“Where are you?” Bastian snapped.
“Behind the Sotos. But they’re getting away. That damned truck of his is a rocket.”
“Keep after them. Are you in the lead vehicle?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see anything at the hotel?”
“We didn’t stop. The Sotos were pulling away when we arrived.”
“Damn.”
“Why?”
“Looks like they had help. The woman Antonio broadcast a few hours ago.”
“Woman!” A pause. “Now everything makes sense…”
“What are you talking about?”
“When the Sotos were in front of the hotel, they were talking to a family. Then everyone loaded into their car and they took off.”
Bastian nodded. “When you catch up to them, kill the woman if you can’t take her alive.”
“Will do.”
“And be careful. It looks like she’s working with the Sotos. Which means the warning that accompanied the photo wasn’t a mistake. She’s dangerous as a snake. We’ve already lost six good men tonight to her. Don’t make it seven.”
“I understand.”
“I’m heading back to the safe house. Call me with updates every ten minutes.”
“Okay. It looks like they’re heading north. Into the mountains.”
Bastian frowned. “There’s nothing there.”
“Maybe that’s the point. They’ve already gained maybe half a kilometer on us. They’ll probably gain another before I call you again. They’re going to try to outrun us.”
“Keep after them. I’ll make some calls and see if we have anyone up in Cabildo or La Ligua who can come the other way and cut them off.”
“There are a lot of smaller roads once we’re in the mountains.”
“Don’t lose them. Between the Sotos and the woman, this is the biggest payday we’ll ever get.”
Bastian’s final call went out to Antonio, who was not only still awake but alert, in spite of the hour, which didn’t surprise Bastian. This was arguably the most important night of his life: the culmination of months of planning and the effective change of power in the entire nation’s underworld in a matter of hours. Bastian told him about the woman and the Sotos, and while Antonio tried to sound calm, Bastian could tell that he was annoyed that the attack hadn’t gone as planned, as well as excited that they’d located the woman so quickly.
Leonid awoke from a sound sleep and gazed groggily around his hotel room before his eyes landed on his cell phone, which was glowing and vibrating on the night table. He reached over to it and sat up as he answered.
“Yes?”
“Señor Ross? This is Antonio. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“No problem. What can I do for you?”
“We’ve found your mystery woman.”
Leonid switched on the bedside lamp and threw the sheets off, now fully awake. “Where?”
“She was involved in a gun battle at a hotel. We’re in pursuit of her now. There’s no way she can get away. She and her accomplices are on a mountain road with nowhere to go.”
“Accomplices? What are you talking about?”
Antonio gave Leonid an abridged version of the events at the hotel. “I hope to have good news for you soon.”
“Antonio, listen to me very carefully. This woman is not to be trifled with. She’s more than a match for anything you can throw at her. No disrespect, but I thought my instructions were clear. I was to be notified–”
“Which you have been. Unfortunately, your agenda doesn’t align with mine. The men in the car with her are of considerably more importance to me than she is, and watching them from a safe distance wasn’t an option. As you say, no disrespect, but do not come to my country and lecture me on how to best proceed. I have my priorities clear. I’ll call you when I have more information.”
Leonid fumed at the crime lord’s arrogant dismissal but bit his tongue. It would do no good to anger the man who had his quarry in sight.
“Very well. I’ll wait for your call. I can’t tell you how…disappointed I’ll be if she gets away.”
“Thank you for the reminder. I’ll be in touch.”
Leonid found himself staring at the cell phone, the line dead in his hand.
Idiots. They had no idea what they were dealing with. The woman had scaled a twenty-story building in Moscow, defeated advanced security systems, killed one of the most powerful oligarchs in Russia and escaped from an army of elite ex-commandos seemingly without breaking a sweat. Now it sounded like she’d painted a hotel with the blood of Antonio’s top execution squad.
He took deep breaths to calm himself. Things were out of his hands. He could only pray that she made some critical mistake, because otherwise his money was on her escaping just as she had in Argentina.
Leonid hoped he was wrong but afraid that he was right.
He stood and paced as he called the other members of his team in Santiago and filled them in, and then contacted the remaining group in Mendoza. He wanted them in Chile at first light – they were to drive their rental cars over the pass and meet him in the morning. None of the men questioned the order, and he knew that they would be departing Mendoza minutes later.
Leonid sat back down, having done everything he could, and plugged his phone into the charger as he waited for news. The surge of adrenaline from closing in on his quarry made further sleep impossible. Ten million dollars had never been closer, and with any luck, within the next twenty-four hours he would be able to claim it and get back to Russia, finished with South American backwaters for good.
Chapter 13
San Felipe, Chile
The Land Rover streaked through the night, the powerful V-8 engine propelling it to ever higher speeds as it rocketed along the rural two-lane strip of country asphalt that paralleled the dry riverbank running north. Jet’s knuckles were white as she gripped the door handle while holding Hannah’s hand with her left. She sneaked a peek at the speedometer and saw the needle hovering at 160 kilometers per hour. Jet exchanged a glance with Matt and craned her neck to see the following headlights – now tiny in the receding distance.
“Where are we headed?” Rodrigo asked as Alejandro slowed for an intersection.
“Wherever we can lose these clowns.”
“And then what?”
“And then we contact the men and go on the offensive against the Verdugos.”
Rodrigo scowled. “But we don’t know it was them.”
“Gunmen shot up our nightclub and then our hotel, at the same time the cops took Dad out of commission. Who’s second choice in your mind?” Alejandro asked derisively. “They want war, they’ll get it. By tomorrow the streets will run red with their blood.”
“What about this bunch?” Rodrigo demanded, gesturing with his thumb at the back seat.
Alejandro looked at Jet and Matt in the rearview mirror again. “Good question,” he said thoughtfully.
“You can let us out wherever we can get a taxi. This isn’t our fight,” Matt said in Spanish.
Rodrigo glanced at the side mirror. “Easier said than done with them on our ass.”
“Hang on,” Alejandro warned as he abruptly braked and then swore under his breath as he accelerated again. “Too sharp a turn. We would have flipped at this speed.”
“You know this area?” Rodrigo asked.
“I’ve camped in the mountains here when I was with Veronica,” he said, referring to his ex-girlfriend. “She liked that kind of thing. I think there’s a bridge up ahead that goes across the riverbed.”
“Why don’t we try to duck onto a side road?” Jet asked.
“I don’t know where they lead, so if we dead end, we’re screwed. I do know that this road continues north all the way to the coast, by Los Vilos. And every minute we’re leaving them further behind. So I’m going to keep going. It’s our best bet.”
Alejandro goosed the throttle again, urging the vehicle faster, and Jet silently thanked Provid
ence that there were no other cars on the road. At these speeds he wouldn’t have time to react, and the gunmen behind them would be the least of their worries.
Several minutes later the road branched. He took the left fork and then slowed as they entered the small hamlet of Putaendo. He wended his way through the desolate streets, going as fast as he dared. Rodrigo turned to his brother.
“Why don’t we cut down one of these streets and park? When they go by, we can backtrack, and they’ll never know the difference.”
“That assumes it’s only those two cars. There was a third that stopped at the hotel. If we do that, we run a good chance of meeting them on the way back. I’d rather not risk it.”
He accelerated again as they neared the bridge. He swung hard left, and they careened across the expanse, the gravel of the riverbed gray in the moonlight. Matt twisted around, keeping his eyes on the road behind them, and when they were across, he saw the headlights make the turn.
“They’re still there. They must have seen our taillights.” He glanced at Jet. “We should be running without headlights and using the emergency brake to slow. Then they’d have no idea where we went.”
Rodrigo glanced back at him. “You two seem to know an awful lot about this.”
Matt shrugged. “You pick things up over the years.”
Alejandro wrenched the wheel, and they hurtled up an even smaller road, barely two lanes wide and pocked with potholes. The darkened form of small farmhouses, many little more than shacks, flew by as he continued to push the Land Rover past any sane limit.
“We’ll be able to eat their lunch once we’re on the mountain. It gets steep, and those tanks won’t be able to keep up on the grade. Half an hour of that and we can loop back around on one of the winery valley roads. We’ll have left them in the dust,” he said.
Silence settled over the cabin as Alejandro concentrated on his driving. The large SUV’s transmission pulled as the engine wound through the revs, and their speed passed through triple digits again on a long straightaway adjacent to the desiccated riverbank. The dark outline of the mountains stood in stark relief against the stars in the night sky as they roared past the last of the farmhouses. The slope changed, and they were climbing, the motor laboring as they ascended above the valley. Alejandro carved the corners as he floored the gas pedal, leaving the pursuing vehicles far behind.
A yellow lamp flickered to life on the dashboard. Jet leaned forward to see what it was as Alejandro cursed. He turned to his brother and snarled.
“How many liters of gas do we have left when the warning light goes on?”
“Damn. You’re kidding me…”
“Look for yourself. It would have been nice to know we were running on empty about twenty kilometers ago.”
“We must be burning a ton. Let’s see…maybe eight, ten liters? Normally that would be about forty kilometers. But at this speed, maybe…twenty-five kilometers, at most?”
“That’s a problem. There’s nothing between here and Cabildo, and that’s a postage stamp. Even if we made it – it would be ridiculously easy to find us there,” Alejandro warned.
“I’ll call someone. If we can lose them long enough for help to arrive, we should be okay,” Rodrigo said and pulled his cell phone from his jacket. He stared at the screen and swore. “No signal.”
“Of course not. We’re in the mountains. The nearest tower’s back in the valley.”
“So what are we going to do?” Rodrigo demanded, his voice edged with panic.
“Keep going as far as we can. Now shut up and let me think,” Alejandro snapped.
A green highway sign appeared out of the dark in front of them, signaling a split in the road, the left fork leading to La Ligua, the right to Alicahue. Rodrigo pointed at the sign. “Maybe we should try to make it to Alicahue?”
“No, we’ll lose any advantage we have. That road turns to dirt in a bit, and it would cut our speed to nothing, not to mention leave a dust cloud to follow.” Alejandro blew past the junction, the SUV rocking as it was buffeted by gusts of crosswind blowing down from the mountain. He picked up the speed for the last of the long, rolling hillside climb and then slowed somewhat as the road began twisting, the turns treacherous. Jet turned to watch the road behind them and estimated how far back the chase vehicles were – maybe a minute and a half or two, at most. More than adequate if they’d been smart about things back in the small towns and cut the lights, but out in the open like this…
They rolled around a particularly sharp curve, and the engine sputtered, hesitated, and then resumed pushing them along. Jet leaned forward. “We don’t have much time. Pull over wherever you can and get out of the car. Matt, you take Hannah. I’ll run it off the side of the cliff here. It’s got to be, what, eight stories of drop?”
Rodrigo shook his head. “Are you insane? They’ll be on top of us in no time.”
“I’m anything but. If this works, they’ll see the wreckage and think we misjudged a curve or had a blowout. With the gas tank empty, there’s a better than fifty percent chance it explodes, which would be even better. Either way, I doubt anyone’s going to scale the side of the mountain in darkness to confirm we’re dead when they see the wreck. They’ll just assume nobody could have lived,” she explained, her voice even. “Don’t hit the brakes. Use the emergency brake, and turn the lights out as we slow. They’ll think we’ve gone around a curve. Then run for cover.”
Alejandro nodded. “She’s right.”
Rodrigo shook his head. “And then what? We’re out in the middle of nowhere, no cell coverage, nothing around. How do we get out of here?”
“We have to be alive to worry about it. If we wait till we run out of gas, we have zero chance,” Jet said.
Alejandro peered into the darkness and took his foot off the gas. “Up there. See it? A flat area on the shoulder.”
“No. Just stop in the middle of the road. Grab the biggest rock you can carry and bring it to me. I’ll do the rest. Now shut off the lights and remember – only use the emergency brake.”
Alejandro did as instructed, and they coasted to a stop.
“Everybody out. Run up the road around the corner, and then head into the mountains. If this works, we want to be well away by the time they arrive. Even if they smell a rat, this should buy us enough time to get away. Matt, grab my bag and Hannah and move.” The money and passports were in Jet’s bag. Matt’s contained his clothes, which were replaceable, but without money and papers they’d be as dead in the water as if they’d gone over the cliff in the Land Rover.
The doors opened, and everyone climbed out of the car. The only sounds were the wind moaning through the ravine below them and the faint sound of truck engines in the distance, straining up the hill. Matt went to the rear hatch and opened it, shouldered Jet’s bag, and went to Hannah as Alejandro searched along the roadside by the faint moonlight and returned lugging a large stone.
Jet turned to Matt. “Run. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”
Matt loped off, the bag over one shoulder, Hannah hanging on to his neck as he supported her with his good arm. Jet eyed the rock. “Put it on the floor on the driver’s side and get going. I’ll maneuver it into position and do the rest.”
Alejandro set the stone near the gas pedal and nodded to Jet, then grabbed Rodrigo’s arm. “Come on. They’re getting nearer.”
Jet didn’t wait for them to clear the area. She got behind the wheel and shifted the automatic transmission into low gear and pulled to the edge of the road. The drop was almost vertical to the rocky base of the chasm. She set the emergency brake, leaving the vehicle in gear, and jammed the rock against the gas pedal. The engine roared, and the SUV began to roll toward the edge, the smell of brake strong in the air. Jet trotted next to the vehicle and reached in as they neared the cliff and released the brake, then threw herself to the side as the truck shot forward. She hit the pavement hard and rolled with a grunt as she watched the silver form of the Land Rover plunge over the ed
ge. She’d just gotten to her feet when it crashed into the bottom of the dry gorge, and she nodded to herself as a tongue of flame licked from under the hood.
Jet sprinted up the road after Alejandro and Rodrigo, wasting no time to watch the final seconds of the Land Rover’s existence. She was rounding the turn when a fireball exploded behind her with a muffled whump. A trace of a smile tugged at her mouth as she poured on the speed, and then she saw the outline of the brothers ahead of her. When she reached them, she pointed to the hillside where she could see Matt already a dozen yards up the rise, and then followed in his footsteps as the sound of the pursuit SUVs approached from down the winding mountain road.
Alejandro and Rodrigo slipped and slid on the loose rocks as they tailed her, the slick soles of their expensive dress shoes all but useless for the task at hand. Matt continued ascending the side of the hill, his steps sure, dodging between cactus and scrub as he forged higher. Jet caught up to him and murmured in his ear. “Give me the bag. Hannah’s heavier, but I can take one.”
“I’ve got it.”
“No point wearing yourself out. We’re going to be walking a long time.”
He shrugged the strap off, and she pulled the bag over her shoulder. “When we get a chance I’m going to dump this and move the important stuff into my pockets. The lighter we can travel, the better our chances,” she said, and he nodded agreement. Hannah was watching her with wide eyes, and she smiled at her daughter. “This is fun, isn’t it? An adventure. Camping, they call it.”
Hannah looked unconvinced, sucking her thumb with an accusatory stare, obviously tired but overstimulated from the drive and the run up the mountain. They kept moving, the brothers fumbling behind them, and then they heard the sound of the pursuit vehicles rolling to a stop around the bend. Alejandro slowed, but Jet shook her head. “Keep going. We want to be out of sight if they wise up and start looking for any tracks. Right now our head start’s our only advantage, so don’t throw it away waiting to see what happens. They’ll either come after us, or they won’t. Either way, the more distance, the better.”
JET - Sanctuary Page 7