Restoration
Chapter 51
"We're headed for the San Gabriel Mountains," Lucy notes unnecessarily. Tim knows every road in L.A. better than she does. But she is familiar with the area. Her parents have a cabin in Angeles Crest. Surrounded by Christian camps, it serves as a retreat to refresh and regroup from the rigors of counseling challenging patients. Lucy considered using it after her abduction but didn't want to travel that far. If Haig hid his video somewhere in the area, cops or Derian soldiers could search the woods for weeks or months and never turn up a thing. If the L.A.P.D. can't keep Haig safe, his evidence could be lost forever.
Lucy doublechecks the license plate of a vehicle up ahead. "Bradford, that truck was behind us ten minutes ago and turned off. Now it's ahead of us."
Tim slams his palm against the steering wheel. "Derian's stooges are setting up a squeeze play. They'll bring in another heavy vehicle behind us, and the guy up there will slam on the brakes. The car with Haig will be crushed, and we won't make out much better. Call dispatch for air cover. They need to spot that guy's partner so we can keep from being caught between them."
Lucy already had the radio in her hand to make the call. She's just hoping the Derians don't move in too fast.
John grins as he checks the local feed on his phone. "What's the good news, Officer Nolan?" Janet inquires. "We don't get much of it these days."
John shrugs. "Nothing that will make the evening broadcast, unless they're running a human interest story. I've been working on a project with Councilman Abbot to rebuild condemned houses for the homeless. It's in the early stages. But the mayor just put out a statement endorsing what we're doing and suggested expanding it to other parts of the city."
"Just out of curiosity, I don't suppose you started your project in an area the Derians were trying to develop?" Janet asks.
"I didn't know it at the time, but it worked out that way. Serj Derian went to a lot of trouble to take me out of the game. Something came up that frustrated his efforts, but I still don't know the details. My T.O. thinks I'll be finding out about them soon."
"I believe she's right," Janet agrees. "Will you be with me in court tomorrow?"
"That's up to my watch commander, but he doesn't usually switch off teams in the middle of an operation."
A satisfied smile sweeps over Janet's face. "Then, Officer Nolan, I think you may enjoy the assignment."
Gor raises his arms in triumph. "Touchdown, Bobcats!" He turns to Davit. "I told you not to depend on Mr. Slippers. He couldn't keep his paws on the ball."
Jackson is tempted to bury his face in his hands when Sterling appears on the screen. "Want to make sure your kitten has the winning moves? You need Kitten Kippers. Enriched with the vital oils kittens need to grow into healthy cats, serving your fur baby Kitten Kippers is always a winning play."
Jackson stares at his boyfriend's image. Sterling's always telling him that an actor has to pick up work where he finds it, but Jackson never pictured this. At least his significant other isn't pitching kitty litter. Sterling's handsome face beams from the T.V. as the Kitten Kippers jingle fills the room. Jackson grimaces as Davit belches after washing down frozen pizza with a whole bottle of cola. Still, watching two thugs can't be as hard as pretending the world revolves around kitten food. Next time Sterling brings an expensive bottle of wine to the apartment, Jackson will appreciate it that much more.
Tim and Lucy's unmarked vehicle vibrates with the whup-whup of helicopter blades. The radio comes to life. "Eighteen wheeler bearing down on your position. Leave the highway at earliest possible opportunity."
Tim's eyes sweep over the route ahead. "There's no turnoff, nothing."
Guidance from the helo crackles through the radio. "Dirt road on your right, 600 feet ahead."
Lucy points to an unmarked break in the trees. "There. The truck can't get through, and we'll have cover."
Twelve Derian soldiers crouch in the foliage, out of sight from the ground or the air. Their lieutenant smirks as two vehicles take the narrow track into the woods, forced to halt as it dead ends. Ruben was smart. He set a trap, and the cops just drove Haig right into it.
The hair on Bradford's neck rises as he peers into the surrounding greenery. Their escape was too f*****g easy. A blast of static pours from the radio. "Damn! They're using jammers. Try your phone."
Lucy thumbs the switch and stares at the indicator on her screen. "No bars."
"Try anyway," Tim orders.
She attempts to reach the vehicle transporting Haig before calling dispatch. "Nothing."
Slight motions in greenery unconnected to any breeze catch Tim's attention. "Chen, Derian's hitters are flanking us. Our first responsibility is to protect the witness. If they move on him, we'll have to move on them, but we'll be exposed the second we leave the vehicle. Can you crawl into the back seat and flip it down to get to our large arms in the trunk?"
Lucy is already moving before she confirms, forcing herself between the front seats of the nondescript sedan. The rear seatback resists release but snaps forward under her determined tug. She crawls into the trunk and hands the weaponry stored there back to Tim.
Nell raps on Grey's door but charges in without invitation. "Sir, air cover lost visual contact with the protective detail guarding Botts' witness. Bradford and Chen are part of it. The helicopter was over a wooded area off Angeles Crest Highway. Dispatch hasn't been able to reach them either, and neither has the D.A.'s office."
Grey springs from his chair. "Keep trying to make contact. I'll enlist some local help. What was the last report Dispatch received from our officers?"
"That they suspected they might be under attack and were making an evasive maneuver."
Grey grabs his phone. "I hope they don't have to do more than evade."
Tim spots what looks like the top of a man's head behind a new-growth pine tree. Light flashes from the ring on a raised fist. "They're getting ready to make a move. grab a rifle," he commands Lucy. "Get ready to exit the car. Stay low and as invisible as possible, but we can't allow them to reach their target. Follow my lead."
As he spots a surge of motion, Tim pushes open the door of his vehicle, just enough to slip out as Lucy mirrors his action. The two cops crawl along the forest floor. For the first time, Lucy wishes for her rookie long sleeves as shed evergreen needles penetrate the skin of her forearms. She can feel rather than see, the forces moving in on their target.
"Still nothing on the radio?" Botts asks.
"No, Sir," the operative riding shotgun in the vehicle responds.
"You have a f*****g leak!" Haig insists. "Serj's men, maybe Ruben's too, are out there. They let us drive right into a hole, and now they're going to bury us."
"Shut up!" Botts orders. He was warned that Del Monte wasn't the only bad apple in the office and busted his ass to keep this trip under wraps. People lose cell service in the mountains all the time, and radio reception can be spotty. Haig might be spooking at nothing, but Botts' gut doesn't believe it. Metal glints from behind trees. Haig's right. Derian soldiers are out there. The A.D.A. can only hope that the officers from Mid-Wilshire are out there too.
