Alpha dogs, p.7
Alpha Dogs, page 7
part #6 of Witness Protection Series
Conner nodded and hurried into the aisle, relaying the message to the panicking passengers. More screams followed. Once Conner took one of the front seats and belted himself in, Monroe reached for the door handle.
Bogart groaned while making a face. “I really don’t want to do this.”
“Stop being such a big baby,” Mac snapped while glaring at him. “Your chances of dying in here are just as great as they are out there.”
“You’re not helping,” Monroe remarked.
Monroe pulled the lever and opened the door. There was a tremendous gust of air, but the plane was now low and slow enough to parachute from it safely. He grinned at Mac and extended his hand to the opening.
“Ladies first.”
Mac rolled her eyes. “You’re a big baby too,” she announced then leaped over the threshold without hesitation.
Monroe and Bogart exchanged looks as she disappeared out of the plane. “She’s got a pair on her, huh?” Monroe remarked then indicated the opening.
Bogart moved closer to the opening and looked out. He groaned and made a face. “This sucks.”
“Out,” Monroe snarled.
Bogart drew a deep breath and attempted to prepare himself mentally. Monroe groaned and pushed him out the opening. Bogart let out a terrified scream. Seconds after, Monroe jumped out behind him.
§
Back on the flight deck, Zack maintained pressure on Jackie’s shoulder wound. Despite the blood seeping through the second set of gauze pads, neither faltered from their plan. The controls continued to vibrate in her hands. Jackie eyed the controls and remained calm despite the wailing alarm and flashing buttons.
“I’m no longer tracking the plane off our right flank,” she informed Zack and briefly eyed him. “Now we need to find a place to land this heap.”
Both stared out the windshield.
“What’s our location?” Zack asked.
“If my calculations are correct; somewhere between screwed and fucked,” Jackie informed him.
They saw the water beneath the plane and all around them. They had left the coast of Florida and were now over the ocean somewhere.
“We need to find one of those small islands off the coast of Florida,” Zack remarked. “Can we make it to Monroe’s island?”
“Wrong direction,” she informed him. “I can’t turn around either. At this point, I’m just controlling our drift and trying to keep her from losing too much altitude.”
“What’s the closest island to our location?”
“According to our coordinates,” Jackie informed him. “We shouldn’t be too far from Dexter’s island. He has to have a landing field. He has a private plane.”
“Dexter’s island it is,” Zack replied while maintaining pressure on her shoulder.
The plane continued to sputter causing both to hold their breath. Jackie was already sweating from the pain in her shoulder. She’d lost a lot of blood. Zack discarded the bloodied pads for a fresh set. They could see an island in the near distance.
“That has to be it,” Jackie gasped while clinging to the controls. “I need you in the co-pilot’s seat.”
“A little further,” Zack announced.
“Zack, take the controls,” she cried out.
Zack reluctantly removed his hand from her shoulder and jumped into the co-pilot’s seat. He took the controls then looked at Jackie.
“Okay, what do I--?”
Jackie released the controls and sank back in the seat already out cold. Zack stared at her with horror in his eyes.
“Jackie?”
§
Jackie opened her eyes and saw Zack leaning over her. She could feel intense pain shooting through her shoulder. For a brief instant, she saw Zack’s bloody hands clutching a blood-soaked pocketknife. He caught her gaze and returned his attention to her shoulder.
“You may want to stay out for this,” he announced and returned his attention to her injury.
She cried out from the intense pain. As the humming increased in her ears, everything went dark. It seemed like only seconds had passed, but it was longer than that. Jackie could feel stiffness in her shoulder as her eyes again opened. Zack sat on the flight deck floor alongside her and grinned.
“Look who’s awake,” he remarked in an oddly cheerful tone.
Jackie groaned and attempted to touch her throbbing shoulder. Zack caught her wrist and kept her hand away from it.
“I don’t recommend that,” he insisted then released her hand. “How are you feeling?”
Jackie exhaled deeply and stared at the flight deck ceiling. “My shoulder feels like it’s on fire and everything hurts.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there before,” Zack muttered.
She attempted to sit up. Zack offered his hand. She clutched his now clean hand with her good, right hand, and allowed him to help her into a sitting position. Pain shot through her left shoulder. She withheld her gasp, endured the pain, and looked around the flight deck. To her surprise, the plane seemed intact. Zack handed her a travel bottle of vodka from the beverage cart.
“Is everyone okay?” she asked while accepting the bottle and drank it down in one swallow. It was all he could offer for the intense pain, and she was willing to accept it.
“Yeah, all twenty-five passengers are fine,” he replied. “Just some minor scrapes and bruises.” Zack smiled proudly. “I’m getting really good at this crash landing stuff.”
“Were you able to fix the radio?”
“No, it’s totally wasted,” Zack informed her. “I saw a town as we were going down. Someone must have seen our plane buzzing overhead. I suspect someone will come to check on us soon.”
“It may be beneficial if no one knows Lindsey was on the plane when help arrives,” Jackie informed him.
“Way ahead of you. Her friend took her down the beach and away from the plane,” Zack announced while closely watching her. “She’s pretty groggy.”
“She’s not getting any sympathy from me,” Jackie snapped while attempting to stand.
Zack stood and helped her to her feet. She clutched her left arm and endured the pain shooting through her shoulder. It seemed to radiate throughout her entire body.
“You can rest a few minutes longer,” Zack informed her. “We’re not really in a hurry.”
“Maybe you trust Lindsey to stick around, but I don’t,” Jackie remarked. “I’d like to talk to her before she takes off again. I’m not in the mood to chase her around her father’s island. There’s a small chance I might shoot her.”
“You make me so proud some days,” Zack announced while sighing. “One minor detail. This isn’t her father’s island.”
Jackie shot a look at him. “How do you know?”
“I mentioned the town to Lindsey, and she said there wasn’t a town on his island,” Zack replied. “She didn’t recognize this beach either. His island doesn’t have stretches of beach this long.”
“Then where the hell are we?”
“You’re the pilot,” he announced teasingly. “I thought you might know.”
She shook her head. “I haven’t a damned clue.”
Jackie headed for the open doorway. Zack followed her from the plane. The steps were on a heavy slant caused by the landing gear having been ripped off, leaving the plane’s belly heavily embedded in the sand. Jackie stepped onto the ground just outside the main exit door and looked around the massive beach. There was a huge groove at least one hundred yards behind the smoldering plane with the missing wing on the tree line side. The landing gear was embedded in the sand just beyond the large groove. Several palm trees were sliced halfway down, and the beach was littered with severed wing metal and palm tree debris. Apart from the torn wing and missing landing gear, the plane was in one piece.
“Not half bad for a crash landing,” Jackie informed Zack.
Zack grinned proudly. “There’s nothing to flying,” he remarked. “You should let me do it more often.”
“Not happening,” Jackie replied then joined the others on the beach.
The remaining twenty-two passengers saw her on her feet and clapped while cheering. She hid her embarrassed smile and casually waved.
Chapter Ten
Bogart lay on his back on the ground within the swampland while panting heavily. The wooded area surrounding him was thick and creepy. Despite being early summer, there were dead leaves on the bare ground, and moss-covered trees seemed to stand on their roots both in and out of the swampy land. The water was murky and frightening regarding what possibly lie beneath its dark surface. Bogart pulled himself to his hands and knees and worked on removing the parachute harness. He attempted to slip out of the harness, became caught in the nylon, and jerked and thrashed until it fell to the ground. He collected himself, slowly straightened, and placed his hands on his hips while looking around the swampland. How he missed the heavily wooded area was actually quite surprising. That he didn’t land in the murky water was nothing short of an act of God.
“Well, ain’t this fantastic,” he snapped. “Shot out of the sky, thrown from a plane, and left to rot in the swamps of Florida. Can this day get any worse?”
Bogart heard a twig snap behind him. He turned half expecting to see Monroe. To his surprise, he saw a six-foot alligator charging him.
He cocked his head to the side and frowned at the frightening sight. “Ah, hell,” Bogart moaned.
§
Monroe slipped out of his parachute harness and immediately looked around the wooded area, attempting to gain his bearings. Since he had been flying commercial, he didn’t have any of his usual, useful equipment on him. A compass would have been nice. He then remembered he had an app on his cell phone. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone when he heard Bogart suddenly cry out then immediately silence. Monroe ran in the direction he’d originally heard Bogart’s voice, leaping over vegetation, and dodging mud pits. He ran into a small clearing and suddenly stopped. His eyes widened in horror at what he saw before him. Bogart sat on the back of the large alligator with his belt securely around the creature’s snout as he leaned on its head. Bogart saw Monroe and glared impatiently.
“Well, where the hell were you?” Bogart demanded. “A little help here!”
Monroe stared at the man on top of the alligator then removed his cell phone and took a picture.
“Damn it, help me!”
“And do what?” Monroe cried out. “We don’t have alligators on my island.”
“Just grab the parachute and get over here,” Bogart demanded. “I’ll trap it in the parachute. It’ll give us enough time to get away before it frees itself.”
Monroe grabbed the discarded parachute and hurried for Bogart and the alligator he sat upon. He threw the parachute over the alligator’s head, allowing Bogart time to remove his belt from its snout. They tangled the creature in the parachute, giving Bogart enough time to jump off the large reptile. The creature struggled within the massive material attempting to free itself.
“What the hell are you guys doing?” Mac suddenly demanded from nearby. “While you two were over here playing games, I could have used your help back there.”
They looked at the unscathed woman as she stood nearby and stared at them. Her eyes immediately strayed to the mass moving within the tangled parachute.
“Who’s that?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Bogart snarled and indicated the mass within the parachute. “Mac meet Al. Al eat Mac.”
The alligator thrashed around and was nearly freed from the parachute. Mac jumped with surprise when she saw part of the alligator now exposed. Bogart and Monroe grabbed Mac by her arms and pulled her away.
“Time to go,” Monroe announced.
§
The black SUV pulled up to Sebastian Cicco’s mansion a little after nine o’clock in the morning Colorado time. It parked alongside several police cars with flashing lights. The place was alive with activity. A ruggedly handsome man in his mid-thirties got out of the SUV. Holden Falcone wasn’t built excessively muscular, but he had broad shoulders and a toned chest. His neatly trimmed, nearly black hair gave him a professional appearance. Sal jumped out of the passenger seat of the official federal vehicle and hurried to catch up to Holden.
“And this Cicco guy said his daughter-in-law murdered his son?” Holden demanded as they approached the house.
“Right after he shot my security team and before he pulled a gun on me,” Sal informed him. “I didn’t know what else to do. He threatened my daughter if I didn’t convince the guys to hand over his daughter-in-law.”
“The one Jackie supposedly has in protective custody,” Holden added and shook his head. He then eyed Sal. “And no one has heard from any of the guys?”
“No, I was hoping you’d heard from Jackie,” Sal announced with concern. “They could still be in the air and unable to call.”
“Beck’s with Pinto?”
“Yes, she’s safe with him,” Sal remarked and shoved his hands into his pockets as they continued toward Cicco’s mansion. “I told them to stay away for a while and keep a low profile.”
Holden stopped Sal at the mansion steps. “You need to wait out here until we have a look around.”
“Yes, of course,” Sal muttered while fidgeting.
Holden approached the officers at the door and flashed his badge. “Anyone home?”
“No one answered, Agent Falcone,” the officer responded. “We haven’t found anyone yet, but it’s a big place with plenty of ground to cover.”
Sal remained outside with the officer guarding the front door and watched Holden enter the mansion. Holden seemed to be gone a long time. Sal paced the area before the front steps for nearly forty minutes before Holden finally exited the mansion. Holden shook his head as he approached Sal.
“What did you find?” Sal eagerly asked as he hurried toward him.
“Not a damned thing,” Holden replied with an annoyed look on his face. “There’s no one inside. We didn’t see any sign of an attack or a murder. Not even a trace of blood.”
“I’m sure Vinny has a crime scene clean-up crew at his disposal,” Sal remarked while frowning. “The best always do.”
Holden cast a look at Sal and immediately frowned. He didn’t say what was on his mind. No one wanted to know about Sal’s previous life and the lingering question regarding his mob ties.
“Forensics will go in with their equipment and see what they turn up, but if something had happened in there, someone took great care cleaning it up.”
“What are we going to do?” Sal practically demanded. “He threatened my daughter.”
“Officially, there’s not much we can do without any evidence of a murder,” Holden replied.
“And unofficially?”
“We continue our attempts at contacting the team and start retracing their steps,” Holden informed him. “I want to find Jackie. If this guy wants his daughter-in-law as badly as you say he does, I want to make sure my wife isn’t standing in his way.”
“Can you bring Vinny in for questioning?” Sal eagerly asked. “He did tell me his son was murdered. Is that enough to bring him in?”
“Without a body, it’s his word against yours,” Holden replied and maintained his frown. “If this guy is as dangerous as you think he is, it might be best to seek out the team under the radar. We don’t want to lead him right to them.”
“Where do we start?” Sal asked.
“Their last known location.”
“I sent Mac to the motel where they were staying,” Sal informed him. “They were taking her on assignment with them. Last I heard, they were at a small airport in Florida on their way to Costa Rico.”
“Then we’ll start at the airport in Florida,” Holden announced with a sigh. He shook his head while attempting to hide his hostility. “I can’t believe Monroe was left in charge. Throw Mac into the mix, and I’m not liking this one bit.”
“Why is everyone so suspicious of Mac?” Sal asked. “Yeah, sure, she’s made some mistakes, but she’s proven her dedication on numerous occasions.”
“Well, let’s see,” Holden announced while mocking Sal. “She posed as a U.S. Marshal, abducted Ross’ future wife, and she did try to steal fifty million dollars from you.”
“Yes, and then she saved my life,” he replied.
Holden didn’t respond to the comment. “Let’s check out the airport in Florida.”
“I’ll secure a private plane,” Sal announced and removed his cell phone.
Chapter Eleven
Despite only being a little after twelve o’clock noon Eastern Standard Time, the plane crash survivors had a large bonfire burning nearly one hundred yards from the downed plane. Although their situation was frightening, the ocean view was spectacular. The ocean was clear with gentle waves lightly crashing to shore, and it was sunny despite what appeared to be a tropical storm system brewing in the distance. The passengers were hoping a passing ship or plane would see the fire. It had been over an hour without any sign of a rescue, which seemed odd. Jackie sat on a large duffel bag near the fire and stared at the vast ocean.
The other passengers removed the luggage from the plane’s tail section and also brought the rolling beverage cart onto the beach to entertain themselves. Zack approached Jackie where she sat and extended a bottle of water, which she gladly accepted. He collapsed on the sand alongside her and shook two bottles of pills. She eyed the prescription bottles then Zack.
“What’s this?”
“Compliments of your fellow castaways,” he announced then eyed her. “Narcotics for the pain and antibiotics to ward off infection.”
She accepted the bottles and took one of each pill then placed both bottles in her jacket pocket. She looked back at the ocean and shook her head.
“I don’t get it,” she remarked with a sigh. “Where’s the Coast Guard? Someone from the town you saw when we crashed? Anyone.”
Zack indicated the dark skies in the distance and rapidly approaching. “We’re going to be in for one hell of a storm in a few hours,” he informed her. “Maybe the storm system is keeping them from locating us.”
