Chapter 10 #2
A vehicle only slightly this side of tank-sized rumbled at a good clip and was followed by two familiar-looking black SUVs and an open Jeep.
“Damn.” Dane took his binoculars down and met Shana’s gaze for a split second.
Then she disappeared fast down the ladder and let out a whistle. Dane took a position behind the chimney and raised his rifle. He took aim at the open Jeep. He figured he might as well make his shot count.
Shana shouted up at him. “There are three men on foot coming toward the back door and coming fast.”
He heard her voice get louder through her panting.
She was coming back up to the roof. “Get down,” she shouted and threw herself in his direction.
She hit the roof, partly on top of them and he rolled her away instinctively.
From the corner of his eye he saw a grenade hit near the chimney and explode.
He scrambled over and dragged her with him to the far end of the building.
He knew there was a fire escape. She tugged on his hand and he looked back to see her take a shot at someone.
A barrage of gunfire followed as they ducked and crawled the last couple of feet to the fire escape.
There was return fire from inside the house.
Thank the lord for David. He hadn’t gone down the basement escape hatch yet and was covering for them as they climbed down the fire escape to where it dead-ended.
Dane jumped, flattened himself against the wall with his gun pointed toward the back corner while Shana jumped down.
He motioned for her to head for a nearby window.
She broke the window and slid inside. Not without some nasty cuts.
He tried not to think about it as he waited at the corner of the building until she was cleared.
Then he backed up along the wall toward the window to climb in, but before he got there, the barrel of an automatic weapon showed at the edge of the building.
He didn’t wait for the rest of the man to follow before he pulled his trigger.
He’d emptied a dozen rounds, then, feeling the window behind him, he dropped to the ground and shoved himself past the broken glass head first as he heard the return gunfire outside.
Shana was there pulling him through and helping break his fall.
David was at the door to the passageway and they ran inside after him.
Dane pulled the steel door closed behind them and shouted at David and Shana.
“Move it!”
They all ran. David got ahead of them and Dane caught up to Shana. He was faster than she was but he didn’t run past her in the tight space—wouldn’t have even if he could have.
“Nothing personal, girlie, but you’re too slow. We have another hundred yards around that corner up there.”
He shone his flashlight that he’d slipped from his pocket as soon as he’d closed the tunnel door. She said nothing, but slowed to look at him, so he scooped her up in his arms and threw her over his shoulder, hunched forward and ran like hell.
“God damn it, Dane. I can run faster than this.”
He didn’t answer. He barreled through the cave-like tunnel of cement and rock and dirt, rounded a corner and saw the door at the end and David there waiting for them.
“You are out of your mind, man.” David said.
Dane dumped Shana from his shoulder at the same time they heard gunshots coming from the other end.
“Get hold of Acer,” Dane said. He pushed Shana through the door. David followed and Dane went through, pulling the wood-hewn door behind him and padlocking it.
They climbed up a ladder and found themselves in the storage room of a nearby restaurant.
“No way we can wait here for a pickup,” David said with the phone to his ear.
“There’s a parking lot not three blocks from here behind a grocery store—two rights and a left. It’s where we’ll get picked up—by land. We can’t afford a fly-in with the weapons they have. We split up now and meet there.” Dane grabbed Shana’s hand, pushed out the back door, and headed left.
He chose to walk at a brisk pace rather than go a dead run.
“If you see a hat, grab it. We need to hide that mane of hair waving like a flag.”
Shana had pulled her hand from his. Her eyes had an edge but she said nothing and marched on at their fast pace, passing David and O’Keefe along the way.
Dane rounded another corner, close to the wall and saw the parking lot.
He saw a dark green Jeep pulling in with a turquoise ribbon tied to the driver side handle. It was Acer.
“Let’s go through the store.” He saw no sign of the Tavares vehicles or men yet.
He took Shana’s hand and ran with her the last half a block toward the front door of the store.
He had the inexplicable feeling that someone was nearby.
He pushed through the door and shoved Shana inside ahead of him as he heard the screeching of tires behind him.
He hoped to hell the others were out back.
“What was that?” Shana said and looked behind them through the glass. Her eyes told him what she saw.
“Move fast,” he said and didn’t wait.
This time she grabbed onto his arm as they took off toward the back of the store.
They pushed through the swinging doors into the storage room, surprising a few workers, but they didn’t bother to slow down for a chat or to give an explanation in spite of the questioning shouts.
Dane spotted the bay door that was open to a small loading dock and they ran that way.
Stopping short before they got to the opening he took a look outside before jumping into the open. David and O’Keefe were climbing into the back seat of the Jeep. Acer was in the driver’s seat. The engine was running. It was less than thirty yards away.
They both saw the black SUV pull into the lot at the same time. Shana let out a whistle and took a handgun from under her shirt. Acer spotted them and gunned the Jeep as the SUV drove in the direction of the loading dock.
“What the hell was that for?”
“We needed for Acer to see us.”
“Now Floyd’s thugs see us too.”
“I don’t think so—not yet. Acer will intercept them and if not, we shoot them.”
Acer drove the Jeep right at them, swerving in front of the SUV, blindsiding the truck that ended up smashing into the back wall of the building about ten yards from the loading dock where he stood with Shana in the shadows.
Dane saw David stick his gun out the window and take a couple of shots.
There was no return gunfire as the Jeep came to a screeching halt alongside the loading dock.
Dane and Shana jumped from the shadows as some men came rushing out from the storeroom shouting at them. Again, he didn’t stop to give them any explanation. He jumped in back with the others and Shana jumped in front. Acer took off.
“I hope to hell these guys didn’t call their friends.”
“Nah. They weren’t sure it was you. I could see them looking,” David said.
“Nice shooting,” Shana said. “In a moving Jeep.”
“Where are we going now?” O’Keefe said.
“Up north,” Acer said. “We have a place there near where we stashed the helicopter.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Dane said. He’d spotted a black SUV at a light at an intersection followed by one of the other vehicles they’d seen from the roof. “Take it easy. Don’t speed. Shana, get down on the floor.”
“I see them at nine o’clock,” Acer said. “We’re getting on the highway in twenty seconds. If they don’t notice us.”
*****
“Now what?” Shana asked. She was thirsty. And hungry. She should have eaten back at the house before the raid when she’d had the chance.
“Now we make contact with Floyd and play his game. Force his hand,” Dane said.
She watched him pace around like a restless tiger.
The place Acer had found them was an old airplane hangar that had running water, electricity, a few pallets and little else.
That was all she could see, but she hadn’t explored it completely.
“What about Oscar? We missed the call from the kidnappers,” O’Keefe said.
“There are no kidnappers.” Dane stopped pacing on the cement floor and spun around. “We just got blown away by your CIA man who is lying to us when he’s not trying to kill us.”
“We still don’t know if they have Oscar—for insurance.”
David said more quietly, “He has a point.” Dane listened. He swiped his hand through his hair.
“We need to take Floyd down. We can’t let him get away with this,” Shana added.
“We have one last meeting set up. Floyd isn’t expecting me, but I think he’ll show.”
“Why? If he thinks we’re all dead—”
“You call him. Tell him you were meeting me at the meeting place from another location—you were meeting with a local contact. You can’t get me on the phone but you’re on your way.”
“You think he’ll buy it?”
“I think you’re very convincing when you want to be,” Dane said.
She didn’t flinch, but if his mind-reading talents were any good, he’d say she wanted to slap him. She made the call and convinced Floyd.