brings to the table, we have a 50 percent chance of success. Timing and surprise must be on our side. We’ll have a small window of opportunity to make this work. Otherwise, our chances of success drop to 10 percent.”
Alena looked at him. “Fifty percent is not good odds. Ten percent…” She just shook her head.
“That’s why it is so important that we work together on this,” Gerrit said. “Understood?”
Everyone nodded. His estimates made everyone seem to finally draw together. Even Jack and Redneck seemed to be getting along by the end of Gerrit’s presentation.
At least for the moment.
Darkness had fallen, and the others had returned to their rooms to get some rest. Jack lay sprawled on Gerrit’s bed, snoring, after their strategy session, staying close in case they needed to move fast. Gerrit paced his room, trying to make sure he’d thought of all the contingencies they might face.
He heard the tires of a vehicle rolling across the parking lot. He opened the curtain and peered down from the second floor. A marked police vehicle pulled next to their van, and an officer had quietly opened his door and drawn his weapon.
Gerrit pulled back into the darkness of the room. “Jack, wake up,” he hissed, never taking his eyes off of the officer below. The cop approached the vehicle, flashing a light inside the van before reaching for his shoulder mike.
He’s calling it in. Did Geronimo sell us out?
Jack stood next to him. Gerrit had never heard the man get up and cross the room. “What do you have, Lieutenant.”
Gerrit motioned toward the scene below. “We need to get out of here. I think we’ve been made.”
Jack nodded and snatched up his bag. “Get the others. Meet me in the back lot behind the motel. I’ll be standing by my ride. A tan unmarked.”
Gerrit nodded, opened the front door, and edged along the outside wall, keeping out of sight from the cop below. Several minutes later, he alerted the others and they quickly snatched up their belongings. He led them down the hall, turning right into an intersecting hallway that spilled into a rear parking lot.
He started down the stairs when a second patrol unit pulled into the back lot. It slowly rolled through the lot, flashing its spotlight on each car. The light illuminated Jack, sitting in a desert-colored Buick sedan. The officer must have spotted the colonel because brakes screeched as the squad car came to a stop. Jack emerged from the vehicle.
Gerrit crouched-motioning for the others to pull back into the shelter of the hallway-as he peered around the coroner. As Jack stepped around his car, the officer sprang from the patrol car, hand resting on the butt of his gun.
“Good evening, Officer. Can I help you?” Jack’s voice boomed out across the parking lot.
“We got a call about a possible stolen vehicle, a van, parked on the other side of this building. Did you see anyone drive up in a white van? It has Phil’s Plumbing on the side.”
“No kidding? Stolen, you say?” Jack scratched his jaw. “Can’t say I’ve seen anything. I just came out here to get away from the grandkids. Taking them all the way to Disneyland-a trip of pure torture, if you know what I mean. I’ve just been sitting out here a few minutes, trying to get a bit of peace and quiet. Haven’t seen a soul.”
The officer studied him for a moment, then walked back to his car. A vehicle pulled in behind the police car. A police unmarked? Gerrit tried to peer past the cop’s headlights and focus on the car. He heard a car door open and a man step out. Another car across the lot started up and headlights flicked on. The headlights caught the surprise in the man’s face.
Geronimo Sanchez.
Geronimo walked up to the police car and spoke quietly to the cop. The cop nodded. Both men returned to their vehicles and slowly pulled around to the other side of the building.
Jack climbed back into his car. At least the Albuquerque cop never knew Jack was a part of the team. That would buy them a little time.
Gerrit motioned to the others. They hurried down the stairs and jogged to Jack’s car and climbed in just as another patrol vehicle came into the lot.
“Get down,” Jack hissed, eyeing the patrol unit slowly approaching. The others sank as far down in their seats as they could. Gerrit heard Willy whisper, “You’re sitting on my face, Redneck. Move over.”
“I can’t,” the big man muttered. “And if you don’t shut up, I will make sure you’ll regret it. I had beans for dinner.”
Jack leaned back. “Would you two shut up? The cop’s coming our way.” He stepped outside and pretended to lock the car. He walked back toward the hotel, just as the patrol car edged past.
Gerrit peered over the dash and saw that Jack had positioned himself on the far side of the patrol vehicle, drawing the officer’s attention away from their car. The officer leaned out to talk to Jack when it appeared the officer received a radio call. He gunned his engine, driving rapidly to the other parking lot.
Jack sprinted back to the car, turned on the engine, and hurriedly drove from the lot. “Someone called in two suspicious people near our van, trying to break in. A big white guy and a skinny black guy.”
“We were nowhere near the van,” Redneck said.
Willy muttered something as he pulled himself up. He leaned forward. “You think Geronimo snitched us off?”
Jack shook his head. “The cops didn’t even know the van was theirs. If Geronimo wanted to take us out, there were quicker ways to do that without involving the van. That would only lead back to him. The van is too conspicuous.”
“Tell me about it,” Willy said, making a sniffing noise. “All they’d got to do is follow their nose. That van smells like a toilet.”
Jack pulled out on Main Street and accelerated away from the motel. “The call came in anonymously, otherwise more units would have been flying in on this. The first unit checks it out, then calls for backup if they need it. Someone tried to jam us up-and it wasn’t Geronimo.”
Gerrit withdrew one of the disposable cell phones and dialed a number A familiar voice answered. Gerrit tightened his jaw. “Why did you give us up, Geronimo?”
“No choice. Your face is plastered all over the news, and we just received a department-wide alert you might be in the area. If they learned I helped you, it would be my badge…or worse.”
Gerrit slammed the cell shut and hurled it outside. He shifted, his arm draped on the back of the front seat, trying to give more space to Alena wedged between him and Jack.
Alena squeezed his arm. “You okay?”
His eyes met hers for a moment, nodding. “Let’s just focus on the operation. We need to put some distance between us and the motel and get ready to take care of business.”
The others fell silent as Jack pushed the engine, staying just under the speed limit. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 44
Harrogate, England
Joe O’Rourke felt like he was in a drama class. Sporting a wig, a mustache, and a floppy hat, he hoped his amateur makeup would throw off any facial-recognition programs aimed his way. The thick nonprescription glasses added yet another distortion to any photos of him they might have on file.
Now, he was in Kane’s backyard. Time to step up his counter-surveillance measures.
He moved down the clothing aisle, picking out a pair of trousers and a shirt. He clutched a bag of toiletries he’d gathered from another shop a block away. One more stop at a nearby restaurant, and then he’d head back to the bed-and-breakfast to begin his search once again.
He placed the items on the counter, waiting for the clerk to ring it up. As he started to look out the window, Joe caught the man giving him a quick, worried look. Joe looked back at the clerk, a slim and bony man, who quickly averted his eyes and seemed to study the register more than was necessary.
“Anything else, sir?” The clerk ventured a glance before looking away again.
