by Bob Blink
As Tony watched Jake point out their car, Jeff Rineri made a quick phone call. Moments later they all received the call from Eric that indicated the two SUVs were in motion.
"They're moving slowly," Eric said. "It doesn't look like they have any action in mind. It appears they are planning on picking up their riders so they can follow our friends."
"Agreed," Tony said. "These two are drifting back that way to meet them. They have seen the cars, probably memorized the license plate numbers, and need to be ready to follow along behind."
It was what Tony expected. This wasn't the place for an ambush. Several flights had arrived at about the same time, and at the moment the garage was noisy with more than a dozen groups of people making their way through the parking structure. The garage exit would be backed up now, making an escape difficult. He relaxed as he saw Jake start for the exit, and turned toward the stairs that would take him down to the street level. Eric would have already headed to the checkout lane, and would be outside and waiting ahead of all the others. Tony would meet Eric there, and they would proceed down the road ahead of the others until after they had picked up the rental car Shaun had already arranged for Susan. It was easy to implement given they knew the route Jake would be taking, and they would be in contact all the way.
"Are they watching the house?" Susan asked, once they were in place inside the safe house. The two rentals had been secured in the three-car garage, and they were in the main room. They were talking with Tony and Eric, who had parked down the road and were keeping a watch on their pursuers.
"They parked along the road when you turned down the driveway. Four people, all men, made it through the trees and had a look to see where you had gone. Eric and I have eyes on them at the moment. It looks like Martin and Rineri are returning to the cars, and the two other men are settling in to watch. I'd guess that they are going back to San Francisco now that they've located where you are staying. Eric will stay in place and keep an eye on things here. I'm going to follow them to be certain, and assuming that's where they end up, Nate and I will return. It's late, so I can't see them relocating tonight."
"Understood," Susan said with a hint of impatience as they ended the call. She was disappointed that Natalie Rineri wasn't among those outside, and they could finish this now. But if she were what they suspected, there would be no reason to risk her at this point. At least they knew Miss Rineri was here in San Francisco. Now if Shaun could just identify the two others and who lived at the estate where they were staying.
Outside, Tony hurried back to the road, crossed over, and made his way to the turnoff to the farmhouse on the other side of the roadway. He made his way fifty yards down the long driveway to the pullout where he'd left the Pathfinder. Moments later he was on his way back the way they had come, only to be overtaken by one of the two SUVs he'd been following earlier. They passed him by with not a thought beyond wondering why one of the locals might be out driving this late at night. It was easy enough to follow them back to the estate unobserved.
Chapter 40
Very Early Saturday Morning, May 21
Nate had returned to the safe house, making the appearance they hoped would convince the watchers he was the mystery man from the attacks in Brooklyn. It was dark, and the two watchers would have gotten only a vague outline of what he looked like, which might come in handy later. Per instructions, Nate left the car parked outside rather than attempting to hide it in the garage.
Tony had parked the Pathfinder off the back road that bordered the land where the safe house was located, and hiked in to the sniper post where Eric waited as he watched the two men assigned monitor duty. The back route was somewhat shorter, so he moved into position, alerting Eric with their prearranged signal, shortly after Nate had arrived and gone into the house.
The light breeze was from the direction of the watchers, and several times Tony could hear faint snatches of conversation. It wasn't loud enough to make out what was being said, but had he not already known they were there, their carelessness would have alerted him to their presence. The brief conversation that he had with Eric was conducted far more carefully, the words exchanged by cupping their hands around their mouth and speaking very softly a few inches from the other's ears.
"They called in Nate's arrival," Eric said.
Tony nodded. That meant someone was awake somewhere, perhaps not at the estate, which had been entirely dark when he and Nate had left.
"Why don't you go inside and I'll watch them the rest of the night?" Tony suggested.
It was nearly 3 AM, so there wasn't much of the night left. It was likely that things would be busy come the dawn.
"I'm comfortably settled in," Eric replied. "I suspect that you will be the busier of the two of us. You should grab a few hours sleep. Your day has already been far longer than my own."
Tony nodded. He was still on East Coast time, and his body felt that morning was approaching. Quietly he melted away into the dark. It was a simple matter to move toward the house from a direction opposite where the two waiting men were located, giving them no chance of spotting him as he slipped unobserved through the dark shadows and in through the back door. It was unlikely that any action would be triggered tonight based on the darkened mansion Tony had seen in San Francisco, but Eric would alert them should anything develop.
Susan led the early morning meeting they gathered for less than three hours later. The sun was just coming over the horizon, and none had gotten more than a couple of hours sleep, but they had to expect today would bring some kind of action. They had led Martin and his people across the country. Martin knew that those he sought were all present and exactly where they were located. It was unlikely they would be content to simply wait and watch. The isolated location of the safe house offered Martin the most reasonable chance of taking action he was likely to find.
"So you think they will move a sniper into position?" Norm asked as they gathered around the large dining room table.
"They have demonstrated they have the people with the ability to make the kind of shot that would be available here," Jake agreed. "It depends if they are intent on getting a shot at me, or perhaps Nate who they hopefully believe is the other person who was at our previous encounters and might be our Back-Tracker, or whether they simply want to eliminate the lot of us."
"You'll be staying out of sight," Susan reminded Jake. "If we decide to tease them with a target, it'll be someone else who is dressed like you."
"I can't see any gain to giving them a shot at someone," Jim said. "We want them focused on us, but we need to draw out Natalie Rineri and the two men who flew here with her. Has Shaun uncovered anything about them?"
"The larger man who Jake says was at the ambush in New York is named Aaron Walker. He's got a long history with the Mob, and has a known association with Paul Martin. Since Jake says he was killed at the ambush, he can't be their Back-Tracker."
"So it's most likely Miss Rineri or the other man," Jake surmised. "Any word on him?"
Susan shook her head.
"Shaun hasn't found anything on him yet. The photos were poor, and he apparently isn't someone prominent in the Organization."
"An unknown," Jake said. "That suggests that he might be the person we want. I would be surprised, however. I have a strong feeling that Natalie Rineri is my counterpart."
"Or, perhaps that's just what they want us to think," Norm suggested. "Rineri is their Back-Tracker, but they buy her some protection by bringing along this tantalizingly mysterious person. What do you want to bet he'll be available as a potential target when they act? It would be a way for them to test whether this is a setup."
"He might be their sniper," Tony suggested. "There is something about the way he moves that suggests he is trained to move quietly. I don't think he is simply bait."
"According to Jake, Paul Martin was one of their snipers when they made a move against Susan," Jim said.
"They liked to operate in pairs," Jake reminded him. "Th
ey might use the same approach this time. It'll be important for them to take down their target quickly. Tony could be right, and this is the second sniper they used before."
"They might also be hoping to take down both you and Nate simultaneously," Susan suggested. "Since they can't be certain if it's you or the other man who was at the ambush before, they could hope to get both of you out in the open."
"That's why you wanted me to leave the car in the open," Nate said. "You want them to believe we might simply walk out where we'd be exposed."
"All of this is guessing," Susan said. "It doesn't get us any closer to Miss Rineri. We also might have to face an open assault now that they know where we are. We don't know what their plans are. They might not be interested in exactly who our Back-Tracker is. They might simply want to get him and the rest of us and eliminate their problem in one intense attack."
"We are reasonably well armed against that, unless they bring an army," Tony said. He had shown them the impressive array of weapons he'd brought along on the secret plane that had brought him and Jake from the East Coast. The weapons had been distributed the night before. "If matters become too overwhelming, Jake can simply Back-Track, and we can relocate before they arrive. They'd have to know that, so any such attack would have to be based on a plan where they believe they have taken down Jake, and the assault is to deal with the rest of us."
"Okay, so what is our plan for the day?" Susan asked.
"I'll be relieving Eric," Tony said. "We need one of us in position to deal with any snipers they move into place and to watch for Miss Rineri. She's the primary target for now. Any clear shot and I act immediately. Nate will be heading back to the estate to watch for any movement there, be it a relocation or signs they are headed this way. He'll sneak out the back way with me, and take the Pathfinder, which they don't know about yet. We can't make a move against her as long as she is safely inside the walls of that stronghold. If this is to work, she has to come out."
"And if she doesn't?" Norm asked.
"Then we'll have to come up with something to encourage her to do so," Susan said.
"They are watching us, and we are watching them, at two locations," Jim noted. "Hopefully they aren't aware of what is really happening. With their ability to carry back future knowledge, we can never be certain just what they know."
Jake smiled. "Since they are watching, how about we give them some stimulation and see how they react?"
"What do you have in mind?" Nate asked.
"What if Jim and I were to go out for coffee? I'm certain there has to be a Starbucks in Half Moon Bay, and that's only a short drive. There's no danger out there at the moment with only the two watchers. They aren't armed with anything beyond handguns, and are here to watch us, no initiate any action. They'd know they'd almost certainly fail and be concerned the attempt would alert us to their presence. Our showing ourselves without an apparent worry might move Martin and the Rineris to show themselves if they believe I'm going to continue moving around so openly."
"I don't like the idea of you being exposed," Susan said. "Maybe Tony should take your place?"
Jake shook his head.
"I think this time we want them to get a real good look at me. Make certain there is no doubt in their minds that it is me. The substitution game works best if those watching have seen the real thing recently. Then, afterwards, they tend to see what they expect. Jim and I are known to be together a lot, so it will seem natural."
"Give me time to go out the back way and follow you with the Pathfinder," Tony said. "When I come back, I'll relieve Eric who needs to get some sleep."
"I still don't like it," Susan said.
"We can't be too careful," Jake said. "We have to pry Natalie out of that house in San Francisco or all of this is for nothing."
Jake looked at Jim.
"Are you up for a little drive?"
Jim grimaced and nodded. He agreed with Susan that Jake should stay inside, but at least he wouldn't be the primary target if something went wrong.
"Let's go," he said in reply. "I'll drive."
"You get the car and pull it to the front door. I'll come out that way so our friends off in the trees can get a good look," Jake said.
"I've got to get going as well," Nate said. "I need to get back to San Francisco so I can watch the house. With you moving around the odds of spotting something will have increased."
"Let Jake and Jim drive off first," Tony suggested. "They have only one car out there at the moment, and we want them to follow Jake and not you. We don't want them to know we know where they are headquartered."
Jim headed to the garage, and a few minutes later he drove out of the garage bringing the car to the front door. Jake stepped out and walked to the passenger side. Just as he was about to climb in, Norm stepped onto the porch and yelled toward him.
"Trask. Susan changed her mind. She'd like a large Caramel Macchiato."
Jake waved his understanding, knowing the whole thing was for show. Norm had used the Trask name, which is how Martin's men would know him, if at all. Once he was seated in the car, Jim drove off toward the country road.
"They're following," Tony said as he watched one of the two spotters hurry toward the vehicle hidden beyond the trees.
A call from Eric confirmed that one of the two spotters had driven off, the other returning to the trees to continue watching. He was speaking into a cell phone, so their actions were clearly being reported back to someone in San Francisco.
Tony explained to Eric what was happening, and indicated he would be coming out in a few minutes to relieve him. Once they were certain the spotter was headed after Jake and Laney, Tony headed out the back door while Nate climbed into his parked car, took his time turning it around, and headed off. The remaining spotter was intent on watching Nate and reporting the activity back to town, so he wouldn't have spotted Tony if he'd walked openly out the back.
By the time Jake returned from town with their coffees, Tony had settled into the blind where Eric had spent most of the night. A half hour later he detected a pair of vehicles coming down the road from town, both of which pulled into the trees near where the spotters had concealed their other car, which was now back after tailing Jake and Laney to town. The men disappeared into the trees, but not before Tony noted there were three new arrivals, and one carried a case that almost certainly contained a long-range sniper's rifle. Using the high power binoculars he carried, Tony was able to identify the man as the fifth passenger on the airplane the previous day. That appeared to answer one of their questions. Five minutes later the two men that had spent the previous night on watch climbed into their vehicle and headed back toward home. Tony informed those inside of the change in status.
"That almost certainly confirms that Natalie is their Back-Tracker," Susan said with satisfaction. "Now if we can only pry her out of that house in Mission Bay."
"I think it might be time for a drive into San Francisco to visit the local FBI office," Norm suggested.
"It wouldn't be wise to involve anyone from the agency," Jim suggested. He was a little uncomfortable with their plan to openly kill Natalie Rineri, but he understood the reasoning, and knew that once they confirmed she was their key opponent, Jake would be Back-Tracking and none of this would ever happen. Bringing in people from the Bureau would only complicate matters.
"I understand," Norm agreed, "but our friends out there won't. If they see us visiting the Bureau, they might get nervous about what help we might be recruiting, which could prompt them to put whatever plan they are hatching into action. Not only will it get this thing moving, but forcing them to expedite their actions, might cause them to act before they are fully ready, which can only work in our favor."
Fifteen minutes later, Norm and Susan drove off in another of the cars, heading the same direction Nate had taken, but their efforts were rewarded by one of the two spotter cars starting after them a few minutes later. They would proceed into San Francisco, visit the field off
ice on Golden Gate Blvd, and in an hour or so, return here.
Nate had called in indicating he was back in position. He explained that there appeared to be more activity than the evening before, but couldn't judge whether it related to them or not. Jake updated him on Susan and Norm's trip to the city, and then they all sat back to wait, the hardest part of any action like this.
Chapter 41
Saturday Afternoon, May 21
"How do you think they might approach coming after us?" Jim asked, as he, Jake and Eric sat around the dining room table.
"We are somewhat isolated out here, so they have a little time before any help could arrive," Eric said. "I'd guess they'd take out the local cellular tower and cut the land lines in an attempt to isolated us."
"They'd probably be more likely to jam the cellular frequencies," Jake suggested. "That wouldn't alert the cell companies to a problem, and it would take away our cell coverage as well."
"Would that affect Tony's special units?" Jim asked. "I thought they operated in a slightly different frequency band."
"I don't know," Jake admitted. "We'll have to ask Tony, not that it matters. Who would we be calling? Outside of our group, we have no one linked to those units."
"Shaun, maybe?" Jim suggested. "If we needed to get word out for some reason."
Jake checked his watch. Susan and Norm should be back before much longer. Nate hadn't reported any significant changes at the estate, and Tony continued to watch the two remaining spotters outside. He had reported their sniper had set up in one of the spots he and Eric had identified, and could easily be taken down from Tony's current hidden position. The bad news was that their sniper was well enough trained that he kept a watch on more than just the house, forcing Tony to stay put, and making it difficult to impossible for Eric to move into position to support or relieve him.