Free Remember The Alamo by William W. Johnstone;J.A. Johnstone Page B

smugglers, the effort was doomed to fail. Of
course, the state and local law enforcement agencies were
equally riddled with corruption. Little wonder that the most
important power in Mexico these days was the cartel, which
functioned as a sort of shadow government with Hector Garcia-Lopez wielding more of the power of a president than
the elected president himself.

    General Augusto Salgado, the officer mentioned by Paco,
was one of the cartel's loyal allies, as far as Silvio knew. Yet it
was also clear from the conversation that Garcia-Lopez did not
fully trust Salgado. The general had political ambitions of his
own, and with a few careful questions, Silvio determined that
most of his backing came from the Reconquistar movement.
Silvio found himself wondering if the men who had crossed
the border into Texas, killed those Border Patrolmen, and committed the atrocity at the VFW picnic might have been actual
soldiers from Salgado's command. It was all too possible,
Silvio decided.
    There was also some sort of shadowy figure connected with
both Garcia-Lopez and General Salgado, but Silvio was
unable to discover his identity and was afraid to pry too
openly. He was more concerned with finding out the details of
what would happen at the ceremony where sovereignty over
the Alamo would be handed back to Mexico.
    Paco or Berto-Silvio couldn't remember which-had said
that the Texans would be surprised when they found out they
weren't getting the Alamo back. That could only mean one
thing: The Mexicans who took it over planned to keep it. They
could only do that by force. That meant they would have to
smuggle in weapons.
    Silvio couldn't see a bunch of politicians, even crooked
ones, pulling off something this daring and dangerous. The
only conclusion that made any sense was that some of the Reconquistadores would be in the crowd, heavily armed, ready
to step forward at the proper moment and take control of the
Alamo, probably killing a lot of Texans-and no doubt some
Mexicans-in the process.
    Before it was all over ... death, death, and more death.

    And, surprising even himself, Silvio found that he had had
his fill of death.
    He was not involved in this. He could stand aside, turn his
back on what he knew and what he suspected, and let things
play out however fate decided that they should.
    Or he could try to warn the Texans, some of whom were his
own friends and family. Silvio pondered the choice long and
hard. He knew which conclusion he wanted to arrive at.
    Unfortunately, he arrived at the other one. He had to try to
stop this madness before it happened. Otherwise, he would
never be able to live with himself.
    He told Rita he was going over to Brownsville the next day
to see about picking up some automotive parts. Once he was
across the border, he would head straight for San Antonio and
find Dave Rodriguez. Dave was a nobody, a mechanic like
Silvio, but he knew people. He would be able to find the right
person and explain what the Reconquistadores were planning.
Then the American authorities could take steps to prevent the
bloodshed from happening.
    Unfortunately, if word of Silvio's role in tipping off the
Americans ever became known, his life would be worth nothing in Mexico. Neither would Rita's.
    So he said to her, "Come with me tomorrow."
    She was a small woman, still neatly attractive at forty-five.
She worked as the secretary for a local lawyer who, like all
lawyers, was only as honest as he had to be, and in Matamoros, Mexico, that wasn't very honest at all. Being around
criminals all the time had made Rita naturally suspicious, so
she frowned at Silvio and said, "Go with you? Why would you
ask me to go with you to pick up parts to fix those old cars?"
    "I just thought it would be good for us to spend more time
together"
    "You have another woman," Rita declared, "and you are
trying to relieve your guilt over being lying, cheating scum"

    Silvio threw up his hands. "Never