by Barbara Gee
“Looks like we escaped the first threat,” Libby said.
Deputy McCoy nodded. “Although I still think night would be the best time to attack.”
“Tuck must have a good reason to think that won’t happen,” Maddy said.
“Well if that’s the case, you ladies should try to get some sleep. I’d just as soon you stay in here, though, just in case. Think we could round up some blankets?”
Both Libby and Maddy declined, saying there was no way they could relax enough to actually fall asleep. McCoy didn’t argue, and he soon went out to the great room to stretch his legs. They left all the lights off, so that anyone outside looking in couldn’t see anything.
“I want my brother,” Libby said sadly. “I hate that he’s out there.”
“Me too,” Maddy whispered.
Libby gave her a sad smile. “Have you decided whether you’re in love with him or not?”
Maddy exhaled slowly and nodded. “I think I have been pretty much from the beginning. Remember when my eyes were swollen shut and I couldn’t see for a few days? It was awful, but finally one morning I woke up and realized one eye was open and I could see. I was looking around the room, thinking how relieved I was to not be blind anymore, and then I looked over to my left and there he was, sitting beside my bed working on his iPad.” Maddy smiled, remembering her reaction. “I just stared at him for the longest time. I’d never felt so blown away by a man before. And then he looked up and saw that I could see again, and he smiled and I—wow, I can’t even explain it. And he’s continued to blow me away every day I’ve been with him since then.”
“Awww, that makes me happy,” Libby said, patting Maddy’s arm fondly. “I’m glad my big brother has someone to love him that much.”
“Honestly, Libby, I wanted to tell him when we were on the phone earlier, but it felt too much like I’d be saying it only because I was afraid I wouldn’t see him again.”
“You will see him again. You two will live happily ever after. I refuse to believe anything different.”
“Ugh, I just want this night to be over!” Maddy declared.
Libby wiped her eyes. “Can we pray, Maddy? I feel like Tuck needs us to pray.”
“Praying is always a good idea,” Maddy replied, smiling at her friend.
The two women bowed their heads and fervently asked God to protect the man they both loved so much, as well as all the others who were in danger from the men Jimmy had sent to do so much harm.
“Amen,” Maddy said quietly when she finished.
“Amen,” Libby echoed, grabbing Maddy’s hand and holding on tight.
It had been a while since Tuck had used NV goggles, but he quickly adjusted to the landscape of eerie green images. He moved efficiently over the terrain, drawing inexorably closer to the butte. He moved toward the treed area, because it would be the logical place for the men to hide their Suburban. If Tucker could locate that, he would know for sure they were here.
Moments later he came upon two lines of smashed grass. He followed the tracks into the trees and found the abandoned Suburban, as expected. He radioed Ryan and told him to come on over. While he waited he closed his eyes and removed his earpiece, concentrating on his sense of sound, trying to hear voices or other sounds that would indicate that the men were within the trees.
Nothing. He moved another fifty feet through the trees and listened again. Still nothing. The men had to be up on the butte. He replaced his earpiece in time to hear Ryan’s voice.
“Coming up on your right flank.”
The men consulted briefly. The butte had been a good choice for their foes, somewhat obvious perhaps, but a good choice in that its height offered a bird’s eye view of their surroundings, and a readily defensible position. Tuck and Ryan knew there would be guards at the base of the butte, and they needed to determine whether it was an organized lookout, or haphazard.
As they reached the edge of the trees, they dropped to their bellies and slowly army crawled out into the grass until they had a decent view of the butte. Five minutes later they saw the first man. They watched as he slowly moved along the base of the hill. He wore NV goggles, like them, but he frequently pushed them up on his head and rubbed his eyes. The goggles were giving him a headache, which wasn’t uncommon.
Tuck’s gaze shifted upward. Something had caught his eye, but he wasn’t sure what. He squinted, waiting, then saw a bright green dot flare up and quickly disappear again. He nudged Ryan and pointed.
“Watch about a quarter of the way up, to the left of where the guard is now.”
The dot flared again and Ryan nodded. “Smoker. Violating the first rule of standing watch. That’s two we have pinned. What’s the call, boss?”
Their voices were low, barely above whispers but clearly audible on the state of the art comms units.
“I could use my Glock with the silencer and get both of them before they realized what was happening. But out here it’s so quiet, even a silenced shot is going to be noticeable to the guys up top. Regardless, I’d rather not have to kill if it’s avoidable.”
“Agreed. With the element of surprise, we should be able to overpower and restrain them.”
“And knock them out good enough that they aren’t going to come to any time soon and give us away.”
“Which one do you want?”
“I’ll go up. I know the path well. When you’ve got your guy restrained and quiet, wait by a bush or a rock until I tell you what to do.”
Ryan checked his man, saw his opportunity and rose to a crouch. “Good luck. I’ll wait to hear.”
Tuck moved back into the tree line and walked swiftly in the direction the other man had gone. Thankfully the guard’s cigarette wasn’t smoked out, and the flares of light allowed Tuck to locate him again. He had circled around far enough that Ryan and the first man were out of sight, so Tuck didn’t have to worry about being seen by the other lookout.
His man turned around to go back the way he had come. Tuck waited until he had passed his position down below and had his back to him before darting toward the butte, dropping into the cover of shrubs at the base, conveniently close to the path he sought.
He moved stealthily upward, his silenced Glock in his hand. Hopefully he’d be using it to hit the other guy rather than to shoot him, but he’d do what he had to do.
“Check in, Ryan,” he said five minutes later, his man unconscious and zip tied at his feet.
“Good to go. What’s next?”
“Slowly circle the hill moving away from the trees. I’m going the other way. Look both up and down. Abe and Alleman will be at the top. There’s a clearing up there that’s sheltered on a couple of sides by rock walls, and some scrub trees. That’s where they’ll be. I’m guessing we’ll have to take a couple more lookouts down before we get to the core group.”
“My guy looked shocked as hell to see me, right before he saw stars. I don’t think they were expecting us out here.”
“Gives us the advantage,” Tuck said. “Move out.”
Twenty minutes later, Ryan had subdued another guard patrolling the base of the hill. Tuck had climbed, slowly but steadily, and encountered no one. He advised Ryan where he could access the path upward, then waited for his partner to join him.
“They’ll be checking in with the lookouts soon, if they haven’t already. When they don’t get a response, at least one man will be sent down to check things out. If we’re lucky, only the lookouts had goggles. They’re expensive and hard to come by, and I doubt they brought more than a few sets. There are two paths leading off the top, but both of them lead to this point. You wait here, I’m going to go a little higher where I know there’s an outcrop of rock big enough to conceal me. If anyone gets past me, you’re up.”
Ryan gave a thumbs up and crouched down beside a scraggly bush. Not a great cover if the guys had NV goggles after all, but without them he was just another bush. Tuck moved up, found the rocks he remembered, and waited. Only a few minutes passed
before he heard boots sliding on the loose stones on the path above him. He tensed, edged closer to the path, reminded himself that silence was the key to not alerting the other men, and struck.
“Nice job,” Ryan said when he silently joined Tuck. “I heard a quick grunt but that was it. You catch him before he hit the dirt?”
“Used my knee to break the fall,” Tuck said. Again, their voices were the barest murmurs, their hands cupped around their mouths to further deaden the sound. “We’ve got two left, three if Abe is here. I say we get as close as possible, try to get a read on their positions and arms, then go full out ambush mode.”
“Sounds like a plan. When they’re in sight, signal me which one you want and I’ll take the other one. Or two.”
“We’re going to need bullets on this one,” Tuck said tightly. “Try to maim rather than kill, but don’t hesitate if you’re threatened.”
“Got it. Let’s go.”
The men moved silently, closer and closer to the summit of the butte, to the site of the picnics with Tuck’s parents, soon to be the site of violence. It couldn’t be avoided, and Tuck didn’t shy away from it. Seeking out evil and making sure it couldn’t harm anyone else was what he did, and it had never been as important to him personally as right now.
They stopped quickly and ripped off their goggles when a campfire came into view. Both men closed their eyes for a several minutes, waiting for their own night vision to kick in. The fire provided enough light for the coming fight, so they stowed the goggles under a bush and watched. There were three men. Wait, make that four as another one walked back to the group, fastening his pants from what must have been a quick whiz in the scrubby brush at the edge of the clearing.
Tuck and Ryan exchanged a glance. The group must have added another two men without Emma picking up on it. They were talking around the fire, their voices carrying in the quiet night, easily heard by Tuck and Ryan even though they were still a good fifty yards out. They were going over their plans, which were, as Ryan had predicted, scheduled for first light.
The men were excited, examining two grenade launchers attached to rifles. The man Tuck assumed was Alleman was extolling their range and accuracy, and assuring the men that if they got off all twenty of the incendiary rounds he had brought, the house would be up in flames within minutes.
“If they survive the rounds coming in, you’ll see two screaming blondes exiting the structure. Those are the money shots. If you men take care of the deputies roaming around, like you’re supposed to, those girls will be easy. I could pick them off in my sleep.”
“What if more deputies have showed up by then, Wilfred? How we gonna know when we got ‘em all?”
“Abe is monitoring the scanners and radios. They’ve gone silent, but not totally so. They’re not used to this type of operation, and there’s always some stupid ones. As far as he can tell, there’s still only one inside, and three outside. I don’t see that changing between now and daylight.”
Tuck frowned, examining each man’s face carefully. Dammit. Abe wasn’t here, which meant they’d added three more men, not two. He looked at Ryan and gave a slight shake of his head, confirming Abe’s absence. He thought for a minute longer, then jerked his head back, indicating he wanted to fall back and regroup.
“At four against two, we’re not going to win this fight without getting a few people injured or killed,” Tuck said. “We have two choices. We can call for backup, but we both know there’s no way they’re going to get here before these guys realize their lookouts are out of commission and all hell beaks loose. Or we can try to get them to surrender.”
“You think they’ll listen if we yell ‘hands up, FBI,’” Ryan asked skeptically.
“With a little help,” Tucker said grimly, raising his gun. “If they don’t hit the dirt right after I yell, aim for the knees or thereabouts. You take the two on the left, and I’ll take Alleman and the other guy. We need quick shots. Before the first two register, the next two hit. Charge as soon as you let the second shot loose. Their first instinct will be to grab at the injury, and before they remember to aim their guns we’ll have them covered.”
“Depends on how they’ve been trained, but it’s as good a plan as we’re going to get. Yell when ready.”
The men advanced back to within thirty yards of the fire, then slowly raised their guns.
“FBI,” Tuck yelled, “Freeze!”
All the men went for their weapons. Howls of rage and fear and pain split the night as Tucker’s and Ryan’s silenced guns spit out their hot bullets. As anticipated the four men grabbed their blown apart legs rather than bringing up their guns. Tuck felt a surge of satisfaction as he and Ryan leapt to their feet and charged toward the fire.
Then he felt an ominous tug against his boot.
“Down!” he yelled, twisting and launching his body to the side in a desperate attempt to avoid what he realized was coming. The darkness was split open by a white explosion that reverberated through the still North Dakota night.
Tuck rolled painfully down a steep embankment. He’d managed to wrap his arms around his head just as the explosion went off, and thankfully he hadn’t passed out. He could only hope that Ryan, who had been behind him, had escaped the worst of the trip wire blast.
Tuck was pelted by shards of falling rock, and a piece sheared open his forehead, causing blood to run into his eyes and blur his vision. He swiped at the nuisance with his sleeve, mentally assessing his condition. He was bruised and bloody, but thankfully all of his limbs seemed to be unimpaired.
He pushed up onto his hands and knees, scrambling for cover in case someone looked down from over the edge of the bank. Once he had cover, he grabbed for the gun in his ankle holster and waited.
There was moaning and shouting above him. When no one came looking for him, Tuck gripped his gun and began climbing the short but steep bank, digging the toes of his boots into the hard, rocky ledge and using his free hand to claw himself up. He finally heaved himself over the edge, taking in the scene before him.
Three men were lying down, moaning and apparently giving up the fight. The fourth, Alleman, was in a sitting position with his back against the rock wall, his injured leg out in front of him, and a gun in his hand. He was panning back and forth with the gun, trying desperately to see into the darkness beyond the firelight.
Tuck rose to his knees. His earpiece had been knocked out of his ear during his fall, so he couldn’t communicate with Ryan. He prayed his partner was okay, but he needed to take care of Alleman before he could check.
He slowly pushed to his feet and moved carefully through the darkness, finding a rock for cover. He peered out from behind it, his gun aimed at Alleman. He opened his mouth to call for the other man to surrender, when a shot rang out and Alleman’s gun spun out of his hand. The man howled and pulled his injured hand into his chest as Tuck realized gratefully that Ryan was alive and well.
He moved out from the rock, his gun still aimed at Alleman.
“Time to give it up, Wilfred,” he said. “Get your hands up where I can see them.”
A sudden flurry of movement and a shout from Ryan behind him had Tuck once more diving for the dirt. Shots rang out and Tuck felt a hot punch to his shoulder, but didn’t let it slow his momentum as he rolled to his stomach and fired off two quick shots, eliminating any further threat from the man who had evidently not been as incapacitated from his injury as he’d let on. Unfortunately the man had chosen not to take the opportunity to surrender and wait for medical help to arrive, and it had been his last mistake.
“We’re done, we’re done!” Alleman was yelling, his hands above his head.
Tuck gained his feet and bore down on the three remaining men, his gun out in front, finger tight on the trigger. “Hands up! Now!”
The other two men immediately raised their hands skyward, yelling for Tuck not to shoot.
“Ryan, you okay?” Tuck shouted above the din.
The other man was suddenly at
his side.
“I’m good.” He trained his gun on the men. “You look a little worse for wear, my friend.”
“I’m okay.” Tuck pulled zip ties from a pocket in his pants. “Cover me.” He made short work of securing hands and feet, just as they had done with the four lookouts they’d taken out of the fight earlier.
“Where’s Abe, Wilfred?” He crouched down in front of the other man, his eyes glittering icily in the fading firelight. “I suggest you tell me quickly, before my boot finds your shot out knee.”
“He’s at a house a couple miles away,” the man volunteered, needing no further motivation. “On Gosling Road. An old man lives there by himself. He’s locked in a room while Abe uses his internet connection.”
Tuck glanced at Ryan. “My phone’s in the backpack a little ways down the trail. I’ll be back in a sec.”
Retrieving the backpack, Tuck rejoined Ryan. While Ryan threw some more wood on the fire to keep their light source going, Tuck dug out his phone. He dialed the sheriff and first told him where to find Abe, informing him there was a hostage and suggesting that they get there quick, before Abe realized his team had been taken out.
“Keep it off the radio, Sheriff. It’s being monitored.”
Tuck waited for the sheriff to make that call, and then when the other man returned to the line, he told him they needed medical attention for three men, and a body bag for a fourth. And they had four others restrained and possibly concussed, but otherwise unhurt.
“Keep your man in the house, though, Sheriff. There were three unexpected men out here, and we can’t rule out more.”
The sheriff promised to leave his deputy with the women, and to get help out to the butte without delay. Tuck was pretty sure that this time he actually meant it. He hung up and took two bottles of water from his backpack, tossing one to Ryan and then grimacing as his shoulder protested the sudden move.
