CaughtInTheTrap (21 page)

“I can’t move my arm.  It hurts to move it.”

Carla checked her arms. “Shit.”  Tonya’s left arm was severely broken. Muscle and tendons poked through the open wound.  She most likely would lose the arm if she didn’t get medical attention soon. “Tonya, I have to stabilize your arm.  It will hurt like hell, but you can’t scream.  Do you understand me?”

“Yes. I can’t scream.”

“If you scream they’ll find us and finish the job, Tonya.”

“I hear you.  I won’t scream, I promise.”

“Okay. I have to find something to support your arm.”  She went to the edge of the river and saw a piece of driftwood. “Not the most sanitary thing to use but convenient,” she said fishing the wood from the water.  Taking off her torn and bloody t-shirt she ripped it into strips to make a makeshift splint.

Once she got everything laid out, she took a deep breath.  Her EMT training covered emergency preparations but not anything like this.  Carla looked at her hands; they were shaking.  She would have to adjust the bone before applying the splint.

She shook her head; there was no way Tonya would not scream; hell she might scream along with her. She counted to three and took Tonya’s injured arm.  The piercing scream broke through the quiet woods.

Zach and Rodney searched the dense woods after finding Tonya’s shoe on the highway.  The further in they searched, the more of her belonging they found.  They also saw the blood trial that started light and grew heavier.

“What the fuck!” Zach groaned.  “Where the hell is the helicopter Lowes said he was sending?”

“Good fucking question,” Rodney answered, using a flashlight to search through high grass.

“Something is up with Lowes,” Zach said, his anger was evident as he kicked rocks and broken sticks aside with his foot.

“Why do you say that?”

“He’s not following through with shit anymore.  He’s doing sloppy, half-ass work. We’re the only two out here hunting Yezhov; where is our backup?”

“Does this ring a bell, Zach?” Rodney asked shining the light on Zach’s face.

Zach frowned. “Now I get to ask what you’re talking about.”

“When we worked the Butternut case, how many agents were on it?”

“Come, on, Rodney. You can’t honestly believe Lowes is acting this way based on race.”

“The ATF has more agents working on this case than we do.  All I know is Lowes got you on board because he knew you’d be able to penetrate the enemy line better than me.  I’m here to flush out Tyrone and Phillip.  He wouldn’t send a white dude to gain these guys trust.”

“I was told the ATF requested me to work on this case.”  He shook his head and kept looking for clues. “I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“Don’t waste your breath.  He’s top dog and will deny any of it.  It pisses me off that Carla and Tonya’s lives aren’t worth the manpower in his eyes.  Carla is in the hands of a murderer and Tonya could be anywhere along the highway. We don’t know if she’s dead or alive.”

“Hey, we’ll find them.  If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll find Carla and bring her home safely.”

Rodney lifted a brow. “You mean Carla and Tonya.”

“Of course, I meant Tonya too.  We gotta keep looking.  I want to find them before dawn breaks.”

Their search led them to a shack that was used by city workers to store supplies when the beach houses were under development. The construction crews had left behind large cement pipes from were digging and laying lines for the proposed beach houses.

Zach put his hand out and said, “Rodney, do you see that?”

“Should we storm it or wait for backup?”

“Do you think any backup will actually come?  Let’s check the area first and then make a plan.  It’s only two of us, and we don’t have a clue how many men Yezhov has with him.”

“He’s known to have at least three bodyguards with him at all times.  We have the advantage of catching them off guard if we go now.”

“We go in there shooting; we could harm Carla. That shack is small and once the gunfire starts; it’ll be mayhem with her caught in the middle.”

“Right,” Rodney agreed. “We need to smoke them out.”

Zach checked his gun. “There are tunnels around here big enough for tow motors to drive through.  They could have stashed Carla there.”

Turning off their flashlights they began to canvas the area. They came upon a tunnel about a hundred feet from the shack.  Rodney got in position to attack in case anyone came running from the tunnel.  Zach pulled on the steel door, and it opened with a loud squeak.  The night air was still and the slightest sound would travel.  He paused waiting to hear any motion behind them.

It was pitched black inside, and if anyone were in there, they would have charged them by now.  Zach turned on his flashlight and stepped inside.  Rodney followed behind him.  The smell of stale water and rotting weeds growing through the cracks of the manmade tunnel was atrocious. He noticed another odor.  It smelled like death.

“Holy Shit!” They both said in unison as they came upon the large body lying in a shallow puddle of water.

Zach kneeled down touching the man’s neck to feel for a pulse.  He shook his head looking at Rodney. “He’s dead.”

“Looks like a struggle went on in here,” Rodney said running the beam of the flashlight around the space.

Zach reached for the material floating beside the body. He picked it up and sighed. “Carla has on a white t-shirt.  She was here.”

“Zach, there is blood on the wall.  Hell, there is blood everywhere.  Do you think she took him out?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her; she’s a fighter.  But, if she did do this to him; then Yezhov is out here looking for her too.”

Rodney chewed on his lip. “We need help. I’m contacting Agent Cooper with the ATF for backup.  We don’t have time to play games with Lowes anymore.”

“Yeah, you do that.  We need to split up, so we both don’t get caught in Yezhov’s trap,” Zach suggested.

Zach took the trail leading away from the shack while Rodney headed back toward the highway to wait for help to arrive.  The pattern he picked up from Carla was that she appeared to run in a different direction.  If she was out here, he didn’t believe she would double back and risk passing the shack.  If anything, she was working her way back to the beach house to get help.

Then again, he didn’t know if that was true.  She’d killed a man; that had to weigh on her heavily unless she didn’t know he was dead.  He came upon a rocky clearing. Walking across it, he stepped on something, crunching it under his foot.  Kneeling down he picked up fragments of a broken cell phone and saw drops of blood.  Not wanting to waste more time, he continued to walk hoping the drops of blood would lead him to Carla.

*****

Rodney flagged down the SUVs of ATF agents arriving to assist in the search. He spoke with the agent in charge briefing him on the situation. “Here is the rundown.  Agent Murphy is out in the woods looking for Carla Parka.”

“What about the other woman you mentioned?” Cooper asked.  He was the ATF agent in charge.

“We still haven’t been able to locate her.  We believe Yezhov dumped her along the highway, we just don’t know where.  There is a shack about a mile up where Yezhov could be hiding.  I didn’t want to storm it by myself. We aren’t sure how many men he has with him and what firepower they have. What we do know is Carla Parker took out one of his men and managed to escape. Yezhov has to be aware of it by now and is looking for her.  Guys, time is of the essence here.  If we have to drown this area with agents, then let’s do it.”

“I’ll get a chopper in the air,” Cooper said getting on his radio.

Rodney released a sigh. “Thanks.”

“We’re here to help bring this asshole down.  We don’t need his kind on American soil,” Cooper stated as more SUVs arrived lining the long stretch of highway.

“We’ll go to the shack and check it out,” Rodney suggested.

“The chopper will be here in fifteen minutes.”  He tossed Rodney a bulletproof vest. “Put this on.”

Rodney took off his jacket and put on the vest. “Have your men be careful. Murphy is wearing his FBI jacket, but in case he had to ditch it, he has tattoos visible on both arms and wearing blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt.  He is tall and muscular.  Yezhov’s men are dressed in suits for some dumb ass reason.”

*****

Carla dragged Tonya to a haystack and sat her down. She was losing faith in her ability to keep both of them alive.  Tonya’s injuries were more severe than she thought.  She believed she suffered internal injuries that were bleeding and filling her chest cavity.  Without medical attention, Tonya would die.

“Carla, we’re going to die aren’t we?”

“I’m trying my best to keep that from happening, Tonya.  How are you doing?” she asked sitting on the ground next to her. Her pain was becoming troublesome the more they walked also.

“I wanna go to sleep.  Can I lie here and go to sleep.”

“Tonya, you have to help me.  I need you awake and on your feet.  I can’t carry you anymore.”

“Then leave me. Save yourself.  If my stupid brother hadn’t called me, we wouldn’t be in this position.”

Carla licked her bruised lips.  She craved a glass of cold water to rid her mouth of the taste of iron.  She peeled caked blood from around her nose and off her face.  Her left eye had swollen almost shut.  But she kept moving through it all. “None of this is your fault, Tonya.  Ty and Phil are to blame.  I wish I knew where they were because at this point, I’d give them up willingly.”

Tonya released a dry chuckle. “No, you wouldn’t. Family means everything to you, Carla. You wouldn’t give them up, and you know it.”

“Yeah, knowing me, I would try to convince them to give themselves up.”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”

“What?”

“You and that sexy agent make a cute couple, Carla.  Don’t let his being white stand in your way of happiness.”

Carla laughed, causing the pain in her side to increase. “Please, we are not a couple and never will be.”

“Alright, girl; don’t cut your blessings short. Our time on this Earth is not guaranteed.”

Carla took a piece of hay off the ground and bent it in half. “Even if I was slightly attracted to him it wouldn’t work.  His job keeps him moving around too much.”

“There is always a way to make love work.  Anyhow, remember the barbecues at your mom’s house?  We had so much fun with the loud music and dancing in the driveway.  Remember that July 4 picnic and how those nuts tried to set off a row of fireworks?  I died laughing at them running in different directions after they started going off? That was too funny.”

“Oh my goodness that was funny.  Those were good times.”  Tears filled Carla’s eyes.  She heard the rattling in Tonya’s chest with each breath she took.  “Mom threw the best parties.” Her voice cracked—she couldn’t cry now, it would upset Tonya.  She had to keep her calm and pray that help would arrive soon.

“I want to go to another party, Carla. Girl, we can’t let them party without us.  Plus, you still hold the record for the best singer at Tino’s for karaoke; I want a chance to beat you.”

“If you want to beat me, you gotta stop singing those corny pop songs.  You gotta bring it,” she joked. “You have to step up to the mic with Patti LaBelle or Toni Braxton.”

“Next week for sure, I’m stepping up my game.”  Tonya struggled to take a breath, she said, “All kidding aside, Carla; I’m proud of you.”

“Why, Tonya?  I haven’t done anything special.”

“Oh, please, you’re an Olympian; that is something to brag about. You’ve got a lot of talent in that little body of yours, girl.  I’m glad you’re my best friend, and I love you.  Please always remember that.”

Carla blinked away the tears hanging from her lashes. “We’re sisters, Tonya and I love you too.  And we’ll have another party, even if I have to throw it myself.  With that said, you make the plans on where and if there will be a theme. But you also have to use your skills to make me look pretty.  I want to make one of your grand entrances and have the eyes of every man on me.”

She waited for Tonya to respond.  Looking over at her, she saw Tonya’s eyes closed, and her body slumped over.  “No, no!  Tonya, wake up!” She shook Tonya by the shoulders and got no response. “No, please, God, no.” Tears fell from her eyes harder as she stood up looking around. She needed help, but there was nothing around her.  Her body trembled as she fell to her knees crying.

“Carla!”

She lifted her head looking into the darkness.  Reaching for the gun tucked in the waist of her pants, she put it between her hands aiming toward the sound of the voice. “Don’t come near me or I’ll shoot.”

“Carla, it’s me, Zach.  Don’t shoot me; I’m here.”

“Zach?  Zach,” she said louder as his familiar frame walked toward her.  She got off the ground and limped to him.

He held out his arms taking her in them and holding her close. “I told you I’d find you.”

“I’m so glad to see you,” she cried in his arms. “I think Tonya is dead, Zach.  I couldn’t save her.”

“Where is she?”

Carla led him to her. “Please tell me she isn’t dead.”

He leaned down to find a pulse.  He closed his eyes and swallowed.

Suddenly gunfire rang out, bullets hitting in the hay.  He shoved Carla behind the haystack, pulling Tonya’s lifeless body by the ankles with him.

“They found us! What are we going to do?” Carla asked in a panicked voice.

“So far, sounds like there is only one gunman, Carla.  Do you know how to swim?”

“What?” It wasn’t a complicated question she just didn’t know why he was asking her about swimming.

“If you can swim, I want you to head for the river.  The current is high, so you’re going to have to swim for it.”

“I’m not leaving you too! I can’t afford to lose another person I care about. No, I’m not going.”

“Listen to me.  I haven’t let you down so far. I’m not going to let you down now.”

Her eyes met his and locked in.  Her sinking heart sunk further, but she trusted him. “Okay.  Okay.”

He turned his back to her, and she touched his shoulder as if for the last time.  His body recoiled from the shots he fired from his weapon.  “Go now,” he yelled at her.