Thunderbird

by Susan Slater

  “That’s something we can do without. Too much light.”

  “Maybe it’ll help us see them quicker.”

  “Works both ways—if Bertrand is keeping an eye out for us.” Tommy didn’t slow until they entered a small clearing.

  A meeting place for women to grind corn? Probably. But the mix of footprints said it had served the purpose of a meeting place rather recently, too.

  Tommy squatted. “I think I’m glad we missed the crowd. Looks like the colonel has some backup.”

  “How many?”

  “Oh, four, at least. Pretty good coverage.”

  “It looks like they all left together heading up and over the top of that rise.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “Follow.”

  Tommy didn’t say anything but thought Ben knew that the tracks were leading to the caves—the way that Brenda surely must have come.

  They fell silent again as Tommy led the way then stopped every fifty feet or so to look at the ground.

  “They’ve separated.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, three went to the right, that leaves two continuing forward.”

  Tommy scanned the horizon. He hated being unprotected, out in the open, following someone who might know they were back there all the time—but he hated worse the thought of someone circling, coming up from behind, not seen or heard until it was too late.

  Tommy wished he had all the facts. But he had very little, really. He had the colonel’s explanation but mostly, there were still a lot of questions. Was Ronnie a pawn working with others or had he acted by himself? Had he killed Hap to claim all of the prize for himself? What were his intentions when it came to Brenda? If he was a murderer, he’d be out of the picture for a long time—maybe permanently. Would Brenda continue to support a killer?

  He motioned for Ben to follow him closer. He had to know, and he had to get his gun back. He hadn’t shared that part with Ben. It had been a really stupid thing to do and thanks to his old nemesis, hindsight, he wouldn’t do it again.

  “I think if we cut through here we’ll be above them—at least the two that seem headed to the caves.”

  At a trot, Tommy cut across a rugged strip of rocky soil that banked the crumbling stone wall that ran for a hundred yards and posed the last defense between the people of the rock houses and unknown foes from the south. The yellow fractured cliffs of sandstone rose straight up as backdrop to these stone and mortar homes that once extended some twenty miles along the floor of a narrow rift, cut by the once life-giving waterway.

  Tommy and Ben were parallel with the Chaco Wash, now only a trickle but history proved it had been a good sized river some fifteen hundred years earlier. The footing was more secure along its sandy edges. Saltbush and shrub grass clumped to periodically slow their progress, but they were making good time.

  The helicopter was a surprise. They saw it resting on the flat mesa above where the ranger had died.

  “What do you think?” Tommy slowed, then stopped.

  “Makes sense. The colonel would have that kind of clout, be able to order transportation. And I think it tells us that my hunch was right. They’re in this area big time. Tommy, according to the colonel, they’re tracking a murderer. They’re going to have the manpower and the equipment.”

  “Wonder how long it’s been up here. We would have heard it if they brought it in tonight.”

  “I was just thinking that. Maybe Hap brought it in—had planned some sort of getaway?”

  “Could be. I just hope it’s not being guarded.”

  Tommy and Ben approached from the rear but saw no one.

  “All by itself. Lucky for us.”

  “We should be just a couple hundred yards from where the opening is. The trick will be finding it.”

  “What are we looking for?”

  “Hole in the ground with steps leading into an underground kiva.”

  “Be careful. I’ll use the flashlight, but only if I have to.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Let her go. You and me can go get the headgear and finish this deal.”

  Ronnie’s voice. Brenda leaned forward to listen.

  “Sorry, my man, no can do. The helmet is already safely tucked away. I did some snooping in the caves the other day while I had the two of you under surveillance. Just happened to find what should have been left in the cockpit of the Stealth in the first place.”

  “With all due respect, Sir, I wasn’t sure your support group wouldn’t have killed me—if I’d stuck around and just handed everything over.”

  “Airman, you made one god-awful mess out of things. You know that? I had to take an innocent life to get that gear. Some idiot ranger came tracking me.”

  “Ranger?”

  “Good tits, great ass and a face that’d stop a clock.”

  “Edwina.”

  “Ed … what?”

  “Did you have to kill her? She was looking for me. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Blood’s on your head. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t tried to set me up. Are you really going to tell me you wanted more money?”

  “Sir?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me. Our deal was the electronics. That included the headgear. At the time of the crash-landing.”

  “I suppose your goons would have just loaded up and driven away? Shaken my hand.”

  “Something like that.”

  “You know what? I think my body was supposed to have been left—not the cadaver like I was told. The promise of a new life was never going to happen, was it? I never was supposed to have the payoff for making the plane available. You know, Sir, you’re one double-crossing son of a bitch.”

  “Probably so. But now it’s time for the fat lady.”

  “I have backup on the way. You won’t get away with this.”

  “You mean Hap?” Loud laughter. “I think you’re going to be disappointed.”

  “What happened to Colonel Anderson?” Ronnie’s voice was so quiet, Brenda strained to hear.

  “Had a little mishap. He told me to give you his regards.” Maniacal laughter.

  “What did you do to him?” Anger. Brenda shuddered.

  She’d never heard Ronnie like this.

  “Let’s say he was just recently retired—permanently retired.”

  Ronnie must have lunged because Brenda heard a scuffle and a sound of gasping—had he been kicked? There was another scraping sound, a thud, then quiet.

  “I know how disappointing this must be. So close, but no cigar. You know I’m going to have to kill you. If you’d just done like you were told—”

  “I’d be dead sooner.”

  “I know what it seemed. I know the boys got a little overzealous the other night. But there was never any reason for you to go running off.” Silence and then, “Son, believe me, I was all for saving you until you called Hap. Thank God for me if you had to suddenly find a conscience, you sought out someone who was stupid enough to handle it by himself. The last hurrah. That was Hap. This would have been his chance at redemption.”

  “How do you know Hap wasn’t in on it from the beginning—after you first approached me at Holloman?”

  “Because I’m a good judge of character. You weren’t some random roll of the dice; I knew your habits, your gambling debt, the obligations. You didn’t want to come home to the dirt huts and poverty out here. You’re no sheepherder, son. As they say, how you gonna keep ’em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paris. You were going places—you just needed a bankroll.” The colonel paused, then the sound of his moving away. “You and I are a lot alike. We like the good times—the things big money can buy. Cars, women—they’re expensive. I knew a lot about you. It was easy money. Money you needed. Crash land, the electronics would have been suspected as the culprit. A story of sabotage would have been circulated. You would have taken a blow on the head and gotten paid. But you had to do things your way, and look at the trouble it’s
caused.”

  Brenda felt the panic make her knees wobble. Would they kill her also? Of course. She was truly the expendable one. If she could only see. The blindfold was big but not that tight. Pretending to scratch her cheek on her shoulder, she inched the right side up. Damn. There was simply no way to slide it up far enough to have a clear view of her surroundings. She felt something sticky on her fingers and thought maybe she had cut her palms scrambling across the rocks to get the gun—the gun that was tucked into the belt of the man Ronnie called colonel. She had no feeling in her hands. Her shoulders ached from her arms being pulled behind her. But all this was secondary to the awful realization that she and Ronnie were going to die.

  “She wasn’t part of the deal.” Ronnie sounded adamant. “Leave her here.”

  “I’d say her being here makes her a part.”

  “She doesn’t know anything. It was a fluke that she was even near the crash site.”

  “If she’s been paying attention, she knows more than is good for her. No, I have a plan for our little lady here. In fact, you may have done me a favor. Gave me the perfect setup to get rid of Hap and you. Of course, you know no one’s going to question the fact that you killed Colonel Anderson. I’m not sure what story I want to circulate—he was coming to your rescue after you’d phoned for help; then you had second thoughts. Or maybe documents should be found implicating Hap from the beginning, the mastermind who relied on his protégé but didn’t realize your greediness.”

  “Bastard.”

  “Name-calling won’t win you points.”

  “Don’t kill Brenda.”

  “Oh, I won’t. That’s the good part. She’ll kill herself—right after she kills you. She is so appalled by what you’ve done and how you’ve treated her, she takes the only way out.”

  “No!” Ronnie screamed.

  “Enough of this. Let’s get going. Bring the girl here.”

  Someone grabbed Brenda’s arms and pulled her up. She felt the backside of the knife blade as it sliced through the ropes at her wrists. Instantly her hands began to tingle.

  “Jesus. She’s bleeding. How’d she cut her hands? Pretty difficult to prove she wasn’t held against her wishes. Doesn’t look good for you, Ronnie baby. Take the blindfold off, but gag her.”

  Brenda blinked her eyes as the man behind her pulled the cloth roughly to one side, then, stepping in front of her, rolled it to a penny-thick cord and forced it between her teeth. Both men then grabbed her upper arms and held her between them. The kiva was shrouded in darkness broken only by the occasional beam of a flashlight. There were only four in all besides Ronnie. Was that everyone? Hadn’t she heard movement above the kiva just a moment ago?

  Brenda could see Ronnie by the entrance. His hands were tied behind him and he was being forced to kneel. As her eyes focused, she could see a man with a gun on either side, one was holding him up by the shoulder. Both men were dressed in military garb—baggy camouflage pants tucked into black lace-up boots.

  “You have what you want. Get it over with. But don’t make the mistake of taking innocent blood. She has a child for God’s sake.”

  “Mistake? I don’t make mistakes.” The colonel’s voice was steely. “In fact, just how we’re going to do this is absolutely brilliant.” The colonel brought a pair of gloves out of a pocket of his jumpsuit and slipped them on. “See this?” He pulled Tommy’s gun from his belt. “Your girlfriend here is even going to shoot you with the lawman’s gun. That should take him out of commission for awhile once they find out he plays loose with government firearms.” More laughter. “Wonder if people will just think it’s a lover’s spat? You wouldn’t take her with you and she couldn’t face the disappointment and shame that your families would go through—there could be a thousand reasons. But don’t tell me the plan isn’t brilliant.”

  Suddenly he whirled on Brenda.

  “Hold her. Brace her arms out in front.”

  Brenda tried to kick the man to her left but it only got her a knee in the thigh. Sharp pain traveled up through her hip. She twisted, then suddenly slumped down going completely limp throwing both men holding her forward and down with her.

  “For God’s sake. Hold her upright and still.”

  Both men scrambled up. Both her arms were jerked forward as a third man grabbed her from behind and putting his arms around her body held her immobile and upright— this time there was no moving.

  “Now sweetheart you’ll hold the gun just like this.” The colonel grasped her hands; she balled her fists; he brought the butt of the pistol down hard on her wrist; she jerked in pain but the men forcing her arms forward locked them in position. The colonel forced her right hand around the barrel. Then suddenly with his finger over hers he swung their hands outward as he stepped to the side. She fought to unlock her elbows, squirming, screaming without coherent sound but another man braced her arms. She was sobbing. The gag, wet with saliva, cut into her cheeks. They were going to kill Ronnie—make her kill him.

  In rapid succession three shots filled the cave with reverberating noise. She saw Ronnie jerk forward to sprawl on the cave floor just as the colonel doubled her arms back. She heard rather than felt the crack of her forearm. Gathering all her strength, she lifted her legs upward and, knees to her chest, struck outward connecting with the colonel’s groin.

  “Bitch.”

  The colonel fell toward her, carrying her weight and his into the cave’s wall. The gun went off. Blackness rolled over her as she slipped to the ground. She felt the colonel push her body away and saw him stagger upright. Blood gushed from her left temple running into her eye. She tried to reach up to push it away but her arm didn’t move. The colonel turned away.

  “Get those ropes off Cachini. And don’t touch the revolver.” He leaned against the kiva’s wall his breath coming in short spurts.

  “We’ll need pictures. There’s a camera in the bird.” He slowly peeled the leather gloves off. “No one, I repeat, no one touch anything.” He translated in Farsi just to make certain there was no misunderstanding. “Get the camera. Take pictures from every angle. Don’t move the bodies.” Again a translation before the men around him began to move and Brenda slipped into silence.

  + + +

  “Shots.” Ben couldn’t tell the direction exactly but there had been three muffled staccato bursts of sound more or less in from of him.

  “Over here.”

  Tommy was already running, gun drawn, crouched. Then a fourth shot split the air. Louder, this time a bit to the right. Ben wished he had a gun. Galloping across the top of a mesa toward the sound of gunfire empty-handed seemed ludicrous.

  Suddenly, Tommy stopped.

  “It’s here. It’s got to be here. I know we’re on top of it.”

  “Use the light.”

  Tommy swung the flashlight in a large circle.

  “There.” Ben pointed to a blackened circle thirty feet in front of them as one man and then another appeared to rise out of the ground.

  “Let’s go. Stay behind me.”

  As the head then torso of the second man cleared the top of the opening, Tommy dropped to one knee and shouted, “Halt.”

  The man seemed to be unarmed but he dropped back down the hole. The first man turned to face them.

  “Mr. Spottedhorse?” Colonel Bertrand stood in front of the kiva entrance. “I thought I suggested that you stay out of this. But as long as you’re here, come with me.”

  Tommy and Ben followed him down the wooden ladder. “We’ve had a little mishap here. We got here just in time to see Miss Begay shoot her boyfriend then turn the gun on herself. God knows, I tried to deflect—I was just too late.” Tommy had already pushed forward, kneeling beside Brenda’s body, fingers frantically searching for a pulse.

  “This is my fault. I left her alone where he could find her. Brenda, talk to me. Don’t leave me.”

  Ben had rushed to examine Ronnie but the fine red mist that covered the floor and wall and the three exit holes gaping
in his back pronounced him dead before Ben’s search for a sign of life proved futile.

  “She’s alive!” Tommy yelled. “I need help over here.”

  “What? My God … We’ve got to get her to a hospital.” Colonel Bertrand bent over Tommy.

  “Gallup’s closest. Get the chopper. Ben, use the helicopter’s radio to call ahead.” Tommy was in charge.

  “Of course. Rev it up.” The colonel shouted to the men around him. Two hurried up the ladder and disappeared.

  “Give me your shirt.” Tommy held his hand out.

  Ben quickly stripped off the cotton collarless shirt that Julie had given him and ripped it into strips saving the two sleeves to fold as pads to be pressed against Brenda’s forehead.

  “Pulse is weak.”

  “I didn’t even find one,” the colonel said.

  “She’s lost a lot of blood. Head wounds are the worst.” Tommy seemed to be talking to himself. He pressed the folded sleeves to the wound, held the makeshift pad a moment and then bound it in place.

  “Sounds like the chopper. Are we going to do more harm lifting her? I mean, shouldn’t we just bring a doc out here?”

  Tommy acted like the colonel hadn’t even spoken. “I’ll need two more men. Ben, take her feet. The ladder’s going to be a bitch. We need to keep her head elevated but in line with her spine.”

  Tommy cradled Brenda’s head then, supporting her shoulders with Ben picking up her legs, they started for the ladder—six feet almost straight up. Brenda’s right arm slipped to the side and dangled—the odd angle of the forearm a dead giveaway

  “Shit. Her right arm’s broken. For now, we can tie it against her body.”

  “Oh God, I must have done that. I tackled her pretty hard trying to get the gun.” The colonel hovered over them.

  They lowered her to the ground.

  “We could use a shirt here.” The colonel gestured for one of the airmen to take off his shirt. Carefully, while Ben slightly raised her, Tommy bound the arm across her body.