Beachcomber Trouble

by Stephanie Queen

  In spite of David’s restraining hold, Dane lunged and darted an arm forward yanking the phone away from O’Keefe and sidestepping away from both David and O’Keefe, put the phone to his ear.

  “Floyd, you need to—” Dead air. He was talking to no one. Dane tossed the phone onto a nearby table. “Shit.” He ignored the glares of the two men and looked at Shana. Her face was impassive, but her eyes had that look, the one that undid him, the one that saw inside him and wanted to console him. Too bad he had no time for consolation right now.

  “Floyd will alert Tavares. We’d damn well better intercept Oscar before he gets near the compound.”

  “Floyd will alert the local police—” O’Keefe said.

  “The local police will have nothing to do with this. Floyd’s never contacted the local police in his goddamn life for a goddamn thing.”

  “Dane’s probably right,” David said. “But Floyd won’t want Oscar caught. He may be able to help us—”

  “Don’t count on it.” Dane stepped over to where his backpack had been thrown and retrieved a map. He’d station them around the perimeter maybe a thousand feet out and hope they spotted Oscar before he got closer. It was a gamble because he was as certain as Rio was wild that Tavares’ men would be watching for Oscar too.

  Acer said, “We can’t go back into Rio with that truck. We’d be spotted within ten seconds, Floyd Parker or no Floyd Parker.”

  “We’ll rent some motor bikes on the outside of town—I know a place. We’re each going to take a post. Shana will stay with the truck—”

  “Not on—”

  “Someone needs to stay outside the perimeter. You’re the back up. We’ll need to get fresh throw-away phones.” He took a breath. “And we’ll need to use smaller weapons that can be concealed.”

  “We’ll be out-gunned,” Acer said. “Maybe I should get another truck to keep some of the weapons.”

  Dane shook his head. “You know as well as I do that our only chance will be to stay invisible and be quick. If you’re in a truck, you’ll be slow and vulnerable.”

  “But well-armed.” Acer smiled.

  Dane thought about it a beat. Acer folded his arms. He was determined—and he might have a point. “Have it your way—take Shana and stay on the outskirts. Move in for the pick up when we get Oscar.” Dane pointed to the three spots on the map where he, David and O’Keefe would plant themselves for the watch. With any luck they might get there ahead of Oscar, but it would be close.

  “Let’s try calling Oscar one more time,” David said.

  “You read my mind,” Dane said.

  David made the call, and left a message, more urgent this time. Dane hoped to hell Oscar still had his phone and wasn’t already in trouble. Or they’d all be in trouble inside of an hour.

  Chapter 13

  After they left Hugo’s Car & Bike Rentals along with most of their remaining cash, Dane had David and O’Keefe follow him to a junction within blocks of the perimeter observation points he’d mapped out. Pulling to the curb in a relatively quiet spot, alongside a white cement apartment building, he left his helmet on. Better to keep as anonymous as possible.

  Dane said, “In the message I left him, I asked Oscar to call me, but chances are he might call one of you two—let us all know immediately if—”

  The unmistakable shrill sound of a cell phone sounded, cutting him off. It wasn’t his phone. He looked at the two men and stifled a curse when O’Keefe reached for his phone. Not good.

  “Oscar?”

  Dane and David both leaned in to hear the other side of the conversation and O’Keefe didn’t stop them, but he didn’t put the call on speakerphone. It didn’t matter. Dane could hear Oscar’s booming voice without taking his helmet off. He looked around to make sure no one else was listening. They weren’t.

  “What’s going on? Where’s Shana?”

  “She’s safe—she’s with us,” O’Keefe said. “Where are you? We’re—”

  The unmistakable sound of gunfire pinging off metal was the response they heard followed by heavy breathing.

  “Oscar—are you all right? Where the hell are you?”

  “I’m… under fire… at the compound. On the move heading to the intersection between Rua Antonio Rego and Rua Iriguati. Heading west. Tell me you’re in the area—”

  “We’re on our way now. Find a spot to hunker down and call me back ASAP.”

  “Got to go—”

  The line went dead. “I’m on my way.” O’Keefe thumbed his mobile phone and jumped on his bike.

  “What the hell—” Dane was cut off by the sound of the Chief’s bike engine roaring to life as the man took off.

  “We better give chase,” David said as he mounted his bike.

  “How the hell does he even know where he’s gong?”

  “He knows how to use those navigation tools on his phone. I advise we stick together.”

  “I’m right behind you.” Dane jumped on his bike and revved it up. His was the fastest and biggest bike the rental place had. David’s was the smallest and older. It sputtered now and Dane took off before David made it off the curb.

  Unlike Chief O’Keefe, he didn’t need a navigation system to tell him where to go. He’d studied the space around the compound before he’d gone to get Shana and knew it like the back of his hand. He hoped to hell he’d find Oscar before the Tavares men did. One thing they had going for them—it wasn’t likely the Tavares thugs would start a shoot out in the streets. They’d most likely snatch Oscar from the streets and take him for a ride. Dane smiled as he pictured them trying to pick up the big lug. It would be a tough job, especially since Oscar was armed.

  Dane knew the area and it wasn’t far. If he had to guess he figured Oscar would head to the church in the area, Igreja Evangélica Assembléia de Deus. It was on Rua Wilson de Lasheras Silva off of Iriguati heading west and the nearest safe haven for a man on the run in that area. They didn’t even know if Oscar was on foot—but it sounded like he was.

  Dane had O’Keefe in his sights two cars ahead and heading in the right general direction. He checked his rear view and saw David well behind him in the traffic. He took a left turn to circle around and come into the intersection by way of the church. If his hunch was correct, he could pick up Oscar on his way to meeting O’Keefe. He’d call David once he got Oscar and send him back to the meeting point with Acer and Shana. The less time they spent on the streets of Rio the better.

  Slowing the bike, Dane pulled down the narrow street fronting the church and onto the curb near the door. He saw no one about. Looking down the street, the heavily treed mountains loomed in the near distance. He took off his helmet and got off the bike to approach the door. Before he pulled the door open he glimpsed a moving shadow of someone behind him and spun around.

  Oscar loomed up, coming from the corner of the building and shouted, “Don’t shoot you bastard—I’m still on your side.”

  “Son of a—” Dane was impressed with the man’s skill at the silent approach. Oscar stepped up and gave Dane one of his notorious bear hugs. Dane felt the solid form of a weapon in a shoulder holster.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Same thing you are—except it looks like you beat me to it—how is Shana?” Oscar’s face went from jovial to serious in a breath.

  “She’s fine—no ill effects. We can talk later. We need to contact David and O’Keefe—they’re on the road in the vicinity and I need to call them off—”

  Dane’s phone rang then and he thought it would be David, saving him the need to call. He pressed his phone to his ear.

  It wasn’t David. It wasn’t O’Keefe either. Oscar watched him and listened.

  “Floyd Parker. What do you want?”

  “I heard from Oscar—he’s in real trouble and I know where he is.” Floyd paused and Dane let him hang. He silently begged Floyd to throw himself under the tank.

  “He’s outside the Tavares compound—he’s there to rescue Sh
ana.” Floyd stopped and he was finished talking this time Dane could tell.

  “Shit,” Dane said, but not for the reason Floyd would think. Dane was damn disappointed that Floyd told the truth, though it was a calculated truth and missing a few pieces—like how Oscar came to know that Shana had been captured.

  “Did you let him know Shana was out?”

  “What do you think? Are you going to help him?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Let’s meet. You’ll have to bring a lot of cash and I think I can negotiate his release—”

  “Sure. Where?”

  “At a church—Igreja Evangélica Assembléia de Deus.”

  Dane’s heart stopped. When it started pumping again it felt like his blood had been replaced by liquid nitrogen. A chill ran through him. He stifled a shudder. He said, “When?” He held his breath.

  “One hour.”

  Floyd didn’t tell him where the church was. That wasn’t a good sign. Did he know where Dane was? Did he know where Oscar was? He heard paper crunching then Floyd again.

  “The church is west of downtown on Rua Wilson de Lasheras Silva off of Iriguati. Can you get there from where you are in an hour?”

  “I think so. Wait for me.” Dane took a deep silent breath of relief. If Floyd was on the up and up about the meeting—setting them up for an hour from now—then they would have a chance to get out of there. But they’d have to be fast. He and whoever he was bringing with him would be moving in fast.

  “How do I know I can trust you this time?”

  “Call Oscar for yourself.”

  “I thought you said Tavares has him?”

  “I don’t know if they have him yet—he’s on the run. But it’s a matter of time. A short time. Tavares has a lot of people.”

  Dane looked around and felt exposed standing there outside the church where he knew the men were headed that very minute. To get him. Maybe to kill him on sight.

  “I don’t like it, but I have no choice. I can’t leave Rio without him. I’ll be there. One hour.”

  Floyd ended the call.

  Oscar lifted the spare helmet and jammed it on his head without saying a word, but his face spoke volumes. He knew Floyd was a traitor. He also knew speed was important. Dane jumped on the bike and Oscar climbed on behind him. The bike wasn’t exactly built for two. It was only 500cc and would be considerably slower and less nimble with both of them, but he would wring every last ounce of power and agility he could out of it. It was a rental after all.

  Dane tried to call O’Keefe and David. David answered.

  “Get back to the hangar. We’re enroute.”

  “You have Oscar?”

  “Yes—we’ll see you there.”

  As soon as Dane ended the call, his phone vibrated.

  “O’Keefe? Where—”

  “Can’t talk—I’m on the run—I was spotted and I’m under fire. There’s a truck full of them—maybe more. I don’t think they’re trying to kill me—I think they’re trying to snatch me. I’m trying to hide.”

  “Where are you?” O’Keefe gave Dane his street address. It was only a few blocks away. “We’ll be there within three minutes.”

  Dane took a quick turn and Oscar grabbed his shoulder and pointed. There was a black SUV in the next block making a right turn. Dane turned right and drove parallel.

  “O’Keefe is at the end of the block on the cross street—we need to get to him first.”

  They reached O’Keefe’s location at the same time as the SUV. Two men with handguns jumped out and gave chase of O’Keefe on foot. O’Keefe turned and tried shooting at the men and turned into an alley.

  “Get off here,” Dane stopped the bike and told Oscar, “Go around back and cover the other end.”

  Dane stayed on his bike and tracked the men, rounding the corner. The two men were closing in on O’Keefe who was now running on foot. Dane slipped his gun from the back of his waistband and took a low shot at one of the men and hit him in the legs. He went down and the other man turned and spotted him. The man raised his gun Dane stopped and took aim at center mass this time and hit the man in the shoulder. He went down.

  The sound of an engine made Dane turn to see the SUV pull up and block the end of the alley and two more men jump out with guns raised. From the corner of his eye Dane saw Oscar grab O’Keefe and pull him into a doorway. Dane was alone in the alley now and exposed, but he was ready. He brought the bike down as they took multiple shots and missed. He rolled toward the nearest cement wall and took cover behind a flimsy barrel that wouldn’t last long, but he wouldn’t need it to. He got to one knee, aimed and double tapped the nearer of the two men. The second man ran for cover.

  Then. Dane did something he hated to do, something he had a solid rule about. Never shoot a man in the back, especially not when he’s running away. But there were always exceptions to the rules. In this case, he knew the man in question was only running for cover and he’d turn and shoot at his first opportunity. So Dane pulled the trigger and hit him in the neck, knocking him forward and down in a bloody puddle.

  He heard another shot coming from further down the alley where he’d been and turned to see the man he’d shot in the leg now sitting. He had a gun in his hand, but Dane realized he hadn’t shot it. Oscar came out from a doorway with his gun raised. They converged on the sitting man with their guns aimed at him. He was half kneeling half lying in his blood. He wasn’t quite dead, but he was no longer raising his Rueger at them. O’Keefe was right behind Oscar. When Oscar took aim to shoot the man, O’Keefe said, “Don’t.”

  “You want to let him bleed out here? Maybe live to ID us?” Dane said.

  Oscar lowered his gun. “Let’s get out of here. We can call the ambulance once we’re away.”

  O’Keefe glared at Dane. Dane glared back. Then he looked at the bike. O’Keefe said, “Nice going. We’re on foot now—they’ll spot us again before long.”

  “No they won’t.” Dane nodded toward the SUV parked at the end of the alley. He collected the weapons and checked the IDs of the fallen men. None of them had IDs. Oscar and O’Keefe helped.

  He jogged to the SUV, threw the weapons in the back and then jumped in the driver’s seat. O’Keefe jumped in the back.

  “Small favors—push button ignition. Now we’re hoping the key is somewhere inside.” He pressed the ignition and the engine started.

  Oscar came from behind the car and climbed in the front passenger side. Letting out a deep breath, he said, “You know your way out of this place? You have a place we can go?”

  “Yes and yes.” Dane pulled the car into the street and turned east, heading them back in the direction of the highway north. Back to where they started the day. Almost out of trouble.

  “What about David?” O’Keefe asked. He was still tense and agitated.

  “He’s already on his way to meeting Shana and Acer. Call them and tell them we’ll meet them at the landing pad. We’re not going back to the rental place.”

  “So we’ll add grand theft auto to the murder charge then,” O’Keefe said from the back seat.

  Dane was about to retort. They’d called the ambulance for the man who was still alive—he’d probably live. For what that was worth. He’d just saved O’Keefe’s ass and he was complaining, but Oscar put his hand up. “Think of it like police doing their duty in the name of the law—”

  “We’re not the police. At least not down here.”

  “No, and our victims are not boy scouts,” Oscar said. Then he reached back and clapped his friend on the leg. “Take it easy. You know it was self-defense.”

  Dane nodded a fraction and said, “I have the business card for the rental place. I’ll send him some money to make him whole after we get back. We can’t afford to stop now. It won’t be long before Tavares figures out we have his vehicle. Then we’re dead meat.”

  They hit the highway and made the forty-five minute drive from there in silence.

  Before they arrived at th
e hangar, Dane called Acer to let him know he’d be approaching in a Black Navigator.

  “How’d you change a bike into a Navigator? You the next David Copperfield?”

  “Long story. We have Oscar. O’Keefe is with me. David is on is way if—”

  “David is already here. Pulled in two minutes ago. That piece of shit scooter barely made it here. No one followed him—they’d never think to follow some middle aged man on a girls bike.”

  He heard David in the back ground say, “It was the perfect ruse—brilliant undercover work—completely unsuspecting.” Dane smiled. It was good to hear David Young’s sense of humor coming through replacing the tension that had been there. He wanted to hear Shana. He didn’t ask to speak with her. He’d see her in a minute. A familiar tug assaulted his gut like the beginning of the spin cycle in a washer. He hadn’t decided if it was a good feeling or a bad feeling. It was his anticipating Shana feeling. Some of both. Either way he couldn’t wait.

  Dane honked the horn in two short bursts and waited for Acer to open the hanger door to pull the vehicle inside. It was one of those mysterious principles of the universe that time slowed to a near stop when you wanted it to move fast and the closer you got to that anticipated moment the slower time moved. He wanted to lay his eyes on Shana. He couldn’t stand the trickle of seconds as he sat in the humming vehicle with Oscar and O’Keefe. The silence and the wanting conspired to make time so sluggish he could feel the sweat drip down his back, cell by cell.

  The door opened a foot and then stopped. It started again and he could see Acer heaving it upward. The interior was relatively dark. Dane couldn’t see inside. He stopped himself from straining to see, he didn’t lean forward. He looked straight ahead and drove, concentrating until he stopped the car and turned off the engine.

  When he opened the door and saw her standing there, his heart lurched and his chest tightened. She opened her arms to him and he stepped forward enveloping her, his nerves on fire, every thing in him on fire and racing. She pressed against him and he smiled into her hair, nuzzling her neck and combing his fingers through her hair.