The Independents (16 page)

Estebon finally had his men loaded into the Hummer
,
and they were slowly winding around
the
switchbacks on the trip
down the ridge. He knew
the plane
was about 140 kilometers to the north, a little over an hour’s drive. He settled back in
his seat and watched the brilliant explosions of light illuminate the northern sky
.

Bishop picked his spot on
the highway and set
to work
immediately. The rain had slackened to little more than an annoyance as he began slicing branches from the nearest scrub patch.
He pulled out his net and began weaving the foliage through the mes
h
. It took him almost 20 minutes to complete his
homemade
“ghillie suit
,” and he wished there were
some w
ay to check
how well it
blend
ed
in
with the landscape
. He really didn’t need it to pass any detailed scrutiny, only to hide him for a short period of time.

While he continued to
watch
the roadway to the south for any sig
n of movement or lights, he sprinted
back to the
wrecked
Cessna,
and
using a steel rod, pried one of the seats out of the back. He quickly carried the empty seat back to his selected spot on the highway
, placing it square
in the middle of the road
on a painted white stripe
.

Running back to the aircraft, he secured
his rope around one of the dead men and
dragged
the cadaver back to the
seat
he had relocated
. The body was already
stiff from
rigor mortis
, but
Bishop was feeling little respect for the dead after being reminded of the
earlier
execution
.
It was slow work
,
pulling
the heavy body behind him,
and his legs beg
an
to burn, but he
finally mad
e it. He propped the corpse
against the airplane seat and savagely kicked the backs of both legs, breaking the bones. He then picked up the body and sat it in the seat.
It looked like the dead man had decided to take a break right in the middle of the hig
hway. Bishop wished he had
one of
the Colonel
’s cigars. It would have been funny as hell to put
a smoking stogie in the cadaver
’s mouth.
That should be a pretty effective stop sign.

He checked the roadway to the south and wasn’t surprised to see headli
ghts off in the distance. He
finished just in time.
Bishop moved to the side of the road
where he had dropped
his net, now a
makeshift ghillie suit
.
He covered his head and back with the net
, then
knelt besid
e the road, hoping he would
blend in with the small patch of scrub nearby. It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t have to be.

He chamber
ed a round in his rifle, double-
checked the safety
,
and then remained absolutely still
as the area around him began to
grow
brighter
from the glow of
the Hummer’s headlights.

Estebon was focusing on the lightning off to the east when he felt the Hummer slow
drastically. His attention snapped to the
view
direct
ly
in front of the
ir
speeding
vehicle. Ahead,
something was
in the road,
just coming int
o sight
. The wipers cleared
the
big windshield of the few drops of
lingering
moisture
,
and the driver pushed the brakes hard.

Estebon’s first thought was that
Juan
had
not
been killed by
the sniper a few hours ago. He and his
men had
left in a hurry and not checked the bodies, and the man was still alive.
After studying
the
figure
si
tting in the chair, a second possibility flashed through Estebon’s mind - that
Juan
had
survived long enough to begin walking
home, but had died on the way.

As the Hummer crept
closer,
the color and details of Juan
’s body became
clearer
,
and the driver crossed himself before coming
to a full stop.

Estebon realized what was going on with
in
a second or so of their
stopping. He chuckled and turned to the passenger in the back seat, “Our friend Bishop is already here. He must have decided he didn’t want to meet at the airplane
,
and this was his way of telling us. I’m thinking I would like this man…perhaps in another place and time.”

The drive
r,
still staring at his comrade’s corpse
,
took a mo
ment to digest his boss’s words.
“He’s here? Ambush?”

The driver reached for the gearshift
to put the car in reverse, but Estebon stopped him.
“Yes, he’s here;
but no, not an ambush. If he wanted to ambush us, we would already be dead.”

The passenger in the back
seat inst
ructed the driver to slowly navigate the Hummer around, using the beams to scan the landscape for
their prey.
Eventually, they were poi
nted back the way they had come, without having detected Bishop.

“Turn off the motor, leave the lights on
;
everyone
get out
slowly
a
nd stand in the beams.
Make no sudden moves
,
and leave all of the weapons in here,” Estebon instructed.

He noted the driver gave him a questioning look, but then reached for the ignition
key
to turn off the engine.
The three men slowly exited the vehicle,
walked about
twenty
feet
,
and stoo
d in the open road, each facing
a different direction.

When the lights had passed over Bishop and continued their search, he had exhaled and thrown off the net. He waited until he was sure they weren’t coming back for another pass and then trotted to the side
of the road.
He was now walking up from behind the Hummer
, checking
to make sure no one remained inside.

He stepped through the beam of the driver’s side headlight, his shadow causing all three men to snap their attention back toward their ride.
A voice rang out.

“Senor Bishop, my name
is Estebon. You will forgive my
skipping the pleasantries, but I believe we have business to conduct.”

Bishop wanted to get to the p
oint as well.
“I’m listening.”

Estebon tilted his head slightly to one side and used his hand as a sh
ade against the bright beams.
“It would help our discussion if I could see you without
discomfort
.”

Bishop’s voice
relayed impatience.
“I’m just peachy right here. Go ahead with your proposal.”

Estebon didn’t understand the word “peachy,” and that gave him a bit of a pause.
No matter
, he
thought
, the meaning is clear.
 

More from habit than
any tactical advantage, Estebon took a step toward the man he
was about to address
. The sound of Bishop clicking off his safety fr
oze him in mid-step. Estebon’s two companions
visibly stiffened, but neithe
r moved. Estebon shook his head
and then held his arms out wide.
“You are making it difficult to establish our partnership.”

Bishop was becoming
annoyed
.
“I don’t partner
with scum. State your business.
I
’m
a busy man.”

Estebon shrugg
ed off the insult and continued.
“I have the girl, and you have the gold. We each have something the other needs. I propose a contract to resolve the situation to each other’s mutual benefit.”

Bishop didn’t hesitate.
“I will exchange the gold for the girl.”

Estebon smile
d and replied, “No
, S
enor Bishop. A
n exchange is unfortunately not enoug
h. You see, because you greedily hoarded this treasure
, my wife and daughter have been kidnapped. I am afraid you are going to have to deliver the gold and retrieve
my family. I will then trade
my guest for my
wife and daughter
.”

This
revelation
took Bishop by surprise. He had anticipated a simple swap, conducted under his terms. He needed to buy some time
to digest this new information.
“I have an alternative proposal. How about I shoot the three of you right here in the road, take the Hummer
,
and drive down to Big Bend. Once I get there, I will slaughter the rest of your group and bring the girl back home.”

Estebon smiled easily and replied
.
“
I
a
nticipated you might consider
that plan
. There i
s a, what do your Hollywood movies call it? Oh, yes, a ‘secret signal’ is expected when we return
to
the park. Senor, you would be one man against many, and wh
ile your skills are impressive,
you
r visit
would be expected this time.
Besides
, you would never find the girl. As I
’m
sure you
are aware
, the park is a very big place.”

Bishop decided to play
a mental game of
chess with the man while he figured out what to d
o.
“I
’m
one step ahead of you
,
Estebon. I thought you might set up a secret signal and wanted you to confirm that. Thank you. Now I
’ll
shoot your two friends and then convince you to tell me
both the
secret
code and the location of the girl
. I can be
very
convincing.”

Estebon
sounded genuinely disappointed
.
“
Senor,
I would only tell lies under torture.
Please
, s
enor, y
ou know that.
Let us both q
uit being dramatic and talk seriously.”

Bishop had to admit, the man was no fool. He didn’t like this new turn of events one single bit. He had anticipated a simple but dangerous trade, gold for
a
girl. Now he was being drawn into a far more complex situation.
“Let’s just say I
’m
willing to consider your proposal for a moment. When and where is the exchange for your family to take place?”

Estebon exhaled, relieved that Bishop valued the life of
his hostage
enough to at least consider his offer.
This had been the one unknown variable in his calculations.
“The deadline is
eleven
days away. The exchange is to take place at a church on the outskirts of
Juarez
.”

Bishop shook his head and whistled, “Juarez?”

Estebon didn’t understand, “Senor?”

“I wouldn’t have gone in to Juarez
before
everything fell apart. You must know that was the most violent place on the planet outside of declared war zones. I think the casualty rate was even higher than most of Afghanistan. I heard not long ago that an open war had broken out between the people of El Paso and the good citizens of Juarez. You’re telling me that you want me to deliver 300 pounds of gold, by myself, into the most violent city on earth? Not only that,
you want me to safely retrieve
two women who are in God knows what condition and probably don’t even speak English?
Mister, I think you are loco. I don’t know that I would attempt that mission
,
even if I had an entire armored battalion.”