“How many more men should I be expecting?” I watched his hand reposition on the steering wheel, grabbing it at the top.
He shifted his weight in the seat. “Hard to say. Depends on who’s there and who’s out and about.”
“Ball park it for me.”
“Ten or so. Could be more. Could be less. Like I said, I’m not sure.”
“All packing similar rifles and body armor?”
He nodded, then cut around the curb onto the adjacent street. “For the most part, yes.”
He could’ve been feeding me false intel. I’d take what he said with a grain of salt and make sure to keep my head up and on a swivel.
I scanned the junk in the back of the SUV. In the darkness, I couldn’t quite make out what all he had back there, but I didn’t want to turn the overhead light on. “So, who exactly are you people? Mercs? Ex-military?”
“Mostly ex-military,” he answered, without expanding any further.
I nodded. “I figured as much from the way everyone moved and handled the rifles. What’s up with the town and patrols? Keeping America safe or something like that?”
“Just doing our–part. Lots of crazy people out there.” He glanced to me again through the mirror.
“Yeah. That’s what it looks like you’re doing out there. Protecting and serving. More like terrorizing, but I’m not one to judge. See, there are dangerous people out here for sure. You and your little club of merry men stumbled upon two such individuals. Bad move on your part. If you would’ve just left well enough alone, then none of this would be happening.”
He glanced over his shoulder, then looked me up and down. “Not an easy thing to let slide when someone kills your brother and fellow soldiers. After all, you two killed three more of us out there on the highway.”
“Who was the brother?” I asked, curious.
“Frank.”
I nodded. “Well, Frank, Jim, and whoever the hell the other guy was with them trying to salvage the wreckage of my bosses’ plane and snuff me and my partner got what they deserved. And now, the rest of you are just as deep in shit as they were.”
The foot soldier held his tongue. We left Elko and drove along the long, desolate stretch of highway for a bit before turning off onto a dirt road. In the distance, a number of structures formed through the ash.
The wipers batted the ash away from the windshield. The Blazer rolled over the uneven terrain, driving through the deep ruts.
A chain link fence ran the length of the perimeter, encompassing the three buildings I could see. Lights loomed from the structures, indicating that they had some sort of power.
The gate ahead had an armed sentry standing guard next to the entrance. He walked along the outside perimeter with his rifle shouldered, then turned our way.
I grabbed the blanket, then covered my body as we approached the compound. “Remember. You try to warn them or do anything else, and I’ll kill you where you sit. I’ll be listening.”
He slowed the Blazer, then lowered the driver’s side window. A gust of cold air rushed inside the cab.
“Shit, Trenton. You look like hell,” the sentry said through his mask. “Where’s Peterson? What happened to your shoulder?”
Trenton hesitated.
My finger pressed against the trigger a hair tighter, ready to squeeze. I couldn’t see well through the thick, stench-ridden blanket that covered me from head to toe.
“The partner of the guy we captured earlier got the drop on us back in town. Killed Peterson and put a damn hole in his shoulder,” Trenton replied through strained breath.
“Did you take care of him?”
Trenton hesitated again for a second, then said, “He’s wounded, but I lost him. Came back to get bandaged up before heading back out.”
“Yeah. You look like hammered dog shit. Charlie is with his partner right now. I imagine he isn’t going to be pleased that this man hasn’t been taken care of yet. The guy did shoot him back in that surplus store in town.”
“We’ll get him,” Trenton said.
The Blazer got back on the move. The gust of cold air blowing inside the cab ceased.
“Park somewhere out of the way without much foot traffic,” I said, pulling the blanket down.
Lights shone from the windows of the building we passed, then vanished as the Blazer turned, then stopped. Trenton killed the engine and stayed put in his seat.
I sat up from the back seat. The blanket fell around my waist. I looked out the windows of the Blazer for any guards or other threats, but spotted none.
I moved the blanket from my lower body, then pressed the barrel of the pistol against the base of Trenton’s skull. “Where are they keeping my partner?”
Trenton kept his hand locked on the steering wheel. “The two-story building at the far side of the compound I think.”
“You think?” I pressed the muzzle harder against his skull. “I need better than I think.”
“I’m pretty positive that’s where they took him.” Trenton stumbled over his words.
“You stake your life on that?”
“I do.”
I pulled the dagger from my coat, clutching it in my free hand. I removed the pistol from the back of his head. “Give me the keys.”
Trenton pulled the keys from the ignition, then handed them back to me. He let go of them before I took hold. They clattered off the center console. He reached across his body, scrambling for the door handle.
I sat up, reached around the driver’s seat, and grabbed him. The door swung open. His body squirmed in my arms, trying to get free. Both hands grabbed my forearm and jerked. I stabbed him in the base of his skull, silencing his
