GOTU - A Robin Marlette Novel (20 page)

“No, no, I am not going to damage you yet. When the time is right, the world will see you violated over and over, and then torn apart.” He gave her an evil grin and walked out.

Cathy was stunned.
Her entire family dead? It can't be, it just can't be!
She collapsed back onto the bed and drew herself into a fetal position and cried until she had no tears left.

TWENTY THREE

Mary Tatum anxiously waited for Captain Pearle to come to work. He greeted her as he walked by her desk to his office. Trembling, she got up and followed him.

As Tom Pearle opened his office door, he saw Mary coming after him.

“You need to talk to me, Mary?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Pearle saw her trembling. “Are you all right?”

“I really need to talk to you in private, Captain.”

“Certainly. Come in and close the door.”

Mary walked in and closed the door behind her. She stood there, looking at Pearle. “Oh, Captain, I hate doing this.” She started to cry. Pearle put his arm around her and gently placed her in a chair.

“Mary, you have worked for me a long time. You know you can trust me with anything.” Mary took a deep breath.

“Captain, I think Jose Molina is giving information to the bad guys. I think he told them where Sergeant Marlette lives.”

“Why do you think this?”

Mary explained what she had seen and how nervous Molina seemed. She pointed out she had noticed the open drawer and the division roster when she saw Jose at her desk. She also told Pearle about the man with the evil voice.

After she finished, Pearle first called the Director. This made Mary even more frightened. Next, Pearle called Lieutenant Johnson in the Communications Section. He told Johnson to pull the tapes on the Street Narcotics Section phone numbers since the takedown in the desert. Pearle told Johnson to get them to him immediately, and not to tell anybody by order of the Director. He turned to Mary.

“Thank you for telling me this. You did the absolute right thing. We'll get to the bottom of Jose's conduct. Please tell Lieutenant Hammel to come to my office.“

“Yes, sir.” Mary still trembled.

“It will be all right.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Captain Tom Pearle hadn't felt anger like this in a long time. He directed part of the anger at himself and the top brass of the department. They always said the tapes on the phone system should be reviewed, but they never were. Everyone knew they weren't. If these tapes showed any evidence Molina was a bad cop, that would certainly change. Hammel walked into Pearle's office.

“Les, we may have a serious problem with one of our officers.” He filled Hammel in on the situation. “Block off your afternoon and get Molina's sergeant in here. We are going to be very busy listening to tapes.”

When Robin woke up in the morning, he felt calmer. Angie left after they lay together and talked. He had never dreamed things would turn out this way when they first met. Robin hoped she and her husband could make things work as much as he wanted things to get better with Karen.

Robin and Ernie met and worked up the first part of their plan. Later they ate breakfast with Emmett, Mike, Chris, John Luchek, Angie. They all filled Robin in on the progress of the case. He learned about the arrest of Walton at the airport. He was carrying millions in cash in his luggage. Emmett laughed as he told Robin that Walton had tried to bluff and bluster Mark and Doug. Emmett broadly grinned as he related Mark and Doug listened politely for about two seconds—then they spun Walton around, laid him over the hood of his car, and handcuffed him. In a loud voice in front of a growing crowd, Mark enumerated the charges against Walton, including felony murder. Walton now sat in jail with no bond.

Across the country, all the other hits went well. Much more evidence implicating more people was found during the execution of the search warrants. Phones rang off the hook at all of the task force offices.

Chris spoke to Robin. “We're working to get permission to go in and get Cathy. HRT is gearing up, but we can't go until the State Department gives the green light.” Robin looked at Chris. “Rob, you have to let me get this done. We all know you. You cannot try self-help. You will end up in prison if not dead.”

“I appreciate your efforts.”

“Rob, promise me you won't go south. Give me the time to work it out.”

“What time? They have my daughter.”

“Don't be foolish. I know you are planning something, or else Ernie wouldn't be here.”

“Ernie and I are going to Tucson to see Jerry Parker, the Airman who fought for our children. We're also going to meet his family and the family of Sam Cowen, the Airman who died. Work the time you have.”

“Don't be bullshitting me, Rob.”

“I'm not. Have an agent go to the hospital this afternoon. We'll buy him lunch.”

They all finished their breakfasts and started to leave. Angie walked up to Robin and looked into his eyes.

“Be careful, my good friend.”

“Keep the case running Special Agent Spurline. I mean
very
special agent. You are my very good friend. Thank you, again.”

Angie gave him a polite hug and walked away.

Ernie and Robin climbed into Ernie's Bronco. They covered their gear under tarps in the back. They headed for Tucson.

Emmett called Burke Jameson. “They're headed south. They say they're going to see the wounded Airman and his family. Do you think that's what they're really going to do?”

“Of course they are. I'm sure they want to pay their respects. Robin also set it up so the Feds can't stop them from going south. Then they will head for the border. Get everyone mounted up and headed south. We will meet near the hospital no later than 1400.”

“You got it, Brother. See ya there.”

Emmett hung up the telephone and heard a knock at his BOQ door. He opened it to see Carlos standing there. He and Newman were brought back to Luke when the raids started going down.

“Good morning, Carlos. What's up?”

“I wondered where Sergeant Marlette went?”

“He went to Tucson.” Emmett spoke as he put his MP5 into a duffel.

“Yes, and I know why. You know my wife is at that ranch. I know every inch of it and the layout of the buildings, including the main house.”

Emmett stopped his packing and looked at Carlos, trying to figure out what to say. Without conviction Emmett said, “Carlos, you're in federal custody. I can't take you with us.”

Carlos laughed. “You are worried about that when I know you are about to violate just about every international law there is?”

Emmett lowered his head and chuckled. “You're right, Carlos. Hell, we might as well make this a complete clusterfuck. Besides, we sure can use your information. Get what stuff you need and meet me back here.”

TWENTY FOUR

Miguel Rodriquez-Lara's brain filled with rage, confusion, and fear. In one day he had lost over fifteen men. Juan Trinidad, of all people, had failed in his mission. Marlette and his family were probably still alive.

“Patron, I do not believe all of Marlette's family could have survived our attack. We riddled the house,” Juan offered.

Miguel screamed in reply. “But there is no fucking way to know for sure, is there, Juan?! There's no fucking news coverage about the condition of Marlette or his family! There's no news coverage about Marlette's daughter, who is now captive in this house! There's only news about a multiple murder in Tucson and about a massive gunfight with many people shot at Marlette's house! The press said at least two fucking police officers were shot! The fucking government would not release any more information until the certain facts were known AND THAT IS ALL WE FUCKING KNOW, ISN'T IT, JUAN?!”

“Miguel, I saw one police officer die. Maybe the other one is Marlette, but I cannot be sure.”

“What we can be sure of, Juan, is that everything I have worked for is in jeopardy! Our control in the States is being eroded! All I hear on the fucking news is Walton and everyone else we own is under arrest! My bank accounts are frozen and everything I own there is being seized! THIS IS MY FUCKING WORLD! I OWN IT AND I RUN IT. THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING IN MY FUCKING WORLD!” Miguel's fury roiled for a few moments longer. He looked at the faces of Juan and Hector Rubio and could see in their eyes they did not have the same respect they normally did. He unclenched his fists and took several deep breaths.

“Hector, even though you lost men, you
did
get the girl. That is good. What I want you to do now is make sure the men stay away from her. Only Jorge will deal with her.”

“I will see to it, Patron.” Miguel went to his desk. He opened a drawer and reached into it. Juan moved his hand to the gun under his shirt. Miguel pulled out a stack of cash and Juan moved his hand away from his gun. Miguel walked over to Hector and handed him the cash.

“This is for bringing the girl to me. Go now.” Hector rose and walked out of the room.

“Well, Juan, what do you think about all of this?”

“With respect, mi Jefe, I think we need to take a few days to gather intelligence on what the Americans are doing. If we take any action now, we are doing it blindly.”

“It appears we did it with our eyes closed yesterday!”

“Again, with respect, Patron, we had a run of bad luck yesterday. That and I admit I underestimated Marlette. He is not just an ordinary policeman.”

“All right,” Miguel said with exasperation. “Get in touch with our people in Mexico City. Find out if the Americans are trying to get them to act and what the Americans are telling them.”

“I have already done so, Patron. They assured me they would not allow the Americans to come into Mexico. We should also be hearing from Carlos. It does not appear that he or Newman was arrested. They've been working together for the last two weeks. I am sure Carlos has them lying low. He will probably be moving to get them here soon.”

“Why is that important?”

“Patron, Newman is the only one who has been to this ranch who I worry about giving information to the Americans. If any of our other people were arrested, they wouldn't talk. They know we will get them out of jail as soon as we find out where they are. They also know what will happen to their families if they do talk.”

“It is good you are thinking about these things, Juan. Have you thought about anything else?”

“Yes, mi Jefe. We have Marlette's daughter. At the right time, she could be our most important asset.”

“Yes, we are thinking alike about that. At first, I wanted to let the men have her and film it. Then send it to the Americans for Marlette to see if he is still alive. But now we will wait. We may have to negotiate. With her, we can still negotiate from a position of power.”

“Si, Patron.” Juan rose from his chair. “If you will excuse me, I have urgent work to do.”

“Yes you do, Juan. Yes you do.”

After Juan left, Miguel brooded. He was losing faith in Juan. He knew Juan remained loyal to him, mainly because Miguel made Juan rich beyond his dreams. Juan, however, had proved many times to be the most dangerous man Miguel knew. His own men greatly respected Juan. Getting rid of him would be a very difficult task. Miguel hoped Juan would regain the full faith Miguel once felt. He hated it when he had to do the difficult tasks.

TWENTY FIVE

Robin and Ernie stood at either side of Jerry Parker's bed. Jerry looked at them with conscious, groggy eyes. Jerry's parents were also in the room. Jerry tried to apologize to the two fathers for not doing a better job of defending their children.

“I fought as hard I as I could, but just not hard enough.”

“You fought hard enough,” Robin replied. “Real fights are not like television fights. They aren't scripted. You thrust yourself into a chaotic fight already in progress and you managed to kill two of the men attacking our kids. Your action, along with Sam's, threw their plan off.”

“But they got your daughter!” The anguish in Jerry's voice wrenched Robin's heart.

Ernie spoke in a low, reverent tone. “My son is alive because of you. He is going to pull through, although he has a rough road ahead. If you didn't fight like you did, I'm sure they would have killed him.” Jerry lay back in his bed, weak from his wounds. The two sergeants each took one of Jerry's hands. Robin spoke.

“We came here to thank you for what you did. We want you to know that whatever you or your family need, just let us know. We will see it gets taken care of.”

“Sergeant Marlette, just get your daughter back. That's all I want.”

Robin leaned close to Jerry's ear and whispered, “Mission accepted.” He squeezed Jerry's hand.

Jerry squeezed both men's hands, “Godspeed.”

Robin and Ernie walked out with Jerry's parents. Sam Cowen's father stood in the hallway.

“I heard what you told my son,” Mr. Parker whispered. “When you go to get your daughter, you kill as many of those sons of bitches you can,” he hissed.

“Kill all of them,” Cowen said in a low growl. “They shot my son in the back, the low-life cowards.” Robin looked at Mr. Cowen.

“Your son gave his life protecting our children. We'll take care of business.” The four men shook hands, and Robin and Ernie headed for the Blazer.

When they were walking in the parking lot, Ernie spoke. “I don't know how you plan to kill everyone at the ranch. There are only two of us.”

“Ernie, there's no problem that can't be solved with the application of the proper amount of explosives.”

“What in hell are you talking about?”

“Just be careful going over bumps,” Robin joked.

“Are you telling me there are explosives in my truck?!”

“Just get in and drive. You'll see when we get to where we are going.”

Burke Jameson and Rick Santos watched as Robin and Ernie drove out of the hospital parking lot.

“They're on the move,” Burke said into his mic.

“Ten-Four,” Emmett replied.

“Ditto,” Doug said.

The Guardians were in three vehicles. Ernie's team and Carlos were also there, for a total of twelve men. They followed their sergeants out to I-10. Robin and Ernie went eastbound. They exited at U.S. 83.