Now Valdez waited for critical news concerning Kavanagh’s whereabouts.
He took the cigar out of his mouth and rolled it between his fingers. Four years ago, he had renamed his ragtag guerillas the Free Mexico Army. He had fled to America for sanctuary, although he’d continued to send assassins and guerillas into his native land. Surprisingly, his army had grown from Mexican nationals in America and from those escaping the Chinese prison across the Rio Grande. American advisors had trained his men until he had over sixty thousand soldiers on U.S. soil. America desperately needed allies and needed trained fighters. His sixty thousand made him a force, and the Americans hoped that someday he could incite a Mexican uprising and return to his country as its new leader. Because of that, the Americans catered to him on many issues. He had contacts among them and could learn hidden things, such as where they had put Paul Kavanagh.
While inhaling, with the hot smoke tickling the back of his throat and the taste causing saliva to congeal, Valdez’s eyes burned like icy motes of hate. The CIA man had told him Marines never left their own on the battlefield. That was a lie, and people lied to Cesar Valdez at their peril.
There was a knock on the door.
“Yes,” Valdez said.
The door creaked open and one-eyed Torres stared at him. Torres, the Oakland Raiders fan, looked like the football team’s logo, although minus the helmet. “The Marine is in California, Colonel,” Torres told him.
“You are sure of this?” Valdez asked.
“One hundred percent sure.”
Valdez considered this, finally saying, “California is a large state.”
Torres nodded, and his smile was grim. “The Marine is guarding a man from Washington who tours the front.”
Valdez inhaled so the cigar glowed fiery, and he nodded. “The Chinese have snipers, yes?”
“It is true,” Torres said.
“Perhaps as this Washington man tours the front, Chinese snipers will kill him. It has happened before. Yes. I like it. The Marine guarding the Washington man—no one will care what happens to him if Chinese snipers kill the important one.”
“And if the Americans learn we did this?” Torres asked.
The cigar glowed once more. “The Americans failed to protect Maria. You know what happens when people fail me?”
Torres nodded.
“Send Romo,” the colonel said. “He is our best killer and he is near the bastard who failed my daughter. Forge a pass, allowing Romo to go where he pleases.”
“The Americans are nervous, Colonel. Security has been tightening.”
Valdez stared at Torres. The man looked down, nodding quickly. “It will be as you say, Colonel.”
“I want Kavanagh’s head. If Romo cannot bring it to me, I want pictures of Kavanagh suffering brutally before he dies. I want to see a dagger planted in his eye, planted to the hilt.”
Torres nodded once more.
“Go. Do this. Then we leave Laredo tonight. I do not like the reports from Mexico. The Chinese in this sector are up to something.”
“Yes, Colonel,” Torres said. He softly closed the door behind him.
After several glows of the cigar, Valdez whispered in a voice few would have recognized. “Maria, my darling girl, I will avenge you and then I will free our country from the foreigner. This I vow to you, my child. This I vow by the Madonna.”
-4-
The Abyss
(NNI) In the early morning hours of May 17, a thunderous crashing boom awoke soldiers of the Free Mexico Army and General Kemp’s Fifth Corps.
The Chinese claim American provocations have forced their hand. “It was an entry point for terrorists coming into allied land to commit murder and mayhem,” the Chinese ambassador said later. “We will defend the SNP Revolution, with brutal force, if we must. China, the entire Pan Asian Alliance and the South American Federation stand shoulder to shoulder with allied Mexico. American provocations must end here and now. Otherwise, China will act and end them through force of arms.”
American artillery responded to the bombardment. According to embedded sources, Chinese counter-artillery erupted soon thereafter, creating considerable confusion among the Americans. The indications appear obvious. The Chinese have planned this artillery barrage thoughtfully and carefully, perhaps with a greater intent in mind.
Considerable troop movement behind Chinese lines has heightened fear and worry in Laredo and in San Antonio, and, one would suspect, among higher American Command.
“Is this the Big One?” soldiers are asking, and likely, many in the country are wondering the same thing.
“What’s wrong, honey,” Cheri asked on the computer screen. “You look troubled. Are you in Texas, by any chance?”
Paul shook his sweaty head. He wore regular body armor, with a combat helmet and assault rifle on the table beside the screen. He was Colonel Norman’s “bodyguard,” but had done precious little of that this past week. Mainly, he drove the colonel’s truck everywhere. It was a gray Dodge with reinforced sides, ballistic glass windshields and bullet-resistant tires. The man said he liked the truck’s comfort and this colonel seemed to get what he liked.
Colonel Norman spent most of his time in conference with generals. Paul had never been in those meetings nor even stood near the door. He drove from one headquarter to another. A few times the colonel went on a sightseeing tour, with five Humvees of staff officers following behind the bouncing Dodge.
“You look upset,” Cheri said. “Is it about the news?”
Paul had heard about the Chinese artillery attack in Texas on the Fifth Corps there. The colonel had commented earlier that NNI’s writer had gotten it wrong. It hadn’t been a “barrage,” but a “fire assault.” Barrages assisted defensive or offensive troops by providing a wall of fire, or there was a standing barrage of smoke shells or poison gas to screen or prevent enemy movement or observation. Near Laredo, the Chinese shells had targeted strongholds, fortifications and American artillery parks. It had been concentrated on targets for the obvious purpose of destruction. It implied an impending attack on Kemp’s Fifth Corps, which guarded the route from Laredo to San Antonio deeper in Texas.
That had worried Colonel Norman. If the Chinese attacked in Texas, what were their plans along the SoCal border? It wasn’t adding up for the expert from Washington.
Paul had listened to talk before the artillery attack in Texas. Colonel Norman and the SoCal generals were worried about the Chinese in their sector. According to scuttlebutt, Paul had learned the Chinese had expended too many drones along the border for it to simply be routine reconnaissance. Night traffic near the border had increased, too.
Paul knew the veteran ground-pounders were telling each other it was another Chinese fake. The artillery fire-assault in Texas proved that, according to the vets. If anything big were going to happen, it would be in Texas. It made more strategic sense to happen there, anyway. If the Chinese broke through in Texas, they could possibly split the United States in two by driving deep into the flat American heartland. It was good attacking country because it was hard to defend, with no choke points. The vets here had agreed: the Chinese weren’t going to hit the strongest American defense: the SoCal Fortifications. No way, the Chinese were obviously probing for the soft spot in America’s underbelly.