National Security

CHAPTER 53

Four minutes from Juanita Calderon’s house, Quinn began to take long, slow breaths, willing his heart rate to slow. Mahoney had shown enough forethought to bring his M4 when they’d jumped in the rental car and it now hung loaded and ready, suspended on a single-point sling around his neck. He reached behind his back to touch Yawaraka-Te’s hilt, assuring himself the ancient blade was still there. He’d reloaded the 10 millimeter tucked in an inside-the-pants holster over his right kidney. If it was possible, they’d take Zafir out with long guns — giving them the safety of distance — but something told Quinn the Bedouin would be too smart for that.

Steve Akers, the chopper pilot and former Marine, dropped the bird low, skimming the tops of the trees. He followed the rise and fall of the natural terrain in what was known as NOE — nap-of-the-earth flying. It was a technique used in Vietnam to protect chopper pilots from heat-seeking missiles — go low and go fast. The technique had the added benefit of keeping the thump of the helicopter’s approach dampened by the foliage and terrain. Akers flew more like an artist than a technician and coaxed every ounce of speed out of his machine.

The side doors were slid open and a warm, humid wind roared through the cabin. In the front seat Thibodaux checked the magazine in his M4.

Mahoney stared out the open door, eyes locked on the trees as they whipped by in a green blur, less than ten feet below the skids. The wind fluttered the leg of her khakis, pressing the cloth against the smooth curve of her calf. Thick reddish blond hair whipped across her face, but she made no attempt to push it away.

Quinn tensed when she suddenly spun toward him, looking him full in the face. If she’d noticed him looking at her, she didn’t mention it.

“It’s after ten,” she yelled above the roar, tapping her watch. “We’re well inside the safety zone. If he is here, there’s a good chance he’s gone hot…” Her face was drawn, her normally rosy lips pinched and pale.

Quinn put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. “Palmer has the Texas Highway Patrol and the National Guard moving now to cordon off the area. We will stop this. And we’ll stop it here, one way or another.”

“If he didn’t get a cup of coffee along the way… or ask for directions…” Her chin quivered as if she might break down at any moment. “He only has to get Pandora to one other person we don’t know about and their plan has worked…”

Quinn opened his mouth to stay something else, but Akers cut him off.

“Tallyho at two o’clock!” The pilot held his hand up, knifelike and pointed right of the helicopter’s nose. “According to my GPS, that white two-story up there should be your target.” He twisted in his seat to throw a tense look over his shoulder. “And you’re not gonna like what you see.”