Surrept (31 page)

Reggie pulls out both his guns and chambers them. He counts two extra clips.

Dana's phone rings. "Matt, what the hell is going on, we are about to lose them to Canada in less than fifteen miles."

"Dana, this is Special Agent Taylor. Matthew Cohen has briefed us. Where are you exactly?"

"Special Agent Taylor, like the FBI?" Reggie leans forward now nervous. "We are about seven miles south of the U.S. Canadian border on highway fifteen traveling north."

"Dana, what mile marker are you at now?"

She looks at the markers on the side of the road. "Marker 383. What should we do?"

"Dana, what types of vehicles are the suspects in?"

She says, "Let me let you talk to Reggie. He knows cars better than I do." She hands him the phone.

Reggie says, "They are in two motor homes loaded heavily, and a delivery van. The motor homes are thirty-five feet at least, and one has Florida plates, gray and black on white. The other has California plates, brown and tan on white. The van is a late model white Ford Econoline. It has Islamic writing on it with Colorado plates. The van is occupied at least two times, with the primary female suspect as passenger. Adriana Pucci, late twenties, black hair, brown eyes about one-hundred-twenty pounds, five-seven, she is of Middle Eastern descent. She is traveling with a Middle Eastern male approximately twenty-five, black hair, brown eyes, other stats unknown. The drivers of the RVs are both Middle Eastern descent, about twenty-five and forty years, both black and brown, one identified at five-foot-nine about one-sixty, and the other is unknown. And we just passed marker three eighty seven."

Agent Taylor recognizes Reggie's military expertise. "Copy that, Haynes. We have local and federal law enforcement air and land teams in route. You fall back to monitor now. Do not approach. Is that clear?"

"Roger that sir, but what do we do . . . "

Dana's phone loses signal.

He checks his phone, "Shit, mine is dead too, no signal, damn it. Leave it to Haynes to end up in Podunk Montana losing signal while on the line with FBI."

Dana yells, "There signaling to exit."

"Stay with them, Dana. We can't lose them now we're working with the feds."

"They are turning east." Dana exits slowly as she pulls her weapon from her coat and sets it on the seat next to her.

"They're rolling hard now," Reggie says. "Just stay back, and don't turn until they are around that bend."

The caravan continues down the rural road. There are few houses and no commercial support. The rain has stopped. The motor home in front of them signals to make a left turn in line behind the others.

"They are turning north toward the border again," Reggie says. "Any signal yet?"

"No nothing, just stay back far enough."

"They are never going to find us back here."

Dana turns slowly to follow them. The road is tree lined and full of turns. "If anybody gets too close, I'm going to blast them."

The caravan turns off to a dirt road and parks. Adriana appears with Ahmed next to the motor homes as the doors open and the passengers all file out stretching and gathering their belongings.

Dana had pulled over behind some large rocks at the turn. They can see the group from their vantage point. "Look how many there are. You were right Reggie; they were loaded to the gills."

Reggie surveys the area. "I was afraid of that. I wonder how many of them are armed."

Dana feels like she is going to vomit. "Yeah, we don't have enough ammo for all of them. Why are they way out here?"

Reggie answers, "They're going to cross the border through the forest, and are probably waiting for a guide or something. This group would never make it at the border crossing. They would search those RVs for sure, and I'm betting they don't have papers or they would have just crossed individually." Reggie looks around for the best course of attack and retreat. He checks the cell phones and there is still no signal.

Dana realizes that she is in way over her head. "What are we going to do now?"

They are interrupted by a voice familiar to both of them. Adriana begins giving orders to the crowd in Arabic and some of them line up. She then speaks in another language and the balance of the group complies. They all walk in formation quietly into the forest. Ahmed realizes that Adriana did not take her bags from his van. He falls to the back of the line discreetly and disappears into the forest unnoticed.

Reggie grabs Dana's hand. "Here is where we split up. You go back and call Mr. C.'s cell number when you can get a signal, or stop at one of those houses we passed. That FBI agent has his phone."

Dana gets out of the car. "No way Reggie. I am not going anywhere. That long-legged bitch is not crossing that border."

Reggie jumps out of the car.

"You need to go get the calvary, Dana. There are too many of them and we are running out of time. The border is only about a half a mile or less. Now get going."

Dana stands there flipping him off. "I am not going anywhere. You go if you want to. She is not crossing that border period."

Reggie sees her crazy-eyed look.

"Okay, Miss Rambo, but this is going to get ugly real fast. You stay behind me and do what I do. If we have to shoot, aim for the center of the chest and try to keep your shots to a minimum. Save ammo."

He moves into the forest, and she follows him, her heart beating like it is going to come out of her chest. She stays low like Reggie and moves with him. He stops and shows her to keep her eyes on her feet as she creeps with him through the trees so they do not make any noise, but she is sure that they can hear her heart pounding like a bass drum.

They come upon a spot where someone had defecated. Dana holds back from vomiting as they make their way. Reggie drops to his stomach and she mimics his move.

Across the path, Adriana is speaking to the line of people as they enter a manhole in the ground on what seemed to be a ladder. They watch as she hands the last two flashlights down into the tunnel.

Dana fears that she is going to follow and starts to bolt toward them, but Reggie grabs her leg, brings her down, and covers her mouth. Adriana lies on her belly and speaks into the tunnel in both languages. She tells them that a guide will arrive in thirty minutes to open the other side in Canadian territory and take them on a bus so that they may leave the country. She is now speaking English, telling some of them that they should remain quiet and follow the instructions from their guides. She then gives them their last praise. "
Takbir.
"

The crowd inside erupts and repeats the phrase, then an eerie quiet falls over the tunnel.

Adriana secures the hatch over the hole. She stands up and looks around the area. She pulls the plastic bag from her pocket and smears the contents from her baggie of hair and blood over the manhole and some rocks near by the entrance.

Dana and Reggie watch her as she empties a small plastic bag on the edges of the tunnel manhole cover and places the empty bag into her jeans pocket. Suddenly, she breaks into a run as if she was on one of her jogs and disappears down the path.

Reggie lifts Dana up to her feet and pushes her back toward the motor homes. They run through the same terrain that they had come through as Reggie passes Dana, but Adriana flies ahead of them through the trees.

The two men hired by the man in Vancouver have been watching with binoculars as the crowd filed into the tunnel and are at the other end on the Canadian side. There is a fifty-gallon drum with a hand pump elevated above ground and attached to two black hoses that are connected to a sprinkler system that line the roof and the floor of the tunnel. They wait for their text signal.

Adriana arrives back at the motor homes, with her weapon drawn, and enters the one where the drivers are talking. The men are horrified as she appears out of nowhere and raises the gun and drives two rounds into each of their heads; their brains are splattered like melons from the large-caliber forty-five. Adriana steps out of the motor home and pushes the pistol into her jeans.

Reggie and Dana arrive at the motor homes and watch as she runs to the back of the van. She opens her bag and pulls out a satellite phone. She dials the man in Vancouver on another number. The man answers.

She speaks into the phone out of breath. "The kids are waiting for their surprise."

The man responds to her ear, "Wonderful. I'll see you soon." The phone goes dead.

The man in Vancouver texts messages to the men waiting by the tunnel. "
It looks like rain."
He sends it.

The men awaiting their message receive it. One man opens a valve and begins cranking the pump handle like a maniac as the other prepares two sets of traffic flares taped together.

Down in the tunnel gasoline begins to rain down and flood at the crowd's feet. They all are stricken with the horror that they are about to meet Allah for their past deeds.

The beams from their flashlights are waving wildly in the darkness. Hands can be seen in the passing beams of light trying to cover the sprinkler heads that shower them with fuel; they choke and are blinded as the gas runs through their fingers, into their eyes, and soaks their clothes.

The screams emerging through the air vents echo throughout the forest. The vents are camouflaged in the bushes along the length of the tunnel. Reggie and Dana can hear the horrific screams, filling the air in the forest. They drop down and listen.

Dana begins to tremble from the terrifying sound coming from the underground crowd as their skin burns. Reggie keeps his eye on Adriana as she unloads her bags from the van. He thinks that she is going to live in a motor home.

Reggie nudges Dana to get her attention, and whispers, "I'll put her in check, and you take the drivers. Can you do that?"

Dana reaches for her weapon and grips it as her hand shakes.

Reggie moves with lightning speed and Dana rushes the motor home, moving as she has never moved before. The adrenaline propels her across the clearing.

Adriana sees Reggie moving toward her. She drops both of her bags to the ground in front of her, then falls to the ground behind them and begins firing.

He yells at her, "Freeze."

Dana watches Reggie take a round as blood flies from her friend's head. Another hit him in the stomach as he falls to the ground.

She looks into the motor home. She enters only to see the drivers sprawled out on the floor in a pool of blood.

The other one is in the driver seat, also dead. Dana drops to the floor, trembling. An explosion erupts; there are horrific screams from the forest, and the flames light up the cloudy sky. Suddenly the screams turn to silence. The smoke fills the forest and pours over the motor homes.

Dana is sickened by the smell of burning flesh as the smoke passes over.

Her heart pounds as she thinks of Reggie. Did Adriana know where she is? Is she right outside? Dana closes her eyes and David's face comes to her. Dana slides over the body of one of the drivers on the floor and peeks out the large rear window of the motor home.

Adriana is walking slowly in the smoke over to Reggie with her gun pointed at him as he lays face down. Dana stands and takes aim and lets three rounds go through the rear window of the motor home. Adriana spins around. She is hit by one of Dana's rounds and returns fire toward her. Adriana Pucci empties her clip toward the woman in the back of the motor home.

Dana ducks as Adriana's gun flashes and pops her way. The rounds tear through the aluminum of the RV. She returns fire and leaps toward the front of the motor home to exit. Dana realizes she is hit. She loses her footing on the stairs and falls to the ground outside the vehicle, still gripping her weapon. Dana pops the clip out and digs in her tight jeans. She slams the fresh magazine into her pistol and jacks a round into the chamber.

Dana opens her eyes and looks under the motor home. She sees Adriana's legs moving toward the forest; she tries to get up but feels excruciating pain in her back. She cannot get up. Suddenly a truck pushes out of the forest from the bushes and stops. She watches Adriana, grabbing her bags.

The truck tires spin wildly, throwing dirt as Dana watches her disappear down the road. Dana can see her new friend Reggie, still lying motionless face down. She crawls toward him in the smoke of the fire.

She is just a few feet away and feels something grab at her leg. She rolls over and sees the face of the young man from the van, looking at her with crazy eyes. Dana empties her weapon into Ahmed Naseri, driving him off his feet and onto his back.

The smoke covers the ground around her as she finally makes it to Reggie; the pain is overwhelming her, and she can feel warm blood on her back and in her jeans.

Dana says, "Jesus Christ that hurts like hell. Reggie?" She lifts his heavy head. She can see the bloody head wound. "Oh God, please, no." She hugs her lifeless friend's body.

A few miles away, a Wyoming State Patrol chopper pilot who is part of the search team sees the explosion and smoke miles off above the forest and heads for the area. The pilot radios his find, and all of the teams of multi-agencies converge on the explosion site. They have been searching for thirty minutes.