Guerilla Warfare (2006) (33 page)

Now thoroughly frightened about this new potential danger, the convicts obeyed their chief and began hurriedly trekking through the jungle in a northeast direction.

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FALANGIST FIELD HEADQUARTERS

0610 HOURS LOCAL

THE generalisimo and the headquarters guards looked up in alarm at the sudden rustling of brush to the north. Coronel Jeronimo Busch, Suboficial Adolfo Punzarron, along with Chaubere and Muller, came into view, hurrying into the clearing. Busch wasted no time in reporting in to the commander-in-chief.

"Mi generalisimo, four helicopters have strafed our entire force," the coronel said grimly. "Casualties are high. We were lucky to be able to move southeast out of harm's way. We found Gonzales and his men shot up along with some of those cursed convicts. But there were only a dozen or so corpses of the miserable criminals. We could not find the others."

"A new, unexpected development has been thrown at us by the enemy," Castillo said. "Perhaps we were drawn into a trap from the outset. I don't know. I wanted to order the machine guns brought down here, but I could not raise Platas."

"They are all dead, mi generalisimo," Busch said. "And the machine guns destroyed."

"What about Ignacio Perez?" Castillo asked.

Busch shrugged. "We saw nothing of him up there. The miserable little bastard was probably hiding in the woods like a trembling rabbit."

Punzarron, Chaubere and Muller went over to the ammunition dump to refill their magazines.

Chapter 19

SELVA VERDE MOUNTAINS

EASTERN SLOPE

18 JANUARY

0930 HOURS LOCAL

A slight wind blew across the open area where Senior Chief Buford Dawkins, the Odd Couple and Garth Red-hawk waited with Ignacio Perez. Dawkins had Ignacio's rucksack in hand, and it had been taped shut in accordance with strict instructions given by the man who was to pick it up. Ignacio was in a good mood, knowing that he had just come out of one of the worst stages of his life. Although the SEALs were not able to guarantee him any good deals like immigration to the U. S. A., he knew there would be some sort of reward for him because of the valuable information he had provided. Ignacio at least had a realistic hope he would be turned over to the Americans. The worst-case scenario dictated that he would be given a fresh start someplace where no one knew about him or his background.

A Brazilian Army CH-146 chopper appeared in the eastern sky and made a careful circle around the landing area before coming in. As soon as it touched down, a lone man wearing a nondescript military fatigue uniform stepped out. He walked over to the SEALs and spoke to Dawkins. "Haul ass:'

"Damn quick," Dawkins replied as the countersign. "Here's the guy, and here's his goodies?'

The stranger took the rucksack without another word, gesturing to Ignacio to come with him. They walked over to the helicopter and got in. It immediately took off, turning toward Brazil.

Dave Leibowitz scratched his armpit. "Where do you think they're taking him, Senior Chief?"

"To Langley, Virginia, no doubt," Dawkins replied. "The CIA is gonna wring him dry. And you can bet intelligence reps from a half-dozen countries on both sides of the Atlantic will want to talk at him too:'

Mike Assad hefted his CAR-15 up on his shoulder. "The little guy will get something out of this."

"It depends on his prior record," Dawkins said. "If he's clean-cut, he might even be given a new I. D. and a resident visa for the States."

"He's not going to be able to settle in South America or Europe," Redhawk opined. "He's got to go somewhere them Falangists can't get to him. Once they figure he ratted 'em out, he's gonna be on a shit list."

"He's gonna be on a hit list," Dawkins said, correcting him. "Let's go. The Skipper's waiting for us."

The SEALs turned and walked toward the jungle to go back up the mountain.

.

GRAN CHACO

FUERTE FRANCO

1200 HOURS LOCAL

WHEN the Falangists who had participated in the battle returned to Fuerte Franco to join the rear echelon party, the entire group numbered 60 men. This was down from the 110 they had when at peak strength. These survivors expected an attack at any time and had been spread thinly among the bunkers and other fortifications.

Morale was decidedly bad. A dark feeling of hopelessness permeated the collective mood of the Falangists, and their responses to shoring up defenses were listless. It seemed a probability rather than a possibility that a much larger force would be sent against them. The senior officers quickly picked up on the growing emotional depression, and Generalisimo Castillo called a staff meeting of his ranking commanders to discuss an issue that was growing more serious by the hour.

Coronel Jeronimo Busch and Comandantes Javier Toledo and Gustavo Cappuzzo took seats in front of the generalisimo's desk in the Centro de Mando bunker. The mood was glum, but the officers held out hope for the situation to turn around. And this was the one thing emphasized by Coronel Busch.

"We still have reinforcements that can be sent us," he said in an optimistic tone. "It is only a matter of time. Have we not had additional men coming in here from time to time? There is no reason why that should stop. There will be more weapons, supplies and ammunition as well. Even helicopters. Perhaps several jet fighters will be able to fly support sorties for us."

Toledo caught the enthusiasm. "Por su puesto--of course! We have no reason to despair. Time is on our side."

"You need to speak to the men of all this potential, mi generalisimo," Cappuzzo said.

"Yes," Busch agreed. "But speak to them as if all this is on a schedule that is already in the administrative mill. Even if we must endure an assault before things improve, the men will fight heroically, even desperately, if they have hope."

"Muy Bien very well!" Castillo said, banging his fist on the desk. "We will parade the men this afternoon, and I will deliver a speech of inspiration to them:'

.

1400 HOURS

THE formation was a mass one without regard to sub-unit integrity. The Falangists, with their capitdnes and comandantes at their head, faced Generalisimo Castillo with Coronel Jeronimo Busch standing to his left rear. The men were called to attention, then put at ease. Castillo took a half-dozen steps toward them.

"Guerreros Falangistas--Falangist warriors!" he spoke loudly. "You stand now in the vanguard of our movement; your courage and devotion to the fascist cause undaunted and unswerving. Although we have lost many men and are forced back into Fuerte Franco, we are far from defeated. Even now there are several lifts of jet attack-fighters waiting to be brought out to aid us. Two extra SA-330 helicopters are waiting in Argentina to be ferried here. A recent purchase of 82-millimeter heavy mortars and 12.7-millimeter heavy machine guns has been made from the Russian Federation."

Busch carefully studied the men to their front, happy to note that many were beginning to stand straighter with their shoulders back. This was the sure sign of professional soldiers whose morale had begun an upswing.

Castillo continued, "All our supporters and sources in Europe are working full-time to get reinforcements out to us from across the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, brave soldiers, marines and airmen of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile are standing by to be funneled into our replacement program. They will be followed within a short time by Spaniards, Frenchmen, Portuguese and Germans. The result of these precise personnel actions is that we will be stronger than ever. Now what we ask of you is to maintain the faith! Stay brave! Remember that any setbacks, like this one, are only temporary. Consider it an opportunity to grow in the spiritual and physical strength that make us truly worthy of the victory that will be ours." He paused and raised his hands, shouting, "Arcangel Miguel, nos bendiga--Archangel Michael, bless us! With your divine protection and guidance we shall prevail and cast the devils of communism and socialism into hell with Satan."

The resultant cheers were not orchestrated as the Falangist fighters exploded into spontaneous shouting, their fighting ardor completely restored.

.

WASHINGTON, D. C.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT

20 JANUARY

1030 HOURS LOCAL

THE conference room was set aside for particularly sensitive sessions. It was located adjacent to the secretary of state's office and could be accessed from there or by a special corridor that was manned twenty-four/seven by a special detail of the Capitol Police. It was not a large place, and it seemed crowded with the half-dozen people seated around the one table in the small chamber.

The American contingent consisted of Secretary of State Benjamin Bellingham, White House Chief of Staff Arlene Entienne and Undersecretary Carl Joplin, PhD. The other three seats were taken up by Arturo Sanchez of Bolivia, Luis Bonicelli of Argentina and Patricio Ludendorff of Chile. This trio of gentlemen were special envoys from their Latin American nations who had first appeared in the United States to seek help in fighting the Falangists. The agenda for that morning consisted of two subjects.

The first was the revelations of intelligence brought out of the Gran Chaco by a Falangist defector identified as Ignacio Perez. Senor Perez's veracity was wholly accepted, even though he had been positively identified as a convicted embezzler, a deserter from the Spanish Foreign Legion and a member of a fanatical fascist organization. Investigations and interrogations had fully explained the unusual circumstances of his life, thus offering satisfactory clarifications as to his past conduct and associations.

The South Americans reported that there was an ongoing process in their armed forces of culling a great number of loyal officers out of lists of fascist revolutionaries furnished by Perez. For Chile, however, the split between loyalists and rebels was almost 50 percent, though many of the suspects were no more than fellow travelers who had done nothing but express sympathy for the fascist movement. These latter want-to-be revolutionaries would be reprimanded then scattered throughout the army and navy to less desirable postings.

The second item on the agenda concerned the presence of Americans participating in the armed conflict directed against the Falangist Army. It was no longer possible to credibly deny that norteamericanos were fighting in the Gran Chaco territory of the Republic of Bolivia. But it was workable to identify them as employees of private military companies as well as freebooting mercenaries who hired on as temporary operatives.

With everyone in agreement and putting up a united front, the session was brought to a satisfactory adjournment. However, Dr. Carl Joplin had another matter that only he could discuss with the Bolivian gentleman, Arturo Sanchez. As every one got up to leave, Joplin invited Sanchez to accompany him to his office for a rather sensitive tete-a-tete.

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CARL JOPLIN'S 0FFICE

1400 HOURS LOCAL

WHEN Joplin and Sanchez settled down in the former's private office, the Chilean knew exactly what they would be discussing. He saved a lot of time by saying, "We must address the problem of that unfortunate incident at Novida."

"The massacre of the Brazilian squatters received a lot of publicity," Joplin acknowledged. "The fact that some behind-the-scenes chicanery on my part convinced the Brazilian government that the Falangists were the culprits does not clear those muddy waters."

"Not to worry," Sanchez said confidently. "I have been informed that the removal of one man involved in the crime will silence any others with knowledge of the truth."

Joplin wasn't convinced. "How can getting rid of a single individual accomplish that much?"

"The individual in question has power and influence," Sanchez said. "All the less-ranking people involved will know that any unwise revelations or statements on their part will result in them also being dealt with in a manner of extreme prejudice."

Joplin thought a moment, then smiled at his Chilean friend. "It works for me, Arturo."

.

THE LOZANO GRASSLANDS

1630 HOURS LOCAL

THE fourteen SEALs left in the OA trudged along the Rio Ancho in the direction of their base camp. The two KIAs Lamar Taylor and Wes Ferguson had been evacuated through the efforts of the same CIA guy who had picked up Ignacio Perez. The seriously wounded Pech Pecheur and Connie Concord had also been taken out. Milly Mills and Gutsy Olson were last-minute additions to the list of evacuees. They protested bitterly that their wounds were minor, but Hospital Corpsman James Bradley stated that their injuries needed proper examination. The chance for serious infection in the Gran Chaco was high enough to warrant them being taken away.

It took a stern direct order from Lieutenant Wild Bill Brannigan to make the two SEALs get aboard the helicopter for the trip out of Brannigan's realignment had put him, Frank Gomez and James Bradley in the Command Element. The First Assault Section was commanded by Chief Matt Gunnarson with five riflemen, and the Second Assault Section had four riflemen led by Senior Chief Buford Dawkins. However, the Odd Couple was back on scouting duty, and that would cut the First Section down to three riflemen from time to time.

Now Mike Assad and Dave Leibowitz kept the pace slow as the trek continued down the river. There hadn't been any rain for awhile, and a dusty heat hung over the savannah, sapping the strengths of men who hadn't chowed down on Class A rations for the past fifty-two days.