“That’s us,” the pilot said.
“Take us lower,” Quinn said.
“There are hills down there,” the pilot protested.
“Then try not to hit them.”
“Unidentified aircraft, please respond.”
The helicopter dove down several thousand feet until it was only a hundred feet aboveground.
“Hug the terrain,” Quinn said, knowing it would cut down on their radar signature.
“Unidentified aircraft, you’re instructed to head south-southeast to the Santa Maria Public Airport. You are to land and await further instructions. Please confirm.”
On the ground below, Quinn could see scattered homes. Most were dark at this hour, but a few had lights on.
“Two miles,” Orlando said.
“Unidentified aircraft. Please be advised you are nearing a no-fly zone. If you enter the zone, you will be shot down. Unidentified aircraft, please respond.”
“One mile,” Orlando said.
“Company,” Nate said.
He was standing behind Quinn and pointing over Quinn’s shoulder and out the front window to the left.
A black spot on the deep blue sky was rapidly approaching. Within seconds it buzzed by them.
“I’m turning around,” the pilot said.
Orlando raised her gun. “Nate,” she said, “you ready to take over?”
“Absolutely,” Nate said.
“Jesus,” the pilot said. “They’re going to shoot us down.”
“Shut up, and keep on course,” Quinn said.
“He’s back,” Orlando said. She motioned with her chin at the window beyond the pilot.
Pacing them a hundred feet to the east was an Apache attack helicopter.
“Unidentified aircraft, this is Captain Muñoz of the U.S. Army. I’m here to escort you back to Santa Maria. I’d advise not trying anything stupid. Do you understand?”
“Now what do you want me to do?” the pilot asked.
“Tell him you understand,” Quinn said.
The pilot hesitated a moment, then keyed his mic. “I understand, Captain.”
“You will make a one-eighty-degree turn to the left, then fly south to Santa Maria.”
The pilot looked at Quinn, who nodded back.
“Roger,” the pilot said.
“First let’s get you some altitude. Take her up to a thousand feet on my mark. Okay?”
“There,” Quinn said. He pointed at a clearing just ahead. It looked like someone’s field. Perhaps a place for horses. There were several houses in the area, and a thick grove of trees lining two of the sides.
“Did you understand my instructions?”
“Tell him yes,” Quinn said. “But when he tells you to go up, I want you to take us down fast into that clearing as close to the trees as possible.”
“I’ll need at least a hundred feet of clear space.”
“Make it fifty,” Quinn said. “Any more and I will kill you the moment we’re on the ground.”
“Did you understand my instructions?” the voice on the radio repeated, now without any trace of friendliness.
“I understand,” the pilot said.
“Nate,” Quinn said. “Go back with Marion. Secure for a rough landing.”
Without a word, Nate was gone.
“All right,” the captain in the Apache said.
The clearing was close now.
“Let’s take her up,” the captain said.
Quinn could feel the helicopter rise. Just a few seconds more.
“Now!” Quinn yelled.
The Superhawk immediately switched direction, heading straight down for the ground.
“Unidentified aircraft, cease your descent!”
“As close to the trees as possible,” Quinn reminded the pilot.
The ground was rushing up at them.
“Pull up,” the captain said. “Pull up now!”
With a loud whap, they hit the ground. Quinn, who’d been holding on to both seats, tumbled forward, landing halfway in the pilot’s lap. He pushed himself up, then yelled, “Everybody out!”
The pilot started to unbuckle himself.
“No,” Quinn said. “Not you.”
He punched the man hard in the face, stunning him.
In the main cabin, Nate already had the door open and was helping Marion to the ground. Orlando was right behind them. Quinn was pleased to see the pilot had put them even closer to the grove than he’d hoped.
“Go,” he said as he jumped out. “Into the trees.”
Above and behind him, he could hear the Apache coming in for a landing, but he didn’t look back. With a crew of only two, no one from the Army helicopter would be following them. At least not on foot. If the helicopter went airborne again, it might be able to spot them. But that’s where leaving the pilot of the Superhawk behind came in. He would occupy them, at least long enough for Quinn and his team to get away.
“Head west,” Quinn said as soon as they were all under cover. “Better chance we’ll find a ride in that direction.”
But the noise of the helicopters had woken everyone in the area, and several people were outside trying to see if they could figure out what was going on. It forced Quinn and the others to keep to the trees, slowing their progress.
After a couple of minutes they reached a blacktop road heading east to the hills and west toward Highway 101. The highway was where they wanted to be, so they moved westward parallel to the road, staying under the cover of the trees. They passed a couple of hills, then a short bridge above a dry creek bed.
That’s when Quinn heard the Apache power up again.
“Back, back,” he said. “To the bridge. Get under.”
Nate and Orlando understood why at once. But Marion looked confused. Quinn grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her with him down into the dry creek.
There was only about four feet of clearance under the bridge. After Nate and Orlando scrambled underneath, Quinn pushed Marion’s head down and all but shoved her in after them. He could hear the helicopter rising into the air as he ducked down and joined his team.
“What are we doing here?” Marion said.
“Thermal imaging,” Nate said. “They’d be able to spot us even in the trees.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Marion,” Quinn said, “I need you to stay focused. If you want us to save Iris, we need you to do this. Okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I just didn’t know, okay?”
Quinn stared at her for a second, then nodded.
Outside they could hear the Apache flying in a circle, looking for them.
“Nate,” Quinn said, “I noticed a house not far down the road on the left. You see it?”
Nate nodded.
“After the next circuit, when the Apache is heading away from us, I want you to sprint over there, but keep low. You think you can get there before they look back in this direction?”
“I think so.”
“Will your leg hold up for that?”
Nate paused. Quinn had asked the question honestly, with no hidden agenda. Nate seemed to have sensed it. “It’ll hold up,” he said. Not a boast, just information.
“Good. When you get there, act normal. You can even look up at the helicopter as it flies over. Then find us a ride, but don’t come back until the Apache is gone.”
“Got it,” Nate said.
Quinn gave him a pat on the back. “Now get ready. As soon as it turns away, go.”
Nate moved to edge of the bridge. Above them, the helicopter circled past.
Nate smiled. “Why don’t you guys get some rest,” he said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Then as the helicopter turned away, Nate slipped into the darkness.
CHAPTER
39
“HERE’S THE AUTHORIZATION, OFFICER,” TUCKER said in his best mid-American accent as he handed several pieces of paper to the Highway Patrol officer standing outside the bus.
�
�Don’t really need to show those unless you’re going past Cambria,” the officer said. But he glanced at the sheets anyway, then handed them back.
“We’ll have to take a look inside, though,” the officer said.
“Sure,” Tucker told him. “I’ll open the door. But do me a favor and try to keep quiet. Most of the kids fell asleep on the ride, and I’d like them to stay that way for a while longer if possible.”
The officer smiled. “No problem.”
Tucker pushed a button and the door to the school bus he was driving folded open. Two officers climbed aboard. The second one— the same guy who’d checked Tucker’s papers—whispered as he passed, “We’ll only be a minute.”
Tucker watched in the mirror as the two men walked down the aisle, looking from left to right at the sleeping children. The only two other adults on the bus were Tucker’s men, Petersen and Linden. They were all he needed now. The rest had been sent south on a detention mission that at last word had gone off without any problems. The officers nodded at Tucker’s men, but otherwise seemed not to have any interest in them.
As they made their way back out, the main officer said, “All good. Thank you. You have a big day ahead of you. Enjoy.”
“Thanks,” Tucker said. “I’ll just be glad when it’s over, and I can get these kids home.”
The officer chuckled. “Yeah, I bet.”
As soon as the door was closed, Tucker put the bus in gear and headed west on Highway 1 toward Morro Bay.
The sun had come up and the world had come back to life. Quinn had finally given up any hope of spotting Tucker and the children on the highway, so they’d stopped at a café in Shell Beach to figure out what their next move should be.
When Quinn returned from the bathroom, he found Orlando sitting at their table alone with her laptop open in front of her. Marion was still in the bathroom, and Nate was out finding a new car, something that hopefully wouldn’t be reported stolen for several hours.
“There’s a report about the helicopter going down,” she said. “They think we were some kind of protestors trying to embarrass the government by attempting to enter restricted airspace. But they think they thwarted us.”
“‘Thwarted?’” Quinn asked.
“That’s what it says, ‘thwarted.’”
“I’ve just never heard the word spoken before.”
She shook her head, but she was smiling. After a moment, she said, “I got to thinking.”
“About?”
“Schedules,” she said. “Peter told you there was nothing on the leaders’ schedules that would seem to connect with whatever it is Tucker is up to, right?”
“Right.”
“What if it’s not the leaders they’re after?” she asked.
“What do you mean? Like, someone lower level? Secretary of State or something like that? Wouldn’t their schedules be pretty much the same as their bosses’?”
“No. You’re right. I was just thinking of something else.”
“What?” he asked.
But before she could respond, Marion reappeared.
“Shouldn’t we go or something?” she said. “Why are we waiting?”
“As soon as Nate gets back, we’ll leave,” Quinn said.
“But Iris?” Her eyes pleaded with him to understand.
“We haven’t given up, okay? We just need to try and figure out where she’s—”
“I know,” Orlando said.
Quinn looked at her.
“I know what they’re going to do,” Orlando said.
“What?”
“It’s not the leaders they’re after, not directly.” She turned her laptop around so Quinn could see it. “It’s their wives.”
“Wives?” He wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
But on the screen was the itinerary for the First Lady of the United States. And there listed in bold, and to begin at 9:30 a.m.: Spouses’ Tour of the R. J. Oliver School of Special Education, Morro Bay.
Quinn stared at the screen. A school focused on the teaching of the mentally disabled. A wonderful photo op for the spouses of the G8 leaders—seven women and one man, the husband of the German Chancellor. A public face of caring while God knew what their other halves were discussing behind the closed doors of Hearst Castle.
“What is it?” Marion asked.
Quinn looked at his watch: 8:20. Seventy minutes. Less than that really, because once the VIPs were on-site, it would be too late.
“You’re staying here,” he said to Marion, his tone dead serious.
“No way,” she said.
“Then we’re all dead,” he said. “You. Us.” He paused. “Iris.”
Her stare was defiant, but he could see hesitation creeping in. After a moment, she started unconsciously chewing on her lower lip, then she nodded.
“Good,” he said. “We passed a motel a couple blocks south of here, remember?”
Another nod.
He pulled some cash out of his pocket, peeling off two hundred dollars.
“Here,” he said, handing it to her. “Use a false name. Something easy to remember.”
Orlando snapped her laptop closed. “Nate,” Orlando said, nodding toward the window.
Nate was standing in front of the café, next to a Nissan Maxima.
Quinn dropped a few bucks on the table to pay for the coffee, then stood up.
“Please bring her back,” Marion said.
“That’s the plan,” he told her.
The closer they got to San Luis Obispo, the more police and Highway Patrol cars they saw. No checks yet, but Quinn knew there would be some ahead.
“Get off here,” Orlando said, glancing up from her computer screen.
The sign read Los Osos Valley Road.
“Not the PCH?” Nate asked. The Pacific Coast Highway was the direct route from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay.
“This’ll get us there, too,” she said. “Just comes in from the back side.”
Nate nodded, then turned up the off-ramp, stopping at the top. “Which way?” he asked.
“Left.”
They passed through the outskirts of San Luis Obispo and entered a more open farm country framed to the right by a series of dramatic hills.
Quinn’s phone began to vibrate. Though Peter’s name was on the display, it wasn’t Peter’s voice that spoke. It was Sean Cooper, the guy who had gotten them the car in New York.
“Where’s Peter?” Quinn asked.
“There’s a team of federal investigators sitting in his office right now.”
“What the hell?”
“He gave me his phone once we realized what was going on. Told me to leave and call you.” It sounded like Sean was walking fast, his breath audibly punctuating each word.
“Where are you?” Quinn asked.
“Out. Near the National Archives.” D.C., of course. Where the Office was located.
“So what you’re telling me is that I shouldn’t expect any help,” Quinn said.
“That’s what I’m telling you.” A pause. “One more thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t call us. It’ll be … safer for you that way. If things calm down, we’ll be in touch.” Another hesitation. “I’m sorry.”
Quinn hung up. There was nothing more to say.
When they reached Los Osos, they turned onto South Bay Boulevard. According to Orlando, that would take them to State Park Road, which wound around the local golf course before becoming Main Street in Morro Bay.
“What’s the plan?” Nate said.
“We get as close to the school as we can,” Quinn said.
“And then?”
And then … That was the real issue. Quinn had been trying to figure the best answer to that question since they’d left Marion in Shell Beach. One solution had come to mind, but he was hoping to come up with a better one before he had to act.
“Just drive,” he said.
A minute later Nate eased off on the gas. Ahead, five cars
were stopped in the road. Parked on the shoulder at the front of the line were two Highway Patrol cars.
Checkpoint, Quinn thought.
Quinn pulled his SIG out of his backpack and slipped it under his seat. Though the last thing he wanted to do was use it, it needed to be accessible. He heard the zipper on Orlando’s backpack open a second after his. Their thoughts once again parallel.
“Orlando and I are here on vacation,” Quinn said, creating a quick legend. “Nate, you live up here. We’re visiting you, so you wanted to show us Morro Bay.”
“Got it,” Nate said.
“The car?” Orlando asked.
“Don’t worry,” Nate said. “No one will notice it’s gone for another couple hours.”
Quinn looked at him, a question on his face.
“Grocery store cashier. She was rushing to get to work on time. Never saw me.”
Nate pulled to a stop behind the last car in line. There were only two officers manning the checkpoint. One stood near the center of the road, leaning down to talk to the drivers as each car approached. The other stood just off the blacktop. His job was to observe, and react if needed. Low-level security, trying to weed out the obvious crazies.
Slowly the line inched forward. The officer seemed to be spending no more than a couple minutes or so with each vehicle. Just enough time to get a vibe from those inside, and check the trunks. So far, no one had been turned back.
As the car in front of them finished its check, Quinn said, “Nice and relaxed.”
Nate eased the car forward, then rolled his window down.
“Morning,” the officer said.
“Morning,” Nate said.
“How you doing today?” The officer’s gaze moved through the cabin, stopping for a second on Quinn and Orlando.
“Doing well,” Nate said. “Can’t beat the weather.”
The officer smiled. “Are you locals?”
“I am,” Nate said. “Arroyo Grande. My friends are visiting. Thought I’d take them out and show them the bay.”
The officer glanced at Orlando again. “So where are you visiting from?” he asked, his voice deceptively light.
“Los Angeles,” she said.
“I hear it’s been hot down there lately.”
Before she could respond, Quinn jumped in, “Not too bad. It’ll be worse in September.”
“Now that’s true,” the officer said. His eyes stayed on Quinn. “You look a little familiar. Have we met before?”
Shadow of Betrayal Page 35