“Last one!” Jackson shouted.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Ben said.
Jackson nodded and turned the animal, but another barrage of gunfire spooked the beast, and he reared on its hind legs, causing Daniel to fall to the ground. There was a snapping sound and then a scream, and Ben knew what had happened before he saw Daniel’s broken leg.
Jackson quickly dismounted the horse and rushed over to Daniel. The bone was coming through the cloth of the pants, and the man was wincing in pain from the compound fracture.
“We can’t move him,” Jackson said.
“No,” Daniel said. “Don’t leave me here.”
“A bullet would be kinder than just leaving him here,” Jackson said, and then he brandished his weapon.
“No!” Daniel shouted. “Please, don’t do this.”
Ben glanced behind him and saw the enemy moving closer. It was only a matter of time before they were overrun and then everybody would be at risk. But Ben wasn’t in the mood to lose anybody in this fight right now.
“Listen to me,” Ben said, looking at Daniel. “If we move you, we run the risk of doing a lot more damage. Even if we save your life, it might cripple your leg to the point where we have to amputate, and you may not even survive that.”
Daniel’s face was dripping with sweat; his eyes were so big that Ben could see the red veins bulging. “I don’t want to die. Not here. Not now. Move me.”
Ben looked to Jackson, who still had his pistol out and at the ready, but then finally put it away.
“You’re going to have to help me get him on the horse,” Jackson said. “And we need to keep his leg stabilized as much as possible.”
Jackson sidled up on the left while Ben took the right, keeping the bulk of his attention on the leg itself. “We lift on three, ready? One, two, three.”
Ben and Jackson lifted in unison, and the moment Daniel was off the ground, the man screamed in agony. Knowing that if they stopped, it would only make things worse for Daniel. The man thrashed, making it difficult to carry him and only causing more pain.
“Keep still!” Jackson shouted.
They eventually heaved him onto the horse's back, and the shock was so great that Daniel passed out. Jackson mounted the animal and kept Daniel from sliding off. “I stashed everyone down by a rock outcropping. From there, we should have an even better cover so long as we get to the ridge. Once we have the high ground, they should back off.”
Ben nodded. “I’ll meet you there.”
Jackson kicked the animal and then raced off. Alone, now, Ben fired off two more shots before he retreated to his own horse.
Once Ben was on his horse and out of the bulk of the gunfire, he felt himself relax a little bit, his mind regaining clarity and he started to think about what came next.
Jackson’s idea of heading to the ridge was a good one, but he wasn’t sure what the endgame plan was? Were those fighters going to chase them all the way back to Asheville?
Ben was still frantic to escape when he caught up with Jackson and the others and then saw the colonel had dismounted by the rocks and was in no hurry to keep moving.
“What are you doing?” Ben asked, keeping on the horse. “They were following me. Even on foot, it won’t take them very long—”
“They won’t follow us,” Jackson answered.
Ben frowned. “Why not?”
Jackson said nothing and looked back to the nuclear scientists gathered around Daniel as they examined his broken leg.
“Because they already have what they want,” Jackson answered. “Isn’t that right, doctor?”
The nuclear scientist looked up from Daniel and then saw the blood on the doctor’s hands. He had been trying to set the bone, but when Ben saw one of the engineers close Daniel’s eyes, he knew the man was already gone.
“The device they brought me in to create is already finished.” The scientist stared down at the blood on his hands. “I finished it earlier today before you came to get me. They were going to kill me. They were simply arguing about how to do it.”
Ben glanced behind them and then listened for any shouts or gunfire in the woods. But the force had gone silent. They weren’t following.
Jackson removed his sidearm and aimed the pistol at the scientist. “Son of a bitch lied to us. Just to save his own skin.”
The scientist showed no sign of fear and simply stared the weapon down. “I have been living under the threat of violence for the past several weeks. Do you really think that you’re going to intimidate me by shoving a gun in my face?”
“How about if I pull the trigger?” Jackson asked.
Ben dismounted and walked over to diffuse the situation. “Everybody needs to calm down.”
Jackson snarled. “This bastard made a device for a group of terrorists that could blow up a major city and have devastating effects for our efforts to turn the tide of this fight.”
“And if you kill me, you won’t know where they’re sending it,” the scientist said.
Jackson didn’t lower his weapon, but he definitely looked more intrigued now. “Bullshit.”
Ben turned to the scientist. “Do you really know where they’re going with it?”
“I don’t know what they plan to do once the pieces are put together, but I know where my piece went,” the scientist answered.
“Well,” Ben said. “We’re all ears.”
“I heard them talking about a city north of here,” the scientist said. “Johnson something.”
“Johnson City?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, I think
