One Down by J. Thomas Rompel

Author:J. Thomas Rompel [Rompel, J. Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-27T22:00:00+00:00

11:18 P.M.

The East Bound Ramp To I-10, Tucson, Arizona

After last year’s foray down to San Miguel, Carter knew they could, barring any interruptions, time it within a couple of minutes of how long it took to arrive at the southern gate of the Grimms X-7 ranch, separating Mexico and the United States. In forty-seven to forty-eight minutes, they’d take the off ramp from I-10 onto Arizona State Route 80. From there, it was a short ride to the dirt road that headed due south through the ranch to the steel-bared gate. Before their first trip down there, Mick had rigged both Carter’s Expedition and Doug’s Ford truck with manual kill switches for all the lights including the interior ones. This eliminated the possibility of anyone detecting them in the cold black desert night when they hit their brakes or opened their doors. Once having flipped the kill switches, they’d all go to their NVG’s. They made their way in silence driving down the eastbound direction of I-10 trailing behind Doug, Conway, Mike and Rocco’s vehicle.

“It’s great having you join us Diego. Hopefully, none of us need your skills but it makes me feel a little more secure,” Carter said interrupting the silence.

“Doug and the other guys told me a lot about the three of you. Their confidence and trust in you guys is impressive. When Dax asked me to join all of you along with the rest of the team, I knew it was the right thing to do. Besides what we’re doing is a righteous cause,” said Diego from the right-rear seat.

“Diego, how long were you on active duty?” Mick asked from the back-left seat.

“I did my twenty and then punched out.”

“Were you always a PJ?” Garrett asked.

“Not in the beginning, but after 9/11, I wanted to play an active role on the battlefield. Being able to help our guys when they got injured called to me. It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in life.”

“I assume then after you became a PJ, you did some tours of duty,” Garrett said.

“I did. Three in Afghanistan, two in Iraq and two more someplace I can’t talk about because we weren’t there,” Diego said with the rest joining in the humor of what he’d said.

“I got to tell you, I have the highest regard for those four guys riding in front of us. We know they’re some of the best at what they do. I appreciate your acknowledgement of us Diego but we’re not at the level those guys operate at. Nor do we have the level of experience they have or yourself. But I can tell you what we went through last year, coupled with our training gives me a level of confidence and understanding about what’s involved in a gunfight,” Carter said.

The four of them continued to talk for the next thirty minutes, then silence as they neared their turn off. Carter found the conversation kept his mind from wondering to the sadness and worry he felt about Kim.

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