“I’m fine,” I said, standing up. “What happened?”
“They hit us with some kind of big gun right after we took off. It punched that hole in the chopper. The pilots were hit with frag. We made it a few miles, but it was too much damage. They were trying to set us down when the pilot died. That’s how we ended up in the pool.”
Tailor looked over at us, flustered. “I can’t raise the base. This is bad, really bad.”
“Switchblade-Four-Alpha, this is Stingray-Two-Zero,” a new voice said, crackling over our radios.
That was the call-sign for our air support. One of Vanguard’s Super Tucano turboprop attack planes roared overhead and began to circle our position. Vanguard was one of the best-funded private military companies in the business. We could provide our own air support if we needed to.
“Stingray-Two-Zero, this is Switchblade-Four-Alpha,” Tailor said. “What’s your status?”
“We were going to ask you the same thing, Four-Alpha,” the pilot replied. “We’ve lost communication with the airfield. It looks bad down there.”
“We’ve got multiple wounded and multiple KIA. We need an immediate medevac. Five of us, six Exodus personnel, and the package. Eight confirmed KIA, including the crew of the chopper.” Switchblade-Four was down to just me, Tailor, Skunky, Tower, and Harper.
As Tailor talked to the pilot, trying to figure out what was going on, I looked over at Ling and her people and at the young girl that we’d gone through so much trouble to acquire. I didn’t know who the girl was or why Exodus wanted her so badly. She had to be important, though, since Ling had offered us an ungodly sum of money to go into Cancun, guns blazing, to rescue her. The fact that we’d be violating the UN cease-fire hadn’t seemed to bother her.
Tailor let go of his radio microphone. “Pilot says there’s an armed convoy headed our way up Kukulkan Boulevard. Looks like Mendoza’s militia. They saw us go down, I guess. Couple trucks full of guys and some technicals. He’ll provide cover, but he’s low on ammo.”
“Just like us,” Skunky interjected.
Ling put her gloved hand on Tailor’s shoulder. “I need you to get your men moving,” she said. “I’ll contact my people to see if I can find out what’s going on.”
As Ling trotted off, Tailor turned back to us with a worried look on his face. “Val, Skunky, c’mon, we gotta go.” Nodding, I followed him as he waved to the others. Standing away from the Exodus people, we huddled up. “Listen up, Switchblade-Four,” Tailor said, addressing us as a team. “We’re in some serious shit here. I don’t know what’s going on back at the base. I got a bad feeling.” Tailor looked over his shoulder as an explosion detonated to the southeast. The Tucano had begun its attack run.
“This is the third time we’ve broken the cease-fire this month,” Skunky said, anxiously grasping his scoped, accurized M14. “You don’t think . . .”
“I know what I think,” Tower, our machine gunner, said. Sweat beaded on his dark face. “I think they left us here.”
That got everyone’s attention. Being abandoned in-country was every mercenary’s worst nightmare.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tailor said. “Everybody shut up and listen. I don’t trust these Exodus assholes. When we start moving, y’all look out for each other. If we have to, we’ll ditch these guys and head out on our own.”
I flinched. “Tailor, they’ve got wounded and a kid. And where in the hell do you think we’re gonna go?”
“Don’t argue with me!” Tailor snapped. The pressure was getting to him. “We’ll figure it out. Now get ready. We’re moving out. Keep your spacing, use cover, and watch for snipers.”
“Get some!” the rest of us shouted in response.
“Mr. Tailor, I’ve got some bad news,” Ling said, approaching our group. She had a satellite phone in her hand. “I don’t think anyone’s coming for us.”
“What?” Tailor asked, his face going a little pale.
“Something happened. According to my people, the UN shut down all of Vanguard’s operations about an hour ago.”
“The UN?” Tailor asked, exasperated. “But the Mexican government—”
“The Mexican Nationalist government dissolved last night, Mr. Tailor. I don’t have all the details. I’m afraid we’re on our own.”
“All we have to do is get to the safe areas in the city, right?” Harper asked. Since the cease-fire, half of Cancun was controlled by UN peacekeepers.
Ling took off her tinted shooting glasses and wiped her brow on her sleeve. “I don’t think that’s wise,” she said, putting the glasses back on. “All employees of Vanguard have been declared unlawful combatants by the UN. I’m sorry, but we need to go, now.” We all looked at each other, and several obscenities were uttered. We were now on our own in a country where we’d made a lot of enemies.
“They sold us out,” Tower said. “I told you!”
Tailor spoke up. “It don’t matter. Let’s move.” He took off after Ling. The rest of us followed, spacing ourselves out in a small column. Ling rallied the Exodus personnel, and they followed her as she climbed over the edge of the pool. Two of them were always within arm’s reach of the strange young girl. We quickly moved across the courtyard of the resort complex, heading for the buildings. The grass was overgrown, and the palm trees were untended.
Tailor tried to contact the pilots for an update but got no response. It was obvious something was wrong. The small attack plane zoomed back over the resort in a steep right turn, ejecting flares as it went. An instant later, a missile shrieked across the sky, trailing smoke behind it. The Super Tucano exploded in mid-air, raining burning debris into the ocean below. A Rafale fighter jet with UN markings roared overhead, turning to the east.
Our entire group froze in disbelief. This day just kept getting better and better. Beyond the noise of the fighter’s engines, the distinctive sound of a large helicopter approaching could be heard.
Tailor grabbed my shoulder and pulled me along. “Move, move, move!” he shouted, breaking into a run.
“Into the hotel, quickly!” Ling ordered. Behind us, a huge Super Cougar transport helicopter descended past our crash site and set down in the courtyard. Like the fighter jet, it bore UN markings. More than twenty soldiers, clad in urban camouflage and blue berets, spilled out of the chopper. They fanned out and immediately started shooting at us. Rounds snapped past my head as I ran across the hotel lobby. I jumped, slid across the reception desk, and crashed to the floor below. I landed on top of Tailor. Harper landed next to me.
“What do we do?” I asked, climbing off of Tailor. The water-damaged lobby was illuminated by hazy daylight streaming through the huge, shattered skylight. The wall in front of us was pockmarked with puffs of plaster dust as bullets struck. The reception desk was heavily constructed out of marble and concrete, so it provided decent cover. The hotel interior was ruined from disuse and stunk of rot.
“Why are they shooting at us?” Tailor screamed.
Ling was crouched down next to Tailor. She shouted in his ear. “I told you, they declared you unlawful combatants. We broke the cease-fire. They’re just following orders!” She then reached up, leveled her assault rifle across the counter, and ripped off a long burst. “Protect the child!” The Exodus operatives under her command obeyed her order without hesitation. The two men guarding the young girl hustled her, crouched over, to the very back of the room. The rest started shooting, causing the UN troops outside to break their advance and dive for cover.