Double-Back (Jake Waters Book 3) (25 page)

There were sounds of shooting below that Jake hadn't noticed during the confrontation with Martin.  He heard the snap of handguns, but also the crackle of automatic weapons.  M-16's Jake guessed.  He rolled over to edge of the roof and looked down on the scene below. A large man in a darkened alcove off to one side of the path Tony and Jim had been following, was just tumbling forward, an AR style rifle falling from his hands.  Jeff appeared to be down, but so was Jim. Tony looked to have been hit, but was still returning fire toward someone below where Jake was situated, and he couldn't see who it might be.

He'd seen enough, and his friends were in bad shape.  Unfortunately he hadn't learned what he hoped, but they'd have to do this differently.  Realizing the Back-Tracker for their enemy might have the advantage if he acted first, Jake quickly Back-Tracked to the night before when they were discussing the plan for today.

"So he led us into an ambush as we expected," Tony said when Jake described what had happened.

Jake nodded.

"There were at least four in the building," he explained.  Jeff, his friend Paul Martin, a large man who was one of the original kidnappers, and someone shooting at the two of you from a position I couldn't see."

Jake had drawn a sketch of the facility and where the various people were located.

"You didn't see Natalie Rineri?" Jim asked.

"She could have been the other shooter, but I don't really know," Jake admitted.

"And their Back-Tracker?" Jim asked.

"I don't know.  I Back-Tracked first.  Somehow, I don't think it was Paul Martin, who was one of the two I've been most suspicious of.  If it was him, they wouldn't have been able to Back-Track, but I couldn't risk it.  They would have been able to set up better and taken us all out if they looped back before I did."

"So what do we intend to do now?" Tony asked.

"Paul obviously spotted me sneaking into the building, and waited until the opportune time to make a move against me.  I don't seem to be as skilled at moving covertly as Tony.  Martin was counting on the shooting below to hold my attention and cover any approach noise he made.  It almost worked.  I think we try it again, now forewarned about their plan.  I'll go directly to the facility in the morning, getting there very early.  I don't think they were in place too much before Jeff Rineri led you there.  That is probably why he was driving around semi-aimlessly.  They had to get setup before he was told to head there.  With me in place unseen, and you knowing where they are going to attack from, I think we can do this better.  Even so, I'll be ready to Back-Track out if it goes wrong."

"I'm starting to think Susan is right about this whole thing," Jim said uncomfortably.  He hadn't liked hearing he'd been shot once again.

"We don't tell her about this when she calls," Jake warned.  "She might get cold feet.  As dangerous as this is, we have to find out who their Back-Tracker is, and this is the best chance we have."

It was 4AM when the three men drove away from the rental house, heading toward Brooklyn where the gunfight would take place in a few hours.  Jake had intended to go alone, but Tony and Jim insisted on coming along as well, just in case Jake was wrong about the place being deserted at the early hour.  They parked a couple of blocks away in a small parking structure.  A few other cars were there, probably belonging to the owners or workers at some of the nearby shops.  Tony got out, stripped the rear plate off the SUV and threw it under the seat of the car.  Then he went and removed the front plate from a car that was parked up against a concrete wall on the far side of the structure. The missing plate couldn't be spotted unless someone made a point of walking around the vehicle, and once he installed it on the back of the SUV, the vehicle now looked like any other New York licensed vehicle.

Together, the three men made their way toward the construction site.  Once there, Tony said, "Wait here.  I'm going to look around first."

While Jim and Jake waited, Tony quickly worked his way through the building, verifying that it was quite deserted at this early hour.  Then the three of them went through the building, planning how to respond to the attacks that Jake had observed, finishing by choosing the best position for him to set up, and identifying a spot on the roof Jake could hide in until it was time to move into the open.

"If Paul doesn't spot you coming into the building, he will probably join those on the lower level in the ambush," Tony predicted.  "It didn't appear they had planned any long range sniping."

"I'll take out the shooter that I couldn't see before, and Paul if I spot him," Jake promised.  "You and Jim be alert and know that once you are nearing the middle of the open courtyard, the others will be attacking.  You took down Jeff before, but I don't think he was armed, so perhaps you can put less attention on him."

Plans made, Tony and Jim returned to Jim's car and drove back across the city, stopping for breakfast until it was time to make the drive to Astoria where Rineri lived.  Jake crawled into his hiding place and dined on a couple of apples and a large bottle of water.  Jake had several hours to wait until the shooting started.  He didn't know how long before the ambush team arrived.  He kept the Sig handy just in case.  He didn't know what kind of security check they might make upon arrival, but if he were spotted, Back-Tracking would be the better approach.

Jake watched the group approach.  It was Paul Martin, Natalie Rineri, the large man he'd seen before, and one other armed fighter.  He passed that information back to Tony, then climbed back into his hiding spot.  No one bothered searching the building and Jake was secure in his hiding spot.  When Tony alerted him they were approaching the building, Jake crawled out carefully, scanning the area, then quietly moved into position.  When he spotted Jeff Rineri hurrying into the courtyard, Jake looked carefully into the darkened alcove he hadn't been able to see before.  Two men were there.  He recognized Paul Martin, and relaxed a bit knowing he wouldn't be sneaking up on him this time.  The other man was the fourth man he'd spotted earlier, and he held an AR style rifle as did Martin. 

Jake waited until Tony and Jim were about a third of the way into the courtyard when he made his shots.  The first took out Martin, and the second, following very quickly after the first because Tony's sniper rifle was a semiautomatic, took out the second man.  He heard the other shooting, but didn't have time to check until his two targets were down.  When he checked he saw that Tony was wounded, but Jeff Rineri and the large man were both dead, as was another man Jake hadn't known about that had been coming up behind his two friends, probably the man who'd been in the other car Jake had spotted the first time he'd driven by.

All was quiet, as Jake surveyed the building.  There was no sign of Natalie Rineri.  She was hiding somewhere in the building.  Jake moved across the roof where he'd have a shot if she elected to try to escape the way she'd come with the others.  Tony and Jim would secure the building.

Just in case, Jake Back-Tracked.  This time he went back to the day he and Tony had first arrived in New York.  It meant reliving a few days, but it was as far as he could go without relocating, and frankly, the multiple Back-Tracking was starting to have a cumulative effect on him.  He didn't believe the enemy Back-Tracker could go that far, believing they hadn't been in New York until recently.  He couldn't be positive, but the delays in setting up the attack against him suggested they had been elsewhere.  That meant their Back-Tracker would be limited in how far back he could loop to whenever he had arrived in New York.  If he was wrong, and the person looped farther, Jake might have just compromised what they had accomplished.

Now, the long days of repeat behind him, Jake waited to see what happened when they found Natalie.

Tuesday Evening, May 17

"It's going to go bad," Natalie warned Paul suddenly, with a look of horror on her face.

"What happened?" Paul asked, recognizing the look she had when information of what was going to happen in the future descended on her.  This time it looked that whatever she had just learned was really unsettling.

"Your plan to ambush Trask and Laney tomorrow will fall apart.  I believe they were aware of your plan, and while you have been thinking of leading them into a trap, they have been preparing to do the same to us."

"My men weren't enough to handle the two of them?" Paul asked.

"There were more than just Trask and Laney.  They had a sniper in place, and I think others I didn't see.  I think they were in place when we arrived to set up for your ambush, so they knew exactly who was there when the shooting started.  They shot you before you could signal the attack.  They appeared to know exactly where you would be hiding, which suggests they had been through the attack and Backslid to prepare for this encounter."

"I was shot?"

"You were killed," Natalie said, still somewhat in shock.  "I saw you fall, a bullet solidly through your chest.  You never knew what hit you.  Jeff fell a second later, then Aaron and the others.  When they came looking for me, I decided it was time to Backslide."

"Dead?" Paul asked, rubbing an imaginary wound on his chest.

Natalie nodded.

"And they knew you were there? They know that you are the one who can Backslide?"

"They clearly knew I was present.  They must have suspected I'm the one, but they might not be certain.  I could have been in contact with someone else who I called and directed to Backslide.  Of course, now it hasn't happened yet, so whatever they learned has been lost.  We can't go forward and give them the chance to kill you and learn that I'm the one they need to find."

"Their Backslider was there?" Paul asked.

"I'd guess it was Trask, but the fact there were unexpected people there makes it possible that it isn't him.  That might be why some of them were there.  So we still don't know for certain who we are after.  The whole event suggests that the trip Trask made to Washington was more than just to get agent Laney.  It's also possible that the man who was tailing them back to New York didn't simply have bad luck with that flat."

"Dead," Paul muttered to himself.  "I'm only alive now because you have looped back to warn me."

Natalie didn't know what to say.  She had thought they were a step ahead of the FBI team and now she wondered just how much they knew.  Perhaps Paul was right and they should simply run and hide, but with the possibility of unraveling this if they could just be certain of who the FBI Backslider was, she hated to give up. 

"They have learned that the ambush is set for the Brooklyn housing project," Paul said, thinking out loud.  "Since they are planning on that, let's change things on them.  They had to have followed Jeff to the site, so that means they had to be watching him early in the morning like they were a few days ago."

Natalie nodded. 

"You had Jeff run them around in an attempt to be certain it was just Laney and Trask, and to give us time to get in place.  Then he led them to the ambush.  The problem is, we didn't see anyone, because they were already in place."

"How about we nail Laney and Trask when they show up to tail Jeff?  They will be confident he's going to lead them to the construction site, and when they show up, we have a team in place and nail them.  A large team, with both snipers and close in shooters.  We'll have enough cars in place to block any chance they can run."

"You are thinking conventionally," Natalie warned.  "You don't need all that.  One hint something has changed, and they'll Back-Track again, and we'll lose them.  "You'll need snipers, coordinated to make the shots simultaneously.  If you have enough men, I'd set up two on each target, just to be certain."

Paul considered what Natalie had said, and nodded.  While she fretted, he made a series of phone calls.  Finally he set the phone down.

"In an hour I'm going to have to drive over to Jeff's place.  I want to direct where the shooters will be located."

"You aren't going to be there with them in the morning, are you?" Natalie asked.

Paul shook his head and rubbed the imaginary wound again.

"Not this time.  This time we'll be right here when it goes down."

They were still in bed the next morning when the call came.  Paul had been an unusually aggressive lover that night, perhaps a reaction to Natalie's description of the killing wound he would have received without her unusual ability which saved him.  They had been waiting anxiously for the call, and looked at one another in anticipation.

"It's Dennis," Paul said, checking the caller ID.  "Dennis was the lead sniper he'd tasked with the morning's ambush.

"No one?" Paul asked, after answering and listening for a moment.  "You are certain they didn't use another vehicle or make some other kind of switch?"

Paul listened a bit longer.

"Send someone to the Brooklyn site," Paul said finally.   "Have them carefully check the entire building.  They might be waiting there.  Be careful.  If they are there, they will be anticipating a gunfight."

Paul hung up the cellular, and looked at Natalie.

"They didn't show up," he said softly.

She nodded.  She had been afraid of this.  The question now was whether they had made the attempt and it had failed, or whether their Back-Tracker, Trask or whoever it was, had guessed something like what Paul had planned might occur, and had simply looped back and canceled the surveillance entirely.

"They guessed what I had in mind, didn't they?" Paul asked.

"That would be my guess," Natalie agreed.  "Either that, or they managed to escape the attempt.  We keep looping around one another, making it hard to plan.  That's why we need to take out their Backslider."

"So we go back farther.  We'll get them when they don't expect it."

"When?" Natalie asked.  "We don't know where they are staying here in New York, nor where they were in the past except a few days ago before Carlson learned about Anne's death.  Even that might change if their Backslider goes and alerts them to the danger."

"We still remember them watching him, don't we, so that can't have changed," Paul reasoned.

"They wouldn't be so obvious as to make changes like that.  They could be following the same routine, but could be aware we might target them during that time.  Besides, I'd rather not go back before they learn about Anne."

"Why not?" Paul asked.

"That would take me back into the other loop when I had to escape from the company, and I frankly don't know the consequences nor how often I can loop over the same history.  I want to reserve that time so I can make a final loop after we learn who their Backslider is, allowing us to kill him and Carlson and clean everything up.  Besides, I'm afraid that more looping right now is going to leave me limited, and maybe unable to repair anything if the attempt goes wrong.  I've never Backslid anywhere near as often as the last few days, and I'm getting muddle-headed.  I need to save some capability, and it would be best if I had a day or two to regain my full strength.  The Feds know the sequence of events back then just as well as we do.  I think that makes it risky to plan a move then.  We need to move forward, and take action in a time where they don't know what to expect."

"That means finding them, and seeing where they go.  It'll be harder to plan."

"You'll need to have a team on standby, ready to move quickly" Natalie suggested.

"They'll probably go back to Washington," Paul guessed.  "Their efforts yielded no more than our own, and they'll want to plan how to go forward with Carlson."

"Some of them might, but they might decide to stash their Backslider somewhere safe," Natalie warned.  "That's what I'd do.  They have to know if we get him, we win."

"We don't know enough about this Trask fellow," Paul complained.  "We don't know where he might go.  Maybe he has family we can use against him somehow."

"You might be too focused on Trask.  We don't know for certain it's him," Natalie reminded him.  "If we did, then we could go back right now, try to kill him, and then eliminate Carlson as originally planned.  We can't do that until we are certain.  That was the whole point of the ambush."

"I agree.  But, if we target him and manage to kill him, we can eliminate or confirm if he is their Backslider or not.  I'm betting it is.  If not, we can then focus on who else was at the ambush who might be our target."

"How can you get that kind of information?" Natalie asked.

"That's the problem," Paul admitted.  "I can't.  The only way I can think of is to ask Uncle Carlos.  He has a couple of deeply placed resources that could gain access to the information."

"But you said we can't tell him about all this," Natalie protested.

"I'd have to lie," Paul admitted.  "I'd have to tell him something so he'll help us.  Hopefully, he'd agree in order to save all that he has invested in me.  Once we have learned the information, you can Backslide and he'll never know we misinformed him."

"Your uncle is not a person to fool around with," Natalie warned.  It had been years since her father has taken her to meet the man, and while he'd been friendly enough, she had sensed the power and inflexibility in the man.  Paul had told her enough she knew she didn't want him angry with her.  If everything didn't go just right, this could all backfire on them.

"Do you see any other way?" Paul asked.