The ranger skillfully accomplished his mission. A few of the men picked Carrillo up and laid him on the couch. The crowd was in an uproar. Many ran out of the house in a panic. Carrillo's wife and daughter rushed into the den, looked at Carrillo's dead body, and loudly screamed as a small stream of blood flowed down from the entrance wound. The woman rested on her dead husband’s chest and wept. ‘My God, why? Why?’ The daughter watched in unbelief. Cárdenas Carrillo, her father and the head of the Micas Clans, was dead.
The ranger's job was done. He quickly exited the tree. He took the scope off the .30-06, and stored it in his backpack. Carefully, he wiped the rifle down to remove any fingerprints. Then, he left the Winchester by the tree. Retreating to the cover of the rainforest, Jamal traveled west until he came to the Juan River. He took the preplanned route into the town of Juan. He would follow the river to freedom. It took him less than two hours to travel the unfamiliar terrain. The ranger followed the river to the next valley. In the middle of the valley was the town of Juan and Jamal's ride home.
Stopping before he came into the town, the ranger took off his backpack and retrieved the change of clothes he brought with him. He took his passport and other credentials from his pack and slipped them into the pocket of the jeans. The ranger dug a wide deep hole with the end of his Bowie knife. After changing clothes, he piled the unwanted things in the hole and poured the contents of a bottle over it. With his lighter, he set fire to the mission pictures and his military clothes. It took about fifteen minutes for everything to burn completely. Afterwards, Jamal buried the ashes. Putting on a pair of headphones and a tourist hat, Jamal was ready to go into town and locate Chief Garcia. Twenty minutes later, Jamal entered Juan.
The population of Juan is around ten thousand. It is the commercial capital of the Chabat District. Residents from all over the islands come to Juan to trade or sell their produce in this busy little market town. Juan is known to have the best nightlife in the Chabat District. Tonight, the town was bustling with activity. Jamal located the police station about fifteen minutes later. The cinder block building sat in the middle of the small town. As Jamal walked through the unpainted steel door, he was greeted by the desk sergeant. The desk sergeant was a short man in his mid thirties with a potbelly. He wore a poorly laundered blue police uniform and plain black dress shoes. ‘Is Chief Garcia in the office, today?' Jamal politely questioned the man.
‘Yes. Who wants to know?' The man roughly replied.
Jamal quickly gave his answer, ‘I am Jamal Walker, an old friend from UCLA. We played flag football together. He told me to stop in to say hi if I came down here.'
‘Oh, the chief has been waiting for you.' The man hurriedly left to retrieve Chief Garcia.
After a few minutes, the sergeant returned and Chief Garcia came with him. They shook hands and the chief said, ‘I bet you are ready for that ride back to San Paulo by now. How did you enjoy your little visit?' Jamal smiled and said ‘I was able to get my job done. I was able to shoot some great pictures of your local wildlife.'
Six hours later, a plane carrying the U. S. Ranger touched down at the airfield of the base. Jamal stepped off the plane carrying his backpack on his shoulder. The sun rose over the horizon and the base came to life. Jamal started the Ford pickup truck. He sat in the parking lot for a few minutes to let the engine warm up. Music loudly spilled out of the cab of the midnight blue truck. The tires of the Ford squealed as Jamal quickly accelerated out of the parking lot. The U. S. Ranger made it back home safe.
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