Every Second

77

Coyote Mountains, New York

Ghorbani’s knuckles whitened on the wheel as he drove.

Reeling from the deteriorating situation, he faced the terrible truth: his plan wouldn’t work. Anything he tried at this point would be a risk.

At MIT he was considered a genius. Yet, here he was, at a loss with so much at stake. But he wouldn’t give up because he’d always believed that for every problem, a solution existed for those who sought it.

“What are we going to do? What’s your idea?” Jerricko asked.

“I’m thinking! Let me work it out.”

“We don’t have time! We need to do something now.”

Ghorbani racked his brains for another option and continued praying with each passing mile. When they came back upon Jenny’s Mountain Gas & Diner, the answer revealed itself to him in the form of the Canadian Travel-Ride tour bus that was parked at one side of the lot.

The same bus they’d seen earlier.

It’s dangerous, but it could work.

Ghorbani pulled into a far end of the parking lot, turned off the car, popped the hood and got out.

As he looked at the engine, the others joined him, puzzled.

“Come on, Ghorbani! What’re we doing, stopping for tea?”

“Listen to me, here’s what we’re going to do…”

The engine ticked down and Ghorbani quickly outlined the risky plan, Jerricko and the others exchanging nervous glances with each other.

“It’s the only chance we have,” Ghorbani said.

“Let’s do it,” Jerricko said.

Taking their backpacks from the back, the men ensured their handguns were concealed as they entered the busy diner. Nearly every table was occupied. Small lines formed at the restrooms. The air was heavy with aromas of bacon and coffee, the clink of cutlery and dozens of conversations.

As Ghorbani took stock of the room, Jerricko and his team found an empty corner table and put their backpacks under it as they sat down. Ghorbani hung back, stopping at a table where he’d picked up snippets of conversation of four grandmothers nattering about their grandchildren.

“Excuse me, ladies, are you with the tour bus?” Ghorbani asked.

A woman with auburn-tinted hair and stylish glasses smiled up at him.

“Why, yes, Officer. Are we under arrest?”

The other women giggled.

“Not this time,” he said. “Could you please direct me to your driver?”

“That handsome man over there,” she answered, nodding in the direction of a white-haired man in his sixties sitting on a bar stool at the counter.

“Thank you.”

Ghorbani made his way over to the man, who was hunched over a coffee.

“You’re the driver of the tour bus?”

The man turned to Ghorbani, taking in his uniform.

“I am. Is there a problem?”

“We need your help. Where’re you coming from and where you headed?”

“From Ottawa, Canada. Headed to Manhattan-hotel’s near Times Square.”

“How many passengers? This a seniors’ tour?”

“I got forty passengers, all ages, seniors and students. It’s a scenic charter package. Mind telling me what’s going on, Officer?”

“We have an active dragnet in the area for several armed suspects from a bank robbery and shooting out of Queens, New York. Maybe you’ve heard about it on the news?”

“Holy cow! My company did put out an advisory about some sort of police action on a robbery and shooting around New York City. I never realized it was this far out. Jeez, should’ve paid closer attention.”

“Well, you just drove into the fringe of it. Did they stop you back at the state road before you got on to Red Hawk?”

“No. It was all clear. I saw one patrol car just before we got here.”

“Did you pick up any passengers once you entered the US?”

“No, this is a solid all-Canadian tour group.”

“Well, you’re going to be stopped and searched at the checkpoint at the junction with Birch Creek. It’ll mean a big delay.”

“That’s going to frustrate my passengers.”

“We may be able to help each other out. My patrol car’s engine just quit, those darned computer systems. You can’t trust them. My dispatcher said it could be a long wait before the service truck comes. My problem is I got to get these volunteer searchers-” Ghorbani nodded across the diner to Jerricko and the others “-up to the next search point, back beyond Red Hawk.”

The driver nodded.

“So how can I help?”

“Let us ride with you. I’ll let my people know your bus and passengers are clear, seeing how you just arrived, and you’re leaving the edge of the search boundary. You go back on Red Hawk to the state route and take the long way to the Thruway and New York.”

“You think we should go back and take the longer way?”

“In the end, it’ll save you time. We’ll get off when you reach the search point we need beyond the state route.”

The driver rubbed his chin. “Think that will help?”

“Definitely.”

The driver nodded. “Okay, I’ll let my company know. But you gotta let us finish up here. People need to eat, and this is a scheduled stop arranged with the diner.”

“How long you figure?”

“Forty-five minutes?”

“And you got seats for us on the bus?”

“How many again?”

“With me, five.”

“Yes, you’re good.”

“Thank you,” Ghorbani said. “That’s what we love about you Canadians. You always step up.”

After slapping the driver on the back, Ghorbani joined Jerricko and the others at the table. Keeping his voice low, he updated them.

“In about half an hour, we’re joining the bus tour which is going to Times Square. At some point, we’ll own it and forty hostages. We’ll order him to park it the Square. One of you will stay aboard. The others will take their places at Grand Central, Penn Station and the Staten Island Ferry. Once all the networks and online feeds go live with us, we’ll detonate everything.” He smiled broadly, clapping Jerricko on the back. “We’re not going to achieve our original goals-we’re going to exceed them.”