Aftershock: A Donovan Nash Novel (A Donovan Nash Thriller)

by Philip Donlay

  “The road splits. Which way?” Donovan let up off the gas as they approached an intersection.

  “They say go to the left,” Eva relayed. “Drive underneath the theatre.”

  As they went into the tunnel, the road curved, and Donovan had no idea how long they’d be invisible to the Scimitar. He hoped they’d be able to pick them up when they came out the other side.

  “They say they know about the car following us.” Eva shot a worried look behind them and then turned to face Donovan. “He says once we exit the tunnel, jump the median and go back the way we came. They’re going to have us switch cars, and if we don’t do exactly what they say, they will shoot the hostage.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Lauren couldn’t take her eyes from the volcanoes that jutted up to the west. They were descending, but the Gulfstream was still above the clouds. She could see three distinct peaks; the closest had a darkish-gray plume coming from the top of the cone that spread out far above them in the atmosphere.

  The Gulfstream plunged into the clouds with a definitive bump, and the outside world turned into an opaque gray nothing. She could hear the familiar sounds of the flaps and gear moving into position, followed by an increase in the noise from the engines. Below her she began to see the ground, not the orderly buildings one saw in the States, but a seemingly random array of buildings, roads, and shacks, some perched precariously on the sides of hills. What little color there was seemed to jump up from the maze of billboards that lined the traffic-filled streets. As they flew lower, Lauren could finally see the airport. She was startled to see the remains of a burned-out airliner off to the side, followed by other derelict planes crammed together next to hangars in various states of disrepair. She knew it was nothing that didn’t exist in the US; Americans were just better at hauling everything out of sight.

  The Gulfstream roared over the end of the runway and touched down. Lauren held her computer in her lap as they decelerated. Out the window, just ahead of them, she spotted the Eco-Watch jet. The door was open and she could see the column of superheated exhaust from the auxiliary power unit distort the air around the tail of the jet. They were getting ready to leave on a mission. If she could get over there in time, she’d at least find Michael and maybe even Donovan as well. She reviewed her story as to why Montero’s photo discovery was so important that she’d chartered a jet and flown to Guatemala. It was a little flimsy, but it would have to do.

  To her relief, the pilots taxied over and pulled into a parking spot not fifty yards from the Galileo. Lauren gathered her things and waited with her passport as the handler and a customs agent came up the stairs. The inspection was cursory, the unsmiling official glanced at her paperwork, then at her, then spoke to the handler. Whatever was discussed was brief, and as soon as the customs officer deplaned, the flight attendant motioned to Lauren that it was okay for her to get up from her seat.

  The crew said their good-byes, repeating that they would wait to hear from her as to when they would return to DC, and reminding her that the volcano could change at any moment. Lauren thanked them and quickly made her way down the steps into the damp morning air. She shook her head at the handler who offered her an umbrella and a ride in his van. She declined. Without waiting for permission to be granted or denied, she set out and hurried across the ramp toward the Galileo. When she was halfway, she saw Michael emerge from the airplane. He went down the steps two at a time and started toward her. Lauren had quit trying to guess what type of reception she thought she’d get from Donovan and William and was happy that Michael was the first person she’d be able to question. As he approached, she couldn’t miss the troubled frown on his face.

  “What are you doing here?” Michael said as soon as he was within earshot. He reached out and took her shoulder bag and then stopped in front of her—waiting for an answer.

  “Where’s Donovan?”

  “You chartered a jet?” Michael replied, his eyes swung from Lauren to the gleaming Gulfstream and then back to her. “I don’t understand?”

  “Where’s Donovan?” Lauren repeated.

  Michael lowered his head and followed. “William is aboard the Galileo, as for Donovan, I think William should be the one to explain.”

  Lauren turned and was about to say something, but the apprehension in Michael’s eyes stopped her. What had happened to Donovan? Michael was usually upbeat and positive. She’d seen him under great stress before, and even then he’d never lost his sense of humor. But right at this moment, looking at Michael, she was more concerned for Donovan than she’d ever been in her life. As she reached the stairs that led up into the Galileo, she could feel the tiny hairs on her neck begin to tingle with fear.

  “Lauren!” William called out the second she stepped into the cabin.

  She took a quick look up into the cockpit, hoping she’d find Donovan sitting there. Instead, she found Craig, who nodded a solemn greeting. As she turned, she saw two people seated at one of the forward science stations. She was familiar with the inner workings of the Eco-Watch jets—it was on a series of hurricane hunter missions that she’d first met Donovan—but it struck her as unusual to have so much interest focused on the instrumentation when the airplane was sitting on the ground. She stepped toward William and discovered the same look of trepidation that she’d found on Michael’s face—a similar expression that seemed to be shared by the other two people in the cabin. “William, what’s going on—where’s Donovan?”

  “Please, sit down.” William stepped away from the computer screens and motioned for Lauren to join him in the rear of the plane.

  Lauren walked past the monitors and slowed, searching for anything familiar that might help her understand what was happening. She could see a grainy, false-color image that she knew was being transmitted by an infrared camera. The lens was focused on a traffic-choked street; next to it was another screen showing the same angle, but this view was being generated by synthetic aperture radar. She glanced at the strangers; the only person that was talking was the young man seated at the console. His voice was low and controlled, but she heard the words Buck and Suburban. None of this made any sense to her. She shook her head in confusion and joined William.

  “What’s going on?” She refused to sit, instead, she met William eye-to-eye and studied his face for clues. “Where’s Donovan and who’s he with?”

  “We’re making the exchange. If everything goes as planned, we’ll have Stephanie back soon.”

  “Donovan’s making the transfer?” Lauren said as she glared at him, questioning.

  “Mr. VanGelder! Buck just confirmed that the Suburban has been abandoned. They’ve changed vehicles or they’re on foot. We’ve lost them.”

  Lauren turned and went to the console. William was right behind her as she struggled to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

  “John, what happened?” William put his hand on the young man’s shoulder and leaned in to get a better view of the screen.

  “They went through an underpass and then doubled back. I never found them when they came out the other side. I’m tracking three potential vehicles they could be in, but they’re all going in different directions now. If they’re on foot they’re doing it carrying the cases of cash. If they step outside, I’ll be able to spot them.”

  “Can you track all three vehicles?” William shot back.

  “For a little while. I’ll have to climb the Scimitar to keep all of them within my field of view. I should be able to track them until our ground units can verify which car they’re in.”

  “Do it,” William ordered, and then turned to Lauren. His tone softened as he started to explain. “We’re making the swap. Donovan has the money, and he’s in phone contact with the kidnappers. We’re using the Scimitar to track them. Buck and his handpicked team are on the ground, ready to move in when it’s time.”

  “But you just lost him!” Lauren felt overwhelmed by what William had just said. She knew all about the Scimitar project, bu
t struggled to grasp the implications that even with all the technology in play, Donovan was somewhere on the streets of Guatemala City. She thought of the brutality of the kidnappings she’d been immersed in for the last three days. She felt her stomach churn as she thought of Donovan’s mental state. How since he’d been pulled back to Central America, he’d been fixated on Meredith and the mistakes he’d made.

  “We’re doing everything we can,” William said.

  “Get him out of there!” Lauren said to William.

  “We can’t.” William shook his head. “It’s too late for that. I’m sorry you had to show up in the middle of this, but you’ll have to trust us—trust me.”

  “Is he alone?” Lauren asked.

  “What is Buck telling us?” William said, as if to avoid Lauren’s question.

  “Buck and his men have narrowed it down to two vehicles,” John replied. “One car is heading north, out of the city. One of his men is trying to get a visual right now. Buck sent two of his team to search where they abandoned the Suburban. The other likely target is coming this way—toward the airport. Buck is trying to get close enough to spot them, but the traffic is getting heavy and he’s ten minutes behind.”

  “Damn it to hell!” William slammed a fist into his open hand.

  “John,” Lauren said, “you just said where they abandoned the Suburban. Who’s with my husband?”

  “She’s a local, she’s also a witness,” William sighed. “The kidnappers demanded she be part of the swap.”

  “And you offered her whatever she wanted and promised to keep her safe?” Lauren replied, and her words caused William to look away.

  “John, how sure are you that you picked up the correct vehicles after they dumped the Suburban?” William asked.

  “Ninety-five percent,” John said with confidence.

  “What if you’re wrong?” Lauren asked. “What if he’s in that five percent and you’ve lost him completely? What do we do then?”

  John looked at William, then turned around and silently faced the console.

  Lauren spun as Michael came up the stairs into the Galileo. He was short of breath from running. Lauren searched out his eyes—more than anything she needed Michael’s strength.

  “I just spoke to Malcolm and Lillian,” Michael said in a rush of words. “They said the seismic activity on Atitlán just went through the roof and that we should stay on the ground.”

  “What does that mean for us—for Donovan?” Lauren demanded.

  “Nothing,” William shot back. “The volcano is one hundred miles away. We’re well out of the range of any immediate threat.”

  Lauren looked into Michael’s face and found a distressed expression that exactly mirrored what she was feeling. Michael seemed to understand and moved to her side.

  “You’ve still got him, right?” Michael floated the question to the others.

  Lauren shook her head solemnly.

  “You lost him? What in the hell happened?” Michael looked at the faces around him for answers and found only silence.

  “I think I might have him!” John maneuvered the Scimitar somewhere above them in the cloudy skies. “Buck just relayed that the car headed north isn’t them. I’m bringing the Scimitar in for a closer look at the final target—the one coming our way. Just give me a second.”

  Lauren squeezed Michael’s arm and stepped closer to the console. The picture on the screen jumped as John rapidly zoomed in on a white car. Lauren wasn’t sure which view would give them the best perspective, and her eyes darted from one monitor to the other. The infrared view zoomed in close, and she could see the ghostly image of the car in question. Heat radiated from its engine and drivetrain. The car rounded a corner and shot past slower vehicles. She let out a silent prayer that it was Donovan they were looking at, that he’d been found and was again under their watchful eye. Lauren focused on the screens, but couldn’t correlate the two together. She didn’t know where the car was in relation to the city—or to her.

  “I think they’re coming to a stop,” John said, as the vehicle made two quick turns and then pulled up next to a building.

  “Where are they?” Lauren asked excitedly, as she watched the car maneuver into a narrow parking spot between two other vehicles. A figure jumped out from behind the wheel, went to the trunk, and pulled out two hard-sided cases. Lauren would recognize his shape and movement anywhere. Donovan.

  “They’re here!” John backed off the zoom and on the screen were the obvious view of a hangar and an assortment of small planes on a ramp. John snapped his head around toward the others. “They’re here at the airport. It’s a hangar up at the north end of the field!”

  “Damn it to hell!” Michael said. “Where’s Buck?”

  “He’ll be here in ten minutes,” John answered, getting immediate confirmation in his headset.

  “That could be ten minutes too late,” Michael said.

  Lauren stared transfixed at the white image she knew was her husband. He’d pulled the cases out of the trunk and was now at the passenger side—helping someone out of the car. In comparison to him, the person was much shorter, more slender, and obviously female. She watched as Donovan and the woman disappeared into the hangar. Moments later, they came out of the building onto the ramp and ran headlong for a small airplane parked nearby.

  “Switch the view from the infrared camera to the high-resolution, real-time optics and zoom in,” Lauren said it as an order, not a request. Moments later, the view showed a raven-haired woman at Donovan’s side as they climbed into the Cessna. “John, grab that image!”

  “Got it,” John replied.

  “Is the Scimitar linked with the Galileo’s server?”

  “Uh, yeah,” John said, “we use it as backup for all the data we collect.

  “Tag that image so I can find it. Now, where’s Buck? How far out is he?” Lauren spoke evenly, though inside she felt as if the life was being sucked out of her. Was this the woman she’d spoken to—the woman who’d been sleeping in Donovan’s hotel room? She looked into the faces of the others for some clue, were they going to stop her husband from getting into the small plane? Was she ever going to see Donovan again—or would her last memory of him be with another woman?

  “Buck’s not going to get here in time,” John said, without turning from the console. “He says to get Janie airborne in the chopper and continue to track the plane. He’ll be here in five minutes.”

  “It’s an amphibian, a Cessna 185,” Michael said. “Once they leave, they’ll be able to land anywhere, a dirt strip somewhere, a lake, even the ocean. If we ever had the upper hand, we just lost it.”

  Lauren watched in distress as the Cessna with Donovan aboard began its takeoff roll. The sound of a propeller plane could be heard from outside the Galileo. She could see Michael’s face contort in frustration. She could also hear the sound of rotor blades spinning up, and she leaned down to look outside. Parked out at the edge of the ramp was a white helicopter that Lauren didn’t recognize, as well as a jumpsuited man in a helmet standing outside.

  “Janie’s flying?” Lauren asked.

  “Yeah,” Michael replied. “She’s with Eric, the pilot from the Atlantic Titan, and Cesar, a flight mechanic on loan to us from the Guatemalan army.”

  “Buck’s pulling up now,” John said.

  “Which way is the Cessna headed?” Michael said through a tightly clenched jaw.

  “South,” John answered. “Due south, toward the ocean. We need to get airborne or I’m going to lose them altogether.”

  “Track them as far as you can,” Michael said as he stepped away. “We’re five times faster than they are. We’ll be able to make up the ground quickly.”

  Michael hurried to the cockpit and slid into the captain’s seat.

  “Michael!” Buck called out as he rushed up the stairs of the Galileo. “Get ready to depart, but don’t start the engines until I tell you.” Without waiting for a reply, Buck dashed to the Scimitar console.
/>
  “Where are they?” Buck asked as he studied the screens.

  “He’s headed south in a Cessna,” Lauren said. She watched as Buck did a double take, and then stood to face her.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Waiting for you, or someone, to tell me what the hell is going on—and what you’re going to do about it! Why are we waiting?”

  “Our military friends are bringing over something I need,” Buck replied coolly, in stark contrast to Lauren’s urgent demands. “Lauren, please trust me, this isn’t as hopeless as it looks.”

  “I have no idea what it looks like,” Lauren answered. “Donovan is with a woman in a small plane with two suitcases full of money. Do we know if Donovan is flying the plane—is she? Or is there someone else onboard?”

  “I picked up three distinct heat sources,” John replied. “There are three people aboard the Cessna.”

  “Lauren,” Buck exhaled heavily. “The woman is harmless, she’s a local named Eva Rios. She knows who took Stephanie. We’ve been protecting her, but when the ransom demands came, they wanted her and the money—she agreed to help. My guess is that the pilot is part of the kidnapping crew. They don’t know we have the ability to follow them, so the advantage is still ours. We’ve got time to react.”

  “Why is Donovan with her—instead of you?”

  “They demanded that he be the courier,” William jumped into the conversation. “We felt that the situation was controllable—that the risks were acceptable.”

  “Is there any chance that this Eva—is the woman from the photos you sent me?” Lauren leveled her gaze at Buck. She felt her nerves crackling in anticipation. The instant she saw the cloud of confusion spread across Buck’s face, she knew that he had no idea what she was talking about.