The Sheriff (11 page)

Stuck without medical supplies, food or water. Each minute they were in the air, the controls got worse.

“Hold on, Pete. We’re going to land.”

Chapter Twelve

Soft lips. Pete wasn’t too familiar with being awakened by a kiss, but he recognized the sweetness. He reached out with his arms to catch Andrea’s body and hissed between his teeth instead. The pain in his left arm was manageable, but he’d rather not push it.

“I was shot.”

“Yes, you were. I’ve been patiently waiting for you to wake up. But let me tell you, it was getting pretty boring around here again without your company.”

“Can’t have that.” He sat up with a little help from Andrea. “We know what happens when you get bored.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha,” she said, plopping down next to him and crossing her legs.

He carefully lifted his arm without the same pain he’d experienced a few minutes earlier. The chopper was thirty or forty yards away, seemingly intact. Drag marks from his boots left a trail to where they currently sat. He’d be lucky if there weren’t holes in his jeans.

“I’m sort of glad I wasn’t awake for that.” He nodded toward the chopper.

“We’ve been here awhile. I couldn’t leave you baking in the sun. You lost your hat.”

“It’s late afternoon already.” They had an hour, maybe an hour and a half of light left before the sun was obscured by the mountains.

“That’s right, tough guy.” She swayed into his good arm before bringing her knees up and resting on them. “You finally got that nap you needed.”

“No cell reception?”

“No nothing reception.” She pointed to the department radio, then jumped up to retrieve it. “I thought for sure the Commander would be swooping in for the ultimate I-told-you-so. But I haven’t heard anything except a cow mooing.”

“Thanks for fixing my arm.”

“I can’t believe you were shot. Okay, never mind, I can believe it. I mean, there were a lot of bullets flying around. You should have told me when it happened. You might have at least tried to tell me before I ran to the Hiller. Though, honestly, I don’t think I gave you time to tell me—”

“Andrea,” he said, covering her hand with his good one. She was talking fast without taking a breath. Nervous or scared or maybe a little of both.

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t shoot me. We got out of there and I doubt those men escaped. There was nowhere for them to run when you took the helicopter.

“Can I assume something’s wrong with that thing?” He pointed toward the chopper.

“One of those men shot the engine before we got safely away. Well, almost safely away. We were very lucky, considering he could have sliced that trainer in half with his machine gun.”

“Machine pistol. We’ve known they were smuggling those for some time, but it was the first time I’d faced one.”

“How’s your arm? You know, you were lucky. The bullet tore a hunk of your flesh away. You’ll just have a wicked scar.” She picked up a pebble and tossed it across the path. “But I got the bleeding stopped and didn’t have to dig around with a penknife for a bullet. And believe me, I could have, too. My dad saw fit that I have lots of practical survival training.”

“I see that. You’re pretty good with a gun, too.” He held her hand, resting it on his thigh. “Come on, just catch your breath and give me a minute to figure this out.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m babbling again, aren’t I? I do better when I’m moving. Less stressed.” She tried to release his fingers with the intent of getting to her feet. “I’m not certain why you passed out. It bled a lot, but did you hit your head or something?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” Pete kept a firm grip on her hand, wanting her next to him for multiple reasons, but touching her skin was the first one that came to mind. “Give me a second. Then we’ll take a look around. See if I recognize where we are.” He knew they hadn’t flown far and were still pretty much close to nowhere.

“Oh, I know exactly where we’re at,” she said with confidence.

He knew the peaks, the general vicinity. “Maybe twenty-five miles northeast from the observatory.”

“Very good, Sheriff.”

“I’ve traveled these mountains enough to recognize the terrain. That puts us darn close to the Scout ranch. We’ll need to get started up one of those trails if we want to sleep in a bed tonight.”

“Is that an invitation?” She winked. “If so, I think you could at least buy a girl dinner first.”

“I’ve already bought you breakfast,” he teased in return. “But I’m sure your father will have strong words objecting to your spending another night in Marfa.”

He groaned as he stood up. Feeling like he hadn’t slept in a week and that he was as old as sin. Andrea helped him until he was steady on his feet.

“You know, I am an adult. I make decisions all on my own.”

“Maybe we should start with dinner after we determine exactly why those men would make such a stupid move today.”

“I can go with that.”

“No radio in the helicopter?” he asked as they passed it. She answered with a look and a long sigh. “Right. First thing you would have tried.”

They headed up the trail. He was a lot weaker than he could let on, but they needed higher ground for cell reception.

“You okay?”

“I’ll manage.” He would.

“Mind if I stay close to make sure you do?” She shouldered up next to his right side.

“Going to hold my hand?”

“Maybe.” She smiled.

“Why hasn’t your father found you yet?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same question.”

“I’ll take your Glock back.” He extended his palm.

She slapped her hand on his, wrapping her fingers tight and keeping hold. “No offense, Pete, but I think I’ll keep it. You aren’t quite yourself at the moment.”

Perhaps she was right. She was definitely right about him not being one hundred percent. He’d seen her shoot. They’d both hit their target on the café patio and she hadn’t fallen to pieces when the body hit the ground. He didn’t know yet how he actually felt about shooting someone. It wasn’t like they’d had much time to think about their actions. Their assailant had been attempting to kill them. They didn’t need to think about it at the moment, either. There’d be plenty of time later.

“So, I’ve been thinking, since I haven’t had much else to do all afternoon waiting on you to wake up.”

Unless he wanted to walk home, they had another good fifteen-minute hike before they got a phone signal. They’d never manage a call at the bottom of one of these gullies, even if it was the easiest route home.

“What conclusion did you come to?” He was gaining confidence with each step. Up it was and then down the other side to the Scout camp he’d gone to in his youth.

She took a step away from him, angling toward a path cows and horses had beaten over time. “You can’t be serious?”

He pointed toward the butte. “E.T. should phone home.”

She faced him with both hands on her hips. “You are never going to let me live down that
aliens
were chasing me, are you?”

He laughed. Really laughed. There was something about the way she stood there along with the way she held her mouth and tilted her head. “No, I don’t think I am.”

She didn’t ask if he was up to the climb, just took a step and looped her bandaged wrist through his right arm. One wobbly step at a time, he stayed on his feet.

“As I was saying, I’ve had a lot of time to think. When the
aliens
showed up at the observatory—” she used her original description of the men trying to kill her without skipping a beat “—it didn’t make a lot of sense.”

“How did they know you were leaving? And why are they trying to grab you?” They kept a steady pace on the inclined path. “After we make the call, we need to take cover. We can’t be certain they aren’t listening to my phone, but it’s more likely they were monitoring the police bands.”

“Right. So we’re thinking along the same lines.”

“You’re a valuable asset just because of your father. But why risk losing men and a helicopter?”

“Exactly. They might think I know something, yet killing me would be the fastest, most reliable way to eliminate that threat.”

He’d never met anyone like her. She wasn’t upset or falling apart. “Does this happen to you all the time?”

“Hardly. I grew up preparing for it, though. I wanted to please my parents and did everything possible to make them proud.”

“Like learning to fly helicopters?”

“That’s actually fun. All of it has been to some degree, I guess.” She squeezed his biceps. “You’ll have to tell me about your treks into the mountains sometime. Right now, concentrate on breathing. We’ll have time to get to know each other later.”

He was surprised how much he wanted that to be true. “The aliens either think you know something or they wanted to hold you hostage in order to exchange you for something.”

“That is the same conclusion I came to earlier. Unfortunately, neither of those reasons explains why they attacked in broad daylight using a helicopter. I mean, wouldn’t it have made more sense to enter through the door, take us by surprise and then signal for the chopper once they were successful?”

He stopped and checked his pockets for the phone.

“Looking for this?” She handed him his cell after pulling it from her back pocket. “I turned it off to save the battery.”

He turned it on, then continued their climb. He wanted this point to be high enough for a connection but it wasn’t. They climbed in silence for a while, thinking. “You’re right. Their attack doesn’t make sense. They would have assured themselves of your location, been ready to get in and out, not hang back. They could have overrun me easily.”

“Unless it’s all a diversion.”

“You’re brilliant.” She was gorgeous and brilliant. The phone was ready. He pulled up his dad’s cell number and tapped the speaker.

“Pete?”

“Hey, Dad.”

“Thank God. Is Andrea with you?”

“We’re both great. I think my cell might be compromised.”

“We assumed communications weren’t safe. Do you know your location?”

“Yeah, I could go for a Buffalo swim if it were open.”

“Ah, gotcha. Nicely done, son. We’ll be there ASAP.” Andrea looked around, obviously wondering about his coded message.

“Sort of wondered why you haven’t found us already,” he asked his dad.

“We lost the helicopter soon after takeoff. Took us until about half an hour ago to discover that neither of you was with the last man who escaped to the south.”

“Five men. Three in the chopper and two in a vehicle?”

“Correct and all accounted for. Commander Allen wants to talk to his daughter.”

“Are you all right, Andrea?” her father asked.

“Yes, sir. Not a scratch.”

“That’s my girl. Mechanical difficulties?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The search team got a late start. We’ll steer them to you soon. You’re certain you’re fine?”

“She’s brilliant, sir,” Pete answered when he noticed the tears in Andrea’s eyes. “We better save the battery, sir. Just in case.”

“Certainly.” He disconnected.

*

“
H
E’S
NOT
MUCH
for goodbyes.” Andrea used a knuckle to wipe the moisture from her eyes. Pete might get the wrong impression...or the right one. Either way, she could break down later. Think about everything...later.

With the exception that Pete thought she was brilliant.

“This is a pretty good place to wait. If you hear the wrong helicopter again, we can dart down this side of the hill.” He nodded behind her. “Closer to the road.”

She squinted, noticing the buildings at the bottom of the canyon. There was a well-marked trail zigzagging down. “You mean I was one hill away from civilization?”

“Yeah, but to its credit, it was a large hill.” He was still breathing hard from their hike, but smiling.

“We’re resting. Sit.” They chose one of the smoother rocks and kept their backs to the sun. It was quiet. A gentle wind was the only sound. If whoever was chasing her did understand Pete’s description of their location, she’d be able to hear them straightaway.

“So, a diversion? That makes sense.”

“Whatever happened this afternoon had to be a profitable enough deal to sacrifice five men and a helicopter. It wasn’t rigged for the light show they used to imitate the phenomenon near Marfa. It sounded like this type of Hiller, but this one is bare bones.”

“So they have another chopper.”

“It’s logical to assume so.”

“Whoever’s behind this discovered who you were and used the opportunity presented to them to their advantage.” Pete wiped his brow. “Are you certain you don’t have experience being a detective?”

“I had an hour and a half to myself, and deductive reasoning just happens to be my strength.”

“So your switching places with Sharon last night was purely coincidental. If I were them, I might assume you work at the observatory. I don’t think I’d assume you’re the daughter of a director with Homeland Security.”

“Sharon. Sharon knew. I talked about it last week. About how difficult it was for me to convince the university to let me come, since my dad was opposed.” She had to move, so she jumped to her feet. “Shoot. I forgot the first rule my dad taught me. He’s been paranoid about my mother and me since he joined the DHS. Afraid someone would attempt exactly what they did today.”

“Then we can’t assume Sharon’s switching with you was a coincidence. This might have been the plan all along.”

“They couldn’t have known I’d say yes. And what about the man in the desert?” She walked a few feet and tugged a long leaf off a bush, nervously tearing the ends off.

“He’s an undercover agent who discovers the plan to abduct his commander’s daughter. I can think of a lot of reasons he’d risk warning someone. So last night the aliens aren’t smuggling drugs across the border, they’re searching for an escaped hostage—your dad’s undercover man. He’s got details they can’t let be exposed, but he finds his way to you. They run you off the road and would have abducted you.”

“But you came along. They don’t know that the agent didn’t tell me anything, but they want to make certain.”