Ghost Sniper

69

After losing the gringo sniper the night before, Vaught had gone back to Crosswhite’s place to check on Paolina and Ortega’s family. He caught a few hours’ sleep and then returned to the police station shortly after sunrise to find it bustling with seventy-five agitated policemen. He found Sergeant Cuevas in the motor pool talking with four trusted men.

Cuevas and the other four officers were each armed with the Mexican FX-05 Xiuhcoatl “Fire Snake” assault rifle. The FX-05, an indigenous weapon manufactured by the Dirección General de Industria Militar del Ejército (General Directorate of Military Industry of the Army), was reserved for the Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE) Special Forces Airmobile Group. The rifle fired the NATO 5.56 mm round, and instead of the barrel being rifled with traditional lands and grooves, it was rifled with polygonal grooves like the Glock pistol. A sleek, deadly looking weapon, it boasted a higher rate of fire than the American M4, with a slightly lower muzzle velocity.

Sergeant Cuevas’s rifle sported a Heckler & Koch AG36 40 mm grenade launcher. Vaught had seen photographs of the still top secret rifle, which had first entered GAFE service in 2008, but this was the first time he was seeing one in real life.

“Where the hell did you find those?”

Sergeant Cuevas grinned. “Clasificada, amigo.” He cleared the weapon and handed it over.

Vaught examined the rifle. “I hate to admit it, but I’m jealous.”

One of the men immediately unshouldered his rifle, offering to trade Vaught for his M4, but the American smiled and shook his head. “Thanks, but I haven’t trained with it.” He gave Cuevas’s weapon back to him. “You guys have been training in secret?”

Sergeant Cuevas gave him a wink.

Vaught thumbed toward the building. “I know we lost a man last night, but what’s the entire force doing here at eight o’clock in the morning?”

“Ruvalcaba’s men have been spotted entering town from the south,” Sergeant Cuevas said. “An hour ago they hit one of our patrols and wiped it out. Chief Diego called the state police for reinforcements, but the pig Serrano is influencing the state police commander. They’re using the earthquake in the capital as an excuse to not send help.”

“Cocksuckers!” Vaught muttered in English. “How many are we going up against?”

Sergeant Cuevas shrugged. “We don’t have much of an idea, but you can believe it’s more than seventy-five.”

“Are the men going to defend the city?”

“Yes. They know we wounded the sniper last night, and they’re eager for a fight.”

Vaught was glad the sniper had left a blood trail; otherwise the men might not have been quite so high spirited. “You know that son of a bitch is still combat effective, right?”

Another wink from Sergeant Cuevas.

“How’s Diego holding up?”

“He’s scared, but the men respect him for hiding his fear. They’re ready to follow his orders.”

“Good,” Vaught said. “I wish Crosswhite was here. We could use him.”

“Have you talked to him? Will he be able to stop Serrano?”

Vaught had his doubts. “I honestly don’t know. He’s done a reconnaissance of Serrano’s estate, and he has another meeting with the fat bastard today. But even if he’s successful, it won’t be in time to help us — not if Ruvalcaba’s men are already here.”

Sergeant Cuevas was concerned for Crosswhite’s safety. “How can he kill Serrano on his own property and hope to escape alive?”

“I asked him the same thing.”

“And?”

“He said he’ll have to see how the situation develops.”

Cuevas shook his head. “Crazy gringo.”

“Well, you know how they are.”

“Yes, I do,” Cuevas said, “and you’re half gringo, so how crazy are you?”

Vaught grinned. “I’m not crazy, Sergeant. I’m just too stupid to know when to run the other way.”