“Run!” Hunter said to Carlos, and turned as the two men came into view. They stopped when they saw her. The one man still held the tequila bottle by the neck.
Hunter drew and shot the bottle.
Both men yelped and jumped back, sprayed with alcohol and glass fragments. They hurried behind the safety of the building as Hunter sprinted after Carlos.
The helicopters came so fast! Glancing at the hill where David and Lonny were, Hunter saw them leaving as their drones dove behind the hill with them.
Carlos scrambled, but didn’t know the best way to go. Hunter reached him and pointed, “Through there and then join the others. Don’t stop!”
A bullet clipped a mesquite branch several feet away and Hunter turned to see one of the two men shooting at them with a pistol from a hundred yards away, so she wasn’t too worried. To make sure, she shot a couple of rounds into the small building and the sound of bullets hitting the wood scared the shooter back to his hiding place.
By then the Helicopters were there, and Hunter had the hill between her and the compound. The sounds grew loud and terrible, with concussive explosions that shook the air with such force it vibrated her chest, and mini-guns sounded like never-ending roars.
Black smoke and yellow flames rose in columns, and yet the firing continued.
Hunter caught up with the three boys beside her pickup. “Get in.” They obeyed. As she drove them away, she said, “If you ever do something like this again, I’m going to tell your parents. Why did they let you come to Ojinaga, anyway?”
David said, “We told them we were coming to visit Carlos’ grandfather. They let us do it all the time.”
“Please don’t tell them,” Carlos said.
“I won’t, but you’d better. Tell them the truth. It’s important that you do. They may be upset for a while, but they’ll appreciate your honesty. Okay?”
They looked at each other, then at Hunter, “Okay. We promise.”
She drove them to their vehicle, another two hundred yards farther from the hills, and let them out. They looked sheepish, each giving her a small wave before climbing into the older model SUV.
Hunter waved before continuing for another quarter-mile, and stopping again to look back. It was like an oil field ablaze, with flames flickering above the low foothills, and clouds of black smoke with red embers swirling in them, like the eyes of demons. Fire, she thought, and shivered.
As she drove through Ojinaga toward the International Bridge, she only hoped the Mexican authorities didn’t stop her for inspection. Just for luck she stopped at a small liquor store and purchased a bottle of Jack Daniels. When she reached the bridge, the Mexican official asked, “Do you bring anything with you?”
Smiling, Hunter showed him the bottle, “For a party.”
The official waved her through.
As she drove toward Marfa, she felt good. The boys were okay, and the drones and sarin had been destroyed. She might just drink a little Jack Daniels tonight, after all.
Chapter 7
Hiyoki sat at the head of the expansive dining room table in what had been Pasqual Osorio’s compound, looking at five nervous men. He appeared calm, but inside he seethed because of the military attack and the loss of most of the drones and thirty barrels of castor beans they were processing into sarin. There had been enough warning before the attack, but these five…imbeciles, put off any actions until they almost lost everything.
“How much did we lose?” Hiyoki asked.
Jose glanced at the others and said, “Two-thirds, a little more. All of the castor beans.”
“We had ample warning, didn’t we?”
Jose wiped his lips with shaky fingers, “Si, Jefe.”
“And here we sit.”
“We thought we had more time. There’s no excuse.”
Hiyoki stood, “You’re right. So, what do I do with all of you?” He folded his hands together, interlacing the fingers, with the index fingers extended to form a steeple. He tapped the forefingers against his lower lip. “I could have you killed,” he nodded at the two Kalashnikov-toting men by the door, “But no, I have something else in mind.”
Jose said, “We’ll do it, whatever it is”
Hiyoki said, “I know you will.”