Day Six:

Thursday, July 13th

La Jolla Reservation, California

Edward

"There," I said to Jasper as the target appeared in my rifle's crosshairs. "That's where they count it."

Up in the mountains, on the windy roads, and deep in the Luiseño territory, Elena set up camp. She had three trailers tightly wedged against a hill. It was hard to find if you didn't know where the fuck you were going, but the FBI had been watching this particular site for a few years. Thanks to that fucking asshole Dennis, he had given us the GPS coordinates, and it was conveniently an hour from Laguna. It didn't take me long to put together a team. I had Doc, Billy, Jesse, and Sam form two groups: Alpha-One was Billy and Sam, and Charlie-Three was Doc and Jesse. Jasper and I made up the final team as Beta-Two. We positioned ourselves in a triangle. Alpha-One was close to the road's entrance, Beta-Two was at the center, and Charlie-Three had their sights on the trailers. This type of combat tactic was called the "Flanking Maneuver." It was an effective strategy for enemies that were expecting it but pretty deadly in an ambush. As much as Elena and fucking Alex, and Jaime wanted to pretend they were top dogs, they were puppies compared to what I had seen and fought.

I wasn't even sure we needed the IEDs and RPGs, but the kid in me liked to blow stuff up.

Lowering my rifle, I said, "They head south to Mexico two, three times a week. You see that curve over there?" I pointed toward our left. "There's a road, a bridge, and another road. One way in, no way out."

Jasper was beside me, his white sugar skull mask pushed up on his head, and he was fucking hyperventilating.

"Are you nervous?"

"No. I hijack cash shipments all the time," he deadpanned.

Sarcasm. I liked it.

I smiled. "Good."

"Edward, man, I don't know if I can do this," he said.

"Do what?"

"Kill somebody."

The agony and the turmoil in his voice were understandable, and I had gone through the same thing myself.

"Look, Jasper. There's no 'undo' button here. There's still time for you to walk away. I've got four good guys ready to go."

He shook his head. "No. I'm in. This was my idea."

"Good!"

Billy said over the radio, "Alpha-one in position."

I looked across the way to my right and spotted Billy and Sam crouching behind brush up high on a rocky mountainside. Their vantage point could see any oncoming vehicles from up to a mile away.

Pressing the response button on my vest, I replied: "Copy that."

Jasper and I watched as Doc and Jesse ran down the hill to our right, carrying an RPG between them on their shoulders. They hid behind a boulder and out of view from anyone occupying the trailers.

Doc radioed over. "Charlie-three, in position."

"Copy." I pulled out my lucky joint and blazed it up with a flick of a lighter. Taking a puff, I relaxed and handed it off to Jazz. "They don't call it hijacking for nothing, J."

"No, I'm okay."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise because he didn't look okay. "You sure?" He nodded. "Suit yourself."

We sat there in silence as I finished the joint. Marijuana had a paradoxical effect on me. It chilled most people out or made them goofy, but for me, it helped me focus. Everything seemed to clear up, and I could process my thoughts much better. It was a good thing, too, because not even a minute later did our dates arrive at the top of the hill.

Billy radioed in. "Three hostile targets are approaching your position."

"Copy that, gentlemen. May Allah be with you."

Picking up my rifle, I peered through the scope and watched as three vehicles approached: a station wagon with one driver, an SUV with two men, and a 1500 twin-cab truck with one driver. The SUV was a Beta-Two target. The first one, though, passed by where Jasper and I were crouched and made its way toward the trailers.

Billy: The first bogie is coming your way.

I said, "Charlie, there's someone knocking at your front door."

Doc: We have it. Copy.

It was go time. I turned to Jasper, and he looked even worse than he had two minutes ago.

"I've got your back," I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder. His wide eyes turned to me. "You need to stay flat until you receive a clear signal from me. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and neck nervously.

Doc: The second vehicle is about 200 meters behind it. A black Suburban passed the first checkpoint. The third, about 300 to 400 meters behind the second.

Looking through the rifle again, I tried to time the IED perfectly – too fast, it would blow up in their faces; too slow, it would blow up behind them like a fart. "Now, breathe," I said to Jasper. He covered his head and crouched down. "Three…two…one." As the SUV rounded the first curve and got into position, I pressed down on the first explosive, setting off the first bomb.

BANG!

The explosion erupted at the center of the SUV. It went two feet in the air before crashing back down on the road. Black smoke and flames engulfed it.

Jasper followed my lead as I put on my black Sugar Skull mask; however, as I jumped up to approach the SUV, Jasper stayed and waited for me to motion him over.

I was jogging down the hill, coming up from behind, looking for any threats. No one was in the backseat, only the two men in the front arguing in Spanish.

My rifle was raised as I advanced toward the passenger side window. I pounded my palm against it to gain their attention. They looked at me, startled, but when I waved at them to exit the vehicle, they didn't respond to my commands.

Well, fuck you, too, I thought, and I circled to the front and fired off two shots to each guy through the windshield, but the bullets bounced off.

Pressing down on the radio call button, I yelled out in frustration, "Bulletproof fucking glass!"

The driver smirked as I approached his side and flipped me off. "Fuck you, puto."

Yeah, we will fucking see, won't we?

I signaled for Jasper to come down with a wave of my hand. He rushed to the SUV, approached the front, and aimed his gun at the two men. I just needed him to distract them for a minute. They cursed from behind their bulletproof glass, thinking they were safe, but I was a fucking SEAL in the U.S. Navy, motherfuckers!

Digging into my tactical vest, I pulled out a concussion grenade and held it up for the driver to see. "Do you know what this is?" The dumb asshole had no clue, but he caught on quickly when I opened his gas tank and removed the pin from the grenade. I held it up so he could see me through the side mirror. The driver panicked, motioned to his passenger, and argued even more frantically.

BOOM!

My head jerked to the left, where Billy had set off the IED on the third vehicle passing the point on the road just before the bridge. The truck lifted off the ground from the explosion and flipped over. The energy from the blast kept the truck rolling until it hit the mountain's rocky edge and came to a stop.

Billy: Whoa! Look at that baby blow, man!

That was some bad-ass shit, and I was fucking grateful Doc could procure these weapons for us. He might have lied and stolen to do it, but God-Fucking-Bless, America!

Turning back to the task at hand, I let go of the grenade's safety clip and shoved it into the gas tank.

Doc: Six men from the trailer are armed with AKs and are heading your way.

Jesse: Let's go, let's go, let's go!

They moved from their spot and advanced.

Doc: C-Team, move in.

I threw the grenade pin onto the hood and walked backwards. "Move, move, move!" I told Jasper. He backed off with me, keeping his gun aimed. The guys continued to argue as I held up my hand and counted down. "Three...two...one." The assholes jumped out of the SUV just seconds before it exploded. They fell to the road as the briefcases they were carrying skidded out of their grasp.

The station wagon peeled out of the dirt lot and sped toward Jasper and me. Doc stood in the middle of the road with his RPG propped on his shoulder and fired it. The rocket grenade hit the car in a second flat and burst into flames, killing everyone inside. Jesse was on the hill with his rifle, shooting the guys left at the trailer and taking them all out. It was funny how ill-prepared these fuckers were. How nobody had the guts to go up against the Baja Cartel? Their arrogance and false security was what made things so easy for us.

Rushing up on the driver with my rifle aimed at their head, I yelled my demands at them in Spanish. "Give it to me! Give it to me! The money!"

The guy got up, dazed and injured, but he still managed to clutch the briefcase to his chest. It didn't take much for me to snatch it out of his hands. The guy collapsed to the ground with his hands up in surrender.

From my peripheral vision, I saw that Jasper was doing the same with the other guy. He didn't put up a fight; he simply dropped the case on the ground and shoved it forward. Jasper stopped it with his foot and picked it up. I tried to keep tabs on both sides, but my boy seemed to be handling his own. The gun remained steadily pointed – just as I had taught him.

"Do you know who the fuck we are?" The guy said. He must of saw something in Jasper that convinced him he was harmless. Why else would he fucking push up on him? "We're the cartel, cabron. We'll blowtorch your balls. Rape your wife. And your kids."

Goddamnit! I spoke too soon.

Jasper panicked, dropping the case to put both hands on the gun and keeping it aimed. "Stay back," he said too softly.

Then that motherfucker lunged and grabbed at Jasper's gun. They were wrestling, and that all happened in less than ten seconds. If I hadn't been watching like I was, I wouldn't have been able to turn around in time and shoot the guy twice, once in the neck and once in the head. The asshole's blood burst from his wounds and splattered all over Jasper's chest and mask.

The bitch fell dead to the ground.

And then that other fucking bitch, stood up and pointed his gun at me, popping off twice, so I swung around and lit his ass up. One in the chest and one in the neck. He dropped to his knees before taking a nosedive and busting his fucking face.

"Fuck!" I hissed.

There was a burning sting and dampness in my left shoulder, and I knew that motherfucking prick got me, but I wasn't concerned about that.

Jasper was frozen in place and traumatized by the violence around him. My eyes did a quick scan looking for any wounds on him. The blood still wasn't his, and I was fucking relieved.

I went over to him and gripped him firmly by the neck to wake him up. "You okay?"

Jasper blinked twice before fixing his gaze on me. "Yeah?"

"I need you to go over there and grab my case. Can you please grab it for me?"

He nodded and stumbled over to the other side.

I approached the guy who had the fucking nerve to rush up on Jasper. There were two things of mine you didn't fuck with, and that was Bean and Jasper.

They were off limits.

The dude was deader than a door nail, but it was out of my morbid satisfaction to put another bullet into him – right between his fucking eyes. It made me smile as his body jerked slightly. But the sudden and loud gunfire jolted Jasper. Already, he has PTSD. My guy wasn't doing so well.

"You got it?" I called over to him.

Jasper just raised his hand over his head in acknowledgement.

The pain in my shoulder was throbbing, and I flexed my fingers to ensure there was no nerve damage. Everything still seemed to be working fine. I grabbed the suitcase and busted it open. There it was beautiful stacks and stacks of cash - and a fucking tracker.

I tossed it into the brush about ten feet away from me. "GPS! If you find it, get rid of it."

Jasper said okay, I thought. The ringing in my ears were making it hard to hear anything.

Except for that radio in the dead guy's pocket. I heard the chatter and re-enforcements were on their way.

"Doc, how are you doing over there? Are you clear?" I asked.

Doc: Yeah, we're clear here.

"Good. Billy, how are you? You clear?"

Billy: We're clear!

"Good. Go, go," I said, urging them both to get the fuck out of dodge.

Our time was up.

The sun was setting and wrapping up day six. I was fucking on a high. It had been a long time since I had experienced that adrenaline rush of death and loud explosions. If I couldn't beat the bad dreams, I might as well join them.

When Jasper suggested we rob Elena, I was fucking proud of him. That took balls, and I didn't realize he had them. I had hoped that bravado would carry him through, but we weren't even ten miles away when he started flipping out.

He was cradling his stomach and rocking back and forth. I had never seen him in such distress before. It both saddened me and fucking annoyed me.

You know, I get it. I fucking do. Jasper had never seen a dead body before, and the first time, for anyone, can be fucking jarring. So, I didn't think much of it when I saw him standing over the guy with tears in his eyes.

Everyone reacts differently.

Jasper was a rich kid from Laguna who went to Berkeley and started a drug business because he was a fucking hippy. He has never been to war or seen the ugliness of men and what we do to each other.

This world wasn't all fucking unicorns and rainbows, and I didn't care how much fucking primo you smoked.

It was just not.

Did I wish I could have kept him from it?

Of course, but we were way past that point, and it was time for him to man up.

Jasper groaned. "Pull over."

I barely glanced at him, but he looked like shit. "No, you saw the radio. They're not far behind."

He cried out, "I fucked up."

Who the fuck was he crying over? The fuckers I shot or the bitches we blew up? How did they fucking matter?

My anger boiled over. "Tell me, Jasper. Which life would you trade for Beans? Huh? Which one?"

Because, if you ask me, none of them came close to being as critical as our girl – our fucking wife!

Jasper was sobbing, panicking. "I fucked up, man. We fucked up."

I thought out loud, "We got close to three million in cash. We're still three million short."

We would have to do this again, and it didn't look like he could handle it.

Jasper shouted, "Pull over!"

Jerking the Jeep over to the side of the road, Jasper flung the door open and jumped out. He didn't make it two feet before he was vomiting everywhere.

"Hurry up!" I said, glancing in the rearview mirror and seeing my crew pulled over to the side as well. They were flashing their lights at me. Yeah, yeah. "Let's go! Get yourself together, Jasper!" He wiped his mouth off with his hand and stumbled back into the Jeep. The door was barely shut when I peeled out and drove back onto the road. "Because tomorrow, the shit is really going to hit the fan."

AN: Poor Jasper is falling apart. Thanks for reading.