Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

ferry. It’s a hand-powered job. I don’t know if they’ll even make it.”
    “What do you mean hand-powered?” Nathan asked.
    “They are pulling themselves and their piece of shit truck across the river on a rope line along with six or seven other suckers.”
    Nathan couldn’t even begin to envision the scene. He glanced out the window and considered the sun. It had already begun its descent in the untamed sky.
    “Do you have a clear shot at them?”
    The reply was instantaneous. “Yes.”
    Nathan’s thirst for information reared its head. You need to pick Sydney’s brain. She may have told others about what she knows. You need to figure out why Cavanaugh is involved. You need to investigate his father’s death. But this time, Nathan was able to ignore his inner voice. He wasn’t going to take any chances again. He closed the window containing his e-mail message without sending it and then spoke flatly into the phone.
    “Take them both out.”

Chapter 29
    “Shit!” Danny exclaimed as he ripped the cell phone away from his ear.
    Sydney continued tugging on the rope line. “Still no service?”
    “No,” Danny snapped. He stared at her and then jammed the phone back into his pocket. He grabbed the rope line and began yanking on it as hard as he could.
    Sydney eyed the border checkpoint station on the U.S. side. “I’m sure they have phones in the station house. Once we get across, you can talk to the border patrol agents and use their phone.”
    Danny grimaced. “No, I can’t.”
    Sydney stopped tugging, reading his face. “Why not? You’re a police officer. Aren’t you?”
    “They can’t know who I am.”
    “Who? The border patrol? Why not?”
    Danny couldn’t look at her. Instead, he channeled his frustration into tugging even harder on the line. “Now isn’t the time, Sydney. Once we’re safely in Texas and past the border, I’ll fill you in on my problems. Okay?”
    “It’s not okay. No more mysteries.” She locked eyes with him. “Are you a goddamn officer or not?”
    “I am.”
    “And?”
    “It’s a long story, too long to get into now. You’ve got to trust me, Sydney. Like I’ve been trusting you. Once I know Mom’s safe, I’ll tell you everything. Deal?”
    Sydney sighed. “Okay.” She grabbed the rope again and starting pulling.
    There was nothing else they could do for the moment besides get across the river. She focused her concentration on the physical goal in front of her. She replaced thoughts of international conspiracies with the much simpler thoughts of gripping a rope to move the ferry.
    As she worked, Sydney felt eyes on her. She turned around and saw two Mexican men dressed in grungy farming clothes. They were staring at her with misshapen grins. Sydney turned back around and continued her task. She was used to men staring at her. Living in such an international city as Monte Carlo, she was also used to being analyzed in different languages. As Sydney pulled, she heard them speak to each other and then chuckle back and forth, only recognizing the word senorita a few times.
    Sydney’s anger rose, and her heart began to beat faster. She had to will herself to ignore them. But Danny didn’t. He stopped pulling on the rope line and leaned past her.
    “ Hablo español, puto,” Danny growled. “Sé lo que usted dice acerca de ella . Discúlpese a la dama .”
    Sydney kept right on pulling, only recognizing, “hablo español.” I speak Spanish .
    Danny tapped her on the shoulder. Sydney turned and noticed a change in the men’s demeanor. They were now staring down at their feet.
    “These men were speaking badly of you, Sydney. But they realize their mistake and want to apologize.” Danny turned to the men. “ Discúlpese ahora. ”
    The one man rattled off something in Spanish and then his buddy repeated him. They never looked up at Sydney, who towered over them.
    “Gracias,” she replied as soon as they were finished.
    The men nodded. The man on the left finally glanced up at her. She caught his eyes for a moment and smiled. Then her smile collapsed as she looked beyond him.
    There’s no way.
    “Gracias, mi amigos. Ahora permita—”
    Sydney grabbed Danny before he could finish and tugged him down just as a bullet struck the car next to them. Two more bullets splintered a wooden plank near them. The sound of gunfire sent everyone on the ferry scrambling for cover behind the vehicles.
    Danny peeked out from behind his truck. “Bastards! How