by Mike Ryan
“Hang on,” Bridge said.
“For what?” Ava asked.
“It’s about to get bumpy.”
Bridge pushed the gas pedal almost to the floor as he started weaving in and out of traffic in hopes of losing their pursuers. After a few death-defying minutes of going over ninety on the highway, Bridge finally got off on one of the exits. He had opened up quite a lead over the other cars that were no longer in sight. Bridge wasn’t yet satisfied, though, and kept speeding.
“Looks like we’re good,” Nicole said. “Don’t see them.”
“Where are we going?” Ava asked.
“You’ll know when we get there,” Bridge replied.
Bridge still wasn’t about to stop anywhere, wanting to put as much distance as he could between them. He didn’t have any specific destination in mind yet. That mindset would change soon as he looked at how much gas was left in the tank.
“Oh, man.”
“What?” Nicole asked.
“We’ll have to stop for gas soon. Our friend Derek apparently likes driving on a near empty tank.”
“Well, it still looks like we’re all clear. Nobody in sight.”
Bridge looked in the mirror at Ava. “We’ll see how long it takes for that to change.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I’ll tell you later.”
Bridge pulled into the next gas station they came across and filled up. After leaving there, he drove to a nearby business and pulled into a parking spot where they could look out at the road and watch. After sitting there for ten minutes, they didn’t see the cars that were following them.
“Guess we did lose them for now,” Bridge said.
“You expect they’ll find us again?” Nicole asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Let’s just take a minute and figure out our best options.” They pulled out their phones and started looking at their alternatives. “Where’s the next nearest airport from here?”
Nicole quickly tried to figure that out. “Looks like… maybe… Guanajuato International. But that’s eight, nine hours away.”
“There’s nothing closer?”
“Mexico City, Mochis… they’re all even farther. Maybe ten hours or more.”
Bridge sighed. “I really don’t want to be on a ten-hour drive with these lunatics behind us.”
Nicole continued looking at the map. “Why don’t we just drive?”
“To where?”
“The border. It’s a little over three hours from here to Laredo.”
“We’re gonna have to stash the guns.”
“Why don’t we just call Eric and tell him what’s going on? Then he can call someone and have them meet us there.”
“Not a bad idea.”
“Who’s Eric?” Ava asked. “I thought there were only two of you.”
“Friend of ours,” Nicole said. “Works with the FBI.”
“Now the FBI’s in on this?”
“Don’t you think they should be?”
“Well, I mean, yeah. Yeah, of course. Hey, you think I could use the bathroom while we’re here?”
Bridge looked at Nicole and nodded. “You go in with her and I’ll call Eric.”
“I can go myself. I don’t need a bodyguard to use the restroom. Besides, they’re not here, right?”
Bridge nodded at Nicole again. He wasn’t letting Ava dictate anything to them. Not with so many questions surrounding her. “Go with her.”
“I really can go on my own.”
“No, you really can’t.”
“You’re kind of a drag, you know that?”
“That’s what I hear.” He looked at his partner, who had a smile on her face.
“We’ll be back,” Nicole said.
As Ava started walking to the building, Nicole got out of the car and stood near Bridge’s window. “Keep an eye on her.”
“Why? What are you expecting?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t trust her.”
“All right.”
Once they were inside the building, Bridge got out his phone and called Happ. “Hey, picked up on the second ring. Missed me, huh?”
“Somehow, I was just sitting here thinking, sometime soon, I was going to get a call from you. I don’t know how, but I just knew.”
“Here’s the situation…”
“Before you start, I’ve gotten the Mexican government to put some alerts out on Diego Andujar.”
“Yeah, I won’t hold my breath. Anyway, we’ve got Ava.”
“Good news.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
“It’s not good news?”
“I have a feeling she’s involved somehow.”
“Involved how?”
“Like… intricately involved.”
“You mean she was in on it?” Happ asked.
“That’s my suspicion. Haven’t confirmed it yet. I need some time and space to grill her and I haven’t got it.”
“Why not? What’s the holdup?”
“The holdup is that the kidnappers are on our trail. They found our hotel room, put nails in our tires, then forced us off the road and had a showdown with us.”
“Looks like you made it out OK.”
“Yeah, but they knew we were heading to the airport, so now we gotta make alternate plans.”
“Think they had people there waiting for you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Can’t really take the chance.”
“So what are you doing?”
“We’re too far away to keep driving to the other airports, so we’re gonna drive into Laredo. Should be about three hours.”
“OK?”
“We got weapons in the car, Ava doesn’t have her passport, which I didn’t even think about with the plane anyway, but…”
“You’re wondering if I have some connections with Border Patrol?”
Bridge laughed. “It sure would be helpful.”
“I bet it would. You’re on your way?”
“Should get there in three, maybe four hours depending on traffic and all. And whether we have any more issues.”
Happ laughed. “Are you kidding? You’re traveling with someone who was kidnapped, the kidnappers are on your trail, and you’re actually thinking you won’t have more issues?”
“Well…”
“It is you we’re talking about.”
Bridge couldn’t really deny it. “Yeah, true.”
“Trust me. You’ll have issues.”
“Hopefully I won’t have any once I get to the border?”
“I’ll put a call in to them and tell them to expect you. I’ll tell them the situation and let them know you’re working with us so you won’t get grief about anything you may have in the car.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“Can you tell me how you managed to travel the world without ever getting flagged on carrying that stuff?”
“Oh, there are tips and tricks to avoid detection. CIA level stuff. Can’t talk about it.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“If you could call me back when you have all that settled, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks. Guess I owe you another one.”
“You know, if I had a thousand dollars for every favor I’ve given you…”
“You’d owe me money.”
Happ laughed. “Yeah, not quite. If I’d been given money for every time I helped you out of a jam, I probably could’ve retired this year.”
“Only this year? Hmm, maybe I need to request more.”
“Don’t even think about it. Where’s your better half, anyway?”
“Oh, she’s inside.”
“Inside where?”
“Ava had to use the restroom, so I sent Nic in there with her.”
“Really?”
“What? Is that a problem?”
“Luke, I’m really surprised at you.”
“Why?”
<
br /> “Dude, that’s like the oldest trick in the book. I’m surprised you fell for it. You tell me you think Ava’s in on it, then you let her use the bathroom? Don’t tell me you actually think she’s using the restroom, do you?”
Panic started setting in for Bridge, who looked in the rearview mirror. There wasn’t a sign of them yet. They should’ve been out by now, he thought.
“I’m gonna go and check on them.”
“Good idea,” Happ said. “I’d say call me back if you need anything, but you’d do that anyway.”
“Thanks.”
Bridge hung up and immediately got out of the car and looked at the building. He knew they were in trouble somehow.
“Uh-oh.”
18
As Bridge stared at the building for a minute, he looked for some kind of trouble to be staring back at him. It wasn’t there, though. But he had a feeling it should have been. Suddenly, he heard wheels squealing to his right, and he saw the maroon car peeling into the parking lot. Instinctively, Bridge dropped to the ground, knowing what usually happened next in these types of instances. And he was right. The windows to the maroon car were down and then the barrels of different types of guns were sticking out of them. One was a rifle. One was a handgun. They started firing.
Bridge knew he couldn’t stand there and fight since he had no cover. He was already on the ground, so he rolled over underneath the SUV until he came out on the other side. The men in the car kept firing as they pulled in front of the building. One of the men went inside as the others kept Bridge busy and ducking. They didn’t seem interested in killing him at the moment, as they weren’t getting any closer. They just seemed to want to keep him busy and out of the way. Bridge eventually rolled back under the car, figuring that was the best place to take cover for the moment. A minute later, Bridge could hear Ava’s voice.
“Help! Help!”
Bridge stuck his head out just enough to see Ava’s legs getting pushed into the maroon car. Once the doors to the car closed, it took off again, squealing out of the parking lot, kicking up dust and smoke. Bridge rolled out from under the SUV, getting on one knee as he saw the maroon car fly down the road again, disappearing out of sight. Bridge’s thoughts immediately turned to Nicole, and he ran inside as fast as he could, worried about what had happened to her.
One of the workers, who turned out to actually be the only worker there, as it was a small business, pointed to the back of the building. Bridge rushed there, finding Nicole on the floor, holding the back of her head. Bridge slid on the tile floor as he got on his knees to see if she was OK.
“Are you all right?”
Nicole took her hand off her head and looked at it. There was no blood. “Well, I guess that’s a good sign.”
“What happened?”
“Well, she came in to use the bathroom, so she did. Then while I was waiting, I started looking at something on the shelf there…”
“Then you got walloped?”
Nicole nodded and sighed. “Yeah. Stupid, rookie mistake. I took my eyes off her.”
Bridge smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “We all make them. Anything else wrong?”
“Besides my pride? No.”
“You hurt anywhere else physically?”
“No. I just… got hit with something. Felt like a brick.”
Bridge grinned. “Pretty sure it wasn’t a brick.”
“How do you know?”
“Probably because you’re still awake and talking and not bleeding to death.”
“Oh. Good point.”
“You want an ambulance? Hospital?”
“No. I want to get out of here?”
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Just let’s go.”
“Go where? Ava’s gone. Pretty sure we’ll never find her again.”
“That little bitch,” Nicole said, taking her partner’s hand to help her get back to her feet. “I’m gonna kill her. First, I’m gonna kill her for hitting me. Then I’m gonna kill her again for putting us through this charade.”
“You’re gonna kill her twice?”
“Yes.”
Bridge tried not to laugh. “OK.”
They walked through the store, seeing the SUV shot full of holes. That included the tires, two of which were flat.
“Really?” Nicole said.
“C’mon. Let’s get the stuff we need out of the car and find something else.”
“Like?”
“I dunno. Not gonna find it here, though.”
“What about when the police come and find the car?”
“Who cares? It’s not registered to us, anyway. That’s Hatch’s problem. It’s his.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot.”
They went to the car and removed the bags that they usually carried around with them. Since Nicole was still a little banged up, Bridge put them both around each of his shoulders, crisscrossing the straps on his back.
“What now?”
“Now we find a car,” Bridge replied.
“Which is where?”
Bridge shrugged. “Beats me. We’re not too far from the airport. Maybe go back there and grab a rental.”
“We gotta walk back there?”
“We don’t have to. If you wanna wait here, I’ll walk back and get one, then come back and pick you up.”
“No. No, I’ll walk.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Maybe it’ll make me feel better.”
“I doubt that.”
“It might get some of my anger out.”
“I doubt that too.” As they walked for a few minutes, they started talking about the case more, throwing some ideas into the air. “What did we walk into here, Luke?”
“My guess? Ava didn’t like her father cutting her off from the money. So she went to Miami, staged this kidnapping with Hatch, and tried to get more money out of him that way.”
“But why kill him?”
“I don’t know. I have a feeling that wasn’t part of the plan. At least hers, anyway. Not sure about the others.”
“But why do this rescue attempt from us? With her father dead, she’s gonna get the money, anyway.”
Bridge shook his head. He wasn’t sure. “Maybe it was just to keep up with the appearance. I mean, if she’s connected to his death—which she would be if this was her plan, at least as an accomplice or whatever—then she wouldn’t be eligible to inherit his money.”
“True.”
“What I can’t figure out is how they knew where we were all the time. They found us at the hotel, we got away from them on the road, then found us at that place. It doesn’t make sense.”
Nicole’s mind started replaying events, starting from when they first got to the hotel after rescuing Ava. Ava went into the bathroom for a while by herself. Then when Nicole accompanied Ava inside for the bathroom at that last building, Nicole thought she noticed something in the back pocket of Ava’s jeans. It was something rectangular with curved edges. It could have been a phone.
Nicole looked up at the sky. “Awe, man.”
“What is it? You OK?”
“That’s how they did it.”
“What?”
“She had a phone on her.”
“A phone?”
“When we went back to the hotel, I bet she went into the bathroom and texted them where we were. Then at that store, she went into the bathroom and did the same. When we were walking inside, I thought I noticed something in her pocket. It was probably a phone.”
Bridge sighed. “And we didn’t search her either.”
“Why would we? We assumed she was a victim.”
“Are we getting sloppy, Nic?”
“Well, I can’t say this is our best work. Maybe we were too trusting here.”
“You know, when we get to the airport, maybe we should just forget about all this and go home.”
“What?”
“Well, I mean, we have no client anymore, his daughter’s a… well, you
know what she is. I mean, why continue looking for them?”
“Because they’ve done something illegal with the fake kidnapping. They killed Bodie Dermott. They made us look like fools. They tried to kill us. I got hit in the back of the head. And they’re making us walk. All of which means I’m not leaving until we put them in jail or the ground.”
“You’re talking angry, Nic. We both agreed that we never operate with anger. Anger makes bad decisions. Gets people killed. If we go on, it’s for the right reasons. And we do it smartly. Not because we want revenge.”
“Can revenge be second?”
Bridge rolled his eyes.
“Seriously, Luke, with all they’ve done, I’m not just walking away and letting them get away with it. They’re going to pay for it. One way or another.”
“Fine. But we aren’t just gonna go off half-cocked without a plan. This ain’t the Wild West and we’re not Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.”
“Fine. As long as we get that little witch and put her in a cell.” After they walked for a few more minutes, Nicole suddenly stopped.
“Something wrong?”
Nicole got a grin on her face. “No. Nothing at all.”
Bridge looked at her strangely, thinking it was weird that she was smiling. He looked up at the sky to see if the sun was shining too brightly. Maybe she was getting delusional. “You all right?”
“I just thought of something. They still have the tracker on their car.”
“What?”
“The maroon car. The tracker’s still underneath the bumper. I never took it off at the cabin.”
“So it should still be giving off a signal?”
Nicole nodded. “It should. Which means we should still be able to find them.”
“Assuming they haven’t ditched the car yet.”
“Well, if they didn’t ditch it after the cabin, they’re probably not going to.”
“With everything that’s happened, they might change out everything. It would be in their best interest to do so.”
“Well, like you said before, these aren’t hardened career criminals or spies.”
“Yeah, they’re amateurs,” Bridge said. “Amateurs that are getting the better of us.”
“Not because they’re smarter or brighter, but because they pulled a fast one. Now that we’re on to them, they’re on borrowed time.”
“Let’s just hope that time gets here soon.”