CHAPTER 38

Orbits’s instructions had been for The Wolf to park her vehicle on the north side of the gas station’s main building, opposite the café, so her driver did exactly that.

After a moment, the man touched his headset and announced, “Mr. Orbits is leaving the café.”

“Still alone?” The Wolf asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Bianca, be a darling and move into the front, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

Bianca switched to the front passenger seat, limping only slightly.

“He just reached the gas station,” the driver reported.

* * *

Quinn looked around the southern end of the garage. From this new position, he could see the back of the café, but the gas station was hidden from view. He crept to the front corner where he had a view of both. What he didn’t see, though, was the Explorer.

“Do you have a position on The Wolf?” Quinn asked Orlando.

“She’s parked on the north side of the gas station.”

The side he couldn’t see. “Got it. Thanks.”

He sneaked over to the main building, and moved along the back until he neared the north end. Crouching, he used his phone technique again to see the other side.

The Explorer was there, all right. He could even see the silhouettes of the people inside. They seemed to be just sitting there, doing nothing.

He was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong when Orbits stepped around the front corner of the building.

* * *

The second the Wolf saw Ricky Orbits, she said to her driver, “You can have the watcher dealt with now.” She then pushed the button that rolled down her window and smiled. “Mr. Orbits. Good to see you. Why don’t you join me?”

* * *

The two-man team moved again.

When Nate was sure The Wolf’s men were going to take down Orbits’s guy, he, Daeng, and Ananke moved in behind them.

Orbits’s man apparently sensed at the last moment that something was up, because he turned right before The Wolf’s team got to him. A couple seconds earlier and maybe he could have escaped, but the best he could manage now was to get in a couple of hits before they subdued him.

He was barely on the ground when Nate, Daeng, and Ananke grabbed his attackers and rendered them unconscious.

They zip-tied everyone and gagged them with their own shirts.

“Three neutralized,” Nate reported.

“Three?” Orlando said.

“One of the guys with Orbits and two with The Wolf.”

“How did you….You know what? Never mind. Quinn’s over at the gas station. The meeting’s about to start. North side.”

“Copy that.”

* * *

Orbits didn’t like the idea of getting in the woman’s car, but until he gave her the girl, he knew she wouldn’t try anything.

He climbed into the backseat. In front, there was a man behind the wheel and a woman in the passenger seat, staring at him. She was a looker, the kind he might actually keep around for more than one night. She was sizing him up like he was a meal. It seemed as if at any moment she would start licking her lips. He kind of liked it.

“Pleasure to meet you in person,” the woman beside him said, holding out her hand. “I’m The Wolf.”

“Yeah, swell,” he said, making a quick job of shaking. “How about we get the transfer done and get you your merchandise.”

A chuckle. “You seem to forget the parameters of our agreement, Mr. Orbits. No money until I see the girl.”

“And no girl until you at least free up the initial twenty-five million.”

“Did it not go through?” she asked, feigning surprise. “Bianca, could you pass that bag back?”

The other woman, Bianca, handed The Wolf a thin, leather briefcase from which the Wolf removed a laptop. After she started it up, she spent a few moments navigating to where she wanted, and then said, “You’re absolutely right. I am so sorry. I must have clicked the wrong box.”

Right, he thought. The wrong box.

She tapped the keys a few more times and then turned the screen toward him. On it was the bank page for the escrow account with the initial payment. “My apologies again, but I’ve removed the hold so you can transfer it out at any time.” She held the computer out to him. “You can use this if you’d like.”

“I don’t think so.” He pulled out his phone and used it to initiate the transfer into his account. After he verified it was in process, he said, “Now, about the second twenty-five.”

“For that, I will need to see the girl.”

“Give me a moment.”

As he reached for the door, she touched his arm.

“I’m sure you understand, but I must insist you remain here with me until I see her,” she said.

Orbits turned, intending to tell her she could insist all she wanted but it wasn’t going to happen, except the gun Bianca was pointing at him kept the words from leaving his mouth.

“All right, I get it. I can play it this way.” He settled back in his seat. “I tell you, though, it would be easier if I’m not wondering if her finger might accidentally twitch.”

With a nod from The Wolf, Bianca moved her weapon out of sight.

“Thanks,” Orbits said, and then called Stafford. “Bring her in.”

* * *

A soft crunch. Dirt on asphalt.

Quinn whirled around to see one of The Wolf’s men rushing at him. No way to stand up in time, he dove, hitting the man in the gut and knocking them both to the ground.

The guy shoved Quinn away and tried to push himself up, but Quinn got to his feet first and jammed a knee into the guy’s head, sending the attacker back to the asphalt. Dropping onto him, Quinn slammed the butt of his palm into the side of the man’s head. Two more slugs and the guy was out.

“Well done.”

Quinn twisted around, ready to take on a new attacker, but found Nate, Daeng, and Ananke.

“Have I mentioned what a pleasure it is to watch you work?” Ananke whispered.

“Ananke, shut up,” Nate whispered.

With Nate’s and Daeng’s help, Quinn moved the guy behind a Dumpster and secured him.

Three of The Wolf’s men were now out of commission. The woman’s team had been reduced to the guy driving her SUV and the motorcyclist. Orbits was in even worse shape. One man down had cut his team in half.

Quinn used his camera to check on the meeting. Nothing appeared to have changed — Orbits was still inside the SUV with The Wolf.

“Nate, Ananke, go around front and hold at the corner,” Quinn said.

They headed off the long way around.

Quinn watched the phone’s screen, knowing something had to happen soon. The wait ended two minutes later when a sedan turned off the highway and pulled into the spot next to the Explorer.

“Nate, do you have eyes on the sedan?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Nate whispered.

“How many inside?”

“I can only see one. It’s the guy who was driving the ambulance.”

“No Dani?”

“I don’t see…wait.” A pause. “He’s looking into the backseat area and talking. She must be there.” Another beat. “The door to the Explorer is opening.”

Quinn looked at his phone again, but the door in question was on the other side and he couldn’t see much of anything.

“Orbits is getting out,” Nate continued. “So is the driver of the sedan. They’re talking…okay, Orbits is opening the back door. The Wolf is getting out now…she’s looking into the sedan.”

Quinn was starting to get frustrated about not having a direct line of sight, but then the front passenger door of the Explorer opened. The motorcyclist slipped out quietly and moved around the back of the SUV.

“Nate, be ready,” Quinn said. “Daeng, follow me.”

* * *

“Here we go,” Orbits said as Stafford pulled the sedan beside The Wolf’s vehicle. He reached for the door but stopped and looked back, first at Bianca and then at The Wolf. “I’m going to get out. Don’t shoot me.”

The Wolf gestured at his door. “Please.”

He exited and motioned for Stafford to do the same. Once the other man was out, he asked in a hushed voice, “Any problems?”

“All good,” Stafford responded.

“Has Parnell seen anything?”

“I haven’t heard from him.”

No news was good news.

“Mr. Orbits? Is everything all right?” The Wolf called from inside the SUV.

“Just fine,” he said.

He opened the sedan’s back door. Danielle Chad lay across the rear seat, her head at the other end. Stafford had tied a cloth around her mouth so apparently it hadn’t been all good.

“It’s showtime, baby,” he said. He looked back at the SUV. “If you want to see the merchandise, now’s your chance.”

After exiting her vehicle, The Wolf bent down and looked into the sedan.

“Well, well. Miss Hayes. It’s been a long time.”

Hayes? Orbits hadn’t heard that name before, but it obviously meant something to the girl, because the defiance she’d been wearing as a second skin was showing cracks.

“Okay, you’ve seen her,” he said. “Authorize the final payment and she’s all yours.”

The Wolf straightened back up. “Good idea. I’ll need my computer.” She climbed back into the Explorer, but instead of grabbing her laptop, she shut the door.

* * *

Staying low, Quinn and Daeng moved over to the SUV. Quinn gestured for his friend to remain near the front end, where Daeng could watch the driver, and then headed to the back. The motorcyclist stood at the other corner, gun in hand, peering at Orbits and The Wolf.

Quinn could hear the two talking on the other side, something about payment and computer. A moment later, the Explorer rocked slightly, followed by the door slamming shut.

Taking this as her cue, the motorcyclist moved around the corner toward Orbits.

* * *

Orbits twisted around to find a smiling Bianca pointing her gun at him.

His own weapon was still under his jacket. He might’ve been able to pull it out, but he’d never get a shot off. So he threw himself into the sedan on top of Danielle. From outside, he heard the spit of Bianca’s weapon, the bullet sailing through the spot he’d been.

He grabbed his pistol but the barrel caught on his jacket. The weapon slipped from his hands and slid under the front seat. He felt around for it but couldn’t find it.

Two more shots went off, one from Bianca’s direction, the other coming from where Orbits had last seen Stafford.

Giving up on the gun, Orbits threw himself into the front seat as more shots were fired. When he started the engine, Stafford fell against the hood, his face covered with blood.

Son of a bitch!

Certain that Bianca was only a step away from putting a bullet in the back of his own head, Orbits shoved the car into reverse and slammed the gas pedal to the floor.

* * *

Before Quinn could get to the other side, he heard two sound-suppressed gunshots. As he sneaked a look around the corner, he saw Orbits’s other man pop up from the other side of the sedan and fire his weapon. The motorcyclist returned the favor, her aim a lot better than his.

Quinn rushed in behind her and placed his gun against her back. “Drop it.”

She froze.

“Last warning.”

As the pistol fell from her hand, the sedan shot backward, the open rear door smacking into the motorcyclist and shoving her against Quinn. Together they whacked into the Explorer and tumbled to the ground.

The woman tried to grab his gun but he was having none of it. So she spun around until she spotted her own weapon several feet away and dove for it. Her fingers had just touched the hilt when—

“Not a good idea,” Nate said.

Nate’s gun was pointed at the woman, while Ananke and Daeng had their weapons trained on two people still inside the SUV.

Quinn jumped up and yanked open the Explorer’s back door.

“Out.” He grabbed The Wolf’s arm and jerked her out, then pressed his gun against the base of the driver’s neck. “You, too.”

The driver did not resist.

While Quinn picked up the dropped weapons, Nate and Ananke quickly patted down the driver and the women, confiscating a Glock 9mm from the man but finding nothing on the women. Daeng zip-tied their hands and ankles.

“Let’s go,” Quinn said, and climbed behind the wheel of the Explorer. He smiled at The Wolf. “Thanks for the ride.”

When the others were inside, he whipped the Explorer backward and raced away from Karl’s K-4.

“Nate, call the cops,” he said. “Have them pick up The Wolf and her friends.” He checked to make sure his comm mic was on. “Orlando, Orbits is heading your way.”

No response.

“Orlando?”

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