Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [118]
“Sounds like it’s worth a try,” Ford said with a nod. “If nothing else, all the smoke will get them looking away. How long will it take you?”
Alex shrugged. “Fifteen minutes, maybe, to get there and start the fire.”
“All right,” Parker said. “We’ll use that time to get as close to the trucks as we can. When you get the fire going, give the signal for the others to attack the police station. The three of us will wait for the fighting to start, then make a run for the trucks.” He looked at Bud. “Are you up for this?”
The cameraman swallowed hard, but nodded without hesitation. “Yeah. I don’t know how good a fighter I’ll be, but get me in that truck alive and I can handle the tech stuff.”
“We’re good to go, then,” Ford said. “In fifteen minutes.”
Alex looked at him. “Fifteen minutes,” she agreed.
And she knew it might be the longest fifteen minutes of her life.
Jimmy wished there was something he could do to help his friend Eloise. She was pacing back and forth, and he knew she was really worried about Clint. So was he. He hadn’t seen any of the officers except Delgado, and he wished he knew whether they were all right.
General Garaldo was sitting in a chair at one of the library’s study tables. Not only were his hands tied behind his back, but he was tied into the chair as well. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
Eloise suddenly stopped pacing and pointed her rifle at the general. “I ought to kill you right here and now,” she said.
Garaldo lifted his head. He still had enough defiance in him to sneer at her. “You won’t do it,” he said. “You’re too weak, just like the rest of your countrymen. You let your own government do anything it wants to now, and you do nothing but whine and complain! In my country, the government does what those with real power tell it to. Men like me.”
“You’re not telling … anybody what to do,” Jimmy said. “You’re tied up.”
“That’s right,” Eloise said. “And if I want to, there’s not a thing stoppin’ me from blowin’ you away, mister.”
“Nothing except your own weakness,” Garaldo mocked.
Eloise glared at him for a moment, then turned away with an exasperated sigh. Jimmy was glad she hadn’t shot the general. The chief hadn’t said anything about shooting anybody.
Eloise went over to look out the window. Jimmy moved to stand beside her. “It’ll be all right,” he told her. “You just gotta … have faith.”
“I’m trying, Jimmy,” she said as tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m trying, but it’s really hard.”
Behind them, Garaldo caught the blonde’s eye and motioned her over with his head. Wilma hesitated, but after a moment she walked up to him.
“What do you want?” she asked.
Garaldo nodded toward Jimmy and Eloise at the front windows. Keeping his voice low, he said, “The woman is insane, and the man is mentally deficient in other ways. They’re going to kill me, señorita.”
“I don’t think they will. If they wanted to, they would have done it before now.”
“You know this ridiculous tale about nerve gas and your American President isn’t true, don’t you?”
“Of course, it’s not. The President would never do anything like that.” Wilma frowned. “But you’re a bad man, General. You’re probably here after drugs or something like that, aren’t you?”
Even tied up, Garaldo managed to give an eloquent shrug. “I see no point in denying the obvious. It is true that I work for the Rey del Sol cartel. Our enemies are bringing a shipment of cocaine through here today, and we plan to hijack it. But that’s all, señorita. This talk of nerve gas is loco!”
Wilma crossed her arms and nodded. “I knew it. I knew the President couldn’t do anything bad. He’s so nice. I’ve met him several times, you know.”
“If you could help me get free,” Garaldo said, “I could stop all this killing right now. And you … you could get an exclusive for your network out of it, my dear.”
Excitement leaped into Wilma’s eyes, but only for a second. Then she said, “How stupid do you think I am? Never mind, you must think I’m pretty