Chapter Ten

Ichabod was leaning over me grinning like a hyena. "You promised my mother we would be together forever. You will keep that promise and become my wife." His wet mouth ground against mine.

"No!" I bolted upright and looked around wildly. I was in my old bedroom and Ichabod was nowhere to be seen. My shoulders sagged in relief.

"Bad dream?" Julie asked.

I shuddered. "Yeah, featuring Ichabod."

"He's the stuff of nightmares alright." Julie sat up with a groan. "Got any of your mother's horse liniment lying around?"

"There should be some in the bathroom."

Julie eased off the bed. "Good."

"Ugh, my mouth tastes like dirty socks." I ran my tongue over my hairy teeth and headed for the bathroom.

Julie followed me. "I'm starving."

"I bet we'll find some of Juanita's tamales in the refrigerator."

A big grin formed on Julie's face. "And maybe some of her homemade tortillas, too."

"God, I hope so." Opening the vanity, I grabbed a tube of toothpaste, two new toothbrushes and a bottle of horse liniment. My stomach growling loudly, I quickly brushed my teeth.

"Do you think Bowman got another warrant?" Julie mumbled around her toothbrush.

I spat into the sink. "He'll try, but will he succeed? Who knows. Nargi worries me more. He's not going to stop until he has the tablet."

"Where would Ichabod have hidden it?" Julie rinsed her mouth out.

Grabbing a washcloth, I gingerly rubbed the dried blood off my neck. "That is the billion-dollar question. I think Ichabod hid it in the same place as the five million in Aztec gold."

"Since his aunt was masquerading as a nun, I think we should get one of those mobile ground penetrating radars and scan Our Lady of Guadalupe cemetery. That would be the perfect place to hide a treasure."

I nodded. "Let's do it." I handed Julie the washcloth. "Those nurses did a piss-poor job of getting the blood off your forehead."

"No kidding." Julie peered into the mirror and wiped carefully around her stitches.

I grabbed the liniment and poured some in my hand. "What hurts the most?"

"My shoulders." Julie pulled her T-shirt up.

I winced at all the bruises covering her back and gently massaged the liniment in. "Better?"

"God, yes. Now I'm minty fresh." She took the bottle from my hand. "Turn around."

I did, moaning as Julie rubbed the liniment into my aching muscles. My headache vanished and I could finally think straight again.

The sudden silence hit me, and a cold chill skittered up my spine. My brothers were a noisy bunch and should be giving Dante a hard time. Mom had a sixth sense about her children. The minute she knew we were awake, she would be here, checking on us and where the hell was Frank? "Something's wrong." I walked into the bedroom and tilted my head. "It's too quiet."

"It is, isn't it? There might be a perfectly good reason, but…"

We exchanged worried looks. I opened the bedroom door, and we crept down the hallway. There was an overturned chair in the kitchen and a broken pane of glass on the back door.

"This isn't good," Julie whispered.

"Something bad happened." We bolted for the command center. I ran my hand over the sensor pad. "At least there's no blood."

"Or bodies."

The door slid open, and a computerized voice advised, "Intruder alert. Intruder alert."

I hurried over to the control panel and silenced the alarm.

"Damn." Julie's gaze was locked on the monitors.

My family, Dante, Sergeant Bergman, Frank, and several deputies were crammed into the holding cells.

Tex Peterson was sprawled on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the shoulder. A very pissed-off black man in a gray suit was pressing a towel against the wound.

A heavy-set, older man with a bad comb-over was waving an assault rifle around. His expensive white suit was splattered with blood.

Julie snarled, "He shot Tex."

"That's gotta be Bowman." I turned the volume up.

"Once Nargi arrives, he will get the location of the tablet, even if he has to behead every one of you. Tell me where the tablet is and no one has to die," Bowman said all friendly-like.

Dad bared his teeth in a snarl. "Nargi has no intention of letting any of us live."

"And that includes you," Mom said. The right side of her face was badly bruised.

Bowman's left eye twitched. "He needs me."

"Keep telling yourself that." Impotent fury darkened Dante's eyes.

I shook my head in disbelief. "Bowman is a dead man walking and he's too dumb to see it."

"He's too much of a doofus to have pulled this off without help," Julie commented.

My gaze fixed on monitor four. Two heavily armed men were walking across the backyard. "And here comes the help."

"Let's rain on Bowman's parade." Julie killed the feed to the training center monitors.

"Hey! What happened to the cameras," Bowman demanded.

No one answered him.

The minute the men stepped onto the patio, I triggered the sleep gas, and smiled as they collapsed to the floor. "Nighty-night."

One of the men's cellphones began to ring.

Julie opened the armory, grabbing a tactical vest and combat boots. "How long do you think we have before Nargi gets here?"

"Not long." Strapping on a gun belt, I grabbed a Glock and inserted a clip.

Julie handed me a pair of boots. "In case we have to make a run for it."

"Not happening. We have Boomer, the best tactical drone in the country." I shoved my feet into the boots.

Julie held out a vest. "Boomer's awesome, but we're going to need all the help we can get. Nargi's probably bringing a small army with him."

"I hate it when you're right." I dropped the vest over my head and fastened the Velcro straps.

Poking her tongue out at me, Julie picked up our secure phone. "I'll call Sheriff Maxwell and have him send the cavalry."

"It'll be a miracle if they arrive in time." I picked up Boomer and Tiny, our spy drone. My muscles protested loudly. Boomer was heavier than I remembered.

Julie dialed the Sheriff's direct line. "Sir, we have a problem."

While Julie filled him in, I carried the drones out to the backyard and set them up.

One of the men groaned and tried to sit up. I kicked him in the face. His head snapped back, and he didn't move again.

Julie hurried out of the house with handcuffs and zip ties. "Sheriff Maxwell is sending a SWAT team and the paramedics."

"Did he give you an ETA?"

"Probably twenty to thirty minutes," Julie replied.

"Nargi will be here by then." I quickly searched Nargi's mercenaries and relieved them of their backup weapons.

Julie cuffed them and zip-tied their feet. "Boomer will help even the odds."

"And once we free everyone, we'll have an army too." We hurried back to the command center and locked it down. No one was getting in without the passcode.

Taking a seat at the dual-screen, UVA control console, I powered it up and slipped a tactical earpiece into my left ear. The drone's camera could spot a fly on Bodacious's rump from a thousand feet up.

Julie sat at the control console next to me. "I've disengaged the locks on the cells. Now all we need is a distraction."

"One distraction coming up." I pushed the throttle forward; the drone rose into the air, and I released a flash-bang next to the training center. Kaboom!

On the monitor, we watched Bowman spin around. "What the hell was that?"

Dad charged out of the cell and decked him with one punch.

"Put the monitors back online, ladies," Sergeant Bergman ordered.

Julie tapped a button on the console and activated the intercom. "Be advised the SWAT team and paramedics are fifteen minutes out."

Dad responded grimly, "I'm not sure how much you've heard, but Nargi and his men will be here soon."

"We're aware and Boomer has been launched," I advised.

"Bowman has two mercenaries working with him," Dante warned urgently.

Aw, he was worried about me. "Had. They have been neutralized."

"Reconnoiter the area, Gemma," Sergeant Bergman instructed.

"Yes, sir." I did a quick grid search of the ranch. Movement in the dry wash bed behind our ranch caught my attention, and I zoomed the camera in. "There are two reporters sneaking into the pasture."

"Not for long. Bodacious has spotted them. The bigger problem is the reporters camped outside the gate. They're going to be in the line of fire," Julie said.

Crappity, crap, crap. Nargi wouldn't hesitate to shoot them. "I have a plan."

"What kind of plan?" Sergeant Burgman demanded.

"Tear gas." On the monitor I watched Sergeant Bergman rub his jaw.

"Do it."

"Yes, sir." I dropped the drone lower and gifted the reporters with tear gas bombs.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The thick, white mist made it difficult to breathe and burned the hell out of your eyes. The reporters wouldn't stick around and if a few got stubborn, I'd drop another bomb. Sure enough, hacking up a lung, the reporters got in their news vans and hauled ass. We'd probably be hearing from their attorneys. I had the drone follow them down the highway. I clicked my mic, "Reporters have been removed."

"Copy," Dad answered.

"Shit!" Exiting the freeway at a high rate of speed was a caravan of military jeeps. Each jeep had a machine gun mounted in the rear. The mercenaries were all dressed in military-styled uniforms and an American flag was attached to each vehicle. Boomer's camera gave us a bird's eye view of Nargi in the lead vehicle. "Hostiles are dressed as soldiers and have what looks like a bazooka."

Dad responded, "Copy. We're almost in position."

"They're three minutes out, and the SWAT team is still ten minutes away," Julie advised.

Mom's calm voice sounded in my ear. "Give them a proper welcome, Gemma."

"Yes, ma'am." I smiled happily. Taking out bad guys was so much fun. If any of them did make it to the gate, the remnants of the tear gas would affect them. If you can't see, you can't hit your target.

Julie let out her banshee cry. "Alpha Dogs rule."

"You bet your ass we do." I brought the drone down to thirty feet and in a strafing run, released stun grenades.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The jeeps swerved wildly as the disoriented drivers lost control. The few that didn't end up in the irrigation canal, drove straight into the tear gas. I grinned as the driver in the lead jeep slammed on his brakes and was hit by the vehicle behind him. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The chain accident disabled all six jeeps and the machine guns. Between the tear gas and stun grenades, Nargi mercenaries couldn't see shit or hear much.

I keyed my mic, "Nargi's jeeps are out of commission."

Nargi raised his rifle and fired at the drone.

Before I could get Boomer out of range, my UVA controls stopped working, and the viewscreen went black. Dammit! "Nargi shot Boomer down."

"Launching Tiny," Julie advised, and a few seconds later, we were getting images of the mercenaries.

Mom interjected, "Nargi's rifle is a Barrett M82. He's a sniper."

The bastard was just full of surprises.

"We're in position," Dad announced tersely.

"Nargi is arming himself with the bazooka! He's firing at the front gates," Julie warned.

Kablooey! The gates exploded.

Shit! Mom had those gates shipped in from Mexico. When the smoke cleared, I gaped in disbelief. Several big metal pieces had fallen on Nargi's men. "Way to go, dumbass, take out your own men."

"Nargi had eighteen mercenaries. He now has twelve," Julie gloated.

I grinned. The ones left standing were still affected by the tear gas, and some had obvious injuries from the flying debris and car crashes. "Learn to duck and wear your seatbelts next time, fellas."

Julie snorted. "Not those macho types. They don't want to be considered pussies."

Mom stormed into the control center, grabbed a tranquilizer rifle, and a box of darts.

"You okay, Mom?"

She gave us her Debbie Sunshine smile. "Of course, I am, sweetie. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to teach those assholes some manners."

Our regular landline rang.

Mom looked at the caller ID and laughed. "This should be fun."

"Who is it?" Julie wanted to know.

"Nargi or should I say Soleimani al-Haq."

"Put it on speaker so we can listen too," I said.

Mom pushed a button and assumed her confused old lady voice. "Hello?"

"I want to speak to Alexander Stone."

"What? I can't hear you. I'm not wearing my hearing aid."

Nargi raised his voice. "I want to speak to Alexander Stone."

"I'm sorry you have the wrong number." Mom hung up.

Nargi called back and bellowed, "Do not hang up on me!"

"You are a rude young man." She slammed the phone down.

Twenty seconds later, the phone rang again.

"Hello?"

Nargi spat, "Do you want to die?"

"Honey, I have congestive heart failure, arthritis, diabetes, a bad hip and I don't see so good anymore. You would be doing me a favor."

There was a long pause. "I need to speak with Alexander Stone."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Mom let the silence drag out.

Exasperation and fury filled Nargi's voice, "Can you go get him?"

"No, he's at the office. You might want to call him there." Mom hung up the phone. "Well, that was fun. Now I'm going to enjoy turning him into a pin cushion."

The phone rang once more.

We all ignored it.

"I can get my sniper rifle and help."

"No. You're needed to run the command center."

"But…"

Mom cut me off. "You should still be in the hospital." She pointed her finger at us. "Stay put."

I nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," Julie said meekly.

"I swear to God, if either of you step foot out of this room, I will have Sergeant Bergman assign you dead animal pickup for the rest of the year." There was pure iron in Mom's voice.

Julie's eyes widened in horror. "You wouldn't."

"She would," I sighed.

Mom swiped her hand over a sensor pad. A panel slid back revealing a staircase. "Stay." She hurried up the stairs.

I pulled a face.

"I saw that," Mom called.

Julie stiffened. "Oh, hell."

"What?"

"Nargi's loading the bazooka again."

A volley of bullets had Nargi ducking for cover.

His driver grabbed the bazooka. The second he stood up, a tranquillizer dart hit him in the neck. He toppled to the ground.

Another mercenary seized the bazooka. Ten seconds later, a dart sprouted in his forehead. Down he went.

The bazooka rolled down the road.

Scrambling on his hands and knees, a third idiot snatched the bazooka off the ground and raised it.

"Isn't he holding that upside down and backward?" Julie asked.

"Yep." I watched on the monitor as the idiot fired the bazooka.

Boom! A gout of flames shot out, catching his hair on fire and at the same time the missile whizzed down the roadway and took out a stop sign. The shrieking idiot dived into the irrigation ditch.

Julie hooted. "It's so hard to get good help these days."

Nate and Lucas lobbed stun grenades at the mangled jeeps.

The explosions echoed around the command center.

Julie winced. "Sorry, I got Tiny too close."

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up," Dad hollered.

The mercenaries obeyed.

Nargi suddenly jumped to his feet and bolted.

"I think our terrorist has a yellow streak," Julie commented.

Dante dropped out of a huge eucalyptus tree and knocked him flat. They rolled around in the dirt exchanging blows.

In the distance sirens wailed.

Here came the cavalry. It was late as usual.

Dante flipped Nargi and put him in a chokehold. The terrorist's struggles slowed, then stopped. The grim satisfaction on Dante's face said it all as he turned Nargi over and cuffed him.

"Does your guy make love as well as he fights?" There was a wicked glint in Julie's eyes.

"He does."