Page 31 of Shadow of Death
But he had moved swiftly, and he was relieved to see Amy was fine. She had taken up a perfect position, protected by the heavy trunks and branches of a few giant spruces in an area of scattered, high rocks that edged the flatness of the plateau.
As he reached her, the gunfire stopped as abruptly as it had started.
Amy turned to Hunter quickly.
“I fired the first shot. They were going to kill her,” Amy told him.
“Who?”
“The woman... Look on that plank on the big rock there. I need to get to her. They left her...thank God. But they shot back in seconds while they were running away. They’ve scattered now. They took off, some into the trees that way...” She paused and pointed across the plateau. “And some down the trail that leads to the other side...or somewhere. But they’re gone. Hunter, I think she’s alive. Drugged or something, but alive, we’ve got to get to her—”
He nodded, understanding her urgency, but he had been an agent long enough to know someone could still be waiting for a chance to get a shot that might mean something.
“Slow down, move out slowly. You get to her, I’ll cover you!”
He was watchful, moving ahead of her and toward the trees and trail to the left. The right edge of the plateau was clearly visible in the moonlight, and there was no place there to shield a shooter.
But moving carefully, shielding Amy as she reached the woman, he met with no resistance. Whoever had been there—the shooters—had fled. Still watchful and wary, he headed back toward Amy just as he felt his phone vibrating.
It was Andy, calling from headquarters to assure them an FBI SWAT team was heading up to meet them. Hunter quickly informed Andy of what had occurred, and Andy in turn warned the team to take it slow until their backup arrived.
“These guys know the terrain, Hunter. I know you do, too, but...remember, they’re good at what they do.”
A sharp, piercing scream sounded—almost louder than gunfire in the strange moonlit night. He saw the young woman on the plank was now conscious, and Amy was trying to calm her and assure her she’d be all right. He was torn between searching for the scattered shooters, watching over the young woman, and making sure Amy wasn’t put in jeopardy while doing her duty to protect the would-be victim.
But he didn’t have to remain torn; he saw the team Andy had sent out had arrived. Five men and a woman in SWAT gear had arrived with weapons drawn as they moved carefully toward the plateau. The group knew the terrain and was probably extremely well trained.
Hunter lifted a hand in greeting. One of the men moved toward him, quickly introducing himself as Ben Crandon, head of the team.
“I arrived as the gunfire ended,” Hunter informed him. “Special Agent Larson was watching a rite that was taking place when the girl on the plank was brought out. Special Agent Larson fired when the leader was going to plunge a knife into the girl’s heart. Several of theflockhad to be armed—her shot brought out a barrage of gunfire and then the group fled.”
Amy was still standing by the plank, her arms around the young woman whose shrieking had turned to a torrent of sobbing.
Amy looked at him a little helplessly.
“She was about to be stabbed through the heart,” Amy explained and turned to the woman. “It’s all right. You’re safe now. We’re law enforcement. Please, you’re all right! I’m Amy, this is my partner, Hunter, and these others are with the FBI. You’re safe. I promise I won’t leave you.”
“Thank you, thank you...” the girl murmured. “I’m Magda, um, Magda Kenward. “I’m... Oh, my God! I heard them when I was taken...hit with whatever that shot was. They were going to...cut out my heart and drink my blood. Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh...”
“Magda, you’re all right now. We’re here.” She looked back at the others. “I had to fire at their leader. And I know I hit him center of the chest, but...” She shook her head, looking at Hunter completely perplexed. “He’s gone. His body is gone.”
“You’re sure you hit him?” one of the team asked her doubtfully.
“Amy is a crack shot,” Hunter informed him.
“I hit him. Dead center in the chest. I couldn’t shout out a warning, and I couldn’t fire a warning shot—he was seconds away from killing this poor girl.”
“If he’s dead...where is he?” Crandon was frowning, not wanting to doubt Amy, but there was no body on the plateau.
“They must have grabbed his body!” one of Crandon’s people said. “Look—there’s blood all over the rock there.”
“So, the leader was shot and is most likely dead, but they couldn’t let his body be found. Carrying that weight, it’s not easy to navigate this terrain. They can’t all have disappeared. Some might have made it to the road, but if others slid back into the foliage,” Hunter said, “we’ve got to get moving and find anyone we can.”
Crandon nodded, quickly giving orders to his team, but Hunter stopped him, telling him, “I want to stay on this here. I need one of your team as protection detail. We need to get this young woman down and to a hospital, and Special Agent Larson needs to stay with her at this point.”
“Right. Driscoll! Take the first car—get this woman to the hospital with Special Agent Larson.”
“On it!” the man named Driscoll said and turned to Amy.
