by Jonas Saul
“She lied to Aaron,” he said.
Casper fiddled with something on his JTTF uniform. “Sarah did?”
“Yeah. Back at the Mexican hotel. So she could leave the building without him knowing about it, she had him go buy Advil from the hotel’s little store. We haven’t seen her since.”
“And?”
“In my opinion, I suspect she did that because if she told him she was working something for Vivian that included the kind of people Jane Turner had gotten herself mixed up with, he would have strongly fought against it. Or asked to help her. It seems Sarah needed to do this one on her own.”
“Okay. I’m listening. What’s next for Sarah? Where is she going with this? Based on that, is she still in Mexico or already here?”
Parkman faced him. “The deal is to take place in Vegas, right?”
Casper nodded.
“Then where do you think she is?”
His eyes gave him away. He knew she was already in Vegas. He also knew that wasn’t good. Without surveillance of any kind, Sarah was on her own with highly trained professional smugglers of illegal arms.
He clipped his mic back in, but before he could say anything, Agent Puig came in loud and clear to all the earpieces on the ground.
“I’ve just been informed that Jane Turner’s private jet landed last night at twenty-hundred hours. That’s 8:00 p.m. and not 8:00 a.m.” She paused for a moment. “Everyone leave your post and meet me at the FBI vehicles on the south side.”
Casper ripped his earpiece out. “It was either a mistake with their intel, which I will look into, or Turner had the flight plan filed for arrival this morning and came in last night in case someone was waiting for her.” He grabbed Parkman’s shoulders. “I’m afraid for Sarah. If this Turner woman is good enough to thwart the FBI and whoever else is watching her, then Sarah is in trouble.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Parkman started for the FBI vehicles. “That’s what I’m afraid of, Casper.”
Chapter 53
They drove north of the city in a stretch SUV, Sarah and Jane in the rear, Blair and Jane’s guards in the seats near the front. The back was separated by a Plexiglas partition leaving Sarah and Jane alone.
“Aren’t you afraid this vehicle will attract too much attention?” Sarah asked.
Jane sneered. “This is Vegas, Sarah. Stretch SUVs are everywhere. We can get in and out without trouble in this thing. And there’s lots of room for my little device.”
Sarah rested her head back and looked out the window. Her stomach, weighted down with dread, hadn’t induced any thoughts of eating yet today. Everyone had their bulletproof vests on. Everyone was ready for whatever happened, but she wasn’t.
It was impossible for anyone to know she had left Mexico so no one knew where she was. She could only imagine the kind of people they were headed to meet. Ex-Russian military types. Black market arms dealers. Smugglers. She’d never met these kind of men. And she was sure Jane had no idea of the kind of men she was doing business with. Without Vivian—who was staying quiet—Sarah was lost.
“How much longer?” Jane asked the driver through a slot in the smoked out Plexiglas partition.
Lanky brought his mouth up to the small opening and said, “Five minutes.”
Jane leaned back in her seat and adjusted her vest under her blouse. For some reason her Kevlar vest looked smaller than Sarah’s.
“What do you want me to do?” Sarah asked.
“You’ve done enough. Just being here reassures me I’m going to survive this. And don’t worry. Your money is in the trunk of this vehicle. All one million in cash. When we’re done, you walk away with the suitcase.” A sly smile crossed her lips. “I changed my mind about half the money up front and half later since it all ends today.”
Ignoring her reference to the money, Sarah asked, “What about the meeting? You want me to wait in the SUV?”
Jane snapped her head to look at Sarah. “Are you kidding? For one million dollars? I want you up front and center.”
“Front and center?”
“Right beside me. Attached at my hip. I believe in you, Sarah. If bullets are to fly, Vivian would stop this somehow.”
If you only knew.
“Why are you going to this meeting? Why not send your men? You don’t think this is too dangerous for you?”
“Sending my men was the original plan. But Boris refused. He met me in Europe and will only deal with me.”
Something sounded off. “Only you? Meaning, come alone? Was that what he instructed?”
“Yeah. But that doesn’t matter. He knows me. I have security. I’m sure he does, too. He’s a reasonable man.”
The SUV slowed to pull off the two-lane highway. “How many times did you go to Bulgaria?”
“Just a couple. Why?” Jane’s hands were shaking and she had an uncontrollable twitch under her right eye.
“And you know this Boris that well?”
“It’s not that I know him, but more I know the kind of man he is.”
Oh shit.
“We’re pulling in now,” Lanky shouted back.
From the front of the vehicle, the sound of magazine clips being ejected, guns checked, ammo confirmed, floated back to them.
“Don’t worry so much, Sarah. I’ve got three extremely well-trained men in this vehicle. They know the score and if things get bad, they’ll settle the score.”
“It’s not them I’m worried about,” she muttered.
The SUV slowed as the driver eased close to a white building. Sarah dropped lower in her seat to look out the window on Jane’s side of the vehicle.
A broken down, faded-white church, weathered by the sun, entire chunks of siding missing, sat in the middle of nowhere. A flat area to the left offered a glimpse of the parking lot, now covered in weeds and broken bits of concrete. It didn’t look like anyone had come here to worship since the 1970s at least.
The SUV stopped. Thick tire tracks had made a path in the dry sandy dirt recently, heading toward the back of the church.
“Lanky, you stay in the vehicle. Protect the driver. Leave it running if we need to leave quickly. The rest of you, stay with me as we walk to the back of the church. Keep your weapons as well hidden as possible. Understood.” There were nods up front. “Remember, I’m supposed to be alone and there aren’t supposed to be any weapons. Just stay alert.”
Something wasn’t right. Why park up here? Why not drive around the church, meet Boris on the other side where he was. This looked too much like they were going to sneak up on Boris.
And why did she call her guard Lanky?
Jane reached for the door, but Sarah stopped her by grabbing her forearm.
“Lanky? That’s his name?”
Jane frowned. “We don’t use their given names. He’s tall and lanky, so that’s what we call him.”
Sarah let go of her arm. Jane opened her door. “You coming, Sarah?”
Sarah hopped out into the baking desert sun. It hit her like a wall of heat.
Lanky?
She couldn’t believe the name she had been using internally was his name all along. Unless Vivian had something to do with that. Could Sarah just know things now? Intuitively?
She walked around the vehicle in a bit of a daze. The two guards separated, one standing in front, one taking up the rear.
This looked ridiculous. Professional military men would pick these guys off as soon as they saw they were armed. They would take out the driver, kill Blair and Sarah, wait for Jane to transfer the funds, and then kill her and disappear back to Bulgaria or wherever they came from. Jane was walking in blind and so was Sarah.
Unless that was what Jane wanted. Was this meant as a slaughter? These men knew her plan. Once it was done and the device had been detonated in the conference hall, these men would be loose ends. Maybe that’s what this was all about after all.
Was that thought intuitive? Could she trust it as psychic?
No, this was a dea
l and she was being paranoid. Her paranoia was fueled by fear as she had no weapon and no idea the kind of men they were about to meet.
With Jane in the middle and Sarah and Blair flanking her, the five of them moved along the left side of the church, their feet crunching the dusty gravel underfoot. The building probably served a lot of the faithful over the years, but it was abandoned long ago, gone to weed. The siding was withered and broken in spots. In one section, the roof sagged and appeared ready to collapse.
They continued along the side of the church for the rear of the building as Vivian swooped into her consciousness. It was so sudden, Sarah jerked and ducked down, but stayed upright.
“You okay?” Jane asked. “Something troubling you?”
The men surrounding them had slowed at Jane’s voice.
“No. Nothing.”
Sarah, Vivian whispered.
Sarah waited for more.
Drop to your knees.
Sarah dropped, kicking up small plumes of dust from under her knee caps. Jane stopped walking and looked back. Understanding dawned on her face and she dropped.
“What is it?” Jane whispered.
Blair started to get down. The guards brought their weapons out from hiding and aimed them at nothing.
Sarah shrugged. “Don’t know. My sister told me to get down—”
A weapon fired. Jane jerked and shrieked, her hands going to cover her mouth.
The man who guarded their rear teetered on his feet, then fell, his throat a red mess of tissue where part of his spine showed through.
Jane wrapped an arm around Sarah’s shoulders and trembled beside her. Blair lay out flat on the dirt floor and covered his head with his hands.
The guard at the front of their group bent at the waist and ran for the wall for cover but was shot before he made it. Jane let out a yip at the sound of the bullet impacting bone.
The guard’s jaw dislocated as the bullet hit him and entered his head. Blood shot from the exit wound. His glassy eyes stared off into space as he dropped to his knees, let go of his gun, then fell face first into the gravel. In a grotesque manner, something out of a horror movie, the guard’s dislocated jaw was forced sideways from the pressure of his face hitting the ground. Now his bottom teeth glistened with saliva in the sun where his cheek would normally have been.
“Don’t look,” Sarah whispered, feeling every bit the girl she had been before the heroin. She might die today, but she finally felt good again. This was where she felt at home. The adrenaline rush a BASE jumper got was akin to the rush she encountered when having to deal with situations like these.
She had to think. She had to deal with it. Feel the rush. Ride that wave. All the while knowing she wouldn’t die because she had Vivian. It was like an unfair advantage, but one she wasn’t willing to part with.
Tentatively, she got to her feet. Something was running on the other side of the church. A pitter patter of paws from some kind of animal. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound human.
Seconds later, her suspicions were confirmed as a huge King Shepherd came into view, its fangs bared, a low guttural growl emitting from its throat.
More pattering as another dog came around the front of the church. In moments, they were surrounded by two huge dogs that looked like they hadn’t eaten in days.
“What’s happening?” Jane yelled.
Sarah hushed her as she watched the dogs. Testing their resolve, she took a step back toward the fallen guard. He had an unused weapon. She needed something to defend herself with if either of the dogs decided they wanted a meal.
When she was two steps from the guard’s weapon, the horn from their SUV sounded. Sarah looked that way. A man stepped into view behind the shepherd.
“Boris?” Jane whispered. It was like she couldn’t find her voice. She lowered her head, cleared her throat, then looked back up and tried again. “Boris?” This time it was much louder.
“Miss Turner,” Boris said, his Russian accent evident. “What are you doing on the ground?”
“You shot my men—”
There was something unfamiliar in Jane’s voice. She wasn’t shocked. She was acting shocked. This was set up to remove her men as Sarah had suspected. Was she set to be killed, too?
“Correction, Jane. You killed your men. I told you to come alone. That I would kill anyone who carried a weapon.”
Bullshit excuse.
She wanted to kick Jane until she was a broken pile of pulp. Make her bleed for what she did to the men who were paid to protect her.
Boris stepped closer. “You changed the deal by coming with your own security. I don’t like when the deal’s changed. Means you’re nervous. Means you might talk to the authorities.”
“No, no,” Jane pleaded as she tried to get to her feet.
“With this performance, you should audition for Broadway,” Sarah whispered.
Blair looked up, but put his head back down like he wanted to bury his head in the dirt. Jane’s face didn’t register that Sarah had spoken.
“Please no.” Jane wobbled on her feet, but stayed up. “I need this deal to go through.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that.”
The dog behind them barked. Sarah looked over her shoulder, the heat making it hard to breathe with the thick vest covering her chest. Four heavily armed men now stood behind that dog. Thankfully they had put a leash on the dog’s collar.
Only if they had a muzzle.
“Come, join me.” Boris beckoned with a wave of his hand. “All three of you.”
Sarah waited until Blair got to his feet. Then as a trio, they started back the way they had just come, leaving the two guards to rot in the Nevada sun. Blair didn’t look good. He was so white, his eyes half-lidded, that he looked like he was about to pass out at any moment. Jane seemed to be doing better than Blair. This was routine. This was her plan. Everything was working out fabulously for Jane.
Sarah wished she was a thousand different places than by this abandoned church about to be killed because Jane was an insane lunatic.
As their stretch SUV came into sight, so did Lanky’s body. Jane stopped walking when she saw Lanky. From twenty feet away, Lanky’s throat was visible. It had been cut. And not just cut, sliced open. An entire chunk was missing. His eyes were wide open, like he tried to scream through them as his life ebbed from the wound in his neck. A cloth dangled from his mouth to keep him quiet while he had died. The driver had suffered a similar fate, only his neck wound wasn’t as macabre. All of the SUV’s doors were wide open, like an invitation to jump in and drive away, although that probably wasn’t what was going to happen.
What was the Bulgarian’s play here? Kill everyone and not make a deal? Weren’t they trying to sell something? Make money from that sale? Or were they only interested in killing people? Was this mercenary even the Bulgarian, or just a hit man?
Boris waited a few feet to their left. Two men stood slightly behind him. Sarah counted seven men and two dogs in total.
“Jane, Jane, Jane, why did you do this?” Boris said.
Jane seemed speechless while they all waited in the silence. Without turning around, the footfalls of the men from the rear moved closer.
Hope they still have that leash on the dog.
“You thought you could better me?” Boris said.
The fact that Boris was working so hard to show this wasn’t Jane’s idea in the first place made Sarah feel she would walk away from this to die another day.
Hopefully.
Or maybe it was for Blair’s credit. So he’d never know his mother murdered her own men.
Jane moved in jerks and spasms. Her acting job made her appear delirious. How could Boris ever think to sell such a device to such an unstable woman like Jane? Was he really only after the money and damn the consequences?
Boris looked like he was trying to decide something. A breeze kicked up a swirl of dust between them. One of the dogs growled at it.
“Do you have the money
?” Boris asked.
Jane nodded violently, her chin hitting her chest twice in the process.
“And your delivery system is in place?”
She nodded again.
Boris looked at Sarah. Then at Blair. “I am sorry it has come to this. For both of you.” Boris reached behind him and opened his palm. For a brief moment Sarah thought he was going to be handed a gun to shoot them with, but the man behind Boris placed a manila envelope in Boris’ hand instead. Boris opened it and rifled through the documents. “It’s all in here. The transfer was completed this morning, on time. We will be leaving now. You will wait fifteen minutes. Then you will get in your SUV and—” Boris paused, again looking from Sarah to Blair, then pointed at Sarah, “—she will drive. She seems the most together at the moment.” He focused on Jane. “Are we clear?”
