by Bobby Akart
“He doesn’t like cats,” a meek voice responded.
Hayden turned to her right and walked slowly toward the large washing machine that had been gutted for parts. She kept her rifle at low ready just in case.
Hannah’s angelic face peered from around the washer, the gag resting just below her lower lip against her chin. Her hands were still tied behind her back, but she was able to move by squirming and wiggling against the wall and the washer.
Hayden shouldered her rifle and knelt down to help Hannah extract herself from the hiding place. “Come on, honey. We’ve got you now. It’s over.”
Just as Hannah was pulled out and set on her feet, Alpha entered the room unannounced. Hayden drew her sidearm and swung around with the barrel pointed at her partner.
“Hey, careful, quick-draw,” said Alpha with a chuckle. Relieved to see Hannah alive, he addressed her. “There are a lot of folks who’re worried about you, young lady. Not to mention the fact that you abandoned your post on the drone squad.”
“Um, I know, but the man came—”
Alpha laughed and walked up to Hannah. The burly man picked her up and gave her a bear hug. “Come here, Hannah. I’m just kidding you. We’re so glad you’re safe. Whadya say we get outta here and go see your parents. Okay?”
“Are they mad?” Tears streamed down her face.
“No, honey,” replied Hayden. “Of course they’re not mad. They’ve been very worried about you, and they’ll hug you harder than this big guy, trust me.”
Alpha turned toward the door and keyed his microphone. “X-Ray, this is Alpha team. Over.”
“Go ahead, Alpha.”
“We’ve got her. Over.”
“Great news. I’ll let him know. Out.”
Alpha paused as they entered the hallway and turned to Hayden. “Did he say him?”
Hayden, who was carrying the fifty-pound girl down the hallway, replied, “Yeah.”
Alpha thought for a moment. “Him who?”
Chapter 23
East Independence Expressway
Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
Moments earlier, X-Ray and Delta had some action of their own. “I’ve got a light-colored pickup tearing out of the parking lot,” X-Ray announced into the headset he used to communicate with the various teams used to rescue Hannah. He was directing the statement to Delta, who stood vigil on the hillside, monitoring the activity through his binoculars.
Delta immediately responded, “I saw it. Driver’s in a hellfire emergency. At least he has wheels, unlike the rest of the vermin who scampered off on foot. Does Alpha still want us to stand down on the people escaping?”
“Hold on,” X-Ray replied to him. “I need to replay the drone footage.”
X-Ray then turned his attention to the monitor that displayed the drone footage for the east side of the Varnadore Building. Both drones had been in the air for quite some time and were due to be brought back down to their operators, as their batteries were drained.
X-Ray addressed Delta again. “The driver’s a male. He appears to be hunched over, like he’s cradling something. I don’t know, it’s hard to tell.”
Delta immediately noticed the fleeing vehicle. “The truck’s coming this way on the on-ramp, headed eastbound on the freeway.”
“Wait.” X-Ray paused for what seemed like an eternity. He rubbed his temples, trying to remember. “Delta, that might be Chepe’s truck. The lead vehicle returning to the Varnadore after the attack was a white Chevy Avalanche.”
“We’ve gotta be sure!” shouted Delta as he ran down the hillside and found his way to his Silverado. He fired up the powerful V-8 engine and spun the tires as he pulled off the wet grass mixed with gravel.
“I can’t help you with the tail,” X-Ray warned. “The drones are out of juice.”
“No problem, I can see his taillights.”
“Delta, also, you’ll be out of radio range in just a few minutes.”
“Roger. Let me know if conditions at the Varnadore change. I need to know if Hannah is in that truck!”
X-Ray’s voice was excited. “You’ve got it. Go get them!”
Delta floored the gas pedal and the heavy truck raced ahead. He’d driven squad cars in the past during high-speed pursuits, but never anything as big and bulky as the Suburban. He wasn’t sure how fast it would go, although the car salesman had bragged that it was capable of doing one hundred thirty miles per hour.
He was about to find out. There was no traffic on the expressway, only the occasional stalled vehicle that had pulled toward the side of the road. The white Avalanche that Delta pursued must not have noticed him because as he hit one hundred miles an hour, he closed rapidly on what he suspected was Chepe’s truck.
Delta was within a quarter mile of the Avalanche when he glanced to his left and noticed the Rick Hendrick family of car dealerships. The irony didn’t escape him as he closed within fifty feet of the Avalanche’s tailgate. Hendrick, one of the most successful owners in NASCAR racing history, would be proud to see two Chevys duking it out for the win, with the loser destined to die.
X-Ray attempted to contact Delta, but the transmission was garbled.
“I … Alpha. Chepe escaped. But … Hannah …”
Frustrated, Delta keyed his mic. “Say again, X-Ray. You’re breaking up.”
Suddenly, the Avalanche lurched forward. Chepe, or whoever was driving, had discovered Delta on his tail and tried evasive maneuvers. He rapidly gained speed, forcing Delta to chase after him as the speedometer registered a hundred miles per hour. The rpms on the Silverado’s engine reached a fever pitch as his speed climbed.
“Do you copy, Delta? Hannah is safe. Chepe has escaped.”
“Good! I’ve got him in my sights!”
Delta’s words were never heard by X-Ray, as he was now out of range and on his own. The man responsible for the raid on the Haven and, ultimately, the death of his son was now going to be brought to justice.
His sweaty palms gripped the wheel as he pulled behind Chepe’s truck. They were now miles away from the Varnadore Building, but ironically, they’d just passed the new location of the Varnadore Company as the two sped toward the Charlotte suburb of Matthews.
Delta hearkened back to his training as a police officer when he’d learned pursuit techniques. One of the most effective ways to end a high-speed pursuit of a suspect was to execute a PIT maneuver. Sometimes referred to as a Precision Immobilization Technique, or also a Pursuit Intervention Technique, the result was the same—spin the suspect’s vehicle from behind during a chase.
Although the PIT maneuver can be achieved in three easy steps, factors like traffic, road conditions, and vehicle speed complicate matters. Delta had performed the technique on several occasions in his career but never at speeds in excess of a hundred. Ordinarily, his superiors would tell him to back off at high speeds like this, opting instead to utilize air support to follow the subject vehicle.
On this early morning, Delta didn’t have any backup, nor did he have any witnesses. If he successfully executed the PIT maneuver, it was unlikely that Chepe would survive the wreck, not that Delta cared. He didn’t have anybody to answer to except the memory of his son.
Delta had successfully matched Chepe’s speed and eased up on his right rear bumper. His goal was to gently nudge the right rear fender with his left front, causing Chepe to lose control. It was no different than what a NASCAR driver did on the short tracks of Richmond or Bristol. A gentle nudge forced the rear end of the lead vehicle to get out of sorts, allowing the race driver to make the pass.
Only this was different. Delta would upset the back of Chepe’s truck, causing him to lose control, but then he’d accelerate to complete the PIT maneuver. At slower speeds, the suspect vehicle would spin sideways and eventually come to a halt. At a hundred-plus, anything could happen, including Delta losing control as well.
Delta had mastered the practice of left-foot braking that enabled him to match the suspect vehicl
e’s speed precisely. He recalled the technique and gently steered toward Chepe’s right fender. He had to be careful to make both the requisite contact and the subsequent steer-through as gentle as possible to avoid throwing them both into a fiery crash.
Delta nudged Chepe, but not hard enough. The Avalanche fishtailed slightly, but Chepe corrected it. Delta tried again, a little harder this time. He kept constant pressure on the throttle, and he steered into Chepe’s truck.
Momentum took care of the rest.
Chepe lost control, overcorrected, and went sailing off the shoulder of the freeway down an embankment. His truck didn’t appear to slow down as it rose up the other side of the ditch and sailed into the air, bounced once on the service road, and roared across until it drove head-on into a post office.
Immediately upon impact, the Avalanche was crushed by the brick and granite structure before bursting into a spectacular eruption of flames and debris.
Delta brought his truck to a screeching stop and then threw it into reverse, spinning his tires into a cloud of black smoke and burnt rubber. When he was in front of the point of impact, he leapt out of his truck and walked to the shoulder of the freeway to view the results of his efforts.
He defiantly raised his right hand and gave Chepe’s burning truck the middle finger. “Go to hell. Return to sender!”
Chapter 24
The Varnadore Building
Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
After Bravo team cleared the remainder of the building, they rendezvoused with Alpha team on the sixth floor. Leading the way, the ex-soldiers escorted Hannah to the ground floor, and rather than bother unlocking the door, Bravo found a cinder block and threw it through a plate-glass window, allowing a rush of fresh air to enter the building and the smoke generated by their stick grenades to billow out.
Hannah, who was now walking on her own, covered her face with the bandanna used by Hayden to lend the appearance she was one of the anarchists. As it turned out, the operation had moved so briskly that the anarchist-apparel subterfuge was unnecessary.
Alpha summoned X-Ray, who told him that Delta had chased after Chepe. He instructed X-Ray to rally the troops and meet in front of the Varnadore Building, as it appeared there were no remnants of Chepe’s group remaining in the area except for the dead.
Within minutes, the group had assembled and were all congratulating each other. When Hannah revealed how she’d moved the laundry basket, causing Chepe to crash hard onto the floor, the group erupted in laughter and exchanged high fives.
Sirens could be heard in the distance, but X-Ray advised them that the police scanner revealed a high-rise fire in downtown Charlotte had occupied all available fire departments and police precincts. The group agreed that this shoot-out might not garner any type of law enforcement investigation.
The smoke coming out of the building began to dissipate as Delta pulled into the parking lot, with his Silverado only slightly damaged from the high-speed chase involving fender banging.
After exiting the truck, he immediately hugged Hannah and then pulled Alpha aside to explain what had happened. The taller Alpha slapped Delta on the shoulder several times as they spoke, and then the two men exchanged a bro-hug, indicating that any differences between them had been squashed.
“I think we’re done here. What do you guys think?” asked Alpha as he and Delta joined the rest of the rescue team.
Hannah was the first to respond. “I think I’m ready to go home.”
“I’ll bet you’re hungry,” said Hayden as she knelt down next to the young girl. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver foil package and handed it to Hannah. “Your mom said you liked blueberry Pop-Tarts. Well, they just happen to be my favorite too.”
“I love them!” exclaimed Hannah as she ripped open the package and pulled out one of the delicious pastry snacks.
“Well, you know, I’m a big believer in girl power, and I happen to know that some of the strongest women I’ve read about love blueberry Pop-Tarts. I think you’ve earned these.”
Hayden pulled some debris out of Hannah’s hair, and then something caught her attention. She quickly backed up and placed her hand on her pistol grip.
“What’ve we got?” asked Alpha.
“Looters,” replied X-Ray. “Look at ’em.”
The group hadn’t noticed that a group of people, likely curiosity-seekers and residents of the neighborhood, were running through the broken window and carrying out anything that wasn’t tied down.
Cans of food, cases of dry goods, bedding, and supplies were all exiting the Varnadore Building as fast as the locals’ feet could carry them.
“Unbelievable,” began Delta. “They’re stepping over dead bodies in order to get in and out.”
“That’s desperation,” added Alpha. “Well, it’s not our problem. Let’s get out of here before a cop wanders up or Chepe’s people decide to come back.”
The group gathered their gear and followed Delta and Alpha in the lead truck as they headed back to the Haven and Hannah’s anxious parents.
Chapter 25
Haven House
The Haven
Every parent experiences an emotional moment on a scale they never thought possible in their lives when their children are born. From the exhilaration of hearing the heartbeat in the womb, to the first kick in the mother’s belly, through the heart-bursting pride at their child’s first steps. Even as they grow older, the stomach-wrenching worry of a teenager who is late coming home one night makes parents realize when it comes to their children, emotions are amplified.
The triumphant caravan was approaching the front gate when news began to spread throughout the Haven of their return, with Hannah safely in hand. Cort had been working the gate’s security since the moment the teams had pulled out the night before. He hadn’t slept, nor had Meredith, who’d hung out with him during the entire nerve-racking evening. Delta pulled the Silverado to a stop and allowed Hannah to jump out of the back seat to approach the gate.
When the vehicles approached, Meredith stopped her nervous pacing and ran to her husband’s side. As the vehicles pulled into view, she became weak in the knees as emotions overcame her. She strained to look for Hannah, praying to God that she was in one of the cars, safe and unharmed.
At first, Meredith reached through the iron bars to greet her child, but then she remembered the side gate accessible through the gatehouse. Before the security guards could open the main gates, Meredith bolted around the wall and through the guardhouse, where she collided with Hannah in a tangled mess of motherly love.
Cort finally caught up with his family, at first standing there in shock as tears rolled down his cheeks. His mouth agape, words escaped him as the joy of seeing his only child safe and sound froze him in time.
Finally, Meredith rose to her feet, helped Hannah up, and the close-knit Cortland family held each other tight, vowing never to separate again. However, promises made during an emotional moment can’t always be kept, but at the time, they feel good nonetheless.
Ryan was one of the first to arrive, followed by Blair. They allowed Cort and his family to enjoy their emotional reunion, opting instead to get a quick debrief from Alpha and his team.
“Everybody okay?” Ryan began with an obvious question. He and Blair were fully aware of the dangerous mission undertaken by everyone who had left to rescue Hannah. They all knew the risks, but Ryan needed to know that they had come home safely, too.
“Yeah, not a scratch,” replied Alpha as he removed his utility belt containing his sidearm, extra magazines, and a few leftover smoke grenades. He handed off his gear to one of the guards standing nearby, who was eager to help. “Charlie inhaled too much smoke. She complained that her respirator kept fogging up, so she stopped wearing it.”
“Was it defective?” asked Ryan.
“Nah, user error,” replied Alpha with a chuckle. “I straightened her out on the way back. Listen, Chepe is dead. Delta took him out.” Alpha t
urned to see Delta standing off to the side, holding his ex-wife and Skylar in a solemn hug. While the Haven’s residents were thrilled to see Hannah’s safe return, it was not lost on any of them that Ethan would be gone forever.
“Good,” said Blair. “I hope it was painful.”
Alpha smiled and twisted his back until an audible crack could be heard. “Let’s just say he went out in a blaze of glory.”
A sizable crowd began to form around the front gate as the Cortland family broke their embrace and accepted congratulations for Hannah’s safe return. While kids and adults alike spoke with Hannah, Cort and Meredith made the rounds, personally hugging and thanking every member of the rescue effort.
Even hardened, tough ex-soldier Alpha managed to get emotional as Meredith spoke about what her daughter’s safe return meant to her. Alpha told them briefly about the rescue and then finished by relaying the way Delta had caused Chepe’s death.
The Cortlands and Hightowers spoke to one another last, sharing the excitement and sorrow of the last forty-eight hours. Ryan wanted the conversation to continue, but he decided to move the welcome home party up the hill, closer to Haven House. One never knew when a straggler might pass by their entrance or approach the gate.
Apparently, Blair had the same idea and raised her voice to get the attention of the crowd. “Hey, everybody! I know that we’re all grateful to Alpha and his team for rescuing Hannah. There are reasons to celebrate, both for Hannah’s return and to honor the lives of those we’ve lost. May I suggest we all go up to the house and get away from the front gate? You know, for security reasons. I’ve got food and drinks ready to go. I’m sure we wanna hear the details of Hannah’s rescue, and I want us all, as a group, to remember those we lost during the attack.”
“Great idea, Blair,” added Ryan. “Please, let’s head up there now and allow security to put the vehicles away. Alpha, Delta, all of you, please join us. I’ll have somebody return your gear to Haven Barn.”
