“It’s a real live war, isn’t it?” Mortimer said. “Not like a rumble between two street gangs. It’s a war.”
Bill nodded. “Yup. And I don’t think we can sit this one out. He’s the bad guy, and he needs to be stopped. It’s that simple.”
“Yeah.” Mortimer wasn’t so sure it was that simple, but Anne was back there, and that was enough. Whatever his wife-former wife-might have said, Mortimer simply wasn’t going to leave her to rot.
Bill handed something wrapped in cloth to Mortimer. “Here, take this while I’m thinking of it. Managed to scrounge it up. Wouldn’t want you running around naked.”
Mortimer unfolded the cloth. A.38-caliber revolver, very similar to the police special he’d been so fond of. And a clip-on holster for his belt. “Thanks.”
“Can’t have you guarding my back with nothing but witty rejoinders,” Bill said.
Mortimer checked the load, clipped the revolver to his belt. “I guess we’re committed to fighting for Armageddon. If he loses the war, we don’t get our twenty thousand dollars.”
They waited, the flashes above the city fading and finally stopping altogether. Dawn erupted red over the horizon like a bloody prophecy. The morning was damp, and a thick fog rolled in, gathered around Mortimer and Bill, sucked them in, cutting visibility to fifty feet in every direction.
“Does this help us or hurt us?” Mortimer asked.
“Hell if I know,” Bill said.
A long way off, Bill heard it first. “You hear that?”
“No…wait. Yes,” Mortimer said. “Engines?”
“I think so.”
“Damn, which direction? Is it coming from the city?” If the Red Stripes were coming, Mortimer needed to warn Ted and his men.
“I can’t tell,” Bill said. “Damn fog’s too thick.”
“It’s getting louder.”
Bill drew his six-shooters. “Get ready to haul ass.”
From the north, Mortimer saw them, like bright demon eyes in the fog, a single pair at first, then another, then ten, then a wall of headlights coming down the interstate. Vague blurs emerged from the fog, took shape. Cars.
Mortimer spotted a familiar figure in the lead car. The roof had been cut from the vehicle, a machine gun mounted in the backseat. The man stood in the passenger seat, head and shoulders above the windshield, resplendent in a crisp uniform and pink beret.
“General Malcolm!” Mortimer shouted.
The black man’s head yanked around, spotted Mortimer. He picked up a headset, shouted something into the microphone, and all the cars slowed to a halt.
“Is that you, Tate?”
“Yeah.”
Mortimer and Bill climbed the guardrail, jogged to the general’s car. “What is this?”
“It’s a Toyota Prius,” Malcolm said. “We knew fuel would be an issue, so we only scavenged automobiles that would make the gasoline stretch. We have sixty-one total cars in the attack group. Fifty-one hybrids and ten MINI Coopers. We’re the most eco-friendly assault force in history. Are you here with the underground?”
“Yeah. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Even as Mortimer spoke to General Malcolm, members of the underground emerged from the fog with gas cans, ammunition and food, beginning the resupply of the attack force.
Ted appeared at Mortimer’s side. “It’s all going just like you wanted, General.”
“Many thanks,” Malcolm said. “Tell your people to hurry. The closer we can get under cover of this fog the better.”
“Right.” Ted rushed away to orchestrate the resupply.
Malcolm turned his hard gaze on Mortimer. “You’d better be right about the Czar’s attack today, Tate. We’ve committed all our forces. It might be crippling to us if you’re wrong.”
“Can you use a couple more hands?” Bill asked.
“The MINI Coopers are short on gunners. They’re in the rear. But you’d better hurry. I’m not waiting one more second as soon as we’re gassed up and ready to go.”
“Understood.”
They jogged toward the rear of the column. The sight of fifty-one hybrids in a row with heavy machine guns mounted in the backseats was not something Mortimer had ever expected to see. It was nice to know he could still be surprised.
“You dickheads!” screamed a voice behind them.
Mortimer looked over his shoulder, saw Sheila running to catch up.
“Were you just going to leave me?” she yelled.
“Hey,
