camera with the other she nodded to Dave to hoist her up. He to press the button on the control box and a winch lifted her cleanly to the top of the cabinet where she jumped off.
Engaging the hook with the edge of the cabinet, she called to Dave. "Move the winch back where we found it. I’ll swing down when I have this installed."
Working quickly, she positioned the camera to have a clear view of most of the hanger. Satisfied, she pressed the on button. A small LED glowed.
Suddenly, the lights in the hanger flicked on. She dropped silently to the top of the cabinet. Peering over the edge she saw five men by the door they had entered. Two had guns pointed at TJ and Dave.
"Shit," she muttered to herself.
Then she realized that the men were lined up perfectly opposite her on the far side of the winch. She grinned. She had always wanted to do this. Releasing the winch hook, she grabbed the chain and swung in a long, fast arc smashing into the men with her feet extended.
"Run," she shouted as she fell into the pile of very confused, very angry men.
Rescue
3:00 a.m. Thursday
TJ dashed out the door, and lifting the hem of her skirt, sprinted back to the car. Even in a skirt, as she beat Dave by five seconds.
"Give me the keys," he shouted.
She reached into her purse then remembered.
"Rachel has the keys."
"And they have Rachel," he panted. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
They ran another block along the road and turned down an alley into a warren of small shops.
"TJ, back here," he called from behind her.
He was holding open a section of chain-link fence, motioning her through.
She shrugged off her jacket and slipped through the gap, losing a button to one of the links. Dave followed her through the fence and led her to the rear of the building
"Rachel," she gasped.
"They got her."
"We've got to get help."
He shook his head. "Your friends in Washington will be too late."
"You're not seriously considering going after her ourselves? Those thugs had guns."
"Maybe," he replied. "But I have a plan."
She folded her arms and stared incredulously at him.
"And just what is that plan?"
"The plan? The plan is," he began, then paused.
She waited, letting him sweat, but he just grinned back confidently. Finally she broke the silence.
"I'm waiting."
"Me too."
His phone chirped, and he pulled it from his pocket.
"I've thought of a plan."
An hour and a half later they were driving into the hills in TJ's new rental car.
"How can you be sure they took her up here?" she asked.
"Tradecraft," he grinned back.
"Tradecraft," she muttered. "Back at UM I always had to find your parka for you."
He glanced at the GPS display on his phone resting in the tray between the seats.
"We park here. We'll have to bushwhack the rest of the way."
She sighed and appraised the damage that had already been done to her wardrobe. The top button on her blouse was gone, replaced by some grease smudges, and there was a tear her skirt.
Dave slowed the car and turned through a gap in the trees.
"Here we are," he announced turning off the engine and the lights.
"Where's Rachel," she asked.
He pointed up the hill. "About a half mile that way."
He led the way up the dark hill through the trees.
"So how long have you known Rachel?" she asked.
He paused to consider. "Almost 10 hours now."
"Introduction to making out on the beach to dire peril in 10 hours,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Some things never change.”
“Shhh,” he whispered.
A head a light switched on, illuminating the door. She froze, holding her breath. Through the trees, she could make out to man exiting the door. A moment later a car started and headlights switched on. The car drove away to the left, and the light at the door switched off.
He pointed at the house, then crept forward.
"Wait," she whispered, "what do we do when we get there? They have guns."
He reached back, grabbed her hand, and led her forward.
"I'll think of something."
He angled to the right of the house, moving as quietly as possible through the brush and trees. A branch snagged and extended the rip in her skirt, and she cursed him silently. He paused to the edge of the vegetation surrounding the house. She heard his phone vibrate and saw him quickly look at the screen.
"There's one guard in a house," he whispered, "We need to draw him out."
"And how do you propose to do that?"
It was too dark to see his face, but she could feel him grin.
"Easy, just show some leg."
"What?"
"Work your way to the drive on the other side of the house. Then come back down the drive asking if someone is home that can help you. When the thug comes out, I'll hit him from behind."
"That's insane."
"Trust me, it'll work. Just be sure to hike up your skirt."
I should have slapped him, she thought as she picked her way back through the trees, emerging on the deeply rutted drive. She took 10 deep breaths, then turned and faced the house.
"Hello, is anyone there?"
She paused and listened.
"Hello, my car broke down and I'm lost. Can someone help me?"
She heard the door open and the soft tread of feet along the drive. Suddenly, she was blinded by a flashlight beam.
"Hey pretty lady, I will help," a voice behind a light drawled. "You come inside. I help."
She wondered if Dave wanted her to go forward, then thought, the hell with Dave, I'm not going in that house.
"My car is back this way," she replied timidly. "Can you help me?"
The voice laughed and the light moved forward. "Sure, sure. I help."
She heard a sharp crack and the light fell to the ground. A dark form picked up the light and shone it on a prone figure.
"TJ," Dave called, "help me with this guy."
She joined him standing over the prone man and took the light when he handed it to her. He quickly removed the shoelaces from the man's shoes, then rolling the man onto his stomach, tied his thumbs together behind his back with the first shoe lace and tied his feet together with the second. Then he reached down and picked up a large gun from the ground.
“Okay, let's go get Rachel."
He went confidently through the door, and after a moment called back. "I think it's safe. Bring the light."
She played the light around the small room, which was badly in need of cleaning. Something moved in the far corner and she illuminated it with the beam. Rachel!
Dave ran to her and quickly removed the gag from her mouth.
"Am I glad to see you," Rachel quipped levelly. "Your coming is a good sign. We must survive a little longer. Did Dave 2 send you?"
He nodded as he untied Rachel's wrists.
TJ carefully examined Rachel with a flashlight beam, looking for injuries.
"Let me see your eyes, hon," she directed.
Rachel grinned. "I'm not the one that needs to be worried about her health. Let's go get those guys."
Dave's phone chirped and he glanced at the screen.
"We need to go now," he said. "Can you walk?"
"I can kick ass," Rachel replied.
Dave led the way out of the house into the darkness and up the drive. Rachel gave the unconscious thug a sharp kick to the ribs as she passed.
"Can we take this road to our car," TJ asked.
Dave nodded. "I think so, and it will be faster than bushwhacking."
They started off down the road, walking close together, Dave occasionally checking the GPS on his phone.
<
br /> After 15 minutes, he broke the silence. "It should be another 200 m ahead."
TJ heard it first, the distant crunch of a car traveling quickly over the dirt road.
"Someone's coming!"
Rachel motioned to the side of the road. “Follow me through here."
A moment later they were crouched among the trees and bushes at the side of the road, watching. The car drew quickly closer before they herded screeched to a halt.
"I don't like the sound of that," Dave muttered.
TJ held perfectly still, straining to hear what was happening down the road. Finally, she heard doors slamming and the car began moving again, but slowly this time.
"They found the car," she concluded.
Rachel nodded. "We’ll have to find another way down. Let's put some distance between ourselves and the road."
Dave led the way traversing the side of the hill. It was slow going through the thick vegetation, but TJ didn't mind. She was happy for the cover. Behind them she could hear the car cruising slowly along the road.
After 20 minutes, she heard more vehicles speeding up the hill. Through a small clearing in the trees, she spotted two sets of headlights.
"We need to move faster," she declared.
"We’ll be okay as long as they don't know which way we went," Dave consoled.
And then the dog started barking. It wasn't too close, but it echoed across the hillside like a fire alarm.
“Shit,” Rachel exclaimed.
They picked up the pace. Three minutes later, they heard a car cruising slowly below them along an unseen track.
“We need to go up,” Rachel concluded.
Dave’s phone chirped and he checked it quickly.
“There’s another way,” he stated. “Follow me.”
They angled down the hill until they were only a few meters from the road, then paralleled it for another hundred meters.
She heard the car returning and whispered sharply, “Get down.”
She held her breath as the car slowly cruised past.
“We’ll go as soon it’s out of sight,” he whispered.
But the car didn’t continue down the road. Instead it