In Hot Pursuit

by Patrick Doyle

  They took shots at her, but she was already gone. She was too far away for the bullets to do any real damage. They should have been smart enough to aim for the wheels, she thought, and kept driving. She ended up on Church Street. The Sedan wasn’t far behind. She thought she had slowed them down. At least she had hit one or probably two of them. The glass had been covered in blood.

  They were shooting at her again. She might as well get it over and done with—find out who exactly these men were. She pulled into a large vacant parking lot on Church Street. She drove the SUV to a far end and turned off the engine. She could take those men on, and she knew she could do it with absolutely no problem.

  She got out of the SUV, and hurried around the back to get one of the high ranged semi automatics. She unlocked the large case, and took out one of the guns, along with a box of bullets. She didn’t think she would need anything more. Those guys were a couple of low-grade crooks. Raybourne had probably plucked them off the streets and promised them the world. She would have them overpowered

  and in handcuff, if not dead, in no time.

  She went around the side of the SUV and crouched down close to the wall, and waited for them. The beaten-up Sedan drove into the parking not long after. She had counted seven minutes on her watch. She thought they would have been there in less than five. They must have stopped to get rid of the bodies. They were in full view, as they drove closer, and she watched and waited, giving them the chance to make the first move. She could have picked them off as soon as she saw the car, but she wanted at least one, if not the two of them alive. She wanted the chance to question them before Raybourne did away with them.

  The car was just about finished. The windscreen and the windows on one side were gone. Blood was smeared on what was left of the glass at the front, and there were dents on the front hood and on the right door. There were two men in the car instead of the four she had seen before. She must have hit the other two. She took aim at the car and fired. It was more of a warning shot for them to stop, than her wanting to hit them. She didn’t want them close. The car stopped abruptly, and the men opened the doors on their sides and scrambled out. She fired warning shots across at them. They took cover behind the doors and returned fire.

  This was going to be easier than, she thought. She only needed one of them alive, anyway, and from this point on, it was up to them to decide which one. The one on the right came up to fire at her, and she shot him in the head twice. It was a clean shot. His body fell backwards onto the ground, and he lay sprawled next to the door. She saw the blood seeping away from his body onto the pavement. She heard the other guy swore, and his large feet came into view as he moved around the side of car, and away from his dead partner.

  One left to go. She wanted this one alive and in handcuffs. He had to know where Raybourne was hiding out. She was going to give him every chance to save himself.

  “Federal Agent, drop your gun and come out with your hands where I can see them.” She yelled across at him. She hoped he wouldn’t be difficult because she didn’t want to kill him.

  Nothing.

  She tried again. “Federal Agent, you are under arrest. Throw your weapon out where I can see it and come out with your hands above your head.”

  She was giving him a choice between life and dead. She hoped he would be smart enough to choose the former. She really didn’t want to have to put a hole in his head.

  “Be smart,” she tried pleading with him when he wouldn’t answer her. “See what happened to your friends—I don’t want to do the same thing to you. I will not shoot you—throw your gun out.” She tried to reason with him again.

  Silence. She could see his feet from where she was. She could take a shot at

  him. That would be enough to smoke him out. He would be squirming on the ground

  in pain in not time. She positioned the gun to fire at him.

  “Okay, okay. I’m coming out! Don’t shoot!” His voice was angry and resigned. He finally realized that he didn’t stand a chance with her.

  “Good, now toss your gun and any other weapon you may have with you away from the car. I want to see them. And don’t try anything. I can blow your head off even before you sneeze.”

  He threw the AK-47 and a hand gun out on the ground. They landed with a loud thump away from the car, but still not close enough for her to kick them out of the way.

  “Now loosen your belt, if you are wearing one and toss it out too.”

  There was a moment of hesitation, then the knotted brown belt followed. “Now come out real nice and slow and keep your hands high above your head where I can see them.”

  She moved around the side of the SUV and headed in the direction of the car. She would handcuff him and drive him back to the safe house. She would call Bailey on the way so that they could meet her there. The building was on Ninth and had been an old clothing factory, then an art gallery, before they had taken possession of it. They used the secured space to interview and hold high risk prisoners until they could decide what to do with them. Only the team knew about

  the location. This was another no holds barred the President had afforded to them.

  And she must say that none of the prisoners in their care had ever ended up dead or abused. Dr. Bailey took every effort to make sure they were treated fairly, even when they pose a threat to national security. There had been the rare prisoner exchange in the past. It had happened twice since she’d joined the team, and it was done only if there was a written guarantee between both countries that the men won’t be tortured or executed. They had swapped prisoners with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and England. The rest were transported to maximum security prisons across the country to serve out long life sentences for their crimes, never to see the light of day again.

  She kept her eyes on him and moved forward. She didn’t get to the car, or even close to it. He had somehow managed to slip back into the driver’s seat, and she watched in horror as he charged the car at her. He kept his head low, but not completely out of sight that she couldn’t take a shot at him. She could blow his head off if she wanted to, but at this point, she chose not to. She fired off two warning shots, hitting the hood of the car twice.

  She wanted him alive now more than ever. He might be able to tell her what they were after. And he must know something about Raybourne’s whereabouts. They were going to take the passports or whatever they thought she had in the

  SUV to him.

  She shouted a loud warning to him again. “Stop, and get out of the car.” She

  pointed the gun directly at him.

  He disregarded her warning. The car continued to come at her. He probably

  knew if she wasn’t going to kill him she would have done it already.

  “Stop! Federal Agent! Stop the car!” she shouted to him again. She was some distance away from the car, but she knew he could hear every word she was saying to him. He just chose to ignore her. “Get out of the car, now!” He did not respond. “Turn off the engine and throw the keys out of the window.” Her hand shook as the car got closer and closer to her.

  She didn’t want to put a bullet in him, but it seemed very likely that was the only solution at the moment—either that, or her dead body under the car. He was going to run her over. It was either him or her. She raised the gun higher and took aim at his head. The car came to a sudden stop, just as she was about to pull the trigger.

  She let out a deep sigh, and took menacing steps towards the Sedan, her gun still poised directly on him, waiting for him to make another stupid move. She would shoot him for sure this time. There was absolutely no doubt about that. And she wasn’t close enough to pull him out of the car and onto the ground.

  “Get out of the car,” she repeated to him, “or I will shoot.”

  He lifted his head to look at her, and the look in his blood shot eyes was one of

  utter defiance and hate. His face was covered in blood, probably from when she

  had shot the other guys. He bared
his teeth at her in a sardonic grin, and lowered his

  hands as if he was about to open the door and step out.

  “Come out slowly,” she told him in a firm voice.

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  His cold eyes came up once again to meet her challenging ones. His stare was malicious and fleeting. He smirked, giving her a lopsided grin in the process. She should have known then that something was up with him—that he wasn’t going to make this easy for her, or him. She should have taken him out when she had the chance. They would have found some other way to get to Raybourne.

  It happened in a split second—so fast, actually, that she didn’t have time to fire at him. He revved up the engine, and sped towards her. She barely made it out of the way. He had every intention of mowing her down! She hauled herself sideways and against the wall to avoid being hit. She bounced off the wall and fell on the ground with a loud thump, her left shoulder cushioning the brunt of her fall.

  She rolled onto her side to retrieve the gun that had fallen from her hand when she hit the ground, but she wasn’t fast enough. He had crashed the car into the wall behind her, and had gotten out. And he was fast. He slandered towards her, and reached down for the gun before she could get her hand on it. He took the gun, and stood over her with it. She raised her head, and came face to face with the barrel of

  the gun.

  He lifted his right foot and planted it down on her chest. “It’s your lucky day, bitch! I’m going to make you beg for your life before I kill you. I only wished you had given my friends the same fucking courtesy! ” He grinded his boot into her left hand and struck her with the gun.

  She winced, and stared up at him, her anxious eyes meeting his hard, hateful ones.

  “You don’t want to do that,” she said to him, in a resigned voice. She knew he could have shot her the second he got the gun from her, but he didn’t.

  “And why not! You didn’t have a problem with it. Three men are dead because of you!” She heard the resentment and anger in his heightened voice. “I have heard about you, Detective Bowles,” He snickered at her. “Raybourne says you keep killing his men off, one by one. I would have been next if I didn’t outsmart you!” He snickered. He seemed pleased with himself. “You really think I was going to let you take me without a fight!” He let off a small laugh. “Look who has the upper hand now! How does it feel to have the gun pointed at your head for a change?”

  He looked at her and laughed.

  “I wasn’t going to kill you,” she told him in a low voice. “I would have done it the moment you drove in here.”

  “Jeez, thanks! But I don’t believe you! Raybourne says you are a spiteful bitch

  who’s trying to put him out of business on phony charges. He says you and the FBI

  are trying to frame him.”

  She moved her head slowly to look at him. “Did he also tell you that he has been doing some of the killing himself? Did he tell you what he did to those men in the warehouse and the others in the house where I just came from? You are probably next. I can protect you from him.” She tried to meet his eyes.

  He shoved the gun into her neck, and shook his head wryly. “D..d, do you really think I’m an idiot, Detective Bowles! You are a cop.” He gave her a resentful look. “I don’t trust cops!”

  “It’s Agent Bowles.” Gabby felt she had to clarify that part for him. “But you

  can call me Gabby, if you want. And you are…?”

  She pressed him for a name. Maybe she could talk him down. He didn’t look like some of the tough characters that were known to hang around Raybbourne.

  He looked down at her and chuckled. “Do you really think I will tell you that!”

  “That’s fine. I don’t need to know your name, although it will make it easier for me to talk with you. I’m a federal agent. I work for Homeland Security to protect citizens like you, and your family from terrorists and bad guys like Raybourne.”

  “Raybourne is not a terrorist, and he is not a bad guy, either! He’s not even Muslim! How can you call a white man a terrorist!”

  She could see that it was going to take some work convincing him. She didn’t

  have the time. Time was of the essence here. It was a huge difference between her

  life and his.

  “Raybourne may not be a Muslim, but he has committed a lot of serious crimes against this country. Gilles Raybourne is a home grown terrorist, who has done some awful things to hurt a lot of innocent people in this country and abroad, including our troops.”

  He let out a short, sarcastic giggle. “That’s some serious shit! Are you trying to tell me that Raybourne is another McVeigh! I find that hard to believe. Raybourne is not some loner, and he is not a nutcase either! He isn’t planning to blow up any building with anyone in it. He doesn’t kill people. That’s your job Agent Bowles. He helps them!”

  “So you know what he’s got planned.”

  She caught him off guard. “What! No! I never said that! I just know that Raybourne is an okay guy.”

  “That may be so, Kyle, but you don’t know that part of Gilles Raybourne that we do.”

  “I never told you my name!” He snapped at her

  Time for psychology 101—engage the suspect—make him feel like you know him—find something in common to identify with him. “Okay, I was mistaken. But you do remind me of my younger brother, Kyle. He’s around your age. He looks a lot like you too. He’s studying to become a doctor.” She looked up and smiled at him. “He thinks he can save the world—that’s our Kyle!” She chuckled. “What about you, there must be something special you wanted to do before you got involved in all of this?”

  He gave her an uncomfortable look, and lowered his head for a split second to think. She hoped she had hit a nerve with him.

  “Nothing,” he mumbled. Then he had a change of heart. “Oh, yeah, now I remember—I have always wanted to kill a cop,” he told her with cruel certainty. He sniffled, and his hand went up to wipe his nose.

  She smiled at him, in spite of what he had just said to her. She decided to pretend she hadn’t heard that he had just confessed that he was going to kill her.

  “Come on, Kyle, you shouldn’t sell yourself short. It’s not too late for you to have a go at your dreams, whatever they are. I’m sure you don’t want to spend the rest of your life doing Raybourne’s dirty work for him. I don’t think you enjoy killing people, Kyle. I really don’t. You seem like a good guy. In fact, I know that somewhere deep down, that you are a good person.”

  She leaned back to have a better look of his flushed face.

  “I told you my name is not Kyle!” He raised the gun at her in a threatening way.

  “Okay, then can I call you by your real name?”

  He got angry. “Why is my name so fucking important to you!” He shook the

  gun at her.

  “Because I like knowing the names of the people I’m having a conversation with.” She was coy. She might be able to trick him into telling her his name.

  “This is funny!” He burst out laughing. “I didn’t know we were friends. I don’t even like you. And it wouldn’t make a difference if I tell you my name, anyway, because you are going to be dead by the time I walk out of this parking lot. I am going to put a bullet in your skull right there.” He poked her head with the tip of the gun. “Just like what you did to Jamal, Enrico and Jose, back there. It’s going to be pay back for killing them, and the other men you murdered in cold blood!”

  “Okay, I get it.” She searched his face. She was trying to read him, to see how far she could go with him. “You want revenge for your friends. I get that—an eye for an eye. But can I stand up before you do it.” She tried to move her legs in a sitting position.

  “So that you can tackle me to the ground and shoot me too! No way! Stay where you are!” He used his boot to shove her back down. He jammed the gun hard into her chest. “Don’t move or I will shoot you. I mean it!”

  He appeared mor
e agitated than before. Her hands went up in front of her.

  “Okay, take it easy. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I will put a couple bullets in you if you do.” He gave her fair warning.

  “I know you would, and I don’t want you to do that.”

  She needed to keep him calm. He was probably coming off whatever he had

  taken earlier.

  She lied flat on her back and looked up at him. The last thing she wanted was to

  set him off. He wiped his nose again. He was sweating profusely. Perspiration was running down his face, into his baby-blue eyes, and onto his thin lips. He used the sleeve of his wool jacket to wipe his face again. He was clearing crashing from the cheap cocaine or bad crack he had sniffed. She had to try to get something from him before he loses it completely.

  “How long have you been working for Raybourne?” she asked him.

  She turned on her body cam, and shifted her body around to get a better view of his face. They weren’t required to wear one, but she had grabbed hers when she had pulled into the parking lot, and pinned it on the side of her bullet proof vest. The team would have some thing to go on if she didn’t make it out alive.

  “I don’t have to answer you.” He gave her a hard, defensive look.

  She pressed on, anyway. “What are you and the other guys after?”

  “Jesus, lady, would you ever shut up!” He gave her a nervous look, and ran his fingers through his damp long blond hair. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He was on edge, more so now, than before.

  “I’m only trying to prevent innocent people from getting hurt. You must know

  something. I will be able to help you if you tell me.”

  “You can’t even help your fucking self, lady! Look at you, lying there on the

  ground like a fucking caged animal!” He gave her a loathsome look to make his point.