Trapped in the Mayan Tattoo (20 page)

“As soon as they
can get her here. We’ll try to do the drop today.”

Abbi looked at her
clothes, anxious to start, but she still had on the nice layered blue suit
Louise had picked for her.

“I can’t go like
this,” she protested.

“Teenage girls,
they always need something!” Mrs. Hightower said with a wink to her aide.

Mrs. Hightower handed
the shopping bag to Abbi.

“Here. What are
the chances this will fit you? I looked at you the other day and figured you
for about a size 7 but Miss Sobori said 5. Was I close?”

Abbi pulled out a
one-piece leotard, a kind of catsuit.

“This should
work,” Abbi asked. “I’ll feel like a Ninja.”

“That’s exactly
the point. Put it on under your suit before you leave this building. Then
you’ll be ready if we go ahead with the drop tonight. You’ll be glad to have it
where you’re going.”

 “Where am I
going—the Killing Forest?”

 “That sounds
dreadful, I know. Your driver and Big Sam will take you there. On your trek
there will be some brushy places. If you can go through them, do, to stick to
your pace count. If you must go around them, then make the adjustments. After
you get through some tight places, if you were accurate on your count, you will
come to a zipline. When you get to it, strip down to the leotard. Ride the
zipline, stay on the route, and make your drop. There’s a hollow rock for that
purpose. Then, on your return trip, once you’re successfully off the zipline
and past the culvert, put your clothes back on. By the way, remember to use the
notepad and pencil to write down your pacing to various locations. Don’t get
lost. That forest is huge and hilly. Even with GPS, you can lose your bearings.
Above all, stay safe and adhere to the time frame. The zipline was installed
just for this purpose but, as with all things mechanical, things can go wrong.
Can you handle this mission?”

“Yes. I can,” Abbi
said.  A rush of excitement came over her. Adding to her sense of adventure was
the seriousness of the mission. She could taste the adrenalin.

“It involves some
hiking, some crawling, and you’ll ride a zipline down into a ravine. Very hilly
terrain. You’ll manage, I’m sure. A word of caution: we have a very small
window of time. Twenty minutes in. Make the drop. Twenty minutes out. Don’t let
it take an hour.”

“Alright.”

Mrs. Hightower
went on to explain that Abbi would be wired for voice transmission between her
and the SUV. Louise would be listening, along with Scott and Big Sam.

“I know you love
your mother very much, as do I. Do this for her, for all of us. God-speed and
stay safe, my dear!”

Abbi returned with
bags in hand to the conference room and sat beside Louise to hear the rest of
the plan for Operation Shoe Drop and to hear the latest on negotiations.

A tall thin man
stood like a shadow in the corner of the room and cast a frown at Abbi. He was
speaking quietly to Big Sam and seemed reluctant to let the girls participate
in the mission.

“I just think it’s
a half-assed plan,” he said to Big Sam. “Your young lady here is untried,
untrained. What is she—a Girl Scout?”

Mrs. Hightower
walked in.

“If you have a
problem with our plan, please direct your concern to me,” Mrs. Hightower said.
“In the meantime, I stand firmly that we have chosen the best person for this
highly strenuous mission. The negotiators say the drop is on. NM2 is taking the
bait.”

Big Sam stood up, “There
are people who don’t want this operation to be successful, who would stop at
nothing. Can I assume that everyone in this room will work to assure its
success?”

There was strong
agreement around the table. The only discenting person in the room was the tall
thin man. Big Sam raised his eyebrow as he challenged him.

“Do whatever you
have to do,” the shadowy man finally said.

“Good. Is the Cash
Dog ready for action?” Big Sam asked.

“He is, sir. He’s
in the back of the complex and will be loading up with the rest of us,” said a
deputy.

“Everyone, keep
your eyes and ears open,” Big Sam said. “Mrs. Hightower, I believe you need a
few minutes for prepping the girls?”

“I would like that,
sir.” She motioned, indicating that she wanted the girls to come with her to
the restroom where she equipped both Abbi and Louise for sound, GPS, and Louise
was given her own secure phone line. Louise would take maps and other
information in her briefcase.

When they returned
to the conference room, the other members of the rescue team were about to
leave.

“Everyone, I
present to you Miss Kowalski. She will be performing this very important
mission for us,” Mrs. Hightower said.

The rescue team
nodded approval, but the tall man in the corner remained skeptical. He simply
stood with his arms folded, no expression.

Abbi looked around
for Big Sam who stood up and nodded.

“Miss Kowalski, I
believe we’re ready.”

“Mademoiselle
Soufflé, your role is also very important. Should anything go wrong, you take
over,” Mrs. Hightower said. She looked very serious but winked at Abbi.
Obviously, she enjoyed making Louise squirm.

“But, but…I don’t
know how!” Louise stammered.

“Then we’ll just
pray nothing goes wrong.”

A team of snipers
would be watching out for Abbi, snipers that were far more experienced at rappelling
than Abbi. If she went down, someone would know to take over. Abbi watched the
officers and snipers leave, some already dressed in very real-looking camouflage
clothing.

The thin man who
had been in the corner approached Abbi and said, “NM2 will stop at nothing. Be
very careful.”

            During the ride from
the law complex to the drop zone, Abbi and Louise sang songs that they had
learned throughout their childhood, the kind you sing on long school bus trips.
They had made it through
99 Bottles of Beer
and
The Hole in the
Bottom of the Sea
and
Little Bunny Foo Foo.
That made Louise laugh
because Abbi was calling her Foo Foo and she knew it. Big Sam rolled his eyes
at Scott but did not interfere.

            At least, Louise had
taken a break from flirting with the driver. For that Abbi was grateful. It
gave Abbi a chance to act like a little kid before she took on the dangerous
feat of making the drop that should secure her mother’s rescue.

They were singing the
only words they knew to
She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain
when Scott
pulled over to park. Precisely 1800 hours, right on schedule. That put them in
a parking lot overlooking the western side of a ridgeline with the sun hanging
just above the trees. Abbi admired the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the
east, spectacular with its distant peaks of ridgeline and varying shadows in
shades of blue. The view to the west was hampered by a thick forest that
started at the edge of the parking lot.

The sniper showed
up with Abbi’s rappelling gear just in time.

Abbi remained in
the back seat while she quickly removed her suit in the SUV to save time on the
trail. She undressed down to her leotard, feeling especially naked since the
air conditioning was cool enough that it caused her nipples to show through.

Louise was
watching her and Abbi whispered, “I know what you’re thinking, Louise. You’re a
potty head!”

They laughed.

Big Sam waited
until Abbi was ready to leave the car when he spoke.

“Do you feel OK
about this?”

“Really? I feel
like it’s not happening,” Abbi said.

“Sure. Like it’s a
dream.”

“No, like it’s not
going to happen.”

She thanked the
sniper for being there but felt really undressed and self-conscious. She told
herself it’s no worse than a dance recital outfit, but that didn’t help. Then
she gathered her gear to start into the forest. Her backpack weighed more than
thirty pounds. Just shifting it to check the pockets was cumbersome. She
struggled to put it on but stopped to take out some things to lighten the load,
extra items like carabiners that she hoped she wouldn’t need.

            Big Sam got out to help
when Abbi was ready. He raised the backpack onto her back.

            “We’re running a little
behind,” he said impatiently.

            At two minutes past 6
in the evening, as Abbi was starting into the forest, they received the text:
MISSION ABORTED. STAND-OFF AT THE HOTEL. NM2 HALTED TALKS.

            Big Sam called her off,
and Abbi’s heart sank. She laid her head against the top of the SUV. Big Sam
put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

            “You knew something was
up, didn’t you? I heard you called it on the man in the hotel parking lot. Your
intuition is impeccable,” Big Sam said and pulled the load off Abbi’s back.

            Abbi looked at him,
bewildered.

            “Funny, most of the
time I feel like I live in a fog, part real, part hazy,” Abbi said. She started
crying. “I’m so disappointed. I’m worried about Mom and what they’re going to
do to her. This can’t be real.”

            “It’s real for now. These
things rarely go as smooth as planned. But we keep trying.”

            Abbi dropped the
backpack and moved toward the big black man. She fell into his chest, sobbing
uncontrollably. Big Sam, like a big live Teddy Bear, wrapped his arms around
her and patted her back. Totally comforting.

            “Cry it out,” he said.
“Go ahead. Cry it out.”

            “Big Sam, what I heard
today about that girl, I just, I, I…”

            “I understand.”

           
Tina had fallen
asleep on the couch. She woke up when her father opened the door to let the
cable man in. Before the technician could see her, Tina scurried back to her
bedroom and immediately flung herself on the bed.

            For a few minutes, the
sound of talking and drilling kept her awake but she soon dozed off again.

            Her father knocked on
the door.

            “Tina,” he said,
actually remembering the new name. “You’re gonna want cable in your bedroom.
We’re getting the bundle so you can have phone, TV and computer hook-ups all in
your room. Mind if we come in?”

            “That’d be alright!”

            Tina sat on the edge of
her bed when her father opened the door.

            “You sure you feel OK?”
he asked.

            “I think it’s the
medicine,” Tina said. “I’ll be in the bathroom for awhile.”

            She brushed past the
cable guy with a sheepish smile.

            “Not feeling so hot,”
she murmured.

            When Tina got to the
bathroom, she was surprised at the reflection that peered back at her. Her hair
had lost its gloss, and the dark circles and hollow-looking eyes peeking from
yellowish skin made her pause and stare. Staring only made her eyes look hollower.

            She finally
acknowledged that she really was sick. Not only sick at her stomach, but worse
than that. It was if her whole body suddenly quit working right. She had to
cough, but the more she coughed, the more she vomited. She felt dizzy,
feverish, but she couldn’t leave the bathroom yet. She was not sure she could even
walk out on her own.

            Apparently her father
heard her and came to the door.

            “I’m sorry, baby. Is
there anything you want me to do?”

            “Hold my hair out of
the water?” she asked, then remembered she’d cut her hair. “No, I’ll go back to
bed soon, whenever I can get out of here.”

            “I’m staying right here
with you. In fact, I’ll move the TV into your room.”

            “No, thanks, Dad. I
just want to sleep. Just sleep.”

            After the cable guy
left, Tina managed to stop vomiting and get back to bed.

            “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’ll
get better,” she said.

            Her father kissed her
forehead, still sweaty from breaking a fever, while Tina shivered.

            “I think we’d better
call Teresa. I’ve been trying to call Mrs. Hightower but she hasn’t been in. You
don’t feel like talking right now anyway. I’ll see what Teresa says.”

            “OK,” Tina said. “I
love you, Daddy. Night night.”

            “Sleep. I’m here if you
need anything. I’ll have some softdrinks and pizza delivered after while.”

            The thought of pizza
made Tina’s stomach churn.

            “OK, Daddy. Whatever
you want. Night. Oh, one more thing. Since you’ll be starting your job soon,
can we get a computer?”

            “No more social
net-working as Maria?”

            “Oh, Daddy. Night!”
Tina said, and drifted back to sleep. She didn’t want to promise. She left all
her friends behind.

            The debriefing at the
law complex after the aborted mission was hard for everyone, but especially for
Abbi who was still trying her best to stay in character, fighting the distorted
perception that Miss Shoe was not her own flesh and blood mother. Mrs.
Hightower also seemed badly shaken by the change in plans, more than Abbi might
have expected. She had worked hard to pull everything together and was probably
exhausted.

            People stood around the
large conference room this time instead of sitting. Most leaned against the
wall with their arms folded. No one seemed happy.

Big Sam headed the
meeting by explaining that everyone had to remain on call and continue to treat
this like a search and rescue, just in case NM2 showed up with Miss Shoe.