“I agree completely, sir,” Salinas said. “I hope the president does not let up on her pressure on the Americans to stop this campaign of violence. Fortunately, despite that brutal incident, the situation is quiet here. The American military presence is all but nonexistent as far as we can tell from our position and from American news reports. They are making some attempts to repair and rebuild the facility, but it does not look like the base has been fortified, and there has been no sign of those manned robots. We see the reconnaissance airships and unmanned drones on occasion, and we must assume they and the regular Border Patrol units are operational.”
“And the media?”
“They haven’t been back since yesterday,” Salinas responded, “although I would expect them to return for comments on the murders in Arizona.”
“Let me handle the media now, Lieutenant.”
“With pleasure, sir.”
“What about smuggler activity?”
“None in our entire patrol sector, sir,” Salinas said, “which was expected. Having smugglers push all the way to remote sections of Arizona was fully expected; and after the incident here, I would have expected much American vigilante activity. Of course, Mexico will be blamed for what has happened here and in Arizona.”
“It was only a matter of time before someone else got killed by vigilantes or right-wing extremists,” Azueta agreed. “The Americans are not stopping the level of violence whatsoever. That will be our biggest challenge: keeping the violence down until the politicians get off their fat asses and come to some sort of agreement.” Salinas nodded. “Let us go inspect the camp, and then we will inspect the border area. Maybe I will even get to meet one of those infamous robots.”
Salinas recalled the armored personnel carrier patrols so Azueta could meet every one of the men in the detail. He was tough but not as tough as in the garrison—he understood the need for discipline, and demanded it, but he also knew they were in the field and certain things, like keeping boots perfectly polished or uniforms perfectly spotless, was going to be difficult at best. He loudly and harshly admonished the noncommissioned officers and men for missing equipment, dirty weapons, or men sleeping at their posts, but he was careful not to openly criticize anyone for not shaving or for rolling up their sleeves in the desert heat. There would be time enough for that back at base.
After the equipment inspection, they got back into the Humvee again and began to drive toward the border area. They hadn’t gone very far when Azueta ordered the driver to stop. He immediately got out of the vehicle, stood on the hood, and peered north. “Lieutenant, when was the last time you did a tactical map of the border and scouted out all of the American patrol units and emplacements?” he asked.
“We redo the map every three hours, sir,” Salinas responded. “The last one should have been done an hour ago.”
“Either your men are liars or they thought they were going to be relieved and did not do it,” Azueta said. “Get up here and take a look.” Salinas did as he was told…and although Azueta handed him his binoculars, he didn’t need them to see the change.
“Two…three…I count three Humvees to the west,” Salinas breathed. “My God, they were not here at daybreak, sir!”
“I count two more to the east, spread out about a kilometer apart,” Azueta said. “They appear to be up-armored scout vehicles with .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the…”
“And TOW missiles, sir,” Salinas interjected excitedly. “It appears every other unit to the west has TOW missile launchers on the gun turrets!”
“That explains their deployment—they are spread out just far enough to have overlapping fields of fire for their TOWs,” Azueta said. “It is the same to the east.” He lowered his binoculars. “Well, well. The Americans have raised the stakes out here. We have a report to make to Mexico City, Lieutenant.”
CHAPTER 6
THE OVAL OFFICE, THE WHITE HOUSE,
WASHINGTON, D.C.
A SHORT TIME LATER
“Mr. President, I must protest this latest move of your military,” President Carmen Maravilloso of Mexico’s voice cried over the speakerphone, echoing throughout the historic room. Even the usually unflappable National Security Adviser, Raymond Jefferson, was startled when he heard the voice as he entered. “Again, you have put armed military forces on our border without consulting or even notifying us beforehand! This is not right, sir! This is not the action of a good and peaceful neighbor, sir.”
“Madame President, as you well know, the United States is not obligated to report the movement of its military forces to Mexico or anyone else, no matter how close to the border.” U.S. President Samuel Conrad responded as calmly as he could. He had been expecting this phone call since issuing the order to Secretary of Defense Russell Collier minutes after receiving the report of the massacre in the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, and he had his cabinet and their staffs working since then to bring him up to speed on the myriad of treaties and agreements regarding military and police action on the U.S.-Mexico border. “This troop movement is in direct response to the murders of twenty-three Mexican nationals in the…”
“I am very well aware of what has occurred, sir,” Maravilloso interrupted, still refusing to use President Conrad’s official title. “But I would have expected an investigation by the local sheriff’s office, perhaps assisted by the FBI or the Arizona State Police, not the American Army National Guard—and certainly not in California. What do you intend to do, sir—invade Mexico with the California National Guard? Those troops on our border have missile launchers! Missile launchers! What will be next—ballistic missiles and stealth bombers?”
“Madame President, the United States intends on pursuing all legal options available to us to ensure the safety and security of our citizens, our nation, and any who are here legally…”
“Do you intend on using the National Guard to hunt down Mexican citizens whose only goal is to do the work that Americans do not want to do themselves?” the fiery Mexican president asked. “That is a hateful and brutal policy, sir, akin to totalitarian regimes in North Korea or Myanmar. The people of Mexico are honest, hardworking, nonviolent, and law-abiding people. True, a few—a very few—have been corrupted by drug dealers to carry drugs; others respond to abuses by gangsters, white supremacists, and corrupt law enforcement officials by arming themselves. Will you condemn them all just for the actions of a few?”
“Madame President, a horrible crime has been committed in Arizona last night,” the President said. With him in the Oval Office was his Chief of Staff, Thomas Kinsly, the Secretaries of Defense, State, and Homeland Security, the President’s National Security Adviser; and the one-star general in charge of deploying those National Guard forces to the southern border, all listening on a listen-only speakerphone. “It was broadcast around the world on the Internet. Nearly two dozen persons were horribly murdered by unknown assailants. The only evidence we have so far is the American Watchdog Project’s own Web broadcast…”
“Do you refer to the right-wing radio instigator Bob O’Rourke and his lackey?” Maravilloso asked incredulously. “Surely you would not for a moment consider them credible witnesses, sir? Bob O’Rourke is one of the world’s most well-known and well-documented racists, a man who has been calling for the elimination of all nonwhites from the border region on his radio show for years. I am positive that he orchestrated this entire murder campaign in order to stir up a campaign of hate against all persons of color…”