In a soft, spooky voice, he said, “Listen to me, El Cobra Pequeño, if you ever threaten my family again, I shall place a curse on the magic pouch and your life will become one of endless torment.” Then he laughed softly. “Holy cow, Danni. You ought to be in the movies.”
Clay’s voice crackled softly over the radio. “Amen. You even gave me the chills.”
“Oh, stop it,” I said, holding back a laugh. “My hands are still shaking like crazy.”
Rick reached up and took one of them. “Liar. You’re steady as a rock.” He started to release his grip, but I hung on.
“It takes a few minutes to detect it,” I said.
“Like how many?”
“About thirty.”
He laughed, but he didn’t let go. And it felt good.
After a minute or two, he carefully peeked around the ATV’s front tire. “Do you know if they have binoculars?”
“I don’t think so. All they’re doing is sitting there smoking cigarettes. They’re not very happy.”
Clay came on again. “We’re moving in.”
“Don’t get too close,” I said quickly. “El Cobra probably left them with a satellite phone.”
There was a soft chuckle. “Ah, Danni. Does the fox really think she needs to teach the weasel how to steal eggs?”
I laughed. “Sorry. Force of habit.”
“Actually, I think it’s wonderful. You’re doing great. And we’ll stay well out of sight until you call us in. In the meantime, tell us exactly what happened. We only caught part of what he was saying.”
“Yeah,” Rick said. “What did you give him after the money? He was really mad.”
I told them.
“Say that again,” Clay blurted.
“I gave him a bobble-head doll that was a perfect miniature of himself. It even had a name on the base: Cobra Pequeño. Little Cobra.”
Rick let out a low whistle. “The pouch did that?”
“It did.”
There was a long silence. “Are you still there?” I asked.
“Yeah, sorry,” Clay said. “Just thinking there is yet another thing I’m not sure how to include in my report. But well done, Danni. Excellent work. You’ve not only thrown him off stride, you’ve got him angry. And greedy. Obviously, he’s thinking about the pouch now and not just the twenty million. That can only work to our advantage.”
“I hope so,” I said.
“Hold on a sec. I’ve got a call coming in.”
It was more than a second. It was three or four minutes before the radio popped softly again.
“Okay. That was from my guys in Hanksville. The Jeep came through about ten minutes ago. They stopped briefly at Danni’s house and got some things. Your father and grandfather were with them. Then they took off again. How far is the Yukon behind them, Danni?”
“Maybe ten minutes or so.”
“Okay, we’ll watch for them.”
It was almost exactly ten minutes later when Clay came back on the radio. By this time I had angled the four-wheeler around enough to provide a little shade. I was sitting in the shade, but on the side of the ATV where the two men could still see me and I could watch them. Rick was sitting on the opposite side, hidden from view of the two men.
“Danni?” Clay called.
“Here.”
“Just got word that the Yukon is in Hanksville. They’re stopped at the gas station at the junction. No sign of Cody.”
“They wouldn’t let him out,” I said. “Everyone in town knows him. But they’ll regret not letting him stop. He’s got a bladder the size of a bean.”
Clay chuckled, then went on. “They left two men behind.”
That caught me up short. Then I nodded. “Let me guess—Gordo and Doc.”
“Say again.”
“My names for them.” I briefly explained how I had nicknamed them at the house. “Gordo is at least a foot shorter than Doc, and obviously likes to eat. Doc is tall and dark, very muscular, very buff. Ugly face, rough complexion. Gives me the creeps. Probably has a bandage on his right hand.”
“How did you know that? He didn’t have it on when he went in the station, but he did when he came back out.”
I explained how the pistol had turned hot and burned his hand.
There was a soft exclamation of surprise. “Man, you are something else.”
“Not me. Le Gardien.”
There was a momentary pause. “The Yukon filled up with gas before heading south. But these two—Doc and Gordo—had another vehicle waiting for them at one of the motels.”
“A black Hummer?” I asked.
“No. Probably too recognizable. It’s a silver Ford Explorer, Colorado plates. They were headed in your direction, then holed up in the willows along the river where they can see the highway. We assume they’re waiting for you.”
“Perfect!” I exclaimed. Rick and I exchanged looks. He nodded. “Then I’d say let’s give the UHP a call.”
“Already did. And by the way, she said to say hello.”
“She?” Rick asked.
“Yeah, Officer Blake. Said she’d already met you two. Said I needed to hear that story some time.”
I laughed softly. Maybe this was going to work after all.
“She’ll be waiting at the Shell station. Drive by slowly so she sees you. And so she can see if anyone is following you. You’re stopping for lunch, right?”
“Right. I’m famished, and Rick looks as though he’s about to faint.”
“I’m betting our two guys check out your vehicle while you’re eating. So don’t leave it unlocked. Too obvious. And, Danni, I would—”
“Clay. Are you forgetting that Hanksville is my town? Would you really try to teach the fox how to get into the henhouse?”
His laughter was a bark of delight. “Right. Sorry.”
“Okay,” I said, straightening. “We’re moving.”
“Ten-four. The chopper is standing by for your signal. Good luck.”
I started the engine, put the ATV in gear, and started to roll. Up ahead, I could see both men come out to stand in the road. Both assault rifles were pointed at me. I drove slowly. The last thing I wanted to do was spook them. When I was about thirty or forty feet away from them, the nearest man held up one hand. I immediately brought the four-wheeler to a stop.
“Your boss should be out by now,” I called. “Have you heard from him?”
They exchanged glances. Clearly, they were skittish. They were staring at me like I was wired with a bomb around my waist. Finally, the nearest one nodded. “You are free to go, señorita.”
“I need to talk to El Cobra.” I reached into my pocket and took out my cell phone. “I can’t get reception out here, but I need to talk to him. So you call him and tell him that.’”
They conferred briefly, then the nearest guy punched some numbers into his satellite phone. He put the phone to his ear. As he did so, I touched the pouch with my fingertips. In a moment, his expression became perplexed. He entered the number again, but with the same result. He looked at his companion. They exchanged words in Spanish. Then he said, “No signal.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” I raised one arm high and waved.
BLAM! Again the crack of a rifle shattered the stillness. A spray of sand shot up from between them. They jumped and whirled around, dropping into a crouch.
I yanked my rifle out and fired a round into the air. “Drop your weapons! Put your hands in the air.”
Rick and I watched as Clay’s men loaded the two men into the chopper, hands cuffed behind them. They were guarded by two agents in addition to Clay. I was holding their satellite phone. I hit the power button and heard a dial tone. “It’s working again. You two ready?”
Both Rick and Clay nodded. I hit the redial button and the phone started beeping immediately. It only rang once before someone picked it up.
“Hola.” It was Eileen’s voice.
“This is Danni. Put El Cobra on.”
She muttered something
in Spanish, but a few moments later, El Cobra was on. “What are doing?” he demanded.
“Just so you know, your two guys are so spooked by the pouch, they want nothing more to do with you and your deal.”
“What have you done with them?” he screamed, his voice cracking with rage.
“Never laid a hand on them. Last I saw, they were headed west, putting as much distance between you and them as possible. They’re hoping they can find someone who will give them a ride out to the west entrance. I have their phone. I’ll keep it with me so if we need to talk we can.”
As he began cursing and raving, I terminated the connection. I handed the phone to Clay. “Can we go now?”
Clay was beaming. “Well done, guys. Want a lift to your truck?”
I shook my head. “We’ll take the four-wheeler. We may need it for phase two.”
“Right. And by the way, as promised, the item you requested is in the truck.”
I gave him a thumbs up. “See you in Ireland.”
Chapter 62
By the time we took the four-wheeler around to Rick’s truck on top of the mesa, got it loaded in the back of the pickup, and drove out to the highway, it was coming up on two o’clock. We turned east. Hanksville was about twelve miles away.
“We could have a problem,” Rick said. “They’ll be looking for my truck, not this one. Be a shame if they missed us.”
I took out my cell phone and waved it in front of him. “They won’t miss us. They already know we’re coming.”
Rick let the truck slow as we passed the reduced speed limit sign on the west outskirts of Hanksville. A minute later we both saw it at the same time. A silver Explorer was parked in the shade of a tamarisk tree about twenty yards off the road.
Rick watched the rearview mirror as we continued into town. About thirty seconds later, he nodded. “They just pulled onto the highway, coming our way.”
A few moments later, we slowly rolled past the Shell station. Parked on the east side of the building was a white Utah Highway Patrol car. I nudged Rick. “There she is.” A woman in uniform was standing beside the car. As we passed, she raised a hand and waved. I waved back. “All right,” I said. “Let’s get some lunch.”
We pulled into the station at the junction, the famous one with the convenience store carved out of a cliff face. “Give me a minute,” I said. As Rick waited, I checked to make sure my blouse was pulled out and hung loose around my waist.
“You can’t tell,” Rick said. “Not unless you really look close.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
After filling up the truck, Rick went in to pay, and we both took a bathroom break. When we came back out, I looked into the front seat of the truck. The pouch was still on the seat where I had left it. Not a big surprise. There were too many people around and the truck was right in the middle of the parking lot. Without being too obvious, I glanced around. No Explorer in sight.
“I’m ravenous,” I called to Rick. “How about some lunch?”
“I’m with you on that one.” We moved the car away from the pumps over to the restaurant, which was next door. There were several cars out front, so Rick pulled around to the side and parked beside an old truck rusting in the sun; it partially obscured our truck from the highway.
I hid the pouch under the seat, then reminded Rick to lock the doors as we got out and headed inside.
We were warmly greeted by some of the locals—both staff and customers. We were back in home country. The good thing was nobody seemed to have noticed we’d been gone all week.
When we came out forty-five minutes later, I stopped on the veranda of the restaurant and stretched, using it as an opportunity to look around. Still no sign of the Explorer or anything suspicious. As soon as Rick unlocked the doors, I checked under the seat. The pouch was gone. They had taken the bait. I felt a thrill of elation, but for anyone possibly watching, I gave a loud cry. “Rick, the pouch is gone.”
“Are you sure? I thought you put it under the seat.”
“I did. But it’s gone. Didn’t you lock the truck?”
“I did. You saw me do it.”
“Then how can the pouch be gone?”
“I don’t know, Danni. But we can’t just stand here wailing about it. We’ve got to keep moving.”
“What’ll I do?” I cried. “That pouch is our only hope against these guys.”
Shaking his head, he told me to get in the car. I did so reluctantly, but once we drove away, turning south onto Highway 95, I gave him a shaky grin. “Okay, so far, so good.” I checked the bulk around my waist. The rope handle was digging in a little, so I readjusted it, then looked at Rick. “Round two.”
About five minutes later, Rick looked up, staring in his rearview mirror. “Danni?”
“Yeah?”
“I think that’s the Explorer behind us. Maybe three quarters of a mile back.”
I looked out the back window. The vehicle behind us was far enough away that it was pretty small, but I could tell it was a light-colored SUV. “I think you’re right. Okay. Hold it right at sixty-five. It’s Saturday afternoon. With all the Lake Powell traffic, they’re not going to run us off the road. Especially if there’s a highway patrol car between us and them.”
This was one of the trickiest parts of the whole plan. We needed things to happen at the right time and in the right place. That was critical. If El Cobra’s men decided to run us off the road or something like that, it would change everything. To ensure that wouldn’t happen, Clay’s plan was that Officer Blake would leave Hanksville while we had lunch. She would stop alongside the road a few miles south of town, looking like she had set up a speed trap. Once we passed her, she’d pull out, putting herself between us and the Explorer. We hoped that would ensure that our two pursuers didn’t try something before we wanted them too.
It sounded great, but there were so many ways things could go wrong that my stomach was doing flip-flops, handstands, and somersaults. I knew it would be a major mistake to underestimate El Cobra’s determination or his ingenuity. Everything depended on Officer Blake.
“Okay, there she is,” Rick said as we crested a low rise and could see the highway ahead for some distance. Up ahead, about half a mile, a white Utah Highway Patrol car was pulled off on our side of the road. Officer Blake was right where she was supposed to be.
“Tap your brakes. We all do that when we see a cop ahead of us.”
He did so, then took a quick breath. “I hope this works.”
As we flashed by her at sixty-five miles an hour, I saw that she was sitting behind the wheel. “Not too quickly,” I murmured, watching her in the side view mirror. “We need you right between us.” Then, to my astonishment, the lights atop her cruiser came on, and she roared onto the highway behind us.
“What?” I cried. “No. Wait.”
But it was too late. She was in full pursuit, gaining on us quickly, red-and-blue lights flashing ominously.
Rick started to brake, heading for a place where the shoulder was wide enough to accommodate us. “What’s going on?” he said, watching his mirror.
I didn’t answer. The Explorer was still a ways back, but it was slowing too.
“What is she thinking?” I said through clenched teeth. “Didn’t Clay tell her how critical this part of the plan was?”
“Well, we’re about to find out,” he said as Officer Blake opened her door and got out. Leaving the lights flashing, she started toward us. Rick rolled down the window.
“Sorry,” she said as she came up and leaned in. “Change of plans. Zabriskie called on the satellite phone. Your brother is in a speedboat with El Cobra headed downriver toward Iceberg Canyon. But four men left Bullfrog about ten minutes ago in the white Yukon. Clay thinks they’re on their way to help the two guys behind you. This increases the risk tremendously, and he recommends we abort. He told me to pull you over, let our guys pass, then get you back to Hanksville.”
“No!” I cried. “We can’t abort. We won??
?t get another chance like this.”
She glanced back, and I turned to look. The Explorer was five or six hundred yards back and still coming, but not much faster than a crawl. I could only imagine what was going on in their vehicle right now.
Blake turned back to me. “Zabriskie knows you’re disappointed, but he says that six men changes the whole equation.”
I had to look away. Disappointed didn’t come close to describing how I felt. I had pulled off a major coup this morning and reduced El Cobra’s forces by two men, and now Clay was getting cold feet? This was what I had been afraid of in the first place. That was the bottom line, wasn’t it? The kids couldn’t handle it.
Officer Blake saw the dismay on my face. “I’m sorry. The risks are just too high.”
“Wait a minute,” Rick said. “We’re what, twenty miles from the turnoff to Bullfrog? But Bullfrog is forty miles past that. We’ll be way past the junction by the time they get there and can meet up with those guys behind us.”
I reached for my the satellite phone. “I’m calling El Cobra. I’ll tell him we know about the men and have him back off.”
“That won’t work, Danni,” Rick shot right back. “Supposedly, you don’t have the pouch anymore. There’s no way you could know about the other men unless you’re working with the police. And that could be disastrous.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Besides, here they come.”
As I started to turn, his hand shot out and grabbed my arm. “No! Don’t look at them. Let them pass.”
Officer Blake turned her head as well, and she suddenly stiffened. “Uh-oh.”
I couldn’t help myself. I had to see what she had seen. When I did, I went rigid too. The Explorer’s turn signal was flashing, and they were pulling off the highway about twenty yards behind the patrol car.
Blake reached down and unbuckled her holster. “Stay here. I’ll handle this.”
As she started toward them, the Explorer came to a full stop. Blake held up a hand. The driver’s door opened and Doc got out.
“Sir,” she called. “Please move on. This is a routine traffic stop. We don’t need any help. Get back in your vehicle and move on.”