Impact (Book 5): Black

by Isherwood, E. E.

  Haley laughed a bit, looking to the group. “It’s not a big selling point. Liam is scared of Victoria. She swiped at him a few times when he tried to play with her.”

  Josephine took her hand and walked her over to the pet crate, leaving him and Butch to themselves. They swapped out their jug of gasoline for one from the shed, then walked the heavy five-gallon container to the gate. Standing there, he thought he heard the sound of engines from the distant two-lane highway.

  “Haley, I’m so sorry, but we’ve got to go. We don’t want to endanger anyone if those men come through here.”

  “I know,” she replied with sadness. She spent a few moments talking to her orange cat inside the box. She also allowed a few seconds for hugging Liam. To the pup’s credit, he ran off and got back to the serious business of chasing the bigger retriever, rather than moping around Haley.

  Ezra waved to Josephine. “Thanks again for your hospitality. We’ll be back for them, and when I do, I’d love to visit your town more. If everyone’s as nice as you, this would be a lot like my home in Kentucky.”

  “We have a big fall festival in October. Come visit us then!”

  Josephine had just closed the gate when he heard multiple engines revving. It didn’t sound like normal traffic driving past the town on the two-lane highway. The vehicles were on the residential streets.

  “Run for the woods!” he shouted.

  “See you soon!” Haley yelled back to Josephine, once again on the verge of tears.

  “Looking forward to it, sweetie!” the woman yelled in return.

  Liam and Jabba the Mutt barked happily.

  They’d brought their rifles, and Butch had given Haley a five-minute tutorial on using it. He’d even let her fire it off the side of the boat a few times. However, they weren’t ready for battle. He also didn’t want anyone to get between them and the boat.

  As they went over the wooded hillside where they’d come up from the river, the TKM trucks arrived on the woman’s street. The flash of blue was unmistakable, even through the leaves of the trees. He didn’t think they’d been spotted, but he couldn’t be sure.

  “Nobody stops until we’re on Susan’s Grace,” he ordered.

  They had to work to keep up with Haley. She wasn’t only running away from men with guns. She’d been forced to run away from her four-legged friends.

  CHAPTER 8

  Near Cheyenne, WY

  As soon as the helicopter appeared on the horizon, Grace and her allies gathered their weapons, secured Shawn and Diedre inside her truck, and positioned the Lahti anti-tank gun so they could fire it off the back of the train. There was some arguing between Logan and his father as to whether he would be inside or outside the vehicle, but the boy eventually relented and stayed with his dad. However, by the time everyone was situated where they were supposed to go, and they had all their plans together about how to fight against a moving target, the aircraft was gone.

  Grace was afraid of where it went, but Misha seemed to take it in stride.

  While still lying on his stomach under the back axle of the Suburban, he waved her over. “I think they found us on the tracks to establish our route. Now they are going to fly around us. Next, they will set up an ambush. Probably when the terrain allows them to stay hidden.”

  She surveyed the grass fields on both sides of the tracks. “So, it will be a while?”

  He made a face suggesting he wasn’t sure.

  “Well, what do we do about it? We can’t exactly take an alternate route.” Robert had explained there was only one set of tracks cutting across the southern half of Wyoming. It wouldn’t get them all the way to the dig site, but it would get them within fifty miles.

  “I have been thinking of how to help you. Does your wrecked truck still operate? I can see sunlight from under it.” He pointed up and down, to a hole that went into the floorboard of the Chevy, as well as the big divot in the wooden car beneath.

  Grace couldn’t say for sure. The woman in the helicopter had put several rounds into the rear bed, opening up six-inch holes in the roof and at least one hole on the bottom, but she had no idea what damage the bullets had done to the insides. She’d started the engine to be sure it was intact, but there was no way to move it while it was tethered to the flatbed. There wasn’t time to slide out the ramps and drive it around.

  “It should work, yes.”

  Misha rolled sideways, out from under the vehicle. “Then I can use it to scout ahead. She will not expect us to do such a thing. I would not expect it, if it were me in helicopter.”

  He hopped up off the deck, rubbing his hands together as if anxious to get the truck operational. She might have to defer to his expertise, but she wasn’t going to let him go off alone. Not in a vehicle under her supervision.

  “How about we both go? That way if one of us gets into trouble, the other one can help. Safety in numbers, you know?” She was glad the clanging of the rail cars and the drone of the diesel train engine made it harder for those inside her truck to hear them speak. Shawn would probably tell her she was nuts for even suggesting a partnership.

  “I’m going, too.” Asher stepped into the discussion. “There’s no way I’ll let Grace out of my sight. No offense,” he added, looking directly at Misha.

  “None taken, my friend. The more, the happier, no?” He scooted the Lahti from its position, leaving her and Asher a moment to themselves.

  “Are we really going with him?” he asked, suddenly not so sure of himself.

  “I think so, yes. Aside from keeping an eye on him,” she tilted her head toward Misha, now shoving the big rifle in through the back door of the truck. “We can help your sister and the Crow men by drawing the female assassin to our truck, rather than the train. With a little luck, the train can sneak through while we deal with the helicopter.”

  “It sounds like an impossible plan.”

  She couldn’t agree more. “It’s the only plan we have. Misha was right. If we sit on the train and wait to go into a trap, we’ll all be at the woman’s mercy. I don’t think she’ll be so easily fought off again, even with our special gun. Our only hope is to do the unexpected.”

  Asher turned thoughtful. “But Misha made one logical error. He said he wouldn’t have thought of it if he were in the helicopter. However, he did think of it. This was his idea. Doesn’t it mean the woman might have thought of it, too?”

  It was a gamble from start to finish.

  Grace put her best face on it. “I’m putting your words to the test. We need to stick together, whatever happens. Hopefully, nothing will.”

  “Fat chance!” he blurted, laughing.

  She laughed a little, too.

  Glasgow, MO

  After getting back to the boat and filling the tank with all five gallons, he hit the throttle as hard as he dared. They had to cover the next ten miles as fast as possible. Haley seemed subdued after giving up her pets, and even Butch laid off the jokes while she stared off into the brown water of the Missouri River. However, they all came alive when they reached the bridge at the town of Glasgow.

  The small town was situated on the eastern shore of the river, though, like Arrow Rock, tall trees made it difficult to see the shops and homes. A line of ten or twelve grain silos rose above the far side of the bridge. The other side of the river had facilities for barges, and six of the flat boats were moored over there. The place struck Ezra as more industrial than touristy.

  “She steered us right.” Ezra pointed to the shoreline at the south edge of town. He slowed to idle speed and went for a boat ramp and a small marina with a gas pump. The big sign above the door of the wooden shack said Stallman’s, as Josephine had promised. However, as soon as they pulled up alongside the dock, a police car sitting at the nearby parking lot flipped on his lights.

  “Oh, crap. You think he’s here for us?” Butch was half out of the boat, laden with multiple weapons.

  “Maybe drop the long gun,” Ezra whispered.

  Butch hop
ped back in, doing as instructed. Ezra shuffled some of the packs around to cover the rifles. He and Butch retained their concealed pistols. They were hidden under their shirt tails.

  The big guy got out and went right to the pump.

  An officer in a blue uniform strolled the dock until he came close. He looked at Susan’s Grace, then at Butch. “You wouldn’t by chance be the three people who just left Arrow Rock, would you?”

  Ezra’s pulse thumped. He wasn’t sure what to make of the question, but there couldn’t be many pontoon boats on the water. He’d only passed a handful of working boats over the past few days. They were a trio of people hard to mistake for anyone else. Ezra decided on being honest. “We did stop in Arrow Rock. We needed gas. We took five gallons in trade.”

  The officer held up his hands. “Oh, you misunderstand. I got a phone call from a woman named Josephine McAdams. She said there would be a boat coming through with a crew who were being harassed by armed men on bridges. She was very keen I show up and make sure you passed through town without incident.”

  Haley choked up.

  “You okay, miss?” the officer inquired.

  She nodded through the tears. “I want to hug Josephine, is all. She’s done so much for us. I can’t even tell you. It was so nice of her to help one more time.”

  The policeman had a few extra doughnuts around his beltline. As he stood there, he hitched up his trousers, as if proud at being a part of such a poignant encounter. “Never let it be said we don’t take care of our citizens here in Glasgow.”

  Ezra hopped out to talk to the officer. “Sir, those men who have been shooting at us from on the bridges are with Tikkanen Kinetic Mining. They’ve been after us since St. Charles, where they shot up the town’s police force, as well as people like the three of us.”

  The man’s badge said his name was Curtis. “TKM? I highly doubt it. Since this business with the statewide lockdown, their company has given more to local sheriff’s departments than we’ll ever be able to say. I was able to buy four new police cars with cash.” He leaned closer. “And I only have three officers.”

  Ezra had the man figured out in seconds. He would never believe those same benefactors would do anything as underhanded as shooting at their boat. He immediately changed tack. “I keep hearing about this lockdown. You didn’t come here to arrest us, that’s apparent, but what can you tell us about the statewide order?”

  Curtis chuckled. “It’s mostly for the big-city folk. Don’t want them rioting and all. Out here, we’re a bit more relaxed. Out on the river…” He shrugged. “Stay out of trouble and you’ll be fine.”

  Ezra couldn’t contain his own laughter. “Sorry. This boat used to be on Kentucky Lake. It survived passing through the broken dam. So did he and I.”

  “The dam broke?”

  Ezra nodded with enthusiasm. “We got a Biblical amount of rain after the first rock hit Paducah. Too much for the lake to hold. Anyway, my laughter is because me and my friends have seen nothing but trouble since we left. I’d expect we’ll find it once we leave your town, too.”

  Butch caught his attention. “E-Z. Don’t look now, but they’re here.”

  Ezra didn’t turn toward the bridge, which was about a hundred yards upriver. However, Curtis turned to see what Butch was talking about. “Yep, those are TKM trucks. Are you positive those are the guys who’ve been harassing you?”

  “Yes,” he said, wishing Butch would finish up.

  Curtis hiked his pants again, suggesting he needed a tighter belt. “You all have my word no one will harass you on the way out of my town. I’ll go up there and make sure. I guaran-dam-tee you it’s only a coincidence. They’re probably here to buy me an armored car.” He laughed, turned for his car, but halted.

  The friendly sheriff glanced over to Haley. “I’m glad Josephine called me. She sounds like a real nice woman. You take care, okay?”

  “I will,” Haley replied.

  “Be careful up there,” Ezra cautioned.

  “Don’t you worry about me. Worry about yourselves. Lots of debris floated by here two days ago. Something bad happened in KC. If you’re going that way, you’re bound for trouble.” He tipped his hat and strode for shore.

  Butch finished fueling. Ezra ran into the tiny marina store and paid. By the time he started the motor, Curtis and his flashing lights were approaching the bridge.

  Ezra had to talk loud over the motor. “We’ve got to leave while the getting is good. I hope those TKM thugs don’t hurt our new friend.”

  Denver, CO

  The call from Stricker had been a near-run thing, but his quick thinking had once again saved him from disaster. He went back to communicating with his teams around the nation, as well as the men working the streets below him. He was confident they could hold the line against corporate competition, treasure-hunting citizens, and an unreliable Denver police force.

  A red light appeared on his phone, prompting him to use the intercom with his travel secretary. “Who is it this time?”

  “Miss Nerio, Mr. Tikkanen.”

  “Finally!” he replied. “I’ll take it.”

  The woman spoke as soon as he opened the line. “Hello from Wyoming!”

  She was supposed to track down Asher’s escape train as it left Denver, not go to another state. “I assume you have some good news for me?”

  “I’m afraid it depends on what you consider good news. I’m sure one of your clods in security has told you about Misha Gagarin and his escape?”

  “They have,” he said with expectation.

  “Of course, you also figured out it was me who helped that terrible person get out. But it was for a good reason, I promise. I stopped you from killing him because I knew he would lead me directly to my targets. Misha has no allies here in this country. As predicted, he went right to his old quarry, probably thinking they would protect him.” Her laughter was shrill, as if it was much funnier than it actually was.

  “I figured as much.” Backed into the corner, he had no choice but to pretend he already knew the woman would create such an elaborate plan.

  “Well, I was spot on, as usual. Misha made his appearance. I disappeared him. I used one of your lovely helicopters to shred his Russian butt all the way back to Bryansk.”

  “I guess I owe you thanks.”

  “Not…quite…yet. I’m in the helicopter again, following the biggest, slowest escape vehicle they could have ever picked. I’m going to get around them, set up a proper greeting, and end this.”

  “Why don’t you swoop in and kill them right now? Why the delay? You have a helicopter. They have a train!” He didn’t think she needed a schematic to explain it.

  She hesitated. “There are, uh, considerations. I had a mechanical failure I didn’t want to mention. It would be embarrassing for TKM if your aircraft broke down while over the target. It wouldn’t make me feel very good, either.”

  “Fine. Don’t contact me again until this is over. I’m sick of hearing nothing but excuses with those people!”

  He slammed the phone down.

  A second later, the red light came on again.

  “If it’s Nerio, I don’t want to—”

  The secretary interrupted. “It isn’t, sir. It’s Mr. Stricker.”

  “Him again?” he said to himself. Louder, he spoke to the phone. “I’ll take it.”

  “Hello, Mr. Stricker. To what do I owe this pleasure?” He was certain the threat of releasing those photos had put the man in his place.

  “I’m afraid I have bad news. The president was not in the mood to entertain any delays for our offer. In fact,” Stricker gulped on the line, “he says if you don’t sign over one of the largest pieces in the next twenty-four hours, he’s going to demand two of them. And if you keep delaying, he’s tempted to take all of them.”

  Petteri recognized he was in the worst possible place of a blackmailer. It would be a snap to order those photos released, and they would be on the worldwide networks in five minutes
. The career of a powerful cabinet member would be over. However, from Petteri’s perspective, it would represent a loss of every ounce of leverage he’d carefully built up over the years. Stricker was merely a means to exert control over the President of the United States. He wasn’t willing to throw that away.

  “This is an interesting turn of events, Mr. Stricker. I’ll get back to you with my answer before your deadline. Good day.”

  He slammed the phone again.

  His arm was getting sore from repeating the act.

  CHAPTER 9

  Somewhere in Southeastern Wyoming

  The good news for Grace was her truck still worked, despite having new bullet holes in the rear compartment. The woman had sprayed the vehicle from her aircraft, but didn’t waste enough shells to put it out of commission. The bad news for her, however, was that she now rode in the same truck with Asher and the hitman once sent to kill her. He sat in the seat behind Asher, as if he wanted a clear view of her, the driver. They hadn’t said a word for the last hour.

  She glanced sideways at Asher, hoping to think of something to say.

  He looked back at her, appearing as trapped in the situation as she.

  It was Misha who finally broke the silence. “Who is Alex Trebek?”

  In their first meeting she’d told him she was with a guy named Alex Trebek; it was the first name she could think of in the tense moment. She turned to check if he was being serious. His cold blue eyes said he was.

  Grace shifted to keep her own eyes on the road. “Mr. Trebek is a game show host. It’s called Jeopardy.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Misha replied. “And you thought you were in jeopardy when you met me. Makes lot of sense.”

  She could have told him he was wrong. Her reason for saying the name had been totally random, as best she could remember. Maybe she’d watched the show recently. Maybe one of the park guests had said the name. However, it was easier to let him believe she’d been scared back then. Her mission at the moment was to convince him she wasn’t scared now, even though she was experiencing record levels of jeopardy as she drove with Misha toward a woman in a helicopter with a machine gun.