“A delaying tactic? What the hell are you talking about?” Joe asked.
“Okay,” Dick continued. “Say we all go up together, and she takes some cleaning stuff with her and acts like a maid or something. We saw that cable car guy. If it’s the same guy, he can’t keep his eyes off anything that looks good in a skirt. Besides, she speaks Spanish.”
“So you’re saying she goes up and then if we get delayed, she tries to, what? Make nice with the cable car operator?” Joe asked. “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
“No, wait,” Samantha interrupted. “I could do this. We could all go up, just like Dick said. You do the whole rescue operation. I get off the tram car and head out of sight. You contact me when you’re ready to head back. And I keep an eye on the cable car guy. And if it looks like he’s going to head down and it’s the last run, I can try to divert him. I can do this. I know I can.” But can I really do this? It means going up the side of a mountain in a little car suspended on a wire or something. It means looking down thousands of feet. It would be far worse than looking over a cliff in the Tetons. Oh God, can I really do this? Yes, I can.
Joe shook his head and paused, “I don’t know. Sounds risky to me.”
“Joe, think about it,” Samantha said. “If you do get Tripp out of there and the cable car has already left, what are you going to do? Hide out in the woods until it starts up again tomorrow morning? And with a storm coming in, it may not go up at all. And unless you’ve killed all the kidnappers, they’re going to come looking for you, right?”
One of the Special Forces team members weighed in. “She’s got a point. Our plan is to try and extricate without killing anybody, remember?”
“How are you going to do that?” Samantha asked.
“Leave it to us. We’ve got it all scoped out. But I guess there is a matter of time,” Joe conceded. “And if she stays near the cable car and doesn’t hike in with us, I suppose I can buy it.”
“Good,” Samantha said. “Then it’s all settled. But let me be clear. I have no intention of getting in your way. I know how serious this is, and I truly appreciate what you’re putting together here. I mean, I know you’re risking your lives to try and save Tripp. I just want to be a part of it.” And I also want to see him as soon as I possibly can.
“Okay. Okay. She comes along.” Joe checked his watch. “Let’s synchronize.” He turned to the pilots. “Time for you to head out. We’ve all got our communication gear, cells and everything else we need.” He motioned for the others to gather up the equipment and stuff it in their backpacks. He finally turned back to Samantha. “Go get your roughest clothes on, but something that the cable car guy still might appreciate. And see if you can find some rags or sponges or something just to have along.” He tossed her an extra canvas bag. “You can use this. We don’t need this one. Put your stuff in there and plan to meet us back here at eight o’clock sharp.”
Samantha got up and headed to the door. She was excited. This was it. Her plan had finally come together, and tonight they would find Tripp. At least she prayed they would. She turned and said, “You know, I have no idea exactly how you’re going to get him out.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Joe said. “Let’s just say we call it Shock and Draw!”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
EL AVILA–SUNDAY NIGHT
“What’s that?” Rafael shouted as he ran to the window of the casita. “Sounds like a helicopter or something.”
“So? A helicopter flies around. Planes fly around. I heard that they’re bringing up all sorts of gear to set up fireworks on this mountain for New Year’s Eve tomorrow night. They’re probably airlifting the stuff up here.” Eyeshade said, shuffling a deck of cards.
“You sure about that? Seems kind of noisy and close. Like maybe they’re circling or something,” Rafael said. “Maybe that guy we met with is trying to track us down. You think?”
“I don’t see how he could. We smashed the glasses. That was a dumb trick. Probably had some sort of tracking thing in them.” Eyeshade said. “And when he tried to give the guy that candy. Well, you saw it. Just candy, right?”
“Right. It was in the wrapper. I broke it apart. Nothing in there. Besides, we made him eat it.”
“So, just wait a few minutes. They’ll go away. Come on, we haven’t finished the game.
Tripp perched on the edge of his bed listening intently to the sound of the rotors. Sure enough. A helo. Joe’s helo? He prayed to God that a plan was in the works. For the past many days, he had thought about his own plans, ways he might be able to take on Rafael or Eyeshade. When one was out, he had tried to lure the other one into his room, to ask for something. He knew he could handle at least one at a time if he ever got close enough. But even when one brought him some food, the other had stood at the door with his gun drawn. It looked like they had been through this drill before, or at least had tried to pull it off.
They were both antsy, trigger happy, and while he tried to remain vigilant every minute of every day, they had never let their guard down, and he had never seen an opening. It was frustrating as all hell. He had hoped that after several days, if he appeared docile, they would ease up a bit. But they never had.
They didn’t know he had a background in the military. They had no idea the kinds of missions he had been on. Sure, he had taken on Eye-shade that one time, but anyone would try to get away at least once, so they had to be expecting that. Now all of his experience had done him no good in this situation with his leg chained and no access to any tools, knives, wires, or anything else he could use to try and free himself. He lay back on the bed and figured this whole sorry scenario had to end soon. Maybe it would be tonight.
“Too damn many trees down there. I can’t get an image,” the team member said to the pilot. He continued to search the area. “Wait a minute. Over to the right, I think I see the clearing where Joe had the meeting. Head over there, and then we’ll circle the whole place again.” He was scanning the hillside with his Nightoptics TG-7 Thermal Goggles, looking for images, though he didn’t know how many he was looking for. He just knew that he had to find images that were similar and then one image that would be differentiated from the others. That would be Tripp’s. At least he hoped Tripp’s body heat would show up differently. Their whole plan depended on it.
Samantha crowded into the cable car with Joe, Dick and the others and moved to a spot away from the windows. She didn’t want to look down, didn’t want to think about how high they were going. Her palms were moist, and she realized she was holding her breath. Was it because she dreaded the cable car ride up the mountain? Or was it because she was scared she might screw up her role in the whole operation? Or was she terrified that the whole rescue plan would somehow come apart and the team and Tripp could be killed.
The Teleferic started to move. There was a sudden jerk and then a slight swaying as it ground its way up the cable. She remembered a rerun of a James Bond movie she had seen years ago where there was a fight on board one of these cable cars. Good guys and bad guys battled it out, hanging from open doors, crawling across the top of the moving car. She even remembered a scene where the car came crashing down to the valley floor. She shuddered at the memory and tried to refocus on the people around her.
This car wasn’t jammed. There were perhaps a dozen on board in addition to the team. There was a young couple, their arms entwined as they gazed out the window. Might be newlyweds, she thought. They’re probably headed up for a look at the city lights. There must be places up here where lovers can find a romantic spot to spend a summer evening. Would she ever be able to spend a romantic summer night with Tripp? Would this be the night when she would see him again? Would he be okay? How would he look after all of this? She said a silent prayer that Joe and the rest of the team could pull off a miracle.
“There, over there, I think I’ve got ’em,” the crew member said.
“Where?” the pilot asked.
“Three o’clock. Head ov
er. Let’s circle once more, and I’ll mark the map. We don’t want to spend too much time around here. They’ll hear us and might try to move out.”
“Got it,” the pilot said. “Radio Joe and let’s get out of here.”
“See, I told you they’d leave, whoever they are,” Eyeshade said and dealt another round of cards. “We got any beer left?”
Rafael walked over to the small fridge and pulled out two bottles. He popped the caps and held one out to his partner. “Not too much more time to go now. Just a couple of days. Then we’re rich men.”
“We’re rich already,” Eyeshade said, glancing over at the table where the packet containing the half million dollars was sitting.
“Shouldn’t we put that away somewhere?” Rafael asked, following his partner’s gaze.
“Where? There’s nobody up here. Who’s gonna find it? The guy in the back room?” Eyeshade grunted. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“Dead ahead,” Joe murmured as they approached the casita. He then motioned for the team to spread out and check the windows of the shabby building. They pulled their guns and inched forward while Joe crept toward a side wall where there were no windows or openings. He carefully set down his canvas bag, opened the zipper, put on his headset and took out his silent pneumatic drill. He looked over his shoulder, waiting for confirmation that he was in the right spot.
Dick pulled on his own TriPort Tactical Headset and adjusted the small black microphone. He knelt down next to a stand of trees. Focusing his thermal imaging goggles, he analyzed the images inside the building. He could make out two forms on the right side and a brighter form way to the left. He whispered into his microphone, “Two to your right, sitting down. Move about a yard farther right. Should be OK. Tripp’s way left. Probably in another room.”
“Got it,” Joe whispered into his own mic. He grabbed the bag and his tools and shifted right. He then took the drill, put it up against the adobe wall and turned it on. It began to make a small hole the diameter of a pencil. He took his time, being careful to hold it steady and not make any noise. He could hear the men inside talking and arguing over something. He couldn’t quite make out the words, but he thought they said something about money and bank accounts. You’ve seen all the money you’re ever going to see, you bastards, he thought as he continued to hold the drill with a steady hand.
“Wait. Stop,” Dick whispered. “You’ve got to shift your position. One of them just got up and moved to your wall.”
“Shit!” Joe whispered, turning off the drill. He tried to pull it out of the wall. “Can’t move. It’s jammed.”
Samantha glanced at her watch. 11:15 p.m. She had walked away from the cable car and meandered along a road away from the tourists and lovers. She had partially unzipped the canvas bag so she could be sure to hear if one of the team tried to contact her on the small PRC-710 radio she had inside. It looked like a walkie-talkie. They had told her it was the lightest handheld radio they had. On the trip up, she had noticed the cable car operator leering at her. She hoped and prayed the team could get in and out quickly so she wouldn’t have to spend time with the old lech.
She wandered around and tried to avoid looking down at the city. She was still a bit queasy from the ride up and didn’t want to add to the tension, so she sat down under a tree. Her fear of heights had come on full force during the ride. She had tried to take deep breaths and then close her eyes from time to time. But having them closed just made her dizzy, so she had concentrated on their mission and tried to control the fear. Once she got off and headed into the woods, she started to feel a bit better. Now she was getting nervous. She checked her watch again, stared down at the transmitter and waited.
“What the matter with you? You don’t want to finish the game? Just because I won the last hand?” Eyeshade said in a mocking tone.
“I’d rather watch a game than play one with you,” Rafael said. He had been sitting in a chair by the wall, leaning back and looking through an old magazine. He stretched his legs, got up and turned on the TV set. He saw a news story about preparations for New Year’s Eve celebrations. Workmen were stringing lights in a park and setting up a bandstand.
“See, I told you,” Eyeshade said, “there’s going to be all sorts of stuff going on tomorrow night. Probably fireworks up here too. What better place to shoot off fireworks than the top of El Avila, huh?”
“I guess you’re right. But we have to miss the parties. We’re stuck with this jerk.”
“I never said this would be easy. I said it might take a while. But think about it. We’re getting results in less than two weeks. The guys in Colombia and Mexico have held their hostages for months, years sometimes. We got lucky with this one.”
“Okay, he’s moved. Try again,” Dick whispered.
Joe turned on his drill again. This time it kicked in and started silently grinding farther through the wall. He felt it break through. He stopped, listened and heard a TV set blaring. Good. This is helpful. They’ll never notice a thing. He pulled at the drill and after a bit of twisting and tugging, he was able to get it out of the hole. He then whispered into his headphone. “Filtration masks on.”
He put the drill into the bag, put on his own mask and retrieved a small green bottle that looked a bit like an oxygen bottle. It had a small tube screwed into the end. He fit the other end of the tube through the hole. Then he took a deep breath and turned a small nozzle where the tube was connected to the pressure bottle. He heard a hissing sound. As he held the bottle and tube against the wall, he turned away and took another breath of fresh air. Then he waited while their new chloroform based concoction that they called Chloro-hydronate gas seeped into the room.
Dick peered through his goggles and scanned right to left. Left to right. He watched as one of the images on the right appeared to bend over. Then the one on the left looked like he had his head back. Leaning back. He scanned way left and saw Tripp’s body image lying flat. It hadn’t moved. Must be lying down on a bed or something. He scanned right again. The other two images hadn’t moved. He whispered into his microphone. “All down.”
Joe pulled the tube out of the hole in the wall, shoved the bottle in the canvas bag and crept around to the door where two other team members were waiting. He dropped the bag and drew his gun. Dick had instructions to stay outside as a backup in case there was trouble.
The three men gently turned the door knob and pushed. The door creaked on its rusty hinges. They stopped and listened. The TV was on but that’s all they heard. Joe motioned them forward. They opened the door a crack and looked inside. They saw Eyeshade keeled over on top of the table, his arms splayed out on top of small stacks of playing cards. Farther to the right, Rafael was slumped down in his chair in front of the TV.
“They’re down. C’mon. Gotta get Tripp and get out of here. We don’t have much time.” They moved into the other room and found Tripp lying on the bed. Joe slapped a mask over Tripp’s face while one of the team members began to hack off the chain around his ankle. “Ankle’s a bit of a mess,” one said.
“We’ll fix it later,” Joe said. “Let’s get him outside. He’s under, but the gas may not have penetrated into this room as fast. He’ll come around in a while.”
They lifted him off the bed, and two of them hauled him out into the fresh air. Joe walked through the other room, saw the packet of bills on the table, grabbed it, and, once outside, shoved it into his bag. Then he called to Dick. “Let’s get the hell out of here. It’ll take us longer than thirty minutes to get back to the tram since we’re carrying Tripp. But hurry up. We’ve gotta make that cable car.”
“What about Samantha?” Dick said, as they gathered together and hurried away from the casita. He checked his watch, “It’s 11:45. We’re never gonna make it if the guy really does take the last car down at mi night.”
“I know,” Joe said. “I didn’t want to use her. But now we’ve got no choice.” He reached into his bag for his radio and pushed the button to make cont
act.
“Hi there, big guy,” Samantha said in Spanish, plastering a big smile on her face as she approached the cable car.
“Hi to you too,” he said, eyeing her tight T-shirt and long brown hair falling over part of her face. She had worn a bandana on the trip up, but now she had pulled it off and shaken her hair out to let it hang loosely over her shoulders. She walked up to the cable car and checked her watch. 11:55. There were only two other people on board. She recognized the lovers from the ride up. They were totally engrossed in each other and weren’t paying any attention.
“How much time do we have before you head down?” she asked sweetly.
“Was just about to leave,” he said.
“Oh dear. There aren’t many people here yet, and I have some friends who are on their way. We all really need to get back. This is the last trip down, isn’t it?”
“Sure is, lady. About time I got some sleep, you know.”
“I completely agree with you,” Samantha said as she came closer to the tram. “Do you live far from the base? I mean do you have a long way to drive home?”
“I live a ways out. Can’t afford to live in town.”
She sat down on a nearby ledge and hiked her skirt up over her knees. “So tell me about where you live.”
He stared at her legs. She followed his look and started to swing one leg back and forth as she leaned back, thrusting out her chest. “So, uh, as I said, tell me about your home.”
“My home?” he replied. “Not much to tell. Say, why don’t you come on board? As I said, I better get moving here.”
“Oh, just give it a little bit more time, would you? You look like a man that doesn’t need to hurry things. Am I right?”
He grinned at her, showing dark stains on uneven teeth. “Not if I don’t have to, I guess.”
“It’s such a beautiful night, don’t you think? I mean, being up here, smelling the flowers and trees, being able to look down at all those twinkling lights. I just love coming up here. I was so glad to get this cleaning job because it means I can come up at night when it’s cool like this and not have to work around too many people in the heat of the day. Do you know what I mean?” She was trying to make conversation, trying to keep him off-guard, trying to be sure he looked at her and not at his watch.
Final Finesse Page 26
