Free Above the Law by J. F. Freedman Page B

nodded that this was so.
    Given the source of Jerome’s information, Miller wasn’t convinced.
    “We know he’s in there,” Jerome repeated defensively, as if to quell his own concerns that if this got fucked up, it would be the worst snafu in recent history. “If he wasn’t,” he added stoutly, “we wouldn’t be going in tonight.”
    Good luck. Miller thought. If Lopez is your primary source, God help the United States of America. He glanced over at his deputy. Bearpaw shook his head—he was thinking the same thing.
    “Unfortunately, we’ve just had a major fucking disaster.”
    Miller’s ears pricked up.
    “The airplanes aren’t coming in. Neither of them, ours or theirs. Everything’s fogged in, from Bakersfield clear to the Mexican border. The deal is off.”
    Miller looked around. No one was moving; they were barely even breathing Now what? he thought.
    “So here’s what’s going to happen.” Jerome paused. “We’re going to go in and take Juarez anyway. We have a legitimate reason to do so: there’s an outstanding reward on his head from the Mexican government for being involved in the murder of one of their federal agents. He escaped arrest down there, and no one’s been able to lay a glove on him, mainly because no one can pin him down. But we’ve done it. If we don’t take him now, we could lose him forever, which is not going to happen on my watch!”
    Miller could feel the pit growing in his stomach. This was wrong; you do these things the right way, by the book. You don’t cowboy something this important. He was glad, now, that he wasn’t involved in this decision.
    Jerome went on, “Here’s the ticklish part. We want him alive. The word’s come down from the powers that be. If he’s captured, he can detail myriad drug-smuggling and arms-running operations, stuff that’s going on all over the country; hell, all over the world. Dozens of operations we’ve been trying to break for years—he’s an important key to our doing that.”
    Jerome’s gaze swept the assemblage. “When I say taking him alive is our supreme objective, ladies, that’s from Janet Reno’s mouth to your ears. That’s how serious this man is to the Justice Department. If this guy dies, they’ll hang the tail right on our asses. We’ll be fucking roadkill.”
    He paused to let his words sink in. Even though these men were battle-tested veterans of the drug and arms wars, for many of them this would be the most important, blood-pounding encounter they would be involved in in their careers.
    Jerome spread out a diagram of their target.
    “We’ve gone over this, you have your own copies. The advance team goes in first, takes out any sentries they might have posted. Once they give us the all-clear, the rest of us go in. We overwhelm them—alive, let me once more stress that—and we are heroes to a grateful nation.”
    Clenched fists all around. They could feel their blood pulsing harder.
    Jerome folded up his diagram and looked at his watch. “Let’s coordinate. I’ve got three forty-one and thirty seconds.”
    Sixty other men looked at their watches. They were all digital watches, not an analog among them, except for Miller, who wore the same Longines he’d had since his wife had given it to him as a present upon his graduation from the FBI Academy, fifty years ago.
    What a crock, the sheriff thought as he watched this hoary exercise. Almost 2000 and these guys are still setting their watches the way they did back in World War II.
    “Eighteen minutes,” Jerome said.
    The agents dispersed, spreading around the perimeter. They were an overwhelming force, who would be in the compound and the house before the men inside knew what had hit them.
    Miller approached Jerome. “What’s our assignment?” He gestured toward Bearpaw, his deputy, standing a few feet from them.
    Jerome looked at him. This was awkward, and annoying. “You observe.”
    “From where?”
    Jerome looked around. Miller was here as