Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

forward and stall. He shut his eyes and concentrated, willing Sydney the ability to drive the Jeep. He opened his eyes and saw the Jeep sliding toward the river’s edge.
    She can’t stop it!
    But instead of plunging into the river, the Jeep turned and headed over to the agent, who had dug himself into the shoreline and leaned against the ferry like an anchorman in a tug-a-war. Maybe she couldn’t drive the Jeep, but she could still steer it in neutral with the engine off.
    Sydney coasted to a stop only a few feet from the border agent. She hopped out and ran over to him. She grabbed onto the tow cable and the two of them were able to pull enough slack in it to wrap it around the Jeep’s tow hook and tie it off.
    The agent ran to the driver’s door and jumped in. Sydney hopped back in as well, this time in the passenger side.
    The Jeep reversed, and the ferry jerked as the slack ran out of the rope. It listed more toward the shore, and Danny knew that the guards would be able to see the Jeep any second. He needed to do something to cover Sydney and the agent as they towed the ferry to land.
    Danny turned toward the Mexican shoreline and sprayed it with bullets until the gun was empty. He felt another jerk and looked toward the U.S. shore. The ferry had careened into its dock.
    Danny hopped in his truck, started it, and hit the gas. His front bumper hit the guide-on ramps. They were still in the up position. He stepped harder on the gas pedal, and the back wheels started spinning. He stopped and shoved the truck in reverse. He backed up a few feet, dropped the transmission into drive, and floored the gas. He heard a crack, as the truck slammed into the ramps. But they still didn’t give way.
    “Come on you son of a bitch! Move!” Danny backed up and slammed into the ramps again. This time the truck kept moving. It bounced over the ramp remains and onto the concrete landing. He was on terra firma once more.
    Danny caught up to the Jeep seconds later. Sydney was already out of the passenger seat and running away from it while the border agent yelled at her to stop. She hopped into Danny’s truck, and he flew past the border station, shattering the wooden arm that barricaded the entrance into the United States.
    Danny looked over Sydney. “You okay?”
    “I’ve been better,” she replied, wincing. She wiped mud off on her thighs, revealing her injuries. Dirty blood oozed from several slices in each palm.
    He motioned to the glove compartment. “There’s a first-aid kit in there.”
    “Thanks,” she replied as she took it out.
    “You know, we’ve got to get you enrolled in a driver’s education class.”
    Sydney smirked as she began caring for her wounds. “That’s the first thing on my to-do list when I get back home.”
    Home. Danny was back inside the United States, back in Texas, back home. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the bedlam behind them. Then he stared out at the open road through the windshield. He had a bad feeling that this was only the beginning. Much more chaos was in store for them.
    Welcome home, Danny boy.

Chapter 33
    Nathan Broederlam felt as if he couldn’t breathe. He was doubled over in his wheelchair, his pulse beating in his forehead. He had been screaming at Stefan Taber nonstop ever since he delivered the bad news.
    “Why couldn’t you kill them? Why couldn’t you dive into the river, climb onto the ferry and shoot them dead at point-blank range? Why didn’t you chase them into the United States?”
    Taber had calm, collected answers for all of Nathan’s questions.
    “We were spotted before we could plan an attack. They had taken cover; we were unable to get clean shots. I decided that we should try and blow up the ferry by shooting the gas tanks of the cars on board. We couldn’t chase them into the U.S. because, besides not having a way across the river, authorities would be converging on that area within minutes. We did not want to get caught. Secrecy is The Group’s top priority, Mr. Broederlam.”
    Nathan glared at Taber. He was sitting at the head of the conference table, staring at his PDA and casually flicking its stylus in between his fingers.
    Incompetent idiot , Nathan thought. He wanted so badly to jump out of his chair, run over to the muscled guard, and physically show him just how much contempt was brewing in his soul.
    I am surrounded by fools! By second-rate hacks!
    Nathan mashed the armrests on his chair as he again imagined what he could do