CHAPTER TEN
Through her tear-filled eyes, she glimpsed her first view of ZQ’s ranch. Horses ran as the helicopter zoomed the house and stables. Pygmy goats scattered. And, the most blessed sight of all was Quinn running and waving his Spidey at the aircraft. Athena was right behind, scooping him into her arms no doubt to keep him safe.
“IQ, you doing okay? Ready for me to set the bird down?” JJ’s voice held concern.
She wiped her face and blew her nose on Titan’s t-shirt while he made mock objections. “Yeah. I need to hold my child. Then part of this nightmare will be over. When ZQ gets home and I can bust his balls for something or other, then the last of this horrendous ordeal will end.”
“Hoo-rah,” the team shouted in unison.
The helo landed. Steelhead slid the door open and jumped out. Titan handed her to him. “Set me on the grass so I can hug Quinn.”
“Mommy!” He dived for her, knocking her flat on her back and wrapping his arms around her neck. He nuzzled her, smothering her face with kisses. “You’ve been huwt weally bad. I’ll make all these boo-boos better.” He pulled back and gave her his pissed-off glare. “No more going away without me. It was awful. I had bad dweams.”
She held him close, relishing the feel and smell of him. “I had them, too. I was afraid I wouldn’t get back to you. But I’m here because of Daddy and these men. Go thank them.”
While he did, Ivy sat up and Athena plopped on the ground beside her. “Damn, girlfriend, you look like hell. But I’m sure glad you’re here. I’d hug you, but I don’t know where to touch you that won’t hurt.” She pulled a handful of grass out and tossed it. “Somehow I knew Grey was going to stay to help ZQ. I could tell by the way he made love to me the night before. I’m going to kick his ass when he comes home.”
“Ivy?” A silver-haired woman in a purple shirt and matching lipstick stood in front of her. Nance leaned against the older woman’s leg while she petted him. “I’m Junebug, Zane’s mother. Your son’s grandma. Welcome to my home. You’ll stay here while you heal. I’m hoping you’ll stay forever, but that’s between you and my son.”
Her chin jutted. “If he knows what’s good for him and wants to taste his favorite things ever again, he’ll do right by you and that darling boy you’ve raised on your own.” She nodded. “Family stays together. And you and ZQ2 are family.”
Ivy hadn’t expected such a warm welcome. “Thank you.” She liked Junebug already.
Junebug clapped her hands. “Men, carry Ivy to my son’s bedroom. I’ll help get her ready for bed. JJ, you’ll have to give me medical advice for her leg wound.”
That quickly Ivy was embraced into this family as easily as a warm Texan breeze.
****
Hours earlier, ZQ and Grey had ridden the bikes to the southern end of town. To their surprise they found a Pizza Hut. They parked and walked into refreshing air conditioning and familiar aromas.
Now that the adrenaline rush had worn off from safely getting Ivy onto the helicopter and blowing its chaser out of the sky, both men were starved. Each ordered their own pizza and downed two bottles of water while they waited. Reaching for his final slice, ZQ got a text. “Slug out. Back beaten bad with a hose. Bruises galore. Sleeping well.”
ZQ closed his eyes and exhaled a sigh of relief. Thank God. JJ was one of the best medics he’d ever worked with. The multi-talented man could operate in the desert, under fire, in a cave, on a helo, and in a ditch. He had the uncanny ability to block out his surroundings and focus on the job at hand. Like removing a bullet in a flying bird.
He glanced at Grey. “Text from JJ. He removed the bullet from Ivy’s leg. Bastards beat her bad with hoses. She’s resting.”
“You’ve got some gung-ho men in your unit. Never met a man like Steelhead who could fly a copter and blow up shit the way he did.” Grey shook his head once. “Fucker laughed like a demon while he did it. And Titan. That man goes into a zone of his own. Hangs out of the door to throw hand grenades or fire RPG’s. I don’t think he fears a thing.” He gave ZQ a sly look. “I might try to persuade them to come work for the Omega Team.”
“You might come back empty-handed.” He was pretty confident his band of brothers would stay with him. What about Ivy? Could he convince her to stay? Would they be able to recapture the magic they once shared? And damn the men who had hurt her; the fuckers would pay and pay dearly.
After eating, they rode toward the Muñoz compound. Back in the States, ZQ had studied the maps and online aerial shots of the area. He wanted to come in from the worst angle, the one from which the enemy would least expect a breach. Once they were on the back, curvy dirt footpaths, they turned off their headlights and donned helmets with infrared goggles.
Being undetected was paramount the closer they got to Muñoz property. Before long, they drove through fields planted with coca in neat rows. Burnt fields now, riddled with huge holes. ZQ couldn’t begin to imagine the street value of the cocaine from these plants if the team hadn’t destroyed most of it.
The elevation grew higher. In patches, fields were replaced by rocky outcrops and dense growth of wild briers or trees. Grey parked his bike next to a large tree trunk. ZQ shoved his into the briers. They didn’t want them left in the same spot. If one was found, hopefully they’d still have another set of wheels to use for escape.
They slipped on their backpacks of ammo and hand grenades. A handgun jammed into the back of their pants and AK’s in hand, they took off at a lope. Grey also had wiring and plastic explosives. Because he moved silently as a ghost and could get into buildings undetected, he would wire the rambling house for detonation.
Together they silently humped steep, rocky hills, avoiding campfires in the distance of small groups of men armed and ranting about the surprise helo attack earlier today. As hoped, they thought it was a rival cartel behind it.
The closer they got to the main house, the more guards they found. With quick, lethal actions, they quietly took them out. While weakening the Muñoz gang, it was the leaders ZQ wanted—namely Gilberto and his second-in-command.
Those lower on the power totem pole of the Muñoz cartel wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about an Assistant District Attorney in America. They’d be too busy in the next few weeks scrambling and back-stabbing for the top positions. Gaining control.
Grey climbed to the second story of the Muñoz mansion. As they’d planned, he whispered “In” once he was safely inside and hidden in a good listening spot.
While the Grey ghost silently moved upstairs, planting explosives and detonators, ZQ snuck from window to window, searching for his targets. At last, he stood outside an open window of what appeared to be Gilberto’s office and turned off his infrareds. Cigar smoke wafted outside. Inside, four men spoke in rapid-fire Spanish. Their words were wrapped with revenge.
The nerves in the back of ZQ’s neck began to constrict. One of these men had threatened to harm Ivy and Quinn. The evil bastard had to be stopped.
A man called Eduardo by others handed a drink to Gilberto who waved the glass as he spoke. “We will kill them all just like we killed the Rumez family. We wiped them all out. Women and children, too. The same will happen to these bastardos.”
ZQ aimed his AK-47 and emptied the world of a roomful of cold wickedness. “Got ‘em. Set the explosives. Then get the hell out.”
“Copy.”
A knife point jabbed his waist. Surprised, ZQ spun, kicked, and karate chopped the unexpected guard. They rolled around for a few tense minutes, throwing blows. Using a chokehold, ZQ was able to take control of the man’s knife and render him unconscious. He rolled away and Grey shot the guard. A twinge of pain drew ZQ’s attention when he stood.
“Two minutes until the big boom, buddy. Run your new daddy ass off.”
Bullets peppered the air around them. They ducked and rolled, firing their weapons. When the roof lifted off the mansion and the walls crumbled, ZQ and Grey sprinted in the direction they’d entered the compound. They tossed a few hand grenades at the men in pursuit. Soon, they had outrun the drug producers.
Their bikes were where they’d left them. This time they drove toward Santa Marta. They needed to get as far away from the hot spot they’d created as they could. ZQ tried his best to ignore what was probably much more than a flesh wound. Once they stopped for the night, he’d tend to it.
Several miles later, the effects of the cut were bizarrely affecting him. “Feeling light-headed, Grey. Need a room to clean up and patch a knife wound.” Hell, he hated to ask, but something wasn’t right. He’d been stabbed before and never had a reaction like this.
“Got ya. Can you hang onto the bike? Want to camp out somewhere? ZQ?” He pulled his ride beside ZQ’s.
By now, he’d braked. “Got spots in front of my eyes. Find us a place to stretch out. How’s your medic skills?”
“Passable.” Grey glanced around and pointed to the right. “Over there looks good as any. Trees and shrubs for shade and camouflage. Stay here, I’ll hide my bike and be right back.”
“Not going anywhere.” He’d leaned his head against the handlebars. What the fuck? The knife hadn’t been against him that long. How deep could the cut be? His left side burned as if flames were licking and eating his flesh.
“Can you walk your bike about thirty feet right. I found a decent flat spot.”
“Yeah. You might need to hold me up. I don’t get it, Grey. The knife wound has to be small, but I’m burning up where it sliced my skin.”
They slowly moved where Grey indicated. “Could be the bastard dipped the tip of his blade into some dart frog poison. They’re prevalent in the area. You know, I wondered why he wasn’t armed with a gun. If his knife was poison doused, that was weapon enough.”
After examining the wound and cleaning it up, Grey dialed JJ. “I’ve only got one and a half bars. Hope it’ll be enough.”
“JJ, it’s Grey.” Hell yelled into the phone. “It’s Grey! What do you know about poison dart frogs? ZQ has a knife wound we expect was caused by a poisoned blade. Wound is minor. Maybe an inch. But there’s an odor and ZQ’s in bad shape. Fever. Can barely see.” There was a pause. ZQ hung onto consciousness to hear Grey’s end of the conversation.
“Just off the road from the hot spot to our pick-up zone. About halfway. Yeah, you can land on the road once you spot us from the air. Okay, will do.”
Grey opened a bottle of water. “Here, drink all of this. The guys are on their way as quickly as they can ready the bird. Meanwhile, I’m to flush you out with liquids. Good thing I brought several bottles. Hold on, I’m going to pour whiskey over the wound. Hell, what a waste of good booze.”
ZQ cussed as Grey spread open the small cut and poured alcohol into it. He extended his partially empty bottle of water. “Pour some of that hootch in here.”
“Hootch, my ass. This is expensive stuff.”
ZQ’s cell vibrated against his leg. “Yeah.” It was Steelhead.
“Boss, I just researched the kind of poison that comes from that frog. JJ and I conferred. You need to keep moving. Walk or work-out for half an hour and then sleep for an hour. Then repeat. Keep drinking water and moving around so that poison gets through your system quicker. Most people lie still and that’s the worst thing you can do. Move your ass, ZQ.”
“Give me that phone. Has my boy been poisoned? I want to talk to him.” There was some commotion and then, “Son?”
ZQ rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Mom?”
“Fudge and buttermilk, what’s going on down there? And I want the truth. Nothing but.”
“I got cut with a knife covered in poison. I’ll be alright. JJ and the guys are heading off early to come get me.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll be right with ‘em.”
Awl, hell. The guys better lock her in a room somewhere. Once Mom got an idea, there was no talking her out of it. “Did you forget you’re afraid of heights?”
“Won’t matter a lick. I’ll have a bottle of my old buddy Jack Daniels tucked under each arm. A momma knows when her child needs her and I’m on my way. Families stick together. We help each other.”
“Mom, you’re not trained in combat. What if something happens to you?” God, he couldn’t bear the thought. Losing his dad had been hard enough. “Ivy needs you, too. How’s she doing?”
“Ashley and Athena are taking care of her. She’s been to hell and back. Now don’t you worry, I’ll stay on the helicopter while the guys get you onboard. Then your behind belongs to JJ and me. Goodbye.” She hung up and he stood. Pacing and swearing.
Grey covered his mouth to hide his wide grin. “Your momma coming, son?”
“Kiss my pissed-off ass!”