Alpha dogs, p.6
Alpha Dogs, page 6
part #6 of Witness Protection Series
Mac was obviously gloating that she had been right regarding Lindsey’s last minute travel plans. When they didn’t see her, they were initially concerned. Flying last minute to Costa Rico for no reason wasn’t exactly in their plans. Thankfully, Mac had been right, and no one wanted to kill her--for now. Monroe pressed a button on his cell phone to make a quick, last minute call before their flight took off. They were already making the announcement to turn off electronic devices.
“Yeah, we have eyes on her,” Monroe announced into his phone. “We’ll converge when we land in Costa Rico.”
“Roger that,” Gil announced from the other end. “Kirk and I are preparing for take-off now. We’ll probably beat you there. See you in Costa Rico.”
As the stewardess approached through the aisle, Monroe disconnected his phone and altered the setting before she could comment. The stewardess was the stereotypical blonde bombshell every man wanted on a long flight. She was almost too tall for the smaller aircraft and seemed better suited on a larger airliner. She stood an impressive 5’8” with a lean body, plenty of cleavage, and an ample backside. Her legs seemed to extend forever beneath her knee-length skirt. Monroe couldn’t help but take a healthy eyeful of the attractive woman. Once the stewardess passed, Monroe shifted in his seat and eyed Mac as his seriousness returned.
“Okay, time to start sharing information,” Monroe grumbled to the woman alongside him. “How did you know she’d be boarding a plane to Costa Rico?”
“That man indiscreetly sitting alongside her,” Mac replied with a general nod to the barely visible heads two rows before them.
From his position, Monroe couldn’t make out the man seated alongside Lindsey. Conner was boyishly good-looking with dirty blonde hair and a clean-shaven face. He was only a tick over twenty, the same as Lindsey, possibly someone she’d known since high school. Conner was average height and had the stocky build of a high school football player. By no means overweight, he had some power behind his build.
“That’s her long-time friend and former boyfriend, Conner. When Sal called me, Conner was the first person I checked out. Our boy was already making travel arrangements. When he booked a last-minute flight to Costa Rico for two, I knew she was meeting him at the airport.” Mac attempted to relax while watching the couple a few rows ahead of them. “So what’s the plan?”
“We confront her in Costa Rico, and you convince her to return with us,” Monroe casually replied. “If everything goes according to plan, Dexter has a small compound off the coast of Florida where she’ll be safe from Cicco’s men. Dexter is already on his way there.”
“I’ve never been there, but I was told his sister lives at the island compound,” Mac informed him. “I only met her once. She’s a pleasant woman. A lot nicer than Dexter. Lindsey idolizes her. If she knows she’ll be staying with her aunt, she may be more willing to cooperate.”
“Ironic how familiar this feels,” Monroe muttered and seemed to get lost in his own world.
“What’s that?” Mac remarked becoming interested.
“Once upon a time; Jackie was on the run from a killer,” he announced. “She was on her way to meet me, the former boyfriend with a plan, and we ended up at my house on an island off the coast of Florida.”
“I almost forgot you and Jackie dated,” Mac remarked and couldn’t help but smirk. “I felt the cold chill between the two of you the first time we’d met.”
“We didn’t actually date,” Monroe corrected then sighed. “She was young and naïve. By the time she was mature enough to handle a relationship, Holden was already pursuing her. Literally, he was pursuing her.”
“And you were hoping she’d come back to you one day,” Mac remarked while hiding her grin.
“I still hold out hope.”
“I envy her,” Mac muttered while casting a look to Jackie’s row where she sat alongside Bogart. “She has a team of badass Navy SEALs standing in line to protect and befriend her. I had a family like that once.”
Monroe cast a look at her and appeared curious. “Oh? What happened to them?”
She drew a deep breath and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “They weren’t nearly as badass as they thought,” she replied. “Got themselves killed.” Mac frowned while sinking into her own world. “I lost my entire family in one night.”
“I’m sorry to hear,” Monroe announced while studying her. “That had to be tough.”
She shrugged it off, although she was still clearly bothered by it. “They were a bunch of arrogant assholes anyway,” Mac snapped. “I’m better off without them.”
Monroe looked away and nodded. “I’m sure you are.”
Mac looked out the window and sank into her own world as they taxied down the runway.
§
The fasten seatbelt sign was only out a few seconds before the usual parade to the bathroom started. Jackie watched the first man head into the tiny closet and wondered if he’d already had too much to drink. It seemed odd that only a few minutes into a flight a healthy, young man needed to use the facilities. She never understood the attraction to drinking while flying. Then again, she was always the one behind the wheel, so drinking was never an option for her. As the man returned to his seat only a few seconds later, Jackie took a good look at him. He was just average. Average looking; average height; average weight; average suit. His hair was neatly combed, although it nearly touched his shoulder. He reminded her of a hip, modern businessman. She was also convinced he hadn’t taken time to wash his hands. He wasn’t in the bathroom long enough.
As he passed, another man was already making his way to the bathroom. The second man was borderline repulsive. He had a full head of thick light brown hair that seemed to go whatever direction it pleased, and his features seemed larger than his head. He didn’t share the same businessman appeal as the first man.
“What’s with the men with weak bladders?” Jackie muttered aloud to Bogart.
He looked up from his magazine and watched the second man enter the bathroom. “Businessmen,” he informed her without care. “They probably spent too much time at the airport bar during their layover.”
“I don’t get the ‘businessman’ vibe from either,” Jackie announced while watching the second man emerge from the bathroom only a few seconds after entering. “Not much for washing their hands either.”
Bogart glanced up and eyed the man suspiciously. “That has to be the world’s fastest piss,” he remarked and strained to watch the man as he passed their row. “Might be a good idea to keep an eye on that one.”
“You should probably go back and talk to Monroe,” Jackie informed him. “Our girl might recognize me, but she barely saw your face in the dark car.”
Both unbuckled their seatbelts since Jackie would have to let Bogart out from his window seat. Before they could even stand, they heard a man speaking behind them.
“Lindsey?” the man announced just loud enough to catch their attention.
While still seated, Jackie looked down the aisle behind them. Conner attempted to wake Lindsey in her aisle seat. She wasn’t responding.
“Oh, no,” Jackie gasped softly.
As Jackie stood, the stewardess hurried along the aisle to check on the unconscious woman. The second man from the bathroom was suddenly on his feet and grabbed the stewardess around the neck, pulling her against him from behind. There were several gasps as he placed a semiautomatic to her head. Several passengers screamed when they saw the gun.
“Everyone remain in your seats,” the man shouted while the stewardess cried out in fear. “We’re making a little detour. If you do as you’re told, you may actually live.”
“You’re crazy,” the stewardess announced. “The pilot won’t open the flight deck door. They’ll make an emergency landing at the first airport they reach. The plane will be surrounded.”
“I sort of have other plans,” the man announced then aimed the gun at one of the windows.
When the gun fired everyone screamed as the bullet went through the window, leaving behind a tiny hole. An alarm wailed as the cabin lost pressure. Jackie and Bogart exchanged stunned looks.
“He’s depressurizing the cabin on purpose,” Bogart announced only loud enough for Jackie to hear. “What’s he thinking?”
“That the captain will take her down until the pressure stabilizes,” Jackie informed him with a concerned look on her face. “He wants them to land.”
“And the plane will be surrounded,” Bogart insisted. “What does he hope to achieve?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Jackie replied and again watched the unfolding event.
As suspected, the plane decreased altitude until the alarm stopped wailing. Bogart watched as the first man who had used the bathroom opened the overhead compartment and removed a duffel bag. Bogart then looked out the window at their position.
“They intend to parachute from the plane,” Bogart gasped just loud enough for Jackie to hear.
“Impossible,” Jackie scoffed. “We’re still too high and going too fast. Besides, what possible reason would they have to jump? Why board the plane in the first place? We’re still over United States soil.”
Both looked back to the unconscious woman then exchanged looks.
“No,” Jackie boldly announced. “They couldn’t possibly want her that badly. At this height and speed, they can’t expect to survive that jump.”
The plane suddenly shifted, tossing everyone within their seats. Jackie nearly tumbled from hers. Bogart grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her seat. They saw something outside the window. Both looked out the window and saw another plane half the size of theirs on their wing. It came dangerously close, forcing their plane to dive down to avoid hitting it.
“Oh, hell no. They’re forcing us down,” Bogart cried out then looked at Jackie.
Jackie bolted from her seat and charged the man with the gun, who had been thrown off balance, releasing the stewardess. As he attempted to straighten, she snap kicked him in the face, sending him backward and tumbling down the aisle. The stewardess bolted away from the action and ran for the flight deck. Jackie scanned the surrounding area for the gun, but she didn’t see it. There was a round of screams as the second man to visit the bathroom pulled his gun and aimed it at Jackie. She saw a blur behind the gunman scaling the shoulders of those in the aisle seats.
Jackie threw herself to the floor as Zack’s feet connected with the man’s back. He was thrown forward with force, tumbled over Jackie, and crashed into several unsuspecting passengers before hitting the floor. Jackie pounced on the discarded second gun while Bogart leaped onto the fallen man in the aisle before him. Zack grabbed the first man’s arm and straightened while placing his foot to the man’s head. Jackie suddenly gasped at what she was certain was about to follow. Zack hesitated, saw the look on Jackie’s face, and then eyed the passengers in the nearby seats. He sneered and backed off on his plan to snap the man’s neck. They heard a loud boom, which was immediately followed by the plane vibrating and then jolting to the left. Jackie looked out the window and saw smoke coming from the plane’s engine. The tailing plane was no longer seen.
“Did they just shoot at us?” Bogart suddenly cried out from his position on the floor over the gunman.
The sound of gunshots fired within the plane startled them. They could feel the plane jerk then rapidly descend, which could only mean one thing. Jackie leaped over Bogart’s back and bolted for the flight deck. The stewardess attempted to shut the door to the cockpit to keep her out, but Jackie didn’t slow her approach. She rammed the nearly closed door, sending the stewardess across the small flight deck and into the back of the pilot’s seat. In the brief second Jackie stood in the flight deck doorway, she could see the pilot and co-pilot slumped in their seats. The blood spatters on the windshield before them conveyed their condition. The stewardess held the missing gun and aimed it at Jackie. Jackie fired first placing two rounds into the woman’s chest and sending blood spilling out onto her neatly pressed blouse. The stewardess struck the back of the pilot’s seat as her gun fired. Jackie leaped from the doorway as the shot rang out.
From his position in the aisle, Zack saw the incident within the flight deck. He swiftly snapped the man’s neck beneath his foot, leaped over Bogart with his prisoner, and ran for the flight deck. Monroe and Mac stepped around the dead man and paused before Bogart. Monroe was quick to hand him a pair of plastic zip ties to secure his prisoner while Mac checked on Lindsey, who remained unconscious. Conner again attempted to wake her, although the unfolding scene within the plane had him rattled. Monroe looked out the window and saw the enemy plane once more by their right wing.
“Even if we can land the plane, they’re going to be on our ass,” Monroe shouted out.
“We need a diversion,” Bogart responded while fumbling with the zip ties.
The man beneath him kicked out, striking Bogart in the groin. Bogart gasped while clutching himself and dropped to the aisle. The man sprang to his feet and opened an overhead bin. He removed another duffel bag, tossed it behind him, and was already prepared for Monroe’s initial attack. He deflected Monroe’s fist but was unprepared for the knee to his hip. Monroe punched him twice in the face, sending him backward and tumbling over Bogart, who was recovering in the aisle. Mac bolted past Monroe, leaped over Bogart, and grabbed the discarded duffel bag. She unzipped it and stared at the parachute. She looked back at Monroe with astonishment.
“The plan was to get the plane down low enough to parachute from it,” Mac announced. “That’s how they intended to get her from the plane. If they think she’s not on the plane, maybe they’ll give up chase.”
Chapter Nine
Within the flight deck, Jackie and Zack removed the pilot and co-pilot’s bodies from their seats. Jackie jumped into the pilot’s seat while Zack took the co-pilot’s spot. Jackie grabbed the controls and kept the plane from losing altitude. The plane sputtered and bucked beneath her hands.
“This is bad,” Jackie informed Zack.
“Can we land?” he asked.
“If I can find a stretch of flat land,” she informed him. “But the stewardess shot out the radio and we have a bogey on our right flank. They have enough firepower to shoot us out of the sky. One more shot and we’re done.”
Monroe appeared in the flight deck doorway. “We have a diversion for your bogey, but you’re going to need to take us lower and decrease speed.”
“What do you have in mind?” Zack suddenly demanded while glancing back.
“You and I are going to parachute from the plane using Mac as a decoy for Lindsey,” he announced. “If it works, the tailing plane will converge on us giving Jackie and Bogart enough time to land the plane and save the passengers.”
“I need to help land the plane,” Zack firmly insisted. “Bogart has no experience flying planes. Jackie needs me here with her.”
“Bogart has no experience skydiving either,” Monroe protested then glared demandingly. “And your only experience flying planes involves crashing them.”
“Which is exactly what we’re doing,” Zack replied while glaring back. “Anyone can jump out of a plane and pull a string.”
Monroe looked at Jackie as she took the shimmying plane down to a safer altitude. “It’s your call, Jackie,” he informed her.
“Zack stays,” she replied without looking back. “I need someone with nerves of steel.”
“All right then,” Monroe remarked. “I left a message on Gil’s cell phone with our approximate location. Hopefully, he’ll get the message before he gets too far, so he can circle back and find us once we’re on the ground. You just worry about landing the plane.”
Jackie nodded without looking back.
“Give us the go ahead when we’re low enough,” Monroe announced then hurried from the flight deck.
Zack immediately sprang from his seat, closed the flight deck door, and grabbed a first aid kit from the wall. He tore into the kit and removed some gauze pads.
“You’re going to be the death of me yet,” Zack snarled and pulled her jacket back to reveal her bleeding shoulder.
Jackie cringed with pain while Zack applied pressure to the gunshot wound. “Thanks for not telling him.”
“You’re the best chance we have of landing this plane,” Zack remarked. “If Monroe knew you’d been shot, he’d make poor decisions and get us all killed.”
“Can you slow the bleeding enough?” Jackie gasped while fighting the pain in her shoulder and the vibrating controls, which made the pain worse.
“As long as I keep pressure on it,” he announced.
“I need you in the co-pilot’s seat in order to land,” she suddenly insisted.
“Just give me a two-second warning, and I’ll take my seat,” he replied. “Until then, I need to keep pressure on the wound.”
“We’re low enough,” she informed Zack. “Give Monroe the signal.”
Zack nodded, released pressure on her shoulder, and hurried for the cockpit door. He signaled Monroe just on the other side of the door where he, Mac, and Bogart had just finished slipping into the parachute harnesses. Conner stood alongside them by the door to assist. Once Zack disappeared into the flight deck, Monroe looked at Conner.
“We’re going to attempt to lure that plane off our right flank,” Monroe informed him. “Once this door is opened, there’s going to be some pressure. Make sure everyone remains securely fastened in their seats.”
