Alicia waited while he rooted through the plane, collecting anything that might be useful. There wasn’t much but he did find some alcohol and bags of chips.
When he emerged, his mother had arrived.
The truck swerved in. Alicia whistled to get their attention as Jessie hopped out and was about to go into a building. Colby caught sight of his mother. She was riding shotgun up front while Nina was in the back. She didn’t hide her disdain for Nina. Even though she’d proven she could be trusted, all his mother saw was a Strickland among them. He’d often wondered over the last few months what his mother was thinking. Not only had she been exposed as a liar, she’d had to endure seeing the one thing that mattered to her torn apart. She was losing control and she knew it. Did she blame him? He didn’t care. They were old enough to move on with their lives. If it had taken him returning to demonstrate that to the others, so be it.
Jessie leaned against the truck, waiting for them. “How do you do it?” he said, arms folded, sporting a big grin. “We leave you for thirty minutes and you find the only trouble in an empty town.” He opened the door for Alicia. “After you, my dear!”
Colby gave him a jab on the arm. “Did you find anything interesting?” he asked.
“Dead bodies but nothing we could use. You?”
“A small first-aid kit, some alcohol and a pack of chips,” Colby said.
“Well, brother, we will eat like kings tonight.” Jessie laughed as he patted him on the back. Colby got into the back. His mother glanced over her shoulder.
“Where are the others?” Alicia asked.
“Still in town. Figured we’d pick up you troublemakers first.” Jessie adjusted his rearview mirror. The truck roared off into the distance, heading for downtown.
They had just turned onto Inyo Street heading south when Jessie slammed the brakes. Colby lurched forward, almost smacking his head into the back of his seat. For a moment he thought Jessie had stopped to allow an animal to cross the road but as he looked out the windshield, it was clear why.
Chapter Two
Blocking the road was a group of armed men. They weren’t military, at least not by appearances, but they were wearing ballistic vests. A few had camo ball caps on and were carrying large backpacks. If he had to guess, they were avid hunters, locals, friends of the four they’d killed, folks who’d decided to take advantage of travelers.
All of them were carrying AR-15s.
“Turn the vehicle off and toss out the keys!” one of them cried out.
The engine continued to rumble.
Jessie put his hand on his gun but Colby stopped him. “No.”
“We won’t ask again.” One of them shouted.
There were a few seconds of hesitation.
“Do as he says,” Colby said.
“You know how this ends, Colby. I can back up.”
“All it takes is one bullet. No. Turn it off. Let me talk to them.”
“Run them over, Jessie,” his mother said without looking at him.
“Did I stutter?” Colby said.
“I heard but Jessie’s right. Do you want to end up in a shallow grave today?”
“You might like playing Russian roulette with your life but you won’t do it with ours.”
“What makes you think you’re not doing it with mine?” she said, opposing him. This was just like her. Always attempting to get her way at the cost of all else. Jessie was reckless but a lot less since Nina. He’d also become acutely aware of his mother’s attempts to manipulate a situation for her own end. Jessie opted to listen to him.
The men slowly made their way forward, arcing around the front. They never got too close. It would have been madness to open fire on them. There was a chance they were just looking to steal what they had.
One of the seven piped up. “Where you from?”
“Humboldt,” Colby replied through the open window.
“What are you transporting?”
“Nothing.”
The guy laughed. “Everyone’s transporting something. You got guns?”
“Of course.”
“Then you’re transporting. Step out and lay them down.”
There was a moment of hesitation. “Just do as they say,” Colby finally said.
“You’ll get us killed,” his mother said in a harsh tone as they got out. Even though he had the radio on him and could call for backup, as Dylan was in the other truck, Colby knew any sudden movement wouldn’t end well. The group looked confident — self-assured, as if they’d done this before. How many of them were there? Even if they managed to get the jump on these men, there could be others, ready to take them out.
One of the men pulled down a black bandanna that was hiding the lower half of his face. “Ryan. Keith. Check the vehicle.” He nudged with the barrel for them to step away so his guys could search. “And drop your weapons.”
They didn’t.
“Did you not hear what I asked? Toss the weapons down.”
“It’s not happening,” his mother said.
“Lady, does anything about this situation make you think you have the upper hand?”
His mother scanned their faces. “I dunno, I like the odds.”
The guy laughed and glanced at the others. “You’re funny. But fucking stupid. Now drop that gun. We’re not screwing around.”
Colby was opposed as much as his mother to handing over weapons. That was like signing a death warrant but outside the confines of the city, this kind of behavior was expected. Just because a group wanted guns, it didn’t mean they would kill. Pissing them off, well that would get them killed. Timing also played a role. Right now all eyes were on them. There was an old saying that if a hiker wanted to evade a bear attack, throwing down a pack could sometimes distract the bear. That’s what these men were — wild, unruly beasts that were just looking for any reason to snap their shit up. He wasn’t going to give them that chance.
Of course handing over one
