by C. M. Sutter
“Get him out there. The truck is coming around the curve.” Anthony snapped his seat belt, placed the pistol between his legs, and turned the key in the ignition. He pressed the gas pedal to the floorboards and gunned it. Gravel sprayed around the vehicle, and the cube van lurched forward.
Chapter 58
“So far, so good.” I took a quick look in my side mirror and saw nothing behind us, and as I looked out the windshield, everything was clear. “We’re halfway there. I hope we didn’t get this wrong.” I turned to Cam. I’m sure he noticed the disappointment covering my face. “It’s not that I want to be in a firefight, but if the kidnappers don’t show themselves, we’ll never find J.T. and Julie.”
“Chin up, agent.” Cam gave me a thoughtful smile. “We still have twelve miles to go.”
The road was thick with a lush green canopy overhead. One lane in each direction took us around gentle curves where slits of sunlight broke through the shade. As much as I wanted to take in the beauty of the rustic road, I knew I had to be on high alert. I’d enjoy that route another time, maybe on a relaxing Sunday when Amber and I had nothing else to do that required our attention.
Cam hugged the S curve and came out on the other side in the rays of sun that bounced on the pavement between the foliage. He lowered his visor then leaned forward and stared. “What the hell? Son of a bitch, here we go!”
Cam slammed on the brakes, and we were jerked forward against our seat belts. The truck began to skid. I radioed to the crew in the back. “Heads-up! There’s someone standing in the road with an assault rifle pointing at us. Get ready for the ambush!” I whipped out my gun from my shoulder holster and took aim. “Why isn’t he firing on us?”
Cam yelled as he tried to get the truck under control. It teetered from the overcorrection, and we were headed for the ditch. The sudden impact caused the right side of my head to bounce off the window, and we were hit hard on the driver’s side. Our truck was pushed against a tree, making it impossible to open my door fully. Glass exploded through the windshield of the vehicle that rammed us, and bullets pelted the armored skin and windows of our transport truck. I couldn’t find my mic to call for help, and my cell phone had fallen. I had no idea where it was. A flash of movement caught my eye as the driver exited the truck and ran toward our rear gun ports.
“Cam, are you okay?” I looked down at my empty hand. “Shit!” My pistol lay somewhere on the floor.
Cam moaned from the impact, and his left arm was bleeding badly. “Jade, I think my ribs are broken.”
“Hang tight, partner.” I grabbed his gun out of the shoulder holster, but my efforts were in vain. There wasn’t a gun port that could help me. The driver’s side door was blocked by the truck that rammed us, and mine was against a tree. I had a six-inch space to squeeze out of my door if I needed to, and I’d use that to my advantage when the opportunity arose. I had no idea what condition Bill, Val, and Maria were in. If they weren’t able to shoot out from the back, they could be sitting ducks. I looked toward the road again and saw two masked men standing there. Their positioning told me they knew where every gun port was and assumed they weren’t in any danger. A vehicle flew past the smashed trucks and came to a stop in front of us.
Oh no—that’s Julie’s car.
Another masked man exited the vehicle, pulled out an assault rifle, and slung it over his shoulder as he approached the two in the road. That made four men in total—two huge and two of average height. It made no sense.
The large man in the front yelled toward us. “Open the back of the truck or he dies.” He ripped the mask off the man’s head, and I saw a horribly beaten man standing in front of me. My breath caught in my throat—I couldn’t even swallow. “Cam, that has to be J.T. Look what they’ve done to him.”
Cam swore at the sight of our colleague. “Jade, you have to rescue him, but I’m no good to you. You have to find out if the guys in the cargo hold are okay. We need their help, and you have to call Spelling. He’ll get back up here right away.”
I looked out to the road again and stared at J.T.’s injured face and the tape that covered his mouth. Anger filled my mind, but I knew I had to keep my wits about me. “I can’t find my phone or the damn mic.”
“Reach in my right front pocket. My phone should be in there. Call Bill first and find out their condition, then call Spelling. Lean down and don’t let them see what you’re doing.”
The large man yelled again that they were growing impatient.
I scrolled to Bill’s name and hit Call. I prayed that somebody would answer it, and he did.
“Cam, are you all right?”
“It’s Jade. Cam is injured. Are you guys okay?”
“I am. Val and Maria are banged up a bit. We’re lying on the floor near the rear door. There’s a rifle barrel sticking through the gun port above our heads. This is the only safe place to be unless the maniac starts firing and bullets ricochet off the interior walls.”
I peeked over the dash and saw that they forced J.T. down on his knees. “Oh my God, Bill, I have to call Spelling.”
“I already did, Jade. They’re fifteen minutes away, but the Brookfield police are en route.”
“Bill, these men have full auto assault rifles and who knows what else. They have J.T. too, and he’s beaten badly.”
“Shit! Have you seen Julie?”
“No, I have no idea where she is. Cam’s side of the truck is disabled, and I have about a six-inch clearance that I can squeeze out of when I need to. They’re yelling for you to get out of the cargo hold or they’ll kill J.T.”
“I’ll tell whoever is holding that rifle above us that we’re coming out. We need to buy J.T. some time. We can’t let on that we’re FBI agents. That’ll put all of us in more danger.”
“I know, but as soon as they realize there aren’t any diamonds in the truck, it won’t matter who we are, we’ll all be dead. I just hope the police get here fast.”
I heard the man at the back of the truck call to the ones holding J.T.
“They’re coming out.”
The sound of the rear door opening told me that Bill, Val, and Maria were about to put themselves in danger.
The man standing at the back of the truck called out, “Don’t try to be a hero. You won’t win. If any of you are carrying a weapon, put it down now or you’ll get a bullet to the head the second your feet touch the pavement.”
I heard a short commotion. Then I saw Val, Maria, and Bill being pushed with the barrel of a rifle toward the other two assailants standing in the road with J.T. I knew which masked man was the person in charge. The Pirelli brothers could hide their faces, but they couldn’t hide their size. I’d keep my focus on the man standing next to J.T. and wearing tan pants.
After a brief conversation between them, one of the brothers walked back to the cargo hold.
“Cam, he’s going after the diamonds. This is going to get very dangerous in about sixty seconds.”
“You’ll have to get their attention, Jade. Tell them we have the diamonds inside the cab. The cops should be here any minute.”
I looked around frantically. “We don’t have any type of container in here.”
Seconds later I felt the weight of someone moving around in the back. I knew he was searching the cargo hold. I held my breath as I heard containers crashing and the man yelling.
“There’s nothing back there, boss. The containers are all empty.”
The man in the tan pants put his rifle to J.T.’s head. I pressed on the horn to get his attention. We needed to buy some time. They looked up, and the man in charge sent one of the brothers to the front of the truck.
“What do you want, lady?”
“I have what you’re looking for inside the cab, but we’re stuck in here. We can’t get out.”
He waved his rifle in the air. “Show me.”
Cam tipped his head to the passenger side footwell. “Lift your purse. They may think it’s an attaché case.”
“Yeah, that might work.” I lifted it and found my pistol on the floor beneath it. I whispered to Cam. “I found my gun. Do you think you’re capable of shooting if you have to?”
“Yeah, pass my pistol back to me. I’ll try to roll down my window without them noticing. I have a four-inch clearance.”
“But that’s your left hand, and it’s injured.”
“I’ll make it work. As long as there are bullets buzzing past their heads, they’ll take cover.”
“They’re wearing Kevlar vests. We’ll have to aim for specific areas. Try to blow their shooting hand off. If that doesn’t work, nail them in the heads.” I slid Cam’s gun across the seat then lifted my purse to the windshield. The sudden shriek of sirens behind them made the men spin in their shoes.
“Now!” I pushed my door open and took aim as I squeezed my body to a standing position on the running board. Cam fired out of the small opening between the smashed vehicles. I yelled out to my unarmed colleagues. “Take cover! Hit the ditch!”
Bill and Val grabbed J.T.’s arms and leapt into the nearest ditch. Maria was at their side. With rapid fire at the brothers, I covered my colleagues as they took shelter.
Cam hit one of the brothers in the shoulder. “I slowed one of them down.”
“Good work, Cam.” I took aim and kept firing.
The police cars blocked the road on both sides as gunfire rang out from all directions. The officers took cover behind their car doors as bullets from automatic rifles whizzed by them. Bill and Maria scurried along the ditch on my right.
I yelled, “Can you guys get to your weapons?”
“We’re trying to, Jade. Val is watching over J.T. Cover us. We have to run to the cargo hold.”
“I’ve got your backs!” I ejected the magazine, loaded the second one, and began firing again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man in the tan pants slip away into the tree cover. “I don’t think so. I’m going after him, Cam, so he doesn’t get away. Have Bill and Maria take up the rear behind me.”
“Be careful, Jade. His gun is much more deadly than yours.”
“Any gun is deadly if you hit your target. I’m not going to let him get a bead on me.” I tapped my shirt. “I have on Kevlar too.”
Chapter 59
Branches snapped in the distance. I knew I couldn’t be too far behind him, but I had to stay out of the sights of his high-powered rifle. It had a lot more distance than my sidearm. I inched forward, following the sound even though I couldn’t see him in the thick brush. I stopped and listened. Then I turned and saw Maria and Bill coming up behind me.
I motioned them over. With my voice just above a whisper, I told them my thoughts. “He’s probably fifty yards ahead of us in that direction.” I pointed slightly to my right. “Don’t forget, he’s carrying an AK-47. We’re no match against him. If he sees or hears us, he’ll take down this entire woods.”
“The only thing that will work is if we have a direct visual on him,” Bill said.
I nodded. “Keep your heads on a swivel and stay low. Let’s spread out a bit.”
We used the larger trees as cover and stopped every few yards to scan for movement. When nothing caught our eye, we forged ahead.
A sudden round of gunfire lit up the woods. Branches cracked and dirt sprayed around us.
“Get down!” I hit the ground and tried to see where the shots were coming from.
“He’s straight ahead,” Bill yelled as he returned fire.
Maria screamed. “Son of a bitch, I’m hit.”
“Where?” I scrambled to her side as fast as I could.
“I think he got my calf. It burns like hell.”
I called out to Bill. “I hope you’re covering us. How much ammo do you have?”
“Two more magazines. See how bad Maria’s leg is.”
I pulled up her pant leg and took a look. “It’s a hard graze, Maria, but luckily he only caught the outer part of the muscle.” I tore the sleeve off my guard uniform and wrapped it around her leg. “Keep yourself behind this tree and stay small. No exposed body parts. Got enough ammo if you need it?”
She checked her supply and gave me a nod.
“Okay, call for backup. Tell them we’re a quarter mile in and heading due south.” I belly crawled to Bill. “See him?”
“I don’t see shit, and I don’t hear him anymore, either. I have no idea how deep this woods is, so he could be pretty far ahead of us now.”
“Shh… listen.” I cocked my ear to the right. I cupped my hand over my mouth and whispered. “I hear something over there.”
“It could be a squirrel for all we know. Do you want to push ahead?”
“I don’t know. That man is no joke, and Maria needs medical attention. Five more minutes and we’re calling it off.” I crawled another twenty feet forward and stationed myself behind every large tree I could find. I stood and peeked around an enormous prairie oak. Bullets zinged past my head. “Son of a bitch!” I pulled back and took a deep breath.
“Jade, he isn’t worth it. We’ll get the Pirelli brothers to talk. I’m sure between the police force and the FBI, those two are already in custody.”
“You’re right. Let’s back out of here.” I jerked my head toward the sound of a car door and a female voice screaming. I knelt to the ground and cautiously looked over a downed tree. In the distance I saw a clearing and a car speeding away. “That maniac just carjacked someone!” I ran through the woods in that direction and heard Bill yelling at my back. I cleared the tree cover and spotted a woman who looked to be in her fifties lying on the pavement. Her knees were scuffed and bleeding. I spun in every direction to see if I’d get a visual on our suspect, but he was gone. “Ma’am, are you okay? Let me help you up. What is this place?”
She jumped at my voice, but the guard uniform I wore must have calmed her.
“It’s the old Calumet Park. This is the only area where people still go for walks. That man came out of the woods with a huge gun right as I was getting out of my car.”
“Consider yourself lucky he only took the car. Let me help you back to my group. We’re going to walk through the woods. Can you manage that?”
“Yes, I’m just shaken up, that’s all.”
“Understood. What’s your name?”
“Janet Cooper.”
“Okay, Janet, I’m Jade. Take my hand, and I’ll lead you out of here.”
We reached Bill and Maria five minutes later. Spelling and Val were already at their side.
“The coast is clear, sir. He took off in this woman’s car.”
“Are you all right, ma’am?” Spelling asked.
“That maniac ripped me out of my car and tossed me across the pavement. I’m scuffed up, but I’ll be okay.” She held out her hand. “I’m Janet Cooper.”
“And I’m SSA Spelling with the FBI. Let’s get you looked at. Bill, give me a hand with Maria. Jade and Val, help Janet back.”
“You got it, boss. How’s J.T.?” I asked.
“He’ll be okay after a few days of hospital food—Julie too.” Spelling looked over his shoulder and gave me a grin.
“You found Julie? Is she all right? Where was she?”
Val spoke up. “Would you believe in the trunk of her car?”
“Oh my God, and there were bullets flying everywhere. She wasn’t hit?”
“Luckily, no.” Val stepped over a log and reached out to help Janet. “They’re both banged up. J.T. got it the worst. He may have a broken jaw and a few cracked ribs. We aren’t sure yet. The EMTs are getting them ready to transport to St. Mary’s.”
“What about the Pirellis?”
Spelling smirked. “We’ve got them in custody. They aren’t going to see the light of day for a while. Now we need them to start singing about the mystery man.”
“I’d be happy to pit one against the other. We’ll get in their heads, sir, and somebody will tell us what we need to know.”
We reached the turnout and road. Backed into the brush was
that dark van we had a BOLO out for. Spelling said Forensics was on their way. Valuable information was likely inside the vehicle. Janet gave us a thorough description of her car as we exited the woods, and Spelling put out an APB for it. Cautious apprehension was advised. The driver was most assuredly armed and dangerous.
I looked out at the people, vehicles, and mayhem that had been spread over that seemingly quiet, pristine road just ninety minutes earlier. A makeshift triage area had been set up to get J.T., Julie, Cam, and Maria stabilized. They were loaded in the ambulances and taken away. The last EMT on site cleaned and bandaged Janet’s scuffed knees before he left.
Spelling, Hopkins, and the rest of the agents were huddled against the hood of Spelling’s cruiser, and I walked over. “So, did the package arrive at Rosemond Diamonds safe and secure?” I managed an exhausted smile.
Hopkins spoke up. “We’re happy to say it did, and without a single problem. All that’s left to do”—he jerked his head at several cruisers where the Pirelli brothers were cuffed in the backseats—“is to get those oversized monkeys to the holding cells and begin the interrogations.”
Spelling waved an officer over. “Jade, have that officer take Janet’s statement, then he can drive her home. We’ll do our best to get her car back to her as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir, and then is it okay if I head to St. Mary’s to check on J.T. and Julie? I haven’t had a word with him in so long. I need to know how they are.” The gravity of the week was setting in and my eyes teared up.
Spelling squeezed my shoulder. “You bet.” He looked at all of us standing in the road. “I couldn’t be more proud of the group of agents we have here in Milwaukee. You guys go over and above what is expected of you.”
“We’re family, sir.”
Spelling grinned. “Damn straight, Monroe.”
Chapter 60
He paced behind the liquor store on North Twenty-Seventh Street. His ride showed up a half hour later. Carden opened the passenger door and climbed in.
