Short Cut (The Reluctant Hustler Book 2)

by J. Gregory Smith

  Aziz jumped like he’d been zapped with a cattle prod. “Grist?”

  “You know him?” Rollie said.

  “We do,” Ali said. “He has caused us problems on both sides of the globe.”

  Aziz was more specific. “He murdered my cousin in Tikrit.”

  Ali nodded. “One of my couriers, helping Tom with the package.” He looked at Rollie. “You saw where he went?”

  “Whoever is coming, let’s go and I’ll fill you in,” Rollie said. “Where’s Tom?”

  “I’ll stay with him,” Ali said. “What about the other one. Mauser?”

  “Your guy got him, but I’m afraid Mauser shot him back before he bled out.”

  I had plenty of questions, but they could wait until we got moving.

  “Aziz?” Ali didn’t have to ask twice.

  * * *

  I jumped into the Blue Bomber still carrying Aziz’s pistol. Aziz sat in back and Rollie roared the Bomber up the slopes like he was doing the Pike’s Peak road rally.

  “What happened?” I said. “If talking won’t make you crash. What was that green light? It really messed with Mauser.”

  “That was all VP.” Rollie sawed at the wheel and the old car drifted up the switchbacks. “I’ll let her tell you.”

  Aziz clutched the door handle. I made sure his finger was far from the trigger of that AK.

  Rollie whipped the car around a rock pile and skidded to a stop next to where VP sat cross-legged on the ground working a controller and barely looking up from her work.

  “Yo,” she said to me as she crawled into the back with her gear. She kind of waved to Aziz, then went back to her screen. “Roll out, dude,” she said to Rollie. “Hang a right on the main road. I need to land and swap batteries.”

  “You got him?” Rollie said.

  “Had him. He was hauling ass, no way to keep up, but it’s thick with trees along here. Not much choice for him. If we hurry it’s the only road for a bit.” She never looked up from the screen and I couldn’t see it from the front seat.

  Rollie left rubber on the pavement when we made the turn. The road was dark and quiet, and I saw no sign of police.

  “Half a mile up,” VP said, “I’m down on the right side of the road.”

  “What is that?” I asked.

  She finally looked up and I could see she was sweating from the concentration. “He drives a car, you drive a truck, and I’m the best damn drone pilot you ever met.”

  “That’s how you tailed us from the truck shop?”

  “You know it.” She gave a little proud smile. “I’m sorry about your friend. I was as quick as I could be.”

  “That was your green laser?” Aziz said.

  “Rollie was going to try to do a … what did you call it?”

  “Counter-sniper.” Rollie jammed on the brakes. I saw the drone sitting on the shoulder, otherwise we had the dark unlit road to ourselves. VP jumped out and swapped out a battery pack. As soon as she returned to the car the four rotors buzzed into life and the bricklike body lifted from the shoulder and zipped forward.

  We hadn’t moved and I realized Rollie was waiting for the drone to scout the road ahead.

  “Anyway, I had a better idea,” VP said. “We kept the car out of sight once we saw where the ambulance parked. Then I had to change batteries and that goon Mauser gave us the slip. Rollie watched while I scanned the area at a distance. He figured out the best sniping spots and damned if it didn’t work.”

  “We weren’t sure when to move because we didn’t know what they were doing with you and Tom,” Rollie said.

  “I saw Mauser shift his aim and we spotted your sniper guy.” VP pointed to Aziz. “Then we saw Kyle get all worked up and suddenly Mauser looked like he was going to start blasting you guys instead.”

  “He was,” I said.

  “Yeah, well I wish I could carry missiles on my little drone, but I had to make do. I flew as close as I could before I thought he’d see me and when he went all tunnel vision on that scope, I let him have it with the laser.”

  “You should have heard him,” I said. “You saved my life.”

  “I’m glad he missed. Then your guy shot him, but he kept firing back at him and down at your group. He must have hit your man, he went down, but I saw the rest of you on the ground scatter.”

  “Tom’s hit in the leg,” I said. “Could have been much worse.”

  She and Rollie had seen what happened at the ambulance from a distance, but I filled them in on the details—until I froze. I’d gotten so caught up I’d almost forgotten about Stu. “Did you see what they did with the guy who worked at the truck place?”

  “Huh?” Rollie and VP said at the same time.

  “They buried him alive.” I explained what happened.

  “We’ll get him out,” Rollie said. “First, we nail this piece of garbage.” He eased the car forward at VP’s okay.

  “I think I hit him.” Aziz found his voice.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “No, but it spoiled his aim when I began to shoot,” he said.

  “It sure did,” I said. “I thought I was a dead man.”

  VP interrupted. “Got a bunch of turnouts here, but nobody parked.”

  “I hit the ambulance a number of times,” Aziz said.

  “Grist knows we can describe the vehicle,” I said. “Bullet holes will only look worse. He’s going to ditch it first chance he gets.”

  “Whoa,” VP yelled. “I got him.”

  “Where is he?” Rollie asked.

  “Just the ambulance. It’s in a little empty parking lot on the right side. Careful, the driver’s side door is open.”

  Rollie goosed the gas pedal.

  “There’s a hiking trailhead,” VP said.

  “Can you follow it?” Rollie asked.

  “Better not. It looks really narrow, I think I’d just wreck it on a tree and tip him off.”

  “Just let me out,” Aziz said.

  I wanted to warn him about how dangerous Grist was, but of course he already knew that. He also didn’t look like he was in any mood to listen.

  Rollie killed his headlights and pulled over before the turn into the parking lot. We were still the only ones on the road this late. I figured we had a couple hours of darkness left. Grist could be long gone by then if we didn’t catch him.

  Rollie got out of the car and I saw he had his old .45 with him. He pointed to Aziz and me. “You two take point and approach the back doors. I’ll cover the driver’s side in case he’s still in there. Make sure you know where everyone is before you fire, I’m too old to get fragged.”

  “Fragged?” Aziz had followed Rollie’s directions until that last. He’d had some training.

  “He just means be careful,” I said.

  “VP, can you loiter with that thing and watch the trail in case he comes back this way?”

  “Yeah, I’m still okay on juice. If I see him, I’ll go nuts with the laser and blow the horn.”

  Rollie nodded. “Let’s check that meat wagon.”

  The moon was in and out of the clouds but we gave our eyes a minute to adjust. We approached the lot and saw the ambulance parked at an angle at the other end, maybe fifty feet away. The dome light was still on from the open driver’s door and as we got closer, I thought I could make out some dark smears on the interior door panel.

  I tried to be as quiet as possible hating the crunch of gravel under my feet. Aziz moved like a cat and Rollie, despite his age, regressed into the marine sniper he’d been decades ago, moving forward in a crouch, stopping to listen every few feet. I strained to pick up any sound from inside the ambulance, but no luck. Other than my big feet, all I could hear was the faint whirr of VP’s drone. The electric operation may have devoured batteries, but damn was it quiet.

  Rollie had shifted to hand signals and Aziz seemed to follow them just fine. He held his AK like a soldier and kept his finger off the trigger.

  When we got close to the back doo
rs the dome light worked to our advantage. We could see inside the windows and Grist would have to be crouched down, but even so, we’d be ready if he burst out.

  Rollie had melted into some of the roadside bushes and had a perfect vantage on the driver’s side. If Grist bailed from the passenger side Aziz could hit him from the right.

  It was hard to tell from where I stood if the ambulance had been parked or crashed. I got to the back door and Aziz stood off at an angle, weapon raised. I yanked hard on the handle and hauled the door wide open and scrambled to the side bracing for a burst (or bursts) of gunfire.

  “Clear,” Aziz said.

  Rollie moved to the front and echoed Aziz. “Looks you did hit him earlier, young man.”

  Blood smears and spatter decorated the back floor and streaked toward the driver’s seat. A couple empty bandage boxes sat on the passenger seat.

  I noticed the case I gave him was missing. “He took the money.”

  “Blood trail,” Aziz called out, and shone a shrouded light toward the ground and we all saw intermittent droplets leading toward the trailhead.

  “Wait here,” Rollie said. “Let me get my rifle. We don’t know what he’s packing.”

  I nodded and Rollie jogged back to the car.

  “You wait,” Aziz said. “I can follow a blood trail.” He padded to the trailhead and squatted. He touched the ground and licked his fingers.

  “Don’t,” I hissed.

  He grinned and dashed into the woods.

  I had a split second to decide. I jogged after Aziz. I knew Rollie would be pissed, but I trusted him more than Aziz not to shoot me by accident. If I was close to Aziz, at least he’d know where I was.

  * * *

  The instant I left the parking lot I questioned my decision. Dark went to near inky blackness in the trees. I had to crouch to avoid losing the trail, and the trees and brush intruded across the path and scratched my face. I strained my ears. I heard a shuffling sound and followed it around a bend in the trail. Where the hell did Aziz go? No sign of the flashlight. He’d either turned it off or was concealing the beam well.

  I was about to go back toward the trailhead when I damn near ran into Aziz, who whipped around and pressed the rifle barrel into my chest.

  “Stupid!” he said in a fierce whisper. “Look.” He pointed and by now my eyes had adjusted enough to make out faint distinction on the trail and sure enough I saw the money case and more dime-sized black droplets that had to be blood.

  But no body.

  Aziz reached for the case and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I snatched his arm back with so much force he tipped over onto his butt.

  He cursed in Arabic, but quietly, and I leaned toward his ear and said, “Boom?”

  Blood trails and jungle warfare weren’t my strong suits, but I was very familiar with booby traps and IEDs.

  Now I saw the whites of his eyes for a moment and knew he got my meaning. He patted my arm in gratitude.

  “He’s got to be close,” I said.

  Then we heard crackling branches and a loud grunt followed by a thump like a sack of grain smacking the ground.

  Chapter 33

  In the woods near the trailhead

  It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the sound had come from, but I was sure it was closer to the trailhead rather than deeper into the woods.

  “Rollie,” I whispered and started back along the path we’d come. Aziz heard the same thing and being faster, took the lead.

  I ignored the swelling in my leg and forced myself to keep up. When we were close to the entrance, I nearly ran into Aziz for a second time.

  Aziz stepped over a prone body and I saw it was Rollie. Aziz had his rifle up and swept it left and right looking for Grist. I knelt by Rollie and gulped in relief when my fingers found a pulse in his neck. His breathing was shallow and I felt a knot on his head just behind one ear. His rifle lay under a bush.

  Before I could think what to do next, I heard a crackle of branches and a pair of coughing sounds.

  Aziz cried out and dropped his rifle without firing a shot. He fell to his knees while clutching his belly. I raised my pistol and tried to stand when a sharp blow struck my wrist and the gun dropped out of my hands. I saw a dark figure in front of me and swung with my left, but the shadow ducked and I felt another blow on my good knee that caused me to sink to the ground in agony.

  “Stay right there,” Grist’s voice came from the specter. He wasn’t dressed like a paramedic anymore. He was in all black with a balaclava covering his face. The moon emerged from behind the clouds and I could see a little better. I also realized how close we were to the entrance where the trail opened up.

  Grist held an automatic pistol with an enormous suppressor on the end. The big can was aimed right at my face. “You got nine lives or something?” He glanced over his shoulder.

  Aziz groaned and I saw blood, way too much blood, washing over his fingers.

  Grist saw the same thing I did. “I have saline and some other gear that might pull him through until you get him to a hospital.”

  “What do you want now?” I asked.

  “What I came for. You had to get cute, didn’t you? Your friend here.” He nudged Rollie with his boot. “That’s no hunting rifle. He’s more than just a nosy landlord, isn’t he? Is he the one who blinded Mauser with that laser?”

  I thought of VP out there. How I could somehow tell her to get away, call Bishop. Hell, any cops. “Yeah, I think so.”

  Grist patted Rollie down and took the pistol. “Where’d he put it? I’d love to end his sniping days with it.”

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “Here’s the deal, Kyle. We’re going back to the quarry before it gets light. You are going to find those diamonds and I’m going to leave.”

  “Or?”

  “You might not care about this mutt, but the old guy, that’s another story.”

  “Okay, I’ll show you,” I said. “Can we try to help Aziz?”

  “Why not?” Grist smiled. “One last thing.”

  “What?”

  “Tell VP to join the party.”

  I felt like I’d swallowed a bucket of ice. “Who?”

  “Never play poker, Kyle. I overheard the old man say something.”

  “You may have misheard. We’re it.”

  “While we wait for this one to bleed out, maybe I’d understand better with someone else’s ears.” He held the pistol and with his other hand pocketed his collapsible baton and drew a cruel-looking double-edged knife.

  “Don’t.”

  “I learned this over in the Sand Box. Mauser showed me. One-handed, the key is quick hands and a really sharp blade.” Grist pressed the flat of the blade against Rollie’s head just above his ear. “Watch, now,” he said.

  I heard a buzz getting louder.

  “I’ll tell you,” I said. “I hardly know him, but VP is—”

  Grist heard the sound too and he sprang to his feet like a cat and turned toward this new threat.

  The buzz rose in pitch and all I saw was a quick shadow dart from the sky. The impact with Grist’s face sounded like a raw egg hitting pavement.

  Grist fell backward, tripping over Rollie and landing on Aziz. I saw the knife drop from his hand, but he retained his grip of the pistol.

  Like a boxer about to get a standing eight count Grist struggled to try to regain his feet. At first, he seemed to be tangled up with Aziz then I realized they were fighting. Aziz grappled with him and Grist still seemed dazed, concentrating on breaking free.

  I looked around felt around under the bushes until I found Rollie’s rifle. I had no I idea if it had a round chambered. I made sure I wasn’t too close to them and aimed it at Grist. I couldn’t get a shot, not yet. He needed to get clear from Aziz.

  Grist pushed Aziz in the chest and I heard that coughing sound again when he shot him point blank. Aziz fell back but had Grist’s knife in his fist. Grist managed to stand and he made a horrible gargli
ng sound as he reached for his throat. Blood on his chest that I thought had come from Aziz now poured from his neck.

  Grist turned toward me, but he seemed to look right through my body. The muzzle of the pistol wavered in my direction, then the gun dropped to the ground as Grist sagged to his knees, pawing at his neck, and then he pitched face first into the dirt.

  I kept the gun on him, waiting for him to pop up with another gun or blade, but he didn’t move. Then I looked at Aziz, who’d lost consciousness again. I went to his side. “Aziz, stay with me.”

  He didn’t respond and I felt for a pulse. Nothing.

  “No, No, No!” I rolled him over and tried chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth. It didn’t help, but I tried again anyway, keeping an eye on Grist.

  “Is that everyone?”

  I whipped around to see VP in her hoodie, crouched and holding a can of pepper spray. She saw my look and said, “Don’t know how to shoot.” She stepped closer. “Oh crap, I’m gonna puke.”

  “Later, I need help with Rollie.”

  That seemed to shake her out of her revulsion. She scampered up the trail and between us we managed to get Rollie to the back of the ambulance. I searched the cabinets inside the ambulance and was surprised to find some of the supplies Grist had promised. I took some smelling salts out of a first aid kit.

  I wasn’t sure if they were a good idea or not. Before I could decide, I heard Rollie groan. I made sure he didn’t try to roll over and off the gurney, but knew he had to stay on his side. If he woke up on his back and vomited, he might choke.

  “Hey, buddy. How you feeling? It’s Kyle. You’re safe.”

  His eyelids fluttered and opened. He started to look around. “Ah my skull.”

  “Stay still. You got clipped in the back of the head.”

  “Hospital?”

  “Grist’s ambulance.”

  “Is he …?”

  “Yeah.”

  VP called over. “Welcome back. The good guys won.”

  Had they? Somehow it felt more like the “less bad” guys won. That said, I was pretty damn glad to be alive.

  “VP, see if you can find an ice pack and more bandages,” I said. Grist had done a decent job wrapping up his wounded arm and considering the trap he’d prepared he hadn’t been as injured as he let on.