Lazar's Intrigue (The Jack Lazar Series) (21 page)

And
now, as they pursued this unsanctioned mission, she was unquestionably sealing
the fate of her job, this final violation of protocol so significant that the
DEA couldn’t possibly condone it. Perhaps some of her motivation was in revenge
of Bob’s death, but Jack knew it was mostly due to her commitment toward what
was right. The rage in her eyes as she spoke of Antonucci’s atrocities revealed
it well. And he was passionately motivated by all of it to fight along with
her. Together they would make a difference and gladly accept the consequences.

They
crawled back into their hiding place just before the plane landed and remained
there as the craft came to rest after a short taxi, the propellers powering
down to a soft rumble and then silence.

“That
was awfully quick,” Sarina whispered. “Either the hangar is close to the
runway, or we’ve stopped on the tarmac for Customs.”

“Lovely.”

They
huddled down with their weapons drawn as they waited to see what happened next.
Within a few seconds they heard Jesus the Pilot exit the cockpit and open the forward
aircraft door before descending to the tarmac using the airstair.

A
flurry of Spanish started up outside, and Sarina raised her hand as she tilted
her head to listen.

“Okay,
we’re good,” she said as the men finished talking. “That was a customs and immigration
official for sure, but it sounds like their usual policy is to sign off on
Antonucci’s cargo without inspecting it, as I predicted. The conversation
sounded really cordial like they have an understanding, but at least they’re
making it look legitimate by meeting the aircraft and doing the paperwork.”

“That’s
a relief. Now what?”

“I
guess we’ll see if Jesus jumps back into the cockpit to finish taxiing.”

Several
minutes passed, and they heard nothing but silence.

“I
guess that means we’re here.”

“Good.”
Jack looked at his watch. “It’s about seven o’clock and probably starting to
get dark out there. You think they’ll unload the plane this late? If so, they
could open that cargo door at any moment, and we’d be screwed.”

“I
was thinking the same thing,” Sarina answered. “These guys don’t exactly follow
normal business hours. Let’s move up front and see what’s going on outside.”

They
grabbed their duffel bags and scaled their way toward the open doorway where
Sarina quickly darted her head around the corner.

“Looks
pretty quiet out there.”

“That’s
a start. Where are we?”

“There’s
a small hangar about thirty yards away, and everything is well-lit, so it’s possible
someone will see us if we get out and run across the tarmac.”

“What
other choice do we have?”

“None.”
She sighed. “You ready?”

“Hell
no, but let’s do it anyway.”

“Pull
out your gun, disengage the safety, and load your first round,” Sarina
instructed as she did the same. “Be ready to fire at a moment’s notice.”

“Got
it.”

“Okay.
Let’s go.”

Descending
the airstair with guns raised and duffel bags in tow, they sprinted toward the
near corner of the hangar and planted their backs against the exterior side
wall. They held their guns in the air and breathed heavily as they readied
themselves for an attack, but no one pursued them.

“Wow.
I can’t believe that worked,” Jack said as the warm, humid air hit him. “Now
what?”

Sarina
scanned the area. “See the hangar next door? There’s an old International Scout
next to it, which should be a piece of cake to hotwire. Let’s get it, park it
in the shadows somewhere with a view of the plane, and wait for an opportunity
to follow Antonucci’s men.”

“How
do you plan on getting over that barbed wire fence?”

“You
bought those cans of air, right?”

“Yes.”
The question seemed ludicrous to him. How would a can of air get them over that
fence?

“Give
me one of them.”

Jack
reached into his bag and handed her the can as they walked toward the fence.

Sarina
holstered her gun and attached the plastic nozzle to the can before turning it
upside down and spraying it on one of the chain links. Within about thirty
seconds the first link turned to frost, and she kicked it apart with her shoe.
She continued the process, using up the second and third cans until she created
a rift about two feet high.

“Son
of a bitch,” Jack said, amazed.

“What?
You didn’t think I planned on cleaning computer equipment while we were down here,
did you?”

“I
didn’t know why you wanted those cans of air. But that was pretty damn cool.”

“C’mon,
you hold the fence for me, and I’ll hold it for you.”

They
crawled through the opening after tossing their bags over the fence and headed
for the car. It was a white vehicle in surprisingly good condition and looked
like a cross between a Jeep and a small pickup. Badges saying
Scout
and
800
were attached to the fenders, just forward of the doors, and a modest brush
guard blended seamlessly into the front bumper. The owner had apparently added
aftermarket chrome wheels with aggressive mud tires, which not only raised the
height of the vehicle, but probably gave it an edge on the sloppier dirt roads
in Colombia. It was, in fact, a perfect choice.

Sarina
opened the driver’s door and stuck her head under the dash where she
immediately began pulling wires. Within thirty seconds she had the vehicle
started.

Jack
shook his head. “How did you know how to do that?”

“I
was a bad girl before I joined the DEA. I mean, really bad.”

“Why
doesn’t that surprise me?”

“I’d
be disappointed if it did.”

“I
actually stole a candy bar when I was three.”

“You
did?” She flashed a look of mocked admiration. “Wow. You were a bad ass.”

“Hell
yeah, I was. Well, at least until my mom made me take it back and confess my
guilt to the owner of the store. After that my life of crime was pretty much
over.”

Sarina
chuckled as she climbed inside the truck and looked at the dashboard. “Okay,
good. There’s almost a full tank of gas. Let’s move this thing over to that dark
corner over there and keep an eye on the hanger. Hopefully they’ll unload the
plane soon and start back.”

“Sounds
good,” Jack said as he hopped into the passenger seat and closed the door.

It
took more than an hour before anything happened, but once Antonucci’s men
showed up with their cargo truck, things really started moving along. The crew
offloaded the contents of the Fokker F27 onto the tarmac and then transferred
the contents of the truck to the plane before reloading the truck again. The
whole process took less than thirty minutes as if they had done it a thousand
times.

The
crew quickly boarded the truck for the journey back, some in the cab and others
in the back, and they hit the road with Sarina and Jack trailing behind.

TWENTY-THREE

Antonucci’s
truck arrived at the compound near Turbo around 3:00 a.m. with the Scout
following a safe distance behind. Jack and Sarina had driven without headlights
during the final two hours of the drive to avoid being spotted, and the stress
of being unable to see was taking a toll on both of them.

Sarina
pulled the vehicle to the side of the road just before the entrance, which was
well lit with a guardhouse near the road. A high, concrete block wall topped
with razor wire appeared to span the perimeter of the property, leaving the
main entrance as the only plausible means of access.

“I
guess canned air isn’t going to help us this time,” Jack said.

Sarina
raised a disapproving eyebrow. “Neither will sarcasm. We’ll have to use the
front gate to get in there.”

“How
do you suggest we do that?”

“By
taking out the guard.”

“You
mean kill him?”

“If
necessary, yes.”

“Great.”

“You
didn’t come down here thinking this was going to be a cakewalk, did you?”

“Of
course not. But I don’t have to like it.”

“If
it makes you feel any better, I plan on at least trying to do this without
killing the guy. Okay?”

“What
do you have in mind?”

“First,
I’ll walk up to the guardhouse topless…”

Jack
let out a laugh. “Seriously? Flaunting your body seems to be your go-to
strategy.”

“Well,
if it ever stops working, I’ll let you know.”

“Fair
enough. Besides, I did say that a naked Sarina could get pretty much anything
she wanted.”

“You
did. And let’s not forget that men universally believe naked women aren’t
dangerous.”

“True.
We all believe that. Every one of us. Besides, breasts are just plain
distracting.”

“So
I’ve heard.”

“And
your
breasts? Well…”

“May
I finish telling you the plan?”

“Please.”

“So
I’ll distract the guy…with these breasts.” She grabbed them from underneath and
squeezed. “And I’ll turn his attention to the other side of the driveway.
Meanwhile, you sneak up from this side and hit him over the head with the butt
of your gun. Looks like there’s an open doorway on either side of the guardhouse,
so he shouldn’t hear you coming in.”

Jack
took a deep breath. “Shit. Okay. Let’s do it.”

They
stepped out of the Scout, and Sarina peeled off the vest, olive T-shirt, bra,
and the utility belt with her holster and gun. She tossed all of it onto the
driver’s seat, apparently intending to return for everything after they
incapacitated the guard.

Without
the slightest hesitation she proceeded to the entrance drive while Jack scaled
his way to the edge of the wall and watched.

“
Hola!
”
Sarina bubbled as she strutted straight for the guardhouse. “
Como estas, mi
amigo?
”

Jack
could see the man was startled at first and appeared to instinctively reach for
the holster at his chest, but once he absorbed what he was looking at he seemed
to relax. A big smile hit his face as his gaze followed Sarina to the opposite
side of the driveway.

That
was Jack’s queue to get moving, and he did his best to tread quietly on the
loose gravel as he headed toward the open doorway, his gun raised and ready to
fire. He could hear Sarina speaking Spanish with the guard in an outrageously
flirtatious way, and the man reached out his hand to touch her just as Jack
reached the guardhouse doorway.

Jack
rotated the gun in his grasp, orienting it butt-forward, and he raised it in
the air as he stepped into the small building, prepared to strike.

As
if instinctively knowing Jack had come up behind him, the guard spun around and
reached for his own gun, a look of determination on his face.

To
Jack, it all seemed to happen in slow motion, and he froze while his brain
processed the scene. But he recovered quickly and flipped the Beretta into the
air, catching it barrel-forward, his finger quickly slipping through the
trigger guard and squeezing.

The
man had just raised his weapon when the bullet caught him in the forehead, leaving
him without an opportunity to fire, and he slithered to the floor. He appeared
to die instantly, his chest remaining still and his eyes wide open as his head
tilted against the front wall of the building.

“Motherfucker!”
Jack yelled.

“Look.
We tried.”

“Why
did he have to turn around?”

“I
don’t know, but we need to put this behind us. It’s also possible someone heard
the gunshot, so we need to move. I’ll get my gear out of the car.”

Jack
continued to stare at the man’s corpse as Sarina walked off, but he managed to
shake it off and trailed after her.

Sarina
reassembled herself in less than a minute, and they were back on the entrance
drive, walking through the pitch blackness that lay between the entrance gate
and the compound itself. They could see several structures in the distance,
including a relatively new office building, a dilapidated shack with adobe
walls and a large industrial warehouse in the background. Like the entrance, everything
was illuminated by an abundance of street lamps, and it appeared completely
still.

“I
guess they didn’t hear the shot,” Sarina said as they approached the office structure.
“It looks like no one’s here, and I don’t see the truck anywhere. Where did
they go?”

“Good
question. Maybe they have other buildings somewhere else on the property. It
looks like the driveway continues past that warehouse over there.”

“Yeah,
maybe. But something feels off to me. I don’t know what it is, but…”

A
series of bullets splattered across the gravel in front of them, kicking stones
in Jack’s face and momentarily blinding him. Jack felt Sarina grab his vest and
pull him around the side of the office building as additional rounds chased
them there.

Jack
rubbed his eyes and regained his vision. “What the fuck?”

“There’s
perhaps a dozen guys with automatic rifles heading this way. They just appeared
out of nowhere from the other side of the building.”

“Shit!
What do we do?”

“We
don’t have the firepower to compete with them, so we should probably surrender.
Then again, I’m sure they’re going to kill us no matter what we do.”

“Wh-what?
So that’s it? We’re dead?”

“Yeah.
I’m so sorry, Jack.” She gave him a quick kiss. “This was fun.”

“This
was fun? Holy fuck.”

The
sounds of the assailants’ footsteps stopped, and it was silent again.

“Jesus.
Now what?” Jack asked.

“Mr.
Lazar!” It was a distinctively American voice, and the man’s tone was both serious
and threatening. “I suggest you and your lovely companion throw out your
weapons and put your hands on top of your heads! You are outmanned and
outgunned here, so you have no choice. I’ll give you ten seconds to comply, or
we’ll continue to advance and kill you where you stand.”

Jack
gulped in fear as he recognized Phil’s voice, and he looked to Sarina for
guidance. She nodded to him, indicating they should cooperate.

Maybe,
somehow, we can still get out of here alive.

Jack
and Sarina tossed their guns into the open and carefully edged around the
building, their hands clasped over their military caps.

Two
of the trained soldiers instantly lowered their weapons, grabbed the prisoners
and escorted them to their American boss.

Phil
looked them over and smiled pompously. “Well, I knew I’d eventually catch up
with you two, but I never expected you to hand yourselves over to me on a silver
platter again. I just don’t know how to thank you.”

“Well,
it’s the least we could do,” Jack responded smartly.

“Aren’t
we cocky.” Phil plowed his fist into Jack’s stomach, causing him to double
over.

“That
should cover the etiquette lesson. I’m the only one allowed to make jokes
around here, by the way.” Phil turned to Sarina and arched his brows
flirtatiously. “If it isn’t the woman with the nicest set of tits I’ve ever seen.
Sorry you couldn’t stick around last time so we could all have a crack at you.
Perhaps we can pick up where we left off.”

“Go
to hell!” she retorted.

Phil
laughed, apparently relishing in her anger. “Seems like a shame to kill you,
Sarina. But with that kind of attitude, I just don’t see how you can be of any
use to us.”

“Well
then, why don’t you just kill us now and get it over with?”

“Oh,
if I had it my way, you’d be dead already. I would’ve just gunned you down
right here. But Mr. Antonucci was quite explicit about wanting to talk to you
again before we took care of business, and I’ve learned not to disappoint him.
After all, I never know what kind of impact these executive decisions might
have on my Christmas bonus.”

“How
did you know we were here?” Jack inquired.

“We
found your Jeep in our second hangar at Opa-Locka about three hours ago. Or
should I say Dr. Kerwin’s Jeep? After that it didn't take a rocket scientist to
figure out you had stowed away on the plane and would eventually show up here.
You should have found a different place to park.”

Jack
shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

“Oh,
and we’ll make sure the good doctor has a suitable accident to repay him for
helping you.”

“For
chrissake,” Jack growled. “Leave the guy alone. He’s done nothing to you.”

“Oh,
but he has. We’ve spent a fortune looking for the two of you over the last
couple of weeks, and all that time you were aided and abetted by good Dr.
Kerwin. He’ll get what’s coming to him.”

“Don’t
listen to him, Jack,” Sarina interjected. “He’s just trying to get you riled
up. If they want to do something to Charlie, you can’t stop it. Just let Phil
go through his ego spiel so we can move on.”

Phil
glared at her. “You are such a fucking bitch, Sarina. I’ll bet you killed my
guard at the gate, too.”

“Yes
we did, with pleasure.”

Phil
gestured toward one of his men, who immediately took off toward the gate, and
it was clear that his orders were to take over the post.

“Problem
solved.”

“I
just wish it had been you,” Sarina said.

Phil
squeezed her face in his hand and squinted at her. “You wish. But I’ll be the
one killing you tonight, not the other way around. And I’m really going to
enjoy it.”

Jack
wrestled for a moment with the guard who held him, but his efforts were futile.

“Let’s
go,” Phil said as he led them toward the small adobe shack. “I’ll give you a
few minutes to get reacquainted with a friend of yours until Mr. Antonucci gets
here.”

The
interior of the small building was grimy and reeked of mildew, the effect of it
causing Jack to shudder with repugnance as they walked in. The dirt floor was
strewn with dead moths while the next contingent fluttered around a single
light bulb hanging on a wire from the ceiling. A holding cell with typical
prison bars was built into the far corner, and it contained several filthy cots
along the back wall with a rusty toilet mounted in the open. It was the most
disgusting place Jack had ever seen, and he prayed their stay would be brief.

One
of the guards pulled a set of keys off his belt and opened the cell door, awakening
a prisoner who had been sleeping on one of the cots. The man sat up quickly as
Jack and Sarina were pushed inside.

“Sarina?”

“Ben?”
She ran to him and offered a genuine hug before pulling back. “What are you
doing here?”

“I
came down here looking for you. Seeing how you always take matters into your
own hands, I figured this was the first place you’d go.”

“Well,
I got a little delayed.”

“I
guess so.” He looked toward Jack. “You must be Jack Lazar.”

Jack
stepped forward and greeted him with a handshake. “Yes. We met at the
hospital.”

“Ah.
The alleged doctor, right?”

Jack
chuckled. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Not
at all. You were actually quite clever.”

Sarina
jumped back in. “How did you arrange to get down here? I thought we were taken
off the case.”

“We
were. But after all the trouble you caused in Florida, the director reassigned
me to track you down and bring you home. He thought about sending someone else,
but I wouldn’t hear of it.”

“I
didn’t do shit in Florida,” she protested. “We were just driving along, minding
our own business when we got attacked.”

Jack
nodded. “Exactly.”