She watched Carson unholster his pistol and move to the nearest window. He peered from the lower corner, through the rain-streaked glass, and turned his head so he could see as much of the outside world as possible. He did the same at each window, only standing after he finished. She noticed he still moved in an odd pattern, probably to minimize his visibility if he had missed something outside.
He sat down on the cot and helped Katie back to a sitting position. She could see him thinking and, not wishing to disturb him but desperate for the reassuring touch of her man, she settled for leaning her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her in a comforting gesture, and they stayed that way for several minutes.
Finally, he looked up. “All right. As I see it, we have four options. Let’s consider each.
“One, we jump in the car and run like hell and try to get past whatever blocks they’ve set up. Risky as hell. We could easily both get killed.
“Two, we forget the car and go on foot through the woods in the opposite way until we find a house or something. Slow as shit, and slower still because you’re in leg cuffs.
“Three, we don’t go to the meeting and hole up here and try to make a stand. With the number of people they have and the weapons I saw, that’s a losing bet right off the bat.
“Four, I go to the meeting and hope I can take them out before they take me out, then we run. That’s a 50-50 proposition at best because there’s going to be at least two of them, and I’m hoping to kill them before they kill me. Hope is not a good plan.
“So those are our options, and they suck.” He let out a deep sigh. “But that’s what we’ve got to work with. So let’s come up with the best plan we can.”
Katie could do little but hear the voice in her head screaming they’re going to kill Carson and you next! but she suppressed it so she could give him the advice he clearly needed. She closed her eyes and forced herself to disregard those screams until they subsided and she could reason.
“Well, the first one is dangerous, like you said. Maybe we could wait until the meeting time and drive out, like we’re going to the meeting, and then take a ‘wrong’ turn. We’d be harder to find at night.”
“True,” Carson responded, “but that’ll buy us minutes of lead time. I was hoping for hours. But, still, that’s not bad. Keep it in mind.”
Katie wanted to smile with pride at her contribution to the tactical situation, but remained focused on the issue at hand. “Number two is just not possible. I’d slow us down so much we’d be exhausted before we got anywhere. I think that one is out.”
“Agreed.”
“Number three. I didn’t see any guns, but there are at least four of them against two of us, and I’m no help.”
Carson cut in. “They have a couple of high-quality semi-auto rifles, more than enough to deal with one guy with a handgun.”
“So,” she concluded, “that’s out. The fourth one has the advantage of making them think we haven’t figured them out yet. Maybe that makes them complacent, makes them think you’re doing exactly what they want you to do, and maybe that gives you the upper hand.”
Carson twisted his head to the side, like a dog hearing a funny noise. Clearly he hadn’t fully considered that option. After a few seconds of contemplation, he rotated his hand at the wrist in the international “keep going” signal.
Katie had been thinking her own thoughts through while she waited. “OK, so you don’t park right next to them. Give yourself some room so you can duck and cover and do what you do in a gunfight. Remember, it’ll be dark, making it harder to see, but you know about night vision and those kinds of things, and I’ll bet they don’t, ‘cause they only use their guns close-up. You’ll be able to see them and they won’t be able to see you. That’s a big advantage, right?”
Carson didn’t answer. He looked in her direction, but was definitely not looking at Katie. He was blinking rapidly, and he licked his lips in anticipation. He broke into a smile. “Son of a bitch.”
“What?”
“Katie, you’re a goddamned genius. You nailed it. It’s basic guerilla warfare.”
“Huh? What about gorillas?”
“No, not the animal, the type of soldier. See, we’re up against a superior force with more troops and better weapons. I can’t beat them head-on. So I have to attack them from their flank, from their side, from a direction they’re not anticipating, and use a technique they aren’t skilled in. Like you said, they use guns in alleys and bars and indoors, or outside at close range, where visibility isn’t an issue. They’re out of their element outdoors at night in the rain. I’m a little out of practice, but I’m still far superior to them in that kind of situation.” He spent the next few minutes describing the plan he had just come up with, adjusting it slightly as he gave it more thought.
“The only question,” he concluded, “is where you’ll be during all this.”
“With you, hiding in the trunk of the car. Where else?” Katie said.
“That might not be the best idea,” Carson said. “Number one, there might be a lot of gunfire. It’s too easy for a stray bullet to go right through the sheet metal and hit you, even in the trunk. And, if it doesn’t work out and I do get killed, they might not find the car and they might run, leaving you stuck in the trunk for days.”
Katie shook her head. “You can
