CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Thanks for returning our call, Admiral Hamilton,” said Gator.
“I have to be honest, son. I didn’t want to.” That made the room freeze, thinking of what might come next.
“Then you do know something about what’s happening down there,” nodded Ham.
“We all know, Ham. Every fucking military leader, senator, anyone with a .gov e-mail address. We’ve known for decades that Argentina was wealthy with natural resources but they were very private, very closed to any foreign interests or assistance in obtaining those resources.
No foreign oil companies, no foreign drilling, nothing.
“A few years ago, this guy comes up on the radar, Pablo Garcia. He was like a ghost. No one knew who he was or where he was other than he was dealing with Rodriguez, whom I suspect you helped us with.”
The room of men said nothing, simply staring at the screen, waiting for him to continue.
“I won’t bullshit with you guys. If the girl doesn’t sign over the land, no one will give a fuck. They’ll take it with or without her signature and she will get nothing. If she signs it over to her uncle or whoever the fuck he is, she’ll be paid a reasonable price for the land.”
“You and I both know that’s bullshit,” said Cooper staring at the man. He pursed his lips glaring at the younger man.
“Fucking hot head, just the like rest of you. Sometimes the good guys don’t win.
Sometimes all the things you believe are right, are wrong.
You cannot win this one. The Argentine government wants it, the locals are gone, burned out of their village, the Americans want it. It will happen no matter what you do.”
“And Bianca Garcia lives in the shadows for the rest of her life,” said Ham.
“No. No, her uncle will leave her alone as long as she signs it over. She’ll be able to live freely wherever she wants, although I wouldn’t suggest Argentina.”
“And the people working in those mines? The ones making pennies a day, working twelve to fifteen hours a day. What about them?” asked Cowboy.
“That’s a local problem, not my problem.”
“When did you turn into a weak, pathetic piece of shit,” frowned Ham. “I knew you as a good SEAL, a good leader. What the fuck happened to you?”
“Commerce. We all want a piece of the pie, Ham. We can’t all be boy scouts like you guys.
Some of us want out of this not just alive, but alive and wealthy.
Now, you can fight us on this, you can plot and scheme and plan but it won’t change a damn thing.
That land will be mined for shale and all the other resources around it. ”
“And what about Uruguay? Paraguay? Chile? Don’t you think they’ll want to have a say in all this. They’re Argentina’s closest neighbors and need those resources to survive as well. Do you really think they’ll allow all of that to be sent north?” asked Cooper.
“They won’t have an option. From a military perspective, they’re weak and seriously outmanned. Right now, as we speak, the entire area is being blocked to visitors. No one will get in or out with cameras, not even from the air. So don’t think about sending your drones down there. It won’t work.”
No one said a word. Even someone this high up in the government didn’t know all the tools that G.R.I.P. possessed. They could do just about anything under their radar, and they just might have to.
“You’ve got forty-eight hours to get the woman to sign over the land. If she doesn’t, we will release every military and para-military resource on her. She will not be able to hide anywhere. There will nowhere safe for her. And if you assist her, we will come for you.”
Ham held up a fist to the men around the table to hold their tongues. They all wanted to take that challenge but even with all their tools, weapons, and skills, they could not fight thousands of troops.
“Forty-eight hours, gentlemen. I look forward to seeing the signature.”
It was so quiet in the conference room, you could have heard a pin drop. The screen was black, the sound no longer coming through the speakers but their hearts were turning black with anger and frustration.
“This is so much bigger than we thought,” said Rush. “Whatever the riches are in that mine, it’s beyond what we thought. There has to be more to this than we know if the American government and military are willing to wage war against anyone who tries to take it.”
“I don’t think there’s a choice,” said Bianca’s soft voice from the doorway.
“Before you ask, I heard it all. I wanted to hear it all. I will not risk your lives or the lives of the people in that region for whatever is down there. I didn’t know it was mine, I didn’t even know it existed.
Signing it over seems like a no-brainer. ”
“It might not be that simple,” said Ham staring at the woman. “There could be so much more beneath the surface, no pun intended. We need some time to figure it out.”
“You don’t have time,” she whispered. “Let me sign the papers. They can have the land and I can have my freedom.” She slid the signed document across the table and turned to leave. Once again, the room was filled a deathly silence that made them squirm in discomfort.
“Do the Argentine people even know what’s happening down there?” asked Rush.
“Actually,” smirked AJ, “you’re thinking along the lines that we were thinking.
And yes, they do and they don’t. Politics in that region is always precarious at best. Right now, there is a small group of freedom fighters that have been trying to overthrow local corrupt governments.
Mayors, rich land managers, governors, that sort of thing.
They’ve done okay but can’t make it to the big cities because they don’t have the manpower or the weapons. ”
“We could fix that,” said Patrick. “We could deliver weapons to them by midnight.”
“And who do we give them to?” asked Ham. “We don’t know who these freedom fighters are or whether they’re better or worse than what’s already there.”
“I might have an idea,” said Tobias with a serious expression.
“The indigenous tribes of Argentina. It’s the same everywhere.
The land technically belongs to them. Argentina's indigenous peoples comprise nearly 3% of the national population. I know that’s not much but they hold a lot of weight and power in preserving their land.
“There are four major groups including the Mapuche, Qom sometimes called Toba, Wichí, and Guaraní. Official data recognizes dozens of distinct indigenous communities across the country's diverse regional landscapes.
“The Mapuche primarily inhabit the Patagonia region in the south. The Qom, or Toba, and Wichí are located in the northern Gran Chaco region. The Guaraní live heavily in the northeastern province of Misiones and border areas. And the Kolla and Diaguita, reside largely in the northwestern provinces like Jujuy and Salta. Which is exactly where we’re talking about. ”
“Brother, I like your thought process here but only three percent? I’m not sure that will help at all,” said Ham.
“It would if other indigenous societies got involved,” said Zeke walking into the room with Kiel, Trak, Joseph, and Nathan. “We have the names of every leading indigenous organization in the world. Something we do on the side.” He said it with a smirk and they all knew he wasn’t joking.
“We could get them down there,” said Trak. “Send money for airfare and they could be protesting, with cameras, within twenty-four hours.”
“Bianca already signed over the land,” said Coop holding up the document.
“Hold onto it. For now,” said Zeke. “Let us try to figure out what’s really in those mines and why every government dick is salivating over it.” Ham looked at the other men in the room and realized it might be the only help they could count on.
“Do it.”