Sudden Impact (Tom Rollins Thrillers Book 13), page 8
Emma laughs at this. After seeing the solemn expression she’s worn on her face up to this point, it’s good to hear her laugh. To see her smile, however briefly. The same goes for Laila. “God, you’re such a guy,” Emma says. “I bet you’re in agony right now, but you just have to tough it out. Is this for our benefit? Are you showing off?”
“I’m not that kind of guy,” Tom says. “I have a high threshold for pain, that’s all. But, once it reaches that threshold, I won’t stop complaining. You’ll know all about it, because I’ll tell you. Over and over again.”
Emma laughs again, and this time Laila joins in, covering her mouth with her hand.
“And plus, you should see what I’m like if I stub a toe. That’s where my threshold goes out the window.”
“I’m glad to hear that it’s not just for our benefit,” Emma says.
“I’d never assume either of you to be so easily impressed.”
“I can’t speak for Laila, but it would take a hell of a lot more than that to impress me. You’d have to lose the dick, for a start.”
Now it’s Tom’s turn to laugh. “Well, if the urge to put the moves on you suddenly takes me while we’re on this five-hour drive, fearing for our lives, and on our way to drop you off with your parents, consider that duly noted.”
The atmosphere has lightened in the car. Tom is glad of it. He’s glad to hear Laila and Emma speaking. To sense that they’re no longer choked by their worry and fear.
And then Tom looks at the mirror and sees that the Dodge Charger Sedan that he’d first noticed when they left Davenport is still behind them.
Laila picks up on how he falls quiet. “What is it?”
“Might be nothing,” Tom says. “I’ll keep an eye on it.”
He first spotted it a few miles out of the town, before they’d reached the freeway. It kept its distance, but the road was quiet and there wasn’t much for them to hide behind. Now, there are plenty of other vehicles, and it keeps its distance, but it’s always there.
Tom has been riding comfortably in the slow lane. He speeds up now and overtakes the three cars ahead of him.
“What are you doing?” Laila says.
“Just checking,” Tom says.
He sticks to the speed limit. He sees how Laila looks over, checking.
Behind them, the car waits a beat, until a van and a truck fill the space behind Laila’s Honda, then they pull out, too. Tom pulls back into the slow lane. He slows all the way down, dropping twenty below the limit. The Dodge realises how much he’s slowed. The Dodge quickly pulls back in, only one car between it and the Honda now. The manoeuvre was so abrupt, the truck they pulled in front of blares its horn. It swerves out to overtake, flipping the Dodge off as it goes. Tom can’t see the Dodge’s driver. He wonders how he reacts to the aggressive driver. The Dodge sticks in the slow lane. They slow down further so that the vehicles behind them are forced to pull out and go around them.
“They’re following us,” Tom says, sure now. “No doubt.”
“Do you think they realised what you were doing?” Laila says.
“Hard to tell,” Tom says. “It probably gave them some kind of idea. It’s got them thinking.”
“What if they kept coming when you slowed down and they tried to run us off the road?” Emma says.
“I was prepared,” Tom says. “But I don’t think they would have done that. They wouldn’t have been so brazen. Whenever they’ve come at us in the past, it’s been in the dark. It’s been late at night. They don’t want witnesses.”
“What do we do?” Emma says. “I don’t want them to follow us all the way to my parents’ house. I don’t want them involved with this.”
“I won’t let them,” Tom says.
“What are you going to do?” Laila says.
Tom doesn’t answer straight away. He keeps driving, accelerating back up to the speed limit. He looks ahead, watching the road, checking the turn-offs. They’re following the satnav to Memphis, to Emma’s parents. “Do you know an alternate route?” he says to Emma. “A quieter road.”
Emma thinks, gauging where they are. “Yeah, I think so. It’ll add about an hour to the journey.”
“That’s fine. If it’s quiet enough, we won’t be on it the whole way.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Tom ignores the question. “Give me directions.”
Emma looks ahead. “It’s not this turn-off,” she says. “It’s the one after.”
Tom nods. He checks the mirror. The Dodge remains behind, three cars between them now. When they reach the turn-off Emma has indicated, the Dodge follows. It slows down. Another car made the turn. There is one vehicle between them now. Already, Tom can see that this is a much quieter road. As they get further along it, there are nothing but fields either side of them. The car immediately behind turns off, heading toward a farmhouse. The Dodge stays with them, but it pulls back.
Laila is watching the side mirror. “What now?”
“Now we wait for an opportunity,” Tom says. “And when I find it, I’ll take it.”
15
Wyatt is in Mississippi. He’s a day early for his meeting. Nathan isn’t with him. None of the other Road Dogs are, only his father.
Wyatt is not riding his bike, though he’s brought it with him. It’s parked up, safe and sound, at a cabin they’d already rented out ahead of time for the purpose of their upcoming unofficial business in Mississippi. Neither of them wears their kuttes. They keep a low profile. They ride in the truck. Wyatt has driven. Vic sits in the passenger seat, wincing while he rubs his stiff knees.
“You need anything?” Wyatt says. They’re parked at the roadside. It’s a quiet road, three miles out from Fort Ellicott. Fifteen miles from the cabin. They spent the night in the cabin. This morning, Vic had a flare. A minor one, so he claimed. Wyatt wanted to leave him, but he insisted on coming. Wyatt had to lift him from the bed and carry him through to the bathroom. Luckily, his father was fine after that. Said he could see to himself. Wyatt was glad. He didn’t particularly like the idea of wiping his father’s ass. He keeps this in mind – when this is all over, and they’ve made their payoff, he’ll make sure to employ a carer for his father. Someone who can tend to his needs, especially when the point comes his bones have calcified so badly he does need help in the bathroom. He’ll make sure to find a looker, though. His father would like that. He wouldn’t except anything less. Some little Latin mami who isn’t shy about earning a little extra in the bedroom. His father would like that, too.
“I just need soldier boy to hurry up,” Vic says through his teeth.
“You need to get out the truck, stretch out? Walk it off?”
“I’m fine,” Vic says, his tone close to biting.
“You want some weed?” Wyatt says. “Might numb the pain a little. Might make you more fucking bearable, too.”
Vic forces himself to calm. “No,” he says, taking a deep breath. “This is important. I need to be straight for this. We both do.”
Wyatt looks down the road, the direction of Fort Ellicott. It’s clear. Nothing coming. He has the window down. It’s a still day. Quiet. He breathes it in deep. Wishes he’d been able to ride his bike over here, and back. A perfect day for riding.
Vic shifts his weight and grunts. “Dale gave him the time, right?”
Wyatt nods. “Dale also said that his cousin would get here when he could. He’s a soldier. We can’t just expect him to walk away from his duties. He’d be reprimanded or some shit, and then he might be no good to us. They could get suspicious or something.”
“A soldier on a decommissioning base,” Vic says. “What can there be to do? What’s holding him up?”
Wyatt glances at the time. It’s just after midday. They’ve been here for forty minutes. “Dale said he’d get off duty at eleven. Would you rather he rushed straight here, maybe raised some eyebrows? It’s better for us if he takes his time.”
Vic grunts again, but doesn’t protest further. He sighs heavily. “You think back when it was active, this road was busier?”
“I reckon someone would’ve been along to ask us what we we’ve been doing sitting here for so long,” Wyatt says, then chuckles.
Vic sits forward suddenly, eyes narrowed. “Someone’s coming,” he says.
Wyatt sees them, too. A car coming their way. It slows as it draws near.
“That him?” Vic says.
Wyatt can’t see the driver. He stares at the windshield, the sunlight reflecting off it. It pulls over, parks in front of them. A man gets out. He’s not in uniform. Wyatt recognises him, though. Dale showed them a picture. Corporal Gil McKenna, cousin of Forever Road Dog Dale McKenna.
Gil nods as greeting then makes his way to them, tugging at his ear. He glances back down the road he’s come. “Turn your engine on,” he says. “If anyone comes down after me, we wanna be able to tell them that you’ve got lost, and I’m giving you directions.”
Wyatt does so. He notices that Gil’s car is still running.
Gil reaches through the window. “Pleasure to finally meet you face to face,” he says.
Wyatt shakes. “Likewise,” he says. All of their communication so far has been by burner phone.
Vic leans over to grasp his hand in turn. “Took your time,” he says.
“You have any trouble finding the place?” Gil says, ignoring the comment.
Wyatt shakes his head. “How are things at Fort Ellicott?”
“Quiet,” Gil says, again looking down the road.
“You expecting anyone?”
“No, but I’m not the only person who just came off duty.”
“Where’d you say you were going?”
“Heading to Natchez for food.”
“Food good there?”
Gil shrugs. “Better than on base.”
Wyatt decides that’s enough small-talk. “Let’s get down to business,” he says. The purpose of this trip has been to meet Gil McKenna in the flesh. The timing of their summoning to Mississippi due to Nathan’s indiscretions is purely coincidental, but has worked out well for him and his father.
“The majority of troops on the base will be moved off tomorrow,” Gil says. “After that, it’s gonna be a skeleton crew. I’ll be one of those skeletons, which you already know.”
“And the armoury?” Wyatt says.
“It remains full. Transport has been arranged to clear the weaponry in a week, so we need to make sure we’ve cleared it out before then.” Gil pauses. He glances down the road, quickly this time. His attention returns to Wyatt. “I’m sure I don’t need to make it any clearer to you how much of a risk I’m taking with this.”
“It’s already clear as day,” Wyatt says.
“And it needs to be worth my while.”
“It’ll be worth all our whiles.”
Gil’s jaw juts out while he thinks. “How many of your men do you have involved in this?”
“Only the inner circle,” Wyatt says. “Higher ranking members of the FRD. And your cousin, of course, plus one more. Wouldn’t be any kind of plan if Dale hadn’t brought it to our attention, after all.”
“Yeah, well, he wouldn’t know a damn thing if I hadn’t mentioned it to him.”
“Of course. Once we sell the guns, there’s going to be plenty to go around. We’re all going to be very rich men once we pull this off.”
“Who’s the extra one?”
Wyatt waves a hand. “You don’t need to worry about him. He won’t be around for long.”
Gil frowns. He doesn’t understand. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“Forget about it,” Wyatt says. “Just trust us. It’ll all make sense when we’re done.”
Gil nods, though hesitantly. “How long will it take to get the money?”
“Less than a week,” Wyatt says. “We’ve put out feelers. I already have a buyer lined up.”
“How long before I get my cut?”
“Best you wait a while,” Wyatt says. “It’d look mighty suspicious if you suddenly came into a lot of money right after Fort Ellicott’s armoury is robbed.”
“Six months, I’m leaving the Army,” Gil says. “My papers are all in order.”
“And they’ll probably be keeping an eye on you after that.”
“I don’t plan on hanging around. They won’t know where I’ve gone.”
“All right. Once you’ve disappeared, you get your cut. You don’t wanna take any risks, but neither do we. After we send you that money, make sure you’re sensible. We don’t want them to be able to track us down through it. We’ll keep in touch through Dale. We won’t touch a dime of what’s yours.”
Gil nods. He looks between Wyatt and Vic. “And I hear you’ve been leaning how to drive boats?”
“We both have,” Vic says. “We’re prepared.”
“You good at it?” Gil says.
“Like he said,” Wyatt says. “We’re prepared. We’ve put the practise in. Keep a cool head, Corporal McKenna. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”
“I’ll stop worrying in six months,” Gil says, “soon as I have that money.” He pats his hands on the side of the truck as he straightens. “I better go. You best do the same.”
“Pleasure to finally meet you,” Wyatt says with a nod.
Gil goes to his car and pulls away. Wyatt waits a moment before he turns the truck around and does the same. The road further down in the direction of the base remains clear.
“Jittery fella,” Vic says.
Wyatt grunts. “I thought the same.”
“Y’know, something has just occurred to me after meeting that boy. Something you said, too.”
“What?” Wyatt says.
“You said we wouldn’t touch a dime of his cut. You mean that?”
Wyatt laughs. “Hell no.” He straightens the truck and follows Gil out, keeping his distance.
“What about Dale? It’s his family. He ain’t gonna let us do that.”
“We’re his family,” Wyatt says. “And if Dale wants to make a fuss…” Wyatt shrugs, driving away from Fort Ellicott. “I won’t like it, but we’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Kill him?”
“You really gonna make me say it?”
“I ain’t naïve.” Vic nods grimly, agreeing. “If he can’t see the bigger picture, that’s just the way it’ll have to be.”
“We can’t afford to be precious,” Wyatt says. “Or sentimental. We’ve gotten ourselves in deep, and only we can dig our way out. This is our only opportunity to do that. If Dale can’t see that, fuck him.”
“Uh-huh.” Vic waits a beat. “And what about Logan?”
Wyatt grins. “There’s no sentiment there. You know how that’s gonna go down.”
Vic grunts. “When it does, I wanna be there.”
16
The Dodge has kept back. It’s allowed Tom space to think.
“This road is quiet enough,” Emma says. “Why aren’t they trying anything?”
“Middle of the day,” Tom says. “Like I said earlier, last two times we’ve had run-ins with them it’s been the middle of the night. That’s all I can guess.”
There’s woodland up ahead. Tom has an idea. “This is our chance,” he says, pointing at the trees. “When we get to the other side of the trees, I’m gonna pull in. The second I stop the car, I want the two of you to run into the woods and hide. Listen out for when I call. You got that?”
“What are you gonna do?” Emma says.
“Make sure they can’t follow us anymore,” Tom says.
The Dodge keeps its distance as they pass by the woodland, the trees thick on their left and right. They drive in shadow. Tom can see the clearing ahead. The road submerged in sunlight once again. He puts his foot down to buy themselves a little extra time, but he keeps the Dodge in view. He wants them to see where they go. Wants them to follow.
Clear of the trees, he turns right into the field, the car bouncing over the grass and dirt. He stops it close to the treeline. Laila and Emma get out of the car and run for the trees, like Tom told them to. Tom gets out, too, but he doesn’t follow them into the woodland. Instead, he runs toward the road, to where he pulled off it, and lies flat in the long grass, close to a tree, concealing himself from view. There are tyre tracks making it clear where he pulled in.
He hears the Dodge approach. It’s slowed down. It’s cautious. It doesn’t follow straight into the field. The Dodge inches forward. Tom keeps his head low. He doesn’t chance taking a look, but he can imagine the man – or men – inside craning their necks to look around.
They’re likely deliberating, but at the same time they know they can’t wait too long. If they do, they could lose track of where Tom and the women have gone. The Honda is clearly empty. They roll into the field. They pass close by. Tom can see them now, can see their tyres as they pass by just a couple of feet from where he lies. He follows at a crawl, remaining low.
The Dodge stops behind the Honda. The car doors open. There are two men. As Tom rises to his feet, pulling out his Beretta, he realises that he recognises them both. Two faces from last night, coming into focus. They’re two-thirds of the group who attacked him outside the bar. The two who didn’t talk.
Tom raises the gun. “Either of you armed?”
Both men spin at the sound of his voice. They see the gun and raise their hands.
“I asked a question.” Tom remains outwardly calm, but he feels his blood running hot. He wants to hurt them. He’s not in the habit of taking a beating and not giving one in return.
“We’re not armed,” the man on his right says.
“That sucks for you, doesn’t it?”
The man on the right swallows. The man on the left is sweating. His eyes flicker toward the Dodge.
“The guns are in the car,” Tom says. It’s not a question.
The man on the left nods. “Y-yeah.”
“Throw me the keys.”
The man on the right does so. Tom catches them, keeping the Beretta trained on them both. The driver’s door is still open. Tom kicks it closed. He locks the car and keeps hold of the keys. He shoots out both tyres on the driver’s side. The man on the left flinches as he does so.
