Conquistador, page 24
“Why’s this taking so long?” Mitchell asked Julia.
“The young warriors don’t want to leave,” explained Julia. “They want to fight the outsiders.”
“That would be suicide. Bows and arrows versus automatic weapons can only end in slaughter. Has Cesy explained that to them?”
“Yes. But they’re not listening. They feel they should fight rather than run.”
“No one doubts their courage, but that will only get them so far against modern weapons.”
“Oh, looks like Cesy wants us to join her,” said Julia.
The villagers parted so they could walk to Cesy’s side. A young warrior held up his bow and said something. Right away, some of the man’s friends jumped to their feet and held their weapons aloft as well. The man stood tall, and had a proud air about him.
“He says he’s not afraid of you, or anyone else,” translated Julia.
“Tell him I salute his courage, but this isn’t a fight he can win.”
Cesy placed a hand on Julia’s shoulder and spoke to her.
Julia said, “Cesy would like you and Pyata to demonstrate to her your prowess with your weapons.”
Mitchell had to suppress a grin. Cesy had carefully laid a trap and the young man and walked right into it. Mitchell nodded and unslung his rifle. A couple of boys ran off and returned with a two large pineapples. They placed one a tree stump and moved off to the side.
“Please tell Pyata he has the honor of going first,” said Mitchell.
Julia passed on the message. The people stood and moved behind the warrior while he drew an arrow from his quiver and took aim at the pineapple. Pyata pulled back on the bow’s string and let his arrow fly. With a wet thud, the arrow pierced right through the fruit. A loud cheer erupted from Pyata’s friends.
A young boy ran over and replaced the pineapple.
Mitchell bowed slightly before walking over beside the young man. He flipped off the safety on his M4 and took aim at the middle of the pineapple. Mitchell depressed the trigger and fired off a three round burst into the target. The pineapple flew back, torn in half from the bullets shot through it. The noise from Mitchell’s rifle firing and the destruction of the fruit terrified some the natives who turned and ran for cover. Some children screamed and broke out crying. Others stood there with their hands over their ears, not sure what to do.
Pyata dropped his bow and ran to the tree stump. He stood there, staring down at the splattered remains of the pineapple. Pyata turned his head and spoke.
“He wants to know if all the men coming are armed like you,” said Julia.
“Tell him yes, and that some have even more powerful weapons,” said Mitchell.
While Julia translated the reply, Jackson slid through the stunned crowd to his friend’s side. “Nice shot.”
“Thanks.”
“Not you. The kid. You couldn’t miss from twenty paces.”
Sam said in Mitchell’s ear, “Gordon just called in. He said The Scorpions are at the waterfall. If they get an early start in the morning, they could be here by lunchtime.”
Mitchell shook his head at the news. “Unless Cesy can convince her people to leave, I’m not sure what we can do to help them.”
Julia grabbed Mitchell by the arm. “Ryan, you did it! It looks like the warriors have backed down and agreed to leave with the rest of the tribe.”
“I did nothing,” replied Mitchell. “Cesy is far more knowledgeable about modern things than she lets on. She set up Pyata. Cesy knew the instant I fired my rifle, the young men’s passion for fighting would fade.”
“Now what do we do?”
“You have to sit and talk with Cesy. Get her to tell her people that they have to leave at first light and to take only what they can carry with them. The lighter they travel the faster they will be able to go.”
Julia nodded and sat on the ground next to Cesy.
“What about us?” asked Jackson.
“I think Jen and Julia should accompany the natives as far as the plateau,” said Mitchell.
“Well, that gets them out of the way. Neither of them are former military; what if they run into trouble along the way?”
“What are you thinking?”
“As much as I’d rather keep him with us, I think it would be prudent to send Yuri with them. He knows how to use a GPS, and all of our comms equipment. If something goes wrong, he can call for help.”
“Okay, you break the news to him.”
Jackson shook his head. “Why me? Aren’t you the team leader?”
Mitchell smiled. “I had to tell Sam she couldn’t accompany Gordon, so you get to tell Yuri he has to leave us in the morning.”
In the cold, gray light of a new day, Mitchell held Jen tight in his arms. Around them, the natives were busy grabbing what they could.
“Promise me you’ll meet me at the plateau in three days’ time,” said Jen. Her voice cracked with a mix of sadness and fear.
“Of course, I will,” responded Mitchell. “Have I ever broken my promises to you?”
“No. But this is different. I’m scared Ryan, really scared.”
So was he but he would never admit it. He gently placed a hand under her chin and turned up her face so he could look into her teary eyes. “Jennifer Mitchell, we’ve got a child on the way. If you think I’d miss that, you’re crazy.”
“Just come back to me.” With that, she stood on her toes and kissed her husband on the lips. He pushed back, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
“Excuse me pretty lady but it is time to go,” said Yuri.
Mitchell let go of Jen and with a heavy heart stepped aside.
Jen wiped away a tear trickling down her cheek, picked up her pack, and gave Mitchell’s right hand one last squeeze before leaving.
Mitchell looked at Yuri. “Remember to give the general a daily update and keep Jen and Julia safe.”
“Da. Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?”
“Yuri, you have to help guide these people to safety. We’ll be okay without you.”
“You don’t lie very well, Ryan. But I will do as you say.” Yuri offered his hand. “Good luck.”
“You too,” replied Mitchell, shaking Yuri’s hand.
Jackson and Sam walked over and joined Mitchell. They watched as the last of the villagers disappeared into the jungle.
“Any word from Cardinal?” Mitchell asked Sam.
“None so far,” she replied.
“So what’s the word?” said Jackson.
“Cesy told us to burn the village and the crops to the ground, and that’s just what I intend to do,” replied Mitchell. “When those merc bastards get within thirty minutes of here, we’ll torch everything. That should cause them to panic to get here. Come on, let’s prepare a warm reception for them.”
“Amen to that, brother,” said Jackson, charging his rifle and loading a round in the chamber.
44
A footlong, reddish-brown centipede crawled over Cardinal’s hand and up over his rifle. He had to fight the impulse to brush off the venomous insect. Cardinal wasn’t fond of insects on a good day. Ones that could immobilize and eat birds and snakes gave him the creeps. He let out a held breath when the centipede carried on its way, and scurried off under a low-hanging branch. Cardinal glanced down at his watch and saw it was nearing six in the morning. He had expected the opposition to be on the move by now. The fact that he hadn’t seen or heard from them began to gnaw at him. As quietly as he could, Cardinal crawled back off the hill. He opened his pack and checked his tablet.
“Clever bastards,” said Cardinal to himself. On the screen was a group of men moving around to the left of his position. “Found a way around the falls, did you?” He returned his tablet to his pack and threw it on his back. He took one last look around to make sure he wasn’t leaving anything behind, and took off running. Cardinal tried to recall the route he had taken to get to the falls. Yesterday, he had chosen a spot he could use to observe from. With his position outflanked, Cardinal hoped he would get there before the mercenaries did.
Cardinal was gasping for air and covered in sweat by the time he stopped at a small clearing in the jungle. He looked past the open space at the trees in the near distance and selected one. With his rifle slung on his back, Cardinal climbed the tree. He pushed a few leaves aside and looked down at the clearing. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do. Cardinal sat with his back against the tree and took a long swing of water. His stomach growled like an approaching thunderstorm, letting him know he hadn’t eaten for close to twenty-four hours. Cardinal opened a pocket on his shirt and pulled out a packet of syrupy-sweet fruit from one of his ration packs. He devoured the food in no time, and thought about having some more, when he spotted a tan-colored deer the size of a dog jumping out onto the trail and running as fast it could past his tree.
“Game on,” murmured Cardinal, as he brought up his rifle to his shoulder.
A dark shape moved in the shadows. Cardinal placed his scope on the object and waited. A couple of seconds later, a man in camouflage clothing edged forward. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and raised a hand, warning the others behind him to stop. The mercenary rightly suspected a trap and was being careful.
Cardinal aimed at the man’s right leg and pulled the trigger. The merc dropped to the ground with his hands wrapped around his leg. It was time to slow the enemy down. It had been taught time and again to Cardinal when he was learning to be a sniper that a dead man can be left behind, but a wounded one needed to be cared for and carried by the other members of his team. As fast as he could, Cardinal climbed out of his tree. Fired blindly, bullets tore into the jungle in a vain attempt by a group of mercs to kill Cardinal.
With his heart racing, Cardinal sprinted until he came to a large ant mound. He ducked behind it and brought up his rifle. Through the trees, Cardinal could see two men trying to help their injured comrade to safety. He took aim at one of the hired killers and shot him through the shoulder. The man cried out in pain and dropped his wounded friend to the ground.
Cardinal was about to take off and head toward the village, when he heard the distinct popping sound of rifle grenades being launched in his direction. He threw himself to the ground and landed on what seemed like a thousand red ants. Right way, they started to bite at his skin. Incoming grenades or not, Cardinal sprang to his feet, desperate to brush the stinging ants from his face and clothes. The first projectile landed in the woods off to his right. The second, however, hit the ground right next to the ant mound and exploded. Dirt and thousands of ants were flung up into the air. Cardinal screamed when the fire ants started to fall back down and landed on him. It felt as if they were trying to burrow under his skin. Cardinal ripped off his pack and shirt to be rid of the biting insects.
A shot rang out.
Cardinal turned his head, and saw a man with an AK aiming at him. Rather than dive to the ground, he dropped to one knee and fired a shot back at the mercenary. His shot hit the man square between the eyes. Cardinal had had enough. He turned on his heel and ran down the trail leading back to the village.
For the first time since he had agreed to work for Gerhardt Lang, Salazar’s gut was telling him to be careful. They may have had numbers on their side, but their adversary was not making things easy for them. There wasn’t a spot in the narrow clearing large enough to allow their MI-26 to land and pick up their casualties.
“Colonel, our wounded need to be carried back to the falls, if they are to be choppered out of here,” pointed out Salazar to Sosa.
Sosa stood silently with a sad look in his eyes, as one of his medics tried to stem the bleeding in the leg of the shot man.
“Colonel, are you with me?” asked Salazar. “We need to move these two men back to a spot the helicopter can land in.”
“Yes. See to it right away,” replied Sosa.
When Lang saw a couple of men fall out of line to help move their wounded comrades, he stormed up to Salazar. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m moving our casualties to the rear so they can be treated,” replied Salazar.
Lang shook his head. “No, you’re not. I’m ordering you to leave them here. We’ll pick them up after we’ve secured the village and the flowers. Each man you send back is one less to fight the Americans with. As you’ve pointed out, I’m no soldier, but even I can see that you’re going to need every man you have to destroy these damned troublemakers.”
“I have my orders, Herr Lang.”
“Wrong! I give the orders, not Sosa. I hired you to get the job done, and you insisted on using your old mercenary unit as muscle. So as far as I’m concerned, you still work directly for me. Now leave those men behind and push on to the village.”
“As you wish.” He turned to the nearest soldier and said, “Make these two as comfortable as you can. We’ll send for them once we’ve taken the village.”
“Si, Patron,” replied the man, looking at Lang with anger in his eyes.
“Now, no more delays,” said Lang. “I want that village and everything in it, and I want it now.”
45
“I don’t like this,” said Mitchell. “We haven’t heard from Gordon in close to two hours. It’s not like him to leave us hanging in the air, wondering what is going on.”
“He could be too close to the enemy to try calling us,” offered Jackson.
“Perhaps.” Mitchell could see the concern in Sam’s eyes. He was about to tell her not to worry when she dropped the cup she was drinking from and sprinted to the far end of the village. Mitchell turned his head and saw Cardinal staggering down a dirt trail without his shirt on. Right away, he knew something was wrong.
“What happened to you?” Sam asked her boyfriend, checking out the dozens of red welts in his skin.
“Ants…fire ants, I think,” replied Cardinal. His voice sounded hoarse.
Sam took Cardinal by the hand and led him back to where Mitchell and Jackson were standing.
“Hey Gordon, long time no see. You look like crap,” said Jackson.
“I feel like it,” he replied. “My throat’s drier than the Sahara on a sunny day. Can I have some water?”
Jackson handed him a full canteen.
“He’s going to feel a hell of a lot worse in a couple of hours when those bites turn into blisters,” said Sam as she washed the red welts on Cardinal’s chest and arms with soapy water.
“Can you give him anything for the bites?” asked Mitchell.
“The best I can do is cover his skin with a hydrocortisone cream and keep the blisters as clean as possible when they come to the surface so they won’t become infected,” replied Sam.
“Sorry,” said Cardinal, wincing in pain as Sam tended to him. “FYI don’t take cover behind an ant mound. Things may not turn out as you had originally hoped.”
Mitchell looked back toward the jungle. “Gord, how far behind you would you say The Scorpions are?”
“I wounded a couple of their guys to slow them down. However, if they turn heartless and abandon their people, they’ll be here within the hour.”
Mitchell looked the red welts on Cardinal’s skin. “Those bites look painful. Can you still shoot?”
He smiled and nodded. “The right side of my body got it the worst. Just place me somewhere in depth and I’ll shoot left-handed.”
“Okay, there’s a fallen tree about two hundred meters away. You can position yourself there and cover us.”
“Can I have a shirt? I lost mine along with everything else I had when I made my run for it.”
“So that’s why we lost radio contact with you,” said Jackson.
“One of my shirts should fit you,” said Mitchell. “It’s filthy, though.”
“Something is better than nothing,” replied Cardinal.
Mitchell walked over and bent down to open his pack when Sam placed a hand on his arm and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with fear.
“What’s wrong?” whispered Mitchell.
“Gordon’s been stung on the face,” said Sam. “He’s in so much pain elsewhere that he doesn’t realize how bad things really are. In the next hour or so, his eyelids are going to be covered with blisters. Ryan, he’s going to be blind until the blisters go down on their own.”
“When will that be?”
“In about three or four days.”
“Jesus,” muttered Mitchell. “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do for him?”
“Positive. If I could, you know I would have given him something.”
Mitchell bit his lip. “Okay then, I guess things have changed for the lot of us. For the foreseeable future, I want you to remain by Gordon’s side. If you have to, tie yourselves together. You’re going to have to be his eyes until he can see again.”
“Right. I’ll take that shirt of yours and break the news to Gordon.”
Mitchell handed her his shirt and closed up his pack. For a brief moment, he regretted sending Yuri away. Mitchell shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to second-guess himself. He erased any self-doubt from his mind. The safety of everyone else was paramount. They would have to do what they could without Cardinal and Yuri to help them.
“So, boss, what do you want to do?” asked Jackson.
“I think it’s time we lit a fire.”
“Ryan, with Cardinal out of it and Sam looking after him, you know we can’t stop them here.”
“I know, but with all the Claymores we placed in the jungle, we can at least make them bleed.”
46
A thick, black column of smoke rose above the top of the trees and continued skyward.
Salazar looked through his binoculars, trying to see if there were any natives still in the burning village.
