Page 44 of Senseless
Our odds weren’t great, as Gunner emphasized to me while we poured over maps before leaving. It was a risk we felt forced to take at this point, but I was confident in the guys backing me up. Steel Demons were crafty. We fought dirty when necessary. General Bray’s men were skilled soldiers, but I didn’t have their loyalty and trust as I did with the men behind me right now.
It was another hour of riding to circle around toward the back-end of the city. I took us to a ridge overlooking a sprawling housing development, which might have been a nice suburb at one point, but now looked slummy and for the most part, abandoned. The buildings got taller and more condensed up ahead, with activity bustling through the streets. Mostly people walking or on bicycles, but I noted a few civilian cars among the armored trucks rolling through the streets.
I held up a fist, signaling our team to stop at this lookout point. We’d observe here for now, and get closer if it was safe. Everyone cut their engines and quickly hopped off their camouflaged bikes, eager to stretch their legs.
“Fan out and make sure no one’s peeking on us,” I ordered. “Slick, stay with me.” I crouched at the edge of the ridge, pulled out a small set of binoculars, and spent a whole minute adjusting the damn things to focus. What I would give to have vision like a bird of prey right now.
“See anything interesting?” Slick hovered over my shoulder.
“Maybe.” I handed him the binoculars. “That caravan moving through the city center look important to you?”
He watched through the binoculars for several moments before answering. “I dunno, maybe? If it was so important, you think they’d be moving it through the busiest part of the city?”
“It’s the fastest route.” I shrugged. “Most direct way if it’s heading to the Blakeworth capitol. You think they’d be worried about disgruntled civilians?”
“Hm, maybe not.” Slick lowered the binoculars and handed them back to me. “Gunner made it sound like his uncle really had the citizens under his boot. I imagine Tash wouldn’t be much better once he took over.”
“I bet you’re right.”
A single gunshot popped off just as I lifted the lenses to my eyes. Slick and I dove and flattened ourselves to the ground, both of us reaching for our guns as a few more shots fired.
“You think that’s us?” Slick rolled up to his knees and went to crouch behind our bike, weapon close to his chest.
I rolled the opposite way, ducking behind a boulder. “Fuck, I hope so. We could use a win.”
Several long seconds passed with no more gunfire, only oppressive silence. Approaching footsteps made me hold my breath, index finger curling around my trigger.
“All clear, it’s just us,” I heard Brick call out. “Took out a couple of Blakeworth lookie-loos.”
“Jesus Christ.” I let my hands and gun flop down to my lap, releasing my breath. Slick did the same, relief smoothing out his features. “You scared the shit out of us.”
“Sorry, we didn’t want to make any noise and signal to others that you were here.”
I nodded, coming out from my hiding spot to clap Brick on the shoulder.Thiswas why I felt best with Demons at my back. “Good work. Thanks, man.”
“How far away could people hear those shots, you think?” Slick looked between the two of us, worry furrowing his brow again.
“Ain’t nobody around for miles,” Brick said dismissively. “Those Blakeworth fucks must have caught sight of us and started following about an hour ago. Found ‘em hiding in the tall grass like a bunch of pussies. None of us heard shit, so we figure they must have left vehicles behind and tracked us to this spot on foot. I got Wells out lookin’ for their wheels now. If there’s anyone else out there, we’ll know.”
Two more shots rang out, much further away than the previous ones.
“Ah, guess we found some more,” Brick added cheerfully.
“So they are stalking us when we get close,” I mused, rubbing the stubble on my chin. “And being stealthy about it.”
“It’s notthatstealthy,” Brick huffed. “Kinda amateur, really. If Reaper sends his dog out, he could probably sniff out all of ‘em hidden in a field before any of us get close.”
“Maybe,” I offered skeptically. I’d bring it up to Reap, but didn’t have high hopes for that plan. Hades was not a dog that he could just send out on a hunt.
“Hey VP,” Slick called. “You might wanna see this.”
I went to his side, looking out over Grand Junction again. The caravan of armored trucks had left the city center and was moving through the residential area just below us. I didn’t need binoculars to see the heavily armed soldiers in the Jeep leading the procession. Another matching Jeep drove slowly behind the pack, the soldier in the passenger seat hanging his arm out the window, casually waving his weapon at frightened families in threadbare clothes.
“That’s our target,” I declared. “It’s headed straight for Blakeworth and we’re gonna blow it up.”
“It’s turning off the main road,” Slick observed. “Headed for the single-lane highway winding through the mountains. They’re definitely not looking to be out in the open.”
“All the better,” I said, grabbing the handlebars of my bike and straddling the seat. “We’re gonna head ‘em off. Brick, you guys hang behind and cover us. Donotget close enough for them to hear you. Not unless you can shoot them before they call for backup.”
