Wrath of Poseidon (Fargo Adventures 12)

Simple, but effective.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Remi, her stomach twisting in knots, listened while Sam quickly outlined what he needed them to do. She glanced across the road at the ruins, the moonlight painting the old stones and treetops a soft blue. “Questions?” he asked her.

A million, she wanted to say. First and foremost, how was it that he knew how to do what he did? How was it that he had skills that were beyond those any ordinary man possessed? But all that came out of her mouth was “No.”

“Try not to look at the headlights,” Sam said to her and Zoe. “It’ll ruin your night vision. Once you get to the ruins, use those backpacks to make as much noise as you can. Just keep the trees between you and them.” He picked up one end of the rope coiled at his feet, handing it to Dimitris. “Keep this on the ground as you cross. If anything goes wrong, get them to the boat.”

Dimitris looked at Zoe, a myriad of emotions flitting across his face. He’d done exactly what Sam

had warned against—going it alone—and now they were paying the price. Just when Remi worried that he was going to stand there and beg forgiveness, he took Zoe’s hand in his and nodded. “Got it.”

Remi, holding Sam’s backpack by its straps, started to follow Dimitris and Zoe, then stopped. She turned to Sam, pulled his face to hers, and kissed him quickly. “Be careful.”

He nodded, searching her eyes. “You too.”

She took a deep breath, trying to slow her thudding heart. There were so many ways this plan could go wrong, and it seemed each one of them was rushing through her mind. As much as she didn’t want to leave him, she let go, moving next to Dimitris and Zoe. “Ready.”

They poised themselves at the edge of the road, waiting for Sam’s signal. He stepped out, closer to the warehouse. “Hey! Over here!” he shouted, drawing the guards’ attention. He fired once.

The three of them burst from the trees, Dimitris dragging the rope through the gravel as Sam fired his last shot. They dove into the ruins on the other side just as the guards returned fire.

Safe for the moment, she, Zoe, and Dimitris crouched behind one of the crumbling walls. Dimitris positioned himself in the doorway and gripped the rope, then nodded. Remi crawled to the edge of the ruins, looking across the road at Sam.

When she gave him a thumbs-up, he pulled the trigger several times on his empty gun, the distinct click, click, click audible in the quiet of the night. “Run!” he shouted. “I’m out of bullets!”

And just in case the gunmen didn’t understand English, Dimitris yelled out in Greek, “Hurry! To the dock! He’s out of bullets!”

Remi and Zoe ran into the woods. They darted from tree to tree, hitting their backpacks on any shrubs they passed. The automatic gunfire sent the adrenaline racing through Remi’s veins as she pressed herself against the trunk. But after a few shots, silence descended. The gunmen made no move to pursue them.

Looking over at Zoe, Remi nodded. They ran again, dragging their packs through the shrubs, then ducked behind the next tree, and then the next. Several seconds passed. The only sound was the wind riffling through the leaves on the branches above. If the gunmen didn’t make a move, Sam would be trapped on the other side. Remi edged around the thick trunk, looking back at the compound, seeing the ruins between her and the guards. Apparently they’d played it a bit too safe. Not only could Remi not see the gunmen, they definitely couldn’t see her or Zoe, who was leaning against the tree to her right, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

“We need to find a way to make them follow us,” Remi said.

“How?” Zoe asked between breaths.

Remi eyed the tree and shrubs near the road to her left, the area lit up by the flatbed’s headlights. To get to it, she’d be opening herself up as a target. “It might be Sam’s only chance.”

Zoe saw the direction of her gaze. “Remi, no.”

She wasn’t about to leave him trapped. There had to be a better way to draw the guards out. Gripping Sam’s backpack, she thought about the odds as she glanced across the road, where Sam waited. And then it hit her.

“I have an idea.”

Untying her scarf from her head, she knotted it to the top of the backpack, then heaved the whole thing toward the bush lit up in the beam of the truck’s headlight. As the backpack fell into the branches, the ends of her scarf floated up. Gunfire erupted, the shots ripping through the bush at the decoy.

Remi, her heart in her throat, pressed herself against the trunk. The guards ran out, their heavy footfalls crunching on the gravel.

“Now!” Sam shouted.

She heard the grunts as the two guards tripped over the rope and flew forward.

Sam raced out from one side, Dimitris the other. Sam slammed his booted foot into the ribs of the closest man, grabbed his weapon and aimed it at the other guard. “Drop your gun.”

Dimitris repeated his words in Greek.

The second guard released his pistol. Dimitris picked it up, backing away.