Fuller
Part 40
Romeo and Taco briefly crouched down and set their NVGs in a bush next to them and quietly placed their M-4s on the ground. Both men stood straighter and stood perfectly still with their hands in the air as Border Patrol agents came charging in from the area surrounding them and started yelling ‘Policia’ and then demanding that everyone raise their hands and surrender in rapid Spanish. A majority of the group of suspected illegal’s were very young so to no one’s surprise they ignored the orders from the BP agents and scattered running as fast as their legs would take hoping some of them would escape. Escape meant being able to support their families and have the chance to improve their lives. And as the group disbursed they might have thought that escape was possible until ‘Omaha’ the Border Patrol’s Office of Air and Marine Helicopter swooped in from its stand-off position to render assistance to the agents on the ground and help track down any suspected illegal’s that might slip through the net the agents had surrounding the immediate area. Romeo and Taco were mildly surprised when they heard an agent come over the hill behind them and go running toward the scattering group.
Both men had lowered their hands briefly taking the scene in and quickly raised their hands above their head in surrender as they heard agents behind them and shouted “friendly” as two agents ran past them chasing their elusive targets. Even outnumbered 3 to 1 the agents were quickly detaining members of the group and seemed to have the situation under control. After the group broke up the agents were seen and heard running in every possible direction. Off to the left of Romeo and Taco heard what sounded like a scuffle and heard something hard hit human flesh. An audible groan was heard and the sound of a rocks being moved around told the men that the suspected illegal had been detained after hitting the ground hard.
Out of the mass of movement both men noticed that one of the suspected Coyotes that had originally started running directly away from them had now circled around and was heading straight toward them through the pile of blankets the group had abandoned when they had all bolted. Romeo took one step and stuck a foot out and both operators watched as the man slid across the ground churning up dust and gravel. Instantly Romeo had a pair if flex cuffs pulled from his jacket and was restraining the man while the suspected Coyote cussed at him in Spanish. It was then that Taco noticed that an agent was heading toward them at a run and he didn’t look very friendly or amused that someone had interfered with his capture.
Both men raised their hands and started speaking to the agent so that he would realize that they had radioed the call into Border Patrol. “We radioed the call into your office through the Fuller ranch.”
By this time the agent was standing 20 feet in front of them with his hand on his sidearm and shining his impossibly bright flashlight in their eyes destroying their night vision and forcing them to shield their eyes with their hands.
“Get your hands up.” The men could detect the hostility in the agent’s voice and complied with the order.
Romeo addressed the agent. “Sir, do you mind shining that spotlight on the ground so that we can see? Dam thing is blinding.”
The agent had closed the distance and was now within 15 feet of where they stood. “It’s supposed to be blinding. Now get those hands up.”
Reluctantly they moved their hands above their head and scrunched their eyes hoping to avoid any further discomfort from the intense light. Romeo moved his head to the side thinking maybe the light assaulting just one of his eyes would be preferable. Both men felt it as the light was moved toward the ground and the reflection was being used to keep an eye on them. Cautiously they opened their eyes and waited for them to adjust. In the silence they saw their friend the Border Patrol agent staring at them.
He leaned forward keeping his eyes on them the whole time only sneaking a quick look at the coyote on the ground to insure he was breathing and somewhat uninjured. “Names?” He barked. “What are your names?”
“Taco and Romeo. We’re keeping an eye on the Fuller place while he’s out of town.” replied Taco as he noticed the agent now had his firearm out and pointing at the ground.
The agent looked at them suspiciously but his level of excitement had abated and he appeared calmer than he had been moments earlier. He must be feeling better about them because he now moved the flashlight to the side a few more feet. “I don’t know who Fuller is?”
Romeo replied. “You’re on his land right now. We’ve been keeping an eye out for any crossers looking to avoid the internal checkpoint. They tear the place up and he wants them reported to you to see if you can do anything about rounding them up and keeping the damage to a minimum.”
Now the agent was letting his co-workers do the chasing while he rested and kept an eye on the suspected coyote who was just another possible illegal crosser to him. Around them and out into the desert the men could all hear the yelling of the Border Patrol agents communicating with each other and the breathless radio transmissions reporting positions and requesting assistance or giving a tally of the individuals they had in custody. Overhead the spotlight from ‘Omaha’ swung back and forth looking for suspected illegal’s that had escaped the dragnet so far. The agent moved his flashlight around the area the men had been working away from and the light stopped on the M-4s laying near them. “Keep your hands in the air boys and we’ll all be fine.”
He reached for his radio on his shoulder and mumbled into it. He finished his cryptic conversation over the radio and spoke to the men again. “Let’s just stay cool and we’ll all live to see morning.”
Taco replied. “Sir, those are our weapons and are legal in this State. We are on private property and are no threat to you or your co-workers. If you are not familiar with the situation here I’d appreciate it if called in to your dispatcher to confirm we are who we say we are.”
The agent responded. “Gentleman you may be here legally but at this point my mandate is to detain anyone that may be linked to Cartel activity. And from all the illegal’s running around here I’d guess that this is indeed Cartel activity.”
Romeo was getting a tad testy and didn’t appreciate being harassed in a place he was supposed to be. When he spoke irritation could be heard in his response. “I should notify you that we are both wearing side arms and have permits to carry concealed.” Romeo left out the part about the carry permits being legal state issued permits issued to them under false names. The hope was that that nobody would ever look at the permits too closely. If everything went the way it was supposed then they’d never have to show them to anyone. That was clearer not the case here and both men realized that they would likely be forced to burn one of their false IDs.
Romeo heard the agent coming from behind them. He and Taco had been so worried about dealing with the agent in front of them that they had temporarily lost their situational awareness. Romeo also heard the sound of someone running through the brush behind them and wished he was back at the ranch drinking decaf coffee and telling war stories. He thought that the slow and quiet movement meant that the person behind them was another Border Patrol agent coming to help disarm them.
The original agent spoke to them. “Gentleman for everyone’s protection we’re going to restrain you. Let’s do this nice and we can get everything sorted out quickly and safely. Taco I’ll ask you to take 2 steps to your right.”
Taco moved two steps to his right and that movement meant he was now directly in front Romeo. Taco was vaguely Hispanic looking if that meant he was as Hispanic looking as a member of the Swedish Bikini Team. Romeo clearly had European heritage that precluded him from being mistaken for anything resembling the common complexion of anyone that hailed from Mexico or parts south. Romeo’s bright red hair was a dead giveaway. Both Romeo and Taco had spoken with the stylist that consulted with STAG team members a few days earlier and she recommended Romeo dye his red hair black, have it cut in a style that was common south of the border and that both men start applying self tanner over their entire body twice a day until they looked more Hispanic.
The agent behind them now directed their movement since the first agent had essentially stacked the two STAG men on top of each other creating a safety issue. “The other Taco, take two steps to the right.”
Now the man stepping to his right was not amused. “Romeo, everyone calls me Romeo.” As he moved he tapped the small button on the side of his ear bud opening the channel. “Romeo to base. You better contact the boss ASAP. BP seems to think we are part of this and we are being detained.”
The coyote on the ground at their feet looked up at what was happening from a few feet away and remained perfectly still and dead silent hoping that in the confusion they might forget about him allowing him to flee south back to Mexico. Every member of the group had already paid their money to the Cartel who collected prior to trip and didn’t offer refunds or discounts on the next attempted crossing. But what the Cartel did was take a grimm view of their experienced and trusted guides being detained. More than a few guides had been killed inside the US system awaiting deportation or while serving sentences in the US Federal prison system. Mostly the guides were killed to prevent them from sharing information that would be harmful to the Cartel’s business.
“Copy Romeo. I’ll notify the boss and let him know we have a problem. Do we have a name?”
Taco glanced at the agent that had used his flashlight as a weapon. His eyes were not working correctly but he was still able to read the name of the man’s tag and responded. “Anderson with an O, first initial is L.”
“Who the hell are you talking to?” Asked the agent behind them.
Romeo was concerned that this was devolving into a bad situation. “Sir, we informed your co-worker that we observed this group of suspected illegal’s trespassing on the property and the ranch called your office. If you have any questions concerning what we observed we’d be happy to relay that information to you. Any other questions will require the presence of our lawyer.”
“Anderson, get hand cuffs on these smartasses, take their weapons and get that man off the ground and situated with the others. Then read these two their rights and transport them in your vehicle back to the station.”
“Yes sir.”
Anderson professionally cuffed the two men and relived them of their sidearm’s. Anderson with an o then proceeded to remove a hideout revolver from both men, a total of 4 folders, 2 flashlights and 6 magazines for their assorted firearms. Despite the offer to report what they had observed neither agent asked what Taco and Romeo had seen before they arrived on the scene? Both agents seemed to be surprised that the two STAG men carried more weapons on their person then either of them did. That observation and the surprise of it all didn’t manifest itself in questions about gear from the two agents but rather hostile looks like the criminals that they had been send to arrest were Romeo and Taco and not the people violating the US’s borders.
Taco spoke up having been a little more annoyed than Romeo. “Gentleman. Sir, I’ll need a receipt for the items that you have removed from my person. Our primary sidearm’s and two of the knives were quite expensive. That part of our gear was purchased by our employer and we are personally accountable for it if it should be lost, damaged or stolen.”
The agent behind them replied to the polite request. “You’ll get a copy of your personal processions when we get back to the station.”
Taco replied. “Thank you sir. We appreciate your understanding and professionalism. If you could insure that the weapons are not allowed to rub or bang against one another during transport that would be helpful and very much appreciated.”
Back at the ranch the man on the radio was on his phone trying to reach Grimm and having no success. He wasn’t aware of it but Grimm was in a small airplane between Juarez and the interrogation facility off the coast of Belize. After repeated attempts he gave up and called the emergency contact number every STAG team member had committed to memory.”
Off the coast of Belize
Dark Voice saw the keypad of the encrypted satellite phone light up before the ringer had sounded and answered before it had made a sound. “Go for Dark Voice.”
The man in Texas paused a second before speaking. “Sir, two of our people Romeo and Taco have been detained in Texas on the ranch property near El Paso by Border Patrol. I was unable to contact Grimm and was told this is the emergency number to call if he is unreachable. How to you want me to proceed?”
Dark Voice felt bile in his throat. Having members of STAG taken into US custody was less than ideal. “Any names for me?”
“Yes sir. One of the Border Patrol agents was Anderson, L. Anderson with an o.”
Dark Voice asked an important question. If they were in contact with the operatives then they had more options than if radio contact had been lost. “Are we still in radio contact with our people?”
“Affirmative sir. One of our people opened up the channel and I can hear everything that is being said. I’m recording the incident and the other operative can receive me.”
Dark Voice quickly pondered his responses possibly dangerous crisis. “Stay at this number and I’ll be back to your directly.”
Dark Voice scrolled thru his encrypted cell phone and found the number he was looking for he dialed the number waited while someone groped around in the dark and answered the phone.
“Simmons.”
“Simmons my name is unimportant but what is important to you is that we have a problem that threatens National Security. One of your people named Anderson with an o, first initial L just detained two of my people on private property outside El Paso. It is imperative that those men are released without being fingerprinted or photographed. As it is any of your people that have seen my guys are going to need to be transferred for a minimum of 90 days.”
Simmons who oversaw the Border Patrol’s effort over 300 miles of International Border had been woken from a nice dream of fishing off his own sport fishing boat somewhere in the Florida Keys and was not impressed. “So let me see if I have this correct. You wake me in the middle of the night and don’t tell me who you are or who you work for and yet I should release two of your people on your say so? You claim National Security is at stake and expect me to just fulfill your request and yet I’m not given any information that could help me justify such an action. Is that about it because for all I know this could be the Cartel playing games with me?”
Simmons paused and Dark Voice waited for the next sentence impatiently.
Simmons continued. “Sorry buddy. If we got a SNAFU then you need to go through channels like everybody else. In case you didn’t realize it the Cartel has been killing and maiming people near the border because they’re pissed we seized some of their precious dope or detained too many crossers. If my people pulled your people in then they have reason to suspect that they should be detained.”
Now Dark Voice was getting almost anxious. “Simmons my people were detained from private property and were not in procession of any illegal substance and did nothing wrong expect call your people to do their job. More than a few agencies have people working the crisis around El Paso and not everyone is able to tell you anytime we sent people in to do a job. While I know that it’s annoying as all hell we have jobs to do and my people are trying to make it safer for your people to do theirs. So if you want to insure that you’re personally blamed for the next bombing or assassination then keep it up and I’ll make your dreams come true. I’ll repeat this one more time because we are approaching the point that my people will be unable to continue their work since you will have brought them into one of your facilities. And let me be clear, if I have to make another phone call or we lose these UCs you’re in a hell of a lot of trouble.”
All Dark Voice heard in response was an empty dial tone indicating that he had been hung up on. Dark Voice calmly hit the button to terminate the call and dialed another number from his records.
“MC White Sands. Please state authorization code.”
Dark voice recited the authorization code from memory. Otter 2424. Code phrase- Kitchen Sink. I’m requesting a Border Patrol liaison.”
“Otter 2424 code phrase acknowledged. Reply is 9 Ball. Hold for your liaison,”
The phone rang three times before someone picked-up at the temporary Homeland Security MegaCenter located on the White Sands test facility in southern New Mexico. “Border Patrol, Gomez speaking.”
Dark Voice smiled. “White sands this is Otter 2424. I have a problem that needs your delicate touch. I tried a middle management type but didn’t have any luck.”
The temporary Homeland Security MegaCenter had been located in a non-descript building that had once been used by NASA to track rockets. That was long ago and to bring the building back up to a useable condition it had recently undergone a complete asbestos abatement and been updated with all the communications capabilities that were required to cope with the demand of its new duties. Now Dark Voice’s contact at the MegaCenter chuckled. “That’s us. As gentle as a Swedish massage given by ex-East German female weight lifters taking performance enhancing drugs with a yeast infection. Who’s the problem? What do you need done and how do you want the agents and the middle manager dealt with”
“Two of my people were detained by BP on private property outside El Paso after calling in suspicious activity around an internal checkpoint and in the bust were they themselves were detained. These are undercover operatives and must not be fingerprinted, photographed and their weapon cannot be run through any database. Anyone that saw their face will be need to be transferred at least 200 miles away for 120 days or until I personally OK their return. And time is crucial at this point.”
Gomez could be heard typing on the computer in front of him. “Names of operatives?”
Dark Voice looked at his watch as he gave the information. “Romeo and Taco. Neither man will be carrying ID. The agent that detained them is named Anderson with an o, first initial L. The middle manager is named Simmons and he is some sort of area coordinator or area supervisor.
Gomez could be heard picking up another landline and dialing a number. “Supervisor Simmons. This is Gomez at White Sands sorry to wake you. Two important operatives called Romeo and Taco were detained by your people outside El Paso and we need them released immediately and their equipment returned to them. I was told that you declined to cooperate with an unknown caller who made this same request without authorization and now that you have been given clearance we need this fixed in the next few minutes.”
Dark Voice heard the BP man pause to listen to the response by the Supervisor.
“I’ll wait sir while you straighten this out and we appreciate your full cooperation in this sensitive matter.”
Dark voice pulled out his second phone and dialed the operations desk at Fuller’s ranch. He informed him that Romeo and Taco would be released in matter of minutes and to get the information they’d need to have a few people re-assigned.
Fuller Ranch
Romeo and Taco cringed each and every time they heard their weapons being banged into each other or bouncing off the man from Border Patrol’s duty belt. They had taken the time to insure that their weapons were not only good shooters but reliable as well and now some ham fisted moron was treating them like they were toys and not the important tools the men used to get their jobs done. After the brief trip once they were freed both men were required to re-zero their weapons and put 300 rounds through them to insure their accuracy and reliability was within acceptable standards. A barrel only had so many round of use until it would need to be replaced and then the process started over again. This system of double and triple checking the effectiveness of their equipment made sure that they were carrying the best equipment available. And in their line of work equipment could and often was the difference between life and death or serious injury.
The link was still open. “Base to Taco. You should be released in a few minutes. We’ll need the names of anyone that saw your face so they can be re-assigned for a few months.”
Taco leaned over toward Romeo as they walked and spoke toward his ear. “Roger” Since Taco had been cuffed he was unable to transmit on his own and had to use Romeo’s open channel.
Anderson looked at the men from where he had been walking beside them. What the hell are you talking about?” He huffed as he said it and it was apparent that he was annoyed at the two men.
Romeo replied. “Nothing sir. Nice night for a walk. It must be exciting doing your job. From what I hear it sounds like the Cartels have you guys working overtime trying to keep them on their side of the Border.”
They reached the SUV that the agent had driven the back roads to get to the bust his radio must have received something because he stopped walking and spoke to Romeo and Taco. “Hey guys we need to hold up for a second.” He then concentrated on what he was hearing. “Whiskey Hotel 22 to base, copy.” The agent paused.
As Anderson with an O paused to use his radio it was now that Romeo saw that the agent’s uniform patch was different from the uniforms they had been briefed on before their assignment on Fuller’s Ranch. The green uniform was the same as standard Border Patrol but the patch was different than what they had been shown in the Intel package they were required to read before their assignment. The briefing had mentioned that the Border Patrol was trying to see if some of their duties could be effectively be done by contract security while the crisis was taking place. Even pulling agents from other sectors they were short of what they needed and Romeo now understood that they had been detained by essentially a rent-a-cop and not a Federal Agent in performance of his duties. He was a tad put out at being detained and having to listen to his weapons be banged around like sack full of hammers.
Romeo turned to Taco while Anderson was listening to his conversation over the radio. Taco, he’s contract security and not actually a Border Patrol agent.”
The men were interrupted by the conversation taking place between Anderson with an O and his dispatcher. “Release them? Say again base.” Anderson with an O noticed the men looking at him and canted his body slightly away from them for more privacy.
Taco slid the cuffs off his stood there holding them waiting for Anderson with an O to finish his conversation.
Beside him Romeo did the same while the two men waited on their captor to finish up.
“OK, OK I understand and will release them immediately. After that I am to return to base and go home for the night. Whiskey Hotel 22 out.”
The man turned to see both Romeo and Taco holding their cuffs in their hand. “What the hell is going on? I was just told to release both of you and have been suspended pending review.”
Romeo spoke to the confused Federal Agent wanna-be. “Our weapons please. You better hope like hell you didn’t scratch anything.”
The agent paled slightly in the diffused light of his flashlight’s beam bouncing off the trucks side. He hadn’t expected to be threatened by detainees he thought were US citizens, well maybe criminals would be as brazen as to threaten him but that was what criminals often did as they tried to place the blame for the actions on the heads of the authorities and not take responsibility themselves. “I was just doing my job. We have a real problem down here and we were told to arrest anyone suspicious.” He handed the AR-15s over his shoulders to Romeo as he was speaking. The glorified security guard was now taking off his backpack to retrieve their other weapons, magazines and assortment of knives and handed the items over as the men examined them and put them in their proper place.
Taco was talking to base through his headset and confirmed they had been released. He was told that they were not to cause any noticeable injuries. He signed off thinking that maybe his interpretation of noticeable injuries and the big boss’s might differ slightly.
With their processions all tucked away Romeo pivoted slightly and send a wicked shot into Anderson’s with an O side above his duty belt. The vest absorbed some of the energy and still Anderson with an O was knocked off balance and bounced off the side of his SUV before falling to the ground. Anderson with an o was breathing hard and trying to catch his breath. “What the hell was that for?”
Romeo smiled in the dim light. “For being stupid. First of all we should never have been detained. We were on private property at the request of the owner and posed no danger to you or the others. If you had doubts you should have called the landowner to confirm we had permission to be there and he would have vouched for us. Second of all we asked nicely that you treat our weapons carefully which you failed to do. Between cleaning everything and confirming nothing was damaged while it was in your procession we’ll lose 3 hours we don’t have to spare. And thirdly no man points a gun at me and walks away without remembering that he should fear me. Consider yourself lucky, we were told that we are supposed to take it easy on you so I just thought I’d offer a love tap to show there are no hard feelings. I’d guess by the time this is over you’ll be updating your resume.”
Taco chimed in. “Now get in your vehicle and get to the station like you were told. We’ll find our own way home.”
The man turned and started to say something as Romeo again drove a fist into his side in exactly the same place. Again he staggered and fell to the ground but this time he reached for his weapon and almost touched before the man above him spoke.
Taco had pulled his sidearm and had it pointing at the man. “Another ¼ inch I shoot you where you lay. You already might have gotten us fired. I could shoot you and be out of Texas before the coroner showed up. Stand up slowly. Don’t touch your weapon and we all go home… Isn’t that how you put it?”
The man looked up to them. “Permission to stand?”
“Granted.”
As he stood Romeo pulled Anderson with an o’s pistol out of his holster and removed the spare magazines on his duty belt. He dropped the magazine on the weapon, cleared it and tossed it into the brush along with the two spare magazines from the duty belt.
Anger was etched on Anderson with an O’s face as he stared at Romeo and Taco. He was getting smarter and was out of reach of Romeo’s painful jabs. “This isn’t over.”
Taco replied “Anderson, you need to realize that it was over before it started. You had no right to detain us and we could have slipped the cuffs and killed you at anytime. Go, while you still might be able to salvage your job. If we ever see you again it would be bad, very bad. Now go.”
Anderson moved toward the driver’s door of the big SUV and jumped in like his butt was on fire and he needed to find water. He immediately started the engine and took off leaving Romeo and Taco in a cloud of dust as the SUV spit rocks from rear tires.
Over the course of their careers both men had found occasionally that shaming a man or woman even in private made an enemy of them and a small percentage of them would seek revenge so both men hoped that Anderson with in o would be transferred out of the area until the men were needed by Grimm in Juarez.
With Anderson with an o safety moving off down the road they quickly pulled out a cell phone and found their position and started moving toward where all the crossers had been detained. When the group had scattered and they had understood that they had been seen they had set their expensive NVGs in a bush and they needed to retrieve the expensive piece of equipment before heading back. With a new job it always was good not to come back from a simple mission missing thousands of dollars worth of gear.
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