“What I was thinking.”
They heard a shout, then heard the three vehicles moving to new positions.
Hunter scooted under the brush again, this time with Randall beside her. Two of the three boats were coming closer, and the SUVs were moving to be in position when the boats came on the beach. The two men on foot rejoined the vehicles, but the single man that had gotten out was nowhere in sight. The other one, Andre’s killer, was still in the parking lot in front of the ramp.
Hunter tapped Randall’s sleeve, “I’ve got a plan. Follow me.”
~*~
John idled the old pickup on the road, both to keep control and to not advertise they were coming. He saw the pier, and as they drove closer, saw the man with the rifle on his shoulder looking the other way. Beyond the man John could see several dark vehicles, and under the pier, he noticed the boats, all on the north side, rolling in the waves like corks, with the waves so high that the boats disappeared from sight when in the troughs. Another boat was at the far end of the pier, and looked to be in trouble.
He told Ariel, “Stay in the truck. I’m going to ease up there.”
Ariel’s eyes were luminous with fear. “You have no weapon.”
“You stay in the truck. Promise me.”
Ariel said, “I promise.”
John slid out of the cab and circled behind the pickup to go into the brush and shrubbery along the lower edge of the parking area. She lost sight of him, then saw him again, further ahead, creeping though the wind-whipped foliage.
Images came to her, along with a strong feeling of foreboding. She knew Randall and Ariel were alive, but she didn’t feel Andre anywhere. The foreboding was for John; he was going into trouble, any minute now. She needed to help, somehow. Then it came to her.
Ariel moved behind the wheel and started forward, taking the pickup back to the road on the high side of the parking area, and where the two vehicles were parked. She weaved like a bad driver, and drove slowly, like she was lost.
She prayed the man with the gun wouldn’t turn and shoot her. As she drove closer, she saw Andre’s body, and recognized him immediately. Her eyes filled, but she shook it off, because her friend’s lives were at stake.
The wind suddenly increased, and the man with the rifle staggered. The noise was like a moaning howl, constant and mournful. She glanced to the right and caught glimpses of John in the brush, bent-over and moving closer, right toward his target.
Another armed man suddenly materialized seventy years to the man’s front. He stepped out of thick brush and walked toward the one by the pier. Both had rifles on their shoulders.
John hadn’t seen the second man. Ariel tried to get his attention, but the detective was focused on his prey. He couldn’t take down both of them without getting killed, she knew. And the men were turning in John’s direction.
She drove the pickup five feet beyond the two vehicles and the gunmen saw it. She tapped the horn and waved as if excited to see them, even though her stomach felt like ice when they walked her way, guns up.
John saw the men move, but didn’t realize why until he edged forward another dozen feet and saw them draw down on the old pickup that now extended beyond the two vehicles. “Dammit!” he hissed.
Ariel could not breathe. The two men came to the driver’s side and opened the door, with one of them keeping his M4 trained on her.
The other one looked her over and said, “You a fine looking woman, what you doing out here in dis storm?”
“I’m lost, and then I saw you two. I thought you could help me.”
“Oh, we can help you just fine. Get out.”
“But, I only need directions.”
The man grabbed her bicep and jerked her from the cab. “You go with us. There’s some shelter from the wind, up under the restaurant building. We go up dere and have us a good time.”
She went stumbling along, her legs weak with fear. “I don’t want to go.”
“It don’t matter, we taking you. You show us a good time, maybe we let you live.”
Hunter saw the old pickup stop and someone waving inside it. “You see this?”
Randall said, “Yeah. Who is it?” Hunter shrugged.
They watched as the gunmen pulled Ariel out of the cab and forced her to go with them back toward the pier.