WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (49 page)

Dylan
took the ropes from my hand.  After securing them to the railing, he
explained the tricks and traps he’d set up.  “Distractions. 
Precautions.  Who knows how many guys Machete will bring?”  He
grabbed the clip on my harness and secured it to a safety line that circled the
tree in the centre of the platform.  “Make sure you stay connected at all
times, Jenna.  I don’t want to be scraping you up off the forest
floor.  Got it?”

I
smirked inside.  Beneath his frosty shell, he still cared about me.

He
spoke into his radio.  “Everything’s in position.  How you doing up
there, Steve?”

Static
crackled.  “Sweet.  Just finished rigging that rope, and oh! 
Can you see the fire from where you are, bro?”

He
glanced into the clearing.  “Yep.  Why?”

“Keep
watching.”

Standing
shoulder to shoulder with Dylan, I looked through the gaps in the trees over to
the fire.  A large rock dropped out of the sky and landed dead centre on
the flames.  Sparks and debris shot up into the air.

Steve’s
electronic voice came over the radio.  “He shoots and he scores!”  He
made a cheering and clapping noise.  “And the crowd goes wild!”

I
couldn’t help but laugh.  The park seemed to bring out the kid in both
Dylan and Steve.

“Looks
like your aim is improving, bro,” Dylan said into his radio. 

“I
couldn’t resist.”

“Maybe
you’ll score a goal or two in the match next week.”

“I
reckon we’re almost set,” Steve said.  “Golden balls, signing off.”

“How
can he joke around at a time like this?” I muttered.  Not that I minded, I
just thought it odd.

“It’s
his way of coping.  He’s worried like hell about Kate, so I’d rather he
fool around to keep his spirits high.”  Dylan leaned over the railing and
shouted, “John?”

John
bounded out of the trees. 

“Drag
that bench away from those boulders and tree stumps,” Dylan commanded.

“Sure. 
Consider it done.”  John gave the thumbs up.  He then jogged away to
drag one of the benches across to the low-level fence – the place where the
ground dropped a sharp and sickening fifteen metres down to the lake which
separated the woods from the car park.

I
pursed my lips at Dylan.  Now was not the time to get snappy with
John.  We had to put all differences aside and work as a team.  I
slipped my hands into my pockets.  “Why did you ask him to do that?”

“We
don’t want Machete sending Elliot to the wrong bench, or it’ll be harder to
grab him.”

“Gotcha. 
But you didn’t need to snap at him.” 

“I
didn’t.  So, anyway, will you be okay up here?  You’ll be in charge
of distractions and lowering the drugs after we get Elliot.”  He glanced
my way.  “You know which ropes are which, right?”  

I
stared around at all the ropes and zip wires dangling.  “Yes... I do,
but... I’m worried I’ll pull the wrong rope or something in a panic.”  I
did not want to be responsible for blowing the exchange.  “Oh, maybe
someone else should do this job and I’d be better at doing something else.”

“Would
you rather swing through trees or go down a zipwire?”

“No. 
But, if being in charge of these things is important then I—“

“You’ve
got hands, eyes and a brain, right?”

“Yes. 
Of course,” I replied.

“Then
you’re hired!”

I
laughed.  Why on earth was I worried about tugging a few ropes?  I
had to get my nerves under control.

Dylan
stared toward the lake, checking on John.

“What
if they spot us up in the trees?”

“It’ll
be dark by then.  And the fire in the centre will make it harder to see
us.  Try to calm down, will you?  You’re sounding as nervous as
Kerry.”

Apart
from the soft wind rustling through trees, the park hushed again.  A
moment later, I heard a smooth buzzing sound growing louder on my left. 
And then a feminine scream.  One unbroken high-pitched note that made my
foot lose purchase on the platform. 

“Watch
your step,” Dylan said, gripping my waist momentarily.  “And no, I haven’t
forgotten about our talk.”

“Good.” 
I looked left in time to see Steve, close behind a screaming Kerry in a red
helmet, flying along a zipwire.  She kicked her dangling legs, flew along
past our platform in a blur, and screamed again.

Dylan
laughed.  “Not bad for a first attempt.  But she needs to lose the
sound effects.”

“A
difficult thing to do when your dinner is rising up your throat.”  I
chuckled.  “I guess she’s not feeling sick anymore.”

He
laughed.

“Why
did she go on that, Dylan?  I mean, that’s the ‘big zipper!”  Just
thinking about it sickened me.  It was the highest and longest zipline in
the park which also stretched across the lake.

“She’s
been fretting.  Steve coaxed her into it to calm her down.”  His
voice lowered.  “Well, actually, he hoped to scare her witless so she
shuts up whining.”

“Oh.” 
I winced.  I’d only been to the adventure park once before - on the sly
when my husband was at work.  Dylan had showed me around, and charmed me
into trying a few activities – the gentler and lower ones.  I knew I’d
have had a hard time trying not to scream if it were me on that extreme
wire.  Unlike Dylan and Steve, I didn’t have air legs or a steel
stomach.  However, if going on the big zipper was the punishment for
fretting, I intended to keep my worries locked away. 

Dylan
breathed out heavily.  “Time to make the call.”  He started down the
tree ladder.

I
unclipped my harness from the safety line and followed him, using every rung so
as not to slip and aggravate my ankle.

The
sun began its descent below the tree line.  Darkness edged its way in,
giving the forest a spooky vibe.  I heard birds tweeting and faint
pattering somewhere behind me in the bushes.  Perhaps a squirrel, or
several by the sound of it. 

I
climbed down the last few rungs and was pleased to be descending to solid
ground again.  The air carried the crisp fragrance of mowed grass.

When
Dylan offered his hand, a smile touched my lips.  He helped me down the last
rungs, then let go of me and marched into the clearing. 

I
followed him.  Trees and bushes gave way to a carpet of soft earth and
grass beneath the overhang of swaying tree limbs.

Several
minutes later, Steve and Kerry jogged up from around the lake.  Steve,
complete with combats, camo jacket, knife, and harness strapped to his muscular
thighs, bounded over to Dylan and gave him a high-five.  “Now for phase
two.”

Kerry,
short of breath, lowered herself onto the bench and removed her helmet.

I
sat beside her and rubbed her back.  “Not for the faint-hearted, is it?”

“Steve
insisted I do it.”  She scowled at him.  “God knows why.”

I
clamped my lips together to hold back a smile, then my nerves caught up with
me.  Our rescue plan would prove to be either genius or absurd. 
Glimmers of promise that things would all end well, came and went like flashing
dots behind closed eyelids.  I looked at Steve.  “Do you really think
we can pull this off?”

He
traded a glance with Dylan before meeting my eyes.  “According to John,
Machete and his gang carry knives not guns.  If that’s the case, then it
will work...  It has to.” 

Yes,
I
thought, reading between the lines,
to get John to hold up his end of the
bargain.

“I
just hope that John is right,” Steve tagged on.

“We
also have the element of surprise,” Dylan injected.  “It strengthens our
chances.”

I
tilted my head up.  “Surprise?” 

John
emerged from the trees at the side of the fire and breezed over to us. 
“You nearly burst my ear drums, Kerry.”

I
stifled a laugh and waited for Kerry to blast him.  She didn’t react at
all.  Perhaps Steve’s method of shutting her up by knocking the wind out
of her had succeeded. 

Dylan
looked up at the fading sunlight.  “It’s time,” he said grimly, killing
the chipper atmosphere.

I
glanced up, too.  The place was a spider’s web of zip wires and ropes
crisscrossing against a darkening orange sky.  Overhead lines and dangling
ropes came from all directions, from tree to tree.

“Kerry,
Listen up,” Steve said.  He stepped in front of us and folded his arms
across his chest.  “However you do it, you have to convince your neighbour
to bring Elliot to meet you here at twilight.  And Jenna...” 

“Yeah?”

“We’ll
deal with Kate’s lot afterwards.  I mean, they haven’t contacted us yet
with any demands, so...”

I
nibbled my lip and shared a guilty glance with Dylan, who mouthed ‘hush.’

“Anyway,
I’ve been thinking...”  Steve went on, his eyebrows knitting together for
a second at Dylan.  “The people who have Kate are cold-blooded
killers...  So we’ll not meet them here.”

“Not
here?”  John pointed to the sack above the fire.  “Jenna’s mobile’s
hanging from that tree.”

“You’re
kidding, right?” Dylan asked.

“Steve
said hoist the goods up.”

“Idiot,”
Dylan muttered.

I
elbowed Dylan and scowled.  There was no need for that.

Steve
rolled his eyes.  “We’ll get it down in a minute.  Let’s sort this
phone call out first.”

“So
anyway,” Kerry said, sounding eager to get things moving.  “Shall I phone
Machete and tell him to bring Elliot here now?”

Steve
shook his head.  “Hell, no.  That’ll ruin everything.”

She
tilted her chin up, perplexed.  As was I.

Steve’s
voice fell serious as he said, “Suggest meeting at a random place, somewhere
that’s not... somewhere like the supermarket car park.”

“So
what are we doing here?” she asked, her eyebrows frowning with wonder.

I
twisted my lips.  “The supermarket is opposite the cop shop, Steve. 
There’s no way they’ll meet us there.”

His
eyes flashed with mischief.  “Exactly.  Then
they’ll
suggest a
place.”  He put steel into his voice and pointed at Kerry. 
“Refuse.  Use whatever excuse you want.”

Dylan
stepped closer.  “But you’d better come up with a decent reason, Kerry.”

With
a vague nod, she zeroed in on Steve again, taking it all in.

“Then,
and this is the important part,” Steve’s voice, so soft yet commanding in the
stillness, made both Kerry and me lean forward.  “As if out of the blue,
suggest the adventure park.  Make them think it’s a spur of the moment
idea.”

I
now understood what Dylan had meant earlier.  Smiling, I slumped my back
against the bench and relaxed.  “So they don’t know we’ve set anything
up?”

Steve
winked.  “Spot on.”

Dylan
patted Steve on the back.  “My brother doesn’t have a bad head on his
shoulders, eh?”

Steve
pulled his mobile out of his pocket.  “Here.  Use this, Kerry.”

“What
about Kate?” I asked.

Steve
began pacing.  “Well...  I think I’ve come up with an all round
solution.”

I
sat forward, intrigued.

“We’ll
arrange to swap Kate for the phone at Machete’s house, later tonight.  Get
John to lure them there.”

I
spluttered.  “We’ll what?”

John
made his fingers into the shape of a gun, and fired at his own temple. 
“You’re crazy.  And then what?  You think you can storm into the
house in the middle of two gangs and just waltz Kate out of there?”

Steve
kicked a small stone across the grass and then faced us.  “No.  The
police will bring her out.  Look, everyone, I know I said no cops earlier,
but I’ve changed my mind.  I’m assuming that Machete will take the drugs
back to his house.  What do you think, John?”

“Yes.
Probably,” John confirmed.  “He’ll want to cut it with rat poison, flea
powder or something nasty before bagging it.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Yes. 
If he’ll be at home then we can get the police to storm the place. 
They’ll rescue Kate and be none the wiser about the software scam.”

Steve’s
fanatical determination to protect Kate warmed my heart.  He was still
concerned about her getting banged up for her involvement in the fraud, but I was
more concerned about her getting shot before we reached that point.  I
stared around in wonder.  Was I the only person who had a bad feeling
about all this?  Steve’s plan was reliant on too many random things coming
together.  Was I missing something?

Steve
continued.  “Hopefully, it’ll look like both gangs are at the house to do
a drug deal.  Then, Kate has to go to your husband’s office and wipe
everything related to the scam.”