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The Company
Time: Monday, March 14, 2011 (night).
Place: Chihuahua, Mexico.
Last Event: Shooed out of town by crooked cops.
Having bribed their way out of trouble with a pair of unpleasant local detectives, the Agents reluctantly leave the city to avoid further harassment. They head west along a winding road to the first stop that looks as if it may offer lodgings for the night. This proves to be not so much a village as a scummy accretion of roadhouses, gas stations, and cycle shops, the whole place overrun by yahoos intoxicated on copious quantities of tequila and stronger things. One establishment does have an ancient sign in the window, though: CUARTOS. Zhang, driving the lead vehicle, pulls over; the others follow.
While Anabel can pass as Mexican and is the team's best talker, she's uncomfortable with going into this place alone. She taps Vinnie for backup and the two head over to the roadhouse. On the short walk from the truck to the door, Anabel draws numerous wolf-whistles and slaps on the rear from the knot of bikers smoking and drinking out front, and overhears words to the effect that they believe her to be the night's entertainment. Inside, the proprietor appears to think the same thing, and nods toward a small stage that has a pole installed. To Vinnie's surprise, Anabel offers to put on a show . . . in return for rooms for her posse, whatever tips she earns, and no questions asked. The barman agrees.
By now Anabel and Vinnie have been gone for a while. The other Agents know that it's just a matter of time before the locals will take an unhealthy interest in the group, so Qoqa and Paul decide to see what's going on, leaving the others to guard the vehicles. Despite not being a beauty queen like Anabel, Qoqa is treated to whistles and come-ons on the way over. Paul simply gets a wide berth. They order a couple of drinks to fit in and look around for Vinnie and Anabel, only to see the latter step out onto the stage – wearing very little – and start gyrating around the pole with remarkable familiarity.
The show goes extremely well. Anabel clearly knows what she's doing, while Vinnie is convincing in his role as her scuzzy manager. The take is a pile of tips, free booze, and (most important!) rooms for the night. However, it's evident that while the establishment may belong to the man with whom Anabel cut a deal, it's run by the bikers. Anabel keeps an eye on them from the stage – all part of her cunning plan – and spots several firearms as well as a satchel full of money, doubtless from a recent heist. Afterward, the owner of the place says that before he gives Anabel's "gang" rooms, he wants to see them meet with the leader of the outlaws and agree to peace for the night.
Vinnie does his best to negotiate with the lead biker. It isn't his best effort ever, but with Anabel as a sexy distraction, he manages to reach an accord: Anabel, her girlfriends (Jili, Qoqa, and Wen), and their gaggle of bodyguards and pimps (everybody else) are just passing through, and aren't about to bring the cops. With that done, the barman nods approvingly and shows Vinnie and Anabel to the rooms. The accommodations are brothel-quality, not hotel-grade, but they'll do.
The Agents post watches on the vehicles overnight: Wen and Zhang, then Hamid and Klas, followed by Paul and Jili, and finally Lev and Qoqa. Strangely, while everybody expects the worst – up to and including a gang war – nothing happens. The leader of the cycle gang proves to be a man of his word, at least with fellow criminals. The bikers simply hang out, drink, and eventually leave.
The morning of March 15, the Agents get up as bright and as early as the previous night's activities allow. The roadhouse's owner tries to talk Anabel into another night's work before she goes, but she tells him that she has someplace to be. Then remembering the crooked cops in Chihuahua, she adds that she'll be back soon. With that, the group hits the road.
Once the convoy is out of sight of civilization, Zhang pulls over in an isolated area spotted by Wen; the other drivers follow suit. Then Jili digs out the radio so that she and Anabel can call V. V once again has news from her unidentified HUMINT source: The bomb will make landfall at the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, in Michoacán state, within the next 24 hours. Unfortunately, the FSB's sources have inroads only into the Mexican side of the affair, so they cannot identify the cargo vessel. What the Russians do know is that those transporting the nuke plan to drive it to Tijuana, taking Federal Highway 15 for as much of the trip as possible; thus, V recommends intercepting it on land.
The Agents sign off and make plans to head south. They plot a route that takes them south to Hidalgo del Parral, southwest to Culiacán (home to the Tijuana Cartel's bosses), and then down the coast to Mazatlán – a good 16-17 hours of driving, at least. Everybody agrees that it would be best to do this in one long haul, even if that means multiple shifts behind the wheel. Provided that the team makes good time, this move should place them squarely in the path of the smugglers traveling north, who are unlikely to reach Mazatlán first unless they immediately put into port, offload their cargo without delay, and start driving like maniacs from Lázaro Cárdenas.
With that settled, the convoy hits the road. The first shift goes well; the Agents are more than halfway to their goal by 17:30. They pull over briefly to report in to V. V has little new info other than the fact that the cargo hasn't made land yet. However, she does warn that her source has cause to believe that the bomb is hidden in a load of drugs – doubtless heroin – from Afghanistan. Thus, the shipment will be of undue interest to the police and to rival cartels, neither of whom likely have a clue as to what it conceals.
After gassing up and grabbing a bite to eat, the Agents resume their journey. Although everybody is feeling a little sore and tired, the second half of the trip goes well, too. The team pulls into Mazatlán at 01:45 on Wednesday, March 16, with all four vehicles in good shape. Their first order of business is to find an isolated area and check in with V.
V tells Anabel that the nuke made landfall approximately six hours back, at 20:00. The FSB's source in Lázaro Cárdenas saw numerous crates loaded into eight heavy SUVs; the observer couldn't positively identify the vehicles' colors or models, only that all were "similar to Hummer H1s, with dark paint jobs." The Russians' spy counted 20 men with the convoy – some clearly not Mexican, all armed. V figures that puts the cargo at about six tons of . . . something. If just 10% of it is pure heroin, then the tremendous street value will have the gangsters on edge, to say nothing of their Afghan "partners" riding shotgun on their own special delivery.
The Agents pack away the radio and discuss how to handle the situation. Those with tactical training, particularly Lev, advise against a road ambush. Hitting a major Federal Highway in drug-cartel territory would draw so many cops and gangsters that the team would never have time to extract the bomb and clean up! Not to mention that it would be a high-profile hit, which is precisely the opposite of what V desires.
Anabel suggests that organized criminals with contacts in Asia – like the so-called Tijuana Cartel run out of Culiacán – will have the resources and wits to take things slow and use safe houses when transporting such a valuable cargo. Vinnie agrees with Anabel, noting that in his experience, the smugglers probably won't drive after dark, when it's difficult to see trouble or even other vehicles in their own procession. He believes that they'll stay in the Lázaro Cárdenas area tonight and start up the coast in the morning. Knowing what he knows about the speed and refueling needs of heavily laden SUVs, and the demands of trying to stay in a convoy, he suspects that they'll stop in Mazatlán tomorrow night. He adds that the package will likely change vehicles at that point.
Everyone decides to trust Vinnie and Anabel's judgment on this one, and to get some rest so as to be fresh in the morning. They take rooms at a low-end tourist hotel in Mazatlán for the night. For safety's sake, they post watches on the truck: Anabel and Wen, Hamid and Klas, Jili and Zhang, and finally Lev and Qoqa. The night passes uneventfully. By late morning, everybody is feeling considerably more energetic.
After breakfast, Jili gets V on the radio and Anabel shares the group's general plan: remain in Mazatlán, watch for a convoy of SUVs headed north into town, find out where they're stopping for the night, and hit the gangsters while they're not a moving target. V agrees with this strategy, echoing what Vinnie said about the smugglers' driving times and likely change of transportation, and adding that the FSB has intel – albeit weak intel – that these people have a safe house in Mazatlán. She concludes by telling the Agents that their primary extraction point is Mexico City (a 12-hour drive), but that she's looking into a classified "alternate."
With that, the Agents get to work. They send one car south, with Vinnie at the wheel, Paul and Wen as observers, and Jili on the radio. Their task is to drive up and down the highway until they spot eight SUVs in convoy, at which point they'll report in and shadow the vehicles. Lev and Qoqa take another car in search of an abandoned building or similar location where the team can prepare for a raid, should the opportunity present itself. Anabel and Zhang keep an eye on the truck full of equipment. Hamid remains in his hotel room, with Klas for security, to coordinate everyone by radio.
At around 14:00, Lev and Qoqa report that they've found a good hiding spot: an old pumping station on the outskirts of town. Toward 16:30, Jili radios in to say that Wen just spotted eight SUVs driving in convoy and that Vinnie is now on their trail. With Paul and Wen for eyes, Vinnie stealthily pursues the gangsters into the city. Eventually, the hunt takes him into a rundown-looking nonresidential area, where his quarry pulls into the compound of a business that purports to sell metal fittings, pipes, and sheeting.
Vinnie drives once around the block to check the place out. It consists of a large, open-air yard surrounded by a high fence of corrugated metal, accessible via a sliding metal gate. There's a one-storey office at one corner, with a street entrance just down the road from the gate. The lot extends over to the next street, where all that's visible is a large warehouse with sheet-metal walls and no windows or entrances. Little else is apparent from the car, and the Agents decide that it would be unwise to remain in the area.
The whole crew regroups at the hotel, where they agree that it would be best to hit the construction-supplies place posthaste. They drive all four vehicles over to the abandoned water works that Qoqa and Lev found, taking great pains to do so subtly and without being followed. Vinnie makes sure that everyone parks out of sight. Then the Agents unload the truck as quickly as possible, stashing the footlockers behind the crumbling walls of the pumping station.
Once the equipment is unloaded, it's time to gear up. Wen, Lev, and Klas take charge, checking firearms, adjusting body armor and load-bearing vests, and balancing loads for the entire group. Qoqa unpacks the medical supplies she bought earlier and divvies them up into first aid kits. By the time the team is kitted out and ready to roll, it's around 20:00.
no subject
I would expect some sort of stealth entry for as much as possible going by past encounters and the current mission paramters.