Bwana nodded. ‘Never seen it before, but then I am yet to do my PhD on gang tats. Looks like a playing card, a five of clubs.’
Roger thought for a moment and then shrugged. ‘Nothing we can do till we get a mobile signal. Let’s press on. Nearest town should be Rio Rico, that away, so let’s get going now.’
The gangbangers had carafes of water with them, which Bwana and Roger shouldered. They went to the group of women, who were standing passively, watching them, and silently offered the water to them. Some of them drank thirstily, others just stared back blankly.
Bwana went ahead of the group and said, ‘Let’s go,’ and the group moved obediently. Roger took one last look at the dead guys and made a mental note to wreak grievous bodily harm to any other gangbanger he met, and followed the group.
The bandits had clearly been following a well-trodden route and probably had a rendezvous with others at some point — others who would start pressing silent panic buttons when they didn’t show. Bwana and Roger kept a careful watch and rotated the lead between them, but encountered no one else.
A couple of miles further, dawn broke, bathing the valley in silence, the vast and towering landscape making them feel like the only living beings on the planet.
A mile on, they got a mobile signal.
About forty-five minutes later they heard the Customs and Border Patrol chopper, which on spotting them swung low, and a loudspeaker came on, asking them to follow it to a clearing.
The chopper settled down in the clearing, and three heavily-armed Border Patrol agents jumped out and spread wide as they approached the group. Two other agents covered them from within the chopper, their H&K UMP .40 submachine guns tracking them. Bwana and Roger kept their hands empty and relaxed, conveying a nonthreatening message.
One of the agents walked up to them, his hands free but close to his H&K P2000 holstered pistol, while the other two circled the group of women and started offering water. Roger noticed one of those two was also carrying a medical kit with him.
He drew his attention back to the agent in front of him.
‘Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Gonzalez,’ the agent introduced himself. ‘You guys had a long walk, it looks like. Need anything? Water? Chow? Medication?’
‘We’re good,’ Bwana replied and introduced Roger and himself.
Gonzalez chewed slowly as he looked them over and noted their weapons. ‘Never heard or seen such a thing happening before, two guys, ex-Special Forces, right? We checked on you. You guys took down eight bandits and rescued forty-odd hostages. They would have been sold into sex slavery, and once they had outlived that, would have been used as drug mules. All these women seem white American or European… at a casual glance, anyway. We’ll process them once we take them to Nogales and start the investigative process as well as inform their kin.’
He scratched his head. ‘We’ve busted some human-trafficking runs before, but not this large nor have we put down so many bandits. This has gotten the entire Border Patrol buzzing. You guys are going to have quite the reception when we get to Tucson.’
‘Tucson? Not Nogales?’ Roger asked him.
‘Nope, we’re going to Sector HQ in Tucson — this is big.’ He paused. ‘So why don’t you tell me all that happened right from the beginning?’
Roger and Bwana were expecting this and talked him through their camping trip and the happenings of the night.
‘Sir,’ one of the agents shouted at Gonzalez, ‘these women are drugged and are in a stupor. We need to move them fast.’
‘Load them up and take them to base, Brodell. All of them won’t fit, so we’ll need to make two or three round trips. I’ll stay with these guys till we’re all done here.’
Brodell acknowledged with a thumbs-up and started leading the women to the chopper. Gonzalez watched as Brodell led about fourteen women to the chopper while the other agent led the rest to shade and tried to make them comfortable.
He then turned back to Roger and Bwana and saw they had drawn a map in the earth and hunkered down. Roger stuck a stick in the earth. ‘This is where we were camping. Still got our gear there. Woke up in the night, sensed something was wrong—’
‘Sensed how?’ Gonzalez shouted over the roar of the chopper lifting off.
Bwana shrugged at him. ‘We’ve lived with danger a long time. Knowing when something is off is second nature to us.’
Gonzalez nodded, expecting the answer, and waved at Roger to carry on.
‘So we woke up, scouted around a bit, and saw this glow in the night, followed it and came across these guys.’ He stuck another stick in the ground. ‘This is where the bastards shot three women, and then we took them all out and led the women here, about four miles from where the action happened.’
‘And if we track back, we’ll find the bodies?’ Gonzalez asked them.
‘Danged right, but you’d better get there before buzzards and animals make short work of them. You’ll also find their rifles, smashed, and if you go back further, our gear.’
‘We’ll be obliged if you get our gear back,’ Bwana said straight faced.
Gonzalez laughed. ‘We’ll try.’ He looked at the sheet of paper Bwana handed over to him.
‘Coordinates of all the points Rog marked over there,’ Bwana explained.
Gonzalez nodded in thanks, stood up, and used his radio to check where the chopper was. He then walked over to the women, tried talking to them, and walked back defeated.
‘Have seen this before. The bandits drug them to the eyeballs and then make them walk the trails. Makes it easier for them to manage. By the way, did the bastards have any markings on them? Any gang signs?’
‘Had a playing card sign on them. Here.’ Bwana pulled out his phone and brought up a photograph and showed it to Gonzalez.
Bwana scrolled through a few more pictures and showed them to Gonzalez.
Gonzalez whistled as he swiped through the pictures. ‘I dunno how well you guys are clued on gangs operating on the border, but these guys, 5Clubs, are an upcoming gang who’ve muscled in and started taking over the drug and human-trafficking business. This is the first time we’ve busted one of their runs.’
He looked up. ‘Once we get you back to Tucson and sort out all the formalities and paperwork, will you come back with me to locate the bodies?’
‘We’re good to go right now,’ Bwana replied.
Gonzalez shook his head. ‘I wish we could, but paperwork is paperwork. Still let’s see if we can grease the wheels and turn it around quickly.’
They heard the chopper returning and looked up.
‘There’s another behind it,’ Roger commented.
‘Yup, I want to get the women back to Tucson and medical attention as soon as possible,’ Gonzalez said as he approached the women and got them organized.
Roger and Bwana followed him and helped him to split the women in two groups and get them aboard the choppers.
‘We’ll be turning back as soon as you meet the DCPA and debrief,’ Gonzalez shouted over the racket of the chopper.
‘Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Hugo Fernandez,’ he clarified on seeing Roger’s and Bwana’s quizzical looks. ‘El Jefe in Tucson, for the moment.’
Roger nodded and stared out of the chopper. He knew what was coming: briefing after briefing, to bureaucrats. He looked at Bwana, who read his mind and shrugged.
They were greeted by a phalanx of ambulances, doctors, and agents, who rushed to the group of women and took them away. Gonzalez led Roger and Bwana to the DCPA’s office, who rose from his seat and strode around his desk to greet them. The room was bare of decoration except for a few awards and framed pictures of the President, and one of a uniformed person who they took to be the Chief of the Border Patrol.