He’d thought Dewatre had driven it away from the Learjet and then circled back to park next to the hangar, but apparently, he’d been in such a hurry that he hadn’t bothered to stop.
John tossed the dented metal case into the back seat and climbed in behind the wheel. He shifted into reverse and backed out of the shallow ditch. Now he had transportation. All he had to do was pick up Caitlin and get the hell out of there.
A half-mile farther he pulled to a stop behind the Rocky Air Freight hangar. Police cars were all over the place, but most were on the runway side of the hangar. The few in the back appeared to be empty. John killed the lights and cruised to the side of the hangar.
He saw where the officers from the empty patrol cars were.
They were helping paramedics load Caitlin onto a stretcher.
John watched helplessly as they were joined by two men in dark, unmarked uniforms and Kevlar vests.
Holdren he recognized and the second man matched Caitlin’s description of Romax. “Son of a bitch!”
John backed the Jeep up until he was almost out of sight of the cluster of people. After a few minutes, the paramedics wheeled Caitlin around the far side of the hangar. Holdren and Romax talked to the police for a moment more, and then followed the paramedics.
John put the Jeep in gear and moved toward the airport exit. Holdren would take Caitlin away from the paramedics. But when? They might let them carry her to a hospital and determine if she was seriously injured before taking her, or Holdren might insist on taking her before they left the airport.
If he had to bet on one or the other, he would choose the hospital. There’d be a damn slim chance of getting her away from them at the hospital. He could try to stop the ambulance in route. He’d have to try.
He located a side street where he could watch the airport entrance without being observed and waited.
Less than two minutes later the ambulance appeared. It was flanked fore and aft by a pair of black Suburbans.
John cursed under his breath as the vehicles passed his position. He waited until they were a block away, then pulled out, and followed. The ambulance wasn’t speeding and now that the snow had finally stopped falling, its flashing red and white lights were easy to spot.
They turned north onto Powers and a couple miles later turned west onto Platt. John held back, giving them a little more distance, and letting a couple of other cars get between them. Traffic on Platt was almost nonexistent. In an hour, it would be another story.
John remember there were a couple of hospitals off Platt that might be their destination. Neither would take long to reach.
The ambulance lights crossed Circle Avenue a minute later while John was cresting the hill. A few blocks farther, the ambulance veered off to the right on Boulder. That settled it. They were heading for Memorial Hospital.
John followed their turns until the ambulance backed up to the emergency room doors. He parked across the street, crouched low in the seat, and watched. Several men climbed out of the Suburbans before the ambulance doors opened. Each man carried a compact Uzi carbine and watched the street rather than the ambulance. Did they really think he’d go up against them in the open? They were giving him more credit than he deserved. Maybe if he’d had a sniper rifle ... how good was the 30-06 rifle he’d taken from Caitlin’s parent’s house? No, it’d be stupid, he wasn’t in any condition to try, and by the time he could set up, they’d already have Caitlin inside and out of reach.
He’d wait. Once she was awake, she’d contact him and they could coordinate a rescue. John put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. He needed time to rest, to think.
Hell, what he needed was a small army.
He drove north a ways, then turned east. It was a weekday, there was nearly four inches of snow on the streets, and people wouldn’t be moving around any more than necessary. Colorado Springs was not known for it’s rapid snow removal. The main streets would be clear soon, but the side streets would wait for the next sunny day.
In a few minutes, he found a side street with snow covered alleys leading away in either direction. John found one that looked a little seedier than the others and pulled down it until he found a large Dumpster to park behind. He turned the engine off, killed the lights, and leaned back against the headrest. His body hurt. He would swear that even his hair hurt.
Caitlin shouldn’t be out too long, and then he could move again. Right now, he’d rest, then he’d be ready when she woke. Maybe an hour or so. It didn’t matter. Any rest was welcome. He closed his eyes. Just a little rest.
***
Romax and Holdren followed the gurney into the elevator. The other agents tried to follow, but the doctor held up a hand to restrain them. They looked to Holdren for orders.
“Put a man on each entrance and I want two upstairs outside her room.”
They nodded as the doors closed.
“Doctor, how soon will the blood test be back?” Holdren asked.
“If it’s a common drug, we’ll know within the hour. Otherwise, well, there are drugs that don’t show up in the bloodstream at all once they combine in the system. If that’s the case, then we’d have to look for cell byproducts for identification. In truth, we might never know.”
“That’s not what I wanted
