Tom Clancy's Op-center Balance of Power - Tom Clancy [81]
"You said they already shot two men-"
"They shot at two members of the Ramirez familia, Juan and Ferdinand," María said. "Both men had taken part in the retaliation for the yacht attack. But they hit the ground and surrendered-I think they're all right."
Her voice was calm and strong. McCaskey was proud of her. He had a deep desire to take back those stupid, selfish words he'd once uttered to her.
"We were meeting with the men when the attack began," María continued. "I don't know if the troops targeted them specifically or if the helicopters opened fire on the nearest target."
"The sentry-" Aideen said.
"Yes, that's right," María added. "Aideen noticed that the guard at the factory was gone when the attack began. He's former military. He could have pointed the men out to the helicopters."
A tall, muscular officer ran into the dining room. Luis turned and looked at him. The man shook his head.
"No flight plan was filed for the helicopters," he said.
"Then this isn't going through the regular military chain of command," Luis said into the phone.
"I'm not surprised," María said.
"What do you mean?" Luis asked.
"I'm convinced that General Rafael Amadori is running this put-down operation as a private war," María said. "It appears that he's engineered events so that parliament has granted him emergency powers. He also has a very narrow window in which to eliminate opposition. By the time anyone decides to try and stop him it will be too late."
"Do we know where the general is based?" McKaskey asked.
"Not yet," the woman replied. "But I'm sure he's made it difficult for anyone to get near him. I'll have to give Amadori this much: he appears to be very well prepared."
McCaskey noticed a change in María's voice. He recognized it because it had always made him feel a little jealous. She did not approve of Amadori's motives or actions, but there was a trace of admiration for the man.
María fell silent as gunfire erupted in the distance.
Aideen said something McCaskey couldn't quite make out.
"María!" McCaskey yelled. "Talk to me!"
It was several seconds before she came back on. "Sorry," she said. "The troops have entered the factory. We were trying to see what they were doing-there are parked cars in the way. We heard a few bursts of fire from the soldiers and then-damn!"
"What?" McCaskey said.
There was a peppering of loud reports followed by the unbroken drone of automatic fire.
"María!" McCaskey shouted.
"They let the soldiers provoke them," she said.
"Who did?" Luis demanded.
"Probably some of the familia members and maybe some of the other workers," María said. "There was gunfire from inside the factory. They must have shot at the soldiers. Workers are running out-falling out. The ones with guns are being cut down. Juan is yelling for them to surrender."
McCaskey looked over at Luis. The Interpol officer seemed pale as he looked back at McCaskey.
"This is incredible," María said. "The soldiers are shooting anyone who doesn't put down their weapons. Even if they're just goddamned crowbars! People are shouting inside. It sounds like they're warning people to surrender."
"How near are the soldiers to your position?" McCaskey asked.
"About four hundred yards. But there are other cars around-I don't think they know we're here."
Perspiration collected on McCaskey's upper lip. The law was collapsing. He wished there were some way he could get the two women out of there. He looked over at his companion. Luis's eyes were moving quickly without focusing on anything. He was anxious too.
"Luis," McCaskey asked thickly, "what about the police chopper?"
"It's still there-"
"I know. But can you get permission for it to go in?"
Luis lifted his hands helplessly. "Even if I could, I doubt they'd go. The soldiers might suspect