“I see them,” Alina said. “All we have to do now is lose them.” She mashed the pedal to the floor. The car leapt forward.
“Alina,” the chief’s voice came from the car’s police band radio. “Let General Oric go. I swear to you I’ll call off this parade and you and Bratislav can go.”
Alina made a high speed left turn. Tires moaned plaintively. The car yawed, the back end fishtailing. Then the tires caught traction and they sped forward once more.
A trailing police car failed to make the same turn, skidding sideways and smashing into a parked car on the side of the road. With the street now blocked, the remaining cars had to slow down to make the turn.
“We gained some ground, but there’s no chance we’re going to lose all of them,” Goran said. “Stop the car and let Oric go. We’ll have another chance to get him someday. Live today—”
“Yeah, yeah. Fight tomorrow. I never liked that saying.”
“Listen to your boyfriend,” Oric said. “Let me go and you both go free. You have the chief’s word. You have mine as well.”
“You just said you were going to kill us, so shut up!” Alina turned hard right, going the wrong way on a one-way street. She dodged and swerved the oncoming cars. Horns blared with each narrow escape.
The chase cars had just a bad of time. Now down one car, they stayed in trail. One cruiser crashed into an oncoming truck, spinning sideways, spewing wisps of steam across the road. Multiple passenger cars slammed into the rear of the truck. Others skidded left, the rest right, forcing the remaining squad cars to slow almost to a stop. Alina gained a larger lead.
Goran and Oric rolled side to side as Alina made desperate adjustments. Finally, she got to the side of the road and floored it.
More car horns blared, their high-pitched sound fading lower as they passed. The police made it around the blocked avenue and sped forward, making up some of the ground they lost earlier. In a few minutes, they were only a few hundred meters behind Alina and Goran.
“Hold on!” Alina shouted and turned left.
A helicopter appeared overhead, lighting them up with a high intensity beam.
“There’s no getting away now,” Oric said with a smile.
“Oh, yeah? Watch this.”
She made another skidding left turn. The rear end of the car hit the front end of a passenger car trying to get out of the way. The driver slewed right over the sidewalk and into a glass building. Shattered debris covered the sidewalk. The caved in rear quarter panel of their car now rubbed against the tire, making an awful roaring sound.
“Slow down!” Goran yelled. “We’re going to blow a tire!”
But Alina did not slow down. She barreled through a red light, narrowly missing two cars that crisscrossed in front and behind. She was headed for the river. An arched bridge came into view.
“Hold onto something!” she shouted.
The car hit the bridge doing sixty. It bounded up, went air born, and landed hard on the other side. A shot boomed in the cramped confines of their car. Someone yelled in pain. The car bottomed out, breaking the muffler. Sparks flew from the undercarriage as it dragged the tailpipe along the pavement.
“What happened?” Alina shouted, looking in the mirror.
“This,” Goran held the still smoking gun for her to see. “This happened. It just went off. Oric’s been shot!”
Illuminated by the search light, the first police car in line tried the same jump but hit the ramp too hard. The front axle broke, forcing the car into a sideways yaw. It landed on two side wheels, flipped over and started to roll. The following car flew through the air and landed on top of the first. A third slammed on the brakes, running into the stacked cars. The carnage blocked all other traffic.
Alina finally slowed down. A ripping noise turned her head around. She saw Goran tearing the right pajama leg off Oric and tying it around the wound.
“How bad is it?”
“The shot went through the thigh. I don’t think it hit an artery, but he’s in bad shape. With the bullet hole in his shoulder and now this, he’s losing a lot of blood.” He looked at Oric who was leaning back, wincing. He unlocked the handcuffs. “Here,” he said, indicating the bandage. “Hold this. It will slow the bleeding.”
The low roar of the rear tire began to whir into a high-pitched sound. Alina turned right onto a dirt road that fronted the river. The helicopter still hovered overhead.
“Alina, stop the car. He needs help.”
Finally giving in, she stopped. “Goran, see what you can do about that tire,” she said. She sat in the front seat, looking at Oric, turning the gun over in her hand, fighting with a decision she had to make. Finally, she pointed the gun at him. Though it pained her to do so, she said, “Get out!”
The car rocked back and forth as Goran pulled on the dented quarter panel.
Oric was slow to obey. He looked at the gun through squinted eyes. “You’re...you’re just going to shoot me when I do.”
“If I were going to shoot you, you’d be dead by now. Now get out before I change my mind.”
He opened the door with his good arm and rolled onto the ground, holding his bandaged leg.
The helicopter’s beam overhead lit up the scene like the noonday sun. It was a marked contrast to the stygian darkness of the forest surrounding them.
Goran got in the passenger seat, whipping his hands as if they were on fire.
“What happened to you?” she said.
“Burned them on the tail pipe. I got it off. The car’s going to make quite a racket, but at least we won’t be sending a trail of sparks marking our way.” He pointed straight ahead. “Let’s go.”
Alina pulled out. The searchlight stayed where it was, centered on Oric. She made her way to the main road heading out of town. Then they drove in silence for half an hour. Only the wind whistling past the bullet hole in the rear door made a sound.
After awhile, Goran said, “That was a good thing you did back there, letting Oric go. I thought you were going to shoot him for sure.”
“The thought crossed my mind a thousand times, but you were right. We had to let him go.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of Ivo Oric.”
They drove another thirty minutes, each lost to their own thoughts. Suddenly, Alina swerved hard right.
“What’s the matter?” Goran said.
“We have to ditch this car. I can feel the rear tire going flat. Besides, we’ll never make it through the Bulgarian border crossing. Djuricic probably notified all crossing stations to be on the lookout for us.”
Goran pointed left, across the highway. “If we can’t go through them, then let’s go over them.”
She looked at him with a raised brow. “Excuse me?”
“That airfield. Over there. Make a left here.”
As she turned left, the rear tire finally blew, and they bounded over the median. The car limped into the airport with the rim spinning sparks. Alina pulled the car to a stop beside an aluminum building near the runway.
“You wait here while I go and have a chat with the night watchman,” Goran said, holding his gun up. “I’ll talk him into giving us a plane.”
Chapter 8
Paramedics swarmed over General Oric as the ambulance’s red strobes clashed with the blue flashes of the police cars. The helicopter remained overhead, casting a bright circle around the scene. Oric lay still on the ground as two medics worked on his leg and another worked on his shoulder. A third administered oxygen while a fourth took his blood pressure.
Chief Djuricic stood to one side, shifting his massive weight from one foot to another, his brow furrowed. General Oric was shot and kidnapped while he did nothing. Djuricic knew Oric’s temperament. This rest of this night would not go well.
“Is he going to be okay?” he kept asking the medics. “Is he all right?”
The paramedics were too busy with their tasks to answer, which only served to make the chief more anxious. Altho
ugh the night was cool, he mopped sweat from his brow. He paced back and forth across the illuminated circle, but always hovered near Oric should his name be called. After a few minutes, he stopped and pointed to a policeman. “Sergeant? Come here.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I want you to set up roadblocks. I don’t want them getting away.”
The sergeant looked at his chief with a confused frown. “But sir, they are already out of our jurisdiction. I can’t order roadblocks out of town.”
“Well, where are they?” the chief shouted.
“Last report was they were heading east, toward the Bulgarian border.”
“Bulgaria?” Oric had overheard the conversation. He turned his head to the chief, his face drawn and pale. “Why would they want to go to Bulgaria?”
Chief Djuricic was by his side in an instant. “Sir, how do you feel, sir?”
“That’s a stupid question,” Oric shot back testily. The paramedics moved him to a gurney, and he frowned at the pudgy chief. “How would you feel if you were shot twice?”
Djuricic looked down. Oric grabbed him by the lapels. “Have you found them yet?”
Djuricic said nothing, his fingers trembling, uncertain what to say.
“You mean you let them get away?” Oric was too weak to yell, but he still managed a threatening tone. “How could you, you bumbling oaf?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I tried, but they have left my jurisdiction.”
“Get me my captain. He’s been on vacation, but I called him in on this. He should be here by now.”
“Sir?”
Oric glared at him. “I said, go find my captain!”
Djuricic yelled for the captain of Oric’s guard. When no one responded, he walked through the crowd of men, calling out his name.
A dark sedan arrived on the scene. A burly man with a crew cut got out of the car. His muscular physique stretched the fabric of his pristine uniform, adorned with a broad assortment of ribbons.
“Are you Captain Dzadzic?” the chief asked.
The man nodded. The chief indicated Oric. Dzadzic came over and knelt beside his commander. “I came as soon as you called. What can I do for you, sir?”
“I want you to get on the radio. I want choppers, planes, and cars blanketing the Bulgarian border. Do not, I repeat, do not let them cross that border. Do you understand?”
The captain straightened and saluted smartly. “Yes, sir. It will be done as you said, sir.” Then he was gone, leaving a very nervous Djuricic alone with the general.
One of the paramedics approached the chief. “He’s ready to go, sir.”
“Good! Then let’s go, go, go.” He clapped his hands in cadence with his commands. He stepped in front of the procession rolling Oric to the ambulance. “Move it people! Get out of the way.”
The milling crowd parted. The medics loaded Oric into the ambulance. Two remained with him in the back while the others went to the cab.
Djuricic poked his head inside. “You’re going to be okay, sir.”
“Oh, shut up!”
The despondent chief stepped back and closed the doors. The burp of the siren pierced the babble of all the police officers and soldiers who were standing around. When the ambulance was clear, the siren broke into full volume.
Djuricic watched it go and grimaced. Then he turned around, looking for someone to take out his frustrations. An unfortunate patrolman fell into his sights.
“How could you let them get away?” he yelled, standing nose to nose with the young man. “We had twelve cars following them. You mind telling me how they lost you?”
“Sir,” the man said, “I...I wasn’t driving. I wasn’t even in the pursuit.”
“Well, who was?”
“Ac...Ackov, sir,” his voice trembled. “Ackov was one of them.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Well, find him, you idiot!” the chief yelled as he slapped the officer’s cap off his head. “Have all the drivers report to me immediately.”
Djuricic spun around. “You!”
A policeman stopped and saluted.
“Get me the state police. I want roadblocks set up from here to the border.”
“But, but sir,” the officer began, “Capic is already doing that.”
“Who is Capic?”
“He’s one of the general’s lieutenants, sir. His captain put him in charge of coordinating all roadblocks with state militia.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” The haggard chief grabbed another man and spun him around. “Where are the helicopters?”
“They’re in pursuit as we speak, sir. Last I heard there was no sight of the car they were driving.”
“Oh, that’s just great! My whole force lost them and now the birds can’t find a thing.” He looked around at the throng who were now staring at him rant. He glared back. “And all my men are standing around doing nothing! Get busy, all of you. Get back to work.”
The crowd quickly dispersed.
“Sir?”
The chief swirled around. It was his driver.
“Uh, where to, sir?”
Djuricic hesitated, his head dipping. Finally, he muttered, “The hospital. Take me to the hospital.”
~~~
Goran left the night watchman bound and gagged. He pulled the phone jack out of the wall and walked over to a panel that held some keys. Selecting one, he went outside where Alina was waiting for him.
“Everything go okay?”
He nodded. “No problems. He was most cooperative.”
“Seems to happen to people when they have a gun stuck in their face,” she said.
Goran smiled. “Don’t it though? Come on. I got us a nice twin engine. It’s parked at the end of this lot.”
They climbed into the plane just as a helicopter roared overhead.
“Is that for us?” Alina asked, looking up.
“Well, I don’t think they’re out joy riding.”
They sat a few minutes until the chopper’s beating cadence disappeared into the distance.
“Looks like it’s going to be a bit more difficult getting across the border than we thought,” Goran said. “They’ll be calling in everything they’ve got, you can bet on it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Nobody shoots a general and gets away with it.”
He primed the engines and turned the key. Both started up right away, spinning to speed in a matter of minutes. Goran busied himself with studying the gauges and controls. Alina found a map and traced their position.
“They’ll be looking for us along this highway,” she said as she pointed to a spot on the map. “Why don’t we fly due south for a while? Get out of their search grid. Then east to Bulgaria. It’s not far. Should only take us a few minutes.”
Goran nodded and pushed the throttles forward. “South it is.”
~~~
“Base, this is Chopper One. Come in,” the helicopter pilot said.
“Chopper One, go ahead.”
“I’ve finished my sweep. I’m almost to the border. Still no sign of them.”
“Roger, Chopper One. Maybe they doubled back.”
“I don’t think so. There aren’t that many cars on the road this time of night. I’m thinking they pulled off somewhere.”
“That’s possible. Hold one.”
The pilot waited as the base called another helicopter. “Chopper Two, this is Base. Have you seen anything?”
A voice came over the first pilot’s headset. “Negative. I’m about thirty klicks behind Chopper One. I don’t see anything either.”
“Okay. Chopper One, check all exit routes. Call in any contacts.”
“Roger.”
The pilot reversed course and started looking for exits along the highway leading to the border.
“Chopper Two,” the Base operator said, “continue your route to the border.”
“Got it. I’ll...wait a minute.”
“Wh
at is it, Chopper Two?”
“I’m not sure. Could be something. Coming around for a second pass.”
In three minutes, Chopper Two radioed in. “Base, this is Chopper Two. I’ve found their vehicle. It’s parked at the old airport. I repeat, it’s parked at the old airport. Send all available units.”
“Roger, Chopper Two.”
The sound of sirens rang through the pilot’s headset.
“Chopper Two, this is Chopper One. What is your present location?”
“About twenty klicks north of Valnis.”
“Roger. On my way. I’ll touch down while you fly cover.”
“That’s good with me.”
“Base to Chopper One. Use caution. Those people are armed and dangerous.”
“Roger, Base. Use caution.”
In minutes, Chopper One was over the airfield, and Chopper Two had Goran’s squad car illuminated with its search light. Dust and debris flew as it landed, caught up by the hurricane winds created by the rotor blades. The instant the skids touched down, four soldiers hit the ground running. They surrounded the car, shouting and aiming their rifles.
One of them palmed his radio. “Uh, nothing here. They either boosted another car or are hiding inside. We’ll check it out.”
The pilot called back through his microphone, “That’s a roger.”
The men fanned out and headed for the night watchman’s shack. It wasn’t long before the man radioed in.
“Chopper One, we have the night watchman. He’s been tied up. He reports a man with a gun stole one of the planes. Twin engine. Destination is unknown.”
The pilot of Chopper One relayed the information to Base. Then he called back to the ground troops. “How long ago was that?”
“About ten minutes.”
Chopper Two flew away, switching off his search beam. “Chopper Two to One. I’ll take east. You try south. If they’re headed for the border, that’s the two directions they’ll likely go.”
Chopper One radioed back. “That’s a roger. As soon as I get these boys loaded, we’re on our way.”
~~~
Chief Djuricic paused outside General Oric’s room. He had been told the operation to patch up General Oric’s wounds had gone well. Fortunately, both bullets had passed clean through. Now it was time to face Oric. Taking a deep breath, the chief opened the door.
Alina's Revenge Page 7
