Page 45 of Senseless
“You got it, VP.” The man turned to relay the orders to the other Demons.
Slick climbed on behind me, slow and apprehensive. He took his time settling in while Brick and the others hustled and drove off in seconds.
“Something wrong?” We had to ride fast to get ahead and couldn’t afford to dally, but Slick had good instincts and it was clear he had something on his mind.
“I dunno, something just doesn’t feel right.” He chewed his lip, watching the caravan down below. It was almost out of our line of sight and we’d have to hurry. “You don’t think it’s weird that this opportunity has just presented itself to us so perfectly?”
“I’ve learned not to look a gift horse in the mouth.” I started up the bike and turned it around, speaking louder over the muffled engine. “But what are you thinking, a set-up?”
“I dunno, maybe. It’s probably nothing.” He didn’t look convinced by his own words. “Just be careful, VP.”
“Always, kid.” I tapped his thigh once. “You’re my best apprentice. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He snorted in response. “Worry about yourself, man.”
We drove down the ridge back the way we came, Brick and the others were already out of sight, as they should’ve been. I headed north, straight for the mountain pass the caravan was heading for. To make decent headway without being seen, we’d have to ride for another hour, maybe two. Then we’d have to set up the explosives and lie in wait to trigger them.
As long as we got there fast enough and no scouts caught us off-guard, it should have been easy.
Maybe too easy.
I accelerated hard, making the landscape whip past us. Grinding my jaw, I pulled my neck gaiter over my face so as to not catch any bugs with my teeth. Slick’s words had set me on edge. I didn’t have any doubts about this until he said something. Now my stomach clenched with unease.
Damn you, kid. Why’d you have to make me paranoid?
It wasn’t uncalled for though, after everything that had been happening. Before Mari took off, I had just regained full mobility of my shoulder and leg after being shot. Reaper was paranoid about me taking her out on the bike then, after just getting stabbed, and he turned out to be right.
We need a break,I thought stubbornly.Just one small win. This had to work. It felt easy simply because our people were good at their jobs. We were diligent, and we thought outside the box.
Not a soul could be seen when we reached the mountain pass, a long-abandoned road with train tracks running alongside it. I followed it, heading northbound toward Blakeworth for another ten or so miles. Even though the caravan was moving relatively slowly, putting more distance between them and us just gave us more time to prepare. Plus, if those rich fuckers over in Blakeworth heard the explosion, even better. Maybe they’d heed it as a warning.
I stopped the bike and let it idle, the quietness and lack of any other people around feeling ominous.Brick and the others are out there,I reminded myself.They’re watching out for us, lying in wait.
“Here’s as good a place as any.” I dismounted the bike and headed for the cargo.
“How long d’you think ‘til they’ll be here?” Slick already had his gun drawn, head swiveling in all directions for any threats.
“Half-hour, maybe a little more.” I carefully unloaded our explosives, sweat already gathering at my temples. I had to be precise with this shit, just like with an engine.
We couldn’t just throw grenades or timed bombs out on the road either. A well-trained military like Tash’s would expect that, and mitigate accordingly. No, I had to make sure this puppy was hidden, and detonate it with a remote at the right time. The patrol Jeep in front would be watching for anything suspicious in the road and move it out of the way.
“Start grabbing handfuls of dirt and sand,” I instructed Slick. “And little things, like rocks and brush you would just drive over.”
He got to work quickly while I set up the device. “What if we put something big in the road that they have to move?” he suggested halfway through pouring sand and swishing it around to make it look natural.
“That way they stop exactly where we want them to,” I said, following his train of thought with a grin. “You don’t think it’ll be obvious?”
“We can make it look like there was a rock slide,” he suggested, looking up at one of the embankments. “Shit, I can cause an actual rock slide. It’ll look totally normal that way.”
“Do it,” I said. “Careful, though,” I added, watching him scramble up the rocky hill face.
“I wanna yell timber so bad,” he laughed, pushing loose rocks of various sizes down the hill.
“That’s for trees, dumbass, not rocks. Hey, watch it!” I jumped out of the way just as a head-sized rock came tumbling down the wall to the road below.
“Careful, VP. I can’t control where they go.”
“Just hurry up with your damn rock slide and be quiet.” I looked anxiously to the south. No sign of anyone coming yet.
