“I don’t want to put Patton in any more danger,” Matthew said.
“Me either,” David said, his voice sounding slightly breathless. Matthew ignored it. He couldn’t let his father’s health distract him now.
Jade nodded. “If we take them by surprise, Colin won’t have any time to shoot. We’ll be able to keep the upper hand and get Patton and Max back.”
“All right,” Wyatt said. “The plan still holds. Now, there’s a service road that leads to the gas station by the Galena welcome sign. We’ll slip into the trees and silently make our way over to it. Silently is the operative word here. We don’t want to alert anyone to our presence, so be careful, walk slow, and for god’s sake don’t do anything stupid.”
Matthew and Jade exchanged glances and for a moment he saw a swift smile cross Jade’s face before she seemed to douse it like a lit candle. He knew it would take more than a few apologies to win her over, but if she left knowing he felt regret, maybe it would ease any long-term hate between them.
“Now, once we’re on the service road,” Wyatt continued, “we will be at a good vantage point to snipe Colin and his men, while keeping ourselves out of danger. Since we don’t have the exact equipment for that kind of an attack, we’ll close in on the gas station and see what we can see. Keep an eye out for Patton. If we can get in, grab him and get out without anyone the wiser, even better. All right, team. Any questions?”
Matthew, David, and Jade shook their heads. Wyatt nodded and made a hand signal that Matthew didn’t understand, but figured it must have come from Wyatt’s background in the military. He shook his head, starting to feel a little out of his depth. He mentally gave himself a shake. He didn’t need to understand everything. All he needed to do was follow orders, and get to the service road as quietly as possible. Stay on mission.
The trees thickened into a beautifully trimmed grove and Wyatt took the lead, taking them off the beaten path and into the undergrowth. Matthew tried to keep the crunch of leaves and pine needles under his feet to a minimum. Taking slow, measured steps, he followed the tense shape of Wyatt through the shadows as they went off road and deeper into the forest. Soon, a gravel service road appeared, but Wyatt still stuck to the side of it. Matthew realized that the crunch of leaves didn’t stand out as much as the crunching of gravel and followed Wyatt’s example. David took up the rear as they continued to walk, and Matthew could feel Jade close behind him.
Matthew’s heart began to pound in his ears when he saw the square concrete edges of the gas station come into view. The back of the building looked somewhat run down compared to what he’d glimpsed of the front. Candy wrappers and other debris had collected in the corners, trapped in place by the wind. A group of abandoned cars stood in the parking lot, and Matthew knew that the place must have been popular with those coming in and out of town. Gravel and sand covered the concrete slab where a blue dumpster sat, filled to the brim with trash. Flies buzzed around the opened top. Pallets were propped up against the wall, disposed of and forgotten. Matthew made a mental note to come back here in the future and collect the wood. They could break the pallets apart and use them for building, repairing, or even burning for heat. In fact, he was sure there could be tons of valuable stuff in places around town he wouldn’t have thought of before.
He didn’t see any sign of Colin or his men.
Wyatt paused and crouched in the grass, scanning the area. After a moment of silence, he motioned them to follow him closer to the building. As they continued to creep around the gas station, always staying low to the ground, they heard the soft sounds of people bickering. Wyatt came to a stop and motioned them to follow his lead. He crouched even lower, keeping the trees and brush as camouflage. Slowly, they crept further around the gas station until the sides came more clearly into view.
Gas pumps with black handles were lined up along the concrete. Some had cars parked in front of them with their gas tanks popped and open. Others still had gasoline hoses threaded into the car, as if once the cars had stopped working, the drivers had simply abandoned the vehicles where they stood. Matthew didn’t see any sign of anyone else, but as he took a couple of steps closer, he saw a group of four men standing around one of the pumps.
Matthew tried to keep his breath from speeding up. He drew in a couple of slow and steady breaths, reminding himself to keep his head and stay calm. The thought of opening fire in a gas station where the gasoline was clearly ready to catch fire made him jumpy. He wasn’t sure how easy it was to blow up a gas tank, but he had seen enough movies that it made him nervous. He laughed at himself. He should know better by now. Media and reality were rarely the same.
One of the men made a jerking motion as if yanking something close to him. Matthew squinted and saw the big man pull Patton into his line of sight. Patton’s face was tear-stained and flushed red with frustration. The big man put a hand on Patton’s shoulder as if to keep him in place. Matthew eyed his son up and down, grateful that Patton looked healthy
