The next morning I reported to Forest who said he didn't have any answers for me as he didn't understand the file either. He accompanied me downstairs for the Bureau briefing.
It seems the clerks in the federal court building were somehow changing files and were making changes to the recorded trial transcripts so appeals would be easier. If this were true, there would be lawyers as well as clerks that were involved. A clerk wouldn't know exactly what to change in order to give a reviewing court reason to dismiss charges.
Something sounded really fishy with the whole thing as I had read in some of the early training that all original federal transcripts were filed in D.C. within the Library of Congress. I asked for one of the transcripts that was being forwarded to the review court, then I ordered the same transcript to be Fedex'd to me from D.C. to compare.
I had to go into the office to look through the law library to find out the procedures of the federal review panels. It seems that a single judge reviews the request then convenes the panel. The single judge was supposed to have ordered the transcript from D.C. to review the case but a clerk was being helpful and provided one locally. That was the first mistake. When the panel convened, they were using what the original review judge had for a transcript to make a panel decision. That was the second mistake.
People are lazy, so it's reasonable that the review judge would just take the provided file and go from there. My surprise though was that the other judges didn't request a copy. I went back through the panel's transcripts and found where three judges had requested copies of the D.C. file. The problem was the same clerk had provided what looked like an authentic file.
I went in to see Forest and went over what I had found so far. I told him that the judges were only at fault for not personally ordering the transcripts. The statutes specifically required judges to personally order the review materials. It was a possible disbarment offense, but it was only a sign of poor judgment on their part.
I asked Forest if he had a favorite federal judge I could present the findings to. He said he did, but that he thought I should report to the FBI team leader on the case. I had to answer, "Forest, this team has been working on this case for almost a year. I've worked on the case for less than forty-eight hours. What's wrong with this picture?"
"Okay," Forest granted, "I'll set up your presentation to the judge right now, then you go down and give the info to the team leader. The judge can begin action from his position, and you can help the team leader finish up identifying the clerks involved."
That afternoon, Forest had me in his office to meet Lawton Monroe, a forty-year federal judge that was nearing retirement. He was an alert, sharp gentleman who listened to my entire presentation before answering. I showed him my evidence, which were the transcript used by the review panel and the transcript provided from D.C. I had tagged and marked all of the changed areas. My other evidence was the law book that spelled out the statute proceedings for a trial review.
The man looked over all the evidence thoroughly, read the statute out loud twice, then leaned back in his chair. He smiled at me and said, "I guess you get to say 'gotcha."
"I was assigned to this case and this is what I've found. Would you like to accompany me downstairs to corroborate the statute? I can introduce you into this by saying I wanted a judicial opinion."
Judge Monroe looked at Forest and said, "He's not only smart, he's sneaky too. I like that. Let's go report to your team leader."
The meeting with the team leader went less than spectacular. The man reprimanded me for bringing in a busy federal judge just to look at some spotty evidence he didn't feel warranted to be looked at. He dismissed the D.C. transcripts as probably being wrong and the local transcripts being correct. He told me to quit wasting his time and to go look for some good evidence. He looked at Forest and said, "How about you just take your man back? I really don't need him on this job."
The three of us left and went right back to Forest's office. The judge used Forest's secure phone and called the U.S. Attorney General. He gave a couple of passwords then told the man that he wanted an investigative team in Tampa in the morning. They were to go directly to the U.S. Marshal's office for their initial briefing. He emphasized that none of the team being sent notify any other branch about where they were going."
He hung up the phone and asked, "Can you give the same presentation Monday morning?"
When I nodded that I could he said, "Now the shit is going to hit the fan. Good job, Deputy Johnson. I'll sign for your promotion if you're looking for one."
"I'm fine, Judge, get us some more marshals though. We're a little short right now."
Forest said, "See, Judge, this is the type of deputies we have. This is a really good office."
The man rose to leave, "I'll see you both in the morning. You both should probably pay attention to your surroundings since we were blown off so forcefully. I'd hate to think that someone from the Bureau was doing something like that."
When the judge left, Forest pulled out his drawer, checked his weapon, put it in a clip holster, and put it on his belt. "I know I should carry this thing all the time, but there is such a stigma about us shooting that I leave it here so I'm not tempted. You're carrying, right?"
I said I was and that I had a basket full of ordinance to turn in after my escapee trip. Forest smiled, "All that and you didn't even fire a round."
"Nice isn't it," I said, as I left his office.
No one gave me a second look while I was turning in the rifles and handguns I had checked out, and no one even noticed when I checked out a duty vehicle to use to go home. A plain Jane Ford Taurus is the perfect "I'm a nobody" car for law enforcement to drive, especially when it's a sick looking blue. Who cares as long as it had air and the service's radio?
I told Bobby about my day, and she said that I should be cautious when the shit hits the fan as some of the Bureau people can be vicious when confronted. They don't like to be caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Bobby wanted a treat tonight and had heard about a restaurant out in Land 'o Lakes that had some great Italian food. She had invited Jonah and Millie to go with us, so we were to ride to Jonah's and head out to Park Place from there.
The evening was perfect bike weather. Warm enough so you didn't need a jacket, but not stifling hot. We arrived at Park Place about six thirty and found that the restaurant had about a thirty minute wait for a table. They had a lounge next to the bar, full of business people here for some thank God it's Friday fun. When you walk into a place with two women that are six-six and six-seven and go from three fifty to four hundred pounds, you get some attention. Jonah is almost as tall as Millie, but rail thin. I come up to above Bobby's shoulder, but just barely. When people who don't know us see the girls busting their butts to wait on Jonah and me, you just know they are wondering what we have, that they don't.
While working on our drinks, we checked out the bar and billiard area that was equally full. There was some yellow tape over an area on the far side of the room with a sign that said, "Pardon our dust, we're expanding our billiards area. On the other side of that there was another restaurant that looked like a big city diner. It looked full too. There must not be many good places to go out here.
The girls were talking about a clothing company out this way that made clothes for big girls. They said that most everything they wore came from a website called "Big Girls Clothes.com." The sisters were planning an expedition to the outlet store with their mom, their two sisters and their sisters in law. It was funny to hear them get excited about clothes.
After being seated, we were fed royally. They had a menu with the usual steaks and seafood, but also had an interesting Italian menu that we all went nuts over. This was a great place as the service was super and the food was out of this world. We were so full when we walked out of the restaurant, didn't know whether to ride back right away or walk around a little.
We walked up the road a little ways, noting there was a light with a crosswalk for a subdivision of condos and duplexes on the other side of the road. A gas powered golf cart roared by us, crossing the highway. It was painted up with signs for Georgia's Pizza. It must be a local pizza place. On the opposite side of the street was a really high concrete fence, with lots of vines growing up the sides. You're always curious about what's on the other side of a really tall fence.
A little further up the road was a guarded entrance to Lake View Naturist Park. The girls were laughing, but Jonah and I were in the dark. Millie said, you should know what a naturist is, they're nudists. Jonah and I both nodded, with Jonah saying, "We should go in and check out the place. Hell, Millie loves to parade around bare ass naked all the time."
Bobby said, "I've always wanted to go to a nudist park. I think it would feel good to be able to be totally free of clothes for a while. Write down the number on the sign, Millie, so we can check out the place."
As we walked back to the restaurant and our bikes, we noticed that the building continued on the other side of the fence. Jonah commented, "See that, the other side, the nude side has a restaurant and bar over there as well. Cool idea."
We rode back to our place where the girls were quickly out of their clothes and into the hot tub. We didn't keep the tub that warm but the air jets felt great to a tired body. Jonah checked on his bar a few times and found everything calm each time. We went into the house, still naked from the hot tub, and had some of Bobby's cherry pie with some ice cream. That's how three hundred plus pound babes can keep the weight on.
As Millie and Jonah got ready to leave, there were hugs all around and promises of them coming out to swim and barbecue soon.
When Bobby and I were alone, snuggled on the couch and watching some mindless TV, Bobby asked, "Would you go to a nude park with me? Millie wants to go in the worse way, but Jonah won't go. If you went along with us, Jonah might give in and go. Would you go with us?"
"I might be a little self-conscious about my leg but I wouldn't mind going at all. You and Millie will cause quite a stir if you two go out there together. There are not many women that can top you two on looks, especially if you take in your total mass. My goodness, you two must have seventy pounds of tits each. You have a better backside than Millie. Your gorgeous butt in clothes causes guys to run off the road as it is. I can't imagine what kind of reaction your bare bum would cause."
Bobby smiled at me and said, "You and I are going out there soon. If Millie wants to come along, she will be welcome. I'll bet my Mom would love to go out there. My two crazy sisters would walk out there naked just to show off. So if you want to escort a bunch of big babes out to a naturist park, you have a deal."
"What about your dad, won't he want to come?"
"Maybe," Bobby waffled, "he's kind of shy about being nude because he's so small. Mom says he isn't small all over, he just isn't very tall."
"Well, make the plans, I'd love to check out five magnificent women all at one time. If they have a prize for the longest hardon, I'll win because there is no way that I can stay soft looking at all of you girls."
Bobby hugged me, smothering me with kisses and her magnificent bazooms. "You're so sweet to love me the way you do. I could be another five inches taller and weight another hundred pounds and you would still be lusting after me. I love you, Baby."
With that type of conversation we were soon leaving a damp trail from the couch all the way into the bedroom where we totally tore up the bed. Somehow I took care of Bobby's itch to fall asleep with her head on my shoulder and one of her magnificent legs across mine.
We were interrupted on Sunday morning by a call for us to pick up a witness from the office downtown. This was going to be a single that would be staying for a few days while they worked out the new identity.
Bobby said she would give the house a once over while I went to pick up the witness. As I got closer to downtown, I called to find out whether to park and walk over to get the witness or would they come to the car in front of the building.
I was told to just pull up out front but to check up and down the street first before parking. I cruised the streets around the building to see if there were any vehicles out of place or people just sitting in a vehicle. I pulled up to the doors to the federal building and a guy in coveralls and a ball cap came out and got in the Suburban.
After pulling away, I stuck my hand out and said, "Chuck Johnson, your host for a while."
A shocking female voice came from under the hat, "I understood that a woman would be my keeper while in Tampa."
"That's Bobby, she is the leader at the safe house. I'm second to her. I was just trying to be friendly, that's all."
"Keep your hands to yourself and we'll get along fine. Everything about all this is scary. I have to trust people that I don't know and they all say they are watching out for me. I sure hope so."
I was taking the long way home to make sure we didn't pick up a tail. The problem was that we did have a tail. I radioed the duty people and advised them of my situation and my moving 10-20 (location). Then I called Bobby and told her I had the subject but was leading company. She told me to wait for some teams to get to me.
The guest angrily asked me, "What are you talking about, is there a problem?"
"Look, don't be alarmed but we may have someone following us. A couple of teams will be with us in a minute. I want you to feel safe though as this is a totally bulletproof vehicle. Even the tires cannot be flattened by bullets."
The subject was getting nervous, "Just relax, we're going to take a longer ride and head south toward McDill AFB. If they are still with us, the guards there will take them. I used the tactical radio to inform the teams of my location and intent. I received some microphone keys in response.
We were getting close to the main gate when I saw the two teams coming up behind the tail vehicle. I slowed to let one get on the street side and one to close up the rear before coming to a stop at an intersection.
The rear vehicle made the announcement to remain in the car, but to put their hands out the windows. I could see at least three people in the tail car, but only one pair of hands. I used the Tac radio to advise the teams. The passenger in the team car beside the tail put his hand out the window with his Glock and shot out both left side tires. The team car rolled up a little more, the hand appeared out of the team passenger window again, and fired five rounds into the engine compartment using a forty-four magnum.
We heard the engine grind to a stop, but the three were still not out of the car or showing all the hands. The Tac radio crackled and one of the guys asked, "Chuck, can you get a head shot of one of them, preferably the driver. Take one out and we should be able to get the other two."
"I can't do that. They have not shown any aggressive behavior yet, It's not a crime to follow another car.
The guy left his mike keyed and we heard, "Christ, our best shooter, the one with the most kills, won't even take out the stupid driver."
I was watching the three in the car to be sure a gun didn't come into view. A gun didn't, but all of a sudden the guy in the rear seat began pulling out the tube for a collapsible rocket launcher. Bazooka, if you want another name for it.
I keyed the mike saying they were arming a rocket launcher then took careful aim and shot the guy in the rear seat square through the head. I used three rounds to make sure of a hit. The front seat passenger went after the tube, so I shot him too. Damn, wish they wouldn't make me do that. The driver had both hands out the window hollering for us not to shoot him.
Both teams converged on the car, pulling the driver out and laying him in the street. I waited until the team leader waved, then sat back down in my seat and reloaded my Glock.
The girl in coveralls said, "Thanks. You weren't kidding about taking care of me. I feel a lot better now." She stuck out her hand and said, "I'm Charlotte, and I'm scared shitless. Now what do we do?"
We wait till a clean-up crew gets here then we head home with both teams following way back to spot any other vehicles that may be interested in us.
Charlotte pushed up her cap and looked at me, "Don't you feel bad about shooting those two men?"
"Since they were seconds away from making you and me meat pies, I don't feel bad at all. It's too bad I had to kill them as they could give us information about who is trying to get you. Hopefully, the driver knows something, but they usually are just contract guys that don't know anything except how to drive."
The radio crackled, saying the clean-up and crime scene guys were there so we could go. I let one car get way ahead then followed him with the other team car watching from way back. They both knew the route, so they knew where someone might pick us up. If that were to happen, we would lead them somewhere else and repeat the capture process.
Bobby spoke up on the tactical radio. "There's been a strange car running around the neighborhood for the last fifteen minutes. Abort coming here and head to the base. Let's keep this place clean. I wonder how they knew to look out here."
I checked with the two teams and they said they were turning with us. We made it to McDill without further incident. The gate guy said, "I remember you from a couple months ago. Neat to see someone stick to a job even when it gets hairy. Our three cars pulled up to the BOQ quarters and we went inside. I had the guest give me all of her sizes and radioed Bobby with the sizes we would need. She said she would have a suitcase made up in an hour or so.
The guest quarters the base supplied us was right on the aircraft tarmac. If we were going to transport the subject by air, the plane could taxi right up to the door.
The female NCO in charge of the quarters handed the guest a big towel, washrag, and a hand full of toiletries, then showed her where the women's latrine and shower was.
The two teams told me they weren't needed any more so they were going back to either the barn or on stakeout depending on what the movement folks wanted to do.
Bobby showed up in a big Mercury a while later, with the suitcase for the guest and some clothes and toiletries for Safe one and two. That would be us. Bobby took Charlotte into a room and made sure the clothes all fit, then they both came out. Bobby said to me, "So you had to shoot, huh? Bet you hated to do that. What made you shoot?"
I smiled and said dryly, "A collapsible rocket launcher."
Bobby nodded and said, "That would do it. You should be clean for the shooting."
Charlotte said, "Clean? He should get a medal. They, you know those bad guys that are dead now, were going to blow us up. He saved me, that's what he did."
Bobby smiled at Charlotte and said, "The guy does that sort of thing a lot, saving people, that is."
We walked over to the Officer's Club for supper and enjoyed a decent meal. When we were back in the BOQ, I called into the tactical transport center to see what was up. The man said, "The trio you took care of look like the only loose ends on this one. The relo group has the guest's ID ready and will probably transport in the morning. No word on whether your group is providing escort. Call in the morning for orders anytime after seven. Night, night, Wild Bill, make sure you clean your piece."
Bobby had heard the last of the conversation and exclaimed quietly, "Smart Ass." She shook her head and said, "They know you're doing everything possible to keep from using force, but it just isn't happening."
We spent a peaceful evening and night in the base quarters, had breakfast, then we were advised that a transport plane would be picking up the guest for relocation. By the time we had said our good-byes, there was an obnoxiously painted up Lear setting out on the tarmac. It was one of the S&S planes with cartoons all over it. Every time I saw one of those planes, I would get a laugh as you saw a new cartoon each time. The company had a great sense of humor. Bobby noted that there was a one line under the S&S logo that said, "Big Girls Clothes.com." The two companies must be related.
We waved goodbye to Charlotte and wished her luck. She left with a smile.
Since we had two cars with us, we drove back to the house and gave the duty car back to the team babysitting the house. As soon as they took off, we were out of our clothes, diving into the pool, and getting our workout in the water for a change.
We managed to get some sun, drink lots of iced tea, and plan on a bike ride as it turned twilight. A babysitting team came to relieve us and we were down the street with a roar in minutes. We erode to the bar, picked up Jonah and Millie, along with a half a dozen other couples, then roared off to Plant City for our dessert. We went to Parksdale farms for some of their great strawberry short cake with real home made ice cream and whipped cream on top. It's always a treat to get something special like that.
The group took a real long way around to get back to Jonah's. By the time Bobby and I made it home, it was almost eleven. The relief guys had said they were planning on staying over tonight, so we didn't feel bad about being out late. Bobby and I made every effort to convince ourselves that we were made for each other.
As soon as Bobby and I showed up for the Monday morning group briefing, Sarah reminded me that I had an incident report to write up. She also told me to be sure to say why I had to fire my weapon.
The meeting was as usual. We heard about some misdeeds within the federal system that marshals had to investigate a couple of escapes, and a slug of people going through the witness protection process. I know I was, and I would bet all the other guys were waiting for the air marshal assignments too. We all dreaded the monotonous flights.
When Forest didn't mention any air marshal assignments, one of the big mouths up front asked Forest about them. He said, "You know, since we are so short of manpower, Jacksonville and Orlando are taking up almost all of our slack. Since you asked about the air jobs, John, you can have the United route."
"But, Forest, that's a three day turn. Why didn't Orlando do that one?"
"John, just do the job, the rest of you, check your boxes for assignments. D.C. is sending a pile of dirty jobs done dirt cheap through channels this morning. They are assigning deputies according to their rank and experience. Okay everyone, do a good job this week and stay safe."
We all hit the coffee pot and watched Sarah out of the corner of our eyes as she would be the ones to post the jobs. I used my time to do my incident report, using lots of flowery hesitant language about having to defend the other teams and our guest. If I read the report, I would have promoted the guy who wrote it.
Forest waved at Bobby and me to come into his office. He indicated for us to shut the door before handing us each a group of stapled information sheets. "After you do your presentation to the attorney general's task force, how about working a remote together? You two need a honeymoon, some time off, or something. The packet you have is about four guys, federal prisoners that walked off a day job in Pensacola and didn't come back. That in itself is unusual because two of them were short timers, one with two weeks, and one with three weeks. The other two men have several years, but have been ideal prisoners. Someone sold them on leaving early and the service would like to find out who, what, why and where the escapees are."
He pulled a big box off the floor and put it on the desk. "Chuck, I know you like to research an escapee before you go chasing him, so the box has all our records on each of the men. You two check out a traveling car, go pack and let's see if you can get a lead on where they might be."
I took Bobby to the conference room and handed her one of the files and told her to read it quickly to get an idea of the man we were looking for.
My file was the thickest, but it was also the file of the guy with the most time and most times in jail. We both went on to the next file then we sat back and Bobby asked, "So now that I've read two how do we proceed?"
Actually, we need to read all four individually, and then decide. You and I can figure on at least one quick capture, and the rest may fall like dominoes. Let's get our stuff together and as soon as this meeting is over, head north to Pensacola. I think we could interview some of their cellmates and get an idea of what might have made the two short timers take off.
The presentation to a bunch of senior marshals and an additional federal judge went well. In the beginning, the visiting judge thought our case was nit picking but when we showed distinct differences in the files, he became a lot more interested.
The task force leader said, "We are going to pull cases for the past year, longer if necessary, and compare transcripts. This should be an interesting investigation. I understand your boss is sending you on an assignment that will take you out of town. That's a good idea, now you won't be associated with any bickering that goes on."
Bobby and I used the time driving north productively. First, Bobby read the two files that I had read, followed by her reading me the two files that she had read. When she was finished she asked, "Notice any similarities?"
"First, they are all from Jacksonville and all were convicted of theft of government property. They all were stealing military ordinance, rifles, ammunition, and explosives. How about we head east to Jacksonville and perhaps get there in time to welcome them to the city. We need to call in so the various armories can beef up their security."
Since I was driving, Bobby called Forest to ask him to go through the chain of command so the military could add more security to any munitions storage areas. Forest said the wheels turn slow, but that he would get right on it.
Just as we were entering the naval area of Jacksonville, Bobby's cell phone rang. Forest had some news for us. The Army National Guard armory had been broken into last night. The robbers had taken a deuce and a half (large two and half ton military truck) along with ten cases of M16's, fifty canisters of ammunition, ten cases of hand grenades, and four cases of anti-personnel mines. The lone guard had not been killed, but had been badly beaten. The other stolen goods were all uniforms.
The vehicle was going to stick out plainly, so I had Bobby call the highway patrol to ask about any tractor-trailers or other large trucks that might have been stolen. We called the local marshal's office and asked them what type of relationship they had with the Bureau, as well as with the local sheriff's office and police department. The Bureau chief said he had already heard from Forest and had a team out investigating the armory break-in. I said that I didn't think the escapees were going to use the stolen weapons, but would use them to get money from gun runners or to barter for passage to a South American country. I asked the station chief for the number of the local customs office.
The customs office was close by and the officer in charge told us to come by and review the files of all of the suspected arms and munitions buyers. He said he would have one of the lead ATF guys come by to brief us as well.
In the customs office, we met Ben Adams and ATF officer Gus Manning. Both men were aware of the armory break-in but neither was aware of the four escapees. They agreed that the escapees were probably responsible.
Ben said, he had a solution for goods getting out of the country. He called the harbormasters in the area and had them restrict departures until additional inspections could be made.
The thought that all of the stolen goods wouldn't even fill one cargo container made the task a little more difficult, but we thought that if we could blanket the shipyards with law enforcement and photo posters of the escapees, we might have some luck.
It was way past food time and we were getting tired, but we wanted a tour of the harbor area to get an idea of what we would encounter. The ATF agent slowly drove us through the area, pointing out warehouses with suspected activity then drove right down to the docks and parked between some containers waiting to be loaded onto ships.
Gus said, "We need to go through the cargo ships that have drive on access. I'd bet the military vehicle is already loaded. It may still have all of the goods on it. Hopefully, the ship with it will still be docked since a restriction has been issued."
I asked a question that may have been silly, "Since this is something that could come under the realm of national security, could we call out the guard or reserves and search every ship and every warehouse in the area?
Gus said, "We can legally search every ship, but we have to have search warrants for all the warehouses. The Homeland Security guys could possibly get away with doing something like that, but there would be hell to pay when the legal eagles got hold of it."
I asked, "Since you're part of national security can you ask your boss to get the reserves and or the guard to come help lock down this area. We could get these ships searched as far as vehicles go and get them out of the harbor so trade can get back to normal."
"Good idea, let me call," Gus said.
He called his boss then had to call a person higher in the chain of command. While he was doing that, I called our big boss in D.C. He had made the mistake of giving me his cell phone number, and this was a reason to use it. When I called him, he said he was relaxing on his back porch with some single malt and a big stogie. I gave him the details of what we were doing and asked if he could push some buttons so we could finish this chase quick.
John said, "I can get you all the help you need real quick. Military arms thefts are way up and the brass are suffering. If you were to catch some of the traffickers, you would give the marshal's service some brownie points. I'll get right on it."
I called the local marshal's office and asked if they could put a poster together with pictures of the four escapees on it and produce a couple thousand copies. I told them what was in progress and that we needed to have them for the troops to use.
Bobby said she needed to stretch her legs a little as she was butt weary from sitting all day. Gus and I got out and walked with her. We must have looked funny as Bobby was obviously a woman flanked by two much shorter men. As we passed ships, men from on deck made loud, rude remarks, inviting Bobby on board.
While we were walking along we saw something that got our attention about five ships down from where we were. Two Humvees drove from a warehouse across the dock then onto a ship. A few seconds later, two deuce and a halfs came from the same warehouse and drove on to the ship. Gus called his boss to call for a raid. He called the customs guy and gave the berth number of the ship and told him to coordinate with his boss.
I called John to tell him what we had just seen and he gave me a telephone number of a local reserve commander that was alerting his troops as we spoke. I told Gus to get his vehicle and Bobby and I would walk closer to keep watch.
As we walked closer, a military ambulance drove from the warehouse to the ship followed by about a dozen fairly new pickup trucks. These ships were almost like ferries, as they had decks especially made for vehicles as well as cargo holds for containers.
Bobby and I were up next to the warehouse so we wouldn't stand out so easily out on the dock. Gus drove up and parked his Bronco close to the building so it also would not stand out easily. He asked me if I wanted to go inside or wait for the troops.
I told him, "Colonel Nelson said he would have his people here within thirty minutes, and that was twenty minutes ago. Matt from the marshal's service is meeting his men with the copies of the photos. Matt also said that he was able to get a couple dozen Homeland Security people and the entire local Bureau is on its way. The troops from the National Guard armory are slow but should show up for any mop up. Let's see if we can co-ordinate this and hit the warehouse and ship all at once."
I had an idea and called Colonel Nelson to ask if he were transporting any troops in a deuce and a half. He said yes, so I said, "Stop and get the pictures of the escapees then bring two of the trucks right onto the dock and drive onto the ship. The people on the ship may think this is just some more cargo and direct you to where the other trucks are. Have your men then blanket the ship, deck by deck, room by room. Tell them to be careful though, as these guys are not nice."
"Good idea, Deputy, you sound like you have some command experience. We'll talk later."
The hard part was waiting these last ten to fifteen minutes. Finally calls came in that they were assembled at the entrance roads. I told them to send the two trucks first and to be hitting the warehouse at the same time. Have the remainder of the troops form a loose guard around this local area and not let anyone through. The customs guys were on the trucks with the soldiers so they could direct those activities better. They were familiar with ships.
We watched as the two trucks drove up to the ramp and were directed right into the ship. Just as I suspected, the trucks were considered cargo. Another truck drove up on the dock side of the warehouse with soldiers jumping out to stand guard at the door. A department of Homeland Security van pulled up by the ship with a dozen men getting out and heading up the gangway to the main deck.
Gus was standing by a door at this end of the warehouse when it opened a crack. Since Gus was on the other side, he couldn't be seen, and Bobby and I were split up, with her being on the other side, at the corner of a container, while I was around the corner of the building. The door then opened and two men slipped out.
Gus said fairly loud, "Halt,"
The lead guy had a pistol and began swinging around at Gus. Wrong move, Gus shot him as he was still turning. The second guy was also carrying a gun and raised it to be shot by both Bobby and me at the same time. I was into the building while the second guy was still falling, but didn't see anyone else close to the door.
The gunfire brought a dozen soldiers running to see what was going on. As we rolled the two over, we saw that they were escapees, the two long term guys. The one Gus shot was still alive, so I had one of the soldiers go back to his group and call a medic. There was no sense in even checking our guy for a pulse, as Bobby and I put our rounds directly in the heart side of the chest. The guy was staring straight up.
One of the soldiers looked at the wounded one followed by the dead guy and had to go to the side of building to throw up. One of his buddies said, "He's green. He hasn't rotated to do a sand tour yet. He'll be alright."
We detailed a couple of soldiers to watch the dead and wounded, then walked over to the big warehouse door to see how they were doing clearing the building. They were herding everyone inside together then walking them toward the dock. They were doing a good sweep. The first group gathered people and a second group looked for anyone hiding.
Both of the deuce and a halfs that had driven on to the ship with troops came driving out. One had a lieutenant that told me they had found the stolen deuce and a half, with all of the munitions still on board.
That left only two escapees. Bobby and I went back to the group of people brought out from the warehouse. A couple of Homeland Security guys were questioning some of the bosses of the loading crew. They didn't act as if they were being of much help.
I went over to tell the Homeland guys, "I have orders to lock up all of them for theft of U.S. Government armament. Get them together so we can get them on buses. They are all considered terrorists so we want to get them down to Guantanamo as quickly as possible before some public defender gets at them."
As soon as handcuffs began appearing, four of the guys began babbling about everything they knew. One of the officers smiled at me and winked. Some state patrol guys showed up so we could have them check serial numbers on all of the vehicles loaded onto the ship. We were going to have to unload a bunch of them to get the truck we were interested in off.
An Army sergeant came up to us and said, "That other deuce and a half is stolen too. It just had not been missed and reported stolen yet. The two Humvees and the ambulance have been reported stolen as well. This is a good haul.
About an hour later, some army types came out the drive on ramp with our two escapees. They were walking up gingerly as the army types had taken their shoes to keep them from trying to run. They knew tricks from the desert.
We cuffed the two guys and told them that they were lucky they had not been with their buddies. Gus said, "I didn't kill the one I shot, but he'll die anyway. The other one died fast." The two men became very docile and quiet.
Bobby and I finally found a couple of marshals among the many people from multiple branches of service. We gave them the two escapees and said another was probably going to the hospital, but the fourth was dead. They took possession of the prisoners and went to check on the badly wounded guy. I asked if they had a clean up crew but they said they used the Bureau's people and would call them for the dead guy.
Bobby and I then went in search of each of the group leaders to get their names and units so we could get them commendations. It took longer to get names and units than it did to do the raid. The local FBI agent in charge was an older guy that had seen it all in his time. He said, "There always has been smuggling going on down here both in and out. This is usually out of our jurisdiction so tonight was a bonus. Thanks for getting us in on the raid."
We made sure that everyone knew where we were going to be, but said we were running on empty. We needed some food and sleep or we would be sleeping on the dock soon. I promised to come to the marshal's office in the morning when we got up to write up our incident reports.
Bobby and I caught a ride back to our car and went to the nearest hotel. We both had a Big Mac on the way and were sound asleep minutes after getting in bed.