Page 91 of Promises to Keep

“Aye, I agree, it has been too long.”

James slowly regained consciousness and moaned and sputtered and spit dirt from his mouth, then slowly sat up with his head in his hands. “It’s like the worst kind of hangover.”

Colonel Quentin said, “Um, James, what’s up?”

James was bleary-eyed. “What do you mean? Oh,” he glanced over his shoulder. “You mean my fucking, badass truck?” He smiled. “That’s because I thought it would be sick. Isn’t it awesome?”

“You went to Florida for horses and ATVs, where are the ATVs?”

“I have no idea, it was weird, I went to the storage unit and it was empty. I know there were two ATVs there, right? I just don’t know where the hell they are. Did we leave them somewhere?”

Colonel Quentin said, “I don’t know, it’s like, vague... bottom of a ravine? You don’t remember?”

“Nope, that seems like something that would be memorable, but anyway, the gun box was basically empty except for some explosives. I grabbed what was there; some of our camping equipment; got the horses from the stables, Debbie at Amelia Stables says hi, by the way; then I thought, shit, this is going to suck, we’re going to be in cowboy times with three horses and four men, that doesn’t seem fair; so I thought about what else would work, and lo and behold, the Ford Raptor, big enough to be a stupid idea, perfect enough to be just what we need. I’m going to drive right over the ranch, what’s it made of, mud and sticks? I’m going to park right on the roof.”

Fraoch said, “Ye woke up in a fine spirit.”

“I am in my element. Let’s ride!”

We kept the ridiculously large truck there while we worked out a plan, climbing a nearby hill and using the binoculars and thermal imaging monocular tae watch the ranch, an assortment of low wooden buildings: a larger house surrounded by small shacks, a stable, and a tiny hovel near the shore of the snaking river. Colonel Quentin said, “It looks to be about twelve men not including the ones who might be away right now.”

I asked, “Dost ye see a woman among them?”

He passed me a monocular and I scanned the rest of the lands, looking for a holding cell or jailhouse. I dinna see anything.

Colonel Quentin said, “I see a person at the riverbank, three men at the stable, and others milling around. We have to assume they have weapons. How else would they survive homesteading here in this desolate place?”

“What weapons do they have?”

Colonel Quentin squinted. “It looks like the usual long rifles and side arms of the period. But at this distance, it’s hard to be sure. We ought to assume they have more.”

James looked around, “This is awesome!”

Colonel Quentin still looking through the binoculars, said, “Yeah, we heard. Did you hear what I said about the weapons?”

James said, “Yeah, I heard you,” quietly he added, “still think it’s awesome.”

We reconvened by the truck.

“Who wants horses?”

James said, “Shit, I can’t decide, truck or horse? Truck because it’s badass? Or horse because it’s legit? And this is my one big moment in the...” He kicked gravel. “What do you think, Quentin?”

“I think you’re shit at horse, you ought to do truck.”

“I got a lot better at horse — you know what, horse, a cowboy on a horse. Will you take the truck?”

Colonel Quentin climbed in the truck bed and pulled a rifle from the gun box and clamped it onto a tripod. “Sure, I’m the best shot anyway.” He looked through the box. “You did bring a whole lot of explosives.” He ran a hand over his hair and tossed us each a radio. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

He stood elevated on a low rock and drew a diagram in the dirt with a stick. “You’re going to move to this position, coming in from the west.” He marked an X.

“I will place explosives here. The sound of my engine will draw them over, the explosives will hopefully wound or at least distract, then I will set up a long range rifle here.” He marked a second X.

“You will already be headed in. This way, I take out any people left, or the men returning to the homestead. Got me?”

James blinked. “Wait, if the sound of the engine draws them in, but you are exploding things, and then going to there.” He pointed at the second X. “They will hear the truck moving to there, right?”

Colonel Quentin said solemnly, “Yes, theywould, but I won’t have the truck when I move from there to there.”

---