“Not now, D! If I laugh, she’ll probably put me in cuffs and send you to the pound.”
“Not in this life, partner.”
Pascolli walked around the still seething Navarone to stand next to Tom. “I’m backing Officer Huang and Mike in this all the way. I know my partner will too. Agent Ruiz can tell you Tina Kinsler is fine, thanks to these three.”
“May I speak to you privately?” Ruiz indicated to Navarone he wanted a private conversation.
Navarone’s mouth moved as if she were getting ready to spew all over Ruiz. Instead she turned to Mike and pointed at him. “You three stay right where you are!”
Mike, Tom, Pascolli, and Demon watched the animated discussion in hushed voices more than twenty feet away as if staring at a train wreck. Apparently, Ruiz won out. Navarone became less and less animated the longer the discussion went on. The two FBI agents who had accompanied Navarone seemed confused too. They also stared at Ruiz and Navarone in their own silent contemplation.
“Thanks for having our back, guys,” Mike said finally to Tom and Pascolli.
“You’d think she’d be more concerned with going after the two guys with automatic weapons,” Pascolli said.
One of the agents who had accompanied Navarone spoke up. “We’re waiting for a tracker with dogs, and the helicopters to flush them out. They can’t get by the cordon we have in place, but darkness is not our friend here.”
“Want to go get a couple more bad guys, partner? Maybe we can get on this goofy broad’s good side without you having to work the Mojo on her.”
“That’s a good idea, but I doubt she’d be open to it, D. It’s also doubtful she’d let me touch her, so I think we can rule out juicin’ her. I’ll give the volunteer help angle a try.”
Mike faced the agent with Tobian on his nametag who had told them about waiting for a tracker with dogs. “Agent Tobian, Demon and I can find your bad guys.”
Tobian glanced at his partner, who shrugged. “Run the offer by her, Jack.”
Tobian nodded and walked over to join in on the conversation between Ruiz and Navarone. It led to a more agitated discussion with Navarone returning to her arm waving hissing replies. Tobian finally shrugged and walked away. He grinned at his partner as he neared. Tobian then focused his attention on Mike.
“I’m not sure what she’ll decide, but Ruiz drove home the point you two found Santiago, along with rescuing the Kinsler girl. If she goes along with it, make sure you follow her orders to the letter.” Tobian looked at his watch. “It’s nearly 5:30. If we don’t do something soon, we’ll have to concentrate on blocking their escape. If they can get out of the park area, we’re screwed.”
“Rawlins!” Navarone waved at Mike to come over, as another agent handed her a Kevlar vest. “Bring your dog.”
“Good luck, kid,” Pascolli said.
“He’ll need more than luck with Navarone,” Tom added, pointing at his earpiece. “If she allows it, we’ll be in the area. Have Denny keep me in the loop.”
“Denny’s still with us. He’ll be helping me.” Mike walked toward the now angrily gesturing Navarone. “Thanks, I’ll see you both on the other side.”
“I’m here, Tom,” Denny acknowledged. “Hurry it up, Mike, before she stun-gun’s you for hesitation. I’ll bet you and D have traded some real interesting silent bits of conversation.”
“Yeah, we have.” Mike and Demon joined Navarone. She shoved the Kevlar vest at him.
“Put this on. We’re going to give you a chance. I’ll have helicopters starting their searches from the North toward us. See if your dog can track their trail from where we lost them. C’mon.”
Navarone led the way, with a platoon of heavily armed agents fanning out near her. Mike transferred his lapel cam to the vest while he and Demon kept pace. The wind had eased somewhat, making their woodland trek more noticeable to each other as well as to the men they hunted. They could hear and see helicopters off in the distance. Ten minutes later, Demon began moving from side to side, his nose in the air. Navarone glanced back with an annoyed look of disdain.
“What the hell’s wrong with your dog?”
“It’s an ambush, Mike!” Demon told him. “Those scumbags probably heard the helicopters too.”
“Do something like paw the ground to give me something I can say means ambush,” Mike replied in their silent telepathy.
Demon immediately pawed the ground, first with one paw, and then the other.
Mike pointed at Demon. “That’s Demon’s signal for an ambush! We worked out his pawing signal when we battle against the Haunts.”
“Bullshit! C’mon! I’ll show you where we lost their trail. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you and your little doggy.” Navarone grabbed hold of Agent Ruiz’s arm. “Fan out here. If this stupid dog can find anything, I want to be ready to move.”
“Let me go with them, Al. You’re agent in charge.”
Navarone didn’t react to Ruiz’s familiar shortening of her name, but she shook her head no. “I want to see how these two work their scam. Remember, these are those reality show freaks that think there’s an alien invasion of ghosts from another dimension. I’m clearing that nonsense up so I don’t get put in charge of the X-Files.”
“They did find Tina Kinsler, Al.”
Navarone’s lips tightened. “Stay here and get the team ready to move. You and Fluffy follow me, Rawlins.”
Demon growled from beside Mike. “Oh no, no, no… she did not just call me Fluffy! Let her lead, Mike. Get ready to duck when I say so.”
“I don’t want her to die, D.”
“That’s not up to us, partner. Let me get in front of you.”
Mike moved behind Demon, watching Navarone stride through the brush. With the wind no longer blowing in from the Bay to clear the cloud cover, the October overcast sky darkened the late afternoon parkland perceptively. Mike crouched slightly, weaving from side to side, readying himself to move instantly. He trusted Demon’s instincts without question, hoping Navarone didn’t pay with her life for doubting him.
“Now!”
Demon’s voice echoed loudly in Mike’s head. Demon leaped behind a stand of trees on the left. Mike dived right. A burst tore across Navarone’s chest, flinging her into the tree she’d just stepped around. Mike crawled forward, using the tree cover to reach Navarone. He grabbed hold of her vest, yanking her around behind the tree as a second and third burst of fire stitched across the tree where she had been. After positioning Navarone on his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, Mike sped off in a zigzag pattern back the way they had come with Demon joining him. Weaving from tree to tree with bullets smashing into brush and wood around him, Mike called out to the agents he knew would probably be rushing toward them.
“Don’t shoot! I have Navarone! She’s wounded!
“Over here, kid!”
Mike followed Ruiz’s voice to where the agents had found cover in defensive firing positions. He and Demon shot past them into a position behind the tree where Ruiz crouched. Mike laid Navarone on the ground with care before undoing her vest. Out cold, she gulped air into her lungs with short raspy gasps. After removing the vest, Mike loosened her clothing underneath. Her upper right shoulder bled heavily where a bullet had found its way past her vest. Demon hunkered down where Mike could see him.
“They’re moving toward us, Mike. These guys ain’t scared.” Demon pawed the ground noisily, emitting a snarl to go along with it.
“They’re moving in on us, Agent Ruiz,” Mike informed him. He tore Navarone’s shirttail into wide strips and bound her wound with tight wraps around her armpit.
Ruiz looked back at Mike for a moment and then yelled, “Wide angle spaced shots… five second duration… look for muzzle flashes… fire!”
A scream echoed out as the volley of fire from the FBI agents cut a swath through the woods. It didn’t die down when the FBI team ceased fire. Mike watched Ruiz scanning the forest in front of him intently. Automatic weapons fire sounded, bull
ets streaming into the trees. Ruiz fired a short three round burst and the gunfire stopped again. Only the screams of the one man could be heard in the aftermath.
“Stay here with Navarone, Mike,” Ruiz told him. “Can you get your dog to scout for us? I’m certain I got the one that isn’t screaming, but I’m not certain how badly. I don’t want your dog killed though.”
“May I kill the screamer?” Demon began pawing.
“No, not unless you have to, D. Are you sure you want to do this?” Mike asked in their silent manner.
“Piece of cake.”
“He’ll do it, Agent Ruiz. Make sure your men hold fire.”
“Man, that’s some dog you got there, kid. Hold fire!”
Demon leaped into the clearing and bounded across the way to the stance of trees they had taken fire from. Minutes later, Demon dragged a body out into the open. The screams went on, but the one he brought out only had half a head. “The other one had his dick blown off, Mike. Ruiz relieved this guy’s headache.”
“Everything’s clear, Agent Ruiz.”
“How do you know that, Mike?”
“I know Demon. Wait here if you want. I’ll go check it out.” Mike straightened from where he knelt next to Navarone, but Ruiz gestured him to stay.
“I’m a bit more careful than Alisha there. I don’t want anyone under my command wounded or killed unless it’s unavoidable.”
Mike nodded. “I guarantee it’s cool, Sir.”
Ruiz signaled the team into an armed and ready approach, which was carried out with speed and precision. When he received an all clear sign, Ruiz called in for a medical chopper to land at the closest clearing possible. He held out a hand to Mike. “Thank you.”
Mike shook hands and then gestured at Navarone. “Why didn’t she listen to me when I told her it was an ambush?”
Ruiz knelt next to Agent Navarone. He looked over Mike’s makeshift bandages and then patted her hand. “She’s a hard sell, Mike. Sometimes her ambition clouds everything else. You did a first class patch job on the wound. The Medivac team will be here shortly.”
Demon trotted alongside Mike. “Leave her, buddy. She’s poison.”
Mike grinned down at Demon. “Luckily the Darkness has not wiped out my conscience completely, D. Besides, didn’t you tell me to juice her?”
“That was before I realized common sense and logic were a foreign entity to her.”
“Noted,” Mike relayed back silently as he knelt next to Ruiz. “You go ahead and take care of business, Sir. I’ll stay with her until the paramedics get here.”
“Thanks, Mike. Al gets first treatment and evac. I’ll have one of the EMT’s put a shot of painkiller into the other guy. My team looked him over. He’s not going to be much with the ladies if they ever released him from prison. He caught one in the wrong place.”
“Well… boo hoo,” Mike quipped and Ruiz laughed.
“You don’t act much like a seventeen year old kid, Mike.”
Mike pointed at Demon as he knelt again at Navarone’s side to check his makeshift bandages. “My partner here kind of slimed my childhood. His idea of a good time is killing Haunts and throwing down shots and beers. I’ve been corrupted. Now… I kill Haunts and throw down shots and beers.”
Ruiz laughed. “I’ve seen your YouTube vids. Okay, kid… I’ll go get the EMT’s when they land and bring them to you. You and Demon stay put and take care of Navarone. She’s not a bad person. Her ambition clouds her judgment sometimes.”
“Will do.” Mike noticed Navarone’s eyes twitching and a low moan sounding from her trembling lips. He took off his jacket and folded it under her head.
“Juice her, Cap! Hold her hand like you’re checking her pulse or something.”
“Not happenin’, Fluffy. I have enough troubles. Remember, you’re the one that just told me she has no common sense or logic. Now, it’s juice her again. Why the attitude change?”
“I remembered she’s also the contact for Homeland Security. She already thinks we’re quacks and fakers. If we don’t get some help soon when we go inter-dimensional to toast some Haunts on a grand scale, the invasion is going to get ugly. Practice on her. You have the Colloidal Silver running in you Denny came up with. See if you can give her a smaller jolt than the one you gave to Gail the Holy Grail that nearly ended up in a porno scene in the school parking lot.”
“Thanks for that reminder.” Mike hesitated. When he heard a helicopter land in one of the clearings nearby, he gripped Navarone’s wrist firmly, actually checking her pulse while concentrating on giving her a more favorable attitude. He released her within seconds so as not to overdo it. “I hope that wasn’t too much.”
Demon snorted. “Why? If you gave her too much Mojo, you can always go biblical on her. Then we can pull the ‘Cougar corrupting an underage innocent teen card’ to get what we need.”
Mike’s muffled laughter seemed to revive Navarone. She began groaning, and turning her head from side to side. Her eyes fluttered open, a scream starting in her throat.
“Easy… stay still… you’re okay. The paramedics will be here shortly,” Mike soothed, while restraining her movement. “You have a shoulder wound, so try not to move.”
“Jesus… my shoulder feels like… like it’s on fire. My chest feels crushed. I…” Navarone squinted up at Mike. “Who… oh… Rawlins?”
“Yep, Mike Rawlins, Agent Navarone. Agent Ruiz is bringing the paramedics right now to get you loaded out of here.”
Tears started at the corners of her eyes. Her mouth tightened into a grimace as she gripped her wounded arm with her good one. Navarone moaned, turning away from Mike. By then Ruiz led three paramedics over. They had a collapsible stretcher. Mike got out of their way, moving over next to Ruiz.
“She’s conscious but in a lot of pain. The bullets stitched right across her vest so her chest is really bruised up.”
The one woman with the medical team acknowledged Mike’s information. “We’ll take her vitals and then give her something for the pain.”
“She gets loaded first. I’ll take you over to the wounded bad guy afterward,” Ruiz said. “He’s not screaming anymore so I guess he passed out.”
“You’re the boss.”
Ruiz pulled Mike aside. “Want to ride back in the chopper?”
“No. If it’s okay with you, Demon and I will just walk out the way we came. I know you have to deal with crime scenes and dead people so can we just leave you to it.”
Ruiz shook hands with Mike and gave him his card. “I’ll be in touch. If you need help with any questions, clam up and call me. I’d rather the details about this not get out before we talk again.”
“You have my word on it. Let me know how you’d like the story told, and that’ll be the way I tell it. I won’t talk until I hear from you.”
Ruiz seemed surprised at Mike’s offer. “You’re okay, Mike. I appreciate that. I’m going to look into that Haunt invasion business with a more wide open mind than Navarone. I will put in a good word for you with HS. After seeing you and Demon in action, I’m not taking anything for granted. Be careful on the walk back.”
Mike chuckled. “We will. See you soon, I guess.”
Chapter Five
Intimate Good News
Demon led the way. “At least we have him on our side. Hopefully, if the jolt you gave the doubting ditz works, we’ll have a solid beginning climbing this stupid bureaucratic ladder.”
“We finished with this gig pretty fast, D. Maybe we can still have a little fun with Frodo and his harem.”
“You’d better check in, Cap. Those vids of us on this mission must have gotten real exciting for the home crew.”
Mike’s hand went to the lapel cam he’d attached to the Kevlar vest. “Oh boy.”
“Just thought of us recorders, huh, Mike?” Denny’s voice came on in Mike’s ear. “That, brother, was some intense screen time. I’ve been keeping silent. When I saw things start going into Mike land I cut off Laura’s feed.�
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“Thanks. We need the video so in case the FBI forgets who the bad guys were in this. Demon made me juice Navarone. He’s out of control, Den.”
“As long as it works and Ruiz gets on board I don’t care how you did it. We need help. Tell Fluffy good job.”
Mike laughed. “You heard that, huh?”
“I only wish I could have heard him react to it.”
“Yeah, I wish you could have too.” Mike turned to relay the remark to Demon.
“You’re toast, Frodo! I’m going to munch me some Hobbit!”
“What did he say, Mike?” Denny asked after a moment. “I’ll bet it was good.”
“We’ll reach the parking lot in probably ten minutes. Lock the limo.”
“That good huh?”
“Is the parking lot still off limits to media, Den?”
“Yeah, no one but medical units and police have been allowed anywhere within a block of the parking lot. I have to tell you one thing though. I let Tom and Deputy Pascolli watch the video live. I didn’t think it would get that hairy. They were part of the team that drove Tina Kinsler to the hospital after they checked her out here. She had been asking for Tom.”
“I have permission to take off from Agent Ruiz. Think we can slip away in the limo?”
“Wait one.” Denny came back on line five minutes later. “They’re opening a path for us. It seems pretty clear, but I don’t know how far they have the traffic blocked off down the road. Most of the media followed Tina Kinsler and her escorts to the hospital where they can bother everyone like a bunch of swarming gnats.”
“Good, see you in a few. I’m going to open the driver’s door, let D jump in, start the car, and haul ass out of there. Check and see if your dates need rides home.”
“Okay, but no funny business. We may pull this off, Mike. I don’t think anybody but the police and FBI even know we were in on this. That will be a plus so your Mom and Dad don’t get bull rushed by a media feeding frenzy. I know they won’t let any of those ghouls near Tina yet.”
“It’ll at least give us some time. I doubt we can avoid a lot. Santiago’s dead, and you can bet the media will be out there digging into everyone from his first grade teacher to his heartbroken Grandma, all in line to tell us about what a good boy he was.”
Demon at War (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 3) Page 6