Big Easy Escapade (30 page)

“We’ve got to call Antonio,” Adrienne said
and Al dialed over Bluetooth.

He picked up immediately.

“You’re not going to believe what happened!”
Adrienne said.

“I’m pulling up on the tarmac. Stay in the
car.” Click.

After several minutes with no response from
the plane, the officer repeated the order. Four more police units,
a news van and Antonio arrived, and still nothing.

Antonio and Detective Leffall walked up to
the SUV.

“Do you know how many people are on the
plane?” Antonio asked.

Vivian leaned out the window. “We saw a goon
and Surendran dragging Daisy into the plane. We think she’s
drugged. Didn’t see anyone other than them, though.”

“Did you see any weapons?” Leffall asked.

“Nothing, but we were pretty far away,” Al
replied. “With these guys, you can bet they’ve got some firepower
on board.”

Antonio looked at Al. “I want y’all to move
away from this scene. Drive over to that hangar and stay put.” He
pointed to a blue metal building 200 yards away. Then he looked at
Vivian sternly. “Stay in the car.” He walked to the officer using
the loudspeaker.

Al flipped the SUV around and drove to the
hangar.

“I want to see what’s going on,” Kate
said.

“Me, too,” Lucy said.

Al turned the SUV so they could watch the
action, then he killed the engine. Nothing happened except three
more police cruisers arrived and two ambulances.

“What’s with the medics?” Lucy asked.

“Probably here just in case,” Al said.

A gray-haired man in blue, oil-stained
coveralls walked away from the plane he was working on in the
hangar and to the SUV. He pointed a greasy finger toward the mass
of lights on the tarmac and said to Al, “What’s goin’ on with that
plane?”

Al was cool. “Hostage situation.”

Lucy stood up again in the sunroof. “I
brought ’em to a stop with a bowling ball!”

The man wiped his hands on a rag. “I was
wonderin’ what damaged the wing on that beauty.”

“Screw the wing,” Lucy said. “He kidnapped
our friend. He’s goin’ down!”

“They’ve been there awhile,” Kate said. “At
first the cop was using the car’s loudspeaker to communicate, but
now, nothing.”

“They’re probably using the radio to talk to
them.”

“What radio?” Vivian asked.

“I’ve got a VHF handheld over there.” The man
pointed into the hangar. “There’s a ground frequency and a tower
frequency. Anyone can listen if you’re tuned to the right
channel.”

“Can we listen?” Adrienne asked, opening her
car door.

He walked the group inside and picked up a
radio from a workbench.

“What you got here?” Al asked, gesturing
toward a white plane with a turquoise underbelly and tail.

“Learjet. Had to check the engine igniter,
had a hard time starting her last time. I’m ’bout done,” the
mechanic said and clicked through several channels. “They weren’t
on the tower frequency so it must be the ground.” He clicked the
radio one more time and a deep voice crackled on the radio.

“This is New Orleans Police Department trying
to reach Golf three two four Victor. Do you copy?”

Static.

“This is New Orleans Police Department trying
to reach Golf three two four Victor. Do you copy? Come in,
over.”

“We copy. I want another jet. I have
diplomatic immunity.”

“This is Sergeant Fred Womack of the New
Orleans Police Department. I’m here to help you through this and
make sure everybody stays safe. Who am I speaking to?”

“You don’t need my name. What you need to
know is I have diplomatic immunity and I want another jet.”

“We can work on that, sir. However, it will
take some time. Do you, or anyone on board, need medical
attention?”

“No, but they will if I don’t get another
plane.”

“Let’s see if we can keep this peaceful so
everyone comes out okay. Sound good?”

Silence.

“Who all is on board, sir?”

“Myself, my wife, my bodyguard, a flight
attendant and the pilot.”

“We can get you another plane but we’re going
to need all hostages released,” Womack said.

“There are no hostages. This is my
staff.”

“Sir, we have reason to believe that Daisy
Easley is on board the plane. We need her and the others
released.”

Silence for a few beats, then: “I’ll give you
the flight attendant when I get my jet.”

“What flight plan can we file for you,
sir?”

“No flight plan.”

“We will agree to that if we get the pilot,
your wife and the flight attendant.”

“I need the pilot, and my wife is staying
with me.”

“We can talk about that,” Womack said.

“Look, I know what you’re doing. Quit wasting
time. Get me a fully fueled jet and I’ll be gone. I want it in 30
minutes.”

“Sir, it’ll take time to procure one.”

“No, I want it here in 30 minutes. We’re at
an airport. Find me a plane.”

S
ergeant
Womack said to GQ, “We’re working as fast as we can to get you a
jet.”

Lucy threw her hands up. “Surely they’re not
going to let him get on another plane with Daisy and take off.”

“I’m sure they have a plan,” Adrienne
said.

Antonio and a uniformed officer zoomed up to
the hangar. Adrienne rushed up to him as he got out of the car.
“Are y’all really going to get him a plane?”

“Been listening in?” Adrienne grinned. “You
know it.”

Antonio walked to the mechanic, who had gone
back to work on the Learjet. “Your plane?”

The mechanic hesitated for a moment. “No, but
I can call the owner.”

“Please do. We need a plane that looks like
it’s ready to fly, but it needs to be disabled so it can’t take
off.”

The mechanic made the call, explained the
situation, then handed the phone to Antonio.

He introduced himself, gave a little more
background on the situation and asked, “Would you be willing to
work with us on this?” He nodded his head while he listened. “Your
plane will not leave the airport and we will pay for any repairs.”
He handed the phone back to the mechanic who clicked off a moment
later.

“You have permission to use the jet.”

“Thank you,” Antonio said. “How quickly can
you have it ready?”

“Ten minutes, but once I disable her, she can
only go in a straight shot, no turning. We need to line her up to
where you want her to end up, before I jam the rudder. The engine
will sound great, but she won’t take off.”

Antonio looked at GQ’s jet and assessed the
runway. “Let’s taxi her up to the beginning of the runway, disable
her, and then Officer Warner can taxi in a straight line, right to
him. Surendran can think it’ll turn and take off the opposite
direction.”

“Do you need me to taxi out to the runway?”
the mechanic asked.

“I can do it,” the uniformed officer spoke
up. “I’ve got almost 20 hours toward my pilot’s license. We can’t
risk you being out there.”

“Fine with me.” He got to work putting the
panel back on.

“Will you be able to jam the rudder quickly
once we’re lined up?” Antonio asked.

“I’ll stand on the back of the golf cart and
shove a screwdriver between the rudder and the vertical stabilizer.
Take 20 seconds.”

“Perfect.”

Plan in place, Warner zipped an extra pair of
mechanic coveralls over his police uniform, then walked up the
three stairs. He pulled them up and closed the top hatch, and a
moment later was in the cockpit. Antonio walked in front of the
plane and relayed an update on his radio. The girls and Al stood to
the side of the hangar, out of the way.

The radio crackled in Lucy’s hand. “Sir,
we’ll taxi the jet to you momentarily.”

“What are you bringing me?”

“It’s a Learjet, fueled up.”

“I want all of you to back off. Clear the
runway.”

“One of us needs to be there to ensure you
release the flight attendant. We will leave one car with myself and
another officer.”

“No, just you. Unarmed. And over by the
water, away from the runway.”

“I will be unarmed but by your plane to
receive the flight attendant. Once I have her, you are free to move
to the other jet.”

Static.

“Let’s keep this peaceful.”

More static, then, “Bring the plane.”

Lucy moved the radio into her left hand.
“What an asshole! I can’t believe he thinks he can get away with
this!”

Antonio ran over as the negotiator’s voice
came on the radio. “Whoever that is, please get off this frequency.
Do not interfere. This is a police matter.”

“Oh shit!” Lucy said as Antonio yanked the
radio out of her hand.

“You could have given us away!” He popped the
back off the radio and took out the batteries. “Stay out of this!”
He stomped off to the plane and signaled to Warner in the cockpit
to get moving to the end of the runway.

“Everyone cover your ears,” the mechanic
yelled and slipped on a pair of orange hearing protectors. He
handed Antonio a pair as the engines fired up, then grabbed a large
screwdriver and ran to move the blocks around the tires. A few
moments later, the plane rolled forward and he and Antonio hopped
in the golf cart and followed.

Lucy started searching through the
workbench.

“What are you looking for?” Wendy asked.

“Batteries!”

Wendy joined the search while Vivian and Kate
watched the plane get into place.

Antonio parked the golf cart under the back
of the aircraft and the mechanic stood on the back seat and jammed
the screwdriver in place. He sat down and Antonio zoomed away from
the plane and headed toward the main terminal.

The police cars began backing away from GQ’s
plane, some of them turning around and driving to the service
road.

Wendy and Lucy joined the group in front of
the hangar. Wendy held up a pair of binoculars. “I thought these
would come in handy.”

Lucy
clicked the battery cover on the radio into place. “— front control
to Lima niner five niner Tango. Proceed your taxi on the
runway.”

“Ten-four, tower. Proceeding on the
runway.”

Sergeant Womack came on the radio. “Sir, your
replacement plane is taxiing toward you now. Once in place, the
pilot will lower the stairs and move away.”

“Good. Only once I’m at the other jet will I
release her.”

Officer Warner slowly approached GQ’s plane
and stopped about 30 feet away. He shut off the engines, then
opened the top hatch and dropped the stairs. He walked into the
grass toward the lake.

“Nothing’s happening,” Wendy said and passed
the binoculars to Kate.

Kate held them up and tried to focus. “I’m
going to have to have my eyes checked. I can’t see squat.”

“Give ’em here!” Vivian said. She took a
second to maneuver the focus knob. “All the shades are down, I
don’t see anyone in the cockpit. The plane’s just sitting
there.”

Womack said over the radio, “Sir, is
everything okay? Your plane is ready.”

The seven-step staircase on the Gulfstream
folded out onto the tarmac. GQ’s goon stuck his head out and looked
around.

“Who is that?” Lucy asked. “I can’t
tell.”

“The bodyguard,” Vivian replied.

The goon grabbed the flight attendant and
pushed her in front of him as they started down the stairs,
followed by the pilot.

Vivian held her breath as they took each step
slowly. “He’s using her as a human shield, that pussy.”

The goon, flight attendant and pilot hustled
to the second plane. The pilot hesitated at the bottom of the
stairs. The goon waved a gun at him so he boarded the plane.

“Does he have a gun?” Al asked.

“I’m pretty sure, yeah,” Vivian replied.

“Dammit,” Adrienne said.

The goon shoved the flight attendant up the
stairs before following. He stood at the top step, holding her arm
and looking around the plane. The pilot sat in the cockpit and
appeared to be looking at the flight controls.

A moment later, GQ appeared in the doorway of
the Gulfstream. Daisy, still wearing the burqa, was pinned to his
side.

“There they are,” Vivian said, binoculars
pushed up to her eyes. “And he’s got a gun.”

D
aisy’s
vision blurred as she tried to concentrate on the staircase of the
jet. Sonu supported her with his left hand and held a pistol in his
right.

“Move it,” he said and nudged her with his
shoulder.

She grasped the handrail, then took a step
down. He moved beside her and she took another step, then another.
He followed and she felt a tug on her burqa. His foot was tangled
in the fabric and she pulled at it. He slipped and she grasped the
railing with both hands as he fell down four steps onto the tarmac.
The gun flew out of his hand and skidded to a stop several feet
away. He landed hard on his hands and knees, then rolled onto his
back.

Daisy’s legs felt like Jell-O, but she
managed to stay standing as Sonu lay on the ground, stunned.

A man unzipping his coveralls ran toward to
the Learjet. He pulled a gun and pointed it at the bodyguard who
was standing in the doorway of the other plane. “Drop it! Drop your
weapon!”

A different man ran toward Sonu, reaching
behind his back. He pulled out a weapon and stopped, standing over
Sonu. “Don’t move. It’s over.”

Sonu rolled onto his side and looked at the
gun he had dropped.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Sonu stayed on his side for a moment, then
rolled onto his back with his hands up. “I have diplomatic
immunity.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I hear. It’s not
going to save your ass this time.”

Coveralls shouted to the bodyguard again,
“Drop your weapon!”

The bodyguard looked at Sonu, then at the
runway behind him. Several police cars raced down the tarmac toward
them. He laid his gun in the doorway of the plane, held his arms up
and walked down the steps.