CL Hart -From A Distance (22 page)

"Let's go." Kenzie tossed the last crate out of their way, but the wooden box slipped off the pile and crashed loudly to the ground. The splintering sound resonated down the alley, and Kenzie knew it was enough noise to attract some very unwanted attention. Cori moved toward the truck as Kenzie glanced toward the seaside end of the alleyway. There was no one there and for that, she was very grateful.

She turned back to the truck and was about to follow Cori when something in the distance raised the small hairs on her neck. She stopped. If Cobra was not there, he was close. Bringing her gun into firing position, she shot a glance behind her for Cori, but the young woman was too far away, beyond her protection. "Cori?" she said as she kept her eyes and her gun trained on the distant entrance to the alley. When she didn't answer, Kenzie turned.

Cori was picking her way through the debris to Fernando's truck and had obviously not heard her over the sound of the motor. Kenzie wanted nothing more than to follow her, but her instincts dictated otherwise. Turning her attention back to the seaside end of the alley, the world slowed as Cobra's head moved into her crosshairs.

"Cori, get down!" she yelled, her 9mm shattering the quiet of the small town.

Cori screamed as she ducked down, instinctively covering her head with her hands.

The swelling in Kenzie's hand caused her to fire just an instant too soon, and the bullet intended for Cobra slammed into the concrete wall next to his head. Shattered pieces of stones, sprayed across his face, ripping at his skin. The concrete dust kicked up, stinging his eyes. He swore loudly, moving back behind the edge of the wall and out of the line of fire.

Keeping her gun pointed down the alley, Kenzie moved backwards toward Cori as quickly as she could. The moment she reached her, Kenzie grabbed her arm. Fernando's truck was too far away, and there was only the unacceptably rickety pile of crates for them to hide behind. Their best chance was back in Melita's store. Kenzie swore under her breath as she all but dragged Cori back into the store. "Are you okay?" Not waiting for an answer, she moved them past the frightened storeowner and out onto the main street.

Kenzie scanned the area and the people nervously looking about. The moment people started pointing, she knew they would have to move, and fast. Kenzie hurried them along the street, past a group of people standing in line at a taco pushcart. Not wanting to draw further attention, she nevertheless chanced a few glances over her shoulder as she suppressed the urge to run. "Cori?" she questioned without looking.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Cori said in a surprisingly strong voice, "but I'm getting a little sick of people shooting at me."

"I know the feeling." Kenzie brought her gun in tight against her thigh, hoping no one was paying them close attention. "You need to get to Fernando's truck and get the hell out of here."

"I know," Cori answered as they hustled along. "What do you mean by 'you'?" She stole a quick look at Kenzie. "We need to get to Fernando's truck."

"Yeah, yeah," Kenzie answered agreeably.

A surge of defiance flashed through Cori as she slowed to a walk. "We...we, Kenzie, we are in this together."

"Fine, we, as in we don't have time for this." Glancing back over her shoulder, Kenzie saw Cobra emerge from around the distant corner. "There he is... Move it."

She propelled Cori forward, confident that there were too many witnesses for their assailant to attack them in the street, but apparently, Cobra wasn't so concerned. He brought up his weapon and aimed in their direction. "RUN!" Kenzie ordered. There was no sound of a shot, no pre-warning, just the feel of a bullet zinging past her. The corner was close and they turned it just as more bullets whizzed by them.

Fernando's truck was about a hundred feet in front of them, but in Kenzie's mind, it was too far for them to make it without putting them at risk.

"Go, get in the truck," she said as she turned back to face Cobra.

Cori took several steps before she realized Kenzie was not with her. Fear and panic gripped her. "You said 'we'!" she screamed in accusation. "Kenzie, you said 'we'!" It shocked her to realize that there was no way she wanted to keep going without Kenzie by her side.

"I'll be there, just go! Tell Fernando to take the next left, and to have that truck moving the second he sees me." She saw the hesitation on Cori's face. "Go. I'll be there. I promise."

From her vantage point at the corner, Kenzie watched Cobra moving swiftly in their direction. For a man of his solid stature, he had good speed. There were just too many people milling about for her to get a shot off. The pedestrians had apparently not heard the shots, but they seemed to sense panic in the air. Cobra was rapidly closing in on her and Kenzie knew she had to do something. Glancing back at Cori, she was thankful to see her just within reach of the truck. Kenzie waved for them to go and, as the truck moved away from the curb, Kenzie turned back to her target. It was an impossible shot, made even more so because of her damaged hands, so she did the next best thing. With her gun above her head, Kenzie squeezed off several rounds into the sky, creating instant pandemonium with the boom of her 9mm.

A screaming mass of people stampeded for cover as the ringing sound of gunfire reverberated through the sleepy little town. One of the taco handcarts fell over, entangling the people who had been standing in line in front of it. Locals and tourists alike found themselves in the midst of the maelstrom. Diversion accomplished, Kenzie took off running after Fernando's truck.

Cobra swore under his breath as he pressed past the frightened people. The sight of his gun added to the panic as he pushed his way down the street. He made it to the corner just in time to see Kenzie turning down the next road.

She knew Cobra would be right behind her, so she pushed her body to its limit. Ignoring the stabbing pain in her side, she raced toward the moving pickup.

Fernando's eyes were wide as he watched her approach in the side mirror. Lifting his foot off the gas, he slowed the truck, giving her a chance to get on.

Kenzie waved him forward. "GO...GO!" she yelled, urging him to pick up speed. A few more steps and her fingertips touched the rear of the truck. With one last bound, Kenzie reached for the tailgate and pulled herself from the road just as Cobra turned the corner behind her. The first
thwap
of a bullet hitting the tailgate was all she needed to launch herself into the bed of the truck. She grimaced as her body slammed to safety. Two more
thwaps
hit the box of the truck, and she slapped her open hand against the rear window. "Go go go!" Rolling over, she raised her gun and fired the last of her ammunition back at her assailant. Cobra buckled and collapsed to the ground, but as the truck rounded the next corner, she saw him slowly rising to his feet. With a deep sigh of relief, Kenzie leaned her head back against the truck and closed her eyes. They were alive, and for that, she was grateful, even if she did feel like crap.

A short time later, the pickup truck was bouncing up a dusty road. Cresting a small rise, Kenzie spotted a little Cessna, their ticket to Tijuana. It was old and patched together, but it had two wings, and that was enough. As they approached, she saw what was an almost non-existent runway - a hard packed road cut through the rocky, barren landscape. The pickup truck slowed to stop and Cori was out of the passenger seat and around to the bed of the truck before the dust they had created caught up to them.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so," Kenzie said as she moved slowly to her feet. Climbing from the bed of the truck, she looked Cori over. "Are you okay?"

Cori nodded, afraid that her voice would reveal that she was still shaking. "That was close," she said as Kenzie traced the bullet holes. Cori moved in next to her. "Who was that?"

Kenzie shifted her gaze to watch Fernando prep the plane. "I don't know his real name, just his call sign - they call him Cobra."

"So you've worked with him?"

"In a manner of speaking. He's an idiot and an asshole, but he's more than competent at what he does. Come on. Let's get out of here before he finds us again."

Walking toward the plane, Cori paused and looked back at the pickup. "How did he find us?"

"That's something I'd give a lot to know. However, we don't have the time or the ammunition to sit around and wait for him to show up so we can ask him."

Cobra's wound was only superficial, but it still hurt like hell. The locals surely would have called the cops by now and they'd be looking for him. He had no plans to stick around and answer any questions, besides he still had a job to do.

The town was in chaos. People were running about, talking excitedly amongst themselves as they cleaned up the aftermath. No one stopped him as he shoved himself into his stifling hot car. Pulling away from the curb, he put his hand into his shirt to check the extent of the damage. He noted the blood on his fingers with disdain. "You're going to pay for that, you bitch."

Driving as fast as he dared, Cobra followed the road his quarry had left on, out of town and up the winding hill. Once clear of Santa Rosalia, he reached under the seat and pulled out his satellite phone. He dialed a number and then placed the phone against his shoulder as he reached for his Blackberry.

"It's Cobra."

"This better be good news."

Cobra looked down at the Blackberry on the seat beside him "It's not."

"What went wrong this time?"

"She got away."

Manuck cursed loudly. "How?"

"She got lucky. By the looks of it, some local is helping her."

"This woman has more lives than a cat!"

Cobra sighed loudly. "Well, don't worry, because I'm right behind her."

"Don't tell me not to worry. If she gets back to the States, we're all going to have a problem. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Cobra turned off the highway onto the bumpy dusty road. The fine dust in the air and fresh tire tracks disturbing the soil kept him on their trail. "I'm right behind her...or rather them. Their dust is pretty easy to follow out here."

Manuck leaned forward in his seat. "Them?"

"Yeah, she's not alone."

"Some local you said."

"Worse - or better, depending how you look at it."

"You're kidding! They're together?" Manuck mulled over the information. It was an interesting turn of events. However, it was not necessarily bad news. "Fine, if they're together, then get them both. If everyone had done their jobs right to begin with, they would both be dead right now anyhow. So if they're together, kill them both!"

Only half listening, Cobra slowed his car as a plume of dust rose above the distant hill. The roar of a plane drowned out the sound of Manuck's ranting. Cobra's shoulders slumped in defeat as the little Cessna flew right over him. "Yeah, they're together," he said reluctantly as his car rolled to a stop. Climbing from the car, he shielded his eyes from the sun as he watched the plane climb in altitude. "Colonel..." He attempted to interrupt, but Manuck was not listening. "Colonel...Colonel Manuck."

"What!"

"They're gone, I've missed them."

"What do you mean, missed them?"

"They're gone." Cobra seethed in anger and frustration as the aircraft grew smaller and smaller against the sky. "They just flew over my head in a small plane." The Cessna ascended out and over the Sea of Cortez, then banked hard to the left, heading north. "And Colonel, they're heading in your direction."

Chapter 10

Kenzie rested her head against the cool plastic window, but the vibration was more than her pounding head could handle.
Where had Cobra come from? How did he find us?
The thought unnerved her more than she wanted to admit, even to herself. The only phone call she'd made had been to Big Polly.
But Cori used a phone in Mazatldn to call her mother! And she used the phone on Manny's boat...
Kenzie turned to look at Cori.
No way!
She didn't want to pursue the questions churning in her mind, but she couldn't help it.
It's possible! At this point anything seemed possible. But if she called someone...who did she call?