Chapter Five

He knew the woman was clever enough to carry off dressing like a man - and God knows what else she was capable of - so he decided not to take unnecessary risks. Her car was still in sight, but quite far away when he drove out of his hiding place and started following it. He was just about to pick up a little speed when a black SUV suddenly swooped in from a side road and came to an abrupt stop right in front of him. He was going at a slow speed, so it was easy for him to pull to a stop too. He watched warily as the occupant stepped out of the vehicle.

“Howdy Captain,” Jason hailed as the police captain came over to his window. He was a tall, burly man, almost clean shaven except for a long moustache that Jason thought made him look an Indian swindler.

“You're Raids, right?”, the Captain asked.

“And you are?”, Jason retorted.

“Your folks at the FBI want you back,” the Captain said, ignoring his question too. “Now, they said to tell you to stand down and report to...”

“You're mistaken, Captain,” Jason cut him off. “I don't work for the FBI.”

“You're Jason Raids, ain't you?”

“My name's Howard Redds. I'm a construction manager.”

Not giving him a chance to say more, Jason put on a burst of speed and expertly maneuvered past the Captain's car. He had already lost the Carling lady, but right now, he just had to throw the FBI off his track. He kept up his break-neck speed, swung round the next curve and came to a screeching halt when he saw a young man step out from a small old Mustang that had certainly seen better days. Pulling out his keys, he jumped out of his car and ran towards the old car and its driver.

“Hey,” he called to the young man.

The man stared at him in surprise, probably wondering who or what was chasing him. Jason threw him the keys of his Audi and he was forced to catch them before they could hit his face. Quickly, Jason pulled open the door and jumped into the young man's car. He found the keys in the ignition and was glad for his luck. Hotwiring would have wasted some valuable seconds. Swiftly, he zoomed off, leaving the astonished Mustang owner still gaping in confusion.

As he drove, several thoughts flashed through Jason's mind. He didn't spend much time thinking about how the FBI had figured out his location, all he cared about was giving them the slip and catching up with Mina Carling. Only God could tell where on Earth she would be by now. But first, he needed backup! Pulling out his phone, he sent everything he had on Carling and the terrorists over to Ron and tossed the device into the backseat. Then he chose a deserted spot and parked the Mustang before making his way on foot to the main thoroughfare. Time was ticking and Carling could be on her way out of the state for all he knew. Speed speed speed! He whistled at the first taxi he saw, jumped in the backseat and gave him the address of Ron's store.

"Double your fare if you make it in 20 minutes."

Even before he finished the statement, the taxi was flying down the road like a race car.

Ron was waiting for him when he arrived at the store. He invited him in, but Jason refused to move an inch.

“Get me a car. A car's all I need.”

“Why not take a taxi, huh?”, Ron grumbled as he led him to his little garage.

“Get me something fast. And sound,” Jason emphasized.

“There's a pretty little Chevy here that's...”

“No no, something bigger.”

“Then take the blue Audi.”

Jason grabbed the keys and a phone from Ron and jumped into the Audi. It looked fairly new and Jason didn't bother to think much about it. He drove it out, past his friend, into the road.

“Try to bring it back in one piece, will ya,” Ron shouted after him. But Jason sped off, not caring to listen. On the outside, the Audi looked just like he wanted. A private car that could easily blend in and not attract a second glance if it wasn't moving fast. But that would be if he managed to catch up with Carling.

He picked up the phone he had taken from Ron and dialed Tony. It was picked up on the first ring, but not by Tony.

“Who's this? Where's Tony?”, Jason asked, half angry.

“Tony's in Holding. I'm Charles Galvin. Nice to hear from you, Mr. Raids.”

Of course, Tony had to be in Holding. What was he thinking?! Now he'd need another phone. And worst of all, how would he continue with the mission?

“You need to pick up the trail of the Carling woman, I guess?”, Galvin said just as Jason was about to throw the phone out the window.

“What do you know about that?”, he questioned, surprised and wary.

“Tony wanted me to assist you.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“Tony does. That should be good enough for you,” Galvin replied.

“You better not be trying to trick me or else I'll find you when this is over.”

“You have to hurry, Mr. Raids,” Galvin said, ignoring the threat. “I think Mrs. Carling might be approaching her destination.”

Jason sighed and shook his head. He had no choice, did he?

"Fine. What have you got?"

After receving the location from Galvin, Jason took the best shortcuts he knew and headed straight for the convenience store the Carling lady had just stopped at.

**

Just as Jason arrived at the store, his target was exiting it with a bag and heading back to her car. He breathed a sigh of relief. The store didn't look like a place he'd have loved to risk entering, with or without help. It looked very large and most likely complicated. If the woman knew her way around and if some of the staff were friends or in league with her, then it would be no child's play to monitor her activities. But they were soon back on the road and Jason became occupied with following her as best he could. His FBI training came in handy at this point. He always stayed at least three cars behind, making sure as much as he could to avoid being in the direct line of sight of her rearview mirror.

It was still too early to predict her final destination. There were a lot of places she could go for whatever reason of her choice, so both Jason and Galvin kept an open mind, content only with keeping eyes on her for now.

**

Moving along on the busy thoroughfare, Jason stayed with the traffic, still keeping his target in sight and thinking through his options. It was probable, though not highly, that Carling would go directly to where they were keeping Lynn. That would be awesome at the very least. He could have gone through her home earlier on, but he reasoned that there would hardly be anything that might help him, and even if there were, he might not find it or make enough sense of it in time. On the other hand, making a direct physical approach was going to be his last resort. He just had to keep up the status quo, hoping she would lead him to the terrorist hideout.

The woman was slowing down - he saw that she was about to branch off the road and his heart skipped a beat. How he would be able to keep sight of her without spooking her? He dialed Galvin up immediately.

“Target seems to be heading towards LAX. Look into arrivals for this afternoon and see if you can find someone with links to her.”

“I'm on it.”

Jason branched off too and went into the airport two cars behind the woman. She must have noticed him by now and the thought almost made his heart fall off his ribcage. He parked as far away from her as possible and waited till she had left her car before stepping out and following her into the arrivals lobby. It was clear she was expecting someone. It wasn't hard to keep her in sight though. Her bright-colored scarf and dark coat stood out in the crowd. He lingered and waited, watching her from the corner of his eye as she scanned the area for whoever she was expecting. Then suddenly, he saw her stop. Someone, another woman, had joined her. They hugged, smiled, exchanged greetings and began heading out immediately. Jason didn't wait around. He left his car at the airport and made his way out of the area as fast as his legs could carry him. It didn't take long before he saw their car and he quickly stopped a taxi.

“Keep that grey sedan in sight,” Jason said, as he jumped in.

“Glad to hear,” the cabman replied and sped off after Calling's car.

**

The tailing went on for a long while and Jason noted their route. It was clear that both women had no intention of going to Carling's home, perhaps they were heading to the hideout? His heart beat faster at the thought. Over time, he had accepted that Carling had undisputed links with the terrorists that had kidnapped his mother-in-law and the longer he followed her, the more the idea became natural to him and the more he believed that she would lead him to wherever they were keeping Lynn. But, apart from Tony's Intel, what exactly made him think that he was following the right person was something that he still couldn't really put a finger on yet.

The taxi stuck to the trail like a leech. Jason silently appraised the cabman's smooth and tenacious tailing of the woman's car. He didn't have much need to correct him, except on a few occasions when he felt he was moving too slow or keeping too much in sync with Carling's movements. If the woman was smart enough to spoof a message and pull off the act of passing off as a man, Jason was not prepared to take any chances by underrating her, that was why he had left his car behind.

The women were now slowing down, preparatory to taking the next turn. Jason told the cabman to reduce his speed a little. The road she was about to enter was a tiny dirt road and Jason was not so sure about going in after her.

“What's down that road?”, he asked the cabman.

“Just some abandoned warehouse or power station or something like that,” the man shrugged carelessly. “Want me to go in?”

“Warehouse or power station, or something like that," Jason repeated testily, with a frustrated huff. "Fine. Just wait a little.”

The taxi went slowly with the traffic as the woman's car moved further into the side road.

“Turn in.. slowly,” Jason ordered.

The taxi moved in and he could see the road almost as far as it went. Carling's car was coming to a halt beside a wire fence.

“Stop,” he ordered, throwing the cabman several bills. “Keep the change. And get outta here. Get back to the road now.”

“Whatever you say,” the cabman muttered, quickly grabbing the bills and stuffing them in his pocket.

“Thanks for the tip,” he called over his shoulder as Jason alighted.