Disclaimer – I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however.
CHAPTER TEN
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"Say again?" David demanded into the radio.
"9745 in pursuit, black SUV departing target area, refusing to stop." The agent summed up. In the background could be heard the sound of screeching tyres and a high revving engine.
"Can you see into the SUV?"
"Not clearly. We count four heads."
"Tags?"
"We can't get close enough."
"Call your position. I'll get units headed to intercept." David barely heard the reply as he was distracted by the other radio.
"They'll need to be quick." The agent reported. "The SUV's been seriously worked, we're losing it."
"Stay with it!" David ordered. The call on the other radio was that the warehouse was empty, the only sign that the senior agent had been there was some freshly cut rope lying on the floor amongst some still warm blankets. They'd cleared the building in record time and were about to start a forensic sweep whilst others patrolled the grounds. The kidnapped agent was gone but they hadn't missed him by much. The SUV was now target number one. It was in the right place at the right time and by failing to stop the occupants of the vehicle had drawn their attention to it as if they had set off a flare.
"Left onto Locust Avenue." 9745 called.
"Colby, get a helicopter into the area."
"Right onto Orange Way to Frankfort Street."
Colby dived for a phone and called the LAPD number he'd used before. Luck was with them, there was a helicopter in the air and five minutes away. The machine was diverted and placed under the FBI's instruction. Colby gave them a radio frequency used during joint operations so that they could control the helicopter directly. He switched the second bank of radios to that channel.
"Left, Dorsey Way." The call continued. "Right, Laurel Avenue."
"LAPD Tango-2 for FBI." A second voice called at the same time.
"Tango-2 this is FBI." Colby replied taking over the radio as Wright and David put their heads together. "Pursuit in progress, black SUV currently on Laurel Avenue, Rialto. General progress westwards. We believe the vehicle contains our kidnapped federal agent."
"Left on Valencia Avenue."
From the rapid turns it was clear the SUV was working to lose the pursuers. Fortunately for the moment the FBI sedan appeared to be able to maintain visual contact despite earlier stating they were about to loose it. By sticking to the tight surface streets the driver of the SUV was unknowingly shifting the odds more towards the FBI's favour, where the ability of the trained driver to take turns outweighed the power of the pursued vehicle. If they moved to a long straight stretch the balance would shift the other way. Colby just hoped that wouldn't occur to the driver of the SUV.
Colby noted a change on the screen above his head and looked up quickly to see a map of the pursuit appear. A red line was following the progress as called, a black dot marked '9745' at its head. Glancing over he saw Charlie working at the computer terminal. It was against the conditions under which Charlie was allowed into the building but no one cared at the moment.
"Roger that, FBI. Proceeding from Riverside." The pilot responded. Another blip appeared on the screen with the notation 'T-2', a blue track extending behind it.
"I'm going to link you in, stand-by." Colby turned to the bank of switches at the side of the radio panel and adjusted several of them allowing the helicopter to directly listen to the pursuit for immediate location reports.
"Left, Alder Avenue, heading for the railway lines." The call continued. "Crossed the lines. Loosing them on the straightaway!"
"Tango-2 receiving link." The helicopter reported.
"Any units able to assist?" Colby demanded over the link. It seemed the pursued driver had realised where his advantage lay.
"7723. Proceeding south along Cedar Avenue. We'll hit the 10 and head west."
"2941. We're westbound on Rialto, we'll take Sierra toward the 10."
On the map above two more black dots appeared with green tracks following their movements.
"9745. They've turned."
"Where?" Colby insisted after a long second went by without a location.
"9745. Stand-by, they're a long way ahead. Got it, right onto Valley Boulevard. Loosing them, where's that chopper?"
"Tango-2. Passing El Rivino Country Club, estimate ETA one minute."
David and Colby were checking the map on the big screen trying to calculate speed, distances and probable escape routes. Charlie's drawing of the paths of the FBI units and the LAPD helicopter were a great help in visualising the pursuit area and to decide on the best way to vector in their units.
"2941, continue on Rialto." David instructed taking the radio handset. "Take a left onto Cherry down to the 10. We need to be further ahead."
"2941, received."
Wright finished a call that had come through on his cell. "Don't loose that SUV."
"What did they find?" David asked, the call could only have been from the agents at the warehouse.
"They found an old van with a small amount of blood in it. The type matches Agent Eppes."
The implications of that barely had time to sink in before the report they'd been dreading.
"9745. Lost them, repeat lost them."
"Did they turn?" David demanded.
"9745. I don't think so, there's other traffic. All we got are taillights in the distance."
"Are any turning off?"
"9745. Two going left, another going right, the rest straight on. We can't tell which is which, they're all too far away."
"7723. Approaching the 10. Instructions?"
"Take the 10, proceed west." David ordered. The SUV's path had tended toward the freeway, he had to assume it had taken the turn onto the ramp. The freeway was historically the escape route of choice for offenders involved in pursuits. But just in case, "9745 continue straight on."
"Tango-2. Tracking west over the 10." The helicopter finally reported. "Any further description of the vehicle?"
"9745. Current model black Chevy Suburban, plenty of chrome, silver low profile mag wheels, dark windows."
"Tango-2. Roger that. Nil contacts."
"2941 on the 10, westbound."
A few minutes went by in tense silence before the next report.
"9745. We're running out of road, about to hit North Etiwanda Avenue."
"Tango-2, report." David called.
"Tango-2, nil contacts matching description. Currently tracking north of Ontario Airport, affected by airspace restrictions."
David consulted the map and read off the street names where the red track line stopped. "Tango-2, return to Valley Boulevard vicinity of Alder and Palmetto Avenues and commence search pattern. They may have turned off and be attempting to hide on surface streets."
"Tango-2. Proceeding."
"9745, return to vicinity of Alder Avenue and conduct sweep of all side streets."
"9745, received."
"2941, remain on the 10. Report when you reach the cloverleaf at Orange Freeway."
"2941, received."
The minutes dragged by without any sightings. LAPD ground units had joined the search but they had no luck. 2941 reached the cloverleaf and was recalled and sent into the search area. The units continued their hunt as David, Colby and Wright exchanged glances mulling over the last piece of information from the warehouse. The three agents then couldn't help but look over at the brother and the father of the missing agent.
The SUV was gone. Someone else had beaten them to the warehouse and had taken Don. And they had no idea who it was.
Or why.
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As the SUV began taking quick turns Don was only too happy he'd decided to buckle himself in, even so he wedged himself into the seat as best he could and took a firm hold of the handle inside the door. He was about as braced as he could be, the same could not be said about Ramone however. The gang-banger wasn't secured and was being flung about as the SUV slid around the corners. There was a particularly heart stopping moment after the first couple of corners when the gang-banger suddenly slid towards the agent weapon first to end up virtually on his lap. The weapon painfully struck Don's ribs before being deflected downwards, muzzle pointed at a delicate portion of his anatomy. Without taking any advantage of the moment the gang-banger extricated himself before sensibly tucking his weapon away, enabling him to move back to the opposite side of the vehicle and grab his own handle.
Breathing a little better now that the weapon was secured Don tried to keep track of where they were as well as whether or not the pursuing vehicle was able to stay on their tail. Unable to see the street signs as they took the corners he could only be satisfied that their driver was making a classic mistake, choosing to try to lose the FBI sedan in the tight streets rather than a flat out run. Unfortunately Guerra was quick on the uptake and realised what was happening.
"There!" Guerra pointed at the next intersection. "Go left then hit it."
"But-" The driver, who's name Don had still not caught, objected.
"Straight down towards the 10." Guerra elaborated. "They got nothin' that can touch us."
The driver forced the vehicle, tyres screeching, around the tight left and pressed his foot flat to the floor, the engine note rapidly climbing as they accelerated. With a sinking heart Don looked back and saw that the distance between the SUV and the FBI sedan was rapidly extending. If they continued on this path the pursuit was over.
A sign flashed by indicating that they were approaching the 10 and had to divert onto a parallel road before they could take an on-ramp. They braked heavily before turning right and starting to accelerate away.
"In there, turn there." Guerra abruptly ordered before they'd gone very far.
The SUV again braked heavily before turning right into a set of narrow streets. They were forced to move slowly as they made the first turn to the right which took them behind a row of houses. They were now hidden from the road that Don had finally recognised as Valley Boulevard. Their driver doused the large vehicle's lights and continued slowly and carefully, the engine reduced to a deep rumbling. They turned again and were facing Valley Boulevard once again.
"Pull over for a moment." Guerra ordered.
The SUV pulled into the curb, stopping beneath a larger overhanging tree and behind a vehicle already parked there. A moment later a black sedan flashed past on Valley, flashing red and blue lights indicating that it was their pursuer.
Everyone's attention was fixed out through the SUV's windshield. Don moved his right hand slowly towards the door release and pulled gently confirming that the door was locked. There was still another option, still moving slowly he reached for the window button and pressed downwards. He was rewarded with the window sliding open. Unfortunately the sound of the window motor was too loud in the vehicle's cabin and drew the attention of his captors before it had slid more than two inches. Abruptly it stopped as Guerra stabbed his finger downwards on the child lock button.
Ramone reacted by reaching for his gun until stopped by a word from Guerra. Ramone instead had to satisfy himself with moving towards the centre position and belting himself in where he could easily grab the agent if needed.
"That was your last chance, Fed." Guerra stated flatly as he raised the window.
"Worth a shot." Don responded, earning a grunt in reply.
Guerra turned his attention back to the windshield, winding his own window down as he listened to what was happening around them. In the distance could be heard several other sirens and fainter but growing rapidly louder came the sound of a helicopter. As the machine came closer they finally got a direction on it and four heads turned towards the sound.
From the bright spotlight aimed downwards Don came to the conclusion that it had to be an LAPD helicopter heading in to join the pursuit. They may have been too late for that but would now be actively searching for their vehicle. Glancing directly upwards the agent saw that the overhanging tree would be only too effective at keeping them concealed if it were to pass over them. The helicopter however swept westwards on a track somewhere between Valley Boulevard and the 10 disappearing into the distance, quickly fading from vision and hearing.
"Let's go. Nice and easy, don't draw their attention to us."
The last order was pretty useless Don thought. The description of the SUV would be out on the air and all it would take was for them to be passed by either an FBI vehicle or by a local LEO and it would be on again. He hoped that they would be spotted before they'd left the area, police units further afield were unlikely to have followed the action or have noted the vehicle description as precisely. In LA, optioned SUVs were a dime a dozen making this one blend into the crowd.
The vehicle pulled out and cautiously approached the intersection back on Valley Boulevard. An inspection of the traffic flowing both ways revealed no possible impediments to their escape. They made the turn and started back the way they'd come. There were a couple of occasions where they stopped in shadows with the lights off as a vehicle involved in the search moved by. The flashing lights on the LAPD and federal vehicles made them ridiculously easy to spot, long before the officers or agents could see the black SUV in the night allowing the fugitives time to slide off into the dark. Fifteen minutes later they were well out of Rialto in the clear.
.