Spy and Seek
Chapter 33
In the narrow alleyway of the small Embassy, Lee, Amanda, and their group were trying to get away from Fautos and his Cartel men.
BANG!
A shot had been fired.
The target was hit.
Diego, the villager boy, cried out in pain as he clutched onto his leg and collapsed.
Fautos looked pleased with his marksmanship, as he stood steady in order to aim his gun at the next victim of his choosing. But that was not to be when he and his men became distracted by a noise coming from behind them.
Varooooom-roooooom-rooooom-roooooom….
They turned at the sound of a vehicle's roaring engine. A bright yellow taxi suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere and came screeching down the alleyway, heading straight towards the Cartel men.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Fautos and his men yelled out in unison as the vehicle trapped them, forcing them to slam their backs against the wall.
This allowed Lee time to bend down and pick up the crying, injured boy. He then rushed to the nearest group of onlookers, towards an elderly couple.
Meanwhile, the taxi kept the Cartel men against the wall. But it didn't take long for the men to recover their senses, as they began pulling out their weapons. It would be only a matter of time before they would aim it at the driver of the taxi, so the vehicle quickly sped away...
...and abruptly stopped next to Amanda and Pepita.
Amanda's eyes widened as she peered into the passenger side of the car's window, "Paco? How did you-"
Although he couldn't hear the words through the pane glass, Paco, nevertheless, opened his side of the driver's door, stood up, and gave a hurried wave.
"Get in! Get in! Quickly now!" he urgently yelled back, before getting back in and slamming the door.
They had no time to waste. Fautos and his men were already running back to get their blue car, located at the other end of the alleyway. The yellow taxi needed to leave now in order to get a headstart on the blue car.
Pepita quickly got in the taxi and before Amanda slipped in, she yelled out to Lee.
"Lee! Hurry!" she cajoled him.
Lee was giving final instructions to the elderly couple to take Diego to the doctor. Then he handed a stack of pesos to them. With that completed, he gave a running sprint and dove into the opened backseat door to join Amanda and Pepita.
Irrrrrtttttttt! Vroooom!Vrooooom!
The taxi immediately sped away.
Looking out the back window, they saw the blue vehicle quickly give chase after them as the Cartel men leaned out the opened windows with their weapons.
"Heads down!" Lee shouted quickly, as he, Amanda, and Pepita ducked into the back seat.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
ZZZZZllllllllliiiiiinnnnngggggggggg!
The back window instantly shattered, glass flying everywhere. WHOOSH! The wind immediately whisked throughout the insides of the cab. After some time had passed, Lee tentatively stuck his head up to look out the back window, which was now missing its pane.
"What's going on out there?" Amanda wanted to know as she huddled over Pepita.
WHOOSH! Lee's hair blew in all directions as he spoke to them, "They're right on our tails!" Then he looked in the direction of the driver, "Paco! Let's go! Let's go!"
"Yes, that is what I am doing!" Paco claimed as he wiped the sweat from his brow while mumbling, "Broken window...gunshot holes...taxi amigo will not be happy!"
The yellow taxi seemed to slowed down even further when Paco changed gears with loud grinding noises.
Gra-krak….ka-krak...
He shifted again, causing everyone to pitch forward and then back.
The blue car was quickly gaining on them and Lee was losing his patience, "Dammit, Paco, at this rate, I could go faster by getting out and pushing this thing! You sure you can't get this tin can to go faster?"
Gra-krak….ka-krak...
Paco shifted gears again, throwing their momentum forward and then back again.
"This is a car, Señor, not a jet!" Paco sarcastically informed him, "believe me, my foot is pressed all the way down on pedal!"
By now they had reached the open marketplace. The area erupted in total chaos as villagers, tourists and shopkeepers alike scrambled away to safety.
For a second, the shooting stopped and a lot of shouting could be heard. Lee dared to look out the back window again.
From her crouched position, Amanda commented, "Please tell me they decided to quit chasing us because yelling at one another is so much more fun!"
" 'Fraid not," Lee responded back, "In fact, it looks like MORE trouble is headed this way!"
"Why? What do you mean MORE?" Amanda asked.
"I wanna see!" Pepita insisted, as she tried to pop up, but Amanda pushed her head back down.
Lee answered, "A black car joined the blue one! Plus….we have a guest rider as well..."
Still bent over, Amanda scrunched her face, "What do y-"
VooRRRR...VooRRRR..VooRRRR..
She was interrupted by the sound of a different revving engine.
"What IS that?" Amanda asked.
"A motorcycle."
"Oooo! Is it red?" Pepita wanted to know as she popped up again.
"Pepita! Down, please!" Amanda insisted, as Pepita went down.
But she had seen enough of the action behind them.
"The motorcycle driver is so fast!" Pepita excitedly recalled, "He wear black jacket and is next to the blue and black car! He is pointing gun at black car, not us!"
Bang!
"What?!" Amanda sounded confused, "he's firing at the black car?"
"The kid is right," Lee confirmed, as he glanced out, "I think one of the gang members in the black car was hit!"
Bang!
Another shot rang out, and it sounded the same as the previous one.
Pepita was still hunched over, "It sounds like motorcycle man is shooting again!" she exclaimed in awe.
"Somebody's mad at the Cartel" Lee observed about the motorcycle rider, "At least he's not taking it out on us!"
"I think maybe motorcycle driver is policia!" Pepita theorized.
WHOOSH!
The wind continued rustling wildly in the cab as Amanda brushed her hair aside. She looked with uncertainty at Pepita, "Do you really think that's a policeman on a motorcycle out there?"
Pepita assuredly nodded, "Who else can he be? He only shoot bad men, not us!"
"But just one policia?!" Amanda fretted, "how tiny is their police force anyway?"
BANG!
It sounded like a shot from one of the bad guys.
Bang!
A returned shot.
"You hear that?" Pepita insisted, "another shot and it did not hit our car! Did I not tell you? The policeman is hitting the bad men!"
She attempted to get on her knees to view the action. And again she was pushed back down.
"Even if it IS the Policia, Pepita," Amanda acknowledged, "it's best to keep your head down!"
"But I want to see brave Policia!" she insisted.
Amanda's eyebrows angrily furrowed as she got right into the little girl's face, "You will do no such thing, young lady!" she sternly told Pepita, "You want to leave the country with us? Then, you will STAY DOWN! You've got that?!"
Lee had never heard that tone of voice from Amanda. He watched as Pepita's shoulders slumped.
"Okay, I keep head down, Señora," she humbly promised, as she looked down at the floor of the taxi.
Lee liked this new disciplinary side of Amanda.
"Not bad..." he nodded, while at the same time sticking out his bottom lip impressively.
Amanda philosophized, "One thing I learned about dealing with kids is you need both a threatening tone AND angry eyebrows if you want them to listen to you!"
"Interesting….I'll have to remember that the next time I interrogate the bad guys," Lee analyzed. He then poked his head up again as Amanda protectively put her arm around Pepita.
"What's happening now?" Amanda asked.
BANG! BANG!
"Uh-oh..." Lee remarked in an ominous tone.
Amanda looked alarmed, "What? WHAT?"
VooRRRR...VooRRRR...eeerrrrrrttttt...
Lee explained, "The Cartel guys just took some shots at the rider and they were able to hit the bike and now the motorcycle is veering off!"
...eeerrrrrttttt….Ka-poooooooooooooom!
The motorcycle skidded and crash-landed in one of the villager's booths., Handcrafted goods and pieces of broken wood flew in all directions.
"Oh, not good," Lee commented.
"The rider is down?" Amanda hesitantly asked.
"Looks to be," Lee miserably informed them, as the men in Fautos's vehicle, now free again, aimed their guns at the back of the taxi once again.
"STAY DOWN!" Lee warned them as he ducked and slammed an arm across them.
BANG!
PING!
A bullet struck the trunk of the taxi with a metallic tinny sound.
Everyone rolled up into a ball in the backseat.
"Amanda! Pepita! You two alright?" Lee asked.
"As alright as two people could be while facing a bunch of bullets," Amanda commented. Then she looked over at Pepita and not wanting to scare her, cheerfully stated, "I mean...I'm just glad this taxi is strong enough so bullets will not go through it!"
"Señora, you are talking such nonsense! This is very old taxi, NOT Batmobile!" Pepita insisted, obviously not fooled one bit that they were out of danger.
Lee began to get up.
BANG!
He had to duck again.
BANG!
BANG!
The situation seemed hopeless.
They continued crouching down, waiting for the next shot.
Bang!
Another shot, but it sounded different. And it didn't land anywhere near the taxi.
Encouraged, Lee took a quick peek out and his next words were said in awed shock, "I don't believe it..."
From her crouched position, Amanda asked, "What? What is it that you see?"
"Get up and see for yourself!" Lee invited her.
"You sure it's okay?" Amanda hesitantly asked.
"Oh yeah, you're going to want to see this!" Lee assured her.
Both Amanda and Pepita looked out the back window.
VooRRRR...VooRRRR...
The motorcycle rider had evidently gotten back on the bike and was now riding evenly alongside the black vehicle as he fired again.
Bang!
Another man down.
Bang!
Another success and now all that was left was the driver of the black car.
VooRRRR...VooRRRR...
"He's good," Amanda commented about the motorcycle rider's driving and shooting skills.
"Not he..." Lee corrected, with a grin on his face.
"What?"
He suggested, "Take a closer look."
The motorcycle driver had now ridden up evenly with the blue car. Being closer to the taxi now, they had a better view of the rider and it was obvious the rider's silhouette was that of a female. Lee, Amanda, and Pepita watched as she frustratingly lifted her helmet and threw it on the ground in order to get a better shot with no obstructions. Her blond hair shone in the sunlight.
Lee and Amanda exchanged glances, "Francine!"
They continued to watch in fascination as Francine evaded the shot from the blue car by varying her speed.
BANG!
They missed and she sped up and returned fire in quick succession.
Bang!Bang!Bang!
Another one of the Cartel men had been hit.
Bang!
Another body down, leaving only two men and Fautos in the vehicle.
Flwooop! Flwoooop! Flwooop! Flwoooop! Flwooop! Flwoooop!
Up above they suddenly heard the sound of a helicopter hovering over them. A man was yelling through the bullhorn:
"This is The United States Agency! Stop at once and put your hands up! Repeat: stop at once or I WILL MAKE YOU STOP! DO IT NOW!"
Pepita clapped her hands in delight, "The helicopter is also not bad but good, too! We now have good motorcycle rider AND good helicopter man!"
Lee and Amanda turned to look at one another as they recognized the voice shouting through the bullhorn.
"BILLY!" they both shouted in obvious delight.
"Stop the taxi!" Lee insisted, "Paco! You can pull over! We are safe now!"
"Is that so? Very good then!" Paco responded, pulling over on the side of the street.
Grakaka...ka-rah... They heard the grinding of the gears as the taxi came to a stop and everyone had piled out of the taxi.
By the time Billy landed, Francine already had Fautos and three of his men from both cars handcuffed, Billy would later inform everyone that the Mexican FIA agents had already entered the city and had arrested the other members of the Santana gang.
Another village was now free of the Cartel occupation.
As Lee, Amanda, Paco, and Pepita began walking towards Billy and Francine, it was Paco who spoke first.
"Even though it is over, I am worried about the taxi," Paco admitted, "it is how you say...totaled."
"You need not worry, Paco," Lee assured him, "I'm sure the Agency will compensate with a new taxi for your friend."
"Can that be?" Paco smiled, "Then it has been a good day!"
Amanda tiredly commented, "Yes, it was quite an adventure, but I think I've had my fill of rescues for one day!"
"Not me," Lee stated, "I can't wait for tonight when I do a different kind of rescue...I plan to rescue some wine from a bottle!"
Amanda laughed until she felt a tug on her skirt. She looked down at the tiny girl clasping her hand. She paused to bend down, as Lee and Paco waited.
"What is it, Pepita?" she asked.
"Señora," Pepita began, as she pointed towards Billy, "If I am good girl, do you think the big police man will let me take ride inside helicopter?"
Such a sweet girl. Amanda re-adjusted Pepita's collar, "Hmmm…. I think that can be arranged, Sweetheart!"
Amanda then stood up and viewed the tiny girl with a loving smile.
Pepita looked pleased as she gestured towards Francine, "Then perhaps the nice police lady will let me drive her motorcycle, too!"
"NOOOO!" Lee and Amanda instantly stated together with furrowed eyebrows.
.
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Last chapter coming up!
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