KILLER DATE (SCANDALS) (25 page)

“It’s heading this way,” Nick told us.

“Is it ours?” I asked.

“Can’t tell,” he said, then muttered,
“Shit, it’s black.  Not ours.  Lie down as flat as you can against the big rock.”

The drone was approaching rapidly, so we scrambled to bury ourselves in the shadow cast by the big rock.  We didn’t move until we heard t
he slight hum of the drone growing weaker.  Slowly, we eased back up and peeked over the rock.  The Jeep was still there, but there was no sign of the drone.

“Is this how all your jobs go?” I asked Nick.

“No, some are really uncomfortable.”

I jerked around to look at him to see if he was joking, but his face was expressionless.  God, if this was one of his easy cases, I’d hate to tag along on a tough one. 

“I’m really thirsty,” Angie moaned.  “When can we leave this place and go home?”

Nick gave her an incredulous look. 
“Not until we have a clear path to the river.”

“We’re going to have to swim in that dirt
y water?”  Angie was horrified.

“Look, this isn’t a Club Med vacation.”  He turned on her with a scowl.  “If we don’t get back across that river, we die.  If they catch you and don’t kill you right away, you’ll wish you were dead.  I saw about ten guys, and they’ll pass you around until you pass out or they do.”

Angie’s face went pale.  “But I’m an American citizen.”

“On this side of the river, you’re a trespasser…and a crimin
al.  That makes you fair game.”

Angie shivered and shrank closer to Orlando. 

“Well, that puts it all into perspective,” Jenny muttered.

“I told you he could always find a cloud in a silver lining,” I told her and tried to smile to cheer her up.  But our situation was pretty bleak.  There was no way I was going to let them get their hands on Jenny…not while I was still alive.  Unfortunately, that scenario had never been so possible.

“Hey, Jen?” Angie spoke up.

“Yeah
, Angie.”

“I’m sorry. 
I should never have put you in this position.  I should have kept you in the loop about Miguel and all.”

“You think?  If we get out of here alive
, you still have me to deal with,” Jenny said, but I could see she was relieved to hear the apology.

“Yeah, well, you’ve always been there for me.  I don’t know what would have happened if you guys hadn’t come for me.”  Tears trickled down her cheeks.  “I’m really
really
sorry you’re caught up in all this.  It never occurred to me that helping Miguel’s family would snowball into something so dangerous.”

Jenny reached out and squeezed Angie’s hand. 

It looked like they had some things to work out, but this was a good start.  I hoped it would matter in the long run.

The hum of a drone broke the silence. 
If we hadn’t been out in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no ambient noise, we would never have noticed the faint sound.  Plus, we had so recently worked with a drone that we knew what to listen for. We all jumped back to our knees and peered over the rock, trying to spot it.

“There it is.”  I pointed toward the left.

“He’s circled around and is coming back,” Nick groaned.

We started to drop to our earlier positions, but another sound stopped us.

“Is that another one?” I asked. The sound of the second drone grew louder from the other direction.  I searched, but I couldn’t find it. “Anyone see it?”

“Sounds like it’s on the north side of the hill,” Nick said.

“Jeez, they’re really determined to find us,” Jenny said.

“Wait,” I said and
squinted my eyes.  “I think that one is white.”

We stared into the bright sky, hoping it might be ours this time. 

“It is,” Nick declared, with more excitement than I’d seen him express in days…maybe ever.  He started searching through his pockets.  “Does anyone have anything they can put on the rock that Dallas would recognize?”

“Why can’t we just wave at him?” Angie asked,
then shook her head.  “Oh, right, the other drone would see us, too…and those guys with guns.”

“Exactly.
  And the guys with guns could get to us a lot quicker than Dallas could,” Nick agreed.

We frantically searched for
an item that would mean something to Dallas, but not be noticed by the other drone.  No one came up with anything.  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the open lock.  It was all I had left, but it was a significant clue if Dallas was smart enough to figure it out.  I put it on the rock, out past the branches where the sunlight would hit it and make it shine. 

The Mexican drone came closer and we were about to duck down when the white drone sped up and took a sharp turn.  For a few seconds, they were flying directly toward each other, then the black one swerved and the white one zipped past.

But it stopped, almost immediately, turned around and began chasing the black one.  Clearly, whoever was operating the Mexican drone had never had this happen before and didn’t know how to respond.  He tried some avoidance tactics, but the white drone was much faster. 

We watched in amazement as the drones did an in-air battle.  Since neither was armed, it was merely a matter of speed and maneuverability…and skill of the operator.  It quickly became clear that the white drone had a distinct advantage, and yet he didn’t
attack the black one.  It was almost like he was playing with it. 

Both drones passed overhead a couple of times as they made big circles.  We were so fascinated by the action that we made no effort to hide.  Something was going to happen, and we wanted to see it.

We didn’t have to wait long.  After another couple of minutes and an additional pass overhead, the white drone accelerated and, even though the black drone tried to dodge, the white one crashed into it. 

Both drones shattered, sending a shower of parts raining from the sky.  The guys in the Jeep must have been watching the show, too, because they hop
ped into their vehicle and took off down the road toward the spot where what was left of the two drones was falling. 

“This is our chance,” Nick said, standing abruptly.  “We’ve got to make a run for it now.”

I stood and pulled Jenny to her feet.  “Can you make it?”

“Versus getting killed? 
Absolutely.”  She glanced back at Angie.  “Ready?”

Angie looked uncertain.  “It’s a long way.”

“I’m not going without you,” Jenny said.

Angie drew
in a lungful of air.  “Then, let’s do it.”

“Two hundred
yards to the edge of the river and maybe fifty yards across…we only have to get halfway…right?” Jenny asked.

“
Remember Falcon Lake?” Nick asked.  “Hundreds of miles downriver, two jet skiers were attacked and the guy was killed by gang members.  There’s no dotted red line on top of the river.  If we don’t get to the other side and behind some rocks, that’ll be our blood on the water.” 

“
Falcon Lake…that was part of the Rio Grande?” I asked.

“
Yeah…Jeez, you kids should watch the news more often,” Nick snorted. “Falcon Lake was a boat-shooting for fun,” Nick said.  “This time it’s because they can’t afford for us to survive.”

We stood and gathered our nerve.  We had to cover a lot of open ground over a minefield of rocks, cross the road, then continue down to the river, jump in and swim as if we were going for the gold.

“Ready?” Nick asked.

“I’m staying.”

We all turned around and stared at Orlando who stood next to Angie.  He turned to her and took her hand.

“I can’t go into the U.S.  I don’t have my papers, and if the border patrol is on the cartel’s payroll, they’ll kill me on sight.”

“No, you have to go with us,” Angie pleaded.

“I’ll be fine here.  And someday, maybe I’ll be able to come over legally.  Tell Mi
guel to take good care of you.”  He leaned over and kissed her cheek.  “
Te amo mi tesoro
.”

“Look me up,” I told him.  “I
don’t have a business card with me, but I own the Scandals detective agency in Austin, and I’ll help you get your papers.”

“
Gracias
.  I’d appreciate that,” he told me with a smile.  Then he slipped out through the trees and disappeared.

We didn’t have time to absorb this new turn of events or we’d lose our window of opportunity. 

Nick grabbed Angie’s arm, more to make sure she kept up than with any concern for her feelings, and I took Jenny’s hand.  I felt like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as they ran out into that street in Bolivia at the end of the movie.  I just hoped we didn’t die in a hail of bullets before we hit the water.

We scrambled out from behind the rocks and
started running down the hill at an angle away from where the Jeep had driven, but on a straight route to the river.

Now that we were out in the open, the sun blasted us.  It didn’t take but a few yards before we were all dripping in sweat.  Only pure adrenalin kept us going as fast as possible.

We made it to the road.  All of us were panting for breath.  Nick had a coughing attack, followed by a low groan.

“It’s not much farther,” I tried to be encouraging, but w
hen I looked to our left, I saw the trail of dust that indicated the Jeep was coming back.

Nick saw it to
o and pushed aside his pain.  “Go!” he yelled and dragged Angie along. 

We still had about thirty yards to the river’s
south bank.  The Jeep jumped off the road and headed to cut us off. 

“They’re going to beat us there!
”  Angela screamed.

“Sh
ut up Angie…run,” Jenny yelled.

A voice blasted
over the loud speakers, “
Alto…alto
.”

Somehow
that made me feel a little better.  If they had been cartel, they’d have already shot us.

“Keep going…don’t stop,”
Nick yelled.

Jenny and I reached the edge of the water and ran in until we were
thigh deep.

Rapid-fire shots pierced the water in front of us, and we stopped.  The
speaker continued shouting, “
Alto…alto
.” 

Nick and Angie reached us and he let her go.  She ran to Jenny and they stood with their arms wrapped around each other. 

“
Amigos…this is your last chance…stop or be shot!
”  This was followed by several bursts of machine gun rounds to our left into the water beside us.

Nick
turned to us.  “You guys go ahead.  I’ll give myself up…that’s a fair trade.”

“What the fuck are you doing
?” I grabbed his arm.

“You and
the girls keep going.  They’re just looking for a trophy.  Who better than a DEA agent?  Right?”

“
Wrong. We’re not leaving without you.”

“You have to.  You don’t want them to get the girls.”

I hesitated.  Of course, I couldn’t let that happen.  I couldn’t stay and fight with Nick and be sure they got home safely, so I had to reluctantly agree.  “I’ll call your office and tell them what happened.”

Nick gave me a little half-smile. 
“Hey, I’m not really here, remember?”

The commander
repeated his demands.  “Stop and return to Mexico or be shot for trying to avoid arrest.”

“
See you later.” Nick held up his hands and began to walk away from the river.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I had never felt so conflicted.  Should I go with Jenny and Angie and send help?  Or should I stay with Nick?  It wasn’t like I could actually physically protect Nick, but I suspected there would be safety in numbers. Maybe they wouldn’t be as likely to kill him and dump his body if there were two of us.

Although, it was probably
as easy to dump two bodies as it was to dump one.  But at least he wouldn’t have to die alone.

Nick had gone through life alone…just as I had.  No one had ever had my back, and outside of the Marines, I suspected no one had his.  I had never rescued a baby from a burning building or pushed a little old lady out from in front of a speeding car.  I had always been more of an observer, not choosing to get involved because it was easier to
just take care of myself.

Maybe this was my time to step up and take a risk to help someone else.  I glanced back at Jenny and Angie who were still standing in the water, waiting for a sign of what to do next.  I could play it safe and go with them.  The
Federales
would probably settle for just Nick and let us go. 

That’s what the old Reno would do.

But this move to Austin and the camaraderie of having a family…however new and tenuous had changed my priorities.  Then along came Jenny with her damn sexy tramp stamp and her absolute devotion to her sister, and I realized how much I had missed.  Maybe there was something to having a family after all.  But apparently you had to fight for it.

It was time for me to man up.

“Do you know how to swim?” I asked Jenny and Angie.  They both nodded, their eyes wide and frightened.  “Then take off and don’t stop until you get to the other side and find help, okay?”

Jenny stepped away from Angie and grabbed my arm. 
“Don’t…please don’t…”

I cupped her face in my hands.  “I’ve got to stay.  It might keep Nick alive.”

“But it might get you both killed,” she cried.

“It’ll give you a chance to get away.”  I tried to give her a jaunty
grin, but probably failed miserably.  “Remember, we have a date when I get back.”

Jenny’s beautiful eyes filled with tears and she leaned up on tiptoes and kissed me.  Her lips were as soft and delicious as I remembered, but there was something more.  This time, her heart was in it and my chest tightened as I realized how much I cared for this woman.  I really wanted to see her again and spend more time with her…maybe forever.

I reluctantly stepped away.  Right now I had to do the right thing and hope I had a chance later to tell her how I was feeling.  “Go.  Swim fast and don’t look back.”

I turned around and sloshed out of the water.  I put my hands up and walked to where Nick was standing.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hissed out of the side of his mouth.

“We’re in this together.”

“Don’t be a fool.  They want a DEA agent, not a magician.”

“That’s a pretty egotistic
al thing to say,” I retorted.  “How do you know they don’t want someone around to entertain them.  It’s probably boring in their camps.”

“If you can pull some
magic out of your ass and make us disappear, I think now’s the time.”

“It’s all smoke and mirrors
.”  I shrugged.  “And right now, I’ve got nothing.”

“Great.  Now I have to look after you.”

“Funny… I was thinking the same thing about you,” I told him.  He and I exchanged a look, and I saw a twinkle in his eyes…and a touch of gratitude.  Even tough guys like Nick needed someone every now and then.

Behind us, I could hear splashing as the girls took advantage of the distraction to jump in and head for the U.S. shore.  The
Federales
glanced from us to them, then back again.  They didn’t really want to shoot women, and they didn’t appear to want to jump in and try to catch them in the water either.  Instead, they were pleased with their prize of a DEA agent and a guy who was too stupid to escape when he had the chance.

“I’m sure my boss will be glad to see you,” the leader said to Nick.  He glanced over at me.  “It’s always good to have a spare.”
  He jerked the end of his very intimating automatic weapon toward the Jeep.  “Let’s go for a ride.”

“You still have a chance to run,” Nick whispered.

“I will if you will.”

He rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips as we headed for the Jeep.

Suddenly, the thunder of helicopter blades filled the air.  We turned in time to see a wide-bodied Huey Iraquois flanked by two heavily-armed Apache choppers rise in unison above the mountain on the American side of the river.  It was like a scene out of a movie, only louder and dirtier.  The grit and pebbles pelted us and created little dust devils swirling around us.  The
Federales
’ mouths dropped open.  It took them several seconds before they gathered their wits and lifted their weapons.

The Huey
had its doors wide open and a massive machine gun and camo-garbed gunner hung out on each side.  The one closest to us spit a line of bullets about an inch apart into the ground between us and the Mexicans.

“We’re picking our men up,” a deep voice boomed from a loud speaker on the helicopter.  I imagined that was what God sounded like, and I resolved to thank Him as soon as I was back on U.S. soil.  “
Drop your weapons and step away.”

One at a time, the
men’s guns hit the ground and they backed up except for the leader who was still standing with his weapon pointed at us.

“These are my prisoners,” he shouted.  “You have no jurisdiction here.”  One of the Mexicans in the back took out his cell phone and started taking pictures of the choppers.

A single shot shattered the cell phone and the man jerked his hand back with a scream.

“Wrong…these are American citizens and we’ve come to take them home,” the voice of God spoke again.

The leader hesitated.  He could hear his men running and jumping into the Jeep and the grind of the engine as it started up.  Finally, he lifted his chin and with as much dignity as he could muster in such a compromised position, he pivoted sharply and walked to the Jeep.  Without another word or a single shot from their guns, they whipped a U-turn and headed in the opposite direction as quickly as possible. 

A rope ladder dropped, almost hitting me in the head.  “Climb aboard, men.  Let’s go home.”

“Why aren’t they landing?” I asked Nick.

“They can’t.”  He winked.  “It would be illegal.” 

Like
anything
we had done for the last twenty-four hours was legal.  I looked out at the river and saw the girls had reached the other shore and were standing there, dripping wet, looking like drowned rats and watching us.  A white Humvee with the green BORDER PATROL logo printed on it stopped next to them and two men jumped out and wrapped towels around their shoulders. 

Assured that Jenny was okay,
I grabbed one of the rungs and started climbing.  I was ready to get the hell out of Dodge.

As soon a
s our butts hit the seats, the Huey, followed by the Apaches did a sharp turn and zipped across the river.  “Your Mexican vacation is over, Nick…welcome home,” came the voice.  A soldier stepped out of the cockpit and stood, his arms crossed over his chest. 

Nick
’s grin was totally unapologetic.  “It was a helluva trip.”

Fifteen minutes later, the helicopters settled smoothly on the well-
marked pads at Laughlin Air Force Base.  We climbed out of the choppers and transferred to a Humvee.

“Where are we going?” I asked the tall guy with the deep voice who had saved our lives.  Nick had introduced him as
Major Oates when we were still in the air.

“We have a little club house on the other side of the base...we’ll be there in about ten minutes,” he
told us.

“Are they bringing the girls here?” I
asked.  I wouldn’t allow myself to believe it was over until I held Jenny in my arms again.

“They have to stick to the roads, so it’ll take them
about an hour and a half.” 

I
winced.  That was a long time to spend bouncing over rough roads in wet clothes.  We pulled into a short driveway guarded by several armed soldiers.  They saluted the major, and after a brief conversation, the gate rolled back.  We drove through the opening and parked in a small lot next to a large concrete building.  The vents on the roof were U-shaped and pointed downward, and it was encircled by a ten foot tall wire fence with razor wire on top.  We exited and approached the personnel gate.  Two armed guards stood, one on each side, and they made no effort to greet us or even to salute the major.  Their heads didn’t move, but their eyes were locked on our every step.  A television screen and camera were mounted on the left side and below was a single red button which Major Oates pressed. 

Once inside, t
he foyer consisted of drab green painted concrete block walls and two steel doors.  Absent were the usual appointments like hinges, door knobs or labels.  Each door had a large red button and a small speaker next to it. Major Oates walked to the door on the left and pressed the button.  The speaker came to life, “Good evening.”

“Oates.  31 Victor Os
car 12,” he spoke into the speaker.

In less than five seconds
, the door release clicked, and the door opened enough for the major to pull it all the way open.  “Go ahead of me, please.”

As I passed
Oates I smiled.  “Did the sequester cut off your funding for door knobs?”

“
We’re a very exclusive club.”

I didn’t know if that was a good thing, but I was so glad to be back in the good ol’ U.S.A. that I didn’t care
. We entered a room that was about twenty-by-thirty feet with a rectangular oak table in the middle, surrounded by about a dozen chairs.  There were small video cameras scattered around the ceiling and low profile microphones hung down over the table.  The walls held large photographs of what appeared to be the landscape around the base.  Oddly, for a government facility, there were no pictures of the current president.  Three flag stands stood in the far left corner.  One displayed the American flag, another the Air Force flag and the third, the U.S. Border Patrol flag with the date of May 24, 1924 which I assumed was when they were founded.  The 23 stars threw me for a loop, and I made a mental note to Google it when I had a minute.

We continued through the room to a large bathroom with multiple stalls and showers.  Neatly hanging on hooks behind a bench between the showers and the sinks were two
neatly pressed pairs of navy slacks.  On the bench were two white t-shirt, a pair of briefs and some socks.

“You men look like you’ve spent a long time in those clothes,” Major Oates said.  “Why don’t you clean up before the rest of your party arrives?  Those are for your use.”  He nodded toward the uniforms.  “
The kits have razors, toothbrushes and everything else you’ll need to spruce up.  Come back outside when you’re done.”  With that, he left us alone.

Nick and I looked at each other and both of us broke into almost hysterical laughter. 

“The last thing I expected to do today was take a shower with you,” he choked out.

“Hey, when I said I had your back, I didn’t mean anything by it,” I pretended to be shocked.  Then we both broke up again.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” he said.

“Go
od thing we haven’t had anything but a piece of a granola bar in the last thirty hours,” I retorted.

We
turned and looked at ourselves in the mirror and our images sobered us.  Our clothes were torn and filthy.  Nick’s hair was matted in blood and mine was a mess of sweat, dirt and something that looked like bird poop.  I didn’t even remember that one.  For a man who had always taken great care with my grooming, especially my hair, I was a wreck.  Black greasepaint still clung to our skin, especially around our ears, nose and neck.  And our eyes were bloodshot from dust and lack of sleep.  The one thought that popped into my mind was that if Jenny had kissed me when I looked like this, she must have some kind of feelings for me.