by R Weir
“Don’t move,” yelled Keoki, a foot away, his gun pointed directly at her head.
Athena did her best to maintain her balance, not caring to get shot. She recognized the voice and carefully responded.
“It’s me—Athena. Don’t shoot.”
Keoki came out of the shadows, seeing her in distress. “Are you injured?”
“No, it is simply a sedative,” she replied. “My right side isn’t functioning properly.”
He grabbed hold of an arm, moving her over to a chair by the center island. That is when he noticed Scanlon.
“Who is this?” he queried.
Athena looked down, recognizing him, even in the dark.
“A Colorado Springs detective. Is he dead?”
Keoki leaned down to check for a pulse, then pulled out the dart he found in his neck.
“Looks to be alive. He was darted as well.”
Athena was happy the detective would be fine. “They used a flash grenade first. I had just made it upstairs when it went off.”
“Looks like they’re trying to make a getaway. I’m assuming they have the kids.”
She nodded.
“How many are there?” inquired Keoki.
“I know of two for certain, though I suspect more. Is Hunter here?”
“Outside, along with Shen, coming at them from the other side. I better get out there and see if we can stop them.”
Athena was happy the rest of the team had arrived. Hopefully they weren’t too late to rescue the kids.
“Tell Hunter they’re wearing Kevlar.”
Keoki nodded, acknowledging the information. “Will you be okay here?”
“Have to be. I’m no use against them the way I am now.”
Keoki patted her on the shoulder for reassurance before running out the door, his gun at the ready, when he heard two shots.
***
Hunter had their attention, with his precise aim. He wasn’t certain how they would react, but he was ready to do what it took to keep the kids from flying away.
“Let the kids go,” he yelled, the noise from the helicopter making it hard to hear.
“You’re outnumbered,” replied Zackery. “The kids are coming with us or they will get hurt.”
Hunter had no intention of letting them fly away. He knew these men wanted the kids alive and likely wouldn’t cause them any harm. If necessary, he’d disable the helicopter, the remaining bullets in his gun and his accurate aim capable of completing the task.
“You won’t hurt them. It appears you want them alive and unscathed for a reason.”
Keoki came running out, drawing the attention of Dirk and Pablo, both men in his sights. Shen was standing to the right of Hunter, a weapon in both his hands, though it wasn’t a gun, but Ninja stars that he could throw and hit a target with amazing accuracy.
Zackery motioned at Kyle standing to his left. “Take them to the helicopter.”
Noticing the movement, Hunter tensed up. “If they move, I’ll shoot.”
“Hunter they’re wearing vests,” yelled Keoki.
“Shen,” commanded Hunter.
Kyle had moved to grab Olivia, but when he did Shen from about ten feet away, fired off one of his stars, hitting Kyle in the left arm, his scream of pain reaching decibels that rivaled the helicopter. He grabbed at the star with his gloved hands, pulling it out before tossing it on the ground.
“It could have been in your neck,” declared Hunter. “And the next one will be. Isn’t that right Shen?”
“Without a doubt,” replied Shen with a confident tone, a second star ready. “One in the carotid and he’ll bleed out in seconds.”
Zackery hesitated, not certain what to do. And all out gunfight wouldn’t end well for all of them. His mind raced to come up with a solution.
“You have one option,” added Hunter, his hand steady on the firearm. “I’ll give you a chance to fly away leaving the kids behind before one of you dies.”
Zackery was in a pickle. He needed to bring the kids back in one piece, but no one else was supposed to get killed per his orders. Everyone needed to be alive for the plan to work, stated the man who had hired him. Right now, that was not working out per his game plan. Zackery was trapped because he couldn’t stop this new team without getting into a firefight, where many would get hurt or killed, even the children.
“If I fail to bring them with me, I will be dead.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Either way I’m a dead man.”
“I’m guessing you’re the hired gun, paid to bring them in and not the man calling the shots.”
Zackery glanced around him, trying to come up with a solution, but nothing was forthcoming.
“You’re correct. Paid to succeed or else.”
“That would be your problem,” stated Hunter, his eyes trained on the man. “It’s your choice. Die here or live a while longer and maybe find a solution to stay alive. Hell make a run for it, I don’t give a damn. You aren’t getting off the ground with them inside. And I have plenty of bullets to put you down and disable the helicopter.”
“You’re that good?” asked Zackery.
“I am.”
Hunter was tired of screwing around and to prove his point, he fired. He was an expert marksman, rarely failing to hit what he aimed for. The bullet struck Zackery right in the thigh, a location not protected by the Kevlar. The man buckled down in pain, clutching at the wound, his yell not quite as loud as Kyle’s, though his blood loss was greater.
“Next one goes between your eyes. And you can be certain I won’t miss. Tell your men to lower their guns.”
Between his moans of pain, Zackery ordered his men to lower their weapons. Shen ran over, ready to attack at any aggression before grabbing the kids and escorting them back to the house in a hurry.
Hunter walked forward to Zackery; his gun still drawn.
“Keep pressure on it, it should only be a flesh wound, but it will bleed a lot if you don’t. I’m sure you have a towel and even a first aid kit in the helicopter you can use.”
“What now?” wondered Kyle, holding his arm, the bleeding not as bad.
“You return where you came from and tell your boss who he is up against. Hunter Divine and his team aren’t going to let him take these kids away, no matter what he throws at us. He can save his money and find someone else to target.”
“You’re going to let us leave?” inquired Zackery, his hand putting pressure on his thigh, trying to stem the blood flow.
“Yes. You aren’t the big fish—just hired guns, and I want the big fish. You can tell him I’m coming to get him. Or if he wants to be civil, he can contact me and we can arrange a face to face, under my terms. I’m sure with his resources he’ll find my number. Now get up and leave before I change my mind.”
Dirk and Pablo looked like they were going to make a move, when Keoki fired a warning shot at their feet.
“Like Hunter said, the next one is through your head!” declared Keoki. “I’m nearly as good as he is with a gun, which means your life will end in a split second.”
Kyle came over to help Zackery up. The four of them backed away to the helicopter, climbing in. Hunter watched as the unit soared away into the early morning darkness. Happy he had saved the kids and hoping he’d made the right call on letting the men fly away. They had won this round, hopefully with no major injuries to those inside.
“Did you get the number on the helicopter?” wondered Keoki.
“Yes, I did,” Hunter replied, the digits etched in his memory. “Information for me to follow-up on once we assess the damage done to the family and the house. Let’s head inside and hope it’s not too bad.”
The danger had become real, Hunter now back in the game he’d been out of for too long a time. He calmed his breathing as they walked back to the house, a faint shiver of fear that Paige could have been seriously hurt crossing his mind. A notion he quickly flushed from his head, staying positive. Hoping she was unhurt, even if he knew she’d read
him the riot act on the violent events which had occurred. An anger he’d be happy to absorb for the woman he once loved.
Chapter 13
The Airbus ACH135 helicopter had planned on flying direct to Arapahoe county airport, where a jet would be waiting to fly the children into the hands of the man who wanted them. But since they weren’t onboard, the aircraft took a quick detour, before heading back to Denver, dropping off the four men near State Highway 24. Behind the wheel of the van Valerie waited, having received a call to meet them. From there they drove up into the hilly area west of town to a cabin they were using as a base camp.
Zackery hobbled through the entrance, finding a wooden chair in the dining area to sit on. His leg was wrapped with a large compress from the first aid kit they had in the helicopter. The bullet had gone clean through, hitting tissue and muscle. The bleeding had been stopped, but more attention would be necessary to keep it from getting infected. Pain relief would need to come from over the counter medicines and strong booze. He couldn’t go see a doctor, since all gunshot wounds must be reported to the police.
“You’ll need to pull off your pants for us to do a better job of treating it,” noted Kyle, grabbing some towels and getting them wet.
“What the hell happened?” inquired Valerie, perturbed at the situation.
Zackery ignored the question, unwrapping his leg and pulling off his pants gently, trying not to disturb the wound. But removing his pants had started the bleeding and it now ran down his thigh, getting on the chair and floor. Kyle used two towels to apply pressure to the entry and exit areas, and then used another to tie around them to create pressure to help stop the blood flow. Zackery winced at the force used, but soon the pain settled down as he took a long drink of whiskey direct from the bottle with several Tylenol in hopes of numbing the agony.
“Come on boys, fess up,” insisted Valerie. “What happened out there? You obviously didn’t get the kids.”
Zackery didn’t want to answer and was aggravated being challenged by her, especially since she was new to the group. He thought they had a good plan, a plan which had been blown up by the fact that the new security team arrived sooner than expected. Otherwise the kids would be on their way and he would have a nice electronic deposit of money waiting for him in his bank account. Cash his family could use to keep up their middle-class lifestyle.
“We got tripped up, as our inside information wasn’t accurate,” stated Zackery.
“What do you mean?”
“We were told there were only two police officers providing protection. But there was another woman inside who shot Kyle in the chest. He was lucky his vest saved him.”
“That is all it took to stop you?”
Getting tired of her questioning, Zackery sneered at her before he took another long drink. He could handle a lot of alcohol before it had much effect on him, but her sniping was definitely having an effect on his anger.
“No but dealing with her delayed us. After knocking this woman and the parents out, we got the kids. We were outside getting ready to board the helicopter when three men surrounded us. They weren’t going to let us leave with the kids without a gun fight. Which we were trying to avoid per the boss’s orders.”
Valerie shook her head in disbelief. “You had them and let them go?”
“We had no choice,” Zackery snapped back. “We’d be dead or they’d be dead, which the boss didn’t want. We’ll have to regroup and come up with a new plan.”
“From what you told me; you’ll be dead anyway for failing.” The veins in Valerie’s neck were bulging in anger. “Which means I’ll be dead too.”
“We’ll come up with a story to tell him,” declared Zackery, before drinking down more of the whiskey. “We can say the security team came back sooner than we expected, and we had to postpone the operation.”
“You mean—lie!” Valerie was pacing now.
Kyle was applying pressure with a towel on his arm to stop the bleeding. “I’m not sure that is wise.”
Zackery’s rage continued to climb. “What choice do we have! Otherwise he’ll send someone to shoot us shortly after I tell him the truth.”
“I’m leaving,” declared Valerie, who turned around and headed for the door. “This is your mess and I want no part of it.”
“You’re a chicken shit Val,” yelled Dirk, shortening her name on purpose to piss her off even more. “I knew we shouldn’t have brought her on.”
“Not helping Dirk,” answered Kyle with a stern glance his way.
“Let her go. It’s not her problem,” expressed Zackery, waving for her to leave, for he was done with her.
Valerie turned wanting to confront Dirk, but after a long glare she thought better of it. She slammed the door behind her as she marched out of the cabin. As she reached her car and started it up, she pulled out her cell phone and made a call.
“Let him know we need to talk,” she asserted to the voice that answered, while pulling out to the main road and heading for the highway.
***
Hunter called to get the authorities on the scene to help the injured. Taking fifteen minutes, they arrived in mass, with fire, paramedics, and several squad cars with detectives there to assist. Detective Scanlon, officer Coleman and Paige were still unconscious, while Jose was woozy with a concussion to go with a laceration on his head. Athena could finally walk, though she still had to be careful as there was still numbness in parts of her right side.
Damage to the house had to be assessed, much of it coming to view as the morning light of the sun started to filter in from the east. The front and back door, along with the door jams and one kitchen window would need to be replaced. Broken glass and a burn mark on the kitchen floor needed to be cleaned up, while the pictures on the wall upstairs had to be remounted. Blood from Jose’s head wound had also been found on the wall and floor along with a pee stain from Pepper who had been startled by the grenade going off.
All in all, it could have been worse. The kids had been rescued, and were safely inside, though shaken and frightened by the ordeal, and worried about their parents. Huddled together they were trying to make sense of it all, their eyes darting back and forth at the throng of people wandering around creating a surreal moment in time.
Hunter stood at the center of it all, directing traffic, answering questions, and wishing none of it happened. If they’d only arrived an hour or so sooner, he and his team could have stopped it cold and no one would have been hurt. He felt good about the eventual success, though deep-down he was hollow, wondering what more he could have done. Longing for a stiff drink to bring about numbness, he knew he’d need to wait until it was all said and done. Pushing the urge to one side took a great deal of willpower.
Detective Scanlon was finally coming around, sitting up leaning against the center island in the kitchen. His ears were still ringing slightly, his eyes slowly clearing where he could see. He asked to stand and one of the paramedics assisted him, moving him to a chair at the dining table. He waved for Hunter, who came over and sat in a chair next to him.
“How are you feeling?” questioned Hunter.
“Like someone slammed me with a ton of bricks,” he answered, both hands rubbing his temples. Scanlon was angry at himself for not being better prepared. “I have a king-sized headache and feel a little dizzy. Though I think the tranquilizer might have cleared my sinuses.”
“The headache and dizziness will clear up in time Tim,” commented the brown-haired female paramedic who knew the detective. “I need to go check on the others. Will you be okay?”
Scanlon smiled and nodded, allowing her to see her other patients.
“What do you remember?” inquired Hunter.
Scanlon continued to rub at his temples trying to clear the cobwebs, gathering his thoughts to answer.
“Athena and I were awake having a sandwich—we both were having trouble sleeping. The dog started to react and then the lights went off. I told Athena to take the dog upstairs. She h
ad just made it up there when I heard a window break followed by a loud flash and bang. After that point I don’t remember much until I awoke several minutes ago. Hopefully you can bring to light what happened afterwards?”
“It was a four-man team,” explained Hunter. “They nearly got away with the kids, but the rest of my team, Shen, Keoki and I stopped them from taking off in a helicopter.” Hunter made a circling motion with his finger.
“Then you have them in custody?” wondered Scanlon, still a little glassy eyed.
Hunter shook his head. “No. I let them fly away, though not without putting a bullet in their leaders’ leg.”
Scanlon’s chin dropped in surprise. “Why did you let them fly away?”
“It was the best option to keep the kids safe. I didn’t want to get into a fire fight with the children in the middle of it. Besides I gave their leader a message to send to the person who hired them.”
“Which was?”
“Don’t fuck with us!” declared Hunter with a deadly tone.
Scanlon wasn’t certain if that was the right call, but he couldn’t disagree with the results.
“You did better than Athena and me. My ass would be chewed out from top to bottom if the kids had been taken on my watch. The Hawkins family carries a lot of clout around here.”
“Some of the blame falls on me,” Hunter stated shaking his head at his miscalculation. “I didn’t think they’d try getting the kids so soon after the last attempt. Though I’d say you’re lucky. They could have just killed you. It would seem they didn’t want anyone to get seriously hurt unlike the last time.”
Hunter pulled out his phone and brought up a screen which had the ID number of the helicopter. He handed it to Scanlon to look at.