Chapter 13
After they left Hugo’s Car & Bike Rentals along with most of their remaining cash, Dane had David and O’Keefe follow him to a junction within blocks of the perimeter observation points he’d mapped out.
Pulling to the curb in a relatively quiet spot, alongside a white cement apartment building, he left his helmet on.
Better to keep as anonymous as possible.
Dane said, “In the message I left him, I asked Oscar to call me, but chances are he might call one of you two—let us all know immediately if—”
The unmistakable shrill sound of a cell phone sounded, cutting him off. It wasn’t his phone. He looked at the two men and stifled a curse when O’Keefe reached for his phone. Not good.
“Oscar?”
Dane and David both leaned in to hear the other side of the conversation and O’Keefe didn’t stop them, but he didn’t put the call on speakerphone.
It didn’t matter. Dane could hear Oscar’s booming voice without taking his helmet off.
He looked around to make sure no one else was listening. They weren’t.
“What’s going on? Where’s Shana?”
“She’s safe—she’s with us,” O’Keefe said. “Where are you? We’re—”
The unmistakable sound of gunfire pinging off metal was the response they heard followed by heavy breathing.
“Oscar—are you all right? Where the hell are you?”
“I’m… under fire… at the compound. On the move heading to the intersection between Rua Antonio Rego and Rua Iriguati. Heading west. Tell me you’re in the area—”
“We’re on our way now. Find a spot to hunker down and call me back ASAP.”
“Got to go—”
The line went dead. “I’m on my way.” O’Keefe thumbed his mobile phone and jumped on his bike.
“What the hell—” Dane was cut off by the sound of the Chief’s bike engine roaring to life as the man took off.
“We better give chase,” David said as he mounted his bike.
“How the hell does he even know where he’s going?”
“He knows how to use those navigation tools on his phone. I advise we stick together.”
“I’m right behind you.” Dane jumped on his bike and revved it up. His was the fastest and biggest bike the rental place had. David’s was the smallest and older. It sputtered now and Dane took off before David made it off the curb.
Unlike Chief O’Keefe, he didn’t need a navigation system to tell him where to go.
He’d studied the space around the compound before he’d gone to get Shana and knew it like the back of his hand.
He hoped to hell he’d find Oscar before the Tavares men did.
One thing they had going for them—it wasn’t likely the Tavares thugs would start a shoot out in the streets.
They’d most likely snatch Oscar from the streets and take him for a ride.
Dane smiled as he pictured them trying to pick up the big lug.
It would be a tough job, especially since Oscar was armed.
Dane knew the area and it wasn’t far. If he had to guess he figured Oscar would head to the church in the area, Igreja Evangélica Assembléia de Deus.
It was on Rua Wilson de Lasheras Silva off of Iriguati heading west and the nearest safe haven for a man on the run in that area.
They didn’t know for sure if Oscar was on foot—but it sounded like he was.
Dane had O’Keefe in his sights two cars ahead and heading in the right general direction.
He checked his rear view and saw David well behind him in the traffic.
He took a left turn to circle around and come into the intersection by way of the church.
If his hunch was correct, he could pick up Oscar on his way to meeting O’Keefe.
He’d call David once he got Oscar and send him back to the meeting point with Acer and Shana.
The less time they spent on the streets of Rio the better.
Slowing the bike, Dane pulled down the narrow street fronting the church and onto the curb near the door.
He saw no one about. Looking down the street, the heavily treed mountains loomed in the near distance.
He took off his helmet and got off the bike to approach the door.
Before he pulled the door open he glimpsed a moving shadow of someone behind him and spun around.
Oscar loomed up, coming from the corner of the building and shouted, “Don’t shoot you bastard—I’m still on your side.”
“Son of a—” Dane was impressed with the man’s skill at the silent approach. Oscar stepped up and gave Dane one of his notorious bear hugs. Dane felt the solid form of a weapon in a shoulder holster.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Same thing you are—except it looks like you beat me to it—how is Shana?” Oscar’s face went from jovial to serious in a breath.
“She’s fine—no ill effects. We can talk later. We need to contact David and O’Keefe—they’re on the road in the vicinity and I need to call them off—”
Dane’s phone rang then and he thought it would be David, saving him the need to call. He pressed his phone to his ear.
It wasn’t David. It wasn’t O’Keefe either. Oscar watched him and listened.
“Floyd Parker. What do you want?”
“I heard from Oscar—he’s in real trouble and I know where he is.” Floyd paused and Dane let him hang. He silently begged Floyd to throw himself under the tank.
“He’s outside the Tavares compound—he’s there to rescue Shana.” Floyd stopped and he was finished talking this time Dane could tell.
“Shit,” Dane said, but not for the reason Floyd would think. Dane was damn disappointed that Floyd told the truth, though it was a calculated truth and missing a few pieces—like how Oscar came to know that Shana had been captured.
“Did you let him know Shana was out?”
“What do you think? Are you going to help him?”
“What do you think?”
“Let’s meet. You’ll have to bring a lot of cash and I think I can negotiate his release—”
“Sure. Where?”
“At a church—Igreja Evangélica Assembléia de Deus.”
Dane’s heart stopped. When it started pumping again it felt like his blood had been replaced by liquid nitrogen. A chill ran through him. He stifled a shudder. He said, “When?” He held his breath.
“One hour.”
Floyd didn’t tell him where the church was. That wasn’t a good sign. Did he know where Dane was? Did he know where Oscar was? He heard paper crunching then Floyd again.
“The church is west of downtown on Rua Wilson de Lasheras Silva off of Iriguati. Can you get there from where you are in an hour?”
“I think so. Wait for me.” Dane took a deep silent breath of relief.
If Floyd was on the up and up about the meeting—setting them up for an hour from now—then they would have a chance to get out of there.
But they’d have to be fast. Floyd and whoever he was bringing with him would be moving in fast.
“How do I know I can trust you this time?”
“Call Oscar for yourself.”
“I thought you said Tavares has him?”
“I don’t know if they have him yet—he’s on the run. But it’s a matter of time. A short time. Tavares has a lot of people.”
Dane looked around and felt exposed standing there outside the church where he knew the men were headed that very minute. To get him. Maybe to kill him on sight.
“I don’t like it, but I have no choice. I can’t leave Rio without him. I’ll be there. One hour.”
Floyd ended the call.
Oscar lifted the spare helmet and jammed it on his head without saying a word, but his face spoke volumes.
He knew Floyd was a traitor. He also knew speed was important.
Dane jumped on the bike and Oscar climbed on behind him.
The bike wasn’t exactly built for two. It was only 500cc and would be considerably slower and less nimble with both of them, but he would wring every last ounce of power and agility he could out of it. It was a rental after all.
Dane tried to call O’Keefe and David. David answered.
“Get back to the hangar. We’re en-route.”
“You have Oscar?”
“Yes—we’ll see you there.”
As soon as Dane ended the call, his phone vibrated.
“O’Keefe? Where—”
“Can’t talk—I’m on the run—I was spotted and I’m under fire. There’s a truck full of them—maybe more. I don’t think they’re trying to kill me—I think they’re trying to snatch me. I’m trying to hide.”
“Where are you?” O’Keefe gave Dane his street address. It was only a few blocks away. “We’ll be there within three minutes.”
Dane took a quick turn and Oscar grabbed his shoulder and pointed. There was a black SUV in the next block making a right turn. Dane turned right and drove parallel.
“O’Keefe is at the end of the block on the cross street—we need to get to him first.”
They reached O’Keefe’s location at the same time as the SUV. Two men with handguns jumped out and gave chase of O’Keefe on foot. O’Keefe turned and tried shooting at the men and turned into an alley.
“Get off here,” Dane stopped the bike and told Oscar, “Go around back and cover the other end.”
Dane stayed on his bike and tracked the men, rounding the corner.
The two men were closing in on O’Keefe who was now running on foot.
Dane slipped his gun from the back of his waistband and took a low shot at one of the men and hit him in the legs.
He went down and the other man turned and spotted him.
The man raised his gun Dane stopped and took aim at center mass this time and hit the man in the shoulder. He went down.
The sound of an engine made Dane turn to see the SUV pull up and block the end of the alley and two more men jump out with guns raised. From the corner of his eye Dane saw Oscar grab O’Keefe and pull him into a doorway. Dane was alone in the alley now and exposed, but he was ready.
He brought the bike down as they took multiple shots and missed. He rolled toward the nearest cement wall and took cover behind a flimsy barrel that wouldn’t last long, but he wouldn’t need it to. He got to one knee, aimed and double tapped the nearer of the two men. The second man ran for cover.