Restless Wind

by Aimée Thurlo

  “Let me know if you need anything else. My casa is your casa, as they say around here.” She stepped closer and gazed up at him. “Good luck.”

  As they drove to the address she’d given them, Dana laughed. “I felt like the invisible woman back there.”

  “Jealous?” he teased, then shaking his head, added, “Nah, you’re way too secure for that.”

  She thought about what he’d said. “It’s a funny thing about security. I spent most of my life trying to create it for myself-through my job, my friends, my lifestyle. But these past few days, as we fought just to stay alive, I learned that security isn’t a tangible thing, it’s a spiritual outlook. Security comes from courage, and faith, in yourself…and in those you trust.”

  For the first time Ranger saw hope for them and not just for a few stolen moments here and there.

  They reached the address a short time later. Ranger parked about half a block down the street from the small one-story house and waited. “They’re both in there, judging by the two cars in the driveway,” he said after a moment. “Unless one of them has a visitor.”

  “No, Bruce is there. I just saw him pass by the window,” she said, her voice shaky as she handed him the binoculars. “I’ll never forget his face.”

  “Don’t let him get to you,” he said. “He’s going down.”

  “I just remember…him. He was one of the men who questioned the medicine man. When I see his face…I see death.”

  “Stay here,” he said. “I’m moving in.”

  “I’m going with you. There are two of them, and that’s not an even playing field. I can help balance the odds a bit.”

  “All right then. I’ll watch your back and you watch mine.”

  Ranger checked the pistol in his belt, then started the truck and drove down the street. He killed the engine as they got close, and coasted into the driveway silently, blocking both vehicles.

  Ranger nodded to Dana, then climbed out of the pickup and walked over to the door. She stood behind him, and to the left as he knocked hard on the door four times. Then he pushed the doorbell, not taking his finger off.

  “ Del, gotta talk to you, man. Business,” he yelled, faking a southern New Mexico accent.

  As Del yanked open the door, Bruce reached around Del and slammed the door shut.

  “Run!” they heard him yell.

  Ranger kicked the door open instantly and the force of it knocked Del to the floor. Ranger was on him in a second. Grabbing him by the back of the collar, he swung Del around, bouncing him off the wall.

  “If he tries to get up, shoot him wherever you want,” he said, handing Dana a small pistol pulled from his jacket pocket. “And grab that cell phone,” he added, pointing to a unit on the coffee table, an idea forming in his mind.

  Ranger raced across the living room just as Bruce went out the back door, slamming it shut. By the time Ranger opened it again, the fugitive was already pulling himself up the cinder-block wall across the backyard.

  Ranger jumped over the wall, landing in a crouch, his hand on the butt of his pistol. Bruce was nowhere in sight.

  Ranger stood still and listened. Hollow footsteps came from his right. Taking three steps, Ranger jumped down into the dry irrigation ditch that bordered the property. Bruce was fifty feet ahead, sprinting around the curve in the dry channel that ran underneath the street about a hundred yards away.

  Ranger pressed hard, gaining ground, but Bruce ran up the concrete apron lining the ditch at the bridge. A second later a woman screamed.

  Running up the concrete, Ranger reached the street level just as a green pickup raced away, Bruce at the wheel. An elderly Navajo woman lay on her side on the asphalt. As Ranger ran over to help her, the woman rose to her knees, shaking her fist at the departing pickup and cursing colorfully.

  Ranger thought of a few more pertinent words to add to the string of obscenities. He’d lost the race, and there was no way he’d catch up to Bruce anytime soon.

  Ranger made a quick call to Agent Harris, updating him on all the events. Before Harris could go on a tirade, Ranger abruptly ended the call. There’d be hell to pay later, but for now, he had other business.

  After making sure the woman was all right, he returned to Bruce’s duplex. Del was sitting on the floor, and Dana still had him at gunpoint.

  “ Del, you’re in one heckuva lot of trouble,” Ranger said casually, taking a seat across from him. “I’m going to turn you over to the feds, but I need some fast answers. Cooperate with me, and I’ll return the favor when you go before the D.A.”

  “Forget it. I’m not talking,” Del spat out.

  “ Trujillo ’s got his own problems right now,” Ranger said. “I wouldn’t worry about him sending anyone after you.” Even as he said the words, he knew that Trujillo probably still had other assets, and with those he’d be able to buy himself a new bunch of men.

  Del shook his head. “People like that never forgive or forget.”

  Ranger considered it for a moment, then took Dana aside. “I’m going to tie Del up and leave him here for Agent Harris. But you and I need to get going.”

  “What if his brother returns?” Dana countered. “He’ll free Del. ”

  “Bruce won’t be coming back here. He’s probably looking for another vehicle right now.”

  Ranger took the cell phone from Dana, shoved it in his shirt pocket, then tied Del up to the frame of the sofa with rope taken from the curtain rods. They were out of the house five minutes later. Two blocks from the house several police cruisers, sirens blaring, roared past them.

  “What’s next?” she asked.

  He handed her Del ’s cell phone. “Does he have Ignacio on speed dial?”

  Dana checked it out. “There’s an I.T. listed so I think that’s probably him,” she said.

  “Okay. Now I’m going to need something my brother has…or, more accurately, the brotherhood does.”

  This was the first time he’d mentioned the brotherhood by name, and she gave him a surprised look.

  He met her gaze, then focused back on the road. “You’ve risked your life repeatedly to help us. You’ve earned the right to be trusted,” he said.

  “Will the others think that, too?” she asked in a soft voice.

  “Once they know the whole story, yes,” he said slowly. “We can be ruthless with our enemies, but we also know how to honor our friends.”

  He picked up the phone and called Hunter. “I need a piece of equipment-the voice scrambler gizmo. I have plans for it.”

  “Okay, but we can’t use any of our usual drop sites because we don’t know which-if any-have been compromised,” he said. “So go to the place where you used to exchange notes with your first girlfriend, the preacher’s daughter. Remember?”

  “Of course.”

  “It’ll be there in twenty minutes. Give me twenty-five before making the pickup.”

  “Okay. Thanks,” Ranger said, ending the call, then checking his watch.

  As Ranger drove, he explained where they were going. “It’s a huge elm that died years ago, but there’s a knot in the trunk that comes out if you pull, and a space inside for hiding things.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you. Why do you need to disguise your voice?”

  “Using Del ’s phone, I’m going to call Trujillo, and let him assume I’m Del. I’ll tell him that I’ve been taking all the risks and I’m sick of the whole thing. I’ll threaten to spill my guts to the feds unless I get more up-front money.”

  “He’ll suspect a trap. Trujillo knows Del has as much to lose as he does. And what about Bruce? He could contact Trujillo at any time and blow your plan to shreds. We need a better hook.”

  They reached the drop site a short time later and, as they got close to the elm, she saw two sets of initials carved into the trunk. “So who is JB?”

  He grinned. “I had it bad for Janet Begay back then,” he said, working the knot in the center of the trunk loose. “Her father was a preacher, an
d he didn’t allow his daughter to date. She respected that, so, except for trading notes, the only time we had together was at school.”

  Dana watched him carefully as he extracted a small device, then placed it in his shirt pocket.

  “So what does that do?” she asked.

  “You can change the pitch of your voice up and down, and other little tricks. I’m going to use it to fade in and out, like a bad connection.”

  She nodded slowly. “Good. I have a new idea that’ll help us get the evidence we need, and using that device will really help,” she added. “When you call, pretending to be Del, tell him you’ve got the list he wants, but you need a quick payoff because you’re getting out of the area. Unless he can make it worth your while, the list of brotherhood members will go up for sale to the highest bidder.”

  Ranger considered her plan and nodded. “I like it.”

  “I can give you the name of a brotherhood member-one toward the top of the list that the medicine man gave them while drugged,” she added. “ Trujillo ’s probably got that name already and it’ll add credibility to your story.”

  “No. We can’t jeopardize another brotherhood member without his knowledge and consent. I’ll give him my name and my brother’s. Neither will come as a surprise to him,” he said. “My brother Hunter played a key role in the operation that brought Ernesto down. And by now he knows I’ve been guarding you.”

  Ranger hooked up the electronic device to the phone, entered a few code numbers, then made the call to Trujillo, pretending to be Del. After finishing his say, he waited.

  There was a lengthy, tense silence before Trujillo spoke. “There’s no place a traitor can hide and when they find your body, somebody’s going to lose their breakfast.”

  “I’ll be long gone before you ever order the hit,” Ranger countered, “and you don’t have the stones to come out of your hidey hole and do it yourself.” Before Trujillo could speak, Ranger named the price and saw the surprise register on Dana’s face.

  “Cut the crap, Del. You think I’m falling for this scam?” Trujillo shot back in an ice-cold tone. “That list got burned in the fire.”

  “Wrong. That’s what you get for trusting someone outside your family. I obtained it from a guy who held on to it in case he got pulled in by the feds and needed a bargaining chip. But he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore,” Ranger said in a deadly voice.

  “What’s with the connection? You still in the mountains?” Trujillo asked.

  “Good try, ex-boss. Here’s a little incentive. I’ll give you two names from the list just to show you I’m sincere-Hunter and Ranger Blueeyes.”

  There was a pause. “Good choices, but they’re just names. Prove you’ve got the list.”

  Ranger paused. “You’ll see the list when we meet eye-to-eye.”

  “No deal.”

  Dana, realizing that Ranger was losing ground, waved her hand in front of his face, getting his attention, then pointed to herself.

  He shook his head, knowing what she was thinking.

  “Let me go,” she yelled suddenly.

  “What’s going on?” Trujillo asked immediately.

  “TV’s on,” Ranger shot back, glowering at Dana and moving away from her quickly.

  “They’ll catch you,” Dana yelled out, then cried out as if he’d hit her.

  Ranger closed his eyes, then opened them again. There was no turning back now.

  “You’ve got the Seles woman. That’s where you got the list,” Trujillo said flatly. “Where’s Blueeyes…if he’s dead, why haven’t I heard about it?”

  “Your network’s gone, and I’m not admitting anything over a phone. But enough with the questions. You want the list or not?”

  “Bring her-and the list of names-and I’ll have your money in cash.”

  “Here’s where we’ll meet,” Ranger said, then gave him a location near the Brotherhood of Warriors’ operational base. He and his brothers knew that section of the rez like the palms of their hands.

  After Ranger hung up, he glared at Dana. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “You were losing him, and I was going to go with you anyway. What’s the difference?”

  “News flash-you weren’t going. Correction, you aren’t going. There are others I can trust to protect you now.”

  “In your dreams. Think about it a second. The only way to make sure he goes to prison is if I go along. Selling him the list doesn’t mean a thing to the courts, but kidnapping, or attempted murder, will.”

  “The knowledge of the list and what it represents would have implicated him, Dana. Keep in mind that Glint was hired to get that list, and he knew what it was going to be used for. Once Trujillo ’s in custody, Glint will sing his lungs out.”

  “Sorry to break it to you, but I would have come-one way or another. I need to see this through, too. And at least this way you’ll know where I am.”

  “There’s a comforting thought,” he snapped.

  “So now we need to arrange the details of this meet,” she said. “This is your area of expertise. How do we handle this?”

  “With help,” he said as he reached for his phone and punched out his brother’s number.

  “She did what?” came Hunter’s response less than a minute later.

  Ranger glared at her. “It’s too late to change anything now. We’re going to need some heavy duty backup because I can’t guarantee he doesn’t suspect a trap. The only thing I’m sure about is that he’ll come. He’ll risk anything to get his hands on Dana.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The meeting place was to be a site in the desert northeast of the community of Shiprock, just inside reservation land. The bullet-resistant vest she now wore under the heavy jacket was bulky and uncomfortable, not reassuring.

  “Nothing’s ever fool-proof in an operation like this. Just remember, all Trujillo has to do is see you,” Ranger said. “Thanks to the unofficial loan, you’ve got some protection from handguns and shotguns. But remember to stay inside the truck, and if there’s shooting, get down and stay down. The truck’s side door panels are reinforced.”

  They left the highway north of town and headed east along the desert floor. There were oil and gas wells in the area, which meant there were graveled access roads between sites. Their plan was to meet Trujillo at the base of Monument Rocks, the largest formation for miles, just above and west of Eagle Nest Arroyo. From there, no one could get behind them, since the cliff face was directly to their backs. Ranger knew his brother and other brotherhood warriors were already set up in strategic locations, including the arroyo itself. Ranger got out of the truck, and came around to Dana’s side.

  She’d been watching for the past ten minutes, but the only things she could see in the immediate vicinity were grass, brush, rocks and the edge of the arroyo. “Are you sure we’ll have backup? I didn’t even see any tire tracks. Maybe we should have called Agent Harris.”

  “He’ll have his shot at Trujillo -afterward. There’ll be two cameras, directional microphones and several of our people listening in when Trujillo arrives. This is serious tribal business. The FBI may have jurisdiction here, but this is our land and our fight.”

  Ranger saw the flash of a mirror off the windshield and tensed up. “It’s time. Trujillo ’s on his way. That was my brother’s signal.”

  Seconds later, a large black SUV came into view in the distance. “One vehicle. Looks like he didn’t bring backup,” Dana said.

  “A big vehicle like that could hold a baseball team and their gear. Trujillo didn’t come alone. Count on it.”

  Trujillo was driving, and though he was the only person visible, all the windows were down. When he arrived he parked to the left of Ranger’s truck. Seconds later, Trujillo opened his door and climbed out, his vehicle providing him with partial concealment.

  Ranger stepped toward the front of the SUV, wanting to have the cover of the engine in case Trujillo came around with a gun in hand.

  Sudd
enly someone stood up in the SUV, poking his head and arm out of the sunroof. It was Bruce. Ranger ducked below the hood just as Bruce opened fire. The bullets blew away the hood ornament with a loud whine.

  Ranger dove to the ground and rolled to his left, wanting to keep Bruce guessing. As he looked underneath, he realized that Trujillo must have jumped back into the SUV.

  “Go!” Trujillo yelled.

  The doors on the passenger side suddenly flew open, and Bruce and another man leaped out, firing shots at Ranger with pistols as they ran. Bullets kicked up the dust, but Ranger had already disappeared beneath the SUV.

  While one man crouched, trying to see where Ranger had gone, Bruce jumped up on the running board of Ranger’s pickup. He grabbed Dana through the window with his right hand, his pistol now transferred to his left.

  Ranger, on the wrong side of Trujillo ’s vehicle to intervene, made the next best move. He jumped onto the running board, grabbed Trujillo ’s pistol hand and yanked him out the window onto the ground. Trujillo rolled up to his feet, pulled a knife out of a boot sheath, then took one step forward. Suddenly a hail of bullets struck the ground by his feet.

  “Don’t move!” came a shout from above. Trujillo turned his head and stared at Hunter, who was thirty feet up the side of the cliff, aiming a carbine at his head.

  “Don’t shoot!” Trujillo yelled back, letting the knife fall as he raised his hands over his head.

  Dana pulled away from Bruce’s grip, but only to build momentum. She slammed the door with her shoulder as she lifted the handle, whacking Bruce in the face with the side of the door. The blow knocked him to the ground and he dropped his pistol.

  Ranger raced around the back of the SUV, surprising the third man, who was aiming his weapon at Dana. He kicked the man in the ribs, then moved in as the guy scrambled back up to his feet. Ranger landed a solid uppercut, and his opponent went down hard.

  Ranger looked back at Dana and saw her scooping up Bruce’s pistol. Archuleta was flat on his back, holding his bloody face with both hands, moaning.

  “Good work,” Ranger said, noticing two warriors running up from the direction of the arroyo, weapons directed at the men on the ground.