Backwater Key
Page 17
“Grace says there are two men coming in. One is carrying a duffel bag,” Justine whispered in my ear.
We were in a bad spot, easily visible to anyone either entering through the front door or leaving the range. I remembered the dark room and ducked under the windows in the door, slid behind the counter, and turned the knob. It opened and just as the entry door opened, Justine and I made it inside and closed the door. We hadn’t been seen, but the situation had taken a turn for the worse. Now we were trapped.
Enough light came through the window to dimly light the interior. We were surrounded by workbenches. Rows of tools were neatly lined up on one wall and a large press was on the other. directly across was another door, this one solid. From its location, I guessed that it was a side entrance to the range.
The intermittent firing of Susan’s gun was the only sound we could hear. I glanced at Justine, who shrugged her shoulders.
“Should we call in the cavalry?”
I hated to ask for help, but we were in a bind. “Yeah.”
She texted Grace and I leaned against the wall, hoping there was something in those cases to justify my actions.
“They’re on their way in,” Justine whispered. She started typing and a minute later turned back to me. “I gave them the general layout and told them where we were.”
I squeezed her thigh, trying to thank her and reassure her at the same time. Her hand met mine and gripped it tightly. We held hands and braced ourselves for whatever was coming next. Then I saw a shadow at the door and the knob turned. Our moment of respite was over.
The only way out was the door to the range and I hoped the element of surprise would work to our advantage. The problem was that Susan had a loaded pistol in her hand, and knowing how trigger happy she was I would somehow have to alert her that it was us.
I released Justine’s hand just as the door started to open and nodded to her. Together we went through the solid door. I had no idea if we would be seen or not and couldn’t take a chance.
“Susan,” I yelled. The barrel of the gun swung in our direction. “Cover Pierce. Miami-Dade is breaching the building now.”
She froze, but I had anticipated that. I pointed my pistol at the FBI agent. All I’d really wanted was to have her point it somewhere other than at us. Justine swung her barrel between the group at the table and Susan—just in case.
“Hunter, you idiot, this is a federal investigation.”
“Cut it, Pierce. I know you killed the man we found at the lighthouse.”
“Stand down now. I’m warning you.” He didn’t defend himself, but I saw him make a move for something on the table. He came up with a shotgun and I heard the unmistakable sound of the shell enter the chamber. He swung the barrel at Susan.
It was a brilliant tactic. If he’d had a pistol or rifle, he might have been able to get a shot at Justine or me, but there was no clear shot with a shotgun. He’d anticipated my hesitation while I tried to figure out if Susan was with him or against him.
“I had this, Hunter,” Susan yelled and set the gun on the counter in front of her.
“Susan and I are just going to walk out of here. I’ll release her when I know I’m not being followed.”
I could tell from the confused look on her face that she was not happy about being dumped. The sound of steel on steel came from outside, and I expected our reinforcements had arrived. He lowered the weapon, grabbed the bag the men must have brought, and went for Susan. Even in the soundproof range, the shotgun was deafening and I pulled Justine down when I saw Pierce had the barrel pointed at us. Seconds later the sound of the alarm blared as he crashed through the emergency exit door. My ears were ringing so I didn’t hear Justine scream.
She was down and blood was pouring from her leg. Several darts from the flechette had found her. Looking around, I heard a shot and ducked. The two men left behind were back to back, one firing at us, the other at the two figures dressed in black with bulletproof vests that had just crashed through the door.
Our help might have arrived, but we were in the line of fire. Grabbing Justine, I pulled her back through the side door. With one hand on my pistol and the other with a firm grasp on her arm, we entered the next room, surprising the two men at the workbench. One was weighing and packing the shells; the other was using the large press to crimp them. Weapons being discharged in a firing range was standard procedure, so they’d had no idea what was going on. They froze and I took a chance. “Help her. Get some pressure on the wound and I’ll keep you out of this.”
There was no hesitation on their part and I touched Justine’s cheek before heading back through the door to the shop. “Call an ambulance,” I yelled at Grace and headed out the front door.
Pierce had made it to one of the bikes and was heading out of the parking lot. There were several options open to me and I took the one my anger-fueled brain chose. It wasn’t to follow or call in his location. I raised my arm, aimed for the rear wheel, and fired two shots. He turned the corner and I turned away, thinking I had missed.
A few seconds later, I heard a skid and a crash.
27
“So, what do you want to do?” I asked Allie.
“I can’t believe you’re asking that.”
I might have been smart enough to put a crooked FBI agent behind bars, but dealing with a fifteen-year-old was a different matter altogether. I had found that one of the techniques I used to interview people worked on her as well, and just stayed quiet. It was an uncomfortable minute. It was kind of like playing chicken, and I was about to say something and admit defeat when she broke the silence.
“See Justine, duh.”
Another proud dad moment. “Of course,” I said, and put the truck in reverse. Jane had waited until we left and she backed out behind me. I breathed in relief when she turned left after we made a right out of the parking lot.
“You gonna let me drive one of these days?”
Allie had been proud to inform me she had just gotten her learner’s permit. It was one of those things I’d missed as a weekend parent. “Sure. How about we give it a try down in Homestead later?”
“That’d be cool.” She put her head down and started typing into her phone. I remembered Justine thinking she had a boyfriend and I was trying to get up the nerve to ask. Usually we made plans for our next visit whenever we were together, but now, with Justine in the hospital, we were quiet.
We reached Jackson Memorial and found Sid by her side. Justine was awake, and Allie went right to her. I stood back, trying to fight the tears, watching the two people I cared most about.
“They say she should be out in a few days,” Sid said, breaking the silence. “Doctors around here seem awful young, but I’m watching them.” He turned and squeezed Justine’s hand, kissed her on the forehead, and turned to the door. “Got to go keep an eye on Vance, too,” he said, shaking his head, and muttering something about the incompetence of today’s youth, walked out.
I took his place beside Justine and kissed her. Her eyes were watering and I couldn’t tell if it was from pain or happiness. “You okay?” I asked.
“You go check the tide tables for day after tomorrow. We’re going fishing. Diving might have to wait a bit.”
This was the first time she was conscious enough to hear what had happened and I recounted the story for her and Allie. I could see the mix of admiration and fear in Allie’s eyes as I told her about Justine getting shot and the takedown of Pierce.
“What happened to him?” she asked.
“The FBI is going to prosecute him for the murder and drugs. He’ll get what he deserves.”
“And what about Susan?” Justine asked.
“She came out of it looking pretty good. Probably get a commendation for her undercover work. I have a feeling she’ll be officially reinstated now.”
“And the saga continues,” Justine said.
I just nodded. Allie and I stayed until Justine fell asleep, and then we quietly left the room.
And I had been worried about asking her if she had a boyfriend.
Get the next book in the Kurt Hunter Mystery Series
How many lives is a cover-up worth
When a bridge collapses and kills six people, National Park Service Special Agent Kurt Hunter is drawn into an tangled web of finger pointing and political machinations. With the bridge debris scheduled to be turned into an artificial reef in the park, Kurt and Justine are in a race against time to find the party responsible.
But things are not as simple as they appear and soon powerful political figures turn the case into a power struggle to save one of the countries biggest universities.
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