“Welcome back, kiddo.” I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
Mark leaned in, bracing his hands on the driver’s seat. “How long before they send someone to get you?”
“Any minute now,” she answered. Fear clogged her voice. What the hell had those bastards done to her?“Who?” Mark asked.
“Usually Timmy. He’s short and kinda fat. Since there’s a meeting tonight, Cody will be dealing with that. It’ll be Timmy or this other guy they call Boots.
He wears these huge black Doc Martens with white power fists painted on the outsides in red. They go up almost to his knees. He was there tonight, so he might come. He’s pretty scary.”
So Ray-Bans is Boots. A guy known only by the articles of clothing he wears.
Mark reached for his handset and spoke quietly into it.
Or they might not send anyone, I thought. Because they just might be busy over there. I watched Mark for a bit. I was still holding on to Megan’s hand, clammy in mine. Why are we still here? Why don’t we leave?
“Company,” Mark said. And then the front passenger side window exploded in a thousand shards of glass. I automatically balled into a fetal position. I heard the sharp pops of gunfire and three thunks as bullets hit the passenger side. Mark returned fire. Without thinking, I hauled Megan to my side of the car and positioned myself over her. She screamed and started crying, trying to cover her head with her hands. Her fists smacked me in the face a couple of times. Mark shouted into his headset.
“Suspects are on the move! Requesting back-up!”
Shouts and screams erupted in the parking lot.
Farther away a few gunshots popped in the air. Holy shit! “Stay with the vehicle!” Mark ordered. He took off running across the parking lot toward Partridge.
“Stay down,” I said to Megan, trying to keep my voice calm but Jesus Christ, we had just been shot at and I had no frame of reference for that. I climbed over her and got into the driver’s seat. Mark had left the keys in the ignition. One of the Allsup’s clerks was standing out in front of the store shouting into a cell phone. Two people by the gas pumps were doing the same thing. I glanced out the broken window and my blood froze. Four skinheads approached the Allsup’s from across the side street that intersected with Partridge. Two had baseball bats and the other two carried chains. They looked really pissed off and they were headed right for the Chevy. How had Mark missed them?
“We’re about to have some more company,” I said, trying to sound pleasant as I turned the key. Good fucking God. The clerk saw them coming and he ran inside and pulled the door shut. I rammed the Chevy into reverse and slammed my foot onto the accelerator. The skins were running now and they caught up with the Blazer and banged on it while I tried to get the vehicle into drive. Megan moaned and whimpered in the back seat. The skins got in a few good swings with their makeshift weapons.
Metal slammed against metal as a chain thunked against the driver’s side and a dull thud and the tinkle of glass breaking advertised that one had smashed the right headlight. I inappropriately thought that Mark was not going to be happy about the damage to his vehicle. Megan was screaming again but I focused on getting us out of there. I rammed the gearshift into drive and accelerated. The tires screeched. The skins dodged out of the way but chased me as I roared onto the side street that Chris and I had taken just a few days earlier. I barely avoided another car whose driver laid on the horn and swerved into the Allsup’s parking lot. I thought I heard sirens somewhere in the distance.
Megan started sobbing and mumbling.
“Sorry, kiddo. Hang in there.” How the hell am I sounding so calm? Gunfire split the evening air again and too late, I realized I was headed toward it. I glanced in the rearview mirror. The skins from Allsup’s were still running after me. It would take a few seconds to pull a U-turn. More than enough time for them to catch up. And they might be armed with other weapons. As if he heard me, one carrying a baseball bat pulled a pistol out of his pocket. I saw him take aim and fire. He missed and my peripheral vision registered a flash of movement to the right.
Mark, standing on the corner of Partridge and this street. He gesticulated wildly at me. I accelerated directly for him.
“Hang on, Megan!” I slammed on the brakes and Mark pulled the passenger door open and threw himself onto the seat, directly on the glass. His left shoulder was stained with blood.
“Fuck!” I shouted.
“Go straight!” He grabbed the handset and started barking instructions into it. More gunfire from the asshole behind me actually hit this time. With a dull plunk, a bullet found the tailgate. I slammed the accelerator hard and roared down the street, hoping no kids or dogs ran out in front of me. Mark requested more back-up to handle the four from Allsup’s.
“Turn right,” he commanded. I did and drove for a block. “Right again.”
He was bringing us in from the other side. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea until I saw several police cars with flashing lights lining both sides of the street. Several police officers trained weapons directly at us. Mark leaned out the window and shouted, holding his badge up. I slammed on the brakes and he got out. I turned the engine off and put my hands up. Megan was silent. I turned to check on her. She was rocking back and forth on the floor of the SUV.
“It’s okay,” I said softly. “We’re surrounded by cops. We’re okay.”
Four officers approached the vehicle, guns down.
“Everything all right?” A guy with the Sheriff’s Department addressed me.
“We’re fine. Mark’s hurt.”
“We’re getting him help.”
“Can I get out and help her?” I asked, gesturing at Megan.
“Sure.”
I left the keys in the ignition and exited the SUV. I opened the passenger door behind the driver’s seat and got in so that I could pull Megan gently up onto the seat, making sure no glass was in her way. I hugged her and she started crying again. I felt numb, watching officers milling around, guns and rifles ready. A half-block up and to my right, I knew, was the house. I heard more sirens and a couple of ambulances pulled up on Partridge. Please, Chris. Be okay. An EMT approached. She was about my age though sort of matronly in her demeanor.
“How’s it going? Detective Aragon wanted us to check you over.”
I managed a smile. “Nothing physical. But we’ve got a lot of emotional.” I carefully released Megan.
The EMT wore blue gloves. I held my arms out for her. She inspected them, then went around to Megan’s side and opened the door. She gently looked Megan over. “I’m going to recommend a full medical examination tonight. I think we should take her in.
Just to make sure.”
Megan looked at me, scared.
“Can I come with her?”
“Absolutely,” the EMT said.
I got out of the car just as a tall figure approached at a fast clip. In the near-dark I barely recognized Chris. Thank God.
“Are you okay?” She strode over to me, half cop, half best friend.
“Yeah. Megan’s a little fucked up. They want to take her to the hospital for a complete check-up. I’m going with her.”
Chris looked at the EMT. She pulled out her badge. “Can I take them?”
The EMT nodded when she saw Chris’s ID. “Sure.
I’ll call ahead and make sure everything’s set up.
Take her to Presbyterian. Go in through the emergency entrance and ask at the desk for Jenny Holcomb. She’s the PA I’m going to contact.”
“Thanks.” To me, Chris said, “Hold on a minute.
I’m going to clear this with Mark. Eventually, you’re both going to have to come in for statements. But let’s do this exam first.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be right back. And we need to get out of here.
The media’s arriving. But don’t move until I get back,” she said in her cop voice.
“No, ma’am.” I watched her stride back into the group of c
ops. Automatically, I reached for my phone and dialed Melissa’s number.
“Hello? K.C.? What’s going on?”
“Hey. We’re okay. Megan’s here. The EMT is checking her over but we’re going to go to Presbyterian for a complete workover.”
“Oh, my God. She’s there? With you?”
“Yeah. You want to talk to her?”
“No, not yet. There’s too much I want to say. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“Okay. We’ll be going into the emergency room.
Ask for Jenny Holcomb, the PA.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied. “We’ll see you at the hospital.” We hung up. I returned to Mark’s Blazer. Megan was leaning against the back seat, a strange little smile on her face. The EMT waved at me and walked toward the house. Chris returned about five minutes later.
Without a word, Megan and I followed her, my arm around her shoulders. Chris had parked her car down the block behind us. Without a word, we all got in.
Megan stretched out on the back seat, drained, like she’d been running on nothing but adrenaline for months and now she could relax. I buckled up, grunting because of the vest. Chris started the engine and did a U-turn. I had never been so scared in my life. All I could do right now was try to keep breathing.
Once on the freeway, Chris took my hand and held it all the way to the hospital.
Chapter Twenty
I SAT STARING at the television in the corner of the waiting room on the fifth floor of Presbyterian Hospital. I didn’t know what was showing because it wasn’t registering. Three other people occupied various chairs in the same room, which was that basic modern hospital lobby-type. Bland blue industrial carpet. Generic art on the walls. Pastels. One of the other people was a Hispanic woman with someone who was probably her son and the other was an older white guy. Chris was in with Melissa, Megan, and a couple of detectives I didn’t know.
Megan was, as I suspected, malnourished and dehydrated. The docs wanted to keep her overnight for observation while they IV’d fluids into her. Megan had relaxed considerably after we arrived at the hospital. I called Melissa and stayed with Megan until Melissa arrived, on the verge of relief and freak-out. I didn’t tell her anything about what had happened.
She already looked a bit high-strung. She hugged me for a long time before she went to sit with Megan.
I was tired and hungry but I didn’t feel like eating. I kept hearing an explosion of glass and the thud of bullets into metal. I called Sage when we got to the hospital around nine-thirty and left a message, explaining what we were doing. I figured she’d be busy in Santa Fe until late. So I sat waiting for Melissa to dismiss me. Or Chris to do it. Or something. It occurred to me that my car was still at APD.
“Ms. Fontero?”
I looked up. One of the detectives. Trim, wiry, bespectacled. He was about my height and probably a few years older than I was. “I’m Troy Bedford, with APD. This is Gus Clayton, with the FBI.” I looked at the second man. This pair was like Mutt and Jeff. Gus was tall and solid. He probably stood six-four. “We’d like to get a statement from you, if you’re amenable.”
Troy was soft-spoken and I greatly appreciated his gentle demeanor.
“Sure.” I stood and followed them into an unoccupied office left open for the occasion. I sat in yet another hospital chair and for the next thirty minutes told them what had happened in Edgewood.
Troy asked a few questions that helped flesh out some details. When they finished, Gus gave me his card.
“Give me a call in the next couple of days so that I can get the big picture.”
I knew what he meant. I took the card and put it in the front pocket of my jeans. “Can I see Megan?”
“Sure,” Gus said. He had a surprisingly light voice for such a big man.
“Ms. Fontero—” Troy started.
I waited.
“You’re not leaving town any time soon, are you?”
“As much as I would love to get in my car and drive back to Austin at this very second, no. I’ll be here as long as necessary, I guess.”
Troy smiled but he didn’t look like he was sure whether I was joking or not. I left and headed down the hall to Megan’s room. Chris was just exiting.
“Hey,” she said. “How are you?”
“Fucked up.”
She stood looking at me. “Where do you want to go tonight?”
“Honestly, Chris, I don’t know.”
“I have to debrief so I’ll be tied up for a bit at the station.”
“My car’s there,” I said.
“It’ll be fine.” She gave me a once-over. “I’ll take you back to Megan’s. At least Sage and Jeff are right there if you need anything.”
I wasn’t sure what she said was getting through. I wanted to cry. Or yell. Maybe kick something. I buried all of it. “Let me check on Megan and Melissa.”
“I’ll be right here.” Chris squeezed my arm as I brushed past her.
Melissa looked up at me when I came in. Megan was lying in bed, a drip attached to her left arm. She looked much better than earlier but her eyes...I had a friend who was a Vietnam War veteran. He’d get that same expression sometimes. Wary and old beyond his years. Melissa stood up and pulled me into another long hug.
“I never expected you to pull a SWAT imitation,”
she said, sounding worried, angry, and relieved all at the same time. She started to cry, not for the first time that night.
“Me, either. And I will never do that shit ever again. Count on it.” I held on to her.
“Thank you,” Melissa said through her tears.
“K.C.” Megan’s voice sounded weak.
Melissa released me and I leaned over the bed. I took Megan’s proffered right hand. “You look much better. Please tell me you’ll eat from now on.”
She laughed. The effort seemed to wear her out. “I want to talk to you later, okay?”
“I’ll be around. I can’t leave ’til they’re done with me. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“You need some sleep,” Melissa said softly. “Do—
”
“Nah, I’m okay. Chris is going to take me back to Megan’s. I’ll deal with my car later. Sage and Jeff are right there. What about you?”
“I’m staying here.”
“Good. If you need anything, call me.”
“Chris gave me her number, too. She seems to think you might be kind of tired for the next couple of days.”
At first I was confused until I remembered what she’d told me in the past about post-adrenaline recovery. “She’s probably right. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, probably.” I leaned down and kissed Megan on the forehead. “It is so good to have you back.”
A tear slid down her cheek.
I hugged Melissa again and left. Chris stood out in the hall talking to Troy and Gus. “All right,” she said to me. “Let’s go.” She cut her conversation short with them and walked me to the elevator. We didn’t talk on the way down and I followed her silently out of the hospital to the parking lot. She unlocked and opened the passenger door of her car for me. I got in and buckled up, on autopilot as Chris settled herself in the driver’s seat, buckled up, and turned the key.
“Chris, I am majorly fucked up,” I announced.
She turned the car off and gave me her full attention.
“That was beyond scary. I feel pissed off, scared, freaked-out—shit, I don’t know what I feel.”
She kept quiet, letting me vent.
“I mean, what the fuck? Those assholes were fucking shooting at us! What the hell? What is wrong with people?”
“They got lost somewhere along the way,” she said quietly. She reached over and took my hand.
“You were really brave today. You scared the living shit out of me, but given what happened, you did what you had to do.”
“I wish I had just gotten on the main road and kept going.”
“But then Mark might’
ve been worse off than he was. Nobody predicted that shit at Allsup’s and we sure as hell didn’t think there’d be so many of them at that meeting. That’s police work for you. You plan and plan but there could be contingencies.”
“I’m sorry, Chris. I am so sorry for all of this.
You’re right. The reality is a lot different than the research. I will never put you in a position like that again.”
She unbuckled and leaned over to awkwardly hug me. “Hey, it all worked out. Mark’s okay. It was a cut from flying glass. Nobody else got seriously hurt, with the exception of a couple of the bad guys.” She leaned back.
“Speaking of which,” I said softly.
“Later. I’ll tell you what’s going on later. But we did get Cody and Watkins is on the run. Right now, you need to get some sleep.” She buckled up again and started the engine. By the time she pulled up in front of Sage and Jeff’s, we were bantering back and forth about who kicked the most ass. I felt a little better as I got out, partially because venting with Chris had helped and also because we had stopped at a Wendy’s and Chris had bought me a burger. I noticed that neither Sage nor Jeff was home, as their cars were both gone though the porch light was on.
Chris noticed, too. “You all right until they get back?”
I knew Chris felt badly about not being able to stay with me. I tried to put her at ease. “Fine. Sage gave me a key to the big house. I think I’ll just hang out there ’til one of them gets home.” I wasn’t worried about Ray coming around again. The heat was on his ass, and he wouldn’t risk it.
“Okay.” She held my gaze for a long moment. “I’ll check in tomorrow. There’s a lot of shit that needs to get sorted out, so I hope you can stick around. Te amo, esa.”“I’m planning on it. And I love you back, Detective Wonder Woman.” I showed Chris that I had my keys and waved. Still, she waited until I was at the front door of the big house and had opened it. She then pulled away from the curb. I went in and stood looking around, not really sure what I felt like doing.
My phone rang, surprising me. I pulled it off the waistband of my jeans and looked at it. Sage.
“Hi,” I answered. “How’d it go?”
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