HARD FAL

by CJ Lyons

  “Right,” he answered. “I keep Faraday bags in my car. That’s why you lost the signal after Lucy took their phones.”

  Then it occurred to him—if Lucy turned the phones on, she’d have done it to signal Seth and June’s presumed location to Daddy. But how had she gotten to Latrobe so quickly? Helicopter? He envisioned Lucy and the SWAT team preparing his rescue and felt better. A little better, any way.

  “And here’s the invitation to her party,” the man said, squinted at Taylor’s phone. “Guess you’re worth something after all. She wants a hostage exchange.” He stared at Taylor for a long time, assessing him.

  “Is your Lucy that smart?” the man asked. “Smart enough to think she can double-cross me? I googled her after what happened on the river this afternoon, sounds like she might be.” His grin showed his teeth. “Well, now, I doubt she’s as smart as me. I might just have my own trap. With you as the bait.”

  Chapter 32

  OF COURSE GREALLY didn’t walk away—not even after Lucy told him her idea to rescue Taylor. Once Daddy replied with his conditions and instructions, he dove in with both feet, marshaling the field office’s SWAT team, coordinating a helicopter, clearing things with the locals. So typical of him, putting his people before his career.

  Her idea was simple: an old-fashioned hostage exchange. She wasn’t surprised that Seth had agreed to cooperate. After all, it got him exactly what he wanted: face time with Daddy.

  What happened after that, well, as long as she got Taylor back safe and sound, she figured her conscience could live with the consequences, even if her career wouldn’t.

  Pittsburgh Police cleared an LZ for the Bell Ranger carrying the FBI SWAT team. Walden called on Burroughs’ phone just as Lucy spotted the helicopter approaching.

  “Everyone safe?” she asked.

  “Yes, but Seth isn’t here. He took Taylor’s car and Megan’s cell phone. Plus he’s armed with your mother’s pistol.”

  Pretty much what she anticipated. “I’m taking care of Seth. Just get my family out of there and send June to a safe house.”

  “One problem. June’s in labor. We called for an ambulance.”

  The sound of the helicopter almost drowned him out. Before she could reply Nick came on the line. “Lucy, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I have to go, won’t be in contact. You and Megan go with Walden and Oshiro and I’ll catch up later.” She had to shout the last as the helicopter hovered then descended. “I love you!”

  His response was buried in the noise. She tossed the phone back to Burroughs. Greally escorted her to the helicopter, one hand steadying her elbow. She had to leave her cane behind—needed both hands free if she was going into an active shooter situation. As long as she looked down at where she planted her feet and didn’t try to pivot or run, she’d be fine. Even her pain had quieted down, smothered by adrenalin.

  “Got everything you need?” he asked, nodding to Taylor’s messenger bag strapped across her chest.

  “I’m good.”

  “I’ll update you in the air when we learn anything.” They ducked beneath the blades and he helped her up into the passenger area where the eight man SWAT team waited, looking formidable with their MP5s and tactical gear.

  The team leader, Hambly, handed her a headset once she was strapped in. “Got your ballistic vest,” he said, nodding to a bundle folded beside her seat. “We were just reviewing tactical options.”

  He held a tablet out in the center of the space. It revealed a topographical image of the recreational area where Seth waited for them. “We’ll place snipers on the ridge here and here.” Hambly pointed. “Sierra one, you’re the south position, Sierra two, you’re on the north.” He glanced at Lucy. “You know the terrain. Any chance of getting a position across the lake?”

  “The winds down the gorge are too erratic. It will make any shot across the water difficult.”

  “Okay, we stick with mid-range positions. Between the beach area and the campground, I’d prefer the beach. Less cover, less options for escape. We should be able to pin him down.”

  Lucy nodded. “I’ll steer him there when he calls for the final instructions.”

  Her radio beeped as the pilot keyed in. “Got a call for you, Guardino.”

  Greally’s voice came through. “Taylor’s phone just came back on line.”

  “Where?”

  “He’s already at the lake. West side, near the dam.” He gave her the coordinates and signed off.

  The position was on the shore opposite the campground. “He’s got the high ground there. Wants to control where the exchange takes place,” Lucy told Hambly.

  “Worse than that, there’s no LZ on that side. And snipers are going to have a hard time of it with the thick foliage.” Their specialized scopes would pick out the humans but they wouldn’t be able to accurately tell which human was their target. Not unless Lucy persuaded Daddy to leave the cover of the trees.

  As she stared at the terrain on the tablet she suddenly understood exactly what Daddy had planned. “He’s going to use the dam.”

  Hambly scowled and nodded. “He’s going old school, Cold War, Checkpoint Charlie style.”

  “The dam is fifty some feet high, and since he’s already there, he has control of all the sight lines. There won’t be any sneaking up on him.”

  “There is if we can rope out the snipers here and here.” He pointed on the map.

  Lucy shook her head. She’d grown up tramping over both sides of the gorge, knew how the acoustics worked, how steep the sides were. “He’ll hear you coming. Plus the angle’s too steep, they won’t have a sightline.”

  As if on cue, the pilot clicked through again. “Guardino, another call being relayed. This one from our subject.”

  The techs back at the High Tech Computer Crimes squad were routing all calls through both Lucy and Taylor’s phones via their computers.

  “Is this Lucy?” a man’s voice came through the line. “And the world renowned FBI Hostage Rescue Team? Taylor would say hi but he’s a bit tied up.”

  Lucy forced herself to be cordial. Hardest acting job she ever had to do. “What can I do for you? I’m sorry, I’m not sure what to call you.”

  “Daddy will do. As for what you can do for me, you can land on the east side of the dam, down at the beach. Then I want you and Seth to walk up to the dam. There’s a lock on the gate, but I’m sure you can manage that. We’ll do the exchange on top, at the midpoint. Just you, Lucy. No guns. No men in black. Any of them leave the helicopter and your friend here is dead.”

  Chapter 33

  PAIN FLOODED THROUGH June. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, escape to that quiet place in her mind that she’d carved out as a safe haven when she was little.

  No. This was too big. She had to stay alert. She couldn’t let Seth down, let anything happen to their daughter just because she was too cowardly to face reality.

  The sound of a car driving up to the house sent the men scrambling into defensive positions at the windows and door. June ignored them, pacing a route that took her from the living room, into the kitchen, around the table, back out and down the hall, then back again to the fire place. She tried to count the steps but pain kept interrupting her.

  Megan matched her step by step, giving her a hand to squeeze when a contraction hit, coaxing her to breathe. June wished it was Seth. Felt near tears at the thought of doing this alone, without him.

  Not just the labor. What came after. What would she do if he didn’t come back to her? How could she ever do this alone? She had no idea what a mother was supposed to do…no idea what normal was.

  Another contraction ripped through her, this one stronger than the last. She buckled with the pain. Megan held her up. “It’s okay, June. The ambulance is here.”

  The door opened and two paramedics entered. The men gathered and talked as she and Megan continued their pacing. Then one of the medics approached her. “Are you okay to walk to the ambulance, ma’am? If
so, we’ll get you strapped in and do our assessment on the way to the hospital. Don’t want to keep this baby waiting, do we?”

  He took one elbow and Megan the other. As they walked past the coat rack, Megan grabbed June’s coat and purse. They continued outside; the wind had died down although the rain was still steady. The other medic had stowed their gear and waited at the open door to the rear of the ambulance. Together they helped June climb inside and onto their stretcher.

  Megan jumped in to tuck June’s coat and purse between her and the wall of medical supplies carefully stored in glass cabinets. The first medic, the driver, left again. June heard his voice and the other men beyond the back doors of the ambulance. She had the feeling Oshiro had been asking to ride along with her and the medic was arguing with him.

  “Come on, Megan,” Nick called from where he stood outside in the rain. “They need to go now.”

  Megan nodded and gave June a quick hug. “I’ll see you at the hospital. Everything will be fine, I just know it.”

  June glanced up from the gurney and waved goodbye as the paramedic still inside with her closed the doors, blocking her view of anyone outside. “First, I’m going to start an IV, just a precaution, then we’ll be on our way and I’ll get the monitors on you.”

  With practiced motions, he quickly inserted the needle into June’s left arm. She barely felt it against the cramp of another contraction. The paramedic sat back and frowned at the still empty driver’s seat. The driver’s door was open but there was no sign of him.

  “C’mon, Joe, we’re good to roll,” he called out.

  An unseen man jumped into the front of the ambulance and slammed the door shut. They sped off, the vehicle rocking as they accelerated down the winding drive to the main road.

  “Hey, lead foot,” the medic yelled. “Slow it down, will ya?”

  Instead of slowing, the driver sped up, then suddenly braked hard. June grabbed the stretcher’s bars as they lurched into a hard right hand turn. The medic with her was tossed off of his seat and caught himself against the cabinets.

  “What the hell? Joe, where you going? The hospital is down the mountain. Left, you idiot.” Bracing himself with one hand against both sides of the vehicle, he moved forward to lean into the driver’s compartment. There was a loud noise and the medic staggered back then slumped to the ground.

  June knew that noise. A gunshot. She twisted against the belts holding her in place to glance over her shoulder. All she could see of the medic was one hand stretched out against the floor and his face, a blackened, bloodied hole where his eye should be.

  It never occurred to her to scream. Not even when they took another sharp turn and bumped to a stop. Not even when she heard the man driving unbuckle his seat belt and step into the rear compartment.

  Instead she clutched her purse and bag to her chest as if they were the fuzzy blanket she used to hide under. The man loomed over her from behind. She looked into his face.

  “You’re not him,” she said in shock. She’d been so certain it was Daddy come for her. “Who are you?”

  He tapped the muzzle of his pistol against her belly. “He sent me for you, Baby Girl. But I’ve decided to change the plan. Behave yourself and you and your baby both live. Give me any trouble and…” The muzzle ground into her flesh.

  “Please, don’t hurt my baby. I beg of you.”

  He ignored her to glance out the rear window. “Good, they’re heading down the mountain, never even saw that we went the wrong way. As soon as they’re gone, we can back track out of here.”

  As he spoke, she slid her hand from her purse, concealed by her coat gathered over her. He turned around, pistol lowered to his side, a gleam in his eyes as if already collecting his reward.

  June shot him, pulling the trigger over and over and over until the revolver was out of bullets. The sound echoed, thunder booming inside the small space long after the man’s body hit the floor, leaving a trail of blood and brains on the door behind him.

  Chapter 34

  AS SOON AS the helicopter landed, Lucy called Seth and told him about the change of plans. While he made his way over from the campground, she put her vest on under her parka and exchanged her headset for a hands free earpiece.

  “There’s almost no cell reception past the dam,” she told Greally who was monitoring things from the office.

  “The radio should do the trick,” Hambly assured her from where he also listened in. “As soon as you make contact and have his attention, we’ll deploy.”

  He didn’t sound too happy and Lucy understood why: their best weapon, the sniper teams, would have no way to gain the high ground without Daddy spotting them. Which meant setting up for an upwind, uphill near impossible shot over the lake to the top of the dam.

  He read the worry on her face. “We’re gonna get him, Guardino. I don’t care if we need to climb a freakin’ tree to get the shot, this SOB is not getting away.”

  “You going in armed?” Greally asked over the radio.

  “Just until we get in sight of him, then I’ll leave it. A subject like this, he’ll enjoy taking control, watching me obey him.”

  Hambly shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it, getting into the head of these sick, twisted freaks.”

  She shrugged. Seth drove up in Taylor’s car and honked the horn. They’d drive up the service road to the dam, go the rest of the way on foot.

  “What did this guy do, that he’s got a target on his back?” Hambly asked.

  “Fell in love with the wrong woman,” Lucy answered.

  Hambly chuckled. “Story of my life.” He clapped her on the shoulder. “You need anything, just holler and we’ll be there.”

  She climbed down from the helicopter, taking care to balance her weight on her good leg. A burning sensation ran down her spine as she crossed to the car, as if she could feel Daddy’s sights on her. Once she was inside and Seth pulled away, she told him, “We’ve got back up listening in via my radio. They can hear everything we say.”

  He glanced at her, then nodded his understanding. No more confessions of murder, not with half the office listening in. “I left our phones behind after you called, so we don’t have to worry about him.” He meant Daddy. “Have you heard from June?”

  “She’s with Walden and Oshiro. On her way to the hospital.”

  “The hospital?”

  “She’s in labor. The baby is coming tonight.”

  The car stuttered to a stop as he clenched the wheel and bowed his head forward over it. His shoulders shook, then he drew in a breath, and straightened once more. “Then this ends tonight. For June. For our baby.”

  He glanced at her and shifted in his seat so she could see the revolver snugged into his waistband at the small of his back. “Promise me, that, Lucy. No matter what, June won’t ever need to worry about him again.”

  Lucy never made promises she couldn’t keep. But this one was easy. One way or the other, between her and Hambly’s team or even Seth himself if it came to that, Daddy was as good as dead.

  “I promise.”

  <><><>

  MEGAN SAT IN the back seat of Walden’s car with her dad. They were a few minutes behind the ambulance—had to douse the fire and turn off all the lights and everything at Grams’ first. Oshiro was in the front seat beside Walden, leaning forward, peering through the rain.

  “Where are they? We should have caught up with them by now.”

  Walden said nothing, but Megan felt their speed increase even as they rounded another curve. Even with only one good hand, Walden drove like her mother, faster was always better. Then, suddenly, he jammed on the brakes.

  “What is it?” Dad asked.

  “Look. Down the mountain.” Walden opened his door and got out of the car, peering over the guardrail. They were on the outside edge of one of the many switchbacks that circled the mountain and from here could see all the way down to the lights of the homes in the valley below.

  Megan didn’t understand why
Walden sounded so worried and from his frown, neither did Dad. But Oshiro got it. “Shit. Turn this thing around.”

  Walden got back into the driver’s seat and quickly spun them into a U-turn. Oshiro leaned over the seat to talk to her dad. “Where else does this road lead?”

  “Nowhere. Just down to 981.”

  “I mean, what’s up the mountain. If we’d gone right instead of left at the end of the drive.”

  Then Megan got it. It was only March; there were no leaves on the trees yet. They could see the road all the way down the mountain and there’d been no cars—definitely no flashing lights from an ambulance.

  “Someone took June?” she asked. “Who? The paramedics?”

  “Maybe they weren’t really paramedics. Or maybe they were ambushed. Who knows?” Walden was steering them around the curves so fast that Megan grabbed for her door handle.

  “Where does the road lead?” Oshiro asked.

  “It dead ends about a half mile up the road from Coletta’s,” Dad answered. “There are a few logging roads along the way, that’s it.”

  They reached the turnoff for Grams’ drive. “Stop here,” Oshiro ordered. Walden slowed, then backed into the driveway, the front of the car pointing out like they might need a quick escape. He turned the lights off but didn’t turn the engine off.

  “You two stay here,” Walden said. He reached up to switch the dome light off then opened his door. Oshiro got out as well and they met at the trunk. Megan turned in her seat and tried to see what they were doing.

  Dad was smarter. He got out of the car and slid into Walden’s seat. She craned her head and spotted the two men in the rearview mirror. Walden was strapping his bulletproof vest on, fastening the Velcro one-handed, while Oshiro held a shotgun.

  Then the sound of a gunshot cracked through the night. Not very loud, but quickly followed by others. Walden left at a jog, Oshiro following close behind.

  “Should we get the shotgun from inside the house?” Megan whispered to her dad. She had no idea why she was whispering, but it seemed the right thing to do.