“Drop your gun and raise your hands up high.”
Tommy just squinted.
“Listen to me. If you don’t do what I tell you, you’ll be dead in a few moments.”
Matt dropped his Glock and slowly walked out from behind the tree. He placed his hands on his head and motioned for Tommy to follow his lead.
Tommy hesitated.
“If not for me, Kemin would have finished you off an hour ago,” Matt said. “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
Tommy grimaced. He dropped his pistol and walked into the open with his palms on his head.
“You’d better,” Tommy said.
It only took a moment to prove Matt’s theory. A male voice called to them from a spot thirty yards in front of them.
“Keep coming,” the voice said.
They sprang from the left, the right and the treetops. In less than twenty seconds a dozen soldiers in camouflage gear surrounded them with automatic weapons and blackface. The clicks of chamber rounds echoed in the quiet of the woods.
Their leader was easy to spot. He was the one who maintained a leisurely stroll while everyone else knelt into a perfect attack position. The leader must’ve been pushing sixty, but he seemed fit and alert.
“FBI,” Matt said, holding his hands lower now waiting permission to remove his credentials from his pocket.
The man nodded.
Matt pulled out his creds and watched the man examine it for a moment, before returning it to him. The man glanced at Tommy.
“He’s working with me. An informant,” Matt said.
The man seemed to buy it. He held out his open palm to Matt. “Name’s Buck Martin.”
Matt shook his hand. “Matt McColm. This is Tommy Bracco.”
Buck shook Tommy’s hand.
“Which unit are you with?” Matt asked.
“Well,” Buck said. “We’re not exactly with the military. We’re private contractors. Iron Mountain, USA.”
“Mercenaries? In Payson, Arizona?” Tommy said.
“Soldiers of fortune, if you wish,” Buck said. “The fortune is paid to us all over the world. Even here in the states.”
Matt gestured toward the soldiers still training their M-4’s at him and Tommy. “Any chance of getting them to relax?”
Buck nodded. “Stand down, boys.”
In unison the soldiers placed their weapons to their side.
“May I ask exactly what you’re being paid to do?” Matt said.
Buck seemed to mull it over in his head. Finally, he said, “We’re contracted to rid the area of residual terrorists. They’re believed to have dug in and waited out the original eradication.”
“You’re in luck. I’m one of two the resident agents here in Payson. I was here during the original eradication. My partner and I came over from Baltimore and-”
“Nick Bracco,” Buck said. “Yes, I know all about you. Unfortunately, we’re not set up to work with outside agencies. We’re much more effective on our own.”
That stopped Matt. He’d never heard of any law enforcement turning down help. But these guys weren’t the law. They were more closely related to hired assassins.
“You mind if I ask you something?” Tommy said.
Buck nodded.
“You know where this safe house is?”
Buck paused. “That’s privileged information.”
“Oh that’s fucking rich,” Tommy said. “You see, that little hesitation tells me you don’t know squat. We’re in the middle of nowhere searching for a group of foreign soldiers and you’re too privileged to accept our help?”
Tommy walked around Buck and said to Matt. “C’mon. We’re running out of time. These terrorists already suspect something is up when they didn’t hear from Kemin. Let’s not give them a reason to skip town.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Buck snapped.
Tommy dug a bright orange toothpick into the corner of his mouth. “The fuck you gonna do about it, pops? You gonna shoot an FBI agent and his informant? That your plan?”
“I can’t let you interfere with our mission.”
“Your mission?” Tommy sneered. “Let me tell you about my little mission. I got a cousin in the hospital from a gunshot wound ordered by someone hiding in these woods. My mission is to stomp my shoe on his throat until he understands my feelings about the matter. That’s my mission.”
Tommy walked over and picked up his gun, then retrieved Matt’s gun and handed it to him.
“Let’s go,” Tommy said.
Matt stood there for a moment, weighing his options.
“For crying out loud,” Tommy bellowed, “they ain’t gonna shoot us. Let’s get out of here.”
Matt followed Tommy. He looked straight ahead and never wavered, even when Buck hollered for them to stop. Tommy was right, they weren’t going to shoot an FBI agent-were they?
Buck gave a command that Matt didn’t quite hear. He kept pace with Tommy. The clatter of rifles and machine guns rushed into firing position echoed through the forest. Matt’s pulse quickened.
Buck growled another command to his troops.
Matt kept walking.
“One more step and you’re both dead men,” Bucked yelled as clear as if he were a foot away.
Tommy kept going. He waved a middle finger over his shoulder as he continued his stride.
Matt stopped, but didn’t turn around. His instincts told him they were bluffing, but he wasn’t willing to wager his life on it.
Matt turned to face the troops who looked very much like a firing squad.
“Are you going to shoot me?” Matt asked.
“You bet your ass I am,” Buck sneered.
A female voice called from behind Buck’s men. The voice was cool and calm. It was Jennifer Steele. She held out her 9mm. Next to her was Deputy Luke Fletcher aiming his rifle at Buck.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Steele said.
Buck turned and scoffed at the sight. His men turned their weapons on the two law enforcement officials. “This is your posse, Agent McColm?”
Matt grinned at the sight of Steele coming to save him. “Yeah,” he said. “You can call it that.”
Buck’s amused face turned sour, then approached Steele with a slow, methodical gait.
“We’re contracted to do a job,” Buck said, and left it at that.
Steele nodded. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t take you all in for treason?”
“Because,” Buck said, “we’re all on the same side here.”
“Is that what you’re calling this?”
Buck sneered at Steele while pointing at Deputy Fletcher. “Is that supposed to scare me?” He made it a point to look at his crew which were all standing with one eye in their site, focusing their automatic weapons directly at the deputy. “I mean, what’s he going to do, shoot every one of my crew before his body gets pulverized with bullets?”
“No,” Steele said. “He’s just going to shoot you.”
Buck frowned, then gave a nod to his soldiers and they lowered their weapons.
“We have a job to do here,” Buck said in a low voice.
Steele put her gun down. “Does your job include threatening an FBI agent?”
“We have a contract with the State Department.”
“So?”
Buck looked back at Matt as if he might understand his authority best. “Our contract affords us complete
