“You might not be as stupid as I thought you was.”
Hatcher cursed, then keyed the radio. “They’ve stopped. They’re only a block and half away, but it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere. If you’re going to do this, you better do it now before thedouble-back.”
“On our way, Hatch,” Wally replied.
Hatcher gripped the radio and uttered a quick prayer to a god he didn’t believe in that his people would remain safe. “God’s speed, boys.”
He heard the rattle of the chain link gates as they were pulled open and the engine of the truck rev before Hank pulled out onto the street. He couldn’t hear the gates close over the engine accelerating down their road, but he watched as the truck shot past the empty box truck and slide around the corner by the gas station. Once they rounded the corner, the boys turned their headlights on and floored the accelerator. Hatcher winced as the sound of the large V-8 echoed off the surrounding buildings, but he nearly whooped with joy when the motorcycles all turned and followed the noise.
He slid down the parapet and sat on the roof. “Your ploy worked, Hank. They’re following.” He hung his head and fought the urge to punch the wall. “Be safe, fellas.”
“We’ll see you come daybreak, Hatch.” With that, the radio went dead.
Hatcher stood on weak legs and walked to the ladder. He felt like he didn’t have the strength to climb down, but he dug into his reserves and forced his body to respond. When he reached the floor of the warehouse and leaned his head against the rungs of the ladder and muttered, “Please keep them safe.”
Vicky worked quickly. She got the saline IV going and used the morphine she had in stock to knock the mountain man out. It took everything she had to probe his innards and seal up the two small cuts in the small intestine.
She was stitching him together when Roger stuck his head in. “How’s he doing? His girl is about to go nuts out here.”
“I’m closing him up now.” Vicky wiped at the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. “I probed as best as I could and only found two small cuts inside.” She glanced at Roger who couldn’t see her expression behind the mask. “That must have been a really sharp blade. Usually the intestines are fluid enough to avoid being sliced.”
“So, he’s gonna make it?” he asked hopefully.
“If he doesn’t succumb to a secondary infection, yeah. He should be sore, but he’ll survive.”
Roger visibly relaxed. “She’ll be thrilled to know that.”
“Don’t get her hopes up just yet.” Vicky stepped back and pulled her mask down. “Look, I’m no doctor, and I’m definitely not a surgeon. There’s still a lot of things that could go wrong. He’s not out of the woods yet.”
“I understand. And I’ll make sure she knows.” He started to stick his hand out, then held it up. “I’d shake your hand but…”
Vicky shot him a grin before she pulled the mask back up. “Afterwards.”
Roger watched her return to work and he pulled the door shut. He walked to the old couch where Stella nervously sat, her thumbnail ruined by her chewing at it. When she spotted him, she stood so abruptly she startled herself. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Roger gave her a reassuring smile and pulled her into a hug. “Doc says he’s gonna make it.” She nearly collapsed in his arms and he directed her back to the sofa. “Look, there’s still a lot that could go wrong. His guts were sliced up pretty good, but Doc stitched him up. He’s still got a long way to go to make it through all of this, but his odds are good.” He placed a hand on her cheek and gave her a solemn look. “He’s going to need your strength, okay?”
Stella nodded and tried to give him a tear-stained smile. “You know it.”
“I’ve got to check on what’s going on outside. I’ll be back to check on you shortly. Just sit tight and Vic will come and fill you in when she’s done.”
He patted her shoulder reassuringly before turning and heading back into the warehouse. He spotted Candy talking to Hatcher and trotted to the pair. “Tell me they drove past.”
Hatcher shook his head. “They started to, but stopped just a block away. You could almost see the gears in their heads spin as they tried to figure out where the truck went.”
“So…where are they now?”
Hatcher lowered his eyes. “They’re following the truck.”
Roger stepped closer and stared at him. “They’re what?”
“Two of our people volunteered to drive north in the truck. To lead them away from us.” Hatcher looked up at Roger and didn’t like what he saw.
“No. No, you gotta call them back. If Simon catches them…the things he’ll do to them? They’ll tell him everything just for a quick death.”
“Oh my god.” Candy gasped.
“They’ve turned their radios off.” Hatcher leaned against the column and eyed the men in the warehouse still loading ammunition in preparation for a fight. “If I had some way to catch up with them…”
Roger’s eyes lit up. “My Harley.”
“Can you see ’em?”
Wally turned and stared out of the back window. “Nope. You sure they’re back there?”
Hank shrugged. “As much noise as we made when we split? Yeah. They’re back there.”
“Wait! I saw a flash of red.” He turned to Hank. “Cop bikes?”
Hank shook his head. “Tail lights, I’d bet.” He goosed the accelerator and shot through another intersection. “The hospital is just a couple of blocks away. That’s where I’d go if I had a hurt friend and didn’t know any better.” He glanced to Wally and shrugged. “You never know. There might be supplies there still.”
“We know,” Wally deadpanned. “There ain’t.”
“But they don’t
