Chapter 9

The border was in sight, only few seconds in front of him. Red rear lights shone in front of him like beacons in the night. Aaron sped up, only to slow down at the back of the line, watching the sky above for signs of the drone.

“Jarvis, I can’t see the drone,” he complained into his earpiece.

“That’s right.”

Aaron could hear the smile in Jarvis’ voice. His eyes searched the night sky from his position in the car, and even with the spotlights lined up on either side of the border gates, he still couldn’t see it. Relief overcome him when he understood the drone was completely invisible. Only his trained eye noticed the tiny green light flash a few meters above him when Jarvis sent him the live video feed to the dash monitor in his car.

“Jarvis, speak to me,” Aaron said with increasing impatience as he sat behind the lines of cars waiting to cross the Mexican border, searching for any sign that one of them might hold Makayla and Dannie.

Jarvis replied, “They are still moving. There’s no indication of slowing down either.”

“Hmm.” Aaron scoped out the lineup of cars.

“How far are they away from the border exactly, Jarvis?”

His gaze shot to the rear-view mirror, wondering if in his frantic sprint if he’d passed them somehow? Because no cars were moving ahead of him.

“They should be right in front of you. According to the tracker data, still on the move.”

“They can’t be. Everything here is at a standstill.”

He started to maneuver the car toward the far side lane.

Aaron pulled the car off to the side and got out, watching with a steady eye as the guards caught sight of him and started yelling for him to get back into his vehicle. As they started making their way towards him he tucked the plastic gun in the waistband of his pants, searching for trucks, old busses, or SUV’s, finding that there were at least a dozen vehicles that could possibly and easily conceal…. He stopped, refusing to concede to the dark fear growing inside him.

“Agent Anderson.” Jarvis’s voice blared in his ear causing him to readjust his earbud.

“Where should I go?” he said flatly.

“I can’t see any movement Jarvis.”

His tone was steady, but Jarvis’s words held urgency. “You need to get to them now, they’re about to cross the borderline.”

Aaron’s voice rose to a yell. “Impossible! Check again.”

“Don’t insult me.”

“Well, check one more time. The line is not moving, Jarvis!”

A rush of anger surged through him. Even though the night was cool, his blood was boiling, causing sweat to bead on his forehead and run down the back of his neck. He cussed, watching the guards as they strategically started to move toward him in V-formation.

Ignoring them as best he could, he moved between the vehicles on foot, searching for anything that might look suspicious. The border guards were increasing their speed and narrowing in on him. Aaron took off, sprinting, his eyes frantically examining every car window—searching anything that might stand out to him. The road spikes went up as a precaution and Aaron knew they were for him. Things were serious now. Flashlights closed in on him.

“Stop or we’ll shoot.” He understood that much despite the border guard’s accent.

“FBI!” Aaron shouted.

This only seemed to piss them off more. The guards were nearly upon him as he maneuvered himself between a set of cars, and kept low until he came up behind a RV.

Jarvis’s voice spoke into his ear. “It’s too late, they’ve crossed the border.”

“Shit!” How could he have missed it?”

He lay down flat on his stomach, looking through the wheels of the RV to the border line and beyond.

“You must be mistaken,” he growled into the mouthpiece and keeping to his haunches, watched the beams of the flashlights circle him. He shuffled his way around the RV and stared right into the barrel of a gun.

The guard’s eyes shifted, and he sneered to someone behind him. “Apprehend him.”

Aaron lifted his arms in surrender, his tone remaining calm he said. “I’m FBI. Check my pockets.”

From behind, a border officer pulled his hands behind his back, and cuffed him. The other guard came closer, lifted his shirt, searched his pockets, and then found the plastic gun in his waistband. The border-guard raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Take him.”

The border-officer took the plastic gun from his colleague and noticed the earbud, pushing Aaron’s head aside and ripping the device from his ear with a big grin. He nodded to the guard as he pulled the badge from Aarons’ back pocket. The murderous look Aaron flashed him got him an unnecessary strike behind the knees, causing him to buckle and fall to the floor.