Chapter One
Casa del Mar Resort Baja California, Mexico
It was 2:45 a.m., and the party was still going strong. The cacophony emanating from the exclusive resort was loud, and the smell of marijuana wafted down from the white stucco buildings and over the rows of cabanas and the large potted palm trees along the private beach. As well as the sweet odor of the cannabis, the lively music and sounds of laughter carried far into the warm summer night. Several couples strolled down the multitiered stone staircase toward the rows of smaller thatched-roof shelters along the beach. Some walked in the moonlight near the wire fencing that separated this section of oceanfront from the vacant expanses on either side of the resort. A few ventured out into the shallow portion of the surf. One particular couple had retreated into a beachfront shelter, apparently to enjoy the modicum of privacy the shadows offered.
The tension was coiling within Mack Bolan, aka the Executioner, as he checked the directional indicator on his smartphone and then focused his night-vision binoculars on the amorous pair. Half a dozen solitary men, all carrying Heckler & Koch MP-5 submachine guns, followed the would-be lovers at a close, but respectable, distance.
Bodyguards for the drug lord’s son, no doubt, Bolan thought.
He and the team of Mexican marines had been in place for hours, and the waiting and watching had long since grown tedious. But he knew it was also necessary to monitor various couples if they wanted to catch the brass ring.
Sergeant Jésus Martinez checked the directional scope and said, “Those two.” He was a big man, dressed in the camouflage uniform of his team. He and Bolan had worked missions together before, and the Executioner felt a confidence in the man’s abilities and expertise. He’d specifically requested that Martinez and his men accompany the two Americans on this special, unauthorized mission south of the border. The balaclava mask that usually covered Martinez’s face during ops was rolled up on his forehead. The area around his eyes was blackened with camo paint. “You see them?”
“The pair necking in the shelter?” Bolan whispered. He pointed to the area. “You’re sure?”
Martinez brought his own night-vision binoculars up and studied the amorous pair intently for several seconds. Then he grunted. “Sí.”
Bolan took another look at the man and the woman. They were stretched out on a lawn chair under the thatched roof of one of the beach shelters, only a scant hundred feet or so away. She was deliberately turning her face to the side, assuring that her visage would be clearly visible to them. Sergio de la Vega was nuzzling at her neck, his hands exploring her body through her clothes. Hopefully, he wouldn’t rip the gold cross from around her neck. It held the directional transmitter. They had to move fast.
“You’re certain she can be trusted?” Bolan asked. He slipped his smartphone into his pocket.
Martinez grunted again, this time closer to an expression of disgust. “Sí. Both of her brothers were murdered by the cartel, and they have threatened to kill her father. She has no love for Los Bajos Diablos.”
“Let’s get ready to move.” Bolan keyed his mic and told Grimaldi, who was several miles away in an orbiting helicopter, to get ready.
“Hot damn,” Grimaldi’s voice whispered back through Bolan’s in-ear receiver. “We’re finally getting some action!”
“Let’s not get overconfident,” Bolan replied.
“Yeah, I know. It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Martinez whispered into his mic, instructing his own men to get ready to move.
Los Bajos Diablos was the name of the drug cartel run by Don Fernando de la Vega and his son and intended successor, Sergio. Both Don Fernando and Sergio were wanted on drug trafficking and murder charges in the US, but thus far had avoided any attempts of arrest or extradition. But their respective behaviors had no similarity. While Don Fernando stayed in the periphery, dancing among the shadows and rarely allowing himself to be seen in public, his son had a penchant for being more audacious. Not only did he openly stride through the streets of various cities with his array of heavily armed bodyguards, he would often live stream his activities or post them on the internet. It was his open and defiant invitation for the police and members of the other cartels to try to crash his upcoming party that had attracted the attention of both the US and Mexican authorities.
Of course, Sergio had been too crafty to give more than a vague hint of where and when the party would take place; the time, date and location had been intercepted by Stony Man Farm. The recruitment of two dozen beautiful women had led to one of them, Consuelo Diaz, who, as Martinez mentioned, had her own ax to grind with the cartel: two dead brothers. Through the network of informants of her father, a well-known Mexican reporter, Consuelo had been contacted and persuaded to assist in a special operation of the Mexican marines. In reality, it was a joint, but totally unauthorized op, between the Mexicans and the Americans designed for secrecy and geared to eliminate the red tape that had frustrated officials on both sides of the border who wanted Los Bajos Diablos brought down.
The plan was simple. Once the location of Sergio’s party was known, Bolan, along with Martinez and his men, were inserted farther inland to make their way surreptitiously to the edge of the resort. Consuelo Diaz, who was wearing a tiny directional transmitter, would lure Sergio away from his bodyguards, ostensibly long enough for a romantic interlude, at which time Bolan and the marines would sweep in and grab Sergio. Grimaldi was standing by in a specially equipped Black Hawk helicopter to whisk the prisoner and the team away. For safekeeping, Diaz would be taken, as well. That was one part of the plan that Bolan didn’t like: putting innocents in the line of fire. Plus, if the woman could not maintain her composure during the subterfuge as they were taken into custody, she’d be marked for certain death by the cartel. Even though he didn’t know her, Bolan wasn’t going to let that happen.
He got to his feet with a practiced ease, despite the heavy ballistic vest and pistol belt laden with weapons and equipment. Martinez did the same and then rolled down the balaclava to cover his features. Bolan wore black camo paint on his face and no mask. He didn’t need one. With luck, he’d be leaving Mexico this night, while Martinez and his men would be staying.
Martinez told his solitary overwatch sniper to target the bodyguards, while the rest of his men began moving down the slope toward the beach.
Bolan checked Diaz and Sergio again. They were still engaged in the preliminaries and by planned design were in the last beach shelter in the row—and the one closest to the fence line. He slipped the binoculars into the case on his utility belt and flipped his night-vision goggles down.
Time to get down and dirty, he thought as he began his descent. And get that woman out of harm’s way.
The outcropping provided easy access to the wire fencing that separated the property of the resort with the rest of the area. It had been purposely left undeveloped by the resort owners to ensure the privacy of its patrons, and provided adequate concealment right up to the metallic privacy rampart. As Bolan approached, he saw that two of the marines were busy with the wire cutters. The man with the cutters finished quickly, and the second man pulled back the fence. Bolan slipped through, followed by Martinez and two others.
Both the sergeant and one of the marines carried MP-5s. Bolan and the other man had only handguns, but the Executioner’s weapon was a Beretta 93-R, with an extended magazine and sound suppressor. His pistol could fire three-round bursts, as well as single shots. Additionally, Bolan had a Taser. The plan was to
