Page 91 of Open Season

TWENTY-SIX

It was almost three o’clock in the morning. A multi-department task force waited in the night for the delivery of the Russian girls. Members of the Hillsboro Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI, and the INS had hidden themselves behind trees, bushes, the propane gas tank, and anything else they could find. They had parked their vehicles on another road and trekked over a mile across a field to reach the trailer.

Glenn Sykes was there, to fulfill his usual role. If anyone else had shown up to accept the shipment, the driver of the truck would have been spooked; since he was armed, no one wanted him spooked. The girls in the back of the truck had been through enough, without risking getting them killed by ricochets.

Jack lay under a big pine tree, his black clothing blending into the night shadows. The chief of any department seldom saw any action, but it had been decided that his expertise would be welcome. According to Sykes, usually there was only the driver to contend with, but the Russians were so expensive that Phillips had wanted an extra guard to make sure nothing went wrong. The two men were outnumbered fifteen to one, but there was always the chance that one of them would try something stupid; hell, it was almost a given, unless everything worked perfectly and the lawmen had the two overwhelmed before they knew anything was happening.

A black rifle lay cradled in Jack’s arms. He knew exactly how much pressure was needed to pull the trigger and how much kick to expect. He’d burned thousands of rounds of ammunition in this weapon; he knew its every idiosyncracy, the smell and feel and weight of it. It was an old friend, one he hadn’t realized he’d missed until he had taken it from the cabinet in his house and felt the way it settled in his arms.

Sykes was inside the trailer, the lights on, watching television. They had carefully searched the trailer to make sure he had no means of contacting the driver, but Jack thought that even if they’d had a dozen telephones lined up for him to use, Sykes wouldn’t have made the call. He had coolly decided to cut his losses by cooperating fully, and he’d keep to his bargain. The D.A. had almost wept with joy at the wealth of evidence Sykes offered him and had given him a real sweetheart deal. He wouldn’t even do time; five years’ probation, but that was nothing to a man like Sykes.

In the distance they heard the whine of a motor, rising above the nighttime cacophony of frogs, crickets, and night birds. Jack felt the kick of adrenaline and got a firm grip on his reactions. It wouldn’t be smart to get too excited.

The truck, a Ford extended cab pickup with a camper on the back, turned into the gravel driveway, and the driver immediately killed the lights. There was no signal of any kind, no tapping of the horn or flashing of the headlights. Instead, Sykes turned on the porch light and opened the trailer door, stepping out to stand on the highest of the three wooden steps leading up to the door.

The driver turned off the motor and climbed out. “Hey, Sykes.” The guard stayed in the cab.

“Have any trouble?” Sykes asked.

“One of the girls got sick, puked a couple of times, but I figure it was just from riding in the back. Stunk, though. I had to stop and hose out the back, to keep the other girls from puking.”

“Let’s get ’em inside, then, so they can clean up. Mr. Phillips is anxious to see this bunch.”

“He’s waiting on the young one, right? She’s a pretty little thing, but she’s the one been puking so much, so she’s not real spry right now.”

In the distance came the sound of another car, and everyone in hiding froze. The driver looked alarmed, and Sykes made a staying motion with his hand. “Hold what you got,” he said softly. “It’s nothing to worry about, just a car passing.”

But the car seemed to be slowing. The driver stepped back toward the truck cab and opened the door, sliding half inside with one leg still on the ground, and the men under the trees knew he’d just armed him-self. They all held their fire, though, waiting to see what happened.

The car turned into the driveway, headlights on bright. Glenn Sykes immediately turned to the side to save his night vision, his hand up to shield his eyes even more.

The car, a white Lexus, pulled up right behind the truck, and the headlights were turned off. A man got out from behind the wheel, a tall man with graying blond hair brushed straight back. He wore a suit, though the night was muggy, and who wore a suit at three o’clock in the morning, anyway?

“Mr. Sykes,” said a smooth voice, with the hammy kind of southern accent that actors always used. After two years in the south, Jack could pick up some of the nuances now, and he knew that wasn’t a north Alabama accent. Something about it struck him as fake; it was just too exaggerated.

“Mr. Phillips,” Sykes said, surprised. “We didn’t know to expect you.”

That was true. The Scottsboro police hadn’t been able to locate Mr. Phillips, though they’d been very low-key about their search. Until he was in custody, everything was being kept as quiet as possible, because they didn’t want him forewarned and perhaps able to destroy evidence, or even skip town completely. He had enough money to live very comfortably in Europe or the Caribbean, if he wanted.

Sykes glanced at the driver and guard. “It’s all right. Mr. Phillips owns the operation.” The two relaxed, getting out of the truck. Their hands were empty; both of them had left their weapons in the cab.

“There’ve been a series of mistakes lately,” said Phillips, walking toward Sykes. “I wanted to personally supervise this shipment to make certain nothing went wrong.”

Meaning he couldn’t wait to get his hands on the thirteen-year-old girl in the back of the truck, Jack thought, and disgust curdled his stomach. Slowly he centered his sights on Phillips, because his presence was unexpected and in Jack’s experience the unexpected meant trouble.

“Nothing will go wrong this time,” said Sykes, his voice calm.

“I’m sure it won’t,” Phillips purred, and pulled a pistol from the right pocket of his suit jacket. He aimed and fired at Sykes before any of the men surrounding them could react; Sykes slammed back against the trailer, then toppled off the steps.

Jack’s finger gently squeezed the trigger. His shot took Phillips exactly where he’d wanted it to, and Phillips went down screaming.

All hell broke loose.

To the uninitiated, the explosion of noise, lights, and motion as black-clad, heavily armed men burst from their hiding places, all shouting, “Police! Get your hands up!” or identifying themselves as FBI—whichever the case might be—would be nothing more than terrifying confusion. To Jack, it was a well-oiled operation, practiced over and over until each man knew what to do and what to expect. The two men still standing knew the drill: they froze, their arms automatically going up to lock their hands behind their heads.

The Russian girls inside the camper went into hysterics, screaming and crying and trying to escape, beating against the locked camper door. The INS agents got the key from the driver and opened the door, reeling back at the stench. The hysterical girls erupted from their prison, kicking and scratching as they were caught and held.

One girl managed to slip past everyone and run full speed down the dark country road before sheer exhaustion made her stumble and fall; the INS agent who gave chase picked her up and carried her like a baby in his arms, while she sobbed and made hysterical exclamations in her own language. The INS, forewarned, had a Russian-speaking agent on hand, and she began trying to calm the girls, saying the same phrases over and over until they actually began to listen.

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