Chapter 5
It took him even longer to get to Thiès than he thought. And finding the ranch in the pitch dark was another task in itself. He is even more annoyed that he has even less information than at the first hiding place. Neither where guards are, nor where Catherine and Sara are. They could be anywhere here. Using the internet maps, he tries to get an overview of the ranch. Lefebre seems to have good money.
Even a runway can be seen in the pictures.
Steve parks a little further ahead and approaches the property on foot. Then he tries to use the thermal imaging camera to find out where people are located. He curses quietly, the thing is secured like a fortress. Much more security than at the ranch on the reservation. What he would give to have his team with him and the HPD Swat behind him.
A rustle behind him makes Steve flinch and reach for his gun. But then he recognizes Tim in the dark. "Hi Steve." Relieved, Steve lowers his hand. "Tim? Where...?"
"On the drive to Dakar, I was thinking about where Sara and Catherine might be, and all I could think of was Lefebre's ranch. And then up front I recognized the old Wrangler." "How are Mike and Nathan?" Tim's expression darkens.
"Not so good. They were both taken to surgery right away. Mike was already unresponsive in the car." "Then I hope it was still early enough and the doctors can save them."
Tim nods, then looks back over at the ranch.
"How do we proceed?" "Honestly I have no idea, I haven't been able to match the heat signatures either." He hands the camera over to Tim, who looks at everything as well. Then he shakes his head.
"I don't think they're here. I can't see anything, anyway." He hands the camera back to Steve. Tim is right. There are no two signatures anywhere that stay in one place. The people who are there move them freely throughout the house. Damn. Steve thinks, where could they be? Is Lefebre perhaps not her husband after all and Catherine and Sara are somewhere else entirely?
He recalls the images from the Internet. The farm, the stables, the runway. And there had been another building at the back of the runway on the map.
"Come on, I want to check something out."
They run in an arc across the estate, always careful not to be discovered. Then they stand on the runway. At the end of the runway is a small building. It looks a bit like a guest house. On the porch, Steve can see a cigarette glowing. Again he pulls out the thermal imaging camera, looks through it, and then passes it to Tim without comment. He nods. They have found them. Two guards sit on the porch. "We need to take them out as quietly as possible, or we'll have the company from the main house on our tail. Which one do you take?" "Me on the right, you on the left." "Good."
They stalk, cover the mouths of the two guards and wrestle them to the ground. Both are bound and gagged. Carefully, Steve tries to open the door, but when he can't, he's about to kick it in when Tim pushes him aside and uses the lockpick to open the door within a few seconds. Steve nods appreciatively at him.
Then they enter the guest house. Catherine and Sara both sit tied to a chair in the living room and look at the intruders with wide eyes.
"Steve!" With a few steps, Steve is with the two. Catherine has a laceration over her right eye, otherwise she seems unharmed. He takes her face in his hands. "Are you hurt?"
Both shake their heads. Steve and Tim untie the restraints and Catherine falls around Steve's neck and whispers, "Thank you. Thank you for coming." She then looks at Tim in wonder. "How ...?" "Later, Cath, we need to get out of here." Steve and Tim take the two guards inside and close the door.
Steve hands Catherine the key to his boarding house room.
"We'll split up here. You take the jeep in front. I'll put them on my trail, then you'll have enough time to get back to Dakar and inform Sara's father. I saw a Cessna on the runway a little further ahead, it's making a lot of noise. I'm going to get that one." Concerned, Catherine looks at him.
"Steve, that's not a good idea. What if they catch you, shoot you down, or worst case scenario, shoot you? We can all ride in the Jeep, can't we?" Again, he takes her face in his hands.
"Cath, trust me, I'll be fine. I'll meet you in Dakar."
Steve takes cover next to the shack and watches Tim, Catherine and Sara go after them until the darkness swallows them.
He gives them time to get to the car and some more. After about thirty minutes, he runs to the Cessna, sits in the pilot's seat and starts the engines.
No sooner does the noise of the engines resound through the air than he sees the guards come running and open fire. Now he can only hope that they fall for it and believe that all their fugitives are in the Cessna. He gives gas and the Cessna takes off. Again and again he hears bullets pierce the walls and floor of the small plane. Then he feels a pain in his back as a ricochet finds its way to him.