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Snow started falling in large fluffy flakes. Pretty, until the wind kicked up and smashed them into his face. He slowly shifted his position to keep his vision free.
If the intruders were from Texas, they probably weren’t used to dealing with snow. It would keep them distracted and probably stop them from looking up. All good news.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t used to dealing with snow either. Neither were a few of the others. At least they were outfitted with Sam’s stock of winter gear.
Tessa spoke again. “They’ll be entering the clearing momentarily. Still in arrow formation. The man on your left is about a step ahead of the man on your right. All within a few feet of each other. They haven’t given any indication they know you’re there.”
Perfect.
The bushes at the edge of the clearing rustled and a man stopped at the edge, keeping himself mostly in the trees. In moments, the other two approached and stood on either side of the central man. Each looked around the clearing slowly. None of them looked up. Score one for Tessa and Spock.
The trio moved into the clearing in a tight formation, keeping their weapons up and scanning. His team remained frozen in place, knowing that any movement attracted attention. Snow swirled and slammed into everyone. The men below each took their hands off their weapons to wipe their faces every few steps. None of his team moved.
Of course, the men didn’t aim directly for where Nico and Flynn held the net, but moved into the middle of the clearing, leaving themselves wide open if Flynn’s group was ready to shoot to kill.
Was it a weird strategy he didn’t understand or stupidity?
Even newbies to the bush should realize staying under cover was smarter. Maybe they didn’t expect anyone to know they were there.
Two edged closer to him and Nico while the other continued down the center. Flynn slowly turned his head just enough to see his partner while keeping an eye on those below. Nico smiled in acknowledgement as Tessa started a countdown in their heads.
“Five, four, three, two, one.”
They dropped the net onto the two men and immediately swung themselves lower using the ladders.
The third man whirled at the cursing behind him and raised his gun.
Sam tackled him from behind and Flynn turned his attention to the two beneath the net.
A shot whistled past his ear at the same moment he heard Tessa yell his name.
He called out. “FBI. Lower your weapons.” As he rolled to the side, he heard the others yelling out as well, identifying themselves and calling for surrender.
The guy who’d made the shot shoved at the net and twisted to get Flynn in his sights. It wasn’t a face he recognized from Josie’s sketches.
Flynn raised his weapon before the other man could steady his shot. “Drop it unless you want a bullet between the eyes.”
The thought of the paperwork involved had Flynn hoping the guy listened. They wanted answers, not bodies.
Their other team rushed into the clearing with weapons up and ready. They watched the perimeter while Flynn’s team gathered weapons and used zip ties to secure the men.
None of the men matched the sketches. Probably thugs for hire. Irritation ran through Flynn. He’d been so sure they’d find Karlo in the group. Where the hell was he and who was calling the shots?
Tansy spoke. “Sam? Are you okay? Is everyone okay?”
Sam reassured her they were all fine.
The takedown had lasted maybe forty-five seconds. It didn’t match what Flynn had expected. He looked around the clearing and checked the woods, expecting more people to approach. “Anyone else coming from the road, Tessa?”
“No. Just these three.”
Where the hell was Kuzmetzov? Flynn didn’t recognize any of these men from their research. Thugs for hire? He could see Pavic bringing along his own crew, but he imagined Kuzmetzov wouldn’t have access to the same kind of money. Would he hire local and send them off to capture Tessa?
Sam and Nico were going through jackets and pockets. Nico held up a phone, but then shook his head. “Burner and no calls so far. I’ll run the number, see if we get lucky and they bought some in bulk. That would at least nail down a location. See if they’re locals.”
Tessa’s voice came through again. “Did you check to see if any of them has an explosive device on them?”
Sam answered. “Nothing. Empty pockets. No suicide vests.”
