Rex Barton

Panga Wars Rex Barton

Team Mongoose was in the water. Misty and Red, each were in command of 21-foot Coast Guard Chase craft's, with twin 300 hp outboards, center console drive and a Cal. 50 on the bow. Their job was to intercept the Panga Boats prior to landing. Stop them or sink them, which ever worked. The object, confiscate the drugs and money or send it all to the bottom of the sea.

Sissy and her team in the Night-Hawk were our lone eyes in the air with Mongoose Team Five. She was our spotter and envoy of missiles to sink the larger Fishers or even a cargo ship or two if need be.

We were in the water and headed toward our targets, having just departed the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol moorings. Misty was in the lead and in a hurry to get into position.

At exactly 2300 hrs. we heard and then saw a mid-air diversion. From out of the hull of one of the big Fishers, came a land to air missile headed straight toward Sissy's approximate location.

"Stand-by!" I ordered. The last thing we all heard was, "MAYDAY, MAYDAY" from Sissy. She was screaming into her radio, "we are hit and going down, we are going down hard! Our cord...".

Those were the last words from Sissy and Team Five Air Patrol. The airways were quiet. I knew she had gone down somewhere around El Capitan State Beach. What I didn't know is if she had crashed on land or sea.

Misty, who was well ahead of us, screamed into the radio, "What happened to Sissy? Where did she go down?"

"Stay in position Misty", I was yelling into the radio. "I am sending the Coast Guard Cutter up to Sissy's location. They are 10 minutes away. Stay focused Misty, you have job to do. Sink the Fisher that shot down Sissy! Do it now Misty."

Before night turned to morning, Hell would have a few more inhabitants. The cartel was going down, one way or the other.