Quickly recovering, Loni said. “You need to help me stop some assassinations and save a life at the same time. We need to do it right now.”
“I’m at your service little lady. What do we need to do?” Detective Pellegrino was suddenly doing knife swipes and karate moves.
“How many men do you have that we can use?” Loni asked. “We need them to drop what they are doing and concentrate near the front of the podium right now. There are going to be three assassination attempts and we need to stop them.”
“There are nine of us in the crowd, but we don’t know how to identify the assassins? There are too many Latinos in the crowd.”
“I can help there,” Loni promised. “But you need to follow me right now. Get two more agents to join us. We need to find Colton Banyon in this crowd. He will be very near where the assassins are scheduled to happen.”
“Got it,” he replied.
“Also the assassins will be guided by men in Homeland Security windbreakers.”
“Do they work for Homeland Security?” the detective asked.
“I’m not sure about that,” Loni answered.
As she weaved through the crowd, the red capped Detective Pellegrino spoke into his wrist microphone and soon two additional agents began bulling through the people and following Loni. She spotted Banyon right in the middle of the front row facing away from the impromptu podium where several politicians were mingling around among themselves. He was frantically searching the crowd. He suddenly was concentrating on something across the street. Loni turned and quickly pointed to a white van double-parked across the street.
“There,” she pointed for the FBI man to see. “They came in that white van.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Pellegrino used his wrist microphone and Loni quickly saw four agents appear and rush to the van with guns drawn. The windows were blackened and they could not see inside so the lead agent shouted.
“FBI, come out with your hands up.” Nothing happened. After a minute, one agent opened the rear door. There was no one inside.
“They’re in the crowd,” he yelled into his wrist. The agents once again rushed back across the street looking for suspects.
Loni suddenly heard a report from the comm. center in her earpiece, “There has been a major explosion. It just took place on Paradise Street about six blocks from the convention center. It appears to be a small chemical plant. Do you want to assist?” She noticed several men who stopped in their tracks to listen for directions.
That squawk was immediately followed by directions from Agent Gamble. “It’s a diversion. Let the locals handle it. Stay with the mission. I repeat, stay with the mission.”
Immediately the comm. center broke in again. “Gerut is turning into the convention center and heading for the loading docks. Do you want me to continue to shadow?” The tail had picked him up at the MGM.
“Block his truck and disable it. Then guard the bay,” Agent Gamble said.
“Roger that.”
“Agents with me, wait until a dock door opens, then we will go in,” Agent Gamble said to the men in the vans.
Within thirty seconds everyone heard, “bay door twenty opening.”
“Go,” Gamble ordered.
***
Loni was in the middle of the bludgeoning crowd. Loni turned her head to the right and immediate knew she had found the assassination group. She spied three military-type looking men in jeans and blue windbreakers pushing two small Mexican boys and a slim white man across the street. The men all had Homeland Security written on their windbreakers. The boys looked frightened, the young man looked resigned. It appeared they all were drugged as they stumbled and weaved along the way. The military type thugs had their hands inside their windbreakers. Loni assumed they were holding guns in their hands.
“Suspects at three o’clock from my position,” she spoke into the earpiece. She then started running in their direction.
As soon as she said it the men broke into three groups and headed into the crowd. Eric Grey and his thug headed straight at Banyon. The FBI men trailed all three assassins like cougars after a kill, but had many people between them. Everyone had their hands in their jackets. It looked like the shooting would start any second. Meanwhile, the crowd was growing and compacting near the podium. It was very hard to see as everyone wanted to hear the politicians.
Suddenly the earpieces erupted again, “Gerut is inside and heading for the vault. The sensors indicate that there are three men with him.”
“Acknowledged,” Gamble said. “We only see Gerut.”
***
Loni ran towards Banyon to attempt to protect him. She was five steps away from him when a voice boomed over the loudspeakers.
“Welcome, my friends,” said a grinning Randolph Sanders from the podium. “I am congressman Randolph Sanders.” He appeared to be looking for someone in the crowd. His wife Sarah was inching away from her husband and behind an usher. “I want to welcome all of you loyal citizens to the first of many protests against an evil that is dividing this great country. My pledge….”
The opening speech was disrupted when a shot rang out. The ex-governor of California suddenly gripped his shoulder as blood appeared on his clean white shirt. Loni saw a small Mexican boy holding a gun straight out. He had stunned everyone and had fired before anyone was ready. She also saw a man towering over him and drawing his gun. The three FBI men quickly pounced and knocked both of them to the ground.
Her earpiece came to life once again. It was an urgent request for all agents. “There is a riot in the Garden Arena. We can’t control them All available agents need to assist law enforcement immediately.”
“It’s another diversion,” screamed Loni. She knew thousands of people would panic and be fleeing the arena at any second. They would flood the shooting zone. It occurred to her that the riot was staged to overflow the protest area and give the Homeland Security men a chance to escape. Things were moving very quickly. The earpiece once again became active.
“Where is Lopez?” Gamble said into the earpiece from his location.
“According to the tracker, he has already left the arena and is headed for his warehouse,” a voice replied.
“Get some men on him. Follow him. I’m sure he is expecting a payoff. Arrest anyone he makes contact with. We are hitting his operation in one minute.”
***
Out of the corner of her eye Loni saw Eric Grey being nudged. There was a gun in his back. Eric reluctantly raised his gun to shoot the mayor. Before she could react she saw Banyon rushing the thug with the gun. He hit the man like a freight train and knocked him to the ground. Banyon then spun around and grabbed the gun from Grey. He dropped it to the ground. Loni was only a few feet away when the Homeland Security man leaped back to his feet and aimed his gun. He aimed it at Banyon. She was right beside him now and hit him like a cat on a helpless mouse, furiously kicking and chopping. The much bigger man used his arms absorbed the initial blows, but Loni was a Tasmanian devil and didn’t stop until she managed to kick him in the head. That was when the man dropped his gun and fell to the ground. He was immediately surrounded by FBI agents and they quickly subdued him and put him in handcuffs.
The red capped Pellegrino was one of the men and had grabbed Eric Grey. “Hey, nice going, Loni,” he said with admiration. “You pack quite a wallop in your little frame. Want to roll sometime with me. We had fun last time.”
“Maybe later,” she replied breathlessly.
“When, just give me a time and a place?” he innocently asked.
“Oh, brother,” Loni said. “Are you hitting on me at a crime scene?”
“Well, I wouldn’t put….”
Banyon suddenly grabbed Grey from Pellegrino and started to lead him away. He had a look of determination.
“Hey, you can’t take my prisoner,” Pellegrino said in his slight Brooklyn accent. It came out when he was excited.
“Steve,” Loni said to the agent. “He needs
to come with us now, away from this mess. Agent Gamble told you to assist me right?”
“Well yeah,” he recalled.
“To do whatever is needed, right?”
“But….?”
“Well turn your head and look away. You are doing your country a great service,” she batted her eyes as she manipulated him.
“Only for you Loni,” Pellegrino sincerely replied as he cut the air around him with knife fighting moves. She knew that he was showing off for her.
***
Banyon had Grey by his collar. Eric Grey appeared to be doped and offered no resistance. As Loni watched in horror, two agents suddenly grabbed Banyon and Grey and attempted to handcuff them.
“Uncuff them,” Pellegrino quickly ordered his men.
“Thank you,” Loni said as she dripped charm.
“You had better get him away from here before someone realizes that he is one of the shooters,” he said to Loni.
“See you,” she said cheerfully.
“Anytime babe.” He tipped his cap and was suddenly absorbed into the swarming crowd.
She turned to Banyon and said, “Colt you need to ask me for something?”
“What?” It was all he could muster. She could tell he was in pain, probably from his football tackle of the Homeland Security thug.
“Eric needs a disguise. Ask me for a hat,” Loni yelled above the noise of panicked people that were milling around the area. No one seemed to know what to do. People were starting to understand something was going down in the crowd. The panic started to grow quickly. Loni knew soon people would be running everywhere.
Suddenly getting the picture, Banyon said, “Loni do you have a hat?”
“Well yes I do,” she answered as she handed him a dark felt hat. There was a smile on her face. She flashed her jade ring for him to see and he acknowledged that he understood how she was able to produce the hat.
Banyon fixed the hat on the head of the docile Grey and they started to weave thru the screaming crowd. Suddenly they heard someone scream one word.
“Gun.”
A full-scale panic ensured. People were yelling, throwing their hands up in the air and sprinting in every direction. People fell down and were trampled. It was complete chaos.
The three of them dropped to the ground just as a shot was fired. Loni looked up and saw a huge man with a bear hug on a small Mexican boy. She realized he was not attempting to wrestle the gun away from him, but was actually aiming for the boy. He pulled the trigger. A second shot rang out almost immediately guided by the big man. He now made it look like he was disarming the boy. She was sure he would kill the assassin and claim he was just trying to take the gun away from him. All the FBI men were still searching the crowd or were struggling with the bodyguards of the assassins. She knew there was no one to help, but she had to do something.
“Stay here,” she yelled to Banyon and Grey.
Without hesitation she leaped to her feet and assumed a lethal pose. She covered the distance to the man in short order. Her first kick hit the huge man in the left knee and it buckled. He screamed and turned towards her as he was falling. He let go of the boy and was bringing up the gun to shoot her when she jumped straight at him with her leg extended. She hit him square in the nose. He was knocked out before he hit the ground. Within seconds several FBI agents heaped on to him and also grabbed the stunned boy.
Banyon had just pulled Grey to his feet when he and Loni heard more screams from the podium area. They whirled around and saw Sarah Sanders with her arm around an usher. She had used him as a shield when the second shot was fired at her. He was bleeding from the chest. They watched in disbelief as she simply let him go and he dropped to the ground. A look of distain covered her face as she looked towards her husband. A few feet away Randolph Sanders was lowering a pretty blond girl to the floor. His suit was covered in blood. He had a look of profound lost on his face. Meanwhile, the ex-governor was being helped to a chair while blood pumped from his shoulder. The whole scene looked like a war zone. Only the mayor was unscathed.
At that moment the doors to the casino flew open and thousands of frightened people rushed onto the sidewalk. Sirens from ambulances and fire trucks already filled the air. Police cars screeched to a halt with lights flashing and sirens wailing in the roadway. Many policemen poured out with guns drawn and most headed into the arena. All this added to the pandemonium.
The paramedics knew where they were going and pushed their way through to the podium. They began treating the wounded and covering up the dead.
“We need to get out of here now,” screamed Loni.
She pushed the docile Grey towards the entrance to the hotel. Banyon lead them, knifing through and pushing people aside.
Soon they were safely in their suite.
Loni gave Eric gray a glass of water and told him to drink it. He seemed to be more alert after a few minutes.
“Who are you?” a more coherent Grey asked.
“You don’t know us. But we know who you really are. We were sent to help you,” Banyon answered.
“Who sent you?” a confused Eric Grey.
“You’re Grandfather,” Banyon patiently replied.
Chapter Fifty-Two
“I don’t understand?” Eric exclaimed.
“It is a long story,” replied Banyon. “Sit down and let’s order you something to eat. Then we will tell you everything,” Banyon lied.
“The last thing I had to eat or drink was drugged. Why should I trust you people? I don’t know what is going on. I need to get out of here.”
“Come on,” Loni reasoned. “We saved your life and got you away from the FBI. Trust me. We are trying to help you.”
“But, I don’t understand? I have no living relatives. I only had my grandmother Sally. She died a long time ago. I have never had a grandfather and no one has ever helped me unless they wanted something.” Grey replied with agitation in his voice.
“Calm down and listen to what Colt has to say,” ordered Loni. “We won’t stop you from leaving, but you might at least listen before you go.”
“I’m starved actually,” Eric Grey admitted.
They ordered room service and Banyon started his story. “Your grandfather was a very rich man. Loni and I are private detectives hired by him to find you. We have been looking for you for a long time, years in fact. During that time your grandfather died. But we never have stopped looking for you. We have continued to look and now we found you.” Banyon was spinning a plausible yarn on the fly.
“Why would my grandfather want to find me after all these years?” Eric asked.
“That’s a good question,” Banyon replied, but before he could continue he was suddenly interrupted.
Both Loni and Banyon still had their earpieces open so they could keep updated about the progress of the rest of the operation.
Grey looked at them with confusion in his eyes. Banyon had just stopped talking when his earpiece came alive.
Loni quickly told him a major FBI operation was going on and they had earpieces to listen in to the progress.
Eric Grey nodded his head in acknowledgement folded his arms and sat back patiently while they listened. Meanwhile a knock at the door told them that the food was ready. Loni went and took the food from the bellman and put it in front of Grey. He didn’t touch it.
Banyon and Loni were intently listening to the action. They heard the control center make an announcement. “Field officers report that the first outpost of the Lopez cartel was now under FBI control. Two other outposts were found and are currently under siege. So far no FBI personal have been hurt.”
Secondly, they heard the agents that were following Lopez had made an arrest. Both Lopez and a man named Joseph Campo were taken into custody. Campo had been watching the warehouse from across the street. He was in turn watched by the FBI on the scene. When Lopez arrived, Campo came after him with a gun, but the agents were able to stop him and both men were now in custody.
; The third announcement was very disturbing. It was actually a call for help from Agent Gamble.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Things were not going well at the convention center. Agent Gamble and his men were in serious trouble.
“All available agents are needed at the convention center,” Gamble yelled. Everyone that was listening could hear shots in the background. “We have three agents down and request medical assistance as well.”
Gerut had come to the convention center more prepared than anyone had anticipated. Before he had exited the van he had strapped on a 44 magnum and also had grabbed an AK-47, just in case he needed fire power. He carried a backpack as well.
When Agent Gamble and his agents arrived at the loading dock, Gerut was just turning a corner and no one saw the firepower. The FBI team followed him and took up positions behind round pillars and behind forklifts and pushcarts used to move materials around the huge convention center. It was all standard procedure. They watched as Gerut reached the vault. But the agents could only see Gerut, his three other gang members were invisible. Gerut dropped the backpack and rifle and looked around. When he was satisfied they were alone, he casually extracted the billfold from his back pocket.
Suddenly he roared, “God Damn it.”
“What?” one of the invisible men asked.
“The chant is gone. Someone stole it right out of my pocket. How the hell did anyone get it away from me?” He threw the billfold on the ground in disgust. He immediately began to pace in a circle as he thought about it.
“Think about where you have been,” one of his men proposed.
Suddenly he jerked up his head. “The Jap woman,” he screamed. “She bumped into me on purpose to pick my pocket. She must have known about the chant in it. Somebody knows about our mission. Keep a watch out for trouble, boys.”
“Your right, something is definitely not right, boss,” one of the invisible men said. “It has been too easy to get this far. There was no one in the communications control room and we haven’t seen any guards around at all.”
A Dubious Terrain (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 4) Page 21