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was lonely for the officers. They were isolated from the enlisted men b and regulation, forcing them to withdraw into an exclusive little group that ventured out only on rare occasions when the regiment drilled or trained as a whole. They lived in genteel poverty--even those from wealthy families had little on which to spend their money--but were waited on by orderlies and stewards in feudal military grandeur. These servants escaped the barbarism in . The ranks because of having the right appearance and mannerisms to serve their masters in the monastic atmosphere of the garrisons. This better treatment was also afforded to those rare individuals who had administrative capabilities such as typing along with an ability to read and write better that the average legionnaire.
    The officers spent evenings in their mess, which was decorated with flags, photographs and other mementos of the bygone days of Spain's former glory when she was a colonial power. They drank heavily, getting drunk almost nightly as they expounded on their personal philosophies and attitudes.
    Javier Toledo fell under the influence of Coronel Jose Maria de Castillo y Plato during those discussions. Castillo was the commanding officer of their tercio, and the younger Toledo listened and learned as the coronel told of his dream of power that could only be realized by a strong fascist leader with a dedicated following. According to Castillo, the present remnants of Falangists out in the civilian world were out of touch, out of date and out of luck, but if the movement were fine-tuned to meet the contemporary political scene, they would eventually rule the world.
    Toledo picked up five main points from Castillo's preaching:
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    Spain was destined to regain her former glory.
    The conflict between the decadent West and the anachronistic Muslims was exactly what the fascists were waiting for.
    As the West unwisely spent much of its money, building up enormous deficits, and the Islamics squandered the lives of their people, a vacuum would be created in which a strong fascist nation could move in and conquer all.
    The discouraged and disgusted populace of the West would be willing to give up the weaknesses of democracy for a strong leadership that would rid the world forever of Islam and other inferior societies and cultures.
    The establishment of the Dictadura Fascista de Falangia would bring about all the above.
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    Countless hours of discussion brought not only Toledo but other officers into Castillo's elaborate design to reshape the world. When el coronel proclaimed himself the generalisimo and revealed that he had gained strong financial support from industrialists in Europe and South America, Toledo and his brother officers knew that the establishment of the DFF was only a matter of time.
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    2330 HOURS LOCAL
    COMANDANTE Javier Toledo, the snifter of his sixth brandy of that evening in his hand, stepped out on the veranda of the officers' quarters, gazing out over the darkness of the Gran Chaco. He remembered studying about the conquistadores of old Spain who had come to the New World to expand the Spanish empire. Eventually corruption and moral weakness had allowed indigenous revolutionaries to drive the Spanish rulers back across the seas to their native land. But now, in this beginning of the twenty-first century, a new brand of conquistador strode across this hemisphere: stronger, more intelligent, more and better led than ever before. A new world was in the making.
    Toledo put the drink to his lips and drained the snifter.
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    LOS BLANCOS, ARGENTINA 28 NOVEMBER1500 HOURS LOCAL
    BRANNIGAN'S Brigands were all together now. They celebrated Thanksgiving in a corner of a rat-infested warehouse with MREs and a local brand of beer called Cristal. They put on a good show, but in truth the affair fell short. Several members of the detachment would have been back in hometowns with family if it hadn't been for this current operation, and the married men felt especially