Marked in Mexico (24 page)

“Are you Miss Hughes?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

“We were told five Americans had been abducted and were being held hostage. Unfortunately, we know what happened to one young woman. Her body showed up in Nuevo Laredo with demands for a prisoner’s release, but where are the other two?”

Megan was now standing next to Jessica and their arms were tightly around each other. She glanced at Megan and could see she was on the verge of tears. Jessica had never asked her how close she and Ashley were, but she had to assume they had been very good friends and the loss was devastating for her, yet she had not been allowed to grieve.

“Gilbert is dead and Jack is missing. You have to go get him. All he had left was a grenade and a gun with two bullets in it when Megan and I jumped into the river. He detonated the grenade, we heard it, so maybe he made it into the river.”

The young Ranger glanced over to his leader. The sergeant approached Jessica and calmly explained that their orders were to not engage any local law enforcement or any other organized group. They had a tip that three Americans had been spotted in the area and had landed when they saw the smoke, but were only to search for and rescue the senator’s daughter and companions, using minimal force. They were to avoid armed conflict if at all possible.

After frantic pleas from Jessica and Megan, the sergeant agreed to wait for half an hour, but then they would have to leave, with or without Jack. He briefed his men and strode back toward the helicopter.

Jessica ran after him and grabbed his arm. “You have to go after Jack. Isn’t there some code or something? He’s one of you. He was an Army Ranger.”

The sergeant stopped and looked her over. “You wouldn’t be making this up would you?”

“No, I swear it. He was in a helicopter that was shot down in Liberia while trying to evacuate foreign relief workers about ten years ago. I’m not sure exactly when, but they were captured and tortured. They escaped and destroyed a rebel training camp and tied in with peacekeeping troops. Only two survived.”

The sergeant looked at Jessica’s pleading eyes and knew she must be telling the truth. He was aware of the incident, but it was one that had been kept under wraps since the U.S. military was not officially in the country. The U.S. government had pressed for the ruling warlord to resign and had provided off-the-record aide to the resistance and carried out other small unofficial missions. Multi-national peacekeeping forces were in the country during the civil wars, but few other foreign troops were present. It wasn’t likely she could’ve ever heard the story unless what she said was true. Back then, it had been a little easier to keep things away from the media, especially since none of the foreign aid workers had been Americans. He was aware the sniper and the leader had survived and wondered which one Jack was.

“Change in plans,” he yelled as he waved his men over. “Get your gear. We’re going to the river in the direction of the smoke. Be discreet and try not to engage unless we have no other choice, but there’s one more American out there. Let’s be as quick as possible. We don’t have much daylight.”

The pilot stayed with Jessica and Megan while three Rangers and the sergeant went in search of Jack. The pilot gave Jessica and Megan food, water, dry clothes and administered first aid to all their wounds. Jessica hadn’t realized how many small injuries she’d sustained throughout the ordeal until he started treating her.

She had a difficult time sitting still. She tried to cooperate with the pilot, knowing he was just doing his job, but her thoughts were with Jack. She was amazed and thrilled she was alive and safe, but if her survival cost Jack’s life, it wouldn’t be worth it.

When the pilot finished, Jessica grabbed a bottle of water and paced. Her eyes focused on the edge of the clearing. Only a hint of smoke still trailed up into the sky near the river. She could no longer hear shouts or voices and no shots had been fired since shortly after she and Megan emerged from the river. She imagined the survivors had retreated. She doubted any of their pursuers had jumped into the river in an attempt to follow her and Megan, especially if they too had seen the Black Hawk land.

It felt like an eternity to Jessica, but the Rangers had only been gone for twenty minutes when she saw the sergeant emerge from the trees. Behind him was another Ranger, and then another Ranger and the fourth man out of the trees was Jack. She couldn’t stop herself. She dropped her bottle and ran.

Jack caught her in his arms and held her tight. He buried his head in her hair and squeezed his eyes shut. He fought the tears of relief threatening to escape, fearing looking weak in front of the Rangers staring at them politely. He couldn’t believe she had made it across the river even when the sergeant assured him that she had and was waiting at the helicopter.

“He was almost here when we found him,” the sergeant said. “He’s apparently a very tough man to kill.”

“So I’ve been told.” Jessica took his hand and led him toward the waiting Black Hawk.

Megan rushed out to greet them and hugged Jack. Again he had to struggle to keep his emotions under control, never imagining how much this stunning young college girl could mean to him. He had underestimated her, but she had proven herself a tough, caring, survivor and he would always love her for her strength and courage.

They rode in the helicopter with the pilot and four Army Rangers. The sergeant radioed their status to someone, but he never asked them about anything that had transpired in the jungle. He made sure they were comfortable and safe, but didn’t press for details.

Jessica stared out the window. She had no idea where they were, but all that mattered was they were finally safe. Gazing down at the jungle, she was no longer surprised the Rangers hadn’t spotted them. All she could see below was an endless sea of green. From above, it seemed peaceful, but when she thought about what had happened below the canopy, she shuddered. Below the trees, death had chased them from every direction, yet somehow they had survived.

She scooted closer to Jack and squeezed his hand, yet he didn’t seem to notice. She didn’t want to embarrass him in front of the Rangers, but she needed to be near him and holding onto him gave her strength. Jessica watched Jack, but didn’t say anything. His eyes remained focused on the scene outside the window, his expression pained and distant. She feared being in the helicopter was forcing him to relieve his tragic past all over again. Her grip on his hand tightened, but he still gave no indication that he sensed her presence. She didn’t attempt to interrupt his thoughts, but hoped he could feel her support and understanding in her touch.

The helicopter landed at a small remote airstrip. Several unmarked vehicles with dark, tinted windows were parked nearby and five men stood in front of them with hands folded respectfully.

They disembarked the helicopter and Megan and Jessica thanked the Rangers when they were far enough away from the rotors to be heard. The two women received polite nods of recognition from the men. Each Ranger shook Jack’s hand and spoke to him with awed reverence. Even the sergeant seemed especially respectful in Jack’s presence.

The soldiers returned to the helicopter, leaving them at the mercy of a new group of strangers. Jessica hated to see the Rangers go. She felt safe with them for the first time in a very long time. As the helicopter lifted off, she couldn’t help but feel vulnerable and anxious once again.

Jessica, Jack and Megan approached the waiting group. Jessica eyed the men standing in front of the vehicles. Fear mixed with relief, making her stomach churn. One man wore a local police uniform and the other four had dark suits, dark sunglasses, a discreet wire running from their ear to somewhere inside their suit jackets and all were meticulously well groomed. They all bore expressions signifying they were serious and professional.

Jessica wasn’t thrilled to see the police officer, since so far they hadn’t had the best of luck with local law enforcement, but the others were a familiar sight that brought tears to her eyes. She had no doubt the four men in suits were well-armed, extremely well-trained and had been hand-picked by someone her father trusted, which pushed all her apprehension out of her head.

“Miss Hughes, we can’t tell you how relieved we are that you’re safe. Your father has been beside himself. We’ve had agents scouring every village in half a dozen Mexican states searching for any word of your whereabouts. Thankfully a tip finally paid off.”

Jessica eyed the man who had stepped forward and was doing all the talking. She decided he must be the agent in charge, so she placed her focus on him. She asked him for his identification and felt a little foolish, but her trust in authority had been badly shaken. She doubted the Rangers would have turned them over to anyone they weren’t sure of, but she had no intention of taking any risks.

“Obviously not every village was scoured, but nonetheless, I’m sure no one is more relieved than we are to have been found.” She handed the man back his credentials.

“We’ve decided it would be best if we escorted you back to Cancún, since family and friends are waiting there, and it’s an easier place to ensure the safety of the Senator.”

Jessica’s enthusiasm waned as she listened to the Secret Service Agent explain what was to happen. Everything immediately had to be evaluated for political correctness. The Mexican Government had insisted their officer take a statement, but it was only going to happen in the presence of the agents and she knew if they didn’t approve of anything that had happened the official report would be changed.

She was ushered to one of the vehicles with an agent at each arm and Jack and Megan followed close behind. Neither agent spoke to either of her friends directly, making Jessica feel very alone, as if Jack and Megan were no longer with her on this hellish journey.

For the first couple of hours in the vehicle Jessica told their story. By the time she reached the part where they were taken off the truck headed for Villahermosa by the four officers and a group of men in black military uniforms, she simplified what had happened from there on out. She left out the shootings of the officers and the discharge of the grenades.

Jessica could feel Jack tense next to her, but she knew he had no intention of offering anything unless directly asked. She watched Megan drop her head, avoiding all eye contact with the Secret Service Agent and the local officer.

“I know you will take care of everything from here on out and that gives me so much comfort.” Jessica looked directly into the eyes of the agent. “I believe that’s all for now and we need to rest.” Her eyes shifted slightly to the police officer.

The action did not go unnoticed by the agent. He ordered the driver to pull over and shuttle the officer to the other vehicle so the Senator’s daughter could rest. When they were back on the road, he looked at Jessica and nodded.

Jessica told him about the four officers who had been shot and the explosions of the grenades. The agent’s face remained expressionless.

“We each had a grenade, so that if we got separated we could protect ourselves. I pulled the pin on mine,” Megan stated.

“So did I,” Jessica added.

Jack looked up to speak, but the agent held up a hand to silence him.

“So what you two ladies are telling me is that, even though you were with a highly trained former U.S. Army Ranger, it was you who detonated the grenades.” A smile crept over the agent’s lips.

Jessica nodded, but was too stunned to speak. She had seldom seen any of the agents who worked these details smile, and the one in the car had been no exception until now.

“I know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not necessary. It was wise though that you didn’t share this information with the local police officer. Your friend here has nothing to worry about.” The agent nodded in Jack’s direction.

“Won’t the local authorities be upset about the downed officers?” Jessica asked.

“They want this situation to go away. It’s bad for tourism and bad for political relations. Those men were either impersonating cops to get the truck to stop or they were dirty. Either way, they’re clearly involved with the Garza-Carillo Organization trying to negotiate the release of their leader, Alejandro Garza. They’re a small, but successful drug trafficking operation. The U.S. government provides a considerable amount of funding annually to fight the border drug-wars. The Mexican government is not going to risk losing that funding. Even if you were an average tourist, this would still go away. With your father’s influence, I can guarantee you there will be no negative consequences for anything any of you did in order to survive.”

Jessica was relieved. Jack hadn’t wanted to do what he’d been forced to do, but he had done what was necessary to save all their lives. There was no way she could ever repay him, but she definitely wouldn’t allow him to take a fall for anything. She knew it was her identity that had kept the pursuit so intense and had backed them into a corner so tight they had to take drastic measures in order to live.

“This should never be spoken of again, nonetheless.” The agent looked from Megan to Jessica to Jack. “If for some reason the situation is brought to light, we’ll handle it. I’m sure you know how that works.”