Erika Dukas.
The Stony Man Farm translator was still on her knees where she had made a grab for the pistol dropped by one of the other kidnappers. She still held the weapon in both hands and stared in stunned silence at the man she had shot.
Bolan went straight to the woman, crouching in front of her. He gently pried the pistol from her trembling fingers, then placed a large and comforting hand on her cheek.
“We need to get clear of this place, Erika. Before others come.”
She looked at him and he saw her eyes were threatening to spill over with tears.
“I…needed to stop him. He was going to kill you. Wasn’t he going to kill you?”
“I’m a lucky guy to have you at my back. Now let’s get out of here. We can talk this over when we’re safe.” He took hold of her arm and helped her to stand, conscious she had transferred her gaze to the sprawled body. “He can’t hurt us now, Erika. Come on, we need to go.” His voice was low and gentle, his words soothing the turmoil she was undoubtedly experiencing.
Dukas bent to pick up something from the floor. It was the fanny pack she had been wearing. She secured it around her waist.
“Time to move,” Bolan said. “We need to talk.”
“I’m surprised you have time for conversation,” she said as she followed him outside and away from the silent house.
Bolan didn’t reply. He led her back the way he’d come, a walk of at least a quarter mile through the rainy darkness before they came to the concealed Jeep Cherokee. Dukas slid onto the passenger’s seat and waited while Bolan opened the tailgate door. He got out of his combat harness and pulled a lightweight black leather jacket over his blacksuit. He wore the 93-R in a shoulder rig under the jacket. When he joined Dukas, he handed her a 9 mm SIG-Sauer pistol and a clip-on hip holster he had taken from his duffel bag.
“From here you go armed. I know you’ve done some time on the firing range. I’ve heard you have a steady hand and a good eye,” Bolan said.
“Paper targets don’t shoot back,” she said as she ejected the magazine, checked it, then clicked it back. “But I suppose I just proved I can handle a gun.”
Bolan saw how capable she was with the pistol. Her movements were smooth and unhurried. He watched her ease the safety on before she put the gun away, adjusting the holster on her hip. He handed her a couple of extra magazines, and she dropped them in her pocket.
“These people we’re dealing with don’t appear to have much regard for life. We’ve already seen how they operate. If we meet up again and the need arises, just remember it’s your choice. Your life, or theirs,” Bolan stated.
She nodded. “I understand. I won’t let you down.”
As he drove Bolan checked out the still, silent figure beside him. He understood what she was going through, and though he kept his thoughts to himself he knew that Dukas would need to come to terms with what she had just done.
All the right reasons were not going to make the slightest difference. Justification, moral right, good versus bad, none of that would wipe away the cold, hard fact that Erika Dukas had taken a life. When the initial shock wore off, Bolan knew Dukas would ponder the stark facts and realize she had sent a man to a morgue slab. The full realization might knock her back and render her incapable of accepting what she had done. On the other hand her resolve might be strong enough to accept the facts and let her move on. For the moment he allowed her the privacy of her own thoughts.
They were still short of the main highway when Bolan picked up the flash of headlights in his rearview mirror. He watched them until he counted at least two vehicles in pursuit.
“Company,” he said.
Dukas twisted in her seat and studied the oncoming vehicles.
“You think they’re coming after us?”
“Out here? Off-road? I don’t imagine they’re tourists. They must have arrived just after we left,” Bolan replied.
He put his foot down, increasing the Cherokee’s speed. The dirt track they were on did little to assist a smooth passage, and the fact the road was waterlogged from the rain only added to the treacherous surface. The SUV managed the terrain, but the ride was uncomfortable.
“This is just crazy,” Dukas shouted above the rising howl of the engine. “What the hell are we doing out here?”
Bolan kept his eyes on the road ahead, peering through the streaming windshield where the wipers were struggling to keep the glass clear. The twin headlight beams danced and shimmered in the downpour as Bolan fought the wheel. The Cherokee slid back and forth, brushing the drenched foliage on each side of the narrow strip. More than once Bolan felt solid thumps as the Cherokee’s heavy tires hit some unseen object.
He concentrated on the road ahead, knowing that the difficult driving conditions would hamper their pursuers as much as it did them. It was a small consolation, but at least it was something.
A bend appeared, and Bolan worked the wheel and the gears to control the Cherokee. He felt the rear slide away and compensated, bringing the heavy SUV back on track. He felt the road start to slope. It wasn’t a steep incline, but under the conditions it did little to help, except to increase their speed.
To the north thunder rumbled, a deep threatening sound that heralded the sudden crackle of lightning. The jagged fork lanced across the cloudy sky, briefly illuminating their surroundings and adding to the general din.
“What next?” Dukas asked. “Do they have tornadoes around here as well?”
The solid thump of bullets striking the Cherokee grabbed their attention. Bolan tried to erase the sound from his mind, but the increasing accuracy of the gunfire meant that sooner or later they would sustain a fatal hit. The tailgate window exploded as rising gunfire hit the glass, almost as a grim warning.
Bolan felt the trail dip suddenly. The front wheels twisted, the big vehicle swayed and then lurched off the trail, sliding down the steep slope. Bolan fought the drift, but despite his powerful grip he was unable to bring the SUV back under control. He felt the right side wheels leave the ground as the Cherokee started to tilt.
“Grab something,” he yelled at Dukas.
The Cherokee rolled, and Bolan and Dukas were helpless as it commenced its bouncing, twisting descent. The last thing he was able to do was turn off the engine before the falling vehicle turned their world into a dizzying, wild ride that could have left them severely injured, or even dead, if they hadn’t been securely strapped in. It didn’t stop them from being jolted, suspended by safety harnesses, senses jarred and knocked out of kilter by the careering Cherokee. Sometime during the fall the windshield shattered, and sleet and mud entered the passenger compartment.
And then it ceased.
As swiftly as it had begun, the spinning, bruising tumble stopped. The vehicle lay on its left side. The creak of distorted metal and the sound of the wind penetrated their senses as they fought to push away the effects of the crash.
Bolan managed to hit the release button and free himself from his belt. He was on his side, pressed up against the driver’s door. He ached, and the side of his head was bloody from where he had banged against
