Part 78 (1/2)

The voice chuckled. ”He's making you do all the legwork now, huh?”

”I guess so. What else are brothers for, huh?”

”You sound different. You okay?”

Annja frowned. d.a.m.n. ”Just a cold. Been out in the rain all d.a.m.n night getting the stuff. Now I'm coming down with something.”

”Well, we finish up our business maybe we can get a drink.”

”Sure.”

”It'll be nice to see you again, Sheila.”

”Yeah. Gotta go.”

Annja disconnected the call. So much for the idea that maybe she could pull this off without anyone knowing about it. If the guy on the other end of the phone knew Sheila and what she looked like, then Annja's plan would be up the moment they saw her.

She took a deep breath and checked her speed. While she doubted any State Police would haul her over, given that she was driving a police vehicle, she had to make sure she didn't chance it. Getting busted with drugs would not help her situation.

Annja navigated her way to the outskirts of the city and then pulled over long enough to check the map again for the directions. Fortunately, they'd been written well and Annja found the signs easily enough. After another twenty minutes of travel, she rolled into the rendezvous site.

She didn't expect anyone to be there yet. She'd told the guy on the phone that she was still forty minutes away to buy herself some time. Getting there first, Annja could check out the environment and see if there was any way she could pull off a successful ambush.

The pickings were slim. She looked around and saw that the meeting place was in the middle of a parking lot at the end of an alley next to a warehouse. The warehouse was long boarded up and shuttered so Annja wouldn't have access to it during the meet.

Just as bad was the fact that the parking lot was wide open from all sides. It would have been tough positioning a sniper at distance for this meet, let alone finding a way to handle the group who were no doubt already on their way.

Great, she thought. What am I going to do now?

Another burst of rain opened up on the car and the water fell down so hard that it drummed a steady rhythm onto the roof of the Tahoe. Annja was glad she wasn't out in the rain.

But it did give her an idea.

She would have to stay inside the truck until the last possible second. Once her contacts arrived, they wouldn't be able to see inside the car because of the rain-streaked windows. They wouldn't know who she was until she got out.

So she would have to throw herself out of the truck and come up attacking them as they arrived.

It was the only way.

If she could get to them before they all got out of their cars, then she'd have a fighting chance. But if she messed up and they were all out, they could simply mow her down as she came at them.

It was not what she had in mind when she'd decided to follow this trail to the end. She realized she hadn't had anything in mind other than doing something. something.

The timing would be critical.

The cell phone chirped and Annja put it up to her ear. ”Yeah?”

”It's me. We're five minutes out. You there?”

”Just got here. It's pouring down.”