by Mike Ryan
Finally, after a solid minute or two, the front doors to the van opened. Bridge couldn’t believe his eyes. Getting out of the passenger seat was Greg Kenny.
“That’s him.”
“Who?” Steve asked.
“Kenny. Passenger side.”
“Well, I’ll be. We did get here in time.”
“That’s Kanelos on the driver’s side,” Bridge said.
“Where’s the rest?” Nicole asked.
Just as soon as the words left her lips, the back door to the van opened up. Then Zara Dalton and Chris Abbott exited the vehicle. Bridge kept his eyes focused on Abbott. He looked the same, but different. He had a hat on, but his face looked like it was changed. Not in the plastic surgery kind of way, but as if they put makeup on him. It was something. He couldn’t be sure what.
“Does Chris look different to you?” Nicole asked.
“I was just thinking that,” Bridge answered.
“He looks…” Then she got it and snapped her fingers. “He looks just like his brother. That’s it.”
“They put actor’s makeup, or whatever it’s called, on his face to try to alter his appearance to make him look more like his brother.”
“Looks like it worked. They look almost identical.”
“Yeah.”
“Kind of creepy actually.”
“What would they do that for?” Steve asked.
“Just like we talked about. They must’ve needed Gary to get money out. With him gone, they went to the next best thing: his brother.”
Dalton and Abbott proceeded inside the bank, while the others waited by the van. They still didn’t see Magareth, though, but they figured he must have been inside the back of the truck.
While they waited, Steve radioed down to the other members of the team who were nearby. “Team two, did you see a black van pull up here a little while ago?”
“Roger. We couldn’t get a good look at who was inside, though.”
“Be advised that the occupants are our targets. Repeat, the van is our target. We’ve got visual confirmation that four of the five occupants are definitely inside. The fifth we suspect is as well.”
“What are our orders?”
“We’re gonna start making our way down to your position. If the van beats us there, you start following. Keep your distance. We don’t want to spook them yet. Let’s let them get to their destination first, then we get them.”
“Got it.”
Steve started to get up, but was quickly halted by Bridge. “We should stay here until they’ve gone.”
“What? Why? We know where they’re going.”
“We do?”
“Well, there’s only one road out of here. They have to leave the way they came in.”
“What if they don’t?”
“Where else would they go?”
“Listen, in theory, you’re right,” Bridge said. “But what if they decide to ditch the car up the road there, then disappear into the trees on foot?”
“Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they have another way out. Maybe they have a helicopter in a clearing patch somewhere. I don’t know. But we can’t just assume. We have too much riding on this.”
“He’s right,” Nicole said. “There’s a ninety-five percent chance they’re gonna take that road like we figured. But if they take that other five percent, we’re screwed.”
“Besides, you already have a team in place down there. We don’t need to be right on top of them. Sure, it’ll take us a little while to get back to our car, probably putting us a good twenty, thirty minutes behind them. But we have help. Let’s use it and make sure we don’t make any mistakes.”
Steve thought about it, looking at his two partners. He then nodded. It made sense. “Agreed. We’ll wait. We’ll make sure they use that road. Guess I’m just a little anxious.”
Bridge tapped him on the arm. “Happens to all of us. Your team down there. They good? Can they hold a tail?”
“Yeah. They’re good.”
“Good. We’ll let them take the lead then. Besides, once Dalton and company are out of here, I wanna make sure they don’t dump Abbott somewhere along the side of the road. ‘Cause after they leave that bank, there are no guarantees anymore regarding his safety.”
“Let’s keep eyes on that bank to see what they bring out,” Nicole said. “That’s another reason for staying. If we leave early, we won’t know what they have. Might be helpful for later if things go sideways.”
“If?”
“When?”
It took about twenty minutes before Dalton and Abbott were seen again. They came out of the bank, each holding two black duffel bags. They took them over to the van and placed them in the cargo area.
“Four bags,” Bridge said. “Looks like cash.”
Dalton and Abbott then went back inside the bank again. “Must be a haul,” Nicole said. “They’re going back in for more.”
“You didn’t think they were doing this over pennies, did you?”
“Never know with some of these people.”
Dalton and Abbott came out of the bank again, once again holding a bag in each hand. They went over to the van and placed them inside. Once they were done, Abbott got inside as Dalton went over to the door to shake the hand of someone who was standing there watching.
“Must be the manager or something,” Bridge said.
“Well, whoever it is, looks like they’re finished,” Nicole said. “They’re all getting back in the car.”
“Let’s move!”
They quickly got up from their position and backtracked their way to their vehicle. They moved quicker on the way back then they did on the way there, cutting a few minutes off their time. By the time they got there, they knew the van had already passed them, so they jumped in their vehicle and Steve almost put his foot through the floor.
“Team two, we’re leaving our position now, have you seen the van yet?”
“Negative. Not yet.”
“Keep alert, they should be coming out soon.”
“We’ve got our eyes out.”
Steve sped down the dirty road, hoping to make up some ground on the hopefully unsuspecting gang of criminals. Once they got to the end of the road, they saw the car of Team two. Steve pulled up behind them and they all got out. Steve threw his arms up in disgust.
“What are you still sitting here for?”
“They never came out!”
“What do you mean they never came out?!”
The agent shrugged, not sure how else he could explain it. “They never came out! The van never showed up.”
“How can that be? There’s no other road!”
“What do you want me to say? We didn’t see a car come out.”
Steve put his hands on his head and turned around. “Come on!”
As they continued the spirited discussion, Bridge didn’t pay much attention to it. He folded his arms and put his hand near his mouth, thinking about what could have happened. Nicole came over to him and put her hand on his back.
“What is it?”
“They’re still in there,” Bridge replied.
“But there’s no other roads, and we didn’t see their van anywhere.”
Bridge looked at her. “Which means there’s another road. Maybe it’s hidden. There’s no other way. If they didn’t come out, and we didn’t see a car, then they have to still be in there.”
Nicole nodded, agreeing. They then got Steve’s attention, pulling him away from his conversation.
“Listen, if they didn’t come out, they obviously still have to be in there,” Bridge said. “There must be some type of side road in there that’s hidden.”
“Hidden?” Steve said.
“Maybe there’s a bush or a tree or something lying on the side of the road to mask the entrance. It’s the only explanation. Even if they ditched the car, we would have seen it. So the only logical conclusion is that they still have it. And they’re using
it.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“We go back in there and see if we can find it. While we’re doing that, see if the others can get satellite footage of this area and see if they can find a car moving.” As Steve thought about it, Bridge tried to hurry up his decision. “It’s the only play we got.”
Knowing they had no better options, Steve quickly agreed to the plan. They all got back in their cars and started up the dirt road again. They drove slowly, getting out periodically when they found something they thought might have been a side road. While they did that, Steve had the team back at the substation looking at the satellite footage. A few minutes later, he heard back from them.
“Team one, we’ve got footage of a car moving west of your position.”
“How far up?” Steve asked.
“About a hundred yards from your current location.”
Bridge was now driving and floored it, getting to the spot in no time. They quickly got to the spot and got out of the car, looking around for the road. There was a medium-sized tree on the side of the road, lying on the ground. Bridge and Steve each grabbed one end of it and moved it further along the road.
“There it is,” Nicole said. “Another dirt road.”
“Just small enough to fit a car through,” Steve said.
Bridge sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Question is where’s it going and how far is it gonna take to get there?”
“Only one way to find out,” Nicole said. “Let’s finish this thing.”
22
The van finally came to a stop as it pulled up to a small cabin. It was about thirty minutes west of the bank. As the members of the gang got out of the car, a few of them weren’t so sure about what they were doing there. As Kanelos started taking the bags out of the van and into the house, Kenny wanted some answers.
“What exactly’s going on here? This wasn’t the plan.”
“This was my plan,” Dalton answered. “I just never shared it with you.”
“You wanna explain this?”
“Did you really think we were just gonna come out of that bank without having eyes on us? Once we got out onto that main road, there was probably a fifty-fifty chance we’d be followed. Or at least seen.”
“You know that for sure?”
“No. But I’d rather take extra precautions than assume we’re just smarter than everyone.”
“So what’s this about?”
“We’re gonna wait here for a helicopter to arrive. Should be within half an hour.”
“What is this place?”
“What’s it look like?”
“How’d you know about it?”
“I didn’t,” Dalton said. “This is why Argus was needed. He knew of it. And he also knew of a chopper pilot who could get us to a place where questions wouldn’t be asked. For a small fee of course.”
Kenny looked at Kanelos taking the last of the bags inside. He nodded. “OK.” His eyes then went to Abbott. “He’s not going with us, I assume.”
“We’ll talk about it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Zara. You wanna say you were right about Kanelos, fine, go ahead. But there ain’t no right about Abbott. He’s gotta meet his brother. And now.”
“And what happens if we get out of here and we find a welcoming party for us, huh? If he’s gone, we have nothing left to bargain with. Nothing. You think that little bag of money is gonna stand between you and a bullet? Think again.”
“You’re stalling. Just do it. Do what needs to be done. If you won’t, then I will. Just like last time.”
Kenny walked past her, brushing Dalton in the shoulder. She turned her head to make sure he wasn’t putting a bullet in Abbott’s head right then and there. Kenny marched right inside, where everyone else was already, and Dalton feared what he might have been planning. She quickly went after him, getting there just in time to see him take his pistol out and point it at Abbott.
“No!” Dalton shouted, grabbing Kenny’s arm. “You’re not gonna do this.”
“He’s dead weight, Zara. We all know it except for you. Get your head out of your ass and stop dicking around.” Kenny then pushed Dalton away.
Dalton wasn’t gonna let the brother of the man she loved get killed right in front of her. Not if she could help it. She quickly rushed to get in front of Abbott, standing in front of him.
“If you’re going to kill him, then you’re going to have to kill me first.”
Kenny smiled, then laughed as he put his gun down by his side. “Really? You’re gonna try that trick on me? C’mon, Zara.”
“I’m not letting you kill him. I let you do that once before. I’m not letting you do it again.”
Kenny shrugged. “I guess you win, then.” Kenny raised his arm, pointing his gun at Dalton’s chest. “It’s been nice working with you, but, you know, things happen. Anyway, splitting all the money two ways is a lot better than splitting it three.” Dalton placed her arm behind her back, ready to pull her pistol on him. Kenny was wise to what she was doing, though. “I wouldn’t do it, Zara. You’ll never make it. Sorry it had to come to this.”
Dalton looked at the pistol that was pointed at her. She closed her eyes as the gun fired. She flinched, expecting to feel the pain of the bullet penetrating her body. She was stunned when she felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw blood oozing out of Kenny’s chest. He then dropped to his knees, then to the ground. As he lay there, taking his last breaths, Dalton’s eyes looked up, seeing Kanelos standing there, still pointing the pistol that he had just killed their partner with. He looked at Dalton and nodded.
“Whatever you say’s good with me,” Kanelos said. “He probably would’ve killed me next.”
Dalton took a few steps forward and looked down at the now dead man by her feet. “Yes, Mr. Kenny, it is a shame it had to come to this. But as you said, things happen.” Dalton then turned around and looked at Magareth. She wondered if he was going to have problems. He was more of a friend of Kenny’s than he was with her. They kind of came along together. “Is there something you would like to say, Mr. Magareth?”
Magareth looked down at Kenny, then back at Dalton. “No.”
“Do you have any issues you’d like to air?”
“I’m good.”
“Great. Then we’ll wait for our helicopter to arrive and get out of here together. Agreed?” Dalton looked to the others, both of whom simply nodded in agreement. “One of you should get out there just to make sure we don’t have any visitors.”
“I’ll go.”
As Magareth left the cabin to check security, Dalton looked down at Kenny again. She supposed it would have always come down to this. Although they were still working together, it was more because they had to than because she wanted to. She never forgave him for killing Gary. And she likely never would. She had dreams about pulling the trigger on Kenny, though she wasn’t sure she would ever go through with it. Now it was done.
After about twenty minutes of silence, Dalton’s phone rang. It was the call she’d been waiting for.
“We’re about ten minutes away from your position,” a man said.
“Excellent. We’ll be ready and waiting.”
“How many are coming aboard?”
“Four.”
“Good. See you in a few.”
Dalton went outside to tell the others. She saw them walking near the trees. “We’ve got ten minutes before our ride arrives!”
Magareth continued walking around for a few more minutes before stopping, thinking that he heard something. It almost sounded like a car engine. It was gone now, though. He started walking down the dirt road. Then he saw it. A car. He immediately started running back to the cabin.
“We got company!”
Bridge was hidden behind a tree and jumped out, immediately firing at the running man. Magareth took cover behind the van to return fire. Steve and Nicole were only a few feet away from Bridge, and they also opened up. Within seconds, Dalton and Ka
nelos ran over to the van and also began firing. As both sides fired continuously, Steve shot at the van’s tires, flattening a couple of them.
“There!” Steve shouted. “They aren’t going anywhere now.”
“Somehow I don’t think that was their plan anyway,” Bridge replied.
“Well, what is?”
Nicole looked up at the sky and pointed. “Probably that!”
A helicopter started circling overhead. There was a spot on the other side of the cabin that was clear enough of trees where it could land safely.
“We’re gonna have to circle around if we wanna stop them from getting on that chopper,” Bridge said. “You guys keep them busy.”
“Is that really a choice?” Steve asked.
Bridge smiled, then went back into the woods, trying to make his way around to the other side of their opponents.
“Keep them busy!” Dalton shouted at her partners. “I’m gonna put the bags on the chopper. Then we can all get out together.”
Her partners nodded, continuing to fire as their boss ran into the cabin. As the helicopter landed, Dalton came running out, trying to stay as low to the ground as possible. She had bags in each hand, as well as hanging off of each shoulder. She put them in the chopper.
“Just wait for us!” Dalton told the pilot.
The pilot looked at the activity happening nearby. “I’ll give you two minutes. Then I’m gone.”
Dalton ran back to the cabin to get Abbott. He stood stationary, not really wanting to move. “Come on. I promise I’ll protect you, but I can’t leave you here right now. You have my word.”
Abbott looked at Kenny’s body for a second, then walked over to her. As they went outside, they got down behind the van. Kanelos started to panic and made a beeline for the chopper.
“No!” Dalton yelled. “Wait!”
Kanelos either didn’t hear her or wasn’t interested in listening and kept running. By this time, Bridge had gotten to the other side of the trees, closer to the helicopter. He fired several rounds, a couple of which hit Kanelos in the upper torso. He immediately went down.
Dalton watched him go down. “Shit.”
“Go,” Magareth said. “I’ll cover you. Then when you get to the chopper, cover me.”