Cold River Resurrection (26 page)

C
hapter
62

Aboard Gulfstream 550

Amy followed the blinking red dot as it made its way south. She didn’t know exactly where Luke Air Force Base was, close to Phoenix she thought, but the red dot was moving south of Phoenix on her map, almost to Mexico. She had to tell the others. Something was wrong.

“Uh, Smokey. Lieutenant?” Smokey opened his eyes.

“Smokey, look at this.” She pointed to the screen of her laptop Smokey.

“What am I looking at?”
he asked. He turned to look at the screen, Sarah and Nathan crowding around him.

“That Lear jet is supposed to be heading for Luke Air Force Base, right?”

“Yeah, so…”

“Well, isn’t Luke here?
” Amy pointed at the screen, to a spot west of Phoenix.

“Okay?” Smokey wasn’t getting it yet.

“Well, according to our tracking device, the red dot is way south of Phoenix, almost to Mexico. It’s even well south of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, the destination they filed in their flight plan!” She thought about what it could mean, and right now she didn’t know, but it felt wrong.

“Uh, sir, I’m not sure what it means,” she added.

Smokey went cold.

“How accurate is your device?”

“Stan said that it is as accurate as the military’s GPS, within feet. It’s being tracked by satellites, sending out a signal that anyone can track with the right codes and frequency.”

Smokey knew what it meant. It had been too easy. The druggies were too smart to just be taken down in the United States.

The feds have the wrong plane. The have the wrong plane, and Laurel and Jennifer will soon be in Mexico.

Well, so will we.

Alvarez was a dead man, he just didn’t know it yet.

Sarah waved her hand, getting Smokey’s attention, holding up his cell phone.

“Oakley for you.”

Smokey snatched the phone and listened. He turned cold, his breath coming in shallow gasps, as much from losing Laurel as from the news. He thought Amy was right, but he held out a small hope that she was wrong and the feds were right.

The feds did indeed have the wrong plane.

“How could this happen?” Smokey asked Oakley, his voice harsh, unyielding.

“We don’t know that yet,” Oakley said. “A lot of planes in this airspace, switched transponder, wrong information, misinformation, don’t know.”

“What I need from you now, to be sent to my plane, is all information you have about Alvarez’s operation, aerial photos, strength of his security, where they might take Laurel and Jennifer.”

Oakley was silent.

“Look, I want it now, or what good are you!” Smokey yelled into the phone. The others in the cabin froze. Smokey took a breath and tried to calm himself. It wouldn’t help Laurel if he lost it.

“Look, Oakley, I’m not asking you to go to Mexico with me, I just need that information,
because we will be landing at that ranch in –.” He looked up at Weasel, who held up one finger. “We will be landing at the meth lab, or wherever we track them to, in one hour. We need that information, and some contact people on the ground if you can get it for us, maybe military, create a diversion.”

“I’ll get you everything I can,” Oakley said. “Listen, Smokey, Alvarez has an army there, maybe a hundred or more on duty at any time, but he can get more from his private barracks. Most are former army, police, or long time dopers.”

“Yeah, I know,” Smokey said. “We met some of them at my mother’s place, remember?”

Smokey listened to Oakley’s reply, and flipped the phone closed.

“Okay, listen up,” he told his team, his voice all business, “the feds have the wrong plane. Nathan, come up with an assault plan on their meth lab, we go into their lab uninvited, going in hot, with hostiles there. Get a plan to get us from the airport to follow the tracking device. We’ll need a plane guard too. Weasel, can you join us?”

When they presented the operations plan to Smokey he told them it might just work.

As far as plans go, it’s all we have. As far as plans go, it sucks.

Hope some of us make it back alive.

Doubt it, Smokey old son. Doubt it.

C
hapter
63

Aboard the Lear

Jennifer felt the plane bank, slow down, then slow some more.

We’re landing.

Wherever we are, we’re landing. Sure hope it’s in the United States. If not, we’re gonna be dead, and I can’t let that happen to Laurel.

“Laurel,” she whispered.

“Mmmmmpfff.”

Laurel’s voice was muffled, sleepy.

“Laurel! I think we’re landing. Be ready to run if I can get your blindfold off. I will try to knock the one by the door down when we get to the steps, and then you run.”

“Where, Jen? I don’t know where you want me to run, I don’t want to go away from you, can’t we stay together?” Laurel was whispering furiously, the worry in her voice made Jennifer want to cry.

“We’ll see, Honey, we’ll see. I want you to rub your head on my shoulder, try to pull the blindfold up, and I’ll do the same, right when the plane comes to a stop.”

“Okay, Jen. But I don’t want to go anywhere without you. Please?”

“Okay, Honey, I’ll be right behind you. People are sure to come for us. I think if you can run and hide somewhere, it might give us some time. Maybe you can find someone to help you, I promise it will work.”

And maybe you can avoid being raped. Oh God, what are we go
ing to do?

She wished later that she had never promised. The last promise she made to Laurel, was broken within minutes. Promises were sacred, or should be, for everyone, but for a
nine-year-old, they were life. 

The plane landed with a soft bump and chirp of tires, and then they slowed. Jennifer tensed.

“Laurel.”

“What
?” Her reply was soft, and Jen could hear the fear in her voice.

“Laurel, we might not need to do anything, but whatever we do, we will do together. Kay?”

“Okay, Jen.”

They taxied for what seemed to be a long time, and then slowed, and stopped. She heard the men on the plane standing, joking, gathering bags from their seats.

Something was wrong.

The door opened and warm air from the outside came in through the door. But there was something else, something she couldn’t explain. Voices came in through the door.

They were speaking in Spanish!

She struggled to get her blindfold off, got a part of it up over her left eye, and a grinning Alvarez came into her vision.

“Well, my little putas,” he said. “Welcome to Hermosillo, Mexico.”

They were in Mexico, in the hands of a ruthless, sadistic and powerful drug dealer. Had it not been for Laurel counting on her, Jennifer would have lost it by then
. After all of her trials in the past week, this was the end.

But Laurel, I have to stay strong for her.

I have to.

C
hapter
64

Gulfstream 550

Mexican airspace, 100 miles north of Hermosillo

“Dial in the coordinates for the landing strip,” Weasel said. “Figure an approach for us, we’ll  be landing in thirty minutes or less.”

“Already have it,” Charley said. “We’ll be letting down in ten minutes.”

Smokey watched and listened as Nathan went over the plan.

“Maps look good," Nathan said, standing over the printout of material Oakley sent. He briefed the others on the plan. “Burwell, you and Kincaid will form a rear guard, keep this plane intact
because we might be coming back in a hurry. I don’t have to tell you how important this plane is.”

Burwell nodded, and tapped fists with Kincaid.

Sarah gave both of them a hug.

“From the landing, we are in hostile territory, consider everyone a combatant. We will follow the tracking device to Laurel and Jennifer. When we snatch them we’ll  be coming back to the airport in a hurry.”

As Nathan talked, Smokey looked at his crew. Sarah came over and fussed with his bandage.

“You’re bleeding again,” she said.

“Won’t be long now,” Smokey said. “Won’t be long before we get Laurel and Jennifer and get the hell out of here.”

Smokey looked at Amy, seeing her for the first time. She was slight, about five foot one, and had long brown hair, a pleasant face, looked to be very young, about twenty-five. She had a tattoo of a Tasmanian Devil on her left arm. Who was this young girl who was risking her life and more to help them? She looked up at him and he motioned her to the seat next to him, Sarah still fussing with his bandage.

When Amy sat, Smokey reached out with his good arm and put his arm around her. She leaned into him and sighed.

“It’s gonna get bad, isn’t it?”
she said.

“It’s already bad,” Smokey said, “but I want to tell you something about my daughter. How special she is, what a warm heart she has.”

“I already know that,” Amy said. “I saw her on the mountain, remember?”

“Amy, I don’t know what to say to you. You know we are in extreme danger.”

“Well, yeah, but I kinda feel like I know Laurel, and I know you would do the same thing for me. But I’m doing this for Stan. They killed him, and he was a good guy, didn’t deserve what they did to him.”

“Can you show us how to run that thing now?” Smokey pointed to the laptop.”

“I will point the way on the ground, I can move fast. You guys,” and she looked at Sarah and smiled, “and gals just protect me, keep me safe, and I’ll find them for you.”

“I promise you that will happen,” Smokey said.

As it turned out, he had made one or two promises too many, and couldn’t keep them all.

Not by half.

The army they were going up against, they weren’t all that good, but there were a lot of them, and they all had guns.

Hermosillo

Aboard Lear 45

Alvarez roughly removed Jennifer’s blindfold, his scarred face close to hers She blinked, the cabin lights bright, glaring. Alvarez jerked Laurel’s blindfold off and smiled at her. Jennifer was so close to the large pistol Alvarez carried in the waistband of his pants she thought of making a grab for it. As she reached her hand out he shoved her forward down the narrow aisle. The others were already gone.

“Don’t touch me!” Laurel yelled, twisting around and glaring at their captor. He laughed and shoved her up against Jennifer.

Jennifer braced herself in the aisle, hooked her right leg under a seat, and pulled Laurel in front of her.

“Don’t touch her, you fucking asshole,” Jennifer said calmly. Alvarez laughed again, pointed to the front of the plane.

“You may not understand what I’m saying, but you get the message. Don’t touch her.”

He pulled his gun and pointed it at Jennifer’s head.

“Get the fuck out of the plane, now,” he said in English, his calm manner more threatening than if he had yelled at her.

“I’ll stay right behind you,” Jennifer said to Laurel, ignoring the threat. Her knees were shaking and she hoped the man behind her didn’t see it. She couldn’t show him, and more importantly, show Laurel how scared she was.

She walked down the aisle, slowly, trying to think about what they should do. She knew that they would be separated as soon as they got to wherever they were being taken. And then they would be without any options, and would be killed or worse. 

Now is the time. Might not work, but what else can we do? Poor Laurel. She has such a life in front of her.

And so do I. And Smokey. What would it have been like to get to know him. To love him.

Never know, Jen. But you have to save the little one. Do whatever.

“Get your ass off my plane, you little whore,” Alvarez said, crowding up behind them.

Laurel stood in the doorway, looking out. Jennifer came up behind her and looked at the airstrip. The men who had been on the plane were getting into an SUV just off the runway, and another was waiting. There was a building on the other side, and a fuel truck, and some lights off in the distance.

Nothing else.

Maybe time for Laurel to run.

“Laurel.” Jennifer bent down and spoke softly into her ear.

“Laurel, when I say ‘go’ I want you to run for that fuel truck, hide, and then run to the far end of the runway, find a place to hide, then get to the large town, find a friendly family, something.”

Laurel turned, looking up at Jennifer. “I don’t want to go, Jen, but I will. Maybe we should stay together.”

“It’ll be okay.”

“I love you, Jen.” And Laurel leaned back against Jennifer and rubbed her back against Jennifer’s legs.

“I love you too, Kiddo.” Jennifer glanced back inside the plane. Alvarez was walking up behind her, his gun pointed at her back.

“Go,” Jennifer whispered. Then she said it louder.

“Go!” She threw herself back into Alvarez. Laurel hesitated for a second, then ran down the steps and bolted across the runway, turning once to look back at Jennifer. She pumped her legs, her bound hands up high, swinging from side to side as she ran.

Jennifer knocked Alvarez back, but the man didn’t go down, and he pushed Jennifer forward into the doorway, and swung the large automatic pistol at her head. Jennifer ducked at the last moment and the barrel struck her hard on the shoulder. Pain shot down her arm, and Alvarez kicked her down the stairs.

Jennifer stumbled and pitched forward, bouncing hard on the pavement, the drop only three feet, and she looked up as Laurel ran for the fuel truck in the dark.

Alvarez raised the pistol and pulled the trigger.

He’s shooting!

Alvarez stood in the doorway above Jennifer and shot at the fleeing girl. Jennifer started to rise, to jump up and get Alvarez, when he shot again. And again.

And Laurel went down.

“Nooooooo!” Jennifer screamed.

When Jennifer said “Go!” Laurel jumped down from the plane and ran for the truck as Jennifer told her to. The truck was just up ahead, a large dark shape looking to Laurel like a rusting elephant on the side of the runway. She heard the first shot. The bullet hit the asphalt in front of her, throwing up sparks, and she veered to her right, running as fast as she could, thinking that her dad would be proud of her, running so fast, and he knew that she didn’t like to run. Once on a field day at the elementary school, she had walked through the running events. Her
dad was gone, in Afghanistan, killing bad people, and later she felt bad, not running fast for her dad.

Daddy look now I’m running fast
.

Daddy I know you’re okay you’ll come for us
.

Daddy sorry I couldn’t help mommy when you were gone
.

Daddy, I’m sorry I took the fry bread money from Tutu, Jennifer said you would forgive me, I never told you
.

Daddy I’m
. . .

The sparks from the bullets hit all around Laurel, the shots loud, even as she ran, one bullet touching the fabric on the side of her jeans. She didn’t feel it, and ran on.

Daddy I’m . . .

And the bullet took her high up on the top of her head and Laurel dropped.

Daddy I’m sorry . . .

Jennifer threw herself at Alvarez, screaming, “Kill you,” and he hit her, hard with a vicious backhand that sent her sprawling. She got up on her hands and knees, blood drooling from her mouth as she looked at the crumpled form on the runway. Alvarez grabbed her arm, pulled her up to her feet, and shoved her forward toward a waiting vehicle.

“Pick up that trash,” he said, pointing toward Laurel’s body, “and bring it with us.”

Jennifer turned once to look at the crumpled form on the runway, until she couldn’t see Laurel at all.

I just didn’t save her. Smokey, I’m so sorry, I  . . .

And Jennifer sobbed.