Page 68 of Bullets and Dandelions

Very carefully, I walked over to the window and looked out. A shimmering haze of heat hung over saguaro strewn hills. Where had Pops parked? He always carried enough weapons to start a small war. Staggering like a drunk, I went to the opposite window and spotted a brown jeep parked next to some skeletal trees. “Gotcha.”

Picking up the broken pipe, I eased the door open and wobbled over to the jeep. Yes, there was a God! Through the dusty back window, I could see a variety of weapons and a case of water. I swung the pipe and broke the window.

The car alarm sounded.

I grabbed an AK-47 and checked it over. It was fully loaded.

“Well done, Tess,” Pops yelled.

“You want a fight? Fight me.”

Pops laughed. “You can barely stand. It wouldn’t be much of a fight,”

A coyote howled.

Utter relief swept over me. Alex and the squad were here. I grabbed a bottle of water and drained it. “Are you afraid of me, old man?”

Pops dragged an unconscious Hispanic man wearing desert camo down the hill. He stopped six feet from me. “Drop your weapon or I’ll put a bullet in his head.” He jammed the muzzle of his rifle into the man’s cheek.

Horror knotted my stomach. That was Rodriquez. Had he hurt anyone else? I dropped my rifle and raised my hands.

“Good girl.” Pops tossed me a handcuff key. “Cuff yourself to him.”

I did and quickly checked to see how badly injured he was.

Rodriquez winked at me.

Holy shit! He had let himself be captured. I bit my lip to keep from grinning. Pops was about to get a much-needed lesson. “Did you find Roberts?”

“Not yet.” Pops handed me a bottle of water. “Drink it. I saw your medical records.”

“Now you’re concerned about my health?”

“I can’t have my best soldier incapacitated.” Pops scanned the hills. “Is your man a coward?”

The desert floor moved and a man in a ghillie suit suddenly rose up. “I could have killed you anytime in the last ten minutes, Reynolds.” Alex’s pistol was pointed at Pops. “But you are Tess’s father.”

It was the first time I had seen my father at a loss for words.

A buzzing noise caught my attention. “Is that a drone?” I pointed.

“You brought a drone?” Pops snapped.

“No, we didn’t and if you didn’t, it belongs to Roberts,” Alex replied.

Johnson and Tex erupted from the desert floor. Both were wearing ghillie suits.

“Someone stole one from the Marine base in Yuma,” Johnson said.

Tex raised his binoculars. “It’s armed.”

“Not for long.” Pops opened the rear of the jeep, took out a case. “Rocket launcher. Don’t get nervous and shoot me.”

The drone was getting a little too close. “How about you blow that thing to kingdom come before it uses us as target practice.”

Pops placed the rocket launcher on his shoulder, sighted in on the drone and fired. The missile streaked away and two seconds later, a fireball erupted.

The men stared at each other, and I could feel the testosterone levels rising. “Here’s a thought. How about we go kill Roberts.”

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