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  “I know.”

  At that moment, a faint sound like a steady growl became audible, and it grew louder. “That’s an airplane,” Kelly said. Now she knew how these people would take them away. Her heart dropped.

  The front sliding barn door was too tight to see out of the cracks, so Kelly went to one of the small rooms and peered through a window with iron bars on the inside. She craned her neck to the side and watched the big silver plane land in a puff of reddish dust around its wheels. It slowed until the tail wheel was on the ground, then it taxied up the flattened ground to stop thirty yards from the barn.

  The two propellers whirled for a bit longer, then the pilot cut them off and they feathered to a stop. The plane seemed big to Kelly, but not as big as the jets flying overhead, the ones from American and Southwest. She could tell it was old, too. Kelly remembered seeing a photo in a magazine of a plane from the nineteen-fifties. The article said the plane was a DC-3. That plane looked like this one, only this one was unpainted, just the silver color showing.

  She watched as the man rolled out a tall set of stairs to the plane’s door, and the pilot opened it, looked around, and descended them in quick steps. He wore a Hawaiian shirt with red flowers and parrots on it, and brown pants. Kelly thought he looked fat.

  The two men walked toward the barn and Kelly lost sight of them. Trotting to the front door, she couldn’t see, but heard the Kit talking to the man.

  “Hey, Paul, good to see you again.”

  “Same here, Kit. How many do we have this time?”

  “Ten.”

  “I thought we were supposed to have around thirty.”

  “The damned Border Patrol caught two big loads. This is all we have this trip, but one of them is very special, worth more than the whole bunch together. She’s already been picked and paid for ahead of time.”

  “And the others?”

  “They’re like the last ones, a few better than others in the looks department.”

  “Any trouble?”

  “A little, but we got that straightened out. We lost one doing it.”

  Kelly felt her stomach flutter, Bobbi.

  “Did she get away, or did you have to take care of somebody?”

  “TCB, Taking Care of Business. Just like Elvis.”

  “You do it?” Paul asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “What’d you use?”

  “The knife. I hit her while she was running. Dropped her like a sack of meat.”

  “You don’t mess around, I’ll give you that.”

  She rubbed the fingers of one hand together, “It’s all about the Benjamins.”

  “Every time.”

  Kit said, “Come on, I’ll show you the merchandise.”

  She opened the sliding door and both entered the barn, closing it behind them.

  All the girls huddled together, and they moved behind Kelly so she stood in front, facing Paul and Kit.

  Paul said, “You the leader?”

  “No.” Her voice sounded small, even to herself.

  Kit said, “Well, today you are. We’re putting you on a plane in a few minutes, and you’re going to be the one who makes the others mind. You got that?”

  Kelly nodded.

  Kit walked to Anita and pulled her from the group. “This is the special one.”

  Paul bent to look at her face, “I can see why.”

  “The boss says you can’t lose this one. Understand?”

  Paul nodded, “Sure.”

  “Okay. How about we go have a couple drinks to celebrate before you take off?”

  Paul nodded, “Let’s do it.”

  They left the children and closed the door to keep them inside the barn. Kelly thought about the plane, and she knew she didn’t want to get on it. She looked at the other frightened faces, seeing the fear in their eyes.

  She felt so scared, and not knowing what came next had her almost in tears. Consuela said, “Anita’s afraid, too.”

  Kelly looked at the six-year old and said, “It’s okay, Anita. We’re going to be okay.” She looked at the others staring at her, all of them desperately wanting to believe what she said. She felt terrified, too, but pushed her feelings aside, as she had while taking care of her mother after…tears formed in her eyes as thoughts of her father’s casket coming off the plane and the soldiers standing at attention and saluting it. But she couldn’t think of that now. I have to keep us alive.

  “Let’s get closer and talk about what we can do.”

  The others formed a ring around her and Consuela, and Anita moved to the middle of them to be close to Kelly. She leaned against the older girl’s leg, shivering as if cold.

  Ten minutes later, the barn door opened and Kit and the others entered. Kelly glanced beyond them to the outside, watching the fat man in the Hawaiian shirt go to the plane and climb the steps.

  Kit said, “You’re going on a trip, and I don’t want any trouble from any of you.” She pointed at the other adults entering the barn, “They’re going to guard you while you walk to the plane. You run, they shoot you. Now, get in two lines close together. Hurry up.”

  Kelly saw the rifles, and knew Kit meant it when she said these people would shoot. All she could do was hope for a chance.

  The big man with the high voice nudged her and said, “When we land, I’m gonna have some fun with you. So, get ready.” He leaned over to grab her buttocks with his big hand, but she jumped to the side, knocking the other girls off balance. He leered at her. Kelly felt embarrassed and shocked, and the other girls who saw what happened edged as far from him as they could get.

  Kelly’s face felt hot, but the group had to keep walking. They stepped into the sun and moved toward the plane. She thought about running for it, but knew she couldn’t outrun a bullet or Kit’s knife. God, please help me, she thought.

  Chapter 9

  Ike handed Hunter the keys and cut his prisoner’s flexcuffs, then he and Paco went next. Paco glanced across the road and saw one of the women from Acuña, Sofia, standing beside a black Suburban with dark tinted windows. She was the scout for anyone following. They did it every trip to the ranch. She looked at him and laid her index finger along the side of her nose. He smiled, but not where Ike could see.

  Paco’s eyes watered when he finally relieved himself, even though Ike was in the stall with him. Ike waited until Paco finished, then he urinated while holding the rear of Paco’s belt.

  Two oil field hands stared at them when both men exited the bathroom stall together. Ike said, “He’s autistic, can’t open his fly by himself.” Both men nodded and one said, “You’re a good man for helping him.”

  When they returned to the pickup, Hunter sat behind the wheel. Ike opened the Ford’s rear door for Paco, while Hunter reached over the seat and handed him another flexcuff to put on their prisoner.

  Paco said, “I will not run, you do not have to use this.”

  Ike looked at Hunter. She said, “If we don’t use the cuffs, and you run, we will shoot you.”

  Paco saw she meant it. “I will not run.”

  They left off the flexcuffs, and Paco settled back in the seat as Hunter handed him some peanuts and a bottle of water. As he ate, he began to plan for an escape, and, if it left time, to kill the man, Ike. That would be a worthy satisfaction. As for the woman, this Kincaid, maybe kill her as well, but only after he had his fun with her. That thought pleased him. Until then he would continue to pretend to be the cowed one and keep them unsuspecting of his intentions, and that they would now be followed by the black Suburban.

  Hunter pulled out on the road and said, “I’m driving the highway from here to San Angelo. If we have any chance to catch them, it will be on that stretch. If we don’t see them, then we go to the place Paco shows us and figure out plan B.”

  Ike said, “Let’s go.”

  Hunter pulled out and turned left, going under the Interstate 10 overpass and continuing north on 277. Paco leaned his head to the side, putting his temple
on the glass to look beyond Ike, using the side rear view mirror outside the passenger’s window as he furtively searched for the Suburban. He spotted it as they passed through a cut through one of the low hills before they reached Eldorado. They are coming, something will happen soon, he thought.

  The terrain flattened out as they approached Eldorado, and remained flat for ten miles afterward, but the hills soon appeared again as they drove closer to Christoval, the small town where the jade green waters of the South Concho River flowed through the park and near the town.

  The Suburban accelerated to move closer as Hunter drove through the last hills before the small town. She said, “That black Suburban’s been following us since Sonora. Now it’s coming faster.”

  Ike glanced in the side rear view and spotted it, as well as Paco’s face looking at him. He said to Hunter, “What do you want to do?”

  “Let’s play with them a little,” she said, and added, “Tighten your seatbelt.”

  Hunter hit the brakes and the Ford’s tires squealed as the vehicle left two smoking, dark lines on the highway. She whipped the wheel and turned off 277, going so fast the big Ford leaned to the side as if it would roll over.

  Paco clutched the door in a death grip as he yelled, “Aieeeee!”

  Hunter made the turn and shot down Lewis Street, going straight west through the quaint, tree-filled neighborhood. The black Suburban finally made the turn and accelerated to follow, but had fallen behind.

  Hunter watched her rearview to keep the Suburban in sight, then at the next intersection, turned right again, sliding the Ford around the corner onto Fourth Street and going south. She turned right again at the next block and sped east before turning right at the intersection with Third Street. Ike grinned at her as she returned to Lewis Street and turned, putting them behind the black Suburban.

  Hunter made out two heads in the vehicle, both barely visible through the dark tinted glass. The driver had short hair and Hunter felt sure it was a man, while the passenger had long hair. The woman turned to look back and talked with her driver, using her hands to exclaim to him about being followed.

  The Suburban accelerated, and Hunter did the same in the Ford. The chase sped through the small town and out on a farm to market road before the woman leaned far out the Suburban’s passenger window and shot at them.

  Hunter jerked the wheel when she spotted the pistol, and the bullet hit high on the driver’s side window. It bounced off after making a cup-sized spider-webbed crack. Hunter turned at an intersection and sped toward the highway, feeling sure they could escape their pursuers now.

  Ike said, “I guess they were feeling uncomfortable.”

  “Hah, I guess so.”

  “Good driving, Kincaid.”

  Hunter nodded at him, “I think they’ll be more cautious about trying something, at least for a while.”

  Paco waited for his heart to slow down, now that he was sure he wasn’t going to die in a wreck with a female driver who drove like a crazy person, throwing caution to the wind. He checked his pulse and found it still high. Hijo de la chingada. He thought, I won’t play with her when the time comes, either. I will kill this crazy one, too.

  Hunter glanced at him in the rearview mirror and they locked eyes. He smiled and said, “It is lucky that you are such a good driver. I was es-scared, and you saved us.”

  Hunter didn’t believe him, but he seemed harmless at the moment. She continued to drive toward San Angelo, and her thoughts ran to Anita, and to the child she’d only seen in a photograph, Kelly.

  They made good time and saw little traffic. Paco said, “Drive on 277 to go beyond this town, and keep going on it.”

  Hunter said, “How much farther?”

  “Not too much. A little bit, maybe more than that.”

  They stayed on the road, through town and turning north to continue, leaving San Angelo behind as they continued. Ike pointed and said, “That’s the Goodyear proving ground.”

  Hunter grinned, “I’ll remember that if I ever want to drive around in circles for a while.”

  “Hah.”

  The hills and draws began to show a mile off to the left. As they passed a farm, Paco said, “There is a road, one mile from this farm, and there you turn left, into a ranch.”

  “Is the gate locked?”

  “Yes.”

  Ike said, “Any people there?”

  “No. It is a silent, lonely place.”

  A short distance further and Paco pointed, “There.”

  Hunter turned and stopped at the gate so Ike could pick the lock. Before he exited, he said, “You drive my truck like you own it.”

  “It handles pretty good, for a Ford.”

  “You’re soooo funny.” He grinned when he said it. She winked as he walked to the gate and picked the lock in a matter of seconds.

  Swinging it open, Ike waited for Hunter to drive through, then he closed and locked it behind them. When he was seated, Paco said, “This road for three miles, maybe leetle more.”

  Hunter drove ahead on the rough neglected ranch road, passing through the pastures and from there into the low hills. Much of the cedar had been cut and bulldozed down and it now rested in broken piles and rows spread everywhere. Grass grew increasingly lush where the cedar was cleared, and so did the prickly pear cactus. A mixed blessing, Hunter thought.

  The further they drove, the worse the road became. At times, it was no more than a faded path across rocks and stones and in portions of dry creek beds.

  Ike said, “How much further?”

  Paco said, “Not much.”

  Ike turned in his seat to look at the man, “That’s no answer.”

  Paco stammered, “Not far, not far. I don’t remember very well, it has been a year since I was here, and only that once.”

  Ike waited, silent and unsmiling, until Paco said, “Okay, okay, I think fifteen minutes more.”

  Hunter crossed a low ridge of brush and rocks to drop into another valley between hills, but this one was flatter in the bottom, easier to drive in. Half a mile further on, Paco said, “There, that one. It will take you to the place.”

  That’s when they heard the airplane.

  Ike checked the sky and spotted it two miles distant, and lowering in the sky. “I think it’s going to land.”

  They watched as the silver, propeller driven plane circled ever lower, then dropped at an angle behind the hills in front of them. They heard the engines change pitch as it touched down.

  Ike asked Paco, “Did it land where the children are held?”

  “Si, Yes. There is a runway, very rough, but the planes such as that one land there.”

  Hunter said, “DC-3. That’ll carry all sorts of things.”

  Paco said, “It was to carry lots of kids, maybe twenty-five this time, but the other loads were caught by the Patrulla, the Patrol.”

  Ike said, “So, how many this time?”

  “Maybe ten, or a little less.”

  “Not much of a load for that large a plane,” Hunter said.

  “They are worth mucho dinero, much money. They tell me that one of the niñas, one of the girls, is worth millions of dollars, and a man already paid that money to our big boss.”

  “Who is your big boss?”

  Paco averted his eyes, “I don’t know, all I know is he is the big boss. That’s what the others tell me.”

  “Who are the others? Name them.”

  Paco rubbed his nose as perspiration popped out on his forehead. “I don’t know all of them.”

  “Okay, just the ones you do know.”

  He hesitated for a moment, “There is Sofia, and Sandra, another one they call La Osa, like the female bear, and one who is called Nadine. She is Cajun, I think, from Baton Rogue. They are all bad, but the most dangerous ones are a woman named Kit, and one called Suretta. She is not around often, but she is very dangerous, and very strong and quick. Kit knows the boss, and so does Suretta. I do not.”

  “Who do you think is out t
here, where the plane is landing?”

  Paco sweated drops the size of small marbles as he thought of what would happen if Kit or Suretta found out what he told Hunter. “I don’t–,” Hunter watched his face, and Paco couldn’t hold any secrets as he looked away from her gaze, “Maybe Kit and Nadine. They usually have a big guy with them, I don’t know his name.”

  “Is he the muscle?”

  “He is stronger, but not as dangerous as Kit. She uses a knife. Thrown or close up, either way with her. She is la segunda, and in charge out here when Suretta is not around.”

  Hunter looked at Ike, who nodded in the direction of the landing plane. He said, “It’s on the ground, and I can hear it taxiing.”

  Hunter asked Paco, “How close can we drive and not alert them?”

  Paco rubbed his mouth before saying, “From here, less than a half-mile, then walking like this.” He pointed to the left, “There is a road over there that you can use to drive right up to the barn.”

  They parked the pickup and got out. Hunter said, “We’ll go this way.” She and Ike waited for Paco to take the lead, then followed him, so close they could touch his belt.

  Paco felt their nearness, and his panic rose with every step. What would he do? Either these two behind him or the fierce women ahead, but someone would hurt and maim him, he felt sure of it, so sure that he shook as if he had the chills.

  Hunter said, “Are you all right?”

  “Iss my nerves. I am very nervous.”

  “Relax, we’re not here to hurt you, only to get to the kids.”

  And then what, he thought. Killed by Kit or Suretta or Nadine, or killed by this man, Ike, or the hard-eyed woman, Kincaid, but one or the other. Unless he took drastic action, but for sure one or the other if he didn’t. His mind raced to think of a plan as they walked toward the plane’s location on the far side of these small hills.

  The trail lined out in the bottom of a gulley so small that Ike’s head was often higher than the edge. The sandy bottom had few rocks, and their pace remained fast.

  Several times Paco tried to slow the pace, but Ike pushed him in the back every time. Each time the older man regained their original speed so that in less than ten minutes, the three of them reached an overlook. The barn and the plane came into view just as the parked DC-3 feathered its twin engines to a stop. Hunter tried to call on her phone but it showed no bars. No help from the Sheriff, she thought.