Kidnap and Ransom by Michelle Gagnon Page B

van rested on its side across the roof of the car, hood slanted toward the ground. Jake saw a bloody hand trying to force the side panel open from the inside. Belatedly he realized that there were probably still armed men alive inside. And in all the excitement, he’d neglected to collect his gun.
    Something whistled past his ear. There was a smattering of fire from behind him. Someone inside the van yelped in pain.
    Syd came up alongside him.
    “Thanks,” he said.
    “Later. You check the car, I’ll cover you.” Syd squeezed off a few rounds into the side of the van. The bloody hand flopped down.
    Jake dropped to his knees beside the rental car. The top had been completely crushed by the weight of the van, every window shattered. “Kelly!”
    Jake tried to open the car door, but as he pulled on it the van groaned, shifting slightly. “Christ,” he muttered, skittering back. The van swayed, then stilled. Jake moved forward again, warily trying the front passenger door. If he could maneuver into the car, he could help them out of the backseat….
    His hand was on the door handle when Kelly called his name. She walked out of the alley across the street.
    “How the hell…”
    “We went straight through the car.” Kelly ran up and wrapped her arms around“Michael thought it would be safer over there.”
    Jake buried his face in her hair and dug a hand into it. Maltz stood silent a few feet away. “Thanks,” Jake said over her head. Privately he thought, Michael?
    “No problem.” Maltz nodded. “Any survivors in the van?”
    The Tyr unit had reemerged from the shadows. Two of them attended to their fallen comrade, tightening a tourniquet around his leg to staunch the bleeding. The rest edged toward the van, guns up and ready.
    “Ayúdenme!” A voice pleaded from the interior.
    On a three count, four members of the Tyr team shoved the van hard. The front left fender hit the ground first, followed by the rest of it. It kicked up a cloud of dust as it settled.
    “Sal!” Brown called out. “Y no lo matamos.”
    After a minute, a Mexican in army fatigues crawled out the hole where the windshield had been. Shakily he stood, arms high.
    “I hurt!” he called in a thick accent. “Hospital.”
    Brown walked forward and grabbed him by the collar. “Trust me, my friend, you’ll hurt a hell of a lot more when we’re done with you.”
    Eleven
    Kelly stood next to Jake, watching the Tyr team mobilize. They were organizing in almost complete silence, as if the assignments were being transmitted telepathically. She had to admit they looked impressive. Matching uniforms, even. Two of them stood guard over the guy who had climbed out of the van.
    “They’re taking him?”
    “Looks like it,” Jake said.
    “What are we going to do about it?”
    “I’m still working on that,” Jake said. His cell phone rang. He fumbled with it, frowning at the caller ID.
    “Who is it?” Kelly asked.
    “Work.”
    “What, now?”
    He shrugged. “Must be important. They’re not supposed to bother me unless something directly related to the case comes in.”
    Jake stepped away to answer it. While he was speaking, Syd joined her. They watched as the survivor’s hands were zip tied behind his back. “How’d Tyr get the jump on you two?” she asked without looking at Kelly.
    “They came up from behind while we were waiting for you.”
    “Huh,” Syd said. “I gotta have a chat with Maltz about that.”
    “He didn’t do anything wrong,” Kelly said defensively. “There were too many of them. Anyway, we were handling it before you
    “Sure you were,” Syd said. “You had everything under control.”
    Kelly was about to retort but Syd had already turned away, eyes narrowed.
    The Tyr team was melting back into the spaces between buildings. Two of them cradled the injured team member in their arms. Two others escorted the new captive away. The rest were gathered around Brown. Syd marched over to him. Warily, Kelly