Justice Healed (23 page)

"I wasn't sure, but I'm glad I came back.  I missed you and well, Springwood is home.  Chicago was great, but it would never have been the place I wanted to settle down."

"With two kids and a dog?"  Sherry grinned.

"Honestly, you just won't let anything go will you?  Even if Tanner does love me—"

"He does," interjected Sherry.

"Even if he does love me," Madison began again.  "It doesn't mean he wants to get married or have children.  He's already done that."

Sherry wrinkled her nose.  "You two should talk about this.  What if he doesn't want to get married or have kids?  Are you okay with that?"

"I've never dreamed of a big, fancy wedding."  Madison shrugged.  "As for children, I haven't given them much thought either.  I've been too busy working.  I guess I always thought I would have one or two, but I think I would be okay if I didn't."

"As long as you had Tanner?"

Madison nodded.  "I could be okay with him, married or not.  I don't need a piece of paper to feel committed to him."

Sherry laughed.  "You're the original modern woman.  I wanted a marriage license, Dan's last name, and now we're working on the kids.  Call me old-fashioned, but I want the dream."

Madison could only smile at her best friend.  Tanner all by himself was more than anything Madison had ever dreamed of. 

She yawned and tried to hide it by turning away.

"You're not fooling anyone.  Go to bed," Sherry ordered, but she was smiling.

"You wanted to watch this movie." 

Sherry was mad for old films and one of the movie channels was showing Casablanca.

"I'm still planning to.  Scout can keep me company.  Won't you
, Scout?"

The dog wagged its tail and was given another cheese cube as a reward.  Madison was exhausted and decided to give in gracefully.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning."  Madison got up and headed for the bedroom.

"I'll be quiet when I come to bed," Sherry called out.  Sherry was sleeping on a rollaway bed in Madison's room.  She'd tried to convince Sherry to stay in her
dad's room but Sherry wouldn't do it.  She said it would feel weird and disrespectful.  Madison didn't push the subject as she didn't want to sleep in the bedroom alone with a gun.  Besides, Madison's bedroom was huge, taking up almost the entire top floor of the house.  Her father had renovated the second floor when she was a teenager giving her the bedroom of her dreams. 

"Don't worry about it.  I can get back to sleep easily if I wake up." 

Madison had learned to sleep anywhere at anytime when she'd been a resident.  She took one last look over her shoulder and smiled at the picture of Sherry eating popcorn and Scout cuddled as close as he could get.  By tomorrow morning, Tanner would probably call her and she could tell him that nothing bad had happened except his dog was now addicted to cheese cubes.

* * * *

Fenton was sitting in an SUV just south of Billings in the middle of a deserted field.  When he'd received the call from his informant on the Canadian Border Patrol he'd sent out two teams to find the motorcades.  A large one for the motorcade that contained Kerr and a small one for the decoy.  Fenton wasn't sure what made him do that, but he wanted all his bases covered.  He'd learned you could never be too careful. 

He stared into the darkness as he waited for his cell to ring.  The other team should be
dealing with the motorcade at this very moment.  A helicopter would take out the first chase car and an RPG would blow up the rear, leaving the middle vehicles boxed in.  His team would blow the doors of the armored truck with a shape charge and extricate Kerr, flying him to this location where they would change to a nondescript vehicle.  He would then be driven to the designated location for interrogation.

The phone vibrated on his thigh.

"Jacks."

"He's not here.  We were double-crossed or something.  He's not here."  The lead man, George Keene, was breathing hard and Fenton could hear gunfire in the background.

“What the fuck do you mean he’s not there?  We were told he was in that armored car.”

“He’s just not here.  We’ve looked every—”

"Shut up.  How many down?" he asked calmly while anger built in his gut.  He'd kill Bilson for this. 

"We've lost about half our numbers, but they've taken the worst hit.  We've downed pretty much the entire group."

"Get out and get the bird over here.  He's in the other motorcade, you fucking idiot."

Fenton gritted his teeth to keep the string of swear words from streaming out.  This was not the time to lose control.  He needed to stay calm and in control.

"Right.  We should be there in twenty."

"Keene?"

"Yeah?"  The man sounded anxious to be off the phone.  He was probably ducked down in one of their ground vehicles for cover.

"No survivors."

Tanner stretched his arm over his head and rubbed his neck.  Logan was driving this leg but Tanner was feeling antsy.  He hated being cooped up in a car for hours on end.  The scenery was the same blur of dark shadows with only the occasional car to break up the monotony.

"Hand me a soda
, will you?" Reed asked from the back seat.  "I need the caffeine to stay awake."

Tanner reached down to the small cooler situated between
his legs on the floor and pulled out a can, tossing it to Reed.

"When's next check in?" Tanner asked.

Reed consulted his watch.  "Three minutes.  So far everything's been quiet.  In about an hour we'll be in Wyoming and pick up the extra manpower."

"Tell me again why they're only helping us in two states instead of all three?" Logan asked with a sideways grin.  "Do they have something against Montana?"

Tanner chuckled.  "Not that I know of.  It's to give some of us a break to catch an hour of sleep.  These guys can drive and be on guard and the rest of us can rotate getting a quick nap.  Evan's also thinking about letting Morey out of the back of the truck and putting another Marshal in for awhile."

"Evan's too nice of a guy," Reed observed. 

The radio started to crackle.  It was a Spearhead encrypted handheld that Tanner knew was fielded at first to military in Iraq.  Reed frowned, glancing at his watch. It was too early for the check in from the other motorcade. 

"Yes?"  His voice was short and abrupt.  Tanner and Logan were on alert the minute the radio started to go off.  This was the first thing that hadn't gone like clockwork.  The sound of gunfire and yelling came through the speakers loud and clear.  The other motorcade was under fire.

"Echo-Two-Tango, here.  We're under heavy fire."  The man's voice was breathless.  "They've got a chopper and they've blown the rear door of the truck.  They took out the lead and rear chase cars."

The Blue Team was boxed in and practically helpless.  To make matters worse, there weren't any agents in the vicinity to help them.  The Red Team wouldn't be stopped for anything, even several agents being gunned down on the job. 

"How many?" Reed asked.

More static and gunfire.  "Two in the bird and about ten on the ground.  We've taken out a few but I'm suffering heavy casualties here."

"Son of a fucking bitch.  What a clusterfuck," Logan muttered under his breath.  Tanner could see Logan's knuckles tighten on the wheel.  When the bad guys realized Kerr wasn't there, they were going to be pissed the hell off. 

"I'll relay to Echo-Three-Delta.  Get the fuck out of there."

Reed ended the call with the Blue Team and immediately got Evan on the radio to relay what was happening less than a fifty miles away.

"Holy fuck."  Evan growled. 

Tanner could hear Evan telling Seth to get the Marshal Service on the phone and get some people there as soon as possible.  Tanner remembered that DEA Agent Jason Anderson had people in this area and a helicopter to get there.  He pulled the phone from his pocket and made a quick call, grateful when Jason answered on the second ring.  As succinctly as he could, he outlined what was happening and luckily the agent got the drift right away.  He'd head there with manpower and an ETA of thirty minutes.

That amount of time was an eternity when someone was under fire but it was the best they could do at the moment.  It would take the Marshal Service time to get reinforcements.  Every available man was being used for this transfer job.

Evan came over the radio.  "We're increasing our speed.  Shut off your lights.  Stay in formation."

Logan pressed on the accelerator and the engine roared with power.  Tanner kept looking up into the black night sky for signs of lights.  He cracked the window to listen for any sounds
of helicopters but there was nothing except the cold wind.  If the Warner or Jackson cartel knew about the other motorcade, the chances were good they knew about this one as well.  It didn't matter which cartel had hit them at this point.  Both were well-armed and deadly. 

The hum of the wheels against the road couldn't lull them into any sense of security.  When the headlights of a car began to approach they all tensed, weapons ready, but it passed on by harmlessly into the night.  Tanner turned and watched until the taillights disappeared in the distance. 

There was nowhere to run or hide.  Even if they found an abandoned building to hole up in, then they ran the risk of being surrounded and pinned down.  Turning around and going back wasn't the answer either.  The safest thing they could do was keep moving forward.  They had reinforcements just over the border and Evan had already called them.  The Wyoming men were moving northward and would hopefully meet up with the motorcade before anything happened.   

"Fuck, I hate the waiting."  Reed's head was looking from side to side, squinting at the inky blackness whenever he wasn't on the radio.  They were all on edge, the minutes ticking by with an excruciating slowness.  Their nerves were stretched to the brink of snapping.  Tanner could feel the sweat beading underneath his bulletproof vest and he restlessly shifted in his seat.  These feelings were familiar, and his mind and body went on autopilot, the rest of the world ceasing to exist.  There was only this place and this moment. 

His senses became sharper.  He could hear every pump of his heart, the whoosh of blood in his veins.  He could smell the leather of the seats and hear the tapping of Reed's fingers against the radio.  Tanner let his instincts take over, gaining comfort from them.  They'd never let him down before.  Once a soldier, always a soldier. 

Logan's face in the dim light looked carved from granite and Reed looked like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.  It was almost a relief when they finally heard the sounds of a chopper in the sky.

* * * *

Fenton
’s adrenaline raced when the chopper hovered over the second motorcade.  He hadn't known exactly what road they would be on, but this was southern Montana.  There weren't too many to choose from unless they wanted to take twenty hours to get to Florence, zigzagging from country road to country road.

The headlights of each vehicle were turned off but the bird swept the spotlight over the motorcade from back to front.  Six
SUVs and the armored truck tucked in the middle.  This wasn't going to be easy.  He'd lost about half a dozen men taking out the first motorcade.  He'd augmented with others from his organization but they weren't what he would describe as battle-ready.  As it was, he'd be lucky to get Kerr out without losing most of his men. 

It didn't matter in the long run.  There were always men willing to do the dirty work if you paid them enough.  Fenton had long since stopped being surprised by the lack of morals in the average man. 

One of those men now had an M203 40mm grenade launcher mounted under his M16A2 held tight into his shoulder, pointing it at the lead car.  Some sparks came from the High Explosive Dual Purpose shell and it flew straight down, eliminating the car in a fiery blast.  The explosion illuminated the darkness and Fenton could see the shadows of his ground force heading in. 

This time there would be no mistakes.

The next target was the last car in the motorcade.  Then the middle cars would be trapped and he could pick off the Feds, one by one.

* * * *

The minute Tanner saw the explosion up ahead he knew what the cartel was planning.  The convoy screeched to a stop, and Evan yelled over the radio to back up.  Logan threw the SUV into reverse, but Tanner already knew the outcome.

He turned around in his seat and looked out the rear window as the last car in the motorcade was blown to smithereens by
what could only be an RPG. 

"Son of a bitch," Reed whispered under his breath at the yellow and orange light show.  Tanner shook his head in disbelief.  Four good Marshals were down and the rest of them were trapped in the kill box.  They couldn't move forward or backward. 

"Don't move!"  Evan's voice came over the radio as Tanner watched the ground game begin.  Surprisingly there were only about ten men and two of them were still in the chopper.  They must have lost a large number when they ambushed the other team. 

Tanner's heart galloped in his chest as he forced himself to stay in the bulletproof vehicle.  He had to fight every instinct to jump out and start firing but that was a suicide mission.  He'd wait until the cartel was distracted blowing the armored car door and then try and pick them off one at a time. 

They'd discussed their positions if they were attacked.  Tanner, Logan, and Reed were to focus on taking down as many men as possible from their location right behind the armored truck.  Evan and Seth had the main responsibility of ensuring no one got Kerr, but ultimately that was everyone's job. 

The headlights from the vehicles and the helicopter pierced the darkness, and Tanner could see the
cartel men, dressed in dark clothing.  They were huddled around the back of the armored truck with five men fanned around them keeping watch.  The guards were armed with automatic rifles but one man looked uneasy, holding the firearm awkwardly, his gaze jumping nervously from side to side.

"Now."  Evan's voice came over the radio and Tanner slid the passenger side door open, crouching behind it and pointing his rifle.  He put the guard farthest to the right in his
sight and squeezed the trigger.  The man went down as the door blew, falling uselessly off its hinges.  The two other guards began spraying bullets and Tanner was forced to take cover.  His gaze sought Logan and Reed to make sure they were okay. 

Logan had done the same as Tanner, and he was kneeling behind the driver's door firing shots
when he had the opportunity.  Reed was also ducked behind a car door, but Tanner could hear talking on the radio and Seth's voice.  Reed was updating the armored car on what was happening behind them, which meant Evan was trying to put an offensive together with Griffin and Jared. 

Tanner lifted his rifle to target another guard when he watched in horror as Morey pulled a small handgun from his boot,
aiming and firing at Kerr.  The prisoner must have been watching also because he managed to jerk away despite the chains holding him to the metal bench.  A red stain was spreading across Kerr's leg and he was screaming in pain.

The man who blew the door lifted his rifle and
double tapped Morey's forehead.  The Marshal froze for a moment, his eyes wide open before falling to the floor of the truck.  Tanner kept firing at the guards each time they paused their spray of bullets.  Griffin, Jared, and Evan appeared on the roof of the truck shooting downward from their positions on their bellies.  Two men went down and one jumped in the truck with bolt cutters, freeing Kerr. 

A man streaked out of the chopper toward the truck and Tanner instantly recognized Fenton Jacks
even in the dim light.  Tanner tried to get a shot off but the spray from the automatic rifles held him until Jacks dove down under the vehicle.  The man in the truck grabbed Kerr and pulled him out, tossing him on the ground next to Jacks. 

"Jacks is going to get him on the bird.  We need to take out the chopper," Tanner yelled, not sure he'd be heard over the gunfire.  Reed relayed it to Seth, and Tanner watched as Seth stepped out of the armored car and start
ed firing at the helicopter.  Tanner gave him as much cover as he could but his stomach churned as Jacks and another man held Kerr and made a run for it.  The men that had been spraying fire from behind the armored truck jumped between Jacks and Tanner and held the Marshals at bay.

Evan
ran to the front of the roof and fired at Jacks.  Jacks turned around and shot back, Evan jerking and then falling to the ground.  Tanner and Logan fired into the mess of smoke and bullets but Jacks stuffed Kerr into the helicopter and used the other man as a human shield. 

Tanner could swear he saw Jacks smile as the chopper began to lift from the ground.  Tanner and Reed fired at the circling bird as
it rose nose down clawing for more speed, and then it disappeared into the night sky leaving the rest of Jacks's men to fight it out. 

Jared and Griffin took out a few more men and at that point the cartel was outnumbered.  The last two started to make a run for it, but Tanner easily plug
ged one in the shoulder and Logan got the other in the leg.  They would probably live, but they would sure as hell be able to talk.

Seth was kneeling next to Evan
, and Tanner ran up and crouched next to him, the acrid smell of smoke and gunpowder in the air. 

"How bad?" Tanner asked.

"He's alive," Seth replied.  "He's got two slugs in his vest, one in his shoulder and one in his leg.  Plus a big lump on his head from that fall."

Tanner looked down and Evan's eyes opened.  His pupils were dilated and unfocused.

"Stay down.  Reed's on the radio calling for help.  You're going to live, man."

Evan licked his lips.  "They got Kerr?"  His voice was raspy and filled with pain. 

"Yeah," Tanner nodded grimly.  "We'll get him back.  Kerr was shot by Morey so Jacks will have to get him medical attention."

"Morey?" 

He was sure Evan already knew the answer–apparently he needed to hear it.  "Dead.  Two in the forehead."