"Well, shit," I replied. "Am I that bad at this or are you that good?"
"You're that bad at it. Though I have to admit, beating me back here and sabotaging my plane was a pretty smart move. You're going to owe me for that, by the way. Now hand over the bag."
"But, I kind of like it. It matches my shoes. Can't I please keep it?," I replied.
"OK. Have it your way," she said as her hand shot out towards me. I had anticipated her move and evaded her grasp easily, backing away from the plane. Silently she advanced on me, but I matched her step for step, keeping my distance, circling slowly around the plane. I inched farther down the grassy runway, keeping her back to the village road and angling to keep my escape route through the forest out of her sight.
"Chase Hawkins, this is your last chance, I'm done playing with you. Give me back that bag!" she hissed.
I froze. Two yellow beams of light cut through the darkness and bounced down the dirt road. Mercury's face morphed from malice to puzzlement, and she too stopped in place.
"Hide!" I commanded, dropping any pretense of humor or animosity. Like synchronized divers, we dove into the cover of the tall grass as one of the military trucks came to a squealing halt at the entrance to the airstrip.
Four soldiers jumped out of the back, commanded by a fifth who slid out of the passenger seat. Flashlights cut through the darkness and quickly settled on the airplane and the open door. With one curt order from the officer, the men moved to surround the plane, two focusing on the cockpit and two more sweeping the airfield and tree line. The officer pulled a pistol from his holster and approached the open door. Bardales must have come down hard on his men, because these guys were definitely not playing around anymore.
Once he was confident that the cockpit was clear, the officer climbed in. His light bounced around the small cabin before seeming to settle. He had found something, but the nose and dash of the plane kept me from being able to see what it was.
Several tense moments passed before he slid himself off the pilot's seat and back to the ground, holding what looked to be a folder.
"What is that?" I whispered.
"Keep quiet!" came Mercury's hushed but terse reply.
The officer holstered his weapon and hurried back to the truck where the driver, who had remained in the vehicle, hopped out and handed him what looked like a telephone handset. He spoke rapidly into the receiver, hung up, and then with the wave of an arm let out one quick command.
All five of the soldiers swung their weapons towards the plane and opened fire. Automatic gunfire ripped through the plane, shredding its thin aluminum skin, shattering glass, and ripping chunks from its chassis, as bullets ricocheted into the forest. I pressed myself flatter to the ground to avoid picking up a lethal case of lead poisoning. Twenty seconds later the gunfire stopped, and part of me waited for the plane to explode. But it didn't. Instead, it seemed to sway on its now destroyed tires as bits and pieces swung loose and fell from it.
"Damnit! I liked that plane too," came a hushed whisper from my left. "I hope you have a good escape plan, Hawkins, or we're both fucked. That folder had all my information and a dossier on you and Dr. Blatt. They'll be looking for both of us now. We need to go."
"What the hell makes you think I'd help you escape? You tried to kill me!" I replied.
"Oh, come on, that was before. Now I'm just another maiden in distress," she said with mock sweetness.
I smiled. Anyone that could crack a joke twelve seconds after ducking automatic gunfire was OK in my book. "I suppose if I've got to run for my life, I might as well do it with a pretty woman," I said.
"Shove it up your ass, Casanova. What's the plan?" she asked, but before I could reply, the officer barked another order in Spanish and the men stalked through the high grass, heading towards our position. If we ran, they'd see us. If we stayed still, they'd find us. There weren't a lot of options, Jaye was right, we had to go.
"Stay near me, and when I give the signal, be ready to run."
"That's it?" she asked, panic in her voice.
"Trust me," I said, reassuring both her and myself. Rapidly, I crawled diagonally across the field towards the little path that I knew lay hidden a hundred yards away. My ears rang in the gunfire's aftermath, and they strained through the whine to pick up any sounds of alert from the soldiers steadily working their way towards us. Somehow, miraculously, our heavily armed pursuers did not see us. I waited a couple of seconds for Jaye at the opening to the pathway.
"Now what?" she whispered, eyeing the pathway suspiciously.
"Now we run," I said.
There has to be an easier way to make money than this.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The security guard was snoring in his booth when we reached the marina's gate. I signed for Jaye to be quiet and tip-toed past him. I took one last look at the empty road before taking off in a loping jog towards my boat. My footsteps crunched on the crushed shell pathways, sounding like booming thunder to my hyper-alert senses. Jaye, in contrast, made no noise. She bounded next to me as if she were on springs.
Her pace slowed and stopped as we neared the docks. "That's your plan? A frigging sailboat?!" she gasped in exasperation. "You couldn't get away from a wounded snail in that thing!"
I glowered at her. "You could stay here, keep Bardales busy for me while I get out to international waters," I offered. "We only need to get twelve miles out to sea and we're home free."
"And
