CL Hart -From A Distance Page 5

  "Give me the keys," Kenzie demanded as she ripped them from Cori's fingers. Firing up the engine, she shoved it into gear and stomped on the gas pedal. The tires squealed as the small car shot backward out of its parking stall and into the street. Kenzie spun the steering wheel with one hand and the car bounced and slid sideways as she slammed it into a forward gear.

  Cori crouched on the passenger side floor watching as Kenzie maneuvered the car with one hand while reloading her guns with the other. "What was that?" Cori yelled over the noise of the car. "What the hell was that? What's going on?"

  Kenzie was too busy refilling clips and trying to drive to answer. Her eyes darted from her lap to the road in front, and then to the vehicles behind them. Kenzie shoved an ammo clip into the butt of her gun.

  "Somebody wants you dead. That's why I'm here." She holstered her gun and looked down at Cori. "Why would someone want you dead?"

  "You're here to protect me?" For a moment, Cori's face held a look of relief, but that soon disintegrated. "You're not here to protect me, are you?"

  To Kenzie it sounded like a rhetorical question, so she offered no answer. "Why would someone want you dead?"

  Cori rubbed at her face. "I-I don't know. No one... I'm just a student. I haven't been down here long enough to piss someone off that badly. I'm not into drugs, and my mother doesn't have any money, so there's no point in kidnapping me." She sniffed loudly as she looked around her at the shattered glass. "I don't know why anyone would want me dead."

  Kenzie was thinking about Cori's disclaimer as they approached Anillo Periferico, the main road that looped around Guadalajara. Studying every vehicle behind her, she tried to decide if she should go directly to the rendezvous point or follow a circuitous route to make sure no one was following them. The rendezvous point... What am I going to do with her? How am I going to explain her? Maybe I can smuggle her onto the plane. Yeah, right, and then what? I need to find out who wants her dead. Then what, LeGault?

  Cori, struggling to stay calm, said, "Excuse me."

  Her thought processes interrupted, Kenzie looked down at Cori almost as if she had forgotten she was there.

  "What just happened? What exactly is going on?"

  After a pause, Kenzie finally said matter-of-factly, "Someone just tried to shoot you." She reached over and brushed away some of the shattered glass. "Sit in the seat."

  "I think I know that, but why are they shooting at us?" Cori's voice reflected surprise and fear.

  Kenzie reached around into the backseat and unzipped her duffle bag. "Not us - you." Keeping her eyes on the road and behind them, she felt through the bag with her fingers. "Now get up and sit in the seat."

  Cori didn't attempt to move. "You shot back at them."

  "That's what I do." Deja vu took her back to when she was standing in her own home talking with Colonel Manuck. Was it Colonel Manuck? Does he not trust me?

  "But you could have-" Cori paused and looked at Kenzie in naive astonishment. "You could have killed an innocent bystander."

  "That really isn't my concern. Now get in the seat."

  "It isn't your concern that you just shot at innocent people and someone could have died!"

  Kenzie's jaw muscle tightened as she looked in the rearview mirror, "People die all the time. It's not my problem. Now move your ass into that seat before I make you!" Kenzie found what she'd been looking for in her bag and dropped the extra clips into her lap.

  "Not your problem-"

  Kenzie turned and glared at her. "I'm still alive, and that is my first priority." She reached down, grabbed a handful of Cori's hair, and started to pull. Cori screamed and snatched out at Kenzie's wrist with both hands, digging her fingers into skin. Kenzie ignored the pain and continued to pull. Cori had no choice but to slide into the passenger seat. The moment she was seated, Kenzie let go of her hair and Cori rubbed at her scalp.

  "Now, since you feel like talking, maybe you can explain to me why someone wants you dead."

  Cori's mouth opened, but she just as quickly closed it. "I don't know. You don't understand - you must have the wrong person."

  Kenzie knew she didn't have the wrong person. She had seen the assignment - the name and the picture matched. Still, an overwhelming sense of wrong was growing inside her. In the meantime, she kept her eyes moving. There was someone out there looking for them; she just didn't know where. Cori was upset, but Kenzie reminded herself that was not her problem. She had a job to do. So why hadn't she done it? She had orders, so why had she not followed them? What am I doing?

  A flash of white darted out from behind a delivery van in the rearview mirror and Kenzie saw it out of the corner of her eye. It was a white Renault and it was moving rapidly in their direction. Kenzie pressed down on the gas pedal and the Honda sped forward.

  Cori glanced behind them. Turning back, she noted, "What's going on?"

  The Renault was closing the gap and Kenzie didn't have time for questions as she steered the little Honda in and out of traffic. There was no doubt in her mind now - the white Renault was after them.

  Cori glanced from Kenzie to the rear window. "Is it them?" The rear window exploded in a shower of glass, answering her question.

  Dipping and bobbing her head, Kenzie kept sight of the white Renault in the mirror. Try as she might, she couldn't catch a glimpse of the driver or tell whether there was more than one person in the car.

  Kenzie pushed the accelerator pedal to the floor and the little car responded. They were now weaving in and out of the traffic at a dangerous rate of speed. Pulling a gun from one of her holsters, she tucked it under her leg as they sped through the streets. Narrow roads combined with slow moving farm vehicles, and speedy little taxis made maneuvering difficult, but Kenzie kept ahead of their pursuers. She spotted an opening in traffic, and the next corner they came to, Kenzie pushed the little Honda to its limit, pulling quickly in front of a large bus chugging out plumes of diesel smoke. The large vehicle blocked the Renault's view as the driver of the bus leaned on his horn.

  "Jesus Christ, you're insane!"

  Cori braced herself against the door and the dash as Kenzie whipped the Honda into the next lane, letting the bus roar past them. She slammed on the brakes, and horns blasted and tires squealed as she gunned the Honda and swung back in behind the bus and then in behind the white Renault. It was a gutsy, crazy move, but it worked. They were now behind the little white car.

  Roaring down the road, the driver of the Renault was unaware he was now the one being followed. Kenzie squinted to get a look at the lone occupant, but she couldn't identify the person. Bracing the steering wheel with her knee, she pulled the gun from beneath her leg and slid a cartridge into the chamber. Kenzie gripped the gun tightly; resting the barrel on the side mirror, she calculated her shot. The driver of the Renault must have seen her in his mirror and slammed on his brakes. The rear tires of the Renault smoked as the brake lights flashed on.

  Kenzie slammed on the brakes. Needing both hands on the steering wheel as she fought for control, she threw the gun into Cori's lap. The Honda swayed recklessly back and forth. "Son of a-" she said, taking her foot off the brake and slamming it back onto the accelerator.

  Powering the car past the Renault, Kenzie made a sharp turn to the left, darting down a narrow road. Coming out into a busy intersection, she barely slowed as she zipped in and out of traffic before turning down another street. The oncoming traffic honked and snarled to a quick stop, but Kenzie ignored them, turning a hairpin right onto a side street, scattering pedestrians in both directions. The Honda banged harshly over a curb, flinging the two women about inside the car. They heard the brakes and the horns of the vehicles they left behind, but, so far, the Renault had not turned the corner.

  Cori looked down at the gun in her lap and picked it up.

  Without any warning, Kenzie slammed on the brakes and made a sudden right turn, then a left, and then gunned the car again, bouncing and banging it along the potholed road. Cori had no
choice but to brace herself against the jostling, dropping the gun to the floor.

  They roared down roads she didn't know, barely slowing down for the traffic. Most of the roads were scarcely wide enough for the car, but it didn't seem to faze the woman behind the wheel. People and animals fled as Kenzie maneuvered in and out of side streets. It was only when they returned to the main street that Kenzie finally slowed down.

  Kenzie squinted into the setting sun. "You okay?" she asked without taking her eyes off the road or the rearview mirror. "I think we lost 'em." Kenzie reached up and readjusted the mirror as she drove the Honda cautiously down the narrow, bumpy street.

  Once again on their way to the rendezvous point, Kenzie looked around the car for her gun and caught sight of her shell-shocked passenger. "You should put your seatbelt on." Without waiting for a response, she reached over and grabbed the seatbelt. Pulling it across Cori's waist, Kenzie snapped the restraint into place.

  A hysterically frightened Cori slapped and pushed away at Kenzie's arm. "Get away from me - get away. You're fuckin' insane!" Cori's wide eyes glared at Kenzie in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Tell me you're kidding. You bust into my apartment, slap me around, then force me to leave at gunpoint, where I'm shot at as you drive like a maniac on meth through the streets of 'Lajara, and now you're worried about my goddamn seatbelt?"

  "We need to get out of here and out of the city," Kenzie said calmly, ignoring Cori's tirade. "They obviously know your car."

  "How the hell would they know my car?" Reaching down to the floorboard, Cori kicked at the gun and tried to retrieve it off the floorboard. "And who the hell are 'they'?"

  "Let me have the gun," Kenzie demanded as she maneuvered the Honda around some serious potholes and life-risking pedestrians.

  Cori lifted the gun, but before she could even think about aiming it, Kenzie had snatched it out of her hands. Cori struck out, punching and slapping at Kenzie with all her might. Her blows were erratic, but several landed, hitting Kenzie in the hand, shoulder, and her already damaged cheek. The car swerved erratically as Kenzie held up a hand to shield herself. Horns honked as the little Honda swayed back and forth, in and out of their lane of traffic.

  "Son of a bitch!" Kenzie dropped the gun into her lap. She backhanded Cori, sending her hard into the passenger door. Kenzie steadied the out of control car before holstering her weapon. Reaching up, she touched her face and then looked down at the blood on her fingers.

  "Are you kidding me?" Kenzie's brow furrowed and her glare darkened. She returned her attention to the road but her eyes lifted for a glance in the rearview mirror. A ribbon of blood was curling down her cheek. Her head hurt, her cheek throbbed, and she'd had enough. Instinctively Kenzie pulled her 9mm and pointed it directly into Cori's face. Her icy stare intense and devoid of emotion, she looked closely at the face of her intended victim. The two women locked eyes but no words were needed. Kenzie had made her intentions very clear.

  With no forewarning, Kenzie stomped on the brakes. Her hands on the steering wheel stopped her momentum, but Cori didn't have time to brace herself as she slammed full force against the restraint of the seatbelt. The thick strap bit into her neck and waist, stunning her into submission.

  Kenzie didn't say a word, just holstered her weapon. Cori settled back into her seat while Kenzie pulled out into traffic. The tension in the car was thick but the message was clear. "I won't kill you, but that won't stop me from inflicting a lot of pain on you," Kenzie finally said.

  Cori sat quietly in her seat, awkwardly attempting to get her seatbelt back into proper position. She looked to the road ahead of her, all the while shooting glances at the stranger driving her car. She couldn't think and she couldn't concentrate. Her body ached in pain as her mind tried to make sense of the alternate reality that had become her world.

  When the car passed the University, Cori turned and looked at her. "What are you going to do with me?"

  The driver looked at Cori and then turned her attention back to the road in front of her. The traffic was getting lighter as they drove out of the city and she adjusted the rearview mirror unnecessarily.

  "Can't you just let me go? I won't say anything."

  "No," Kenzie said without hesitation.

  Cori looked down at her hands and then out the shattered passenger window. She watched as the centuries old twin towers of the Cathedral of Guadalajara disappeared from sight. She wondered if she would ever see them again.

  "Somebody wants you dead, aren't you curious as to why? I know I'm a little mystified." Kenzie glanced over at the young woman and Cori looked back at her. Her face was battered and bruised, her hair rumpled, her clothes and her car had seen better days. Cori looked every bit the victim that she had almost become. Kenzie felt something she had felt days earlier in a remote desert in the Middle East - remorse. It was not the first time she didn't like who she had become. Looking at this young student, she knew there was no way Cori Evans was a player. Someone screwed up somewhere, and Kenzie just hoped it wasn't her.

  She turned away from Cori and looked straight ahead, then did something completely out of character and very unprofessional. "My name is Kenzie."

  Chapter 5

  The rich mahogany wood and the long, thick curtains swallowed up what little light there was inside the small office/library. Book-laden shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. They gave the room the appearance of being loftier than it was. The lone occupant was leaning back in the chair at the desk, pipe smoke curling upward over his head. The massive desk was strewn with papers - faxes, documents, and a long yellow legal pad filled with handwritten notes. The day's newspaper was folded just within arm's reach, but he didn't have time to read it, not today.

  Lifting his hand from the armrest, he spun his watch around for the umpteenth time. His phone should have rung by now. It hadn't, and that confirmed what he already suspected. Sitting up, he placed his pipe in the holder on the far side of the desk as he reached for his thick Rolodex. He was well aware that the more people he got involved, the greater the chance he might tip his hand, but he had no choice. With the decision made, the question remaining was whom he could trust when lives were at stake.

  The light on one of the phone lines flicked red, and then the phone warbled an incoming call.

  "Yeah?" he answered quickly into the handset, his eagerness showing through his normally stolid demeanor. "Is it done?" There was a long pause as he listened. He reached for the papers on his desk, scattering them around until he found the one he was looking for. "Son of a bitch! Where is she right now?"

  Tossing the document down, he rose from his chair and paced to the window. "And what can we do about it?" He pulled back the heavy curtain and looked out into the night. "Where's the plane? Oh for the love of Mary...how hard is it to kill one woman?"

  He threw back the curtain and rubbed his hand over his face as he listened to the voice on the other end. "This is becoming a bigger problem than it's worth. I asked for your best. Who exactly did you send?" He walked back to his desk and looked over the scattered papers. "Where is she - right now?" The answer he heard from the party at the other end of the phone annoyed him. "Then find out!"

  Cori had no idea where they were going. For a while they traveled north on Highway 54, and then turned off onto a narrow paved road that she had barely seen in the dark. The pavement gave way to hard packed dirt and the rough road and abundance of potholes jarred her back, but making any kind of comment about the road conditions would have been pointless. Tired, exhausted, and beyond functional, she knew there was no point in trying to escape. Everyone knew that in Mexico, if you wanted to be safe, you didn't go anywhere after dark.

  The instrument panel of the Honda gave off an eerie glow of green, enough light for her to see the driver. She had said her name was Kenzie, but she had not said anything since. She was an interesting woman, quiet and calm, but very much in control. Cori could tell a strong current was churning below the hardened surface. She
watched the strong fingers holding tightly to the steering wheel as the car bounced unrelentingly down the dirt road. Cori was a hands person and she always noticed them first. She often wondered if it was because she had wanted to be a surgeon at one point in her life, though that had been a long time ago.

  The mountains were to their right, which meant the ocean was in front of them, but a long way off. The moon was high and the stars were out in abundance when Kenzie pulled the car off the road and killed the engine. The dust settled, and Cori could taste it in her nose and mouth as the sounds of the motor died away into silence.

  "Where are we?" Cori's voice sounded strange and raspy so she licked at her dry lips. She winced when her tongue touched the swollen corner of her mouth and tasted the iron in the dried blood. Everything was unreal, like a dream, and she was floating beyond it. Nothing about this made sense. She was not rich, and neither was her mother, but then again Kenzie had said it was not a kidnapping.

  Kenzie reached into the back seat, pulled out a large bottle of water and offered it to Cori. Cori accepted the bottle and muttered a quiet "thank you" before she took a drink. There was a waiting silence inside the car, interrupted by the gurgle of water as Cori took another drink. With her thirst quenched, she reluctantly offered the bottle back.

  Kenzie accepted it without a word, took a long drink, and then placed the bottle on the console between them. Opening the car door, pieces of glass cascaded to the ground as Kenzie pulled herself from the confines of the vehicle.

  "Can I get out, too?" Cori asked cautiously.

  Cori noticed Kenzie studying the landscape. "No," she answered finally, her tone low and emotionless as she slowly walked around to the back of the car.

  With nothing else to do, Cori sat and listened to the noises of the night - some she knew, some she did not. The wind rustled through the countryside, filled with the sound of crickets. She picked remnants of glass from her clothing and tossed them out the window. How had this happened? More to the point, how had this happened to her? She watched as Kenzie moved around to stand in front of the car. The woman's thoughts were obviously miles away.