introduce you to my employer, Mrs. Luisa Espinoza."

Mark nodded at her as they shook hands as well. "Mario tells me that my intel about your family proved to be valuable yes?" Mark nodded at her. "Very well, a man with few words. The reason I asked for this meeting was to give you some info that could cripple the drug and traffic trade for the entire Tejada cartel."

Mark's eyebrows raised, "I'm all ears my lady."

She continued with a small smile. "My bastard husband oversees Chavez's sex trafficking. While the drugs have been smuggled through means like produce trucks, and even Americans smuggling them, Chavez needed another way to ensure safety for the drugs to cross. He is using the same way my husband is using for the girls."

Mark looked at her with eyes that looked like daggers. Could this be true, did she despise her husband enough to betray him, or was this a trap and Mario unaware about it. "I know you might have doubts and wonder why I would give you information that would jeopardize my own husband. Let me explain please." She took Mario's hand in hers as she continued to talk. "I am in love with Mario and have been for years. My husband will never let me go; he'd kill me first. I despise what he does with these girls, and I despise him even trying to touch me. I really don't care what you do to him."

Finally, Mark spoke, "Ok Mrs. Espinoza, what are the routines, the routes, where are the tunnels? I don't mind doing this because it kills two birds with one stone. I just need the logistics of what I am walking into. What your marital issues might be is between you and him."

She was very responsive and opened an attaché case pulling out maps and documents. She pointed out the warehouses in the city as well as the points for the tunnels along the border. She went as far to show him where her husband would be at certain days and times, she was very adamant she wanted him gone out of the picture and soon. She then pulled out a large sum of money and pushed it toward Mark on his nightstand, looking like a half million in U.S. currency.

"I pay upfront for my contracts Mr. Lawson, so I want it done correctly and swiftly. I want to not only hear about it, but I want to see and read about it in the news. Do you understand sir?" Now it was her that had the eyes of steel looking through his soul waiting for an answer.

"I completely understand and will get to work immediately ma'am." She and Mario stood, as she walked toward the door Mario shook his hand and as fast as they came in, they left. Mark started going through the documents and maps, and noticing they were smuggling over two hundred girls a month across the border one way or the other just in one tunnel. They were also smuggling up to three hundred tons of pure cocaine and heroin through the same tunnel. He knew he needed some help on this operation, someone with knowledge about explosives. He picked up the phone, knowing exactly who he was going to call. As the phone rang, Mark smiled as the voice said hello after the third ring.

*************

Two days later, Mark met two of his former teammates: Patton and Justin English. Justin had been the explosives expert of Bravo team for many years, even before Patton or Mark had arrived. He recently retired from the military and was currently living in Montana. He had no hesitation to help as many of the guys owed Tank for looking out for them as overwatch. For Patton, this hadn't been the first time he had helped Mark in these types of "missions." He was at the first one and the last two, making sure his friend was fully prepared and played as his lookout this time.

After the pleasantries of reuniting, Mark started going over his plans for hitting the tunnels and warehouses that he had targeted. Justin pointed out taking out all the tunnels simultaneous would be the easiest, most efficient way and could be done remotely with a computer or cell phone. He had smuggled enough C4 across the border to take a small town to the ground. As Justin calculated how much he would need for each tunnel and started to build the explosives, Patton and Mark started to plan the raids on the warehouse.

The plan was to attack the tunnels at night, and the warehouses during the early mornings. They knew of one warehouse that was housing the girls, and that was the one that would be taken down first. Mark didn't want the cartel to get their hands on them any longer than necessary. His thoughts kept flashing images of his daughters and wife's mangled bodies lying there on their beds. The pain of the memories turned to determination for him, as before with the memories of his father's death. He only wanted to turn the pain he felt into something good again.

The next day, Justin, Mark, and Patton went to the desert toward the border. They were able to find three of the four tunnels easily and dug 20 meters down until they hit the top of the tunnel ceiling. Justin would then put two 10-pound C-4 charges on both sides of the hole. They would cover the hole they dug with pallets so nobody would see from the air or fall into it by accident.

The last tunnel was harder to find, but eventually was spotted still being in use at the time. Knowing they wouldn't be able to dig and take it by surprise, Mark turned to Justin and instructed him to detonate the charges placed at the other tunnels. The closest one was about 2 miles away, and when it exploded, you could see the flash and hear the thunder echo throughout the land. The explosion alerted the men working around the last tunnel, and more than half jumped into their SUV's and headed toward the ball of flames in the distant.

That is when the three former Bravo teammates went into action, stealthily taking down one by one until nobody but them were standing. Justin went as far in the tunnel as he could and strapped the 2 charges to the walls. As they climbed the hill back toward Mark's Suburban, Justin hit the switch while the ground beneath them shook. As they drove away, Mark looked in the mirror behind him and all he could see was flat land with what looked like a mile-wide ditch. The tunnels were destroyed, and he knew the next step would be a little more challenging, but deep down inside, he wanted them to feel the same exact pain he had been feeling.

At the warehouse during the early morning hours, everything was quiet. Mark had counted only five guards outside, and their patterns were very simple, so taking them out would be easy without raising any alarms. In the distance he could see the sun starting to crest just over the horizon, and he knew it was now or they would never have a chance at saving these girls. It was still dark enough they could use their night vision, so the plan was to take out the guards, then take out the power.

The first part of the plan was executed flawlessly, and as soon as the lights went out, the three breeched the side door, then split up looking for where the girls were being kept. Equipped with the Ar15's with silencers, the job would be much easier, and quiet to not raise alarm hopefully. As Mark went up the stairs to the third floor, he noticed in his goggles two men in the doorways of the rooms ahead. They had their guns pointed at him but couldn't see for the darkness. With the ease of a sniper he cradled the trigger, squeezing it gently like he was touching his wife and the head of the one on the right exploded. As the one on the left looked over to investigate, his left temple exploded out of his right side of his head. Both dropped less than 3 seconds.

Mark kept walking in a crouch position going room to room, until he came to the last two rooms. He heard some men talking in the one on the right, and nothing on the left. Knowing they were most likely armed and in waiting, he waited. Around that time, Justin and Patton started some fireworks of their own on the two floors below. That's when the door swung open and the men started to file out, with Mark opening fire taking all but one down. He swung his Ar15 over around onto his back and drew his .40 caliber. He found a rock, picking it up he tossed it and the man inside the room fired three shots at where the rock landed giving his position away. Mark rolled into the doorway and took the shot hitting the man in his right chest area.

Mark walked over to the man who was still alive but breathing raggedly. He was coughing blood, and Mark knew under these circumstances, he didn't have much time. Mark crouched down beside the man, "It's not looking good for you Amigo. Where are the girls? Maybe I will call help for you?" The man started to laugh but coughed up more blood. His sneer and wild eyes told Mark he would not be getting any information from him any time soon. Kicking the weapons away from the dying man, he left him to drown in his own fluids as he went back into the hallway to investigate the remaining room.

He listened at the door, still not hearing anything. He touched the handle, and it turned slightly, so it wasn't locked. He kicked the door then rolled into the room with his gun raised, checking behind the door first. There wasn't anyone in the room, but he had a feeling he was missing something. He looked around the small room looking through the cabinets, and the makeshift bed, noticing someone had been restrained there not too long ago. Then he heard a noise coming from a door across the room, raising his handgun, Mark carefully walked over and opened the door.

He had the barrel of his gun pointed straight at their head. Looking back at him was a set of green wide scared eyes staring at him. The red hair looked a mess as it covered most of her back and chest area. She had her hands tied behind her and a gag in her mouth. She was dirty, and her clothes were tattered. He holstered his sidearm, taking his K-Bar out and cut the ropes off her wrists, and then took the gag out of her mouth. She was tensed and curled herself into a ball in the corner trying to get away from him.

"Relax, I'm here to take you home. They are all dead, do you understand?" Mark asked as methodically and cold as he had no emotion at this time.

She nodded her head but said nothing. He held his hand out and she reluctantly took it so he could pull her to her feet. She wasn't very tall, only about 5'2 and she really needed to put on some weight Mark thought. "Can you walk?" She shook her head no, so Mark asked her, "Is it all right if I carry you out? I promise I will not harm you." She nodded her head very slowly, watching every move he made.

When he joined the other two outside at the rendezvous point, Mark found that she was the only girl found in the building alive. Patton was very emotional as he found about fifteen girls all in different stages of death suffering from beatings or overdoses inflicted by the cartel. Justin and Patton told Mark they were on board for the remaining days of the mission, that they wanted to see it through. Mark was only interested in getting this young girl somewhere safe.

*********

October 10th, 2018

Detective Robbins walked into the Dallas office of the FBI. At the front desk, a security officer stood asking if he had an appointment, which he did not. He asked for Agent Dawson, and the officer called someone on the phone as Robbins showed his badge and ID to the officer. Five minutes had passed when a tall darker skin gentleman walked up to Robbins introducing himself as Agent Reynolds, Dawson's partner.

Reynolds hands were much larger than the detective's hands, as he was a former guard on the Texas Tech team just a few years ago. He stood very intimidating at 6'6. After the introductions Reynolds asked Robbins, "What could we help you with. Usually the department makes appointments for official business."

Robbins nods his head at Reynolds, "Sorry, but the need to see Agent Dawson is at the upmost importance, as it concerns her former partner Mark Lawson."

"Mark, what about Mark?" Reynolds asked.

Robbins wasn't sure who he could trust but decided he could trust Stella's partner. "I am looking into some recent violence in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and the violence I believe involves the deaths of Mark and his family. So....is Agent Dawson in, so I could ask her some questions?"

Reynolds acknowledged the detective and turned on his heels, "Come with me, she should be out of her meeting with the Assistant Director by now." They went to the elevators, to the sixth floor. As they stepped off, Robbins was directed to a room that weirdly looked cross between an interrogation room and conference room. Reynolds asked for him to sit, so Robbins did so without trouble for professional courtesy.

Stella walked in the room twenty minutes later holding two cups of coffee. She handed one to the detective and sat across from him. "So, you think Agent Lawson and his family's death is related to the recent gang violence happening in the cities?" Her eyes searched his to see what she could read from him.

Robbins was also studying her because everyone was a suspect to him. His sources in the DOD said that they knew someone in the DEA and the FBI were working with the cartels. They just had no idea who they were. Detective Robbins thought the crime against Lawson was because he was too close to the truth. "Well Agent Dawson, I have my suspicions because of your investigation into his family's deaths and then the violence did not start until after his death. It seems we have someone cleaning up after themselves or trying to get the gangs to wipe themselves out in a gang war."

"Detective, from our investigation we could not determine who was responsible with the deaths of the Lawson family. It was simply a home invasion gone bad. As for Agent Lawsons death, we believe it might have been a suicide as the gas line behind the stove was ripped out of the wall. With the body placed in front of the stove as it was, I believe he passed out from the fumes after ripping the lines from the wall. Plus, there wasn't enough left of the body to truly identify the remains. Please tell me why you believe our investigations are connected."

Robbins leaned forward putting his chin in one his hands, "Well Agent Dawson, from eyewitnesses on the day of the Lawsons murders, they reported to seen several young men dressed in gang colors running across the park around the time we believe the murders took place. Guess what? Those same colors were of the Sureno 13's and our first gang victims in this random violence spree."

Stella looked at the detective and smirked. "Is that all you have? Seriously, all of that is guess work. You want what from us?"

"I want your case files on the gangs that have been attacked, and also on the two investigations of Agent Lawson and his family." Reynolds said firmly but politely.

"So, you are on a fishing expedition, and want our help into your insane theory?" Stella challenged.

Robbins smiled this time, "Ma'am don't underestimate me. I might not be a part of the mighty FBI, but I have made cases stick with less. May I have the files, or do I need to get our superiors into this?"

"Just give me a minute, and I'll bring them to you. Let me go to my desk." She smiled at Robbins and walked out the door. As she walked around the corner and away from anyone else, she reached in her pocket for the cellphone she was given from her contact. She texted, 'We have a problem, meet me asap!'

After grabbing the files, she went back inside the room and handed them to Detective Robbins and shook his hand. "I hope this helps in your case, and if I can be of any more assistance, let me know." He nodded at her and quickly walked back to the elevators to get back to work. A new text came into her phone. 'Take care of it, or I take care of you.' She put the phone back in her pocket and shivered at the thought of what they would do to her and her family if she didn't cooperate with them knowing what she had to do.

******************

October 11th, 2018

Mark and Patton sat in the chairs across the room from where the young girl slept. They had to smuggle her across the border due to not having any papers for her, but at least they were back on American soil. Deming, New Mexico was far enough from the border that if someone was looking for them, they wouldn't find them there, and it was also far enough from any big cities not to be noticed.

She was eating much more than when they found her. The young girl had slept for what seemed like days and had been asleep for more than ten hours this time. Mark looked over at her and admired how she cleaned up. She reminded him of his daughter in a way, although she was much older than Alexandria had been. The young girl still had not talked to anyone but communicated by nods or wrote on paper.

Patton was getting up from the table, telling Mark he was heading down to the restaurant to get some food and to call his wife Sandra. Mark just nodded as he held his coffee cup in both of his hands taking a sip of the hot liquid. Justin had left to go back to Montana and asked Mark to give him a call if he needed any more help, and Mark was thankful for everything Justin had already done thus far. Mark put the cup down and put his head in his hands as he thought about the past few months.

His thoughts go even further to his family, and how he has taken the last images of them, turning them into a mission of sorts. To do the same to Chavez Tejada and anyone who would get in his way. He could feel his anger turn into the pain he felt since the deaths, not wanting to mourn until the job was done. He thought about Maria's soft kisses, and how he knew each curve and sensitive place on her body. He was feeling lost in his thoughts of the last time they were together, and how it seemed like the first time, their love making filled with passion, never losing intensity or intimacy.