Gary Ponzo - A Touch of Deceit

Why was Kharrazi goading him? What was Kharrazi doing wasting time like this? It was just like the balloon filled with harmless powder. Kharrazi was utilizing every minute, stalling Nick for even the tiniest delay. He was close to his escape and if Nick didn’t leave soon, Kharrazi would disappear into the night like he’d done countless times before.

“By the way, how is your wife?” Kharrazi jabbed.

“Fuck you!” Nick exploded and threw the cell phone against the cement wall, shattering it into pieces as if it were glass. Matt watched. The celebration in the next room didn’t skip a beat.

Nick found himself panting. He sucked in small doses of air and wiped moisture from his brow.

Matt held up the GPS device. “Who is this?”

Over Matt’s shoulder, Nick saw Jennifer Steele peeking out of the doorway. Matt turned and waved for her to go back.

“No,” Nick said. He gestured to Steele. “Come here.”

Steele approached warily. “What’s going on?”

“How familiar are you with the surrounding area?” Nick asked.

“Very,” Steele said. “There’s a path I take to run every morning that goes right through here.”

“Good,” Nick said, spreading out the satellite photos on the same end table he’d used with Silk. He opened his hand and Matt handed him the GPS device. Nick pushed a button and activated the longitude-latitude grid which sprang to life around the border of the screen. He put his finger on the photo that matched the exact plotting on the GPS screen.

“Do you know where this is, compared to where we are?” Nick asked Steele.

“Yes. It’s approximately five miles from here.”

“What’s over there?”

Steele thought about it for a moment. “Not much. There’s a dirt road that meanders through that way, but other than that-”

“Where does the road go?” Nick said, urgency in his voice.

“Who is it, Nick?” Matt said. “Who is the GPS tracking?”

Nick couldn’t do what he wanted without Matt and Steele. He either came clean or spent too much time fighting their inquisitions. He looked at his partner. “Silk is dead.”

“What?”

“Kharrazi killed him. Somehow Silk slipped the tracking chip on Kharrazi before he died.”

Matt stared at the device. “That son of a bitch.” Then a surprised smile came across his face. “We’ve got him. We’ve got the bastard. Let’s get McKenna and-”

“No,” Nick said. “I’ve got him. I’m going after him. Alone.”

“The fuck you are,” Matt said. “We’ve got an entire squad of Marines, helicopters, and FBI agents. We’ve got him cold.”

“I sent Silk after Kharrazi and got him killed. Kharrazi is my responsibility. I need to finish this.”

“You’re not talking rational, partner. I’m not letting you go after Kharrazi alone. It’s suicide.”

Nick clenched his fists. “If you don’t let me go, I might as well eat a bullet right now.”

Matt grabbed Nick’s shoulders and shook him. “Nick.”

Nick stood firm. Every muscle flexed into a taut bulge.

Matt studied the intensity in his partner’s face and sighed. “All right. I’ll give you five minutes head start, then I’m sending the dogs after him. You understand? Five minutes.”

Steele said nothing. She seemed grateful that Matt wasn’t going with him.

Nick let out a breath, then murmured, “Thanks.”

Steele placed her finger on the photo, just below a narrow streak of brown. “This is where he’s going.”

“What is it?” Nick asked.

“It’s an old dirt airfield. Firefighters use it to fly up their gear from Phoenix. It’s strategically positioned close to some danger zones this side of the mountain.”

Matt looked at Nick. “He makes it there before you do, we’ll lose him for sure. That GPS will only work if we’re close.”

Nick nodded. “I know.”

“There’s an unmarked road not a half mile from here,” Steele said. “The trees are thick and there’s barely enough room for one vehicle, but I can show you how to get ahead of him. It’ll get you to the southern part of that strip. He’ll be coming from the east.” Steele fished the keys from her jeans pocket. “Here, take my truck. You leave right now and you’ll have a chance.”

“Show me,” Nick said.

Nick dug out the compass from his duffle bag and hustled out to Steele’s truck with her and Matt. Steele pointed to a narrow opening in the woods and gave Nick the direction he would find the unmarked trail. Nick gave Matt a quick nod, then started the truck and pulled out before anyone could change their mind. Behind him, he heard Matt say, “Five minutes.”

The GPS device jumped on the bench seat next to Nick as he traversed the side of the mountain in Steele’s truck. He could still see Kharrazi’s green dot blinking steady on the screen. Nick’s headlights barely kept up as he navigated between tree trunks and heavy undergrowth. He had the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something.

Nick tore open an aluminum pouch with his teeth and slapped an adhesive microchip on the dashboard. He pushed a button on the GPS system and a second dot came to life on the display. This one was red. It allowed him to see where he was in comparison to Kharrazi. He was driving too far to the west and he steered more toward an intersecting route to the east.

The terrain seemed to leap out in front Nick, forcing him to make split second decisions with the steering wheel in his left hand. His right hand steadied the GPS device and at one point he stuck it between his legs in order to strap on his seat belt. He looked again and realized that Kharrazi was forced to take a circuitous route because of the direction of the dirt road. Nick was literally scaling the side of the mountain with Steele’s four-wheel drive. It was a riskier method, but it dramatically cut the distance to the runway.

Within a couple of miles of Kharrazi, Nick realized what he had forgotten. A plan. He was so incensed with the idea of rushing after Kharrazi that he failed to come up with a course of action.

He kept flinching at tree branches that scraped the windshield as they brushed past until he spotted the clearing for the makeshift runway. He darted the truck into the clearing and without obstructions was able to step down hard on the accelerator. He glanced down at the screen. Kharrazi was still on the road, but less then a mile away.

In the dark Nick barely made out the silhouette of a prop plane idling at the far end of the dirt strip. He prayed Kharrazi wasn’t in contact with the pilot. He was completely conspicuous with his tires spitting up loose rocks just a couple of hundred yards away.

Nick headed for the mouth of the dirt road hoping to reach it before Kharrazi emptied into the clearing. When he barreled onto the road, Nick glanced at the GPS screen. He was headed directly at Kemel Kharrazi at fifty miles an hour without the slightest idea what to do.

Nick flirted with the notion of turning off his headlights, but that would force him to slow down to a crawl. He glanced at the screen again. Kharrazi was closing fast. When he looked up, he knew he wouldn’t need the device any longer. Kharrazi’s headlights bounced up ahead. A large pickup truck. The lights disappeared below a ridge, then popped up a moment later with renewed intensity. No retreat in their demeanor. Even Kharrazi’s headlights seemed evil.

Kharrazi had to see Nick coming and it had no affect on his velocity. He bore down on Nick like a heat-seeking missile. Suddenly, the plan became inevitable. In the game of chess you gladly lost a pawn to capture the opponent’s King.

With less than fifty yards separating them, Nick’s heart pumped furiously. He licked his lips and searched for an opening, but found none. They were on a collision course. Two bulls charging down a bowling lane lined with tall trees, nowhere to turn.