A Touch of Greed by Gary Ponzo

shot her and now they’re coming for us.”
    “Where—”
    “Help!” she screamed. “Help, please help!”
    Nick strangled the phone while scrambling for a way to help his wife and child.
    “Stevie,” he called over to the techie who was sitting by himself, playing with his drone. “Call 911 and get some deputies over to my house in Payson. Now!”
    Nick jumped to his feet. “Julie!” he shouted into the phone.
    Julie desperately screamed for help while Nick ran in circles around the office frantically thinking of answers. He pulled at his hair, groping for something. He felt completely useless. Julie’s screaming suddenly stopped, while Thomas kept crying. Nick thought he’d heard whimpering. It seemed like Julie wasn’t moving anymore. It seemed as if she was hiding.
    Stevie moved into his path, nodding. “They’re on the way,” he said.
    Nick didn’t want to yell into the phone and possibly give away her position. He wished he could jump outside and fly there. He knew, no doubt, it was one of Garza’s crew who was going after his family. Stevie looked anxious to help, standing in front of Nick with open hands, waiting for him to say something.
    “Julie?” Nick whispered.
    Nothing. Even Thomas had stopped crying and that gave him a shiver. He wanted to hear their voices. Something. Let him know they were alive.
    A moment later he got what he wanted. Julie screamed, “No!” Thomas began crying again. Nick was getting lightheaded from the rush of adrenalin surging through his body. Just the sound their frightened voices made him seethe.
    A man’s voice came on the line with a thick Mexican accent and said in a strong tone, “Adios.”
    Then the line went dead.
    For a moment Nick stared at the phone in disbelief. Then a thought occurred to him. He pointed to the computer. “Stevie, get on our site and get me the live satellite feed for Payson, Arizona.”
    The door to the office opened and Decker walked in.
    “What’s going on?” Decker asked.
    “Get the fuck out,” Nick ordered.
    Decker didn’t hesitate. The door closed behind him.
    Nick furiously scoured his phone’s contact list before hitting a button. Two rings later a man’s voice answered.
    “Gerry?” Nick said, loud and hurried. “They leave yet? We’ve got a hostage situation.”
    “Nick? Yeah, they’re already in the air.”
    “Patch me through to the pilot,” Nick blurted.
    “Sure, hold on.”
    Nick heard a sequence of keypads being tapped , then he heard static, followed by the roar of an engine and the piercing drone of helicopter blades cutting through the air.
    “Hello?” Nick said.
    The static persisted. Stevie was sitting behind the desk and pointing to the screen. Nick recognized the image. It was downtown Payson.
    “South,” Nick said. “South and east. Look for a white truck with a large dent on the front hood.”
    Nick couldn’t keep his eyes from the computer monitor, desperately searching for something. Stevie Gilpin had the most advanced knowledge of the FBI’s satellite images and how to get where he wanted.
    “What’s up, Gerry?” came Dan Wells voice over the cacophony of engine and rotors.
    “This is Nick Bracco,” he yelled into the phone. “Dan, we have a hostage situation. How far are you from Payson?”
    “Less than five minutes,” Dan said. “Where’s the hostage?”
    “In a white Ford pickup with a dented hood.” Nick spoke fast and loud. “It’s my wife and kid.”
    Nick heard the helicopter’s engines rev up. “I’ll be there in one minute,” Dan said. “Where are they?”
    Nick pointed at the computer monitor for Stevie to maneuver the cursor further east. “They’re close to my place, Dan. I’m scanning the area from the satellite. They can’t be far.”
    Nick’s heart pounded as he scoured the streets for the white pickup. Every time they’d spot one, Stevie would zoom in and come up empty. There was so much fury built up, Nick’s vision was blurring. He couldn’t