Code Name Tequila Ch. 08

Carlos and Ria ran down the alley, the 4Runner closing quickly. Ria looked down the alley, and saw Pepe running down the alley. "Why didn't he stay in the building for cover," she silently asked herself.

A sunroof on the 4Runner opened, and the guard with the bloodied nose popped out the top with a large automatic rifle. He pointed it down the alley and fired. The pavement between Carlos and Ria exploded with small holes as the bullets ripped into the alley.

Ria and Carlos heard the gunmen call down to the driver. "Keep the car straight so I can get a decent shot."

Carlos switched his rifle to fully automatic and, still in a full run, raised the gun over his shoulder and pressed the trigger. Bullets flew down the alley aimlessly, cutting a wide swatch into the road, walls and the truck. It was enough to make the shooter duck back into the truck for cover, though.

The clip only lasted a couple of seconds. Carlos and Ria were almost caught up to Pepe already, who was struggling to keep running, and they were all still only half-way down the alleyway. The 4Runner was closing on them.

"Ria, fully auto and spray behind you," Carlos called out. Ria switched the weapon over to fully automatic and repeated the actions she saw Carlos do. Bullets again flew wildly down the alley, indiscriminately hitting the truck, the walls and the pavement. It was enough to keep the shooter at bay for another second, but the truck was just a few seconds from catching the runners, when it could just run them down.

Carlos reached the dumpster, and ducked behind it. "Keep running," he called out to Pepe and Ria. Ria grabbed Pepe and pulled him along behind her.

Carlos wedge himself between the dumpster and the wall, and waited. One second before the 4Runner was going to pass the dumpster, Carlos pushed with all his might. The dumpster rolled out into the path of the truck. The 4Runner collided with the dumpster with a crash. The dumpster bounced off the front of the truck, toppling over on its side. A load of stinking trash slipping out into the alleyway. The 4Runner ricocheted off the dumpster and smashed into the far wall.

Carlos ran. He could hear the truck was still running, which meant that he hadn't disabled it, only given himself a few seconds. He looked ahead, Ria and Pepe were running slowly, Ria struggling to get Pepe to keep up a decent place. Carlos was closing fast.

The driver of the 4Runner put the truck in reverse and gunned it. The truck had lodged into the wall and now was stuck. He slammed his hands on the wheel.

The passenger with the bleeding nose said, "never mind, I'll finish them off." He stood up out of the sun roof again, and aimed his weapon down the alley at the runners.

Carlos caught up to Ria and Pepe. He grabbed Pepe, and together Ria and Carlos carried the man. They were close to the end of the alley now. "Just a few more feet," Ria said as encouragement to Pepe.

The driver looked at the dent in the building. There was a bulge pressing down against the hood of the 4Runner. He figured if he cranked the wheel one way, put it in drive, inched it forward a tiny bit, then cranked the wheel the other way and gunned it in reverse, the car would be free.

The guard aimed down the alley. The smash on his nose was still bothering him, and his eyesight was a bit blurry. The runners were close together. He aimed at the centre to maximize this chances of hitting them. He pulled the trigger.

Pepe stumbled to the ground. Carlos and Ria, holding on to him, tripped and fell as well. Carlos was the first to spring back up. He grabbed Pepe's arm and tried to pull him up. Pepe made no movement. Carlos looked at Pepe's back, and saw the small hole in his shirt. Carlos looked down at his shoes, and saw that a dark pool of blood was running out from under Pepe's body.

Carlos grabbed Ria and pulled her up. "Come on, let's go," he said, pulling her out of the alley.

Ria pulled against him. "Pepe," she said.

"He's gone, come on," Carlos called.

Ria looked back at Pepe, stunned. The pavement under Pepe was being covered by an increasingly large pool of blood. She felt Carlos grab her and drag her away.

The driver inched the car forward, the bulge in the wall scratched against the hood but it slid slightly to the right. He cranked the wheel the wheel the other way, and put it in reverse.

The shooter raised his weapon again, and aimed it at Carlos and Ria, just exiting the alley. He put his finger on the trigger.

Carlos and Ria cleared the end of the alley. Another 20 feet and they would be safely behind the cover of the front of the building.

The guard pressed down on the trigger. The driver stomped on the accelerator. The car lurched free, knocking the guard standing in the sun roof off balance. The barrel of the rifle jerked upwards, and the bullet flew off into space.

Carlos and Ria ran for his car. Behind them from the alley, they heard the engine of the 4Runner gun and the tires squeal. "He's free," Carlos said as he jumped behind the wheel. Ria climbed into passenger side. Carlos started the car, jammed it in first and took off down the street. The 4Runner came shooting out of the alley, just about hitting the little Peugeot 206. The 4Runner fishtailed behind the Peugeot, and took up pursuit.

Carlos pointed to the dashboard and a poorly folded map of Santiago. "Figure out where there fuck we are going," he said.

Ria grabbed the map, and opened it up. "Wait, where the hell are we?"

Carlos skidded the car around a corner at high speed and gunned it down an empty industrial street. The 4Runner, larger, heavier and without a racing car driver behind the wheel, had to take the corner slower and fell behind.

Carlos tooked at the street ahead. "Near the airport. Colorado, or maybe we are on Neuva Los Industries. I don't know exactly."

Ria looked at Carlos. "If you don't know where we are, how am I supposed to tell you where to go?" she asked.

Carlos slammed in the clutch and pulled up on the parking brake. The Peugeot skidded around in a circle almost 180 degrees. Carlos jammed the car in 2nd and popped the clutch. The Peugeot shot up a side street that had come onto the main road at a sharp angle. Behind them, the 4Runner had to screech to a halt, and slowly make a large turn to make the corner.

Carlos guided the car around a 90 degree curve in the road, and back end drifting out and the front wheels smoking. Ahead of them the road rose slightly and ended at a T-junction, a large hill rising in front of them. "That must be Camino El Cerro," he said. "Find some place on the map near the airport where Camino El Cerro meets up with a road with a 90 degree bend."

Ria tried to study the map in the car as it bounced along the road. Carlos looked in the rear view mirror, the 4Runner had just made the 90 degree turn. He jammed on the brake, downshifted and spun the wheel, making a left as the road ended.

Carlos accelerated, and checked his rear view. There was another car accelerating towards them, a BMW 5 series with black windows. The 4Runner made the corner and joined the pursuit behind the BMW.

"Damnit, we have more company," he said. Ria looked behind her and saw the BMW. Carlos took a hand off the wheel and poked the map. "Find us!"

Ria went back looking to the map. She found the airport, she found the motorway, a large hill, a road around it. Camino El Cerro, the road of the hill. "Got it! Now, where do you want to go?" she asked.

"Anywhere that isn't a dead end," Carlos said, guiding the car around a high speed bend. The road had now become a dirt track. The Peugeot could out run the 4Runner, but the BMW was faster than they were. He knew he could out drive them on corners, but on the straights they would close the distance quickly. "Some place with lots of intersections and turns, where we can lose the other cars."

Ria looked at the map. Lots of streets to the north on the other side of the highway. "Next left," she said.

Carlos looked ahead. The road curved sharply to the right, straightened out and curved right again. There was a junction off to the left at the end of the first curve. "That one," he asked, pointing at the road.

"Yes, left there," Ria said.

Carlos took the curve fast letting the car drift to the outside of the curve. "You are going to go off the road," Ria screamed. The car slid into the other lane, heading for the ditch. Behind him, the BMW and 4Runner slowed down, expecting the Peugeot to fly off the road. Just before sliding into the ditch, Carlos slammed the brake and spun the wheel. He jammed on the gas. The front end moved away from the ditch, causing the back end to whip around. The car spun, almost a full circle until the front of the car was facing the intersecting road. The momentum of the spin was suddenly translated into forward motion, and Peugeot shot ahead.

Carlos drove under the bridge for the highway and merged onto a wide road. He checked the rear view. The BMW and 4Runner were just making the turn. Carlos looked around. "These are all houses. This is a residential area," he cried. "I can't lead a high speed chase through a residential area."

"It doesn't say what type of area it is on the map," Ria said.

Carlos drove flat out down the wide boulevard, weaving in and out of the slow local traffic. The BMW and 4Runner followed, but were struggling to make the same passes that Carlos was. Carlos turned left down a residential street, and made a quick right. He pressed the accelerator down, moving up quickly through the gears. The houses flew by in a blur.

"We need to get out of here. Find a way out, somewhere where there isn't civilians," he said.

Ria looked at the map. She had lost track of where they were, and could only guess. "Keep heading north, eventually it's countryside," she said.

Carlos frowned. He checked the rearview. Only the BMW was behind them. "The 4Runner is gone," he said.

"Good," Ria said.

"Not good," Carlos said. "We need to get the guys in the 4Runner. They've seen us. The people in the BMW don't know what we look like."

Carlos made a few more turns, left than right, left than right, still continuing in a generally northern direction. "How much further," he asked.

Ria looked at the map, but had no idea. "Soon," she lied.

Up ahead there was a major road, separated by a landscaped median a down the middle. Ria looked at the map, and identified it. At least it was the only road she could see that was divided close to where she thought they were. "Right, turn right up here, than next major left. That'll take us into the country."

Carlos sped towards the road, not decelerating. The BMW had closed the gap and was right on the Peugeot's bumper. "Hold on," Carlos said.

Carlos waited until he was almost into the intersection, and than wove to the right and slammed on the brakes. The BMW slammed into the back of the Peugeot on the left side, causing the Peugeot to spin off to the right. The BMW careened to the left, slamming into a thick brick wall that surrounded the house on the far left corner of the intersection. The front crumpled and smoke started pouring out of the engine.

Carlos spun the wheel of the Peugeot. It skidded sideways across one lane, jumped the curb of the median, bounced over the island and slid into oncoming traffic. Carlos had the wheels cranked all the way over and his foot full on the accelerator, but the car was skipping across the road, the front wheels driving the car barely touching the surface. The Peugeot headed at high speed sideways towards a thick concrete wall.

"Come on, bite," Carlos called out to the tires. The tires got traction just as the car bounced off the road the other side of the road. The drive from the wheels wasn't enough to stop the car from hitting the wall, but it was enough to pull the front of the car around enough so that it was the read left of the car that impacted the wall. The force of the impact pushed Carlos and Ria deep into their seats. The rear window of the hatchback shattered, and the rear quarter of the car crumpled against the concrete wall, which cracked from the force of the blow.

That moment of incredible noise with the sound of squealing tires, racing engine crunching metal, cracking concrete and breaking glass was followed by complete silence, as the car came to a stop against the wall and the engine died. Dazed, Carlos and Ria sat for a moment, staring ahead. The front of the car faced out towards the street. Ria looked straight ahead at a bush in the median, waving gently in the breeze. A man jumped out of a passing car, phone to his ear, and started to walk over to the Peugeot.

Ria turned her head to the right, and looked at the BMW, crumpled against a half collapsing wall down the street, black smoke coming from the engine. The car was surrounded by people. Someone was pulling a man from out of the front passenger side. A man stepped out of the BMW's rear seats. He looked over at the Peugeot, and started walking towards it. The man reached into his jacket, and pulled out a pistol.

Ria's daze quickly cleared. She turned to Carlos, "someone is coming from the BMW, he has a gun."

Carlos looked over and quickly turned his head away. "Don't look, don't let him see your face clearly."

Carlos turned the key in the ignition. The car turned over but failed to catch. Ria, keeping her head turned away from the advancing man, heard him call out to them to get out of the car. Carlos turned the key again. The car turned over a few times, the engine struggling to start up. Finally, it caught. Carlos jammed the stick into first and peeled away.

Ria looked into the side mirror. She saw the man running after the car. He raised the gun and fired. The side mirror shattered.

Carlos jumped the Peugeot over the median, and sped down the street. He was looking in the rear view mirror at the man running after them, so he was shocked when Ria called out. "Carlos, ahead of us!"

Carlos looked forward. It was the 4Runner coming the opposite way towards them. The 4Runner crossed over the median and aimed directly at them. Carlos kept the car going forward, the front grill of the 4Runner getting closer and closer. Ria screamed.

Carlos jerked the wheel to the right and then centered it again quickly, causing the car to dip slightly on the passenger side. The driver of the 4Runner took the bait. Thinking the Peugeot was going to head right, the 4Runner veered slightly to the left to try and catch the Peugeot on the side and cause it to spin. Carlos then cranked the wheel over the other way, causing the Peugeot to pass the 4Runner on its passenger side. The cars scraped against each other, sparks flying as metal ground on metal.

The 4Runner was thrown slightly off balance by the glancing blow, and with a high center of gravity, started to wobble. The driver had to jam on the brakes, causing the 4Runner to spin. The 4Runner jumped up off the side of the road and skidded to a halt on someone's front lawn.

The Peugeot was pushed off the road, but the other side of the road had a large dirt run off area, and Carlos was able to keep the momentum of the car going forward. He got back on the road, and made a hard left turn at the next street. The 4Runner spun its tires, chewing up mounds of grass, and made pursuit.

Carlos had a head start on the 4Runner, but with the beating the Peugeot had taken, the 4Runner was gaining ground. The road they were on passed out of the residential area and into countryside, turning from a paved road to a dirt road. The Peugeot kicked up a lot of dust behind it, hopefully enough of a screen to keep the 4Runner driver from going full out.

"Where does this road go?" Carlos asked.

Ria looked at the map. They were passed where the road ended on the map. "I don't know. This isn't marked on the map. There is a canal up ahead, and then maybe half a mile beyond that, it should cross a road."

Carlos frowned. "I hope there is a bridge over that canal," He said.

Carlos checked his mirror. The dust cloud kicked up by the Peugeot was not keeping the 4Runner from gaining. Carlos scanned ahead. He could see the canal Ria had mentioned approaching quickly. There was a small bridge over it, which was good. Carlos looked behind him. The 4Runner was closing quickly, but it was hard to see in the dust cloud from his car.

"Hold on," Carlos said. "if this doesn't work, we are going to be in for a big jolt."

Carlos waited until he was almost at the bridge, and then pulled the emergency brake. The Peugeot came to a grinding halt just short of the bridge.

The driver of the 4Runner didn't see the Peugeot stop. He could barely see anything through the dust. He didn't see the stopped car until he was almost on top of it. Instinctively, he twisted the wheel to the right to avoid the car. In doing so, he ended up driving into the other obstacle that he couldn't see through the dust. The 4Runner landed in the canal, the weight of the water bringing the SUV to a sudden halt. The force of the water caused the windshield to smash, and knocked both the driver and the passenger out.

Carlos got out of the Peugeot and ran over the bridge to look into the 4Runner. Confirming the guards were out, he got out his mobile phone and punched a speed dial.

"This is seven-five-three-eight. Can you locate me? Good. I need a clean up crew. We have two men I need in immediate custody. There is an accident south of my position that I need local assistance with. As well, there is a body of a man at the warehouse that we might need to clean up, if the Aguila Roja's men haven't picked him up already."

Carlos looked over at Ria. "How did you get to the warehouse? Did you say Pepe drove?"

Ria nodded, a confused look on her face.

"What type of car?"

"Volkswagen Golf," she said.

Carlos spoke into the phone. "There is a VW Golf belonging to the concierge at the Ritz that is near the warehouse. We need to get it and make sure it is clean of prints. Finally, I wrecked the rental car. I'll need some sort of cover for that."

Carlos stood silently for a moment, the phone to his ear, nodding for the most part, and then frowning. He shook his head. "I know it is the fourth car I have wrecked this year, but you tell them to read my field report and ask them what they would have done to escape the trained killers without scratching the paint job." Carlos hung up.

Ria looked at him. "Who are you?"

Carlos shook his head. "I believe I asked you first, back at the warehouse. Who are you working for?"

Ria didn't know what to say, so she decided to tell him the truth. "The Americans."

Carlos raised an eyebrow, and then smirked. "Just like the Yankees to send a Mexican into the field and into danger while they sit safely at home." He walked over to the canal and started to wade into the water. Reaching the 4Runner, and checked for pulses on the men, and confirming they were still alive yet unconscious, took their weapons.

Ria stood on the bridge. "Now you answer me, who are you?"

He looked back and smiled. "I'm Carlos Sanz, race car driver and agent with the DAS."

Ria tilted her head. "What is the DAS?"

Carlos looked back at her, bemused. "Didn't the Americans teach you anything, butterfly? DAS is the Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad - Colombia secret service."

* *

Back at the hotel, Carlos sipped on a bottle of Cristal beer while he typed up his field report on his laptop. Ria sat on the couch in Carlos' suite, curled up in a ball and already on her third Cristal. Carlos was just now finishing his first.

"You might want to slow down, butterfly, and save some for me," he said.

Ria looked up at him. She had tears in her eyes. "I killed him," she said softly.

Carlos walked over to her and sat beside her on the couch. "What are you talking about?"