Deadly Journey

by Declan Conner

  Tying one end of a sheet to the metal balustrade, I lowered the rest, all the while keeping an eye on the guards.

  Then I had to pause and take a deep breath. Adrenaline was flowing so fast, I was losing control of body and mind. More deep breaths and a degree of composure returned. Realizing I had not picked up the roll of duct tape, I reached up on the closet shelf, picked it up, and stuffed it into a pocket. One final suck of air to fill my lungs and I took hold of the chair jamming the door handle. Trying not to make a sound, I removed the chair and opened the door slightly. Taking a hold of my pistol in one hand, I gradually opened the door. The hallway outside was clear. I turned and took the remote detonator for the tracker from around the guard’s neck and slipped the strap from his assault rifle from his shoulders.

  I slipped through the door, careful not to walk on the broken shards from the coffee cup. Along the corridor, I crept on past the CCTV monitoring room. The door was slightly ajar and the guard was slumped with his head on the desk. Arriving at the dumbwaiter, I opened the door, climbed inside, and pressed the button to descend to the kitchen.

  On the way down, the rest of the plan whirred around in my brain. As the ride stopped with a jolt, I pictured the door opening onto my living room at home. Dreaming aside, my escape hadn’t even reached first base. The door opened to reveal Leandra, out of her head with panic. She grabbed my arm and helped me out of the dumbwaiter.

  Leandra whispered, ‘Carlos is still in there with Perez.’

  I heard the faint buzz of the crop duster. There was no time to wait for Carlos to leave the dining room.

  ‘Crap! We still have to make our move.’

  I moved silently behind Leandra to the connecting door leading into the dining room, clutching the assault rifle, the stock firmly resting on my shoulder. Leandra rapped the door with her knuckles and entered. She moved quickly to one side. The heads of Carlos and Perez snapped in my direction.

  ‘If either of you move or make a sound, you’re both dead. Hands on the table, now.’ I kept my aim on Carlos, fearing him the most. ‘Stand, hands in the air, Carlos.’

  Carlos stood. I took his assault rifle and removed his knife, dropping each in turn on the floor and kicked them down the length of the room. Taking two steps back, I alternated my aim between the two of them.

  ‘You won’t get away with this,’ said Perez.

  ‘Maybe, but I’ll make a damned good try.’ Reaching into my pocket, I tossed the duct tape at Carlos. ‘Gag him and tie his hands behind his back.’

  Carlos did as ordered and limped behind him. Perez’s complexion turned scarlet with rage, and he muttered curses from underneath the tape over his mouth. Standing behind Perez, Carlos gave me a wry smile and looked directly into my eyes.

  ‘What now?’ he asked.

  ‘That’s up to you. There are three canvas bags full of money on the table. If I’m not mistaken, that’s a sick-note pass on the table to get you through any roadblock. That stack of cash ought to buy you a nice farm in Brazil.’

  Carlos glanced at the bags and sucked on his bottom lip.

  ‘We’re going with or without you, but it would help if you drove the vehicle to the crop duster. It should be refuelled by the time we get there.’

  ‘What about Perez?’

  ‘He’s going with me.’

  ‘And the guards at the entrance?’

  With one hand, I took hold of the detonator and held it aloft. ‘Distraction. Their vehicle is running and waiting. Leandra, grab the laptop, the knife, and the rifle.’

  When I pressed the button, an explosive thud cut the silence. I prayed the sound wouldn’t carry to the barracks. Carlos grabbed the sick-note pass, stuffed it in his pocket, and took hold of the straps of the bags.

  ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

  I took hold of Perez by the scruff of his neck and we exited the room. Opening the villa’s front door, we were just in time to see the leg of one of the guards disappear into the maze.

  Carlos loaded the bags into the front seat of the vehicle, while I manoeuvred Perez onto the back passenger seat between Leandra and me. Reaching over, I took the pen drive from Perez’s top pocket.

  ‘Are you sure you can drive with your leg injured?’ I asked.

  ‘Too late to think about that now, but I think I’ll manage.’

  The vehicle set off like a bucking bronco, but he soon tamed it and sped toward the airfield.

  When we approached the crop duster, the pilot was dragging the refuelling tank under cover of the trees.

  ‘Do you want Leandra to come with me?’ Carlos asked.

  ‘No, we have business to attend to.’

  ‘What if the pilot won’t fly?’

  ‘We don’t need the pilot. I can fly. He has a flight plan on a clipboard.’

  ‘What if he alerts the others?’

  ‘We’ll tie him up with duct tape. Hopefully, we’ll be long gone before they realize anything’s happening.’

  His question unnerved me.

  Carlos said, ‘I’ll take care of the pilot. You concentrate on getting the crop duster off the ground.’

  We stopped alongside the aircraft.

  ‘Duct tape and knife,’ said Carlos. He turned and held out his hand.

  I passed him the tape, but hesitated at giving him the knife. For a moment, our eyes met.

  I needed time to think. While I thought I could read Carlos’s psyche, I couldn’t be sure if I could trust him not to reverse the situation.

  ‘Let me get Perez out and onto the crop duster first.’

  He must have read my mind. ‘Forget the knife, I’ll manage,’ he said. ‘The pilot knows my face.’

  Carlos climbed out and limped toward the woods where we had seen the pilot. Perez fought like some demented lunatic not to get out of the vehicle. By the time I had dragged Perez over to the crop duster, Carlos had returned and he tossed the duct tape to me.

  ‘All set. He won’t cause you any trouble.’

  I didn’t ask what he meant, but the roll of tape didn’t look any smaller. Carlos helped me bundle Perez on board the aircraft. Carlos shook my hand and then Leandra’s.

  ‘You’re on your own now. Good luck,’ he said.

  He limped over to the four-by-four, hopped in and drove away. With Carlos out of sight, I took one last scan of the area toward the woods, and then turned, wary of the thick cover of bushes only five feet from the wing tip.

  Leandra clambered on board and I was just about to follow her when at the sound of footsteps brushing the grass behind us brought me to a halt. I turned to face the barrel of an assault rifle trained directly at me and I froze. Pulses of cold energy ripped through my body.

  ‘Where do you think you are going? Turn around.’

  Chapter 37

  Mexican Standoff

  Oh, crap. I had been right to be nervous about the cover of the bushes next to the crop duster. But doubt had tormented me about the whole escapade. Every nook and cranny had been a potential chance for someone to be surveying the area. Without eyes in the back of my head and with Stony and his guards’ expertise in Special Forces operations, I guessed we were lucky to have made it that far. The only redeeming feature until had been was that all eyes and efforts had been concentrating on access to the villa since the Cobras’ insurgency. I’d been thinking it was all too easy. Stony’s voice was the last thing I had wanted to hear, never mind the feel of the barrel of his assault rifle prodding the back of my head.

  Leandra peered at me through the open cockpit door, a look of terror distorting her features. An arm gripped her around her throat. My shoulders stooped even lower. Perez’s face appeared to one side and behind her. Tearing away the duct tape from his mouth, pistol in hand, he jammed the barrel of his gun to her temple.

  ‘Well done, Pedro. Seems your personal alarm set-up worked. Take his guns. He won’t need them where he’s going. The same goes for this slut.’ Perez pushed Leandra out of the plane and followed her. Putting his lips to
her ear, he growled, ‘Think you were going to escape to your child? Well I’ve got news for you – she’s dead. Still, I guess you’ll soon be joining your little bastard.’

  ‘You’re lying,’ Leandra shouted and tried to wriggle from his grip

  ‘Drop your weapons,’ Pedro ordered. The cold steel barrel of his rifle stabbed at the nape of my neck.

  I ignored him, resting my hands on my rifle, hoping for an opportunity to put a round into Perez.

  ‘Kill the bastard,’ screamed Perez, spitting through his gritted teeth, waving his gun and then forcing the barrel to her ear.

  Leandra looked me straight in the eye, her body passive. It was as clear a signal as I needed. All I could hope was that I’d get my shot off before Stony Face dispatched me, or Perez squeezed his trigger.

  ‘What are you waiting for? Shoot him.’

  Pedro took a step back.

  ‘Why shoot them? Let’s cut them up and make them both suffer. Really, we should keep the girl until we can replace her with her sister.’

  Like some slowed-down movie, events played out before my eyes. Perez waved his gun with a frustrated scowl aimed at Stony. Then, as if someone had switched on a light, he relaxed and grinned.

  Perez said, ‘Good thinking.’ He tapped the side of his head with the barrel of his gun and loosened his grip on her neck.

  Leandra tore his arm from around her throat and dropped to the floor. A shot rang out, instantly taking out the side of Perez’s skull to the sound of the click of his empty pistol. His arms flailed as if an unseen hand controlled his contortions and then had released the strings. Perez crumpled to the ground. I swung my aim to Stony. He was still facing Perez, his rifle shouldered and smoke drifting from his weapon.

  ‘You’d better get out of here,’ said Stony. He didn’t even look at me.

  My finger twitched on the trigger. Leandra scrambled on all fours in my peripheral vision, past and behind me. My mind raced, trying to make sense of Stony’s intervention, but hit a dead end. At a loss, I had to ask the question.

  ‘Who are you? Why...?’

  ‘Orders. It doesn’t matter who I am, just get her to the Bolivian Embassy. They have her travel documents ready and waiting. They’ll take it from there and see she gets home.’ Stony lowered his rifle. ‘I’ll cover your asses from here.’

  His radio crackled. Stony let go of his rifle, leaving it swinging on the shoulder strap by his side, and ripped the handset from his jacket.

  ‘Stay there and guard the mini-sub. He’s on the loose somewhere on the grounds. I’ll alert the Seven Sisters.’ He turned to me. ‘What are you two waiting for? Get going. I’ll tell them you must have shot Perez.’

  From his words, it was easy to deduce that the guards had pursued my ghost down the wishing-well ladder and into the smugglers’ cave.

  Leandra said, ‘What do you know about my child? Perez said—’

  ‘Sorry, I don’t know about any child.’ He looked genuinely shocked at the revelation that a child was involved. ‘Listen, I’ll get word to the DEA that you’ve escaped as soon as I can and tell them the truth. Hurry, there’s no time for idle chatter. But be careful. One of the Cobra prisoners we tortured says they were tipped off we were holding you. They were under instructions to kill you. Someone over the border wants you dead in return for favours to the Cobra cartel.’

  I nodded and hauled Leandra to her feet. She was dazed, but then so was I, still amazed by Stony’s apparent change of allegiance. Fortunately, I had the sense to help Leandra on board the aircraft. I fired up the engine and eased the throttle control, and we set off down the runway.

  Thank God they designed the Zenith STOL CH801 for short takeoff; we lifted from the ground and took the flight path I had witnessed almost daily.

  Banking and turning, I could see guards emerging from the tree line. No doubt the rifle shot had alerted Perez’s men resting in the barracks. Stony waved at them, cradling Perez in his arms, and then beckoned the guards to his position. As I gazed out of the cockpit, the villa, the maze and the swimming pool all passed by. The sheets still hung from the balustrade at the balcony. All were images I doubted I would ever forget. For all I knew, we could have had a hail of bullets passing by on the outside of the plane. My hands visibly shook on the controls, knowing we were not out of danger.

  Clearing one of the Seven Sisters hills by the bay, I braced, hoping that Stony would be true to his word and an RPG wouldn’t put an end to our escape to freedom.

  Taking hold of Leandra’s hand, I gave it a squeeze. She looked directly ahead. Her hand was limp and there was no acknowledgement. Leandra’s mind wasn’t in the crop duster, but then I couldn’t blame her and I left her to her thoughts.

  Headed along the coastline of the Pacific, I sighed as our flight path took us over dry land again, out of the range of any incoming fire from any of the lookout posts.

  With a ninety-degree turn, it would be a straight line from there on, but not toward home. There was unfinished business to attend to. Most of all, we had to find out if Perez had spoken the truth about Leandra’s daughter. It would have been impossible for me to make it out of there without Leandra’s help. There were promises I had made and I wasn’t about to go back on my word.

  The drone of the engine put Leandra to sleep. At least sleeping gave her some respite from her anguish. Me? Well, I couldn’t help but go over what had happened back there on the airstrip. Stony Face puzzled me. Having contacts at the Bolivian Embassy who had Leandra’s travel documents ready, I had to think he was undercover. Stony couldn’t have known I was going to escape with her. He had to have planned Leandra an escape route all along. It made sense of his protective attitude towards her that had baffled me.

  The department would jump for joy when they heard about Perez’s death. Still, I couldn’t help but think of the many innocents who would end up caught in the fight to fill the vacuum left by the death of Perez. Stony’s words, “I’ll tell them the truth” nagged at me. The words seemed out of context, unless it was to say it was the Perez cartel who had kidnapped me and not the Cobra gang.

  Picking up the radio mike, I pressed the ON switch – but it was dead. That made sense; the pilot would hardly likely want to contact Customs, especially when he was carrying contraband.

  Looking over my shoulder, I noticed the duct tape that had bound Perez. The tape wasn’t unwrapped, but stretched. It had been a big mistake not frisking him and I shook my head that I had goofed that up. Lucky for all of us that he hadn’t loaded a new magazine since emptying it on those prisoners. A stray bullet could have taken any one of us down. Lady Luck had sure been with us this time.

  A sense of newfound freedom overwhelmed me. I couldn’t have stopped the glow that I felt rise inside me if I tried, or the curl on my lips. It was as though I could smell Mary’s perfume and the scent of the children’s freshly shampooed hair, but their touch eluded me.

  That’s when it hit me. Whoever had put the original contract on my life wanted to see it through to a satisfactory conclusion. But just how they knew I had been taken by the Perez cartel left me perplexed.

  Down in the footwell, next to Leandra’s feet, I could see Perez’s laptop. The sight brought me back to the reality of the situation and I scowled at the realization that Perez’s death had left a hole in my plan. Instinct told me to turn and head for the border, but torn loyalties ending with a final resolve spurred me to continue with our chosen path. We could have used Perez to trade for Leandra’s daughter before the authorities arrived to take him into custody. Now we didn’t even know if Rosa was alive.

  Chapter 38

  Unwelcome Reception

  Approaching our destination, we had made good headway with a strong tail wind and hit a steady cruising speed of 120 miles per hour. I nudged Leandra.

  ‘We’re here. I need you alert.’

  Leandra stretched her legs and yawned, shaking her head to come around. She had a look of determination on her face. She shuffled h
er butt on the seat, stooped and picked up the pistol from between her feet.

  ‘Oh, I’m alert all right, and ready,’ Leandra said. Holding the Glock in both hands, she outstretched her arms, aiming at an imaginary target and mimicking recoil. ‘Bang.’

  ‘Hey, steady, we don’t want a bullet to ricochet in the cockpit before we land.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I know exactly how to handle a gun.’

  I didn’t doubt her for one second.

  ‘Listen, there are a couple of bags behind you. Lean over and put the laptop in one of them.’ I took the pen drive from my pocket and handed it over. ‘This too.’

  Leandra manoeuvred to kneel on the seat and leaned over the back of her chair. I heard the zipper draw back. She knelt upright.

  ‘Hell, it’s full of one-hundred-dollar bills.’

  ‘Put a couple of hundred in your pocket and pass me the same. We may need some money.’

  Leandra turned to sit, stuffing some bills in my pocket.

  ‘Fasten your seat belt. We’re going to land soon.’ I eased up on the controls and turned the aircraft. ‘There it is. I can see the building I told you about, tucked in the trees. The runway looks clear. I’m going to circle before landing. Keep a lookout on your side and tell me if you see any movement.’

  As we circled the field, Leandra called out. ‘There’s a pickup truck over by the gate, but I can’t see anyone.’

  ‘Damn. Okay, listen. I can’t just keep circling. I’ll come in from the opposite end and land away from the building. As soon as we stop, we’ll grab a bag each, run over to the bushes, and then follow the hedgerow. We’ll dump the bags there, so we can collect them later. If no one shows, we can head to where you saw the truck. If they haven’t left the keys, we can hotwire the ignition. Then we need to get hold of the authorities to meet us at Squat’s farm.’