Framed for Murder

by Mary Alford

“Yes, sir,” The leader said into the phone with an entirely humble disposition. “No, not yet, but he claims to know where Lansford and Harris moved them.” When he shot him a look, Aaron tried not to let on that he’d been listening to the conversation.

  “Our people have searched the plane, the weapons aren’t here, but he says they’re at a different location.” After a lengthy silence where Aaron believed the guy in charge showed his displeasure, the man answered. “Don’t worry—if it’s a lie, they’ll both regret it. It will be my pleasure to kill them.”

  The man ended the call and shoved the phone in his pocket. He came back to Aaron. “You’d better be telling the truth,” he said and pushed Aaron toward the machine once more.

  “Follow them,” he ordered once they were both on. Aaron fired up the machine and steered it behind one of the men.

  “Where did you and Ramirez hide the weapons?” the leader said with obvious agitation, no doubt suspecting Aaron was shining him on.

  Aaron chose his words carefully. “How do I know you won’t kill me and Liz once you have them?”

  “You don’t,” he man said smugly. “Why do I get the feeling you’re stringing me along? All it takes is one call...and she’s dead.”

  Dread spread through his body like a disease. Aaron realized he had to do something and quickly, otherwise, he and Liz were goners.

  Thinking quickly, he revved the machine into high gear and rammed into the back of the snowmobile in front of them. The other driver jerked the controls and swerved several times trying to keep the machine on the trail, but he wasn’t skilled enough to pull it off. The snowmobile took off across the woods and buried itself nose first in a deep snowdrift.

  Both men jumped off. Aaron realized it was now or never.

  Before he had a chance to disarm the leader, the man realized what he intended to do and shoved the knife against Aaron’s throat. “I don’t think so. Stop the machine. Now,” he ordered.

  Aaron grabbed for the knife. The two struggled back and forth. Aaron finally managed to get the knife from the man. He slowed the machine to a halt, then dragged the leader off and in front of him. He shoved the knife against the leader’s throat as one of the other men charged for them. The man stopped when he spotted the knife.

  “Get him,” the leader yelled. Aaron noticed the man was alone. Where was the second person? Aaron pushed the leader hard and he stumbled to the ground. Turning back to the snowmobile, Aaron climbed on. Before he could put the machine in gear, someone shoved the barrel of an assault rifle against his temple.

  “That’s far enough. Get your hands in the air and turn off the machine.”

  Slowly Aaron killed the engine and raised his hands. He’d failed. Would it end up costing Liz her life?

  FIVE

  It was up to her now. Liz steeled herself for what she must do.

  The men guarding her had begun to talk amongst themselves. With the boss gone, their attention was distracted. She guessed they figured she wasn’t going anywhere.

  Liz started back on the knot working as quickly as she could. It felt like she’d been working it for hours when the rope finally loosened enough so that she could slip first one hand and then the other free. Her battered wrist was almost numb from the restraints. She flexed her fingers and pins and needles shot through her hand.

  Time was critical and Aaron needed her help. She couldn’t afford to wait any longer. Still, her bound legs presented another problem entirely. She couldn’t loosen the ties around them without drawing attention to herself.

  Now if she could convince one of the men she was in distress and get him to come close enough, she could disarm him, and hopefully take down the two remaining soldiers. The only variable was Rick. She hadn’t seen him in a while, but suspected he was around somewhere.

  Please, Lord, I need Your help, Liz prayed earnestly then let out a strangled cry and slumped over in her chair, her eyes closed.

  “What’s wrong with her?” one of the men asked in a worried tone. Liz didn’t move a muscle. She had to convince them she was in distress.

  “I don’t know—maybe it’s the drugs they used on her. But if he comes back and finds her dead without him having ordered it, there’ll be trouble for all of us. Go check on her.”

  One of the men rushed to her side. This was it. Her pulse exploded with adrenaline.

  “Hey, wake up,” the man barked and stopped within inches. When she didn’t respond, he leaned over her and felt for a pulse. His gun was slung over one shoulder, just within her reach.

  Liz snatched the weapon and then head-butted the man with all her strength. He turned toward his partners, staggering as if trying to keep his footing. While she saw stars from the impact, she jumped up, her feet still bound.

  Grabbing the man from behind, Liz pulled him close. One of the other men ran for her. She took the stock of the weapon and slammed it against the charging man’s head. He dropped to the floor unconscious. The remaining guard ran for the door.

  “That’s far enough,” she yelled and he stopped dead. “Drop the weapon and get your hands in the air.”

  The man hesitated with his back still to her.

  “Do it now,” she ordered.

  “She’s hurt. You can take her,” the one she’d restrained urged his partner. Buoyed by his friend’s urgings, the man charged her and the man she’d subdued jerked free and quickly moved out of her reach.

  Before she could move, the charging man knocked her over. Pain shot from her damaged wrist and it felt as if her bruised ribs were reinjured.

  The man wrestled for control of the assault rifle and she was quickly losing ground. Liz became aware of a door opening as she fought with all her strength to free herself from the man on top of her.

  Someone yelled in pain. Rick came into her line of sight. He had his weapon held high above his head in a defensive gesture. Liz barely got out the word no, when Rick slammed his gun against the guy’s head and he slumped on top of her, out cold.

  Rick hauled the unconscious man off Liz and over to where he’d knocked out the man she’d held on to.

  While he secured the three men, she grabbed the gun she’d lost in the struggle and got to her feet.

  Rick came back to Liz and untied her legs. Immediately, she turned the rifle on him.

  “Drop the weapon,” Liz breathed unsteadily. The shooting pain down her ribs made speaking normally impossible. He slowly lowered the weapon and raised his hands.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.

  “Kick your weapon over here.” She waited until the man begrudgingly did as she asked. “Now do the same with his.” She pointed to the unconscious man and he shoved the weapon to Liz.

  She slid both of the guns as far out of the men’s reach as she could. Just the slightest of movements greatly depleted her strength.

  “Let me help you. You’re hurt,” Rick urged. She didn’t believe him for a second. Not after he’d drugged both her and Aaron. “Get down on the floor and put your hands behind your back,” she commanded.

  Once he’d done as she requested, she did a quick search of Rick’s and the other men’s pockets, taking their phones. Liz spotted hers and Aaron’s Glocks along with her backpack on the kitchen table. She tucked the handguns behind her back before hurrying to the window. She couldn’t see anyone else around. Still, she couldn’t risk the men calling out for help after she was gone so she gagged everyone but Rick. She needed answers from him.

  “Please, don’t leave me here with them,” Rick begged and they stared at each other for a breath.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered in a broken tone, his face contorted in pain. While she believed he meant it, she still didn’t trust him. First he’d double-crossed Michael, and then he’d betrayed them. “They’ll kill me if you leave me here. They we
re just using me to get to you,” he insisted, grabbing her full attention.

  “Then why’d you betray your friend? Michael trusted you and you double-crossed him.”

  His face crumpled in pain. “You don’t understand. They have my family. They said they were going to kill them if I didn’t do exactly as they asked.”

  Stunned, she stared at him in astonishment. As much as she wanted to know more about the threat used against Rick’s family, Aaron’s life was in danger. “Then help me. Once they find out Aaron’s bluffing, they’ll kill him.”

  Rick willingly agreed. “Of course. Just tell me what you need. I hate what I’ve done and Michael’s a good friend. I’m sorry I let him down.”

  Was he playing her? She prayed not because right now she needed his help. “Aaron’s taking them to the airstrip. We need to get there before they do.”

  He nodded. “I know a shortcut. If we take the Cat, we’ll get there quicker.” He hesitated. “I’ll need a weapon...”

  She shook her head. “You’ll get it once we’re there. Until then, I don’t trust you at all.” As much as she wanted his help, she wasn’t about to let her guard down for a second. Liz grabbed up the assault rifles from the floor and then her backpack and pointed to the door. “You go first. Don’t try anything because I won’t hesitate to shoot if you do.”

  Liz gathered all three of the men’s assault rifles and took them with her. She had a feeling both she and Aaron would need the extra weaponry and so would Rick.

  “Let’s go,” she said once they reached the Sno-Cat.

  Rick climbed into the vehicle and she followed, carefully glancing around to make sure there were no others there.

  If he were telling the truth, she couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must be knowing your family was being held hostage and one false move could end their lives.

  Liz knew how merciless these people were. There was a very real chance that even if Rick did help them, they might still kill his family because they could identify who’d kidnapped them.

  Rick started up the engine. “You’d better hang on to something. The route we’re taking is a difficult one.” He headed the machine off in the direction of the small hill behind the house where he’d told them he stored a spare snowmobile.

  “How far is it?” she asked suspiciously as they bounced over tree stumps and downed branches.

  “Not far. Maybe about a mile. It’s almost twice that distance the way they’re going.”

  “Meaning we should arrive first.”

  He spared her a look. “That’s right. We should have enough time to get into position before they arrive. The snowmobiles put out a lot of noise so they shouldn’t hear the Cat unless they stop for any reason.”

  “Where will this route bring us out at?” she asked. “The airstrip butts up to the woods, as I recall.”

  Rick kept his gaze locked on the horizon in front of them. “That’s correct. It will be the perfect place to leave the vehicle. They won’t know we’re there, which means we should be able to take them by surprise.”

  Up ahead, she could see the lights of the airstrip coming into view. They were close.

  Rick veered off to the left. Putting a hill between them and the airstrip, he then killed the engine.

  Silence permeated the cab and Liz listened intently. “I don’t hear anything yet,” she said and turned so that she could study his profile carefully.

  Rick glanced her way. “I don’t either, but they should be here soon enough. If we can reach the back of the hangar, it’ll provide us with cover. They won’t be able to see us until we rush them. We’ll have the element of surprise.”

  It made sense and under different circumstances she would have believed him, but after the things she and Aaron had gone through recently...

  By all indications, Michael, the person she’d trusted in the past, had betrayed her. Then Rick had drugged them and allowed them to be captured. She thought about what the leader said about the weapons. How had they known about Black Bear? The only explanation was that Michael had told them.

  How deep had Michael been involved in Sam’s crimes? Had he been working for Sam all along, even while she and Michael were being held captive in Afghanistan before Sam had brought them to the US and before that fateful crash in Pennsylvania?

  Another disturbing thought occurred. Had Michael been part of the kidnapping? The team had wondered how Sam had been able to transport two agents into US airspace without detection. If Michael was part of Sam’s organization, he could have somehow cleared the way.

  Liz let go of those upsetting ideas. She hated thinking of Michael’s part in the crimes. “We need to hurry. We won’t have much time.” She slung one of the rifles over her shoulder and got out. Rick followed a second later.

  Liz shoved aside her misgivings at trusting Rick and prayed he wouldn’t expose her once the men arrived.

  They climbed to the top of the hill. Ducking low, Liz could see Aaron’s plane and the rest of the airstrip beyond the hangars. Other than that, the place appeared deserted.

  Shouldn’t they be close by now? Another frightening thought occurred. What if the leader had lied and had taken Aaron away to kill him?

  With all her heart, she prayed for Aaron’s safety and let go of those doubts. She had to keep a clear head if she and Aaron were going to get through this alive.

  She studied the layout of the airstrip. If they could reach the back side of the hangars, they’d have an advantage if Aaron could get them to the plane. There were so many variables at play.

  Liz pointed to the back of the hangars. “We need to be there,” she told Rick and he nodded.

  Slowly they eased from their vantage point and hurried to the back. Once they reached the buildings, she unstrapped the extra gun, put in the clip and handed it to Rick.

  “Thank you,” he said humbly.

  “Don’t thank me. Just help me save his life.”

  * * *

  Aaron’s head throbbed from the blow he’d taken that had knocked him unconscious.

  “Do you want me to kill him?” someone close by asked and then kicked his side.

  “No, there might still be the chance he actually knows where the weapons are. Safar’s mad enough as it is. If we don’t find them soon, it’ll mean our heads.”

  Aaron recognized the leader’s voice. He focused on the name mentioned. Safar. It didn’t ring any bells, but he had no doubt this was the real person in charge and the one responsible for killing both Michael and Sam. Was it possible he was a new name amongst the terrorists? He didn’t believe it. He obviously had ties to Sam.

  “This time, tie his hands until we reach the airstrip. I don’t want a repeat of what happened here.”

  Someone knelt next to him and slapped him hard. Aaron opened his eyes slowly and stared into the face of pure evil.

  “Are you done playing games?” the man growled and motioned to one of the men who hauled him to his feet.

  The leader got to within inches of Aaron’s face. “You’ll pay dearly for what you just did, I promise you.”

  The one holding his arm jerked Aaron toward the buried snowmobile. “Get it out,” he ordered.

  Even though his head ached and he struggled to keep the bile away, Aaron went to work unburying the snowmobile. By the time he’d finished he was sweating profusely. The cold air chilled him to the bone. It wouldn’t take long under the circumstances for hypothermia to set in. He prayed Liz had managed to free herself and subdue the men guarding her.

  Keep her safe, he prayed silently.

  “Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time as it is. He’s expecting results,” the leader snapped.

  One of the men bound Aaron’s hands behind his back and forced him on the machine to the rear of him while the leader and the second man wait
ed.

  It took all of Aaron’s strength to stay on the machine as the man roared down the trail, dodging trees along the way.

  As they drew near, Aaron searched the surrounding area, but there was no sign of Liz. What if she hadn’t been able to escape? Or worse. He pushed those disparaging thoughts aside. He had to stay focused.

  Once they reached the airstrip, instead of going to his plane as Aaron had expected, the driver headed for a nearby hangar. The men had no intention of using Aaron’s plane.

  Uneasiness slithered down his spine. Would Liz make it in time? Or had everything he’d done so far been in vain. Was Liz dead already? The very thought ripped his heart to shreds.

  SIX

  In the distance, the noise of snowmobiles could be heard coming their way.

  “Why is it taking them so long?” she turned and asked Rick while carefully studying his expression. Was he up to something?

  She handed him the binoculars she’d brought with her. He seemed genuinely concerned as he looked through the lenses. “There.” He pointed off to the right. “I see them. They’re almost here.” Liz tucked close to the back of the hangar and Rick followed her lead.

  Once the vehicles came to a stop, she heard the man in charge yelling.

  “Untie him,” the leader ordered one of his men. Silence followed and then he said, “You will tell me where the weapons are now, before we go anywhere. And if you’re bluffing, she’s dead.” The man’s voice grew louder. They were moving their way.

  Close by, an overhead door swung open and tension burned inside her stomach. They weren’t heading for Aaron’s plane.

  She swung to face Rick. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

  He shook his head, as confused as she was by the turn of events. “I don’t know.”

  “What’s in that hangar?” she asked, still not fully trusting him.

  He didn’t hesitate. “The plane they flew in on.”

  As Liz listened carefully, she just heard Aaron’s response.

  “They should be exactly where we left them unless your partner Rick moved them.”