Unwitting Alliances - Hunter Blake Series

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Everyone continued to crowd around the small cabin windows of the plane.

  “Who do you think is in that helicopter?” Betty asked.

  “Don’t know yet,” Hector said.

  “I wish I knew where Drew was,” Hunter said.

  Everyone pulled away from the windows and stared at Hunter.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Now who the heck is Drew?”

  “Ahh… well, never mind. Just... never mind,” Hunter said awkwardly, realizing his faux pas.

  Jim looked him sternly. “Okay. I think I’ve had just about enough! I want some answers,” he demanded. “We crawled out of that tunnel straight into the hands of those guys who locked us up in here. Now the three of you are here as well and you’re keeping secrets! Where is Brad and who the hell is Drew!”

  “Jim!” Diane responded in shock at his expletive.

  “I’m sorry, honey. But enough is enough!

  Hunter stared at Jim. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you cuss before either.”

  “Air Force,” was all he said.

  “Where is Brad?” Samantha asked. “And Janet? Are they with them?” she pointed outside.

  “No,” Hector said. “We’re not all that sure about Janet, but... Brad’s out there, just not with those guys. He’s... doing what he does. It was his idea we surrender.”

  “Surrender!” Jim clenched his fists. “You three surrendered and Brad, or whoever he is, is out there doing what he does? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Hector looked out a window. “We told you already. It’s how all of us work. We just go with the moment. Improvise.” He looked at everyone. “It’s just better that way. Unpredictable. Keeps the bad guys off balance. And sometimes the less we know what he has planned the better, whether you like it or not.” Hector glanced out a window again. “I should have known he had something else up his sleeve.”

  “Wait! I’m confused.” Diane said. “Hunter. You meant Brad when you said Drew, didn’t you? Why would you call him Drew? You know him, don’t you? How do you know him?”

  Hector was getting frustrated. “Look! The less everyone knows the better right now,” he said.

  “You keep saying that and it’s getting damned old.” Jim was exasperated and sat down, his fists still clenched.

  John looked at him. “What more can we say? It’s just the way he operates! It’s the way our whole team operates.” John looked at Jim. “Can I ask you a question?”

  Jim said nothing.

  John asked anyway. “When you said Air Force, did you fly? Are you a pilot?”

  “I’m not in the mood for idle chit-chat,” Jim replied.

  “This isn’t idle chit-chat. I really need to know. Do you fly?”

  “Years ago and I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Hunter was surprised. “You never told me you could fly.”

  Jim remained silent.

  Diane tried to explain. “He flew during Vietnam. After we got married he bought a small single engine plane and we’d fly to all sorts of places, but several years ago...” she looked at her husband tenderly, “he decided it was time to stop.”

  Jim had a painful look on his face.

  “Stop,” Hunter said. “How could you just stop? I mean... flying is...”

  “Look!” Jim snapped at Hunter. “I had a near miss about ten years ago, okay? After that I...” his voice cracked. “After that... I realized I had no business sitting in the captain’s chair any longer. Happy now?”

  “Well no,” Hunter said. “I didn’t mean to upset you but... you should have gotten back in the saddle, Jim. You know, it’s just like riding a bike. You get back on and keep riding.”

  Jim couldn’t look at him. “Sometimes it’s not that easy.”

  Hunter wouldn’t let it go. “Well, I’ve had three scary near misses myself,” he said. “Each one rattled me for days. I almost gave it up too, but decided to give it another shot each time. It was hard and scary and I worried that I would screw up again, but I didn’t. Since then... everything’s been great.”

  “Well, that’s good for you, Hunter,” Jim replied, “but I just wasn’t interested anymore.”

  Hector sat listening then dared to ask, “What size aircraft did you fly in the service, if you don’t mind me asking.”

  “I do mind!” Jim replied still keyed up, then replied anyway. “If an answer will put an end to this conversation, I flew B-52’s,” he said. “I flew B-52’s and far too many sorties over North Vietnam. It was all part of Operation Linebacker II. For more than twelve days, forty-two or more of those planes flew in over seven hundred raids and dropped over fifteen thousand tons of bombs on Hanoi and Haiphong.” He looked at Hector. “Do you have any idea how much damage was done? How many lives were destroyed by fifteen thousand tons of bombs?”

  Hector nodded. “I do understand a little. I served during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, but on the ground. We had to be on the watch for I.E.D’s, which is nearly impossible... homemade explosives and snipers, you name it. Caught a little shrapnel in the process.”

  “A little shrapnel!” John spoke up. “You were sidelined for over six months after your Humvee was hit!”

  “Yeah, well they kicked me loose, so I had to find other work and here we are.” He gazed around at everyone. “Look... this is no picnic and we all know it. We also know you’re all scared. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not a little scared too, but John and I will do everything we can to protect you and get you all out of here safely. But to do that we all need to cooperate and you have to trust us. It’s that simple.”

  “Trust works both ways,” Samantha said.

  “You’re right... so... John and I will tell you as much as we can, but understand we’re still trying to figure out some things and so is Ham. At least now we have a much better idea who’s running things, on this side of the border... and that’s more than we had two weeks ago.”

  “Ham. Brad. Drew.” Jim looked at him. “He’s the same person.”

  “Yes.”

  Hunter was watching what was going on outside. “You think Daniel’s behind all this, don’t you?” he said.

  “Looks that way.”

  “And H-Ham? He is planning to stick around and help us, right?”

  “Yes, he’s still around and we’re not sure exactly what he’s up to, but I do know this, he’s has gotten himself in and out of more intense and scary situations than you can imagine. He has incredible skills and instincts and as soon as he makes a move, we have to be ready. John and I know him well enough to respond to whatever he decides to do.” Hector paused. “So... just do what we say... when we say it. Any more questions? Because now’s the time.”

  No one spoke up.

  Hector began to provide his co-captives with as much information as he could. John, in the meantime, kept watch and attempted to get a better head count of their captors. He finally asked, “How did they capture you all so quickly?”

  Jim shook his head. “I don’t know. One by one, we each climbed out through the hatch and the plan was to head into the forest, right?”

  “Yeah,” Hunter agreed, “but I’m the only one that made it out before those other guys showed up.

  Betty raised her hand. “Excuse me. But I do have a question, actually.”

  “Okay,” Hector said.

  “So... the guy we’ve been calling Brad... that you just admitted is Drew and Ham, although I can’t figure out why someone would want to be referred to as a piece of meat...”

  Hector nodded. “Well, I did explain that, but yes, all the same guy, just like we said.”

  “Okay... but why did Hunter call him Drew, more than once, by the way?” She looked at Hunter. “I’m with Diane. You know him? Don’t you? I mean... we’ve been calling him Brad, but you said Drew, and Hector said Ham. We get it, that th
ey all know each other with all this secret stuff they do, but what about you? How do you know him?”

  Hunter, John, and Hector exchanged uncomfortable looks. Finally, Hector attempted to explain. “Okay. The guy all of you know as Brad...” he paused and looked at John who shrugged and finally nodded, “Brad is actually Ham, short for Hamilton. And he was a partner with me a few years ago.”

  “Okay,” Betty said. “Brad is an alias, then, right? But what about Drew?”

  “Yeah. I guess you could say both names... are aliases.”

  “Okay. But I’m still confused. Does Hunter know him? As Drew? And if so... from where? Were you guys friends at some point... way back when?” Betty asked again looking at Hunter. “I mean you must have known each other, because the two of you were talking for quite a while this morning and seemed to be arguing at one point. Then you both came in all happy and had breakfast together... and you hugged each other. I saw you hug each other.”

  “Well,” Hector started to say something.

  “I-I can explain,” Hunter interrupted. “They... that is John and Hector here, introduced him to me as Drew at first but then explained that the rest of you knew him as Brad so...” he glanced around. “So to avoid confusion... we, uh... decided it was best to keep calling him Brad.”

  Diane looked at him. “Okay, Hunter, but like Betty’s saying, that still doesn’t explain why you and Drew were arguing... or Brad... or whatever his name is, and then suddenly made up and hugged each other. I’ve never seen you behave that way with any other guy you’ve known... not even Jim.”

  Hunter shot a glance at John and Hector.

  A look of exasperation crossed Diane’s face. “If I didn’t know better, right this minute you all remind me of three little boys who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Guilty as heck. So what’s really going on?” she asked. “Hunter, Betty’s right. Why would you argue with someone if you didn’t know him and then turn around give him a big hug? And why call him Drew when they told us his name was Brad?” She pointed to Hector and John.

  All three men looked at her awkwardly.

  She persisted. “I agree with my husband. You owe us an explanation! So start explaining!”

  John let out a sigh. “You’re right and we apologize.”

  Betty raised her hand again, wiggling her fingers slightly. “I have another question.”

  John grinned at her almost relieved. “Ask.”

  “Is Hamilton his first name or his last name?”

  John’s look of relief disappeared and he turned to Hector and Hunter for help.

  “Hamilton,” Hector began. “Okay. Yes, well... it’s his last name.”

  Jim leaned back running his hands through his hair. “I don’t believe this. Our lives are at stake and the three of you are playing name games with us! Tell us who he is!”

  Betty’s eyes lit up. “He’s a spy! Isn’t he?”

  Hector and John stared at her, speechless.

  “You’re all spies, aren’t you?”

  Hunter started to say something but Jim spoke instead. “Okay. So obviously we’re not supposed to know who any of you really are or what you’re all up to, but at this particular moment, I don’t care,” he said. “Just tell us which name we should use, so the next time, I’ll know which name to call him before I deck him!”

  “Hunter?” John deferred to him.

  “Why ask me? He’s your partner in all of this. Yours and Hector’s.”

  Samantha looked at everyone in complete frustration. “Any more of this and we’re going to end up at each other’s throats! Or... maybe that’s what this is all about!” she said. “Are you two working for them!” she gestured to the outside. “You come in here, get us rattled enough that we turn on each other, is that it? Are you really trying to help us or are you actually helping them!”

  “No!” John answered immediately. “We are trying to help! These goons are for real and will do whatever they want or feel they need to, to accomplish their mission.”

  “What mission! Be honest with us!” she shot back.

  Betty jumped in. “Yes! Why were Hunter and Brad, or whatever his name is, arguing early this morning! It looked pretty heated to me. So you must know each other,” she said directly to Hunter.

  Hector and John both look at Hunter and sat down.

  “I give up. It’s your call, man,” Hector said to him.

  Hunter stared at everyone. “I...,” he began then looked helplessly at John and Hector. “I... promised him...” he nearly whispered to them.

  “Promised him what!” Jim demanded, now on his feet again.

  “It’s time, Hunter,” Hector urged him.

  “Time for what?” Samantha asked.

  Hector gave Hunter a look. “With everything else going on, they should know what your brother’s been up to,” he said.

  A quiet collective gasp and stunned silence followed with all eyes glued on Hunter.

  Finally Samantha asked, “Hunter? He’s... your brother?”

  Hunter shot an irritated glance at Hector.

  “Did... did I say something?” Hector asked in feigned innocence.

  Frustrated, Hunter finally gave in. “I don’t believe this. Okay. Yes! He’s my brother. But I promised I’d keep it a secret!” He glared at Hector. “He said he wanted to protect everyone.”

  Hector shrugged. “Well now that the cat is out of the bag, that’s why you’ve been targeted. Besides, Daniel already knew. Didn’t Ham explain that to you?”

  “Your brother,” Jim said. “I had no idea you had a brother.”

  Hunter sat down and nodded. “Yes. He’s a half-brother, actually. Same mom, different dads. And yes, he did mention that to me,” he said to Hector, still annoyed.

  Diane asked, “How long have you known about this, Hunter? Your brother, that is, and what he apparently does. Is that why you were both arguing this morning? About his job?”

  Hunter took a moment to compose himself before responding. “He and I,” he began slowly. “Let’s just say we’ve not been in touch a lot lately. I...”

  “Obviously with his kind of work, I’m sure staying in touch must be difficult,” Diane said.

  Not wanting to discuss the topic further, Hunter merely nodded and leaned back closing his eyes.

  Hector was relieved. “Okay. I’m glad we finally got that taken care of. Now, getting back to what I was telling you,” he started to say but was interrupted at the sound of a click and the cabin door opening.

  Everyone watched anxiously as Dirk looked in. “All of you! On your feet!”

  With an obvious measure of distrust, they stood.

  “Outside! Now!”

  One by one they climbed out and stood nervously waiting for further instructions. With automatic weapons drawn, Dirk and one other man motioned for everyone to move toward the remains of the cabin. Daniel stood waiting for them and finally held up a hand for them to stop.

  “I’m so glad you’ve all had a chance to chat and catch up on some details, but we have a little bit of a situation here, I’m afraid. It appears that your comrade, Hamilton, has abandoned all of you to save himself, in spite of John and Hector’s passionate reassurances.” He laughed at the looks on their faces.

  “Yes, we’ve been listening. Unfortunately, though, I don’t have the time or patience to sit around here and have a nice little visit. So here’s what’s going to happen. As I told each of you earlier, you will still be implicated in some aspect of all this wrong-doing. Hunter, however, will take the brunt of the charges since he is the one who ordered the deaths of Gerry and Carolyn.”

  “I what!”

  “As payback for their unwillingness to give you a bigger cut in the operation. Besides, what difference will it make?” Daniel looked at him with a depraved smile. “You’re all going to be dead anyway.” He started laughing. “All dead and out of my way!”

/>   Hunter looked from Daniel to his captive friends. “What did any of them do!” he demanded.

  “They know too much now. They can identify me. They are as we say...” he chuckled, “collateral damage. I love that phrase! Anyone who gets in my way becomes collateral damage. It makes cleaning up administrative messes so much easier.”

  At once everyone protested and almost as quickly stopped as weapons were immediately cocked. Diane quietly slipped her hand in Jim’s. He gave it a gentle squeeze and glanced at her, mouthing the words, ‘I love you.’

  John moved closer to Betty, and Karen eased in behind Hunter, resting her head against his back. Samantha stood alone with an expressionless look on her face while Hector stared directly at Daniel with a piercing gaze.

  “Oh, such tender and fierce emotions,” Daniel said then laughed again. “This is too delightful... and what a wonderful scene for a movie... if only that’s all this was.”

  “What about Janet?” Betty whispered to John.

  “Shh,” he said.

  “What!” Daniel demanded looking at Betty. “Come here.”

  “I-I...”

  “Now!”

  Betty stepped away from the group and approached him.

  “What did you say?”

  “I-I only wondered... what happened to Janet.”

  Daniel laughed. “She’s dead. Bull shot her. She over there somewhere.” He gestured toward the back of the cabin’s remains. “Get back there!” He pointed then glared at John. “Keep your woman quiet!”

  Betty quickly returned to John’s side and took his hand. A breeze picked up rustling the topmost branches of the trees surrounding their location. Daniel looked up at the sky then back at Dirk.

  “Put them back in the plane. You know what to do, then meet us at the rendezvous point later. “Don’t take too long though,” he said over his shoulder as he walked toward one of the helicopters. “Another storm is coming in.”

  Dirk and his partner motioned for everyone to get moving. Without a word they complied. John still held Betty’s hand and she let him. Hunter hung back for a moment watching Daniel approach one of the black helicopters whose engine was warming up. He could see the pilot and what appeared to be one other person sitting in the passenger cabin. Dirk’s partner shoved him to start moving. Hunter shot the man an angry glance then took Karen by the hand. She sobbed quietly as they lined up behind the others.

  Daniel was ready to climb into the helicopter when it appeared the passenger onboard became agitated. Hunter turned to watch with great interest.

  Daniel spun around and shouted. “Hold on!”

  Dirk looked back. “What!”

  Daniel quickly strode back to the plane. “I’ll take Karen with me,” he said. Grabbing her by the arm, he wrenched her from Hunter. “The rest of you get on the plane!”

  “No!” Karen screamed trying to pull away. “I won’t go with you!” She struck out at him. “Leave me alone! Leave me alone!” she shrieked. “Hunter!”

  Daniel tightened his grip.

  Hunter made a move toward her but stopped when Dirk put a gun to his head. He put up his hands instead. “Take me,” he said to Daniel. “Leave her here.”

  “She’s insurance,” Daniel replied. “And you, I’m afraid... are a liability.”

  “Insurance!”

  “Get moving! Or I’ll shoot you myself right here in front of your friends! And maybe Karen too just for the hell of it!”

  Daniel jerked Karen away and headed for the waiting helicopter, its blades fully engaged. Hunter climbed inside the jet then sat in a seat to watch as Daniel shoved Karen onboard the waiting aircraft. Within moments the pilot lifted off and headed south.

  Dirk stepped inside and gloated. “It’s been a pleasure, everyone,” he said. “Enjoy your last flight.”

  Samantha suddenly stood up and feigned being sick. “I think...” she grabbed her stomach then put a hand over her mouth.”

  Dirk stared at her.

  She lurched forward as he attempted to hold her off. “Get back in your seat!”

  “I... I... oh no...” she lurched again and grabbed Dirk’s arms with both her hands then immediately shoved her knee into his groin. He instantly recoiled and Hector was on him just as fast, disarming him with an uppercut to the jaw, knocking him out.

  Betty quickly turned to watch out her window then asked John, “What are they doing?”

  He looked. “They’re dousing the airstrip all around the plane,” he said.

  Hector looked as well. “Yeah, well I don’t think they’re planning on roasting marshmallows.”

  A gunman called out to Dirk. “Get out of there so we can get this over with and get the hell out of here! We don’t have all day!” Betty continued to watch as the other men hurried to the other helicopter, fired up and ready to go.

  “I think they’re leaving,” she said.

  No one spoke while Hector stood quietly with Dirk’s handgun concealed at his side.

  “Hey! What the hell’s going on?” the man said stepping up into the plane. He immediately saw Dirk’s prone body. “What happened? What’s going on?” he said and started to draw his gun.

  Hector shrugged. “I guess he passed out,” he said then pointed his gun. “Maybe you’d like to hand over that gun and take a seat.”

  Instead, the gunman lunged but Hector quickly rendered him unconscious with the butt of the gun. “Everyone! Off the plane!” Hector then retrieved the firearm from the second gunman and jumped out.

  “To the trees! Hurry! I’ll cover you!”

  He began firing shots at the waiting helicopter while John quickly led their group to the safety of the trees.

  Hector stayed low and continued to fire shots, drawing the attention of the pilot who fired back while his comrades jumped out to pursue their former captives.

  Hector continued his attempt to slow them down finally emptying his clip. With the other gun in hand, he stayed down and didn’t move. The pilot climbed out of the helicopter and cautiously approached, his gun drawn. Hector waited patiently until the pilot was within fifty feet then raised up enough to take his shot.

  Caught by surprise, the pilot collapsed to the ground. Hector waited. The man didn’t move. Getting up slowly, he kept his gun leveled, ready to deliver another shot. He confirmed the kill then ran for the woods hoping to find the others. Reaching the trees, all was quiet. No shouting. No shooting. No birds chattering.

  He stealthily made his way along, stopping and listening every so often then thought he heard a faint bird call and waited.

  Moments later he heard it again but closer. Straining to listen, he returned the call by letting out a short whistle. He waited. A soft rustling nearby either meant an animal or another human being.

  One more whistle. It was only feet away. Still waiting, he watched a figure come into view. Hector smiled. It was John. He stood up slowly where John could see him. With great relief, the two men greeted each other.

  “Everyone from that chopper is out here looking for you.” Hector said quietly.

  “I know. I saw most of them. I think there’s seven altogether. At least that’s what I counted earlier.”

  “Yeah, but Dirk and his friend are out of commission.” Hector said. “And I took care of the pilot just now, so that leaves four.” He looked around nervously. “Where are our people?”

  “Hunkered down and waiting for me to come back... hopefully with you, if I could find you.” John said.

  “Let’s go.”

  John took the lead and retraced his steps toward their waiting companions. Suddenly, they could hear shouting and immediately crouched down. A gunshot rang out and all became silent again. Hector and John remained concealed and watched.

  “This way,” John whispered. He headed in a different direction hoping to circle around and get a better vantage point. Their progress was slow but necessary to avoid de
tection.

  Hector nudged John and pointed. Through the trees they could see people and soon realized it was Jim with his wife, then Betty, Samantha, and Hunter following. Behind Hunter was one of the gunmen.

  “Take them back to the plane,” they heard one of them say.

  Hector looked around. “I wonder where those other two guys went?” he whispered. “You’d think they would have hurried to join their pals at the sound of the gunshot.”

  “Yeah. You’d think so. They must be close by.”

  “How about right behind you,” a voice said.

  Hector and John froze and slowly raised their hands.

  “Well, boys,” one gunman said, “looks like your careers have just come to an end. Get up there and join your friends.” Both men gave Hector and John a push.

  Silently berating themselves, they fell into step and soon caught up to the others.

  “Looky what we found!” one gunman called out to his comrades. The expressions on the faces of John and Hector’s beleaguered companions were a mix of both disappointment and relief.

  “Good! Let’s get them all back on that plane and finish this job.”

  Hector eased his way up closer to the front of the line near Jim and Diane, while John stepped in behind Betty. She smiled weakly and he gave her a wink with a slight nod.

  “Keep moving!” the man at the rear of the line ordered.

  Another bird call, followed by a noise close by, brought the group to a halt. With weapons raised, the gunmen scanned the area then heard a squirrel’s chatter from a nearby tree. Relaxing, they prodded their captives on.

  Hunter was at the rear of the line just behind Samantha when he heard a muffled noise from behind and turned to look. With surprise, he noticed the gunman had disappeared. Looking around nervously, he heard another bird call. Leaning forward, he whispered to Samantha, “Stay with me and do what I tell you.”

  Samantha did not turn around but gave a slight nod, nervously watching ahead as the group kept up a steady pace back toward the airstrip and the jet. A moment later, there was another birdcall. Hunter gently slid his arm around Samantha’s waist.

  “On three,” he whispered, “squat down as quietly as you can and stay down.”

  Again, she nodded. Three seconds later, she was on the ground.

  “Stay put,” he said. “I’m going to move ahead with the others.”

  Terrified, Samantha tried to say something, but he covered her mouth and shook his head. She stayed down and scooted behind a large tree doing her best to keep her breathing under control as Hunter quickly moved away.

  Leaning against the tree, she closed her eyes and began to pray fervently. Finally opening her eyes, she found herself staring into the face of another man and flinched. He instantly put his hand over her mouth to stifle her scream.

  Shaking his head, he whispered, “I’m here to help you. My name’s Charlie. I’m with Hamilton.

  Samantha frowned.

  “Or whatever the hell he told you his name was. He’s the one who rescued you from the clinic. We work together.” He watched her face and she gave a slight nod. “Promise you won’t scream? I need you to promise.”

  She nodded again and he gently released her. “You know Brad?” she said then corrected herself. I mean Ham or... Drew?”

  Charlie smiled. “Drew. Short for Andrew.”

  “But...”

  “You know how to shoot a gun?”

  “Y-Yes, but...”

  “Here. Use it if you have to. I need to catch up to the others, but stay right here.” He gave her a stern look. “Stay here,” he repeated. “We’ll come back for you.”

  “O-Okay, but I’m scared.”

  “I know, but if you stay right here you should be safe. You have to trust me.” He looked around. “I have to go.”

  She nodded watching Charlie move away and disappear among the trees.

  Minutes passed. Samantha waited and listened. Suddenly she heard a faint commotion deeper in the forest. Tensing up, she fumbled with the gun and closed her eyes again for a split second before taking a deep breath. Trembling in fear, she waited and listened then stiffened at the sound of gunfire. Multiple shots.

  “Oh, God, no!” she whispered to herself in a panic wanting to stand but remained frozen to the ground. Suddenly rustling and snapping sounds indicated someone was heading in her direction, and quickly.

  Trying to get into a better position, she kept listening then nervously took aim. Her hands shook as she held the pistol, ready to shoot.

  The sound grew louder. Waiting, she watched intently, her heart racing and her breathing more rapid. Just at the point when she was ready to squeeze the trigger, a figure burst into view. She quickly lowered the gun in great relief at the sight of Betty coming toward her.

  Managing to get to her feet Samantha quietly called to her best friend in a loud whisper. “Betty! Here. Come here!” Seconds later they embraced tightly then Samantha pulled her to the ground. “We have to stay quiet.”

  “I know,” Betty said in tears. “John made me sit down suddenly then this other man came, and... I’m so scared, Sam.”

  “Was it Charlie?”

  “Yes!” Betty said quietly. “He helped you too?”

  Samantha nodded. “What about the others?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I waited until everyone else was out of sight then I hurried back this way looking for you like he told me to do, but I’m scared. I heard shooting.”

  “I know. Me too.”

  “What if everyone else is dead? What’s going to happen to us?”

  “I don’t know. We just have to wait, and hope, and pray.”

  They sat close together, arms linked then Samantha stiffened. “Do you hear that?” Both women looked up through the trees which were now whipping around more with the wind picking up. They could also catch a glimpse of some clouds moving in.

  “Another one of the helicopters,” Betty said. “It’s taking off.” She looked at Samantha in fear, “You don’t think they’re going to shoot at us from the air, do you?”

  Samantha waited and listened then shook her head. “No. It sounds like it’s leaving.” That man... Daniel, said another storm was coming in, remember? So I guess the other gunmen are leaving too.”

  “Are we alone Sam? I mean...”

  “I don’t know.”

  Betty tried to steady her breathing. “I wonder why that man took Karen? I’m afraid for her.”

  “Me too and I wonder what he meant by her being some kind of insurance?”

  “I don’t know,” Betty said, “but he looked fierce and mean when he said it.”

  Their conversation was cut short at the sound of more rustling indicating someone else was coming.

  Samantha pushed Betty. “Get behind me.”

  Betty did so and waited as Samantha, once again, took aim. “I just hope it’s somebody we like.”

  “Sam?” a voice called out. “Betty!”

  Both women waited before answering then exhaled with relief at the sight of Hector, followed by the others, including Charlie.

  “Oh, my gosh!” Samantha said getting up. “We thought you had all been shot!” Her relief was evident. “You’re all okay!”

  Hunter hurried to her and wrapped his arms around her. “You are a very brave woman,” he said and looked at Betty. “You both are.” He gave Betty a hug as well.

  “I’ll take that gun,” Charlie said with a smile.

  Samantha handed it to him. “So who are you?”

  “He works with us,” Hector said.

  “Yeah. And he works for me too.” Hunter grinned at his chauffeur.

  “Where are all the bad guys?” Betty asked.

  “Most are out of commission,” John said.

  “Out of commission?”

  “Hey, honey. It was either them or us. I voted for us.”

  Betty
managed a smile. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime.”

  “One got away, though,” Hector said. “And it sounded like he made it to one of the choppers and took off.”

  Jim was holding on to Diane but asked, “So now what?”

  “We need to get out of here,” John said.

  “But how?” Diane asked.

  “Good question. We’re down to one helicopter and the van.” John said.

  “But what about the plane?” Samantha asked. “Why can’t we use that?”

  No one replied as they approached the tree line. Now the third helicopter was warming up. Hector signaled everyone to stop and get down. “Stay in the trees,” he said then motioned for John to join him.

  “I’ll stay here,” Charlie said.

  Together John and Hector set out to reconnoiter the area just as everyone heard the third helicopter take off. Ten minutes later, they were back.

  “So what’s the situation?” Charlie asked.

  “No helicopters,” John said. “Looks like Ham just took off.”

  “Yeah,” Hector said, “and Dirk and his pal aren’t in the plane. They must have flown off, with the other guy who got away, in the second helicopter.”

  The wind continued to pick up as the temperature dropped signaling the arriving storm. Charlie looked at the jet. “We either hike to the van or figure out how to fly that thing out of here.”

  Hunter stood staring at the jet. “Well, I can think of two problems if we want to fly out. The length of the runway and its condition. That was a pretty intense storm and it dropped a lot of water. Although when I was out walking with Karen I didn’t see much damage. It still looked pretty good.”

  Jim stood quietly thinking. “That plane seemed to land with little problem this morning, although they would have had to brake pretty hard to keep it from ending up in the trees.” He looked toward the opposite end of the strip. “If the runway was constructed correctly, it should have drained well.”

  “Then let’s check it out,” Hunter said. All five men headed in that direction while the women wandered out further to watch.

  Diane glanced over at the remains of the cabin. “I wonder if there’s anything left in that mess worth collecting.”

  “Let’s check it out while the men do their thing,” Samantha said.

  They walked along looking at bits and pieces of things strewn here and there. Reaching the remains of the cabin they began to poke around.

  “Watch where you step,” Diane said. “Remember the cellar. We don’t want to fall in.”

  For the next twenty minutes, the men walked the runway, squatting down now and then to examine the crown and check the drainage. They also looked for obvious potholes and tossed large pieces of debris out of the way.

  “Looks like your brother took good care of it,” Jim said. “It has a nice crown and packed gravel surface that appears to drain very well.”

  Hunter nodded.

  “So what do you think?” John asked.

  Hunter looked up and down the runway and stuck his hands on his hips. “I don’t know. We’d need to get the plane pushed back as far as possible to give us enough room for takeoff because we’ll need the entire length.”

  Hector grabbed a handful of grass and tossed it into the air watching it blow away. She’s already lined up in the right direction,” he said.

  “I know,” Hunter agreed, “but there’s about twenty feet of runway behind it that I’d want to take advantage of. Every foot will count.”

  “Powerback,” Jim said.

  Hunter looked at him. “Yeah. That is possible. I’ve never done it though. It’s usually either restricted or forbidden altogether at most airports.”

  “I know,” Jim said, “but I’ve done it and we’re not at an airport. Besides, it’s similar to thrust reversal used by large aircraft to help with braking when they land. So, if you need twenty more feet, then let’s give it to you.”