JET - Sanctuary (17 page)

Alejandro was back within a half minute with another saddle. He made the snicking sound with his mouth again, and the mare that had originally greeted him ambled over to his side. He had the saddle on in seconds, and after fitting the reins, he mounted her in one smooth move.

Jet was less graceful getting onto her horse, but managed. She’d only ridden a few times before, on her forbidden rendezvous with David so many years before. A wave of melancholy washed over her at the memory, but she banished it – she didn’t have the luxury of sentimentality.

“Where to?” she asked.

“To find a phone. We need reinforcements. My organization will be bouncing off the walls with my father in custody and my brother and me out of touch. Once I’m in contact, we’ll have options.”

“Well, then, lead on.”

Alejandro gazed at the sky to get his bearings and then set off in what seemed like a southern direction. The horses seemed happy to run. The day was beautiful: flowers in bloom, a susurrant wind rustling the treetops, nature beckoning. Soon they were out of sight of the barn, following a trail, and for a moment to Jet it could have been five hundred years earlier and they Spanish plunderers, so quiet were the surroundings, not a trace of modern civilization anywhere, only the steady clumping of the horses’ hooves.

Jet cleared her throat and spoke quietly, her mind having been working over their situation.

“There’s another possibility, you know.”

“Possibility of what?”

“How your enemies know where to find you every time.”

“Really? What?”

“Your brother.”

Alejandro pulled on his reins and the horse stopped. “What are you saying?”

“He was with you at the nightclub. You said the gunmen entered while he was in the bathroom, but when you made it out of the club, he was sitting in his vehicle outside.”

“That’s nonsense. He’s my brother.”

“And then at the hotel. Nobody knew you were there. And yet they found you.”

“As you said, could have been a tracking device on the car or tracing the phone.”

“Right. But explain the mine. No car tracking device. And the battery out of the phone.”

“And no signal,” Alejandro reminded her.

“No, that was earlier. We don’t know if there’s a signal at the mine. It’s higher, so it might have enough line of sight to hit one of the towers in the valley. The only thing we have to go on is your brother’s say-so.”

“Which is sufficient for me.”

“He got very uncomfortable when you asked for his phone, do you remember? Like someone had punched him. As you might expect if he’d made calls on it to your enemies.”

Alejandro grew quiet, thinking.

“And then he inexplicably refused to go into the mine with us. To not go would be certain death – there was nowhere to run to. And yet he was adamant. Which would make sense if he knew there was nothing to fear.”

“Why are you doing this?” Alejandro asked, his voice tight.

“Your father was arrested. So the head of your organization is out of commission. Then you’re attacked, and your brother is conveniently absent.”

Alejandro’s expression darkened, but she pressed on.

“At the mine, he seemed really resentful that you were telling him what to do at a crisis moment. That seemed completely out of character when it was happening. You were trying to save his life, and he was getting angry. Who responds that way?”

“He was probably afraid. Maybe he’s got a thing about the dark. Or claustrophobia. I don’t know.”

“Right. Or maybe he wanted to stay outside to avoid being killed when the gunmen went in to wipe us out.” Jet paused. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I got the impression that with your father out of the loop, you’re next in line. Is that not right?”

“No, you’re right.”

“So if he resents you anything like what I saw, it would be awfully convenient if you were taken off the game board. Then he would be running things. Which, if he’d already negotiated a deal with your rivals, might leave him in the strongest position he’d be likely to see in his life.”

“I don’t want to hear any more.”

“No problem. I just wanted to put that out there. Do you have an alternative explanation of how they found us at the mine?”

Alejandro gave his horse rein, and it began moving again. Jet allowed him space – she’d made her point, and now he had something to think about on the long ride to wherever. He pulled away from her and cantered to the top of a rise where a copse of trees had managed a foothold on the inhospitable stone and stopped, his hand raised. Jet slowed as she neared, and then spotted what he’d seen.

Down at the base of the other side of the hill ran a narrow road framed by heavy brush, an oak tree rising from one side of it – and a green army jeep parked in the shade with a soldier lounging against it, smoking, while his companion relieved himself behind the tree. Jet and Alejandro exchanged a glance, and she spurred her mare forward. The smoking soldier looked up but didn’t register alarm at the sight of a woman astride a horse. This was the country, after all, so it wasn’t unexpected or unusual. He waved at her as she approached, and she waved back, the Glock’s bulk at the base of her spine reassuring.

Jet’s hair gleamed black as a raven’s wing as she closed the distance, and when she was less than ten meters away, she dismounted. Alejandro had hung back and was allowing his horse to meander on the hill’s crest, so the soldier’s attention was entirely focused on the beautiful young woman who had materialized on horseback during his dull duty.

“Hi, there. You wouldn’t happen to have an extra cigarette, would you?” Jet asked, throwing the soldier a brilliant smile.

“Sure,” he said and fumbled in his uniform pocket. He found his pack and looked up to find himself staring down the Glock’s ugly barrel.

“Remove your sidearm using only your index finger and your thumb. Don’t make a sound or you’re dead,” she whispered.

The blood drained from his face, and he complied, moving slowly.

“Good. Drop it on the ground and step away from the gun, over by the tree.”

The soldier tossed the pistol into the grass and took three steps toward the tree.

“Okay. Stop,” Jet called out in a louder voice. “Hey, I think your buddy here has a problem,” she said.

The second soldier moved from the other side of the thick trunk, fiddling with his belt, and froze when he saw Jet holding the gun on him.

“What is this?”

“Play along and you won’t get hurt. I want you to reach for your weapon using your left hand and toss it on the ground. One false move and I shoot you.”

The soldier glanced at his companion and then returned his gaze to Jet.

She gestured with the gun. “Slowly. Do it now. I don’t have time for this.”

He reached across and drew his weapon and then dropped it like it was a live snake. “Now what?”

“Now go stand by your friend.”

The soldier complied, and Jet signaled to Alejandro. He rode up and smiled at the vehicle.

“I think our problems are solved,” she announced.

“We could use the break,” he agreed, dismounting.

She returned her attention to the soldiers. “Get your shoes off.”

“What?” the first man asked, incredulous.

“You heard me. And keep your hands away from your knives, or it’ll be the last mistake you make.”

When they’d removed their boots, Jet nodded approval. “Now drop your pants. And take off your shirts.”

The men unclasped their web belts and did as instructed. Once their uniforms were bunched together on the ground, Jet leaned into Alejandro and murmured.

“Would you get their clothes? And if they have handcuffs, secure them together, hands behind their backs, facing away from each other.”

Alejandro moved to the men and barked instructions. He quickly located a pair of handcuffs in a case on the first soldier’s belt and tossed them to him, snarling a terse order. The man sat down and shackled his hands behind his back. Alejandro had the second soldier do the same, with the exception that he had him pass the manacles through the first man’s cuffs before snapping the left one shut, effectively securing them in a position where they wouldn’t be able to move far. Jet inspected his work and nodded.

“Behave yourselves, and we’ll alert someone that you’re here.” Jet studied them, little more than boys, and her voice softened. “I wouldn’t try to stray from this tree – we’ll clock the distance on the odometer, but if you make it very far there’s no guarantee that anyone will find you before nightfall, and at that point you could die of exposure before you’re located. So sit tight.” She glanced at Alejandro. “I think the one on your left’s more my size.”

They had the uniforms on minutes later, and Alejandro inspected Jet. “Very nice. It might just work.” He turned to the soldiers. “Now, gentlemen, before we get going, you’re going to tell us everything you know about your operation. Where any roadblocks or patrols are, where your headquarters are, the works. Please don’t think you’re being smart by lying, because if we find out something’s different than you said, we’ll be back, and at that point, well…we’ll view you as the enemy rather than a couple of honest guys who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Alejandro grilled them, emphasizing that he had the ability to reach anywhere in Chile to exact his revenge, and when he stood, he seemed satisfied with their responses.

“You heard them. The main roadblock’s by the mine entrance. A couple of checkpoints on the road. An abandoned outpost for their field headquarters. Sounds about right.”

“Think they left anything out?”

“Maybe, but I don’t get that feeling. They know my family’s reputation – that was obvious – and they understand that I’ll take it personally if they tried to get us into hot water. These guys are grunions, doing their time. I doubt either one of them wants to get dumped into the ocean wearing concrete shoes.”

Jet nodded. “You want to drive, or shall I?”

He looked down at his sleeve. “I’m the corporal, so I will. But you better hope we don’t get stopped – from a distance this could work, but not up close.”

“Why not?”

“There are no females in the armed forces in Chile. And no offense, but even in that getup, it’s hard to miss that you’re…well, not a man.”

“Ah.” She moved to the jeep and lifted out a FAMAE SAF submachine gun. “This is nice.”

Alejandro retrieved the discarded pistols and handed her one. “FN-750 9mm pistol. Locally made, as is the submachine gun. Both use 9mm parabellum bullets. Quite good, and reliable.”

She holstered the pistol after looking it over, and sat in the passenger seat, her helmet strapped on tight. Alejandro collected their clothes, folded them, and stowed them in the back of the Jeep before he took the wheel. Soon they were bouncing down the little road, the only vehicle in sight.

“We can’t forget to notify someone about them. They’re little more than teenagers,” Jet said, and Alejandro nodded.

“I’ll let the local police know once we’re safe. They’ll be able to find them by nightfall.”

“Where are we headed?”

“We have a house in San Felipe that only a few of the ranking members of the family know exist. Small – where we keep weapons, contraband, and not much else. It’s really just a living room, kitchen, and bedroom. But it has a phone.”

“What about a car?”

“That, unfortunately, we’re going to have to be creative about.”

“So we steal one?”

“That’s one way to do it. Do you have any experience hotwiring?”

Jet smiled as they hit a particularly nasty rut. “You could say that. But my daughter and Matt are back in the mine. I can’t just leave them there.”

“I know. But if the army’s involved they were likely captured, which means they’re probably alive. Unlike the Verdugos, the army won’t just kill everything that moves. So the chances are good that they’re in custody. The best way to help them is for me to get back to civilization and organize my forces. I’m not without my own contacts in the army, but they aren’t going to do me much good riding around in a Jeep. I need to rally my troops and use the phone, not a gun. That’s the best way.”

“Have you thought about your brother at all?”

He sighed. “I can’t come up with any explanation for the attack at the mine that doesn’t involve him tipping them off. It sickens me, but I can’t. I’ll have to handle it later. Right now I need to get back to my home turf and organize a counterattack before anyone expects it. Once I’ve done that, I can deal with your daughter. Make sense?”

She studied his profile. “How much pull do you really have, Alejandro?”

“My father effectively runs this place. That should tell you how risky this little adventure was for the Verdugos. They had to believe there would be no effective retaliation or they’d never have chanced it – which further supports your theory about my brother.”

Jet didn’t like the idea of leaving the area without Matt and Hannah, but she couldn’t think of a reasonable argument. Alejandro was right, and as much as she hated to, she had to trust him. He’d have a better chance of locating and freeing them once he was at the helm of his troops than she would playing commando.

When they reached the main road, Alejandro turned left, toward San Felipe – leaving the army, and her daughter, behind. Jet’s gut twisted as if she’d been hit in the stomach with a board, but she forced herself to think objectively. There was no outward sign of her inner battle, her face placid as the wind buffeted her, and to any observer she would have looked as calm as Buddha. They passed several troop transports heading up the mountain, and Alejandro waved. Jet realized he was thinking more logically than she was. There was only so much she could do on her own, and right now their greatest advantage was that the world thought they were dead, buried in the bowels of a mine forgotten by time.

She looked off at the distant Andes, the peaks sharply traced against the taut turquoise sky, and bit back the frustration that threatened to overwhelm her.

She would get Hannah back. No matter what.

Chapter 24

San Rafael, Argentina