Hard To Forget. Annette Broadrick

here’s what we’re dealing with, people,” Wilder began. “The Immigration and Naturalization Service has asked for our help to resolve a delicate situation going on along the Texas-Mexico border.”

      As one, the male agents burst into laughter. One of them asked if today was April Fool’s Day. In truth, it was the middle of May.

      Elena knew that the fierce rivalry between various government agencies made the idea of asking for help appear ludicrous. The last thing any agency wanted to admit was that they couldn’t handle a situation without outside help.

      Wilder’s furrowed brow eased somewhat, and Elena could almost imagine she saw the hint of a smile on his narrowed lips.

      “Glad I can provide so much entertainment for you this early in the morning.” He flipped open the file and began to pass around stapled pages to each of them. “Just for that, you’re going to get a brief history lesson so that you’ll understand what the government is up against in that region.”

      The agents settled back into their chairs. Elena knew enough of Wilder’s reputation to know that he wasn’t one to waste his breath. Whenever he chose to talk, everyone around him stopped to listen. Today was no exception.

      “There has been an upsurge of traffic these past few years from Mexico into the United States along our shared borders from Texas to California. Despite the beefed-up patrol of the border, too many illegal drugs and aliens are moving into the United States.

      “We understand the problems in their country—the devaluation of the peso, the continued drought that has affected Mexico, as well as our Southwestern states. However, we cannot ignore the problem in hopes it will go away.”

      As Doug continued to review the present situation, Elena reviewed what he was saying. She knew all too well what he was talking about. Santiago had originally been a farming community. When she was small, the migrant workers moved there early in the growing season and continued northward as the season progressed. The last time she’d gone home to visit her mother, Sara had mentioned the problems the area was having with illegal drugs and aliens being brought across the border. What she was hearing wasn’t new to Elena.

      Wilder continued. “The high incidence of drugs and aliens successfully crossing the Texas-Mexico border in the past eight months or so has become a black eye for the Border Patrol, the local arm of the INS and the Drug Enforcement Agency working that particular area.”

      From the back of the room Sam Walters asked, “And they think we can do their job better?”

      Wilder looked at Sam from beneath his bushy brows. “We’ve been asked to join a task force to find out why those two agencies are not making more arrests. The word is that some of the agents may be taking money to look the other way. I received word late yesterday that we need new faces to work the area, people who are unknown to either of the two agencies. None of us likes to think about an agent who has turned, but it happens. I have handpicked each of you to work on this. We’re going to find out if any INS or DEA agents are on the take, and if they are, we’re going to remove them.”

      He looked around the room to make certain everyone understood. Then he nodded at the papers lying in front of each one of them. “What I’ve handed out here is general background material on what has been done by the two agencies up until now. Here’s the plan. I requested a list of possible suspects who may be involved in the smuggling operations—people who were arrested and let go for lack of evidence, people whose behavior is suspicious, people who need to be watched by agents who can be trusted.”

      For the first time since he had introduced her to the group, Wilder looked at Elena. “I’m sure you’re wondering why you’ve been chosen for this team.”

      She tensed, recognizing that the knot in the pit of her stomach had been forming as she slowly realized that she wasn’t there to interpret information. Douglas Wilder intended to use her on this assignment. She smiled, hoping to cover her nervousness. “Yes, sir. The thought did cross my mind.”

      “If you’ll look at page fourteen of the handout, you’ll notice that a significant increase in activity has been narrowed to an area in and around Santiago, Texas. Santiago is located between Rio Grande City and Laredo right on the Texas-Mexico border. A new bridge was opened there about eighteen months ago to facilitate the movement of factory products from Mexico into the United States. Several suspects listed in these handouts live near there.” He glanced around the room. “Fortunately I believe we’ve discovered a secret weapon right here in our own agency, gentlemen. You see, Santiago happens to be Elena’s hometown.”

      Elena quickly turned to the page in question and began to read in order not to make eye contact with the other agents.

      Wilder continued, “As soon as I discovered that we had a trained agent from that area, I knew we were already ahead of the game. We’ve got an agent familiar with the area who will be able to mingle with the locals without causing any suspicion.”

      He looked around the room. “Are there any questions so far?”

      No one spoke.

      “All of you will be working undercover. Elena, obviously, will be our insider, feeding us as much information as she can while we work the other border towns in that general vicinity. Our plan is to have Elena spend the next few months getting reacquainted with old friends, neighbors and schoolmates and collecting as much local information as possible. We’re counting on her being able to get close to some of the people we think might be masterminding these runs. We’ll also be working on finding out which U.S. agents are feeding the smugglers information that keeps them from being discovered.”

      One of the agents raised his hand. “But won’t those people know she works for the government?”

      Elena answered with the information Wilder already knew about her from reading her personnel file. “When I first came to work here, I decided not to tell anyone back home who I worked for. Instead, I told them that I’m an accountant for a small firm in Maryland.”

      Wilder went on, “Her cover will be that her firm was bought out and she was let go with a generous severance packet. There would be nothing unusual in her choosing to go back home for a while before she decides where to apply for her next job.”

      He looked at Elena as though to confirm that this scenario would work for her. She nodded, unable to come up with an alternative.

      Wilder said to the group at large, “Study the workup on the list of suspected smugglers. They live in towns from Brownsville to Laredo. I want you to learn their history and get to know as much about them as you know about your own brother. Or sister. You’ll see there are some women on the list.”

      He waited while the agents scanned the pages. Elena spotted some familiar names. “How do you want this handled, sir? If I’m working inside, I won’t be able to communicate much with the others.”

      “Sam Walters will be heading up the group down there, reporting directly to me. Chris Simmons will be your immediate contact. My suggestion is that you make regular shopping trips into San Antonio where you’ll meet with Chris for status reports. He, in turn, will stay in touch with Sam.”

      Wilder looked at the others. “What we’re hoping is that you’ll hear or see something that might hint at a coming shipment. You’ll be doing utility work—electric, cable, gas, telephone—in order to have a reason to be in rural areas at odd times of day and night.

      “Do what you have to do to blend in and become a part of the various small communities in the area. Each of you will have a different area to cover, some south of Santiago, others north. The main thing is not to have any run-ins with the local authorities, because you won’t be able to tell them why you’re there. Keep your noses clean and your eyes and ears open.” He paused and looked around at each of them. “Any more questions?”

      Wilder’s voice faded into the background when Elena flipped to a new page and saw the name listed at the top. A photo, a detailed description and background check were all there, but she couldn’t get past the name and photo.

      For