quick draw

Yesterday Brian Dave and I drove out along the border farther than I'd ever gone before. We drove along the fence for about 2 miles before it abruptly stopped. Its so strange that there is two miles of jagged steel fencing and then suddently it gives way to where there used to be a bit of barbed wire that is now rusting in pieces scattered along the ground. There were fresh tire tracks and a road coming in from Mexico and we new this was a popular drug run. We decided to come back and see if there was any action that night. Dave drove us in his truck a out to the spot and we saw a helicopter buzzing the area with search lights and 3 border patrol trucks and about 5 unmarked everyday trucks driving through the desert searching. We assumed these unmarked trucks were vigilantes because the drivers weren't dressed in uniform. We thought finally we'll get a picture of vigilantes capturing immagrants. Suddently every single truck in the vicinity raced toward the whole in the fence we'd discovered earlier that day. Dave gunned it and we followed them until we saw one of the vigilante cars on the side of the road about 200 yards from where all the action was happening. We figured its probably safer to pull over next to him and wait and see what goes down farther down the road. So as we pulled off the road the other driver was reaching for his gun. He was about to aim it at us when he shined a mag light in our faces and realized who we were. Turns out he was the same undercover cop I'd photographed at the Marijuana bust a few days before. He'd pulled off the road to fix a flat and was scared out his mind because Daves truck looked just like he drug runners truck. Soon another of his undercover buddies came back to help but before the guy with the flat could see the what truck it was he had already pulled an machine gun from out of his truck and had it aimed at the oncoming headlights. Soon we were surronded by about 5 undercover trucks and 6 cops all wearing bullet proof vests.Trying to change his tire as quickly as possible and get out of there. Dave went to go talk to them and they asked him what the heck we were doing out there. He told us how they get shot at all the time out there. People will just try to pick them off from behind the wall. Suddenly bullet proof vests seemed like a good idea. So we waited for them to change the flat and the police escorted us out of there. The adrenaline was fun but I can't believe how stupid we were not to realize that we look like a target out there. I have now realized that I am not cut out for war photography. Put me in a situation where I might get shot at and I'm out of there!