Nathan had been sorely tempted to shoot the asshole, but now the opportunity was gone. The dust was too thick. Given a shot, he probably wouldn’t have taken it — tempting as it was. He needed to be patient and make sure Jin was totally alone before he took any action.
His sister painfully gained her feet and stood in the middle of the road, hugging herself.
Nathan’s rage boiled at seeing her in this condition. He thought about the note she’d written, all she’d been through in her life. The heartbreaking story of Choon-Hee…Preserving Stone’s dog tag all these years…Her love of Lauren and the beating she’d endured to keep her daughter — and him — safe. Jin was family, and it hurt to see her like this. He thanked heaven Lauren couldn’t see the gory details. Yet.
Nathan forced himself to calm down. If he allowed his emotions to control his actions, he’d get not only himself killed, but Jin as well. Lauren would then be trapped in the middle of the Mojave, with no place to go. He’d shown her how to activate the helicopter’s ELT, but that was little consolation. It would take time for SAR teams to arrive. How long, he didn’t know. But a lot could happen in that span.
He took a few deep breaths, then settled in to assess his sister’s condition more thoroughly. The first thing he noticed was her bare feet. On each foot, several toes were caked with blood. Thanks to Voda’s medieval savagery, she wouldn’t be able to run when the time came. She’d also likely be concussed and have trouble concentrating. One thing was certain: she’d never be able to walk to the helicopter. He’d have to carry her.
Resuming his examination, Nathan saw his sister was tall, close to six feet, and her hair wasn’t quite the jet black of Lauren’s. It looked to be nearly the same color as his own — graying dark brown with a distinct hue of red. Her Eurasian cheekbones were cut and swollen from repeated blows. Nathan had seen other victims like this before, more times than he cared to remember. Her blue jeans and T-shirt were spattered with blood. She tried to stand up straight but winced from pain. Although she’d been physically defeated, her dignity hadn’t been broken.
Still hugging herself, she looked around, and her glance walked across his position. Like Voda, she was probably wondering where he was. Even if she’d known exactly where to look, all she would’ve seen was a large clump of creosote bushes flanked by a few barrel cacti.
Nathan didn’t want Jin to hear him yet, so he kept his voice low. “Mr. Voda, are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Please back your vehicles out to two hundred meters.”
“I think I’ve been more than generous.”
“I’m on foot, Mr. Voda, and it will take me several minutes to reach my sister. Please comply with my request.”
Voda didn’t respond, but both Escalades began backing away and Nathan lost sight of them from his sitting position. Since the vehicles were moving slowly, he gave it a good thirty seconds.
Voda’s voice came through his earpiece again. “Okay?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“My patience is running thin, McBride.”
“Once I’ve verified my sister’s identity face-to-face, you’ll have your gems. Please be patient.”
“No tricks,” Voda said again.
Yeah, right, no tricks…He was about to give Jin a command, but she spoke first.
Looking in the direction of Voda’s SUVs, she called out, “We don’t have much time.”
Nathan remained silent.
“You’re inside a clump of bushes at my ten o’clock position.”
Without moving, Nathan said, “I’m impressed.”
“Voda doesn’t know you were a scout sniper.”
“Did you give Harv and me up entirely?”
“No. All he knows is that you’re my brother.”
“Pretend you’re still alone.”
“I am pretending I’m alone.”
Nathan now knew where Lauren got her feistiness. “Avoid moving your lips too much. They’re probably using field glasses. Can you walk?”
“Not very well.”
“Slowly work your way this direction and keep looking around. Stay near the road, though. I don’t want Voda to lose sight of you.”
She continued the act, hugging herself as though nervous. “Three men are on foot. They got out before we pulled in here.”
“I’m aware of that. They’re no longer a problem.”
“Where’s Lauren?”
Nathan put metal in his voice. “Who are you, Jin?”
She was clearly stunned by the comment. “What do you mean?”
“How do you know about echo five?”
“I promise I’ll explain everything when this is over.”
“If you want my trust, you’ll tell me right now.”
“Nathan — ”
“Who are you?”
She looked toward Voda’s Escalades. “DGSE.”
Chapter 30
“French intelligence?”
She responded almost grudgingly. “Yes.”
Nathan’s mind went into overdrive. Things began falling into place, but he needed to be sure Jin was telling the truth.
“Your note. How much of it’s true?”
“Can we discuss this later? We don’t have the time.”
“I’m making time. How much?”
“All of it. I’ve been working my way into Voda’s operation for over a year. I’ll explain everything, but not now.”
Nathan emerged from his hiding place and walked toward Jin. Wearing the ghillie suit, he knew what he looked like. He flipped the hood back and kept going. In five more steps he’d enter Voda’s line of sight.
Jin turned and faced him, her expression guarded.
Nathan walked up to her and stared into her blue eye. Her brown eye was nearly swollen shut. “Did you know Voda was murdering the girls?”
She didn’t hesitate. “No.”
It was the truth — he knew it with certainty.
With a single word, Jin had proven herself in a way that ten thousand additional words never could.
“Where is Lauren?” she asked.
“She’s in the saddle between those two peaks to the north.”
To her credit, she didn’t even glance in that direction.
Nathan pressed the transmit button on his radio.
“Voda, you copy?”
“A desert-colored ghillie suit,” Voda said. “Well played.”
“Do you remember what I said I’d do if you brought more than two men?”
“There’s no need for threats. I have two men, as agreed.”
“You’re a liar. I neutralized your three goons before you arrived with Ms. Marchand.”
There was a marked silence. “That wasn’t necessary. They were only here to ensure my safety.”
“Consider yourself uninsured.”
“Give me my alexandrites, as agreed.”
Nathan removed a Ziploc bag from his hip pocket, held it at arm’s length, and dropped it to the road. “Come and get them.”
He tossed Voda’s radio and earpiece aside and scooped his sister off her feet. “Hold on tight.” Hauling her in a fireman’s carry, he ran for the cover of H5, the closest standing house. He tried to minimized the bounce of his strides, but Jin cried out anyway.
“Sorry about the bumpy ride.”
Through clenched teeth, she said, “I’ll live. Keep going!”
“You think?”
Nathan heard it then, the unmistakable crackling of automatic-weapon fire. It sounded like distant firecrackers. Nathan dropped to his knees and laid Jin down. In a lightning-fast pattern, the road erupted toward Nathan as multiple bullets skipped off its powdery surface. He used his body to protect her from the maelstrom of slugs. As quickly as it had begun, the crackling ended and they hadn’t been hit. Nathan looked west toward the vehicles, but the rising dust from bullet impacts obscured the SUVs.
“I guess I pissed him off.”
“You think?” Jin said,
mimicking him.
Nathan pivoted toward the road. “Stay down.”
In a fluid move, he unslung his rifle and shouldered it. Without using the scope, he estimated a windshield-level shot, and he fired into the dust cloud. The discharge rocked him back. He chambered another round and fired again.
The roar of the lead vehicle’s engine reached them. Within seconds the Escalade would penetrate the dust cloud and be upon them.
Nathan hoisted Jin again and resumed his sprint for H5. He reached down and turned up the volume on the tan radio he used with Lauren.
Her frantic voice screamed through his earpiece, “…Why don’t you answer me? Nathan!”
“I’m here,” Nathan said, still running.
“There’s another car coming down the road!”
“A third vehicle?”
“Yes!”
“Where is it?”
“It’s almost to the turn where the other one stopped.”
“Does it look like the others? A black SUV?”
“Yes.”
“Is that Lauren?” Jin asked.
“Yes. Lauren, keep an eye on the new arrival. I need to know how many men get out, and where they go.”
“Is my mom okay?”
“She’s fine. Keep watching the third SUV.”
“Okay.”
Nathan glanced over his shoulder and saw the lead SUV penetrate the dust cloud. He’d hoped they’d make it inside H5 before being seen, but it didn’t happen. The vehicle pulled off the dirt road and skidded to a stop at the western edge of the buildings. Another dust cloud swirled.
He set Jin down inside the house, steadied his stance against the jamb of the front door, and took aim at the driver’s side. The door flew open, and the first gunman he’d seen earlier got out and used the open door for cover. Before the guy could bring his MP5 to bear, Nathan placed the crosshairs on the middle of the door panel and fired. The armor-piercing round easily went through the sheet metal and found its mark. Nathan reacquired the gunman through the scope. The man was on the ground in a fetal position, holding his stomach.
Voda must’ve seen his man go down. He drove his SUV off the road and raced toward the west side of H1, using it for cover. Nathan didn’t have a shot from his position. The brush lining the road, coupled with the shallow angle, prevented a clear line of sight. Without leaving the cover of the building, he’d never get a shot. Voda and his man could now use the first three houses for cover as they advanced.
“Lauren, where is the third SUV?”
“It’s past the turn in the road, and it’s going real fast.”
“Keep watching it.”
By now, Voda and his other gunman would be out of their SUV. Both Voda and his cohort had leg wounds, and from what Nathan had seen earlier, Voda’s man wouldn’t be able to run very well, if at all. They’d both have to advance cautiously, and Nathan believed they’d stay together, at least initially.
“Jin, I need you to hunker down in the biggest bedroom’s closet.”
She began to protest.
“You’re in no shape to help me. Take this.” He pulled his SIG and offered it to her.
She shook her head. “Keep that. You’re going to need it.”
“Jin, you shouldn’t be unarmed. You — ”
“Keep it!”
Her white top was a problem. He shucked off his ghillie suit coat and tossed it to her, knowing it would mask her glaring white shirt. “I know your feet are bad, but if you get an opportunity, head up to Lauren’s position.”
“Nathan, go. Get moving, Marine!”
He ran through the debris littering the floor and peered through the rear door toward H1.
“Lauren, did you copy everything I just said to your mom?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s the third SUV?”
“It’s almost to H1.”
“Copy that.”
He placed himself in Voda’s head. With reinforcements coming, he’d probably sit tight and wait for the extra firepower to arrive, which was mere seconds away. He didn’t have time to replace the two .308 rounds he’d just fired, which left him with three rounds left.
“The car isn’t slowing down,” Lauren said.
Nathan knew then what they planned to do.
He stepped out of H5’s rear door and began an all-out sprint toward H6. He couldn’t allow Voda’s new arrivals to flank him. There was nothing he could do for Jin right now. He hoped she’d take an opportunity to bug out if given the right circumstance. Dealing with the new arrivals had to take priority. If Voda’s SUV made it through town, he’d be fighting this battle on two fronts. He sorely missed Harv’s presence, but at least he had Lauren’s eyes up in the saddle.
Nathan ran past the corner of H5 and angled toward the road, giving himself some cover from behind. The fifty-foot separation between H5 and H6 seemed like miles.
Nathan heard it then, the oncoming roar of the SUV’s engine.
Lauren voice cut through his earpiece. “Nathan, look out!”
The stucco wall of H6 exploded at the same instant he heard the clatter of MP5 fire, dozens of slugs cratering the wall. Whoever had fired that burst hadn’t missed by more than two feet. The gunman who had just opened up on him had to be positioned north of the row of buildings. There was no other way the bullets could’ve impacted where they did otherwise. Either Voda or his gunman was in the brush.
“I’m okay,” he told Lauren, and scrambled farther south toward the road. A second barrage nailed the wall behind him, but he knew it was a desperation burst. The gunman no longer had a line of sight on him.
“Lauren, where did that come from?”
“He’s in the bushes near H2.”
Nathan was more than impressed. Not only did Lauren sound calm, she’d used his tactical designator for house number two.
“Good work. Let me know if he approaches H5.”
“I will.”
Nathan had the speed advantage and used it. Believing the newly arriving SUV would blow through town, he hustled back toward H5 and took a knee at its corner. Shouldering his Remington, he lined up on the approaching vehicle. Sure enough, it was barreling down the road, raising a massive dust cloud. A gunman behind the driver had his upper body extended out of his window, aiming his AK at the line of structures. Nathan had intended to shoot the driver, but this man with the machine gun became his primary threat.
The gunman saw Nathan and fired a burst.
Nathan ignored the exploding dirt to his right and steadied his Remington. He saw a tiny amount of heartbeat bounce in the scope, but not enough to matter at this distance.
Fully automatic AKs climb when fired, and that’s exactly what happened next. In less than a second, the slugs impacting the ground moved up the wall of H5. The gunman hadn’t held it low enough. Jin should be okay, since she wasn’t positioned where the slugs hit the wall.
Before the guy could level his AK for a second burst, Nathan aimed slightly in front of the man’s chest, and executed a controlled trigger pull.
The concussion of the rifle’s blast shook loose dirt and dust from H5’s roof. It rained down like mist. He cycled the bolt and lined up on the driver. In the right edge of his scope’s image, he saw the man he’d just shot now hung out the window like a rag doll, his head and arms dangling down. Nathan drove his next bullet through the lower-right quadrant of the windshield and scored another hit. The driver slumped to the right. He cycled the bolt, loading his last round.
Out of control, the SUV screamed past his position, clipped the corner of H6, and veered across the slab of H7. Sparks flew as the SUV’s differential sheared the edge of the exposed concrete. The Escalade bounced, swayed, and nearly tipped over.
Nathan slung his rifle over his head, pulled his SIG, and took off in pursuit. He knew the SUV had enough momentum to carry it across H7’s slab and into the vegetation north of the houses. If there were more gunmen in that Escalade, he wanted to neutralize them before they had a
chance to recover from their jarring ride.
Running in a full sprint, Nathan followed the SUV into the brush. It hadn’t slowed down, but it was turning to the left much faster than it could handle. Through a rapidly forming maelstrom of dust, he watched the Escalade roll. The man who’d fired the AK cartwheeled out of the window. The SUV rolled at least two more times before he lost sight of it in the billowing dust.
Nathan realized he had a solid tactical opportunity, but he had to hurry. Following the path of destruction, he squinted and nearly tripped over the body of the man who’d flown out of the window.
Thirty yards beyond H7’s slab, he found the Escalade right side up but totaled. All its glass was broken out, including the back window. SIG in hand, he approached the hulk in a crouch and peered inside. The driver was dead, but the man who’d been in the front passenger seat clung to life by a thread, clearly out of the fight. Both of his arms were crushed, probably from being outside the SUV when it rolled. Semiconscious, he looked at Nathan with a resigned expression.
Despite what this guy would’ve done had their situations been reversed, Nathan knew that killing him wouldn’t sit right with his conscience and decided to let the authorities deal with him, assuming he lived.
“Lauren, is this dust cloud heading toward the man hiding in the brush?”
“That was crazy! I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Stay focused and please answer my question. Will the dust cloud envelop the man hiding in the brush?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Copy that.”
His radio clicked.
Nathan waited until the dust completely cleared the SUV before falling in behind it. Working his way through the vegetation, he had to maintain a medium-paced jog to stay on the dust cloud’s trailing edge. It wasn’t as dense as a smoke screen, but it offered a good visual cone of concealment encompassing his ten-to-two o’clock threat area.
“Lauren, keep your eye on me. Let me know when the leading edge of the dust reaches the man, then tell me when I’m around one hundred feet away from him. Did you copy that?”
“Yes, it’s almost there…Okay, I can’t see the man anymore.”