Part 29 (1/2)
Over the din, Jase heard one of them yell: ”We're made, let's get the f.u.c.k out of here!”
”Trigger go!” said another.
Jase looked up and saw the masked men retreating towards the first van. The second van's sliding door popped and began to open.
”Get down!” yelled Jase to Henry. He pulled his sidearm and started firing off shots at the second van. Someone inside stopped the door halfway and tried to push it closed again, shouting and cursing. Two of the masked men opened fire with their M5s, and sent Jase scrambling off of Drake's beaten body to take cover behind his bike. He saw Henry and Beck hunkered down on the side of the MC's van, guns out, trying to keep the gunmen in the second van from emerging. Jase's instincts had been right. They didn't bring Maggie; they brought a kill squad.
”Get the money, get the money!”
From the side of the rear tire, Jase watched one of the mask men make a desperate sliding run for the bag of money Henry had dropped. Jase wriggled onto his stomach and took a few clean shots at the runner. One round pegged him in the carotid artery and the man dropped, blood gus.h.i.+ng out of his neck.
Reloaded, the masked men opened fire again and pressed Jase down hard enough that he couldn't come out from behind the bike. One of them must have grabbed the money bag, because suddenly the rear doors slammed shut and the van's engines roared up. On cue, all three of the Black Dogs came from around their cover and began to open fire on the vans as they spun out in the clearing, trying to escape.
Jase jumped to his feet and fired off the rest of his mag as he followed the van on foot. He heard a few desperate pings against the metal of the second van's body.
A motorcycle revved up behind him, and Jase turned in time to see Henry speed by him, chasing the vans down. He came up hard and fast on the second van, lagging behind almost four car-lengths on the dirt road. Jase heard the pop of Henry's gun over the roaring engines, followed by the unmistakable blast of a tire blowing out. He watched as the van began to fishtail, brakes squealing as someone stomped them with a heavy, panicked foot. It swerved hard left into a shallow embankment on the side of the country road, and then flipped twice side-over-side with a cacophony of crus.h.i.+ng metal and shattered gla.s.s. The first van didn't even slow, disappearing beyond the trees towards the highway.
Jase ran over to Beck, already on the phone with the sheriff. ”Out the way they came. Money should be on them. We need troopers down here, too.” He hung up and looked at Jase. ”What the f.u.c.k happened?”
His heart still racing, Jase's voice came out shaking with adrenaline. ”Drake. He's working with them.”
”Oh Christ,” said Beck. He looked around Jase's shoulder to ensure Drake hadn't moved from where Jase left him bloodied in the dirt. ”Pick him up and get him in the van before the sheriff comes, we'll deal with him.”
”I have to go after Maggie,” said Jase. ”Will and Ghost are pinned down at those coordinates. That has to be their hideout. I have to get there before...” He didn't finish.
”Go,” said Beck with a pat on his shoulder. ”We'll be right behind you.”
While Jase revved up his bike, Beck moved the MC's van to the site of the crash. He and Henry waited like vultures in case any of them survived it and tried to make a break before the sheriff arrived. Jase slowed his bike down as he approached, but Henry only shook his head wildly and waved for Jase to move on. Jase gave a confirming salute before he lay on the throttle and tore up the dirt road towards the highway.
Jase followed the coordinates Will and Ghost had been checking out and found they led to an old industrial facility in the hills just off the interstate, tucked in a gully with steep faces on three sides. The main building was a monstrous thing of dusty concrete and faded paint. Two relocatable trailers sat on its perimeters, windows broken out, s.h.i.+ngles flapping in the breeze. He didn't see a single car or person roaming around outside.
Jase wheeled his bike as close as he dared to one of the relocatable trailers before shutting it down and continuing on foot. His stomach went cold when he realized he didn't hear the sounds of gunfire which had been on the other end of Will's call.
Weapon out, Jase sneaked around the first trailer. He saw no movement. The second trailer was offset and too far over open ground to make a run for safely. Instead Jase crept for a small one-car maintenance garage. As he approached he saw movement within and decided to go in hot.
Jase plunged into the garage with his weapon raised and found two similar 9mms pointed in his own face. Behind them were Will and Ghost, eyes wild, but alive.
”Jase!” said Will and lowered his gun with a deep exhale. ”f.u.c.k, I was hoping it was one of you when that bike came up the canyon.”
”Things have gone to s.h.i.+t real fast,” said Jase.
”We wouldn't know anything about that,” said Ghost with a sardonic laugh. The pale, bald-headed rookie showed a lot of promise for the MC-mostly due to his skilled applications of violence. Will accepted but didn't enjoy battle; Ghost couldn't stop smiling. ”You have any extra ammo on you?”
He handed them both two mags from the six he had brought from his saddle bag. ”Did you both just threaten me with empty guns?” said Jase.
Ghost just chuckled to himself and reloaded.
”Are you the only one coming?” said Will.
”Calvary's on the way. The drop went bad after your call. One van is down, the other was making a run for it. They didn't have Maggie with them. She has to be here,” said Jase. ”Have you had eyes on her?”
”No, but there is only one working entrance to that big building, and thank Christ for that. It's the only reason we didn't get flanked,” said Will. ”We rode up and there was nothing-no cars, no guards. We thought we had the wrong place, or maybe they had moved shop. We got inside about a hundred feet and someone saw our cuts and called out for Drake.”
Jase's teeth ground in anger. ”They were waiting for that little p.r.i.c.k to come back. No wonder they've had the drop on us at every turn. Drake has known where to find Maggie since she got here.”
”Bet our little wheeler and dealer was going to get a sweet cut of that ransom,” said Ghost.
”Well, the dude who spotted us inside was just as shocked as we were-at least enough that we got off a few shots and made it out of the building. Then s.h.i.+t just... got crazy.” Will shook his head and reloaded his gun.
”Had us pinned for a bit behind some dumpsters by that other trailer,” said Ghost with a point. ”Dudes only ever came out of that door, so it left us room to retreat. They holed up back inside after.”
”How many?”
”I only counted four that came out after us,” said Ghost.
”By now they might know the drop is f.u.c.ked and try to leave. If the first van lost the cops, though, they would be on their way here with more gunmen,” said Jase. ”We should go in now while there's a chance we can overtake them. We have to get Maggie out of there.”
”Waiting only gives them time to plan for us,” said Ghost. ”I'm in, let's do this.”
Will nodded, determined. ”On your lead, Jase.”
Thirty seconds later, Jase directed them out of the maintenance garage and off to different positions behind cover to make a staggered move on the factory door. The last twenty feet, with no structures to hide behind, had to be sprinted in the open.
Once all three of them gathered up at the door, Will said, ”The pathways around the machinery are narrow and straight. At ten o'clock high there's a foreman's office that overlooks the floor, someone on the stairs there spotted us.”
”We didn't get to scout right, but there's some kind of storage rooms back there. Gunmen definitely came from that direction, so something's back there,” said Ghost.
On an instinct, Jase said, ”Let's go right. Stay together.” He tested the doork.n.o.b with a turn and a shoulder shove. Something blocked the door's movement, but Jase was not to be stopped. With Will's help, they pushed until the sound of metal screeching echoed into the big factory. All three hurried in and found cover, waiting to be rushed. Instead they heard distant yelling bouncing off the walls.
With silent hand signals, Jase led them low between the rows of huge stationary machines. The far end of the building split into concrete hallways filled with square-doored rooms. They could hear clearly the makings of an argument between men now.
”If they aren't f.u.c.king answering, it's probably not for a good reason, you idiot! We have to get the f.u.c.k out of here before the cops show up!”
”I'm not going anywhere until I get the money I was promised for this s.h.i.+t!”
”Suit your G.o.dd.a.m.n self. I've already been f.u.c.king shot. I ain't staying here to get hauled off for all this so I can die in prison.”
Jase arranged Ghost and Will on either side of the room where the men argued unawares. He took point and entered the room boldly, unchallenged. He fired two shots and killed the man on the left side of the dirty storage room, the one who had been ready to stay and wait for his money.
The second man yelled as blood splattered his s.h.i.+rt and face. He turned to Jase and immediately raised one of his hands. The other arm dangled limply at his side, already oozing blood from the gunshot Maggie had given him. ”Oh f.u.c.k.”
”Where's the girl?” said Jase. He pointed the weapon at the man's face.
”I was just in this for the money! I tell you, y-you let me live through this!” begged the man.
Jase lowered and fired a shot into the man's leg. He screamed as he collapsed to the floor.
”Last chance,” said Jase.
”End of the hall,” said the man. He sobbed and pointed a shaking, b.l.o.o.d.y finger.