by Rusty Ellis
“That’s it, that’s gotta be it!” Turing fidgeted in the backseat. “She has to be in there!”
“Slow down, Averett,” Ransom turned around in his seat to face Turing.
“What do you mean ‘slow down’? My daughter’s in there. We need to go get her!”
“Not yet, too many variables in their favor right now,” Leesa added.
“We don’t know if she’s okay! They could be killing her right now!”
“Let’s think this through, Averett. The guy that just showed up looked like he was carrying bags of food. Those guys are settled in for the night. If they were going to do something final they would already have done it and be gone,” Ransom reasoned. “There’s no reason to hurt her, she doesn’t know anything and they don’t need anything from her, other than to just have her. At this point, she’s a bargaining chip to them.”
Turing’s frantic look began to fade into despair.
“We need you to hold on a little longer. As long as she’s important to them nothing will happen to her. Right now, they’re more concerned about their control over you and the point of you going to court. For now, we’re going to watch the hangar and see if we can gather anything else about these guys and the situation inside so we can make some decisions by the time it gets a little lighter outside. Trust me, Averett. Waiting is the right move to keep your daughter safe. Okay?”
Turing nodded his head and turned back to where the two black SUVs were parked by the hangar.
The driver of the vehicle reappeared from the hangar door and climbed back into his car. The SUV’s lights flashed back on and the driver retraced his route out of the airport and through the front gate. Ransom caught a glimpse of the shadow talking on the phone as he stopped at the traffic light. The man tossed the phone on the passenger seat as he waited for the light to turn green.
Ransom felt a surge of anger as he burrowed into the man with his stare. The thought of someone taking his own daughter would be unbearable. Nothing would stop him from getting her back. Nothing was going to stand in the way of him from getting Sara back to her father.
50
Gianni sat patiently, his ringing phone pressed against his ear. Tino had just swung by the hangar and dropped off some food for Rocks and Mikey. Gianni was very specific to keep the girl’s eyes covered. Even though she was most likely not going to be a problem in the long run, you could never second-guess Sartori. He always thought a few moves ahead—or realistically, Jimmy thought a few moves ahead—seeing things Gianni was just now learning to see himself. For now, it was best the girl not see their faces.
“Yeah,” the voice on the other end of the phone answered.
“How’s the package?” Gianni asked.
“Fine for now.”
“You tell Mikey to keep his hands off the package, got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Gianni kept the small talk to a minimum. The burner phones he’d handed out to his men had about used up their usefulness. A small inconvenience against the possibility of having calls intercepted.
“We’re going to move the package in the morning. You two need anything?”
“Hey, you need anything?” the voice covered the mouthpiece and called out to his partner. “Nah, we’re good. See you tomorrow.”
Part VIII
Friday
51
Sara was unsure of how long she’d slept. It could have been minutes or hours. There was no way to tell with the mask firmly covering her entire head. Her mouth was dry and her lips felt parched. The cool air being blown into the room sent a chill through her and stood the goosebumps on end on the back of her arms.
She couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or awake when hearing noises around her. The sound of a door. Echoing footsteps. The two men talking. Snoring. The sound of a chair being moved in the room and clanked against what sounded like a wall. The only thing certain was the light being on above her head. Sara squinted to try and make sense of any of the shapes around her through the weave of the fabric over her eyes. Though her lips were parched and mouth was dry, she fought with herself to ask anything of the men. But her thirst overpowered her fear of being yelled at again.
“Hello?” she softly whispered to no one in particular.
Sara could hear a chair’s legs move against the ground, as if someone stood up.
“Please, could I just get a drink of water? I’m really thirsty,” she begged.
The muffled footsteps grew closer to her and she could feel a hand pulling the hood up to her nose, exposing her mouth. She looked down to see a pair of dark dress shoes and pinstriped pants standing near her feet. A water bottle was pressed against her lips and she tilted her head back. Sara’s eyes scrolled up the man’s suited torso as her head leaned back to take a drink. He was wearing a matching suit coat and white, buttoned up shirt with no tie. The man’s hand was wrapped around the bottle and she could make out a ring on his right pinkie finger. A gold ring with a crimson stone in the middle. A letter was engraved on one side of the ring, the letter “R”. She’d seen the same ring on the man in the backseat of the SUV when she was abducted.
The bottle was pulled away from her face and the hood snapped back down over her mouth.
“Now shut up,” the voice said and returned to the spot where Sara had heard the legs of the chair move against the floor.
Sara took a deep breath, relieved her request ended in nothing more than the drink she’d asked for.
52
The sun hid just below the upper ridge of Black Mountain on the eastern edge of Las Vegas. The light pushed long shadows across the hood of Leesa’s car. She’d waited 15 minutes after Gianni’s car left before repositioning her sedan into a less obvious spot. She and Ransom had pulled down their visors and tilted their seats back, further minimizing someone seeing them through the windshield.
Turing had slept fitfully the past few hours. Ransom was impressed he had held himself together. Several discussions ensued during the night between the three, the results the same, pulling Turing out of the black hole he continued to fall into.
“What do you think?” Leesa continued to watch the SUV.
“They should be tired, I know I am. Might be the best time to hit the place. Think the guard will be an issue?”
“Doubt it. It’s not too unusual to have cops milling about once in awhile, especially since our police choppers are housed on the other side of the airstrip.”
“True. What about him?” Ransom motioned to Turing in the backseat.
“I’m afraid if we have him wait over here he’ll end up doing something dumb, like trying to climb the fence to where the hangar is,” Leesa laughed.
“You have your child locks activated on the back doors of your car, right?” Ransom laughed back.
“As always. It would at least slow down any quick, dumb idea he had.”
“Let’s do it then,” Ransom reached down to raise his seat back up. “Averett, wake up. It’s time.”
53
Rocks laughed at seeing Mikey curled up against the wall sleeping. The big oaf looked like a little kid, all he needed was a teddy-bear.
The door on the other side of the hangar near their SUV opened. A bright light shone through from outside and silhouetted two people stepping through the opening and into the pitch black hangar. The door closed behind them and Rocks could make out their footsteps getting closer. He turned back to Mikey on the floor and kicked him in the shin.
“Wake up, Mikey. Gianni and Tino are here.”
Mikey sat up too quickly and banged his head against the wall. He pushed off the wall and stood up next to Rocks. The bright light above the girl’s head caused him to squint as he looked at the girl and then at Rocks.
The sound of footsteps neared the door.
“It’s about time you showed up,” Rocks snickered and looked from Mikey to the door.
Two guns emerged from the darkness and pushed through the doorway, pointed at Rocks and Mikey.
54
“Hands, let me see your hands!” Leesa shouted and slid along the wall into the room.
Ransom followed her and turned against the opposite wall to triangulate their entry and split the two men’s attention. Rocks instinctively whipped the front of his coat open with his thumb to clear the fabric out of the way of his gun in his shoulder holster.
“Don’t do it!” Ransom yelled and dropped his center of gravity lower, leaning forward into his gun’s sights.
Rocks froze and moved his hands back to his sides. Mikey, still stunned from having just woke, raised his hands above his head and continued to squint against the bright light above his head.
Leesa directed the two men away from where Sara sat and had them interlace their fingers on their heads. “Now down on your knees. Cross your legs behind you and press your noses against the wall.”
Ransom made his way around Leesa to Sara, “Are you, okay?”
Sara nodded and took in a stuttered breath, “Who are you?”
“We’re the police. We’ve got you now,” Ransom answered. He turned to Leesa, “You got them?”
Leesa nodded and focused on the men. Ransom pulled the hood off Sara’s head. He removed a knife from his pocket and cut the tape off her wrists.
“Can you stand up?” he asked and put the folding knife back in his pocket.
“I think so.”
Sara’s legs wobbled as she pushed up on the arms of the chair. Ransom grabbed her forearm to steady her. He helped her step from the middle of the room and to the corner away from the men on the wall before turning his attention back to Leesa.
Ransom took over Leesa’s spot as she moved in behind Rocks and pulled one hand from off his head and swung it behind his back. She cuffed the first hand and then grabbed his other hand and did the same. She stepped over and did the same to Mikey.
“Two pairs of cuffs, eh?” Ransom grinned.
“Two pairs of cuffs, two magazines. An old partner of mine taught me that,” she smiled back.
55
Averett sat impatient in the back of Leesa’s car. It was quiet and he was anxious to know how Sara was doing. To know she was okay and unhurt. Losing patience, he reached for the door handle and pulled. Nothing. He’d forgotten he was sitting in a police car, even though it had no exterior markings on it. The doors didn’t work from inside. The locked doors reminded him he had promised Ransom—twice—to stay in the car until they got back. But they were taking too long and he had to know if Sara was okay.
He heard the door handle click and the open next to where he was sitting. He looked up and squinted into the sunlight pouring in through the open door, “Is Sara okay?”
A meaty fist shot into the car and caught Averett on the chin. Dazed and confused by the blow, Averett tried to speak again when the hand grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him out of the car.
56
Ransom noticed a flash of light as the door to the hangar opened and closed quickly. Leesa was busy removing the guns from Rocks and Mikey while Ransom covered her. Ransom was ticked Turing left the car, exactly opposite of the instructions he’d given him. But for now, his focus was on watching the two men on the ground while Leesa frisked them for any further weapons. Now was not the time to mince words with Turing. More importantly, his daughter was safe and no one was injured in the takedown.
“Sara,” Turing’s voice called out near the office entrance into the room.
Ransom continued to watch his partner. The hair on his neck stood. Something didn’t feel right. He could see Sara out of the corner of his eye, still in the corner leaning against the wall. She hadn’t moved at the mention of her name by her father. Peeking toward the doorway, Ransom saw Turing’s outline in his peripheral vision, standing in the doorway, motionless, not running to his daughter.
A voice behind Turing growled, “Put your gun down, detective.”
Ransom kept his gun pointed at the feet of the men kneeling with their noses against the wall, both hands gripping his weapon in a combat grip. Keeping his gun at Rocks and Mikey’s feet, he turned his head to see Gianni standing behind Turing and pointing a large black semi-automatic handgun in his direction. Turing’s hands were raised near his chest, his face pasty white and dead of expression.
“Didn’t you hear me?” Gianni added louder this time. “I said drop your gun.”
Leesa stood upright over the top of the men on the ground. Her movement distracted Gianni long enough for Ransom to swing around and direct his Glock at Gianni. The last thing Ransom intended to do was negotiate with this thug empty handed. His only bargaining piece was the one he held in his hand.
Ransom could see Gianni’s grip on the back on Turing’s collar. “Maybe you didn’t hear me, detective. Drop your gun.” Gianni changed the direction of the gun from Ransom to the side of Turing’s head.
“Not gonna happen, Gianni.”
“Daddy?” Sara whimpered from the corner as she watched the standoff in horror.
“Just stay there, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be okay,” Turing offered.
“Shut up,” Gianni barked and gave Turing a quick jerk by his collar. He turned his attention back to Ransom, “One more time. Drop it or the lawyer gets it while his daughter watches.”
Ransom noticed a drying trickle of blood coming from the corner of Turing’s mouth.
“How do you picture this playing out, Gianni?” Leesa pulled his attention off Ransom and toward her.
Gianni’s attention moved to Leesa long enough for Ransom to make eye contact with Turing and mouth the word “drop.” Turing was able to give Ransom a brief nod. Gianni noticed Turing’s head move and turned back to Ransom. Using his gun as an extension of his hand, Gianni pointed it back at Ransom and tried again, “Drop it!”
Ransom locked eyes with Turing and in one motion took a step to the side and yelled, “Now!”
Turing went limp and dropped toward the ground. The sudden weight pulling down on his hand and arm caused Gianni’s shoulder to dip.
Ransom watched for his opening and saw Gianni’s gun instinctively turn from him toward Turing. The split second was long enough for Ransom to take aim at the most centered part of Gianni’s shoulder. The cracking sound of Ransom’s gun filled the room. The bullet struck Gianni’s shoulder with a resounding thud. The force of the round pushed his shoulder back and caused him to release his grasp on Turing. Gianni looked down at the gun in his hand and strained to control his grip. His hand went limp as he fought to raise his arm.
“Don’t do it, Gianni!” Ransom yelled and took another step from the spot where he stood. He could see Leesa had already drawn her weapon and done the same.
Turing scrambled on his hands and knees toward his daughter and out of the line of fire.
A dark patch began to grow at the impact point on Gianni’s shoulder. The damage of the hollow-point round had hit its mark. Gianni’s gun hung loose in his limp grasp and finally tumbled to the ground at his feet.
“Put your hand on your head!” Leesa commanded.
Gianni stared at Ransom, a look of anger filled his eyes. Ransom continued to point his gun at Gianni’s chest and waited for him to determine the next course of action. With an audible grunt, Gianni placed his left hand on his head and turned away from Ransom. Leesa pulled a pair of nylon handcuffs from her back pocket and returned her gun to its holster. Ransom stood ready as she slipped the cuff on Gianni’s limp arm and then pulled his hand off his head and threaded it through the other noose. She pulled the nylon strings snug against his thick wrists and retrieved his gun off the ground.
“How many pairs of cuffs do you have?” Ransom asked and lowered his gun toward the ground.
Leesa shrugged and grabbed the chair where Sara had been sitting. She pulled it toward the wall and had Gianni sit facing the back of the chair with his back against the wall. With all three men handcuffed, Ransom returned his gun to his holster at the middle of his back and turned his attention t
o Sara and Turing.
Turing had his arms wrapped around his daughter, tears running down his cheeks, “I’m so sorry.”
Sara’s eyes were closed as she held onto her father. Leesa called dispatch and had two patrol units and EMT respond to their location to transport the three men separately. She then called her contact at the organized crime unit to show up on scene as well and filled him in on the situation.
Ransom and Leesa waited for the patrol units to arrive to help them escort the three men from the office to outside the hangar. An ambulance pulled up and an EMT began treating Gianni’s gunshot wound. The other EMT checked on Sara—other than the abrasions on her wrists from the restraints, she was given a healthy nod.
Two detectives from the organized crime unit arrived and took and instant interest in Gianni. One of the detectives accompanied Gianni in the ambulance on the ride to the hospital. The two patrol units left last and transported Rocks and Mikey to HQ to wait to be questioned.
Prior to everyone’s departure, Leesa had given strict instructions for a communication lockdown on all three men. The next few hours were crucial as they determined their plan and Turing’s exit strategy.
57
Ransom put his leg up on a chair in the office at HQ while Leesa hunted for ibuprofen for him in a first aid kit. The throbbing in his leg demanded attention now that the adrenaline had worn off from the morning’s showdown and arrests.
“Are you okay, Mr. Walsh,” Sara asked with concern, her father sitting with his arm around her.
“Thanks for asking. I’ll be fine.”