Buck turned and walked into the house, “I’ve got breakfast ready.”
“We’ve eaten,” Raymond said.
“Well I haven’t. Come in and you can watch me eat while you fill me in.”
They talked as Buck ate, with him asking questions as they described events. Twenty minutes later and two cups of coffee each, and Buck waved at the two Agents as they drove from the ranch.
Two hours later, when they reached the Marfa Border Patrol Station and were herded into the Patrol Agent in Charge’s office, Hunter realized things were not going well. The PAIC said, “I don’t know how, but you two have stirred up a major shitstorm. You’re to go to El Paso.”
“We were just there yesterday. What happened?” Hunter said.
“They’ll brief you. And you need to hurry. Pick up your orders when you leave. You may be there a few days.”
“You know what this is about?”
“What I know is, if the Chief won’t tell me, then it isn’t good.”
Raymond looked at Hunter, “I guess we’d better go home and pack some fresh clothes.”
Hunter said, “I’ll pick you up in thirty.”
~*~
Art called them when they checked into the hotel and dropped off their baggage. “You know where the Mexican Consul’s office is on San Antonio Street?”
“Yeah…” Hunter said.
“Come on down.”
“What’s going on, Art?”
“I don’t know. But something.”
“We’re on our way.”
Art said, “If I were you two, I’d gird my loins. This is not a good thing.”
They parked by the Consular building and went inside, seeing twenty or more news crews from both the United States and Mexico, replete with reporters, cameras, boom mikes, and makeup artists flitting around the celebrity reporters.
Hunter and Raymond froze as the reporters spotted them, moving en masse to crowd around the two Agents, peppering them with questions in both English and Spanish.
“Why did you invade Mexico?”
“You’re accused of multiple international crimes, how do you respond?”
Hunter didn’t answer any of them, but Raymond was weakening, wanting to explain his innocence.
Hunter grabbed her friend by the wrist and pushed through the crowd of microphone wavers and talkers until they passed the security gate, where they saw Ashton approaching, waving them to him.
When they reached him, he said, “Take a deep breath, Mexico is filing formal charges against you two. Keep quiet until you have a chance to hear their accusations and until you talk to the U.S. Attorney.”
They followed Ashton as Hunter wondered how she got into so much trouble by trying to do her job.
In a large meeting room filled with reporters and news cameras, Hunter and Raymond moved to stand beside the US Attorney. Camera lights were bright, and Hunter squinted from their intensity as the Consul General of Mexico took center stage in
front of the cameras, stating his accusations for five continuous minutes.
When he finished, the US Attorney acknowledged the accusations, apologized on behalf of the United States and assured everyone present that he would get to the bottom of this and prosecute the guilty.