The MSS operative pulled Zhang out of his chair, pressing his gun against the back of his head. “Move,” he ordered.
Accompanied by Zhang and the agent, Chang walked through the door leading into the garage, then opened the Mercedes driver’s door. “Get in,” he said.
Zhang struggled. “No!”
Chang looked at his aid, nodded. The agent delivered a powerful blow to the back of Zhang’s head. Zhang dropped to the floor.
“Get him in the seat,” Chang ordered.
The agent pushed Zhang’s unconscious body into the car.
“Tie his hands to the wheel,” Chang said.
The agent removed a zip cuff from his back pocket, secured first Zhang’s left hand to the steering wheel, then his right.
Zhang slowly came around. He looked down at his bound hands, shook them, tried to extricate himself from the tight bindings, couldn’t.
“Your name will go down in history, Agent Zhang,” Chang said.
So beautiful, the women in California.
“From this day forward, you will be declared an enemy of the state...”
The sunsets he had enjoyed at Big Sur. Beautiful.
“… as well as a coward and a traitor.”
The whine of the Lambo’s engine as he navigated the car through the twists and turns down Pacific Coast Highway 1…
“Crack the window and start the car,” Chang ordered.
The agent carried out his instructions, then removed a garden hose from its cradle on the wall, shoved one end deep into the vehicles exhaust pipe, fed the other through the narrow opening in the back window, then searched the garage, located a roll of duct tape hanging on a pegboard hook and sealed the window. His assignment complete, he stepped away from the sedan.
Chang leaned into the car, addressed Zhang. “Any last words?”
Zhang smiled, spoke. “I almost made it, didn’t I?”
Within seconds, carbon monoxide from the car’s exhaust began to fill the cabin. Zhang coughed.
“No, Mr. Zhang,” Chang replied. “You didn’t. We would have found you sooner or later. Qin too. Your ending may have been different, but the outcome would have been the same.”
Chang closed the door.
The two men watched as exhaust fumes filled the cabin of the car. Eventually, Zhang stopped coughing.
Chang removed his phone and placed a call. “Prepare the ship,” he ordered. “We leave in an hour.”
49
QIN SCALED THE fenced entrance to Caplin Auto Wreckers & Salvage with ease, swung her body over the top rail, then dropped to the ground inside. She pulled her weapon and waited.
Jordan rounded the bend behind her.
Qin fired two silenced rounds at the agent in quick succession, then turned and ran deep into the yard. The first projectile narrowly missed Jordan’s head. The second shattered the windshield of a vehicle parked on the road behind her.
Jordan dropped and rolled, took cover behind a row of metal garbage cans, then sprinted to the gate. A length of chain secured with a heavy padlock assured its impassibility. Jordan stood back, fired twice at the lock. No match for the deadly nine-millimeter rounds, the padlock blew apart. Jordan tossed the lock aside, unraveled the chain, opened the gate, pointed her weapon into the pitch-black yard and entered the premises.
The paved entrance, which provided parking accommodations for the business’s patrons, ended several yards inside the main gate. In front of Jordan, three gravel roads branched off in multiple directions, separated by stacks of vehicles that had met their demise by one means or another. Some had been crushed and flattened while others lay crumpled, their only remaining value the scrap metal from which they had been constructed. Several vehicles were still in decent condition. A late model Chevy Impala and Honda Civic were being offered for sale, their window stickers detailing their features and price.
Jordan crouched in the shadows, listening to the sounds of the yard.
There.
Something fell. The sound of metal on metal, followed by distant footfalls.
The middle path.
Jordan left the safety of the cover provided by the gold Impala and ventured down the path.
For a graveyard of dead vehicles, the yard was surprisingly well maintained and organized. The owner had provided a generous amount of roadway between the crushed and stacked cars to permit easy removal of a customer’s selection by forklift. Along this middle artery, columns of rubber tires lined one side of the road, while on the other were stacked the wasted carcasses of once proud vehicles.
A metal pole sticking out of one of the vehicles gave Jordan an idea. She stayed low, raced across the road, took cover behind the wreckage, then wrestled the pole free from the crushed car. She searched the ground around the back of the vehicle, found what she was looking for, removed her flashlight, wound the long length of scrap wire around the light, secured it to the end of the pole, and switched it on. The bright beam lit up the far end of the gravel road.
Jordan proceeded with caution; the pole extended away from her body into the road. Seconds later, the first shot ricocheted off the metal pole. Jordan waved the light up and down and side to side as she moved further down the road. In the darkness, the rusty pole itself was invisible. Only the beam of the flashlight could be seen.
Jordan’s training had taught her to count her adversaries’ shots, and she had done so since first coming under fire in the pallet filled yard. The deeper into the auto wreckers she ventured, the more the steel walls of the junked vehicles reverberated even the smallest sounds. Three more ricochets later, she heard what she was listening for.
Click.
Unless the woman had another clip with which to reload the weapon, she had no more bullets left to fire. The gun’s magazine was empty.
Jordan took a chance, called out. “It’s over. Come out now.”
No response.
Jordan was nearing the end of the roadway. There was still one path down which the woman could run that might permit her to escape, the one beyond the cars stacked on her right, but that terminated at the front entrance to the yard. Chris and Hallier would be there by now and have that covered. There was no way she would get past them. She was trapped.
Jordan dropped the metal pole, retrieved her flashlight, crept around the corner, saw the woman on the run as she headed for the front entrance, raised her weapon, then called out a warning. “FBI! Stop!”
Qin failed to comply.
Jordan aimed, took the shot, heard her cry out, then watched as she fell. Qin dragged herself to her feet and turned. Weaponless, she clutched her wounded shoulder. As Jordan closed the gap between them, she shook off the pain from the bullet wound, assumed a fighting stance, raised her arms, fisted her hands.
Between labored breaths, Qin asked, “Is that all you’ve got?”
Jordan holstered her weapon and the flashlight. “You came after someone very close to me,” she said. “That was a mistake.”
“I still might.”
“Not while I’m alive.”
“I wouldn’t make any long-term plans.”
“We’ll see about that,” Jordan replied. She jumped forward, struck out hard and fast. The front snap kick landed squarely in the center of Qin’s chest and sent her reeling backward. She barely managed to maintain her balance and stay on her feet.
Chris and Hallier appeared at the end of the roadway. Chris drew his weapon, shone his flashlight on the two women, began to move in.
Jordan called out as she advanced on her adversary. “Stay where you are, Chris!” she said. “She’s mine.”
50
WEAPONS TRAINED SQUARELY on Qin, Chris and Hallier separated, taking up positions away from Jordan, keeping her out of their line of fire. Regardless of Jordan’s demand, there was no way they were about to watch the FBI agent meet her end in an auto parts salvage yard, and certainly not after she had come so far to save her cousin’s life.
Qin regained her footing, ran at Jordan, jumped in
to the air.
Jordan saw the move coming, tried to step aside, but Qin was too fast. The flying side kick landed exactly where she wanted it to. Jordan took the impact hard to her chin, shuffled backwards.
The MSS agent pressed the attack. Spinning on her foot, she lifted her leg high into the air, then thrust her foot down with tremendous force. Her heel connected with Jordan’s clavicle.
The devastating blow dropped Jordan to her knees. The pain emanating from the point of impact was unbearable. She fell to her side.
Qin stood above her, her breathing heavy, labored. “You don’t seriously think you can beat me, do you?”
Jordan rolled onto her back. “You’re forgetting what I told you before.”
“What’s that?”
Fighting the pain in her shoulder, Jordan spun her body to the side and swept Qin’s legs out from under her. “That you hit like a girl.”
Qin landed flat on her back on the stony ground.
Jordan rolled aside, put a safe distance between herself and the woman, then rose to her feet. “Get up. I’m not done with you yet. Not by a long shot.”
Qin lay on her back. “I can’t. My back. I… I think it’s broken.”
“Good,” Jordan replied. “Consider that a gift from Dr. Coltraine.”
Hearing the defeat in the woman’s voice, Chris and Hallier began to move in. Jordan raised her hand. The men stopped, waited.
Jordan leaned over, grabbed Qin by her collar, rolled her onto her stomach, then removed her handcuffs. “You’re under arrest,” she said. “You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to speak to--”
Before Jordan could finish reading Qin her rights, she struck out with her leg. The lightning-fast blow caught Jordan behind her knee and knocked her to the ground. Qin rolled on top of the agent, raised her pant leg, and withdrew her backup weapon from the sheath on her leg.
“Jordan!” Chris yelled. “Knife!”
Qin gripped the handle with both hands, tried to push the blade down, down, down.
Jordan struggled with her for control of the weapon, but the pain in her wounded shoulder would not supply the strength she needed to avoid being stabbed in the chest.
Bang!
The gunshot came from the end of the roadway.
Jordan watched the ferocity in the woman’s eyes coupled with her determination to take her life began to fade. Blood seeped from the bullet wound in the middle of her chest. The strength drained from her arms. Soon, her body fell slack. The knife slipped from her hands. She collapsed onto Jordan.
Chris and Hallier swung their weapons toward the unknown shooter at the end of the road.
Maddy stood in the middle of the gravel path, the gun she had taken from Zhang leveled at the woman who was attempting to kill her cousin.
Chris yelled. “Drop the gun, Dr. Coltraine! Do it now!”
Terrified at what she had just done, Maddy panicked. She threw the weapon to the ground. Hands shaking, she raised her arms into the air.
Jordan pushed the dead woman off her, struggled to her feet, then ran to her cousin.
Maddy began to cry. “I’m sorry, Jordan,” she said through her tears. “She was going to kill you. I had to do something. I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry!”
Jordan held her as she slid to the ground, devastated at having taken a life in her cousin’s defense. “It’s all right, Maddy,” Jordan said. She stroked her hair, tried to comfort her. “It’s all right. You did the right thing. You saved my life.”
“I had no choice,” Maddy cried.
“I know, honey.”
“I watched her pull out the knife. She was going to kill you.”
“Yes, she was.”
Through her tears, Maddy said, “I didn’t think. I just pulled out the gun and took the shot.”
Hallier walked to the body of the fallen woman, checked for a pulse, found none. He looked at Chris, shook his head.
Chris retrieved the gun Maddy had thrown to the ground, then knelt beside the two women. To Maddy, he said, “I’m not going to say I’m happy about what you did, but I’m grateful you did it.”
“Me too,” Jordan said. She hugged her cousin. “Me too.”
51
SPENCER WAITED FOR Maddy to compose herself, then helped his wife to her feet. “I’m sorry, Jordan,” he said. “But when she heard the scream, she started hobbling down the road. Even with her injured leg, she was determined to get to you.”
“It’s all right, Spencer,” Jordan said.
“I heard gunshots,” Maddy said. “I thought she’d shot you. When I went inside the auto wreckers and saw the two of you fighting, I watched her pull out the knife. That’s when I remembered I still had the gun I’d taken away from her partner. It all happened so fast. It was clear to me that she was going to kill you, so I pulled out the gun, took aim, and fired. Dad taught me how to shoot. I had a clear line of sight. I knew I wouldn’t miss.”
“You did the right thing, Maddy,” Jordan assured her.
“Except that now I’m going to go to jail for killing someone,” Maddy said.
Jordan heard the rising fear in her cousin’s voice. Once again, she was on the verge of crying.
Hallier walked toward Maddy. “You can forget that right now, Dr. Coltraine,” he said. “You won’t be spending a minute behind bars.”
“Why not?” Maddy asked.
“Because you have two FBI agents and a United States Army Colonel whose reports will reflect that the action you took was necessary to save Jordan’s life. Personally, I plan to recommend you for a civilian citation. If you hadn’t taken the shot when you did, Jordan might be dead now.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” Maddy replied. “Still, I’m never going to forget what happened here tonight.”
Jordan hugged her cousin. “Perhaps one day you will.”
Maddy grimaced.
Jordan smiled. “Hurts, huh?”
Maddy nodded. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”
In the distance came the sound of sirens.
To Maddy, Chris said, “Sounds like your ride is on the way.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” Maddy replied. She turned to Jordan. “You’re coming with me.”
Jordan shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“Fine, my ass,” Chris said. “I saw the kick you took. I thought her foot was going to cleave you in half.”
“It was a lucky shot,” Jordan replied.
Chris insisted. “Lucky or not, you’re going to get that shoulder checked out.”
Vecchio and his men pointed the ambulance down the road as it rounded the corner. It came to a stop beside the small group.
“All right,” Jordan said. “I’ll go. But there’s someone I want to meet first.” She linked arms with Maddy. “Come on, Madds,” she said. “It’s time you introduced me to your friends.”
Up the road, Bullet and Eddy stood beside the tool shed watching the action unfold. The teen shuffled nervously when the two women arrived.
“Jordan,” Maddy said. “I’d like you to meet the young man who helped me. Bullet, this is my cousin, FBI Special Agent Jordan Quest.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Bullet said.
“Not nearly as much as I am to meet you, Bullet.” Jordan patted the dog’s head. “And who might this be?”
Bullet stared at the ground. “That’s my dog. His name’s Eddy.”
Maddy cleared her throat dramatically. “Excuse me, but I thought we had changed it.”
Bullet looked up. “Changed what?”
“Eddy’s name,” Maddy replied. “It’s no longer Eddy. It’s now, ‘His Ugliness, Sir Eddy.’”
Bullet snickered. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
“Well,” Jordan said, “I don’t think there’s a single part of Eddy that’s ugly. He looks beautiful to me.”
Bullet snickered again. “You haven’t been around when he passes gas. Trust me, that’s ugly.”
Jordan laugh
ed. “I just wanted to personally thank you for what you did for Maddy, Bullet. You didn’t need to get involved, but you did. I’ll always be grateful to you for that.” She handed the teen her business card. “If you’re ever in need of help, no matter what it is, I want you to call me. I’ll be there for you the same way you were for Maddy.”
Bullet read the card. “Wow,” he said. “FBI. Too cool.”
Jordan smiled. “As you can see, Maddy and I are a little banged up. We need to get checked out.” She pointed to Chris. “See that good-looking guy down there chatting up the ambulance attendant? That’s my partner. His name is Special Agent Chris Hanover. I’ll ask him to have a quick chat with you and take your statement. Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be concerned about. It’s just procedure. You okay with that?”
Bullet nodded. “I guess so.”
Jordan paused. “I can tell by your reaction you’re not a fan of the police.”
Bullet shrugged. “I’ve got no problem with them. They just don’t take very kindly to us street kids.”
“I understand,” Jordan said. She placed her hand on his shoulder. “But we’re not your run-of-the-mill cops. I promise you won’t get into any trouble, Bullet. We won’t run you for warrants if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I’m not,” Bullet said. “I’ve never been in trouble with the police in my life. Unless you count truancy. That’s a different story.” He snickered. “It’s not my fault they’re slow.”
“Slow?” Jordan asked.
Maddy nudged her arm, smiled. “Inside joke. I’ll let you in on it later.”
Jordan laughed. “Fair enough.”
Hallier turned to Spencer, placed his hands on his hips, pointed up the road to the armed men standing around the Lincoln Navigator. “Now that things have calmed down,” he said, “you mind telling me just what the hell that was all about?”
Spencer smiled. “That’s my family.”
“Your family?”
“Yup.”
Hallier crossed his arms. “I’m curious. Do your family members always carry a small armory of fully automatic weapons with them wherever they go, or was this a special occasion?”
Nemesis: A Jordan Quest FBI Thriller Page 17
