"The Falangists have infiltrated the armed forces of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina," Joplin explained have moles in key areas that have not yet been identified. This is one of those well-known secrets that exist in these situations. The spies and informers are undoubtedly making up lists of names of those who'll be eliminated when and if their revolution is successful."
"Blacklists are common among all conspirators," Bellingham pointed out. "Most shallow-minded zealots operate under the principle that other people are either with them or against them. There are no shades of gray in extremist political or religious movements."
"You must keep in mind that the Latin American military are not in close harmony with the populations of their countries," Joplin said. "Besides, many of the officers are uneasy because of the possibility this is the beginning of the biggest revolution in the history of South America. They don't want to be on the outside looking in if a continental fascist dictatorship is established. Such a government would dominate the southern portion of the continent very quickly, then eventually conquer the rest of it. Any participants would be guaranteed high rank in the resultant gigantic army, navy and air forces. Their strength and influence would rival that of the United States. An American Falangist movement would undoubtedly emerge as well. All this in perhaps less than a decade."
Bellingham shook his head, patting the folder. "My intelligence sources assure me this is a minor disturbance. In fact, it seems there's a CIA operative on the scene."
"The Falangists have won the hearts and minds of some of the locals," Joplin pointed out. "They now have a helicopter and heavy support weaponry. This is just a start of what could be a flood of aircraft, arms and personnel."
"What is the amount of this influx?"
"It can't be determined at this point," Joplin admitted. "I need your permission to go to the Department of Defense and request a buildup of our force down there. Initially, our special operations capabilities in the situation should be tripled."
"I don't feel that is necessary, Carl."
"Then let's save some American lives and abandon the project."
Bellingham frowned. "You know we can't do that! An agreement has already been made. It would be embarrassing if we pulled out. Hell! You were the one that worked out the deal."
"The SEALs stand a good chance of being wiped out, Ben!" Joplin snapped.
"I don't think so," Bellingham said. "Get back to me if there are any meaningful updates that radically change the situation."
"If that happens it will happen fast," Joplin warned him. "And it will be too late for our people involved in the mission?'
"I appreciate your concern, really," Bellingham said. "But--"
"Thanks for your time, Ben," Carl said, standing up. "Just remember, this is a situation that could blow apart on us. Big time!" He walked to the door, his shoulders slumped.
.
VILLAGE OF CARIDAD
1100 HOURS LOCAL
ALFREDO the CIA operative and Charlie Fire Team, along with the reverend Walter Borden, stood beside the Dauphin helicopter as the bundles of goods for the villagers were unloaded and set in neat stacks on the ground. The cargo contained bags of rice, beans, dried fruit and vegetable seeds. Three small crates were included that had been packed with clothing, tools and basic medical supplies.
The relief organization supplying the items was a clandestine group tied closely to certain intelligence elements. The parcels they sent were generic in appearance, no indication of their origin. Any necessary instructions printed on the packages inside were in French, Spanish, Italian, English, German, Portuguese, Chinese Mandarin, Chinese Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Hebrew and Filipino. No brand names or logos were in evidence, thus even the most determined investigator would not be able to trace them back to any particular country or source.
At a signal from Reverend Borden, several men came forward and began picking up the bundles, carrying them to the large meeting hail where the rest of the villagers happily waited. The people were ecstatic. After months of deprivation and the failed crops of the large vegetable gardens, they could now eat and replant. The clothing would replace their torn and worn garments, the tools would be used for the new planting, and the medical supplies, while rudimentary, would help with the treatment of minor injuries. The insect repellent was most welcome, as Borden's followers had been plagued mercilessly by mosquitoes since their first day in the Gran Chaco.
When all the cargo was neatly stacked under the thatched roof, Alfredo waited as the villagers gathered around them. When he had their undivided attention, he spoke to them in his fluent Spanish.
"Buena gente del pueblo de Caridad," he began. "We are happy to bring you these items to relieve your suffering and discomfort. We do this gladly but ask some favors of you in exchange for the gifts. You must never--nuncareveal where these packages and boxes came from. Comprenden? You must not tell anyone of the presence of Americans in this area. They have come here to destroy a band of very bad men who wish to enslave not only you but a great part of South America under a very cruel leader they call el generalisimo. The Americans do not want you to have to fight these bad men. They do not want you to be in any sort of danger. What they ask is that you simply observe what is going on around here. If you see the bad men, make note of the date, time and what they were doing. The Americans will come here now and then to gather this information as well as bring you more things that you need to make your village and farms grow. Also, if it is necessary, the Americans may ask you to temporarily take care of their wounded and sick. Or perhaps to offer them a hiding place under certain circumstances. They might even ask you to run errands for them in places were they cannot go."
Alfredo paused to light a cigarette, glancing at the crowd to judge their reception of his words. They seemed delighted to cooperate, and he felt the SEALs now had some good friends in the Gran Chaco.
"Ya!" he said, exhaling smoke. "Let us pass out these gifts to the people. El reverendo Borden will supervise the distribution."
Borden and a trio of his senior assistants formed the people by family groups into a long line to issue the food. Milly Mills stood beside Alfredo, watching as the rice and other staples were doled out. After a few minutes, a woman carrying a child in her arms came to Alfredo and spoke to him softly in a pleading voice. The CIA operative turned to Milly.
"This woman's child is sick with a bad fever," Alfredo explained. "She wants to know if there's anything you can do."
"There sure as hell is," Milly said. "The Navy's best hospital corpsman is back with our Command Element." He pulled out the handset of his AN/PRC-126 and pressed the transmit button. "Brigand, this is Charlie. Over."
.
HEADQUARTERS, GRUPO DE BATALLA
CAMPAMENTO ASTRAY
1400 HOURS LOCAL
SUBOFICIAL Adolfo Punzarron stood by the door of the EC-635 light utility chopper as his patrol of six riflemen climbed aboard. The rotors of the aircraft were spinning, and when Punzarron pulled himself into the troop compartment, the pilot kicked up the engine to take off. As soon as he was at 300 meters' altitude, he turned toward the southwest.
Intelligence gathered from the cattlemen of Novida indicated that this was the area where the mysterious invaders had been appearing from time to time. These antagonists, who seemed phantomlike, had the uncanny ability to appear and disappear at will. The command and staff of the Ejercito Falangista had decided it was time for violent contact with the elusive foe. Thus, Punzarron was now on his way to accomplish that goal.
As the helicopter sped over the Gran Chaco, the suboficial studied his map, matching it with the features on the ground. The chart, like others of that area, was inaccurate with misjudged distances, missed topographical features, and out-of-date references in the legends on the map's outer edge. Punzarron angrily shoved it back into the side pocket of his uniform trousers.