"Okay, hang in."
"Copy"
Major Duncan Ventana, the Harrier flight leader, paused. He radioed the air force AWACS and requested to speak with the mission crew commander. He had the AWACS commander confirm that he was cleared to shoot down the intruder if the pilot did not comply with radio or hand signals. The confirmation was immediate and firm.
The Harrier flight leader keyed his radio. "Duffy, let s go jump them."
"This should be a good cocktail story."
Click-click.
They stayed in loose formation while the AWACS gave them vectors toward the first MD Explorer. Ventana detached his wingman and began slowing when he had a visual on the Mexican helicopter. The MD was west of Carmen, Arizona, twelve miles inside the U. S-Mexican border.
Closing on the right side of the MD, Ventana continued to slow the Harrier to make eye contact with the pilot and copilot. The Mexicans made an abrupt, steep turn to the left and continued turning for 270 degrees, rolling level heading for Interstate 19.
Ventana swung around in trail. Very clever, pal — can't risk shooting anything toward the interstate. Well, let's see about this. He made a pass low and directly over the MD with the Harriers nozzle deflected. The 23,000-plus pounds of extremely hot vectored-thrust had an upsetting effect on the small helicopter. The shaken pilots had their hands full for a few seconds before they regained control.
The MD Combat Explorer pirouetted toward the Harrier and opened fire with the .50-caliber Gatling guns. Ventana s Harrier was taking hits as he accelerated away and armed his weapons. Sonofabitch!
"Duffy — Smoke. This guy just took a shot at me, hit me in the wing! Watch your step!"
"Yeah, this clown is all over the sky."
"Smoke — Festus Ten. The third helo just turned north."
"Okay, help is on the way," Ventana radioed, as he allowed the Harrier to accelerate to 300 knots. Keeping his eyes on the MD, he tightened his turn. The helicopter was flying southbound at 200 feet directly over the interstate.
"Smoke," Ventanas wingman radioed, "he fired — just fired at me!"
"Put him on the ground."
"Roger."
Ventana waited until there was an opening in the flow of interstate traffic and timed his pass perfectly. He opened fire with his 25mm cannon and chewed the MD Combat Explorer to shreds. It crashed in a ball of flames on the side of the interstate. Traffic from both directions began slowing when the drivers saw the flames and rising cloud of black smoke.
Without hesitating, Ventana went after the third helicopter.
"Smoke — Duffy. This guy is down."
"Roger, you re at my one o'clock low, passin close to your port side. Dont do anything until you have me in sight."
"Copy."
Ventana searched the sky for a few seconds. "Duffy, do you have a visual on the third helo?"
"Negative."
Easing the power back, Ventana was frustrated. He could not locate the intruder. A call to the AWACS confirmed that they had lost contact with the gunship about two miles behind Ventana's Harrier. He snapped the airplane into a high-G turn. I'll be damned.
Sure enough, he found the helicopter, minus the crew, on the ground near a road leading to the Tubac Presidio State Historical Park. The terrified pilots, who had witnessed their CO and another squadron helicopter being blown out of the sky, had departed for another zip code.
President Cord Macklin was meeting in the Oval Office with his closest advisers about the next step to take with Mexico. The expanded war on terrorism was progressing reasonably well in the Middle East. Senior military officers were managing the well-planned campaign in a very professional manner.
Hartwell Prost caught Macklins eye. "Mr. President, the events of the last few days underscore the need to limit the Mexican military before more people are killed on both sides."
Uncharacteristically, Pete Adair interrupted brusquely. "We cant just barge in and start a war with Mexico."
"I'm not talking about starting a war," Prost shot back acrimoniously. "I'm talking about preventing a war, saving lives, saving Mexican lives by not allowing them to get into a position to be killed."
Nerves were drawn tight and tempers were beginning to flare.
SecDef started to respond. "I'm telling you—"
"Pete, let him finish," the president said firmly.
Prost glanced at Chalmers, Austin, and Dave Timkey. "The Mexicans only have a handful of obsolete F-5 fighters — nine or ten, I believe. They're all stationed at Santa Lucia, the primary air base. If we bomb the runways and taxiways, they can't get off the ground to put themselves in harm's way."
"What if their planes have been dispersed to other air bases?" Timkey asked, in his soft southern drawl.
"We can get aerial and space-based reconnaissance fairly quickly." Prost turned to the president. "They also have sixty or seventy armed PC-7 counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft, high performance turboprops. They operate the COIN aircraft primarily from the La Paz, Santa Gertrudis, and Zapopan air bases.
"If we destroy those runways and taxiways, and the runways closest to our border where they could operate, they're out of business. We don't have to worry about the air bases in southern Mexico because they don't have any refueling aircraft. No tankers, limited range, end of the Mexican Air Force problem."
Brad Austin voiced his thoughts. "Your idea has merit, but I would like to contact President Cardenas and tell him why we think it's necessary to ground his air force. As we know, he has little if any control over the military, and he seems anxious to work with us."
All eyes turned to Macklin. "I can't disagree; anything to keep this situation under control. Let's see if we can contact President Cardenas. Brad, you and I will talk with him."
"Yes, sir."
"Gentlemen," the president said, "let's take a break."
President Macklin was pleased with the conversation he and Austin had with President Cardenas. When Prost, Timkey, and Chalmers returned to the Oval Office, Macklin turned to Austin. "Brad, would you bring everyone up to date?"
"Happy to, sir. Although President Cardenas was initially surprised by our suggestion, he endorsed what we feel is in the best interest of both countries. His primary concern is for the safety of everyone involved, not the infrastructure." A hint of a smile crossed Austin's face. "He even went so far as to tell President Macklin that he wouldn't mind if we put the fear of God in his generals and admirals. Hes a man reaching for a life ring, and he trusts our integrity and professionalism. He knows we arent a threat to him or to Mexico's sovereignty."
Macklin picked up. "The most striking aspect of the conversation is a renewed feeling of trust. The more time we invest with President Cardenas, the more visibility at the top, the stronger his base will become. Bottom line, he has given us his blessing on whatever we have to do to protect our country and our citizens."
Austin cleared his throat. "President Cardenas requested a conference as soon as possible. We re in the process of making arrangements to meet him, hopefully in the next day or two."
The president placed his hands on his desk. "It s time to call it a day. Let s plan on meeting here tomorrow at eight A. M."
Chapter 28
Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas is a distinguished luxury resort situated on the island of Crete between two quaint bays. The spectacular vacation destination caters to the rich arid famous who demand the ultimate in tactile pleasure. Services include limousines, helicopters, yachts for hire, and Leaijet charters.
Saeed Shayhidi reclined on an oversized settee in the roomy Imperial Penthouse Suite at the hotel complex. The suite included a well-equipped gym, personal fitness trainer, private pool, movie theater, masseuse, butler, pianist, and chef.