Doc's low growl brought Tiel's head up with a snap.
Had she heard him correctly? Apparently so, because Dr.
Cain was regarding him with consternation.
"Son of a bitch!" Doc repeated, this time in an angry exclamation.
What happened next was forever thereafter a blur in Tiel's memory. She could never accurately remember the rapid sequence of events, but any recollection of them always made her hungry for chili.
CHAPTER 6
THE FBI VAN PARKED ON THE APRON OF CONCRETE between the highway and the fuel pumps was equipped with high-tech paraphernalia used for deployment, surveillance, and communication. It was a rolling command post out of Midland-Odessa that had been mobilized and driven to Rojo Flats. It had arrived within minutes of Galloway's chopper from Fort Worth.
There wasn't an airstrip in the immediate area that would accommodate an airplane larger than a crop duster. Dendy's private jet had flown to Odessa, where a charter helicopter had been standing by to whisk him to t
he small town. Upon his arrival, he had barged his way into the van, demanding to know exactly what the situation was and how Galloway planned to remedy it.
Dendy had made a general nuisance of himself, and Galloway had had all he could stomach of the millionaire even before Dendy began grilling him over the maneuver presently under way.
Every eye was on the television monitor, which was transmitting a live picture from a camera outside. They watched Cain enter the store, where he stood with his back to the door for a time before disappearing from view.
"What if it doesn't work?" Dendy asked. "What then?"
" 'What then' will depend on the outcome."
"You mean you don't have a contingency plan in place?
What kind of outfit are you running here, Galloway?"
They squared off. The other men in the van stood by expectantly, waiting to see who detonated first, Dendy or Galloway. Ironically, it was a statement from Sheriff Marty Montez that defused the explosive tension.
He said, "I can save you both the suspense and tell you right now that it's not going to work."
As a courtesy-and also a smart diplomatic move- Agent Galloway had invited the county sheriff to join the top-level powwow.
"Doc's no fool," Montez continued. 'You're asking for trouble, sending that rookie in there."
"Thank you, Sheriff Montez," Galloway said stiffly.
Then, as though Montez's statement had been prophetic, they heard gunshots. Two came a millisecond apart, one more several seconds later. The first two caused them all to freeze in place. The third galvanized them.
Everyone inside the van went into motion and began speaking at once.
"Christ!" Dendy bellowed.
The camera was showing them nothing. Galloway grabbed a headset so he could hear the communiques between the men in position in front of the store.
"Were those gunshots?" Dendy asked. "What's happening, Galloway? You said my daughter wouldn't be in any danger!"
Over his shoulder, Galloway shouted, "Sit down and be quiet, Mr. Dendy, or I'm going to have you physically removed from this van."
"If you fuck this up, I'll have you physically removed from this planet!"
Galloway's face turned white with wrath. "Careful, sir. You just threatened the life of a federal officer." He ordered one of his subordinate agents to remove Dendy.
He needed to know immediately who inside the store had fired at whom and whether anyone had been injured or killed. While he was trying to find out, he didn't need Dendy yelling threats at him.
Dendy boomed, "Like hell I'm leaving!"