Lovely Cartel Occupied Territory

Head Hunter Cartel Occupied Territory (HCOT)

The air field was an abandoned World War 2 Air Base. It had originally been made on the coast for US B17s and B24s conducting anti-U-boats across the Caribbean during World War 2. It should have been over run by the Head Hunters wanting to use it for smuggling, but the problem was that is a US Coast Guard station and Mexican Coast Guard Lighthouse just at the edge of visual range off the shore. Numerous raids had been launched on the Cartel when they attempted to set up camp at the Air Base so they had written it off. Now a team from the Mexican Marines had reoccupied the air field.

“Capitan,” the Mexican Marine Comandante said walking up to Captain ‘Eagle’ Buckingham, “Welcome to Mexico.”

“We are being watched,” Eagle said as he nodded to his Mexican counterpart.

“Of course,” the Marine Comandante shrugged and held out his hand.

“Well thank you for such a lovely reception,” Eagle smiled and shook the Comandante’s hand.

“I was told this was a joint mission to check on a temple,” the Comandante said.

“It is,” Scarlet said as she walked up, “Hello Diego.”

“Roja!” The Comandante gasped, “I didn’t know you would be here.”

Scarlet strutted up enjoying the boy’s attention. Her Multicam tactical yoga pants, combat shirt, battle belt and slick coyote plate carrier gave her a striking figure compared to the other guys jumping out of the aircraft in versions of battle dress.

“I hope I am not too much of a distraction for your boys,” Scarlet snickered.

“Roja,” the Comandante muttered, “You are a vary mean temptress. I take it you have your own archeologist with you? Is it that Jackson fellow the Yankee Air **** keeps around?”

“The crazy pyramid guy?” Scarlet said, “Probably looking for Martian artifacts on Pluto or something. No, the British hired Doctor Croft.”

“Doctor Croft? Doctor Richard Croft?” The Comandante said surprised, “He is famous, but he has been retired for years, I even heard rumor that he… well…”

“Died?” Lara said as she exited the aircraft.

Lara relished the attention she got. Scarlet was hot, but Lara knew she had everyone’s attention. Her Aqua colored latex leotard, brown leather booty shorts, pistol belt and brown leather combat boots left nothing to anyone’s imaginations. Lara finished off her long braided pony tail with a black elastic before getting her signature sunglasses from a special magazine pouch built into her leather belt.

“Senorita?” The Comandante stammered for a second.

“This is Doctor Lara Croft from the Royal Society of Archeologists, presently on retainer for Her Majesty’s Ministry of Defense,” Eagle said, “And she is Doctor Richard Croft’s daughter.”

“Oh, I did not know he had a daughter,” The Comandante turned to Lara, “Welcome to Mexico, Doctor Croft, please forgive me I was expecting your father. How is he?”

“As far as everyone knows, he is dead,” Lara said bluntly as she pulled out a spray bottle from another magazine pouch and started applying the contents to her exposed skin, “He went missing on a dig years ago and no trace of him has been found. The Royal Society chose to simply list him as retired in the hopes that he can be found and if alive be reinstated, but with the understanding that they need his seat open for someone else to sit in their rosters. Bug spray anyone?”

“No, Gracias Doctor,” the Comandante said, “My condolences about your father, I did not know.”

“It’s alright, as they say, it’s history,” Lara **** herself to smile, “So what is the plan?”

“Mutt and Junkyard are going to stay with the plane,” Eagle said, “Once Scarlet makes contact with the infiltrator we will head out via the helicopter that is being ‘birthed’ right now.”

“Infiltrator?” The Comandante snorted, “Roja, there is no way to get a spy in Head Hunter Villages.”

“Are you sure about that?” Scarlet said before shouting, “Laugh it up Chuckles!”

The door to an old hanger opened and out walked a Mayan peasant in bleached off white shirt and pants and a large straw hat. The peasant walked up and stopped in front of Scarlet and lifted the hat revealing his blonde hair under the wig that was sown into the hat.

“Hi Scarlet,” Chuckled said calmly.

Scarlet didn’t say anything at first, but rather reached out and poked the man’s belly with a finger.

“Been enjoying the local food have you?” Scarlet finally asked.

“Better than the stuff in the Carpathians,” Chuckles shrugged.

“No Offense Comandante,” Eagle said, “But I think that we need a private conversation.”

“Go right ahead,” the Mexican Comandante said backing away.

Lara, Chuckles, Eagle and Scarlet all turned and walked back into the C-17. The Comandante waited as another officer walked up to him.

{Did you know there was an American hiding here?} The Comandante asked in his Mexican Spanish.

{I didn’t know there was a Mayan hiding here!} the junior officer said.

{Double Patrols,} the Comandante ordered.

*

Scarlet was playing with the magazines for her pistols while Chuckles gave his briefing. Lara was loading her pistols. Chuckles was seated with a tablet pointing out locations on a map.

“Here is the temple complex,” Chuckles pointed out, “They arrived about twenty four hours ago. I spotted Sphagina with our old friend Gorky.”

Chuckles brought up pictures. One was the old Soviet Navel Infantry Officer in a TTsKO camouflage uniform, and the other was of a young blonde woman in a desert Tan set of combat cargo pants, t-shirt, tunic, and an American style ‘Ball cap’ with a Soviet Medallion in the front. Of note was the brown leather shoulder holster with pistol and brown leather belt with AK Magazine pouches in brown. Another picture had her with black fingerless gloves going over an artifact. Another had her wearing the matching desert colored tunic and a Soviet specific Panamanka broad brimmed hat.

“I thought the new Russian stuff issued with western style boonies,” Scarlet noted.

“Who do they have with them?” Stake-Out asked.

“That’s the weird part,” Chuckles noted, “Besides the ‘volunteers’ provided by local villages, their security stays mummified at all times… And I somehow doubt that they are members of the PLA’s Nuclear Missile command.”

The next picture was of a couple of goons with AKs bullying local peasants. The goons were dressed in a particular digital camouflage with western style boonies and balaclavas.

“I am sorry,” Lara interjected, “But what about this says nukes?”

“Chinese People Liberation Army type oh-seven digital woodland,” Scarlet noted, “The pattern reserved for their ICBM ****. Each of the branches of the PLA claimed their own camo and the Nuclear Rocket **** claimed the Woodland color for themselves. Their Marines wore Oceanic camo even in the desert of or the jungle. Their Special Forces wore desert camo everywhere. It was jurisdiction not terrain based.”

“No skin showing so we can’t tell much about these guys,” Eagle noted, “No tattoos or faces to recognize.”

“What can we tell?” Lara asked.

“Almost all of them are rocking seven-point-six-two by thirty-nine,” Scarlet noted zooming in on the magazines of the AKs.

“Any PKMs?” Eagle asked.

“Not that I have seen,” Chuckles noted, “Just AK one hundred series in Seven-point-six-two and pistols.”

“Uwe Bee Ghee Els?” Scarlet asked.

“Nope,” Chuckles shrugged.

“The Grenade Launchers on the rifles,” Eagle said to Lara.

“I figured,” Lara smiled.

“I got a question,” Mayday spoke up, “Any signs of air defense?”

“None,” Chuckles said, “Closest is an old Soviet ZSU emplacement about thirty klicks over the other side of the ridge next to the Cartel’s air field.”

“So where do you folks want us to put you down?” Wild Bill asked.

“How close can you get us?” Eagle asked.

Before anyone could say anything there were a few groans from the Joes.

“I can put you right on top of that there pyramid if you want,” Wild Bill said, “The concern for you folks is that while the ‘night attack chopper’ is quiet, it isn’t silent nor is it invisible. So you might be taking fire if we get a little too close.”