Cinch Knot Read online

  “I found electronic detection devices on three sides of the perimeter. We’re lucky there, too. While I was checking out the area, I saw a coyote run under the fence and through the microwave surveillance beam. Either the beam never detected the coyote, or it’s adjusted high enough above ground level to allow small animals to pass. I think we can cross the fence by staying on our bellies until we pass the beam. John continued, “I saw them taking tables and chairs to the barn, so it looks as if that’s the place.”

  Roger thought a minute. “That makes sense. If they’re going to set up a demonstration there’s more room in the barn. Nice work, John.”

  Roger spoke quietly into the radio. “Okay, get into position and stay out of sight. Check your time. Four minutes on my mark…now.”

  Several miles up Sutter Road, from where Roger and Dan were positioned, team one was counting down the time at the third farm. The team’s six officers had seen no sign of movement since getting into position, and wondered if there was anyone left as guards. On a hand signal, the team leader, along with six men, moved quickly and cautiously toward the farmhouse and its large outbuilding. They reached the buildings without resistance. Two officers entered the outbuilding. There was no one inside.

  The team leader moved quietly to the house and stepped onto the porch and peered into the window. He could see three men. One was reading a newspaper and having his morning coffee. One was sleeping on a couch on the far side of the room. The third was asleep in a reclining chair.

  “Really guarding this outfit aren’t you? You bums.” he whispered to himself. He gave the signal to enter. Bursting through the front and rear doors simultaneously, and with guns pointing directly in the face of the suspects, the first officer in the room screamed “Federal officers, you are all under arrest.”

  The three startled to their feet, their eyes wide, faces turned white, but they gave no resistance. The raid was over.

  The rest of the day would be spent inventorying seized property and drugs. The lead officer sat on the porch making notes in his book,

  “It doesn’t get any easier than this,” he thought to himself. Easy or not, it would take the members of the team a full day to rid their bodies of the adrenaline in their veins.

  Meanwhile, 3 miles away, at the second farm, the go signal was given at 1000 hours. The team could see one armed suspect walking in front of a small barn. Two officers were behind the barn, one on the far side of the house and one behind an old truck with no tires or wheels.

  The team leader whispered to his partner, “Cover me.”

  He stepped into the open space near the gate. He shouted to the suspect in the yard, “Federal officers. You’re under arrest. Drop your weapon and step into the open.”

  The suspect stopped, crouched down behind a rusty Ford tractor. He called to someone inside the barn. “Get out here! We got company.” The small, man-sized barn door opened and another man emerged. He, too, jumped behind the tractor.

  “I only see one.” He desperately whispered. “There’s gotta be more. What should we do? Wanna shoot it out?”

  It was too late. A voice from behind them said, “Drop your weapons. Federal officers and you’re under arrest.” They dropped their weapons and lay face down on the ground as instructed.

  The officer spoke again, “Is there anyone else?”

  “Screw you, cop.”

  “Read them their rights,” the team leader said as he passed the arresting officers.

  Two officers entered the house and found it lacking furniture, appliances, or carpet. “Getting ready for a new growing system.” they surmised to each other.

  The barn was a different story. Living quarters, an office with accounting equipment: calculators, copiers, files, etc., were in a loft Everything would be logged for evidence, and later would provide information on the largest marijuana distribution ring in the USA.

  One more suspect was in the loft. He was unarmed and very ill. He had been left behind to guard the farm because he was unable to attend the meeting. He’d never considered himself a criminal, after all, he didn’t deal in drugs; just a book keeper. The team leader would have to call an ambulance to transport the accountant. It would be another week before he could be moved from hospital to jail.

  It would take several days to inventory all material found in the makeshift office. The day would be used to inventory drugs and weapons.

  1000 hours at Farm One. Dan, John, and Roger had the front. The Red team had driven along the old skid trail to the rear of the farm and taken their positions . The Green team split, with three men on the east and three on the west sides of the farm. The suspect vehicles were parked in a line at the front of the house. There were several people walking to and from the house and barn.

  All officers had been able to get inside the fence, under the microwave detectors. Each officer waited for the go signal.

  Roger gave the signal as Dan slammed the gas pedal. The Blazer dug into the dirt, throwing dust in great plumes, and raced up the drive toward the house. Dan switched the radio to it’s external speaker.

  “We are Federal officers,” he shouted into the mike. “Come out with your hands up.” He paused a moment, allowing his commands to be heard by those in the barn and house.

  As is custom, he repeated the command, but this time more deliberate and forceful. “Throw out your weapons. We are Federal officers. Come out with your hands up.”

  It was distraction enough. The two teams were able to cross the open ground, obtain an attack advantage near the barn, and ready weapons. No resistance met team members as they rushed the house and barn. The careless guards set up defenses only toward the front of the house and barn.

  The guard, who first spotted the Blazer, was now on his radio talking with someone. The Blazer skidded to a stop keeping the line of cars in front of the house between the Blazer and the guard. Dan, Roger, and John, kept as low as possible as they stepped out of the Blazer and took cover behind the first two cars. Gunfire from a semiautomatic pistol came from somewhere, and the windshield exploded from the Chevrolet protecting Roger.

  Walking with an easy gate, and eyes constantly surveying his surroundings, John worked his way to the far end of the line of cars. From there, crossed the open area to the porch. No one fired on him. Two team members from the west side of the house joined him on the veranda. John pushed the door open; nothing happened. He squatted and took a quick look into the room. He saw no one. He and one young team member entered the house.

  Roger and Dan motioned for the team members on the east side to advance. When the first team member stood to move, a shutter covered barn window opened, and the barrel of a rifle appeared. The bullet missed the crouching officers by inches.

  The Green team member behind a small oak tree returned fire and was the better shot. A cry was heard and the rifle barrel disappeared from the window. He could see a gunman crouched behind an old hay wagon and yelled, “Drop it.”

  The gunman turned, raising his arm to fire. A Federal Officer’s bullet hit him just above his first shirt button and he dropped.

  A door in the barn opened and two men with Uzi automatic machine guns burst into the yard firing as they ran. The first team member was again the better trained. Both attackers went down. The officer dove for cover behind a hay wagon. He called again to the barn,

  “Federal officers. Come out with your hands up.”

  Roger and Dan were startled by an explosion from the house. Smoke billowed out of the upper windows. The screen door flew open, and a man, handcuffed, wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans was hurled across the porch and landed face first in the dust. Behind him, came John in a cloud of smoke. He called to Roger,

  “Watch out for boobytraps,” he coughed. “The Kid just got it from a boobytrapped door upstairs.”

  Two teams, each member carrying an AR-15 and Colt .45 auto, converged on the barn’s large front door. From inside came the sound of a revving engine. Then, like a greyhound from a gate
, came a brown Dodge van. The driver pointed an Uzi through the driver’s window and began firing wildly. The officers jumped for cover. Two men fired from the van’s open back doors.

  Roger fired on the van. He took out both front tires and the driver lost control. The van pitched wildly to the right and rolled over in a huge cloud of dust and spraying gravel. The two men in the back of the van were thrown clear. Both, spitting dust, were handcuffed before they could recover from shock. The gunman on the passenger side of the van suffered a broken arm. The driver was less fortunate. When the truck began to roll, the door sprung open. The driver held the door with his left arm; centrifugal force threw him upward and partially out of the van. As the truck finished its roll, the door was forced shut again, nearly decapitating him.

  The blue Mercedes snaked out of the barn and Dan made a run for the Blazer. The Mercedes swung around the wrecked Dodge, and Dan moved the Blazer into its path, and braked to a stop. The driver had no choice but to brake hard, skidding, and slamming the Mercedes into the driver’s side of the Blazer. The impact, welded the two vehicles together and threw Dan against the dashboard.

  The back door of the Mercedes opened, and Roger saw a very large man in a gray suit. “Get out of there. Now!” Roger ordered, his gun held in a straight arm press. State Senator Nels Bergstrom raised his head to pull himself from the car.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” Roger said.

  The senator hauled his massive frame from the seat and another passenger became visible. Leo Sardoni, the west coast Mafia drug boss had blood running down his cheek.

  “I’ll be damned” he said again. “Out of the car!” Roger ordered.

  As Dan struggled through the passenger door, of the Blazer, the barrel of a revolver appeared from the edge of the half-opened Mercedes door. Then a western style hat appeared as the driver stumbled to a standing position and aimed his revolver at Roger. Dan ran, gritting his teeth against the pain, drawing his weapon as he went.

  “Roger!”

  The driver heard him, and whirled around. Dan was surprised and confused and lost his advantage when he recognized the driver as Chief Deputy Morgan Duncan. Duncan turned and fired two shots into Dan’s chest. The impact of the .357 bullets knocked him off his feet, skidding him in the dirt. A third shot, intended for his head, hit Dan in the left side of the neck. He didn’t move once he hit the ground.

  Roger reacted quickly. His only shot struck Duncan just below the left ear, killing him instantly.

  The two suspects from the back seat of the car were now covered by John who had moved to the rear of the car. Roger ran around the car to find Dan lying in a pool of blood and gasping for breath. In the Sheriff’s vehicle, Roger screamed into a mike.

  “County one, County one, Do you read?”

  “10-4, Roger”

  “Three ambulances. Now! Quicker than now!! I have officers down. Don’t bring them past the gate. This area’s still too hot for civilians. We’re a war zone here. Dan’s down and hurt bad.”

  “Understood,” Sheriff McNabb responded, “ETA 5 minutes.”

  Roger quickly searched and cuffed his prisoners, then returned to Dan.

  “Take it easy, the ambulance is on the way.” Dan, passed out. John ran to the gate and motioned for the driver to pull ahead.

  “I’ll take it from here. Still pretty hairy in there.”

  The driver and two medics jumped out and John drove the ambulance to where Roger was waiting with Dan. The two men placed Dan on the gurney and loaded it into the ambulance. John drove the vehicle back to where the driver and medics were waiting. The siren begin to scream.

  Roger could hear occasional gunfire from the barn, but could see the teams beginning to move people out in handcuffs. He walked to the barn to confer with the Red and Green team leaders.

  Red team leader, Sandy Crawford, summarized.

  “There’s only one more guy in the back of the barn; he’s scared and shooting, but I think we can talk him out. I have one officer dead. He’s a real mess, Roger. Damned booby trap. Three wounded, one from falling on a harrow. We have four dead suspects and six wounded. Here comes the other guy from the barn. I’d like to get my men to the hospital as soon as we can.”

  “John,” Roger asked. “Get on the sheriff’s radio and send in those other ambulances and the transport vans. Contact the other two farms and see how they’re doing. I hate being out of contact with my men”

  He turned back to Crawford and Davis, the team leaders.

  “Your men did an outstanding job. Minimal injuries too. As soon as everyone is loaded up, have the rest of your men start the inventory. Thanks again for a good job.”

  Roger returned to the Blazer where John was standing. “What happened to the kid upstairs?”

  “Whatever happened to the good old days, Roger? These drug people are getting more and more dangerous all the time. The kid never stood a chance. He opened a door to what looked like an office, and a grenade dropped down. Little Steve made a dive for cover but the grenade blew out the wall. He died instantly. This isn’t just Marijuana farmers anymore, its organized crime. Steve was a good guy, had his whole life ahead; he deserved better. Was Dan hurt bad? It looked like he took two or three good ones.”

  “I don’t know yet. We got the wounds packed good before he left.” Roger said as he walked around the Blazer. “By the way, did you see who was in the back seat of that Mercedes?”

  “I sure did. With big names like Bergstrom and Santoni, involved, we’re going to have to be careful to dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s. There’s going to be some high priced, big city lawyers trying to take this case apart.”

  Roger looked at the Blazer.

  “Help me get these cars apart, so I can go to the hospital. Take over here and supervise the inventory. You won’t finish tonight; assign guards to watch, then finish tomorrow.”

  Roger met the Sheriff at the hospital.

  “How is he, Red?”

  “The vest saved him. He has two broken ribs, and a chunk of his neck is gone. He’ll be okay, but, he’s going to need time to heal.”

  Roger looked at the floor a moment. “Has anyone told you about your other deputy?”

  “What other deputy?”

  “His name tag said Morgan Duncan. I shot him. He was driving the car for the two big guys, Bergstrom and Santoni. He shot Dan.”

  Red gasp in disbelief. “Are you telling me the snitch in my office was my chief deputy?”

  “Looks that way now, Sheriff. Sorry. I’ll stay with this case for a few days. Keep me posted on Dan’s progress, will you? I’ll be back to see him in a couple of days. He’s a good man, sheriff; don’t lose him.”

  The door at the end of the hall burst open. A beautiful young woman in a waitress uniform ran toward the sheriff. “Where’s Dan? Is it true he’s been shot?”

  “Calm down, Beth,” the Sheriff held onto her shoulders. “He was shot, but he’ll be Okay. He’s going to be sore for a while, but he’s going to be all right.”

  “What happened? How did it happen? Can I see him?” She wiped tears from her face. It was only now that she admitted to herself just how deeply she felt for Dan.

  “Sit down. I’ll tell you as much as I know. Can I get you some coffee; a soda?” The Sheriff motioned toward the lounge.

  She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “No thanks. I just want to see Dan.”

  The Sheriff explained the raid and what little he knew. It was difficult for him. His thoughts kept returning to his chief deputy and friend. What was his reason for turning snitch?

  Doctor Mathis came to the lounge and spoke to the sheriff.

  “He’s coming around now. He was lucky. The bullet proof vest saved his life. We dug two deeply imbedded bullets from it. The force of the impact broke his ribs. The wound on his neck has been sutured. The bullet passed below the jaw bone and destroyed the tissue in a rather large path along the left side of his neck. There was profuse bleeding and destruction of
flesh, but no main artery intervention. He may want to have cosmetic surgery for the scar later, but for now, we’ve done about all we can. He’ll be sleepy, but you can see him for a minute. He’s going to be fine.” The doctor turned to the nurse; “Let them visit for just a minute.” He walked down the hall, then turned. “He’s a mighty lucky man.”

  Dan slowly rose from unconsciousness. He opened groggy eyes.

  “Dan. It’s Beth.”

  Dan tried to focus. “Beth.” He tried to change positions and winced with pain.

  “I heard you needed a nurse, so I applied.” She attempted to smile, but tears came anyway. She wiped her eyes, “Are you sure you’re all right?” her voice quivering with the question.

  “I’m okay. I remember Duncan firing at me. The next thing I remember is waking up here. Did we get them? I hope they got Duncan. If they didn’t, I want a piece of him when I get out of here.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  On the third morning in the hospital, Dan finished breakfast and thought about going home. He smiled when the door opened and Roger came in with a small bouquet and a brown paper bag. He placed the flowers on the table by the door and walked to the bed. “Some people’ll do anything to get out of doing paperwork. How’re you feeling?”

  “I’m dieing, Roger. Just got a few hours left. Think you could assign the paperwork detail to someone else?”

  Roger laughed and shook his hand. “You don’t get out of mucky work that easy. I can send it with you.” Both men laughed.

  “What’s in the bag?”

  Roger pulled out a blue jacket with gold lettering.

  “I found one without bullet holes.”

  “Thanks friend, I’ll try not to ruin this one.”

  “I don’t quite know how to say this, Dan so I’ll just come right out with it. I owe you my life. If you hadn’t taken Morgan off me, I’d probably be dead. I’m in your debt. Thanks.

  “Another thing, this was my last raid with DEA. I’ve transferred to a supervisory position with the FBI. As soon as the paperwork and the initial court proceedings for this case are out of the way, I’m being transferred to Phoenix.”