Echoes of a Distant Summer (95 page)

Deleon smiled. He was pretty sure that this was a straight robbery attempt. He replied, “Sure, step in here. I don’t want everyone to see my money.”

The tough grinned in response. He squeezed into the booth, shoving the door shut behind him, and stuck his hand in his pocket, probably reaching for a knife. Deleon moved so quickly the tough never had a chance. Deleon hit him in his testicles and when he bent over in surprise, Deleon grabbed his head and snapped his neck. The youth slumped to the floor without a sound. Deleon took his cap and put it on. He then dialed Jackson’s number in San Francisco. An answering service answered and Deleon left a message with the booth’s phone number. As he waited, he studied the now peaceful face of his victim. The young man had a nice face and a lean, muscular body. Had Deleon seen him while in prison, he would have marked him for sex, and he would’ve had him, conscious or unconscious. He looked at his watch; at most he could wait safely in the booth for ten minutes. His eyes returned to the body on the floor. The young man would’ve made an interesting model. He had the heavy-lidded eyes of a Diego Rivera figure. It occurred to Deleon that he hadn’t thought about painting since he had come down to Mexico. Further thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang.

Deleon picked up on the second ring. Jackson’s voice demanded, “DuMont, is that you?” Deleon smiled and answered, “Glad you could get back to me. I’ve got a proposition for you.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’m down here with San Vicente and he is planning to kill both you and your girlfriend.”

“How does that differ from you?”

Deleon chuckled. “Why, I only want to kill you. I don’t give a damn about your girlfriend. Once you arrive, she can go free as far as I’m concerned.”

There was a pause, then Jackson inquired, “If that’s the case, why don’t you bring her someplace that you and I arrange?”

“Can’t do that. Since you drove me out of Frisco, I had to turn her over to San Vicente. He’s got her in his mansion at Playa Rosalía.”

“What’s your proposal?”

“If you attack San Vicente’s mansion tomorrow night, I’ll help you. I’ll knock out his electricity and take care of his security system.”

“To what do I owe this generosity? Why would you do that for me?”

Deleon laughed again. “Because San Vicente wants to kill me too.”

“Why tomorrow night? That’s cutting it close.”

“Because tomorrow is a Mexican national holiday. The roads are busy. People will be coming in from the countryside. It’s a festival with lots of drinking and carousing. Your arrival and movement will be less obvious then. You should know that San Vicente has people all over this province on the lookout for strangers.”

“You’ll let Elizabeth go once I arrive?”

“I didn’t say that. I don’t know if I can free her, but I do know that if you wait until next week it’ll be worse for her. She’ll be passed around among the men. Her overall chances will be better if you come tomorrow.”

“What time?”

“After ten at night; by then everybody but security staff will have gone home, and those that remain will be feeling no pain.”

“What assurance have I that you’re just not trying to lure me in?”

“None! You’ll just have to take my word. Oh, if you want to increase your chances of success, you’ll hit the Gaxiola clan before you attack San Vicente. Along with the holiday festivities that should provide enough of a diversion for the authorities.”

Jackson said grimly, “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

Deleon smiled and said, “I look forward to it.” He hung up the phone and looked down at the tough. He wrestled the body into the seat then propped it up against the wall. He took the phone off the hook and
nestled it on the dead man’s shoulder. He touched the man’s cheek regretfully. He would’ve liked to have had sex with him before he killed him. Now that he was dead, it was too late. Deleon had had sex with dead men a couple of times while in prison and had found it to be thoroughly unsatisfying. Unconscious was one thing, but dead was just cold, unresponsive flesh. He reversed his jacket to white and whistled as he walked through the crowds away from the booth. Tomorrow was going to be very interesting.

R
hasan was standing in the kitchen eating Theresa’s chile rellenos when the call from Deleon came in. Since his Muir Woods meeting with his uncle, he had gotten in the habit of coming by the house and occasionally spending the night. He was enthralled by all that his uncle was involved in and he loved Theresa’s cooking. The chile rellenos were the best he had ever eaten, but he stopped chewing to listen to the ensuing conversation between the men in the dining room.

“What did I tell you. I knew that San Vicente would be in Tijuana!” Carlos declared after Jackson related his conversation with Deleon. “Everything leads to his hacienda at Rosalía Beach!”

Jackson conceded, “Okay, you were right, but how do we mount any kind of effective effort in one day? My grandfather used to say, ‘Only fools and dead men rush in.’ How do we prevent ourselves from being caught in a trap?”

Pres interjected, “I thought your grandfather had an organization. Can’t you utilize that?”

Jackson shook his head. “When you go after big-time drug dealers, you can’t use mercenaries or people other than those you trust on the deepest level. The money that cartels can pay for information or collaboration can allow a person and his whole family to retire for the rest of their lives. Plus, we don’t have the time to set anything up.” Jackson turned to Carlos. “How many trusted people can you field by tomorrow?”

Carlos sighed and responded, “I’ve sent three men to New Orleans. I can’t reach them until they check in, so including the Ramirez brothers and Esteban, I have five and that’s not enough to attack a fortified position. Actually, I have seven, but I’ll use Tavio and Diego for cutting the phone lines around San Vicente’s compound, then I’ll have them hit the Gaxiolas with rocket launchers. That’s a two-man job and nobody else knows the roads and terrain around Tijuana.”

Jackson nodded. “A diversion.”

“It’s the smart move,” Carlos agreed. “As for our attack force, I’m counting you and me in that seven as well. With more time I could have fifteen men, but not within twenty-four hours.”

Pres asked, “Are you counting me?” Carlos shook his head. Pres tapped his chest. “Three and a half years in Vietnam. I’ve been in firefights and hand-to-hand combat!”

Carlos conceded, “Okay, we can use you.”

Pres continued, “How many would be enough?”

“Ideally, I’d like fifteen, but we have a good chance of success with twelve.”

Pres stated, “I can get you at least one more.”

Jackson frowned. “Who?”

“Dominique. She’s probably a better shot than any of us.”

“She would come in on this?” Jackson questioned. “You talked to her?”

“Yeah, she told me to tell you that you can count on her in any effort to save Elizabeth. She feels she owes you.”

Jackson glanced at Carlos for his opinion. Carlos nodded and said, “She’s a professional. We can use her.”

“What about Dan and Lincoln?” Pres suggested.

Carlos waved his hand in dismissal. “They’re not trained. They aren’t field tested. We’re talking about killing people, we’re not talking about shooting targets.”

Pres replied, “Lincoln is a black belt in aikido as well as a crack shot with a rifle. And Dan’s a better shot than he is. Dan is better with a rifle than Jackson. He hunts every chance he gets and he always brings something home.”

Jackson asked Carlos, “Can we do this with less people?”

“No! From what I know of San Vicente’s layout, we need at least seven to go in, two to remain outside with rocket launchers to stop reinforcements, and one to guard our vehicles.”

Jackson frowned. “How did you come up with these numbers?”

“I studied San Vicente’s layout before. Your grandfather was considering putting a hit on him and his two brothers about five years ago until a truce was worked out. I had aerial shots taken of his place at the time, and I bet he hasn’t done much to change things since then.”

Carlos picked up a lined tablet and began to sketch. “We’ll get better plans before the attack, but here’s what I remember of the layout. Guard towers are here. His communications center is here and his power generator is here. After we cut all the phone lines in his area, we’ll use the rocket launchers to take out his communications center and satellite dish. Two of our force will go inside, situate themselves here, and take out his power plant and generator. Two others will take this position to destroy his guard towers and give us covering machine gun fire. These four will be responsible for keeping any extra men in the barracks pinned down. The remaining three will go down inside, blow his arsenal, and find Elizabeth. I’d rather have six of us to go inside; that way we could make certain that we killed both Deleon and San Vicente in the process.” Carlos sighed. “Three will have to do.”

“We still only have nine people,” Jackson observed with some frustration. “Your plan requires twelve. If we can’t do it with less men …” He put his face in his hands.

Pres asked Carlos, “Only the three that are going in the main house are going to be moving around, right? The other four are stationary? If that’s true, why can’t we use Dan and Lincoln in these stationary positions? They’re good shots. They could do this!”

Jackson wondered, “Are they still in town? They haven’t left yet?”

Pres answered, “Dan doesn’t join Anu in D.C. until next Friday and Lincoln and Sandra can’t get out of here until next week.”

Carlos asked, “Is this something they would do?”

“All we can do is ask,” Pres replied with a shrug.

“Even if they accept, we still have only eleven,” Jackson observed. “Where are we going to get the other person?” Carlos pointed behind Jackson to Rhasan, who was standing in the doorway with a pleading look on his face. Jackson shook his head. “I can’t do that. If he got hurt, I would never forgive myself. He’s not ready for this. He doesn’t know what he’s getting into!”

Rhasan argued, “You said I was a man, that you’d treat me like a man.”

“This isn’t about being a man!” Jackson retorted. “Killing people has
nothing to do with manhood or anything respectable! The reason I don’t want to take you is that you are untrained!”

Rhasan sputtered, “You were eighteen when you went after the Jaguar!”

Jackson turned to Carlos. “You told him about that?”

Carlos shrugged. “I told him the history behind this conflict. You said don’t lie to him. I didn’t lie.”

“Did you tell him that from the time I was eight until I was eighteen I was trained to use guns and fight? Did you tell him that despite that training, I was responsible for the death of El Indio and the wounding of Esteban? That I almost jeopardized our escape route? That I punked out and didn’t finish the job? Did you tell him all that?”

“No, because that is not what I remember. No wonder you were so angry with your grandfather. You have held yourself responsible all of this time? That is strange. I remember you being more man than you knew you were. There was never a time that you did not make your grandfather or the rest of us proud. You have his heart, his will, and his courage!”

Jackson was moved by Carlos’s confirmation. He looked down at the floor and said, “You look on me more kindly than I deserve.”

Carlos replied, “Put aside your memories; they do not do you justice.”

Jackson exhaled. “Whether my memory serves me or not, I still cannot agree to let Rhasan join us—”

Rhasan interjected, “When do I become a man? When do I have a say about how I will live my life? Will you be watching over me, sheltering me forever?”

Jackson asked with an air of fatigue, “What about our agreement, the one we discussed at Muir Woods? After you finish college, you’ll join in.”

“Circumstances have changed! You need me
now!”
You are my uncle, the only man who has ever reached out to me and been there when I needed him! Now, you are telling me that I can’t be there for you? What’s up with that? I know this is dangerous, but it is important to me to be called upon and be used when my family needs me. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t feel this way?”

Carlos stood up and suggested, “Why don’t you see if your other friends will join us? Then if they agree, make your decision about
Rhasan. I’d recommend we give him a flak jacket, an Uzi, and let him guard our vehicles. He can handle it. He’s a tough kid just like you were, and there should be only limited danger. Now I have to make arrangements for our travel and contact people in Mexico.” Carlos left the room.

Jackson looked at Rhasan for a long moment and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Pres. “I’m going to get Dan and Lincoln on the phone. Where do you want to meet?”

“East Bay. We can meet at the Dock of the Bay in an hour.”

Pres nodded, “I’ll get on the horn now.”

After Pres left the room Jackson reluctantly said to Rhasan, “If they agree to come along, I’ll need you. But you’ll have to do exactly as you are told!” Rhasan ran to his uncle and gave him a bear hug. Jackson protested, “Don’t hug me! I’m not doing you a favor!”

“Yes, you are, Uncle Jax! Yes, you are!”

“Well, I hope I don’t regret it.”

“You won’t!”

Carlos came to the door with a yellow pad in his hand. “Good. Now that that’s settled, Rhasan, I need you to go by army surplus. I’ve got a list of things we’re going to need.” Rhasan jumped up enthusiastically to do Carlos’s bidding.

After Rhasan left the room, Jackson walked into the kitchen and watched as Pres hung up the phone. He said, “I hope this decision to let Rhasan join us doesn’t come back to haunt me.”

“Only God knows and only time will tell.” Pres stood up and walked over to Jackson. He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and said, “Let’s roll.”

As they walked out the door, Carlos advised, “If your friends decide to come along, tell them to be at Moffit Field by four tomorrow morning.” He handed Jackson the sketch of San Vicente’s compound. “This should help explain what they will be required to do.” Then he whispered in Jackson’s ear.