Alpha mike foxtrot, p.8
Alpha Mike Foxtrot, page 8
part #3 of Witness Protection Series
She was heard laughing over the radio. “Heads up,” she announced.
The faint sound of a plane was heard in the near distance. Monroe and Bogart both looked to the sky. The ten-passenger plane came into view, surprising both men.
“Uh, where’d you get the new wings?” Monroe asked into the radio.
“A special guest appearance,” Jackie teased back. “Special airborne coming to an amusement park near you.”
The plane’s engine suddenly cut out, leaving the plane gliding quietly through the air. Something dropped out the back. A parachute opened almost immediately.
“What the--?” Monroe gasped.
From his perch on top of the Ferris wheel, Zack immediately straightened and watched the man parachute into the back of the park with the silver sable German shepherd harnessed to his chest. Zack suddenly frowned.
“Why does the dog get all the fun?” Zack pouted.
The dog was released just before Gil hit the ground. Darth took off across the clearing and ran behind the bumper cars. Gil skillfully collected his parachute into a messy bundle and slipped out of sight, joining the dog. The plane’s engine started up, sputtered, and again went in and out. The plane teetered and eventually glided to a landing in the large open space that was once the parking lot outside the amusement park.
“Ah, Christ!” Ross’s voice cursed over everyone’s ear transmitters.
Back on the ridge, Bogart signaled to Monroe, who still held the radio. “Four men on ATVs are mounting up to greet her,” Bogart called to him.
“You have company, Jackie,” Monroe announced into the radio.
“How many weapons?” Jackie asked.
“Gun count,” Monroe announced through his ear transmitter.
“Possibly handguns,” Beck responded to the question from his vantage point. “No heavy firepower on them.”
“Handguns, Jackie,” Monroe informed her through the radio. “I think Triple A is coming out to assist the damsel in distress.”
“Just applying my lipstick now,” she teased.
Within the abandoned park, Darth trotted along the backs of old rides while sniffing the ground. Gil slipped along the sides of buildings and remained out of sight while keeping his eyes on the tablet in his hand. A camera affixed to the dog’s vest allowed him to see everything Darth was seeing. Gil flattened himself against a concession stand and watched the monitor.
“New toy?” Zack asked from over Gil’s shoulder.
Gil jumped with surprise and looked at Zack, who now peered over his shoulder. “Damn it, Zack,” he grumbled. “I wish you’d stop playing ninja around me. You’re gonna get shot one of these days.”
“What’s he tracking?” Zack asked without regard to the comment.
“We let him sniff some of the girls’ dirty clothes back at the house,” Gil replied.
“Uh, huh,” Zack remarked showing little interest. “Unfortunately, everything they own smells like their horses.”
They watched as Darth approached the generator fence. He excitedly watched the horses. Gil groaned softly. There was a soft whistle. Darth suddenly turned and ran for the large building. As he closed in on the building, Monique and Colleen were seen through the small, barred window level with the ground.
Within the cell, Monique and Colleen excitedly pet the dog through the bars.
“He’s wearing a vest,” Monique cried out softly. “That means he’s a police dog.”
Colleen then pointed to the camera. “It’s a camera!”
Both girls became excited and waved at the camera. “Help us,” both girls cried softly. “We’re down here!”
Chapter Eleven
Jackie stood on a small step stool just outside the plane’s engine compartment. She tinkered around within the engine as the four men on ATVs approached. She had discarded her leather jacket on the pull-down steps near the flight deck, allowing the men to get a full look at her in her white tank top. Her top hung down to her hips, just far enough to cover the gun holster in the back of her pants. Her white tank top was nearly see through and easily revealed her lacy, white bra beneath. Her formfitting black pants were tucked inside her knee-high black boots. She certainly gave the illusion of being unarmed and non-threatening. The men, all dressed in store-bought Army fatigues, stopped their four wheelers and took in an eyeful of Jackie as she casually turned on the step stool. One man remained serious, although the other three couldn’t hide their grins at the attractive woman with her awe-inspiring cleavage staring them in the face. Jackie appeared relieved and smiled sweetly at the men, who dismounted their ATVs.
“Aren’t you boys a sight for sore eyes,” she announced and carefully walked down the three steps from the stool, taking extra care to give them maximum view of her cleavage.
“You’re lucky you didn’t crash,” the first man announced, easily falling for her damsel in distress charm.
Jackie grinned and raised her brows seductively. “Technically, I did.” She approached her jacket on the steps, picking it up while being careful to keep the semiautomatic beneath it concealed. She turned toward the men while maintaining her smile. “I busted a waterline,” she informed them. “I have duct tape, which should temporarily fix it long enough to reach the nearest airport, but I’m a little low on water.” She grimaced slightly. “You boys wouldn’t happen to have a gallon of water I could borrow, would you?”
“You’re in luck,” the first man replied cheerfully. “We have plenty of water.”
“Toby will get that for you,” the serious man informed her. He obviously wasn’t as trusting or nearly as taken by her seduction act.
The first man, who was obviously Toby, appeared disappointed and reluctantly drove back to the abandoned amusement park.
The serious looking man indicated her plane. “Mind if I check her out?”
His request wasn’t as much curiosity as distrust. Jackie shrugged and gestured toward the entrance near the flight deck.
“Be my guest,” she announced simply.
The serious man wasted little time climbing the few steps into the plane. The remaining two men took advantage of the other man’s departure to put the moves on the attractive, female pilot. Jackie couldn’t help but wonder if her boys were so easily distracted by strategically placed cleavage. She assumed if they were that they probably wouldn’t have lived as long as they had.
†
Zack and Gil joined Darth outside the small barred window where Monique and Colleen eagerly awaited their rescue. Both girls were relieved to see the two, heavily armed men approaching. The men crouched low to the ground on either side of the window. Zack kept his back to the wall and surveyed the area while clutching his semiautomatic. His assault rifle remained casually slung over his shoulder while not in use. Gil glanced through the window at the two girls below.
“Thank God,” Colleen gasped.
“You girls okay?” Gil asked gently.
Both nodded.
“I’m Gil and that’s Zack,” he informed them. “We’re going to get you out of there, but we need you to remain calm and stay quiet. Okay?”
“Just get us out of here,” Monique whispered with a sense of urgency.
“We will,” Gil announced in a calm, reassuring tone, “just as soon as the rest of our team arrives. We don’t know how many men are inside the building.”
“There were at least eight men here the day they captured us,” Monique informed him.
Colleen was suddenly staring off. “What’s he doing?” she asked, catching Gil’s attention.
Gil and Monique looked across the small courtyard to the tractor-trailer. Zack opened the back door and peered inside. Gil groaned softly.
“Just being nosy,” Gil informed Colleen.
Zack hurried to join them as Ross, Kirk, and Beck approached, keeping low to the ground. Zack appeared excited for the first time and grinned at what he’d discovered.
“That truck is filled with weapons,” Zack announced gleefully. Most things that went boom were enough to make Zack giddy with delight.
“Well, at least we know what’s so damned important here,” Ross muttered.
Monroe and Bogart soon joined them. It was difficult to tell if the teenage girls were impressed or frightened by the sheer number of weapons their rescuers carried.
“Jackie’s entertaining three of the guys,” Monroe announced. “The fourth one came back to the park.”
“There are at least four more men,” Gil informed Ross.
“Okay,” Ross announced then indicated the door. “That’s our exit point.”
“What about the guns?” Zack eagerly asked.
“We’re not worrying about the guns,” Ross informed him in a stern tone.
“Stealing the truck would be a great diversion,” Beck announced casually.
“You’re right,” Ross replied while glancing at Beck. “Good idea.”
Zack appeared offended. “Why wasn’t it a good idea when I suggested it?”
Beck glanced at Zack and offered a sly grin. “Because you’re, well, you,” he replied then looked back at Ross. “Give me five minutes to hot-wire it.”
“Keys are in the ignition,” Zack muttered, clearly annoyed.
Beck gave Zack a look then hurried for the semi-truck.
“Watch for company once that truck starts,” Ross informed the guys.
†
Jackie casually leaned against the plane while the two men were eager to make small talk in a clumsy attempt to cozy up to the attractive pilot.
“What brings you out here?” the first man eagerly asked.
“Are you from around here?” the second man chimed in while giving her a quick once over.
Jackie heard the man within the plane thump around, but she didn’t let the sound distract her. The sound of the tractor-trailer caught their attention. Unbeknownst to them, she had the semiautomatic beneath her jacket aimed at them. She smiled sweetly at both men.
“Actually, I volunteered for a search and rescue mission,” she announced boldly. “Perhaps you’d heard about the two missing girls?”
Both men tensed but immediately covered with innocent looks with timid smiles.
“No, we hadn’t heard about any missing girls,” the second man responded.
“Oh,” Jackie commented while raising her brows then smirked. “So how do you explain their horses over there by the chain link fence?”
Her words were enough to alarm them. Both men reached for the guns hidden down the back of their pants. Jackie had her gun aimed at the first man before he could even draw his weapon. She shot him in the chest then immediately turned toward the second man, who now had his gun drawn. Jackie squeezed the trigger and shot him in the forehead, exploding blood and brain matter out the back of his head. The man from the plane leaped down the steps with his weapon in hand, having heard the gunshots. Jackie spun into a roundhouse kick without barely looking at him, and kicked him in the chest, sending him to the plane steps. Despite the hard hit, he aimed his gun at her. Jackie fired first, shooting the man in the chest. He died almost instantly. Jackie hated the killing aspect, but she knew it was them or her, especially when there wasn’t an opportunity to take prisoners. The last thing she wanted or needed was a man she thought was down coming back and killing one of her guys. She frowned and shook her head.
“You couldn’t just stay down, could you?” she muttered with disgust.
Jackie casually collected weapons from the three dead men then watched as the tractor-trailer sped past her, its air horn blowing. Beck grinned sweetly and waved to her. A jeep with two men and two four wheelers were soon following after the truck. Jackie remained just out of sight by the steps, but the men in the vehicles didn’t give her or their men a second glance. They undoubtedly assumed the men had the situation under control, perhaps because they knew she was a woman. Bad assumption.
Chapter Twelve
The six men and Darth entered the building with their assault rifles leading the way. The building was quiet and empty, providing no resistance as they approached the basement door marked ‘employees only’. Once they passed through the door, Ross signaled for Kirk to remain just inside the basement door. He remained hidden behind the door and kept watch on the room beyond it, allowing him to see the main entrance as well as the back corridor to the rear exit. The other five continued down the stairs to the basement with Darth leading the way. He was stealth and took his job seriously. They reached the security office, discovering it too was empty. One door led to the accounting office, which contained the park safe and the area used to count revenue. The second door led to the holding cells containing the two girls. Gil and Darth stood guard in the security office doorway, with clear view of Kirk at the top of the stairs.
The four men swept the security office for keys to the holding cell door and the cells themselves, but they came up empty. Zack already had his lock pick device out and worked on the outer cell door. It didn’t take long for him to manipulate the lock. He opened the door, grinned, and extended his hand for Monroe to enter. Monroe hurried into the holding cell area and approached the girls, who now collected by the cell door.
“Oh, thank God,” Colleen gasped.
“Hurry,” Monique whispered with mounting concern.
Zack worked on the lock to the cell door while Monroe questioned the girls to their condition.
“Are you both okay?” Monroe asked while glancing over them for any visible signs of abuse. “Any injuries?”
“We’re fine,” Monique replied.
Zack opened the cell door. Both girls ran out of the cell while securing their cowboy hats firmly on their heads.
“If you can just get us to our horses--” Monique began but was interrupted.
“The only place you’re heading is to our getaway plane,” Ross informed them firmly.
Both girls appeared alarmed. “We can’t leave our horses,” Colleen proclaimed louder than intended.
“We don’t have to take them with us,” Monique announced. “We just need to set my horse free. They’ll go back home on their own.”
Bogart gave Ross a stern look. “We can certainly open the gate for the other horse,” Bogart announced to his boss.
Ross glared disapprovingly at Bogart then shook his head. “Only if it doesn’t put any lives in danger,” he replied.
He herded the girls into the security office where Gil waited by the door with Darth. Colleen saw her bullwhip lying on top of the nearby desk. She grabbed her whip and clung to it. Ross nodded to Monroe. He headed for the door and slipped out, checking with Kirk to see if the coast was clear. Ross appeared stern while looking at both girls.
“We’re going to move out in pairs,” he informed them. “There are only two ways out of this fun park. The downed gate in the rear beyond the roller coaster and the main entrance. We’re heading for the main entrance and an awaiting plane. You’re going to keep down and stay quiet.” Ross indicated Monique. “You’re with Zack. No matter what happens, you remained glued to him.” He then looked at Colleen. “I want you to stick with--” Ross looked at Bogart then pointed across the room to Gil. “You’re with Gil.”
Bogart appeared offended, his mouth hanging open in protest. “Hey,” he immediately proclaimed. “I can do this. Let me protect the squirt.”
“Squirt?” Colleen demanded while gripping her bullwhip.
Bogart’s eyes pleaded with Ross. “Come on, Ross,” he announced with conviction. “I’ve proven myself dozens of times. I can do this.”
Ross groaned softly, although he didn’t appear convinced. “Fine,” he scoffed then looked at Colleen. “You’re with Bogart.”
“Clear,” Monroe announced from the hallway just past Gil.
“Okay, men,” Ross announced then hesitated, “and ladies. Move it out.”
Ross led them from the room and headed up the stairs to join Kirk. Zack and Monique followed, with Colleen and Bogart behind them. Gil and Monroe brought up the rear. They reached the top of the stairs and headed for the back hallway. Men could be heard approaching from the back of the building. Ross signaled to his team. They headed for the front while keeping quiet. Gil and Monroe kept watch on their rear flank in anticipation of the approaching men. Ross checked to see if the front was clear. Zack removed an Uzi from a hidden holster on his back, cocked it, and handed it to Monique. She uncertainly accepted the weapon. He then approached the door. Monique stared at the massive weapon in her hand and exchanged looks with her friend. Kirk glanced at the Uzi in Monique’s hand, rolled his eyes, and took the gun from her while shaking his head. He handed her a semiautomatic instead. Monique again eyed Colleen. Colleen shrugged.
Monique hurried to keep up with Zack. The main street beyond the building entrance was clear, allowing them to filter into the main thoroughfare while keeping close to the building. Monique kept close to Zack. As Colleen followed Bogart from the building, two men appeared from the back hallway. Gil and Monroe fired upon the men, taking the first armed man down. The second returned to the safety of the connecting hallway and fired at them. Now that gunshots were fired, others would be alerted to trespassers. Monroe and Gil fired back while making their way to the front door with the others.
Once outside, more men on four wheelers came at them from the front of the park. There were six on ATVs and more than ten on foot. Ross signaled to his men. They split up and ran into the park, taking opposite sides. Zack hurried Monique inside one of the concession stands where they hid. Both flattened against the stand and watched several men run past on the main thoroughfare. They heard a four wheeler approaching. Zack looked at Monique.
“I’m going to commandeer a vehicle,” he informed her. “Can you drive a four wheeler?”
Monique nodded.
“Straight back to the roller coaster and out the back opening,” he informed her. “No matter what happens, don’t stop and don’t look back. We’re heading up the hill to the jeep on the ridge. Got it?”
