Jackknife 19
Chapter 19 Meeting the Opposition
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Cray skipped the rest stop area and turned off to take a smaller highway south. The police would be stretched manning the main interstate, probably couldn’t man checkpoints on the parallel roads.
By the time he got far enough south to be free of the fog, he realized the gaping hole in his plan. Leaving the truck parked without informing anyone could take time to discover and investigate.
He couldn’t call the interested party in the Toyotas, he had no contact. Calling Silver Label would blow the whole plan to pose as Rick, even if he did get lucky and the message reached a mole. That left the Feds. Not the best option, but all he had left.
Cray steered back toward the interstate to find a good place to park. Waiting on the signal at the on ramp intersection he couldn’t believe his eyes. Four black Toyota SUVs went past on the interstate above, headed north at high speed, in tight formation. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
The truck was being tracked. It was the only answer. Rick’s mole became all the more real in his imagination. As did his situation. He didn’t want a direct confrontation. He wanted to call, leave a message and be gone by the time whoever arrived.
Thinking it best to keep any messes off the interstate, Cray turned off his signal and went forward instead of turning. Straight into the charted unknown. The truck had GPS, but if it was an older model, like all the other equipment, the software might be out of date.
It didn’t take long for the mapped roads to prove the GPS accurate enough. He was headed for a T in the road where the highway broke into smaller road branches. The would put him at an extreme disadvantage if Rick’s secondhand stories were true about the opposition being armed and hostile.
The median looked too soft to risk a U-turn but there might be enough room at the T for a three-point turn. There was no traffic to speak of, it might be a quiet bedroom town, a lucky break. The only question remaining was whether he had the time.
It was a tight squeeze but he kept it on the road.
Cray faced a choice, go straight on through the smaller highway or head back onto the interstate. His luck would run out eventually and hit traffic either way. But as fate would have it, he didn’t have to choose.
His spotted his pack of Toyotas headed toward him in the opposite lanes. They had surely spotted him first because they crossed the median and barreled toward him. Their synchronized driving was impressive, swerving in and out, and move to play Chicken with a semi truck very brassy.
You think you can slip past me? thought Cray. Try this.
Cray downshifted, stepped on the accelerator and started weaving back and forth across the two lanes.
Shooters emerged from passenger windows. The stories were real. Cray hoped the part about targeting the tires was also true.
“Aim for the tires now. All eyes on the tires.”
Cray cranked the wheel hard, stood on the brakes and pulled the emergency brake. The truck went into a slide, trailers coming even with the cab.
Suddenly there was no road open to slip by. It was wall to wall semi. The Toyotas all took evasive action but it was too late for the front two and they slammed into the front trailer. The trailing two made it to the side, one hit a section of guardrail and rolled into the median, the other went across the shoulder and flipped when the front wheels hit a ditch.
Cray jumped out of the cab with the emergency pouch. He pulled out a flare, lit it, and tossed it under the closest wrecked Toyota.
He knew they could catch him even if he ran full out, so he started jogging toward the overpass. Maybe they would forget him and try to save the load. If the area was a bedroom town there might be taxis or a rental car business just off the interstate he could reach before any backups arrived.
The rental chance played out. They still looked open from the lights. Cray slowed his jog to a brisk walk.
Inside was a single agent, not looking terribly busy.
“Hello. How may I help you today?”
“I’d like to rent a vehicle, a four-wheel-drive.”
“All right, here is what we have available on the lot. There are more options but my take some time to deliver.
“Can we start with some ID?”
Cray handed over Rick’s license and glanced at the options, all Toyotas. He quickly settled on the tallest pickup.
The big gamble came next, trying to charge Rick’s card. If Silver Label had already cut the service he was low on options.
Cray’s heart sank when she started to react.
“Mr. Greenhalt, I regret to inform you … “
And then her words sent his heart soaring.
“ … our system is still on the fritz. The charge won’t show up on your records for a few days to a week. But your vehicle is ready. Here are the keys.”
“It’s O.K., I understand.”
Cray forced himself walk, not run, to the pickup, start her up and pull away. It was going to be a long trip back into the storm and he needed to conserve his energy.
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