Page 48 of V-Day
“Mamá!” Pia said urgently.
“Shh!” Parris said, her tone absent. She was concentrating.
A twig broke nearby, making Chloe jump again.
A man stepped out from among the nearest trees. He raised a weapon to sight along it. Before he could fire, another shadow rose up from the ground beside him and melded with his. There was a wet slicing sound, and a gurgled breath. The first man slithered bonelessly to the ground and lay still.
The second bent and wiped his knife on the dead man’s sleeve.
Parris relaxed, lowering her rifle.
“Sorry,” Locke said. “Had to let him get close to smoke him out.”
“We’ll need Odesky and his pack,” Parris said. “A fire and hot food, second. Coffee, third. Then we push on.”
“Got it, sir,” Locke said. He turned and moved into the trees once more.
Parris dropped her rifle, then off-loaded her heavy pack. She reached into it and pulled out a flat, round object which she twisted.
The tiny clearing filled with light from the LED lamp.
Isabela slouched on the ground, holding her arm. Blood oozed between her fingers. She bit her lip, holding back any noise she might make, while Pia held her up.
Parris dropped in front of her. “Sorry about that, ma’am,” she said softly. “They had a good tracker among them. We had to play bait to get them, but it’s done now. Let me see.”
“You…let them get close?” Isabela asked, her voice weak.
“Close enough to think we’re that stupid, which made them relax,” Parris said. “We couldn’t shake them off when we were moving, so we had to stop and let them find us. I didn’t mean for anyone to suffer for it, though.” She peered at Isabela’s arm as she spoke. “Looks like a shallow slice through the skin and muscle. It’ll hurt like crazy, but Odesky will have something for it and an antibiotic for infection.”
After that, things happened quickly. The nine men of Parris’ unit returned to the clearing one by one, to report in. The Insurrecto group on their trail had been dealt with.
Odesky treated Isabela’s wound and gave her something which made her sit quietly, her eyes hooded and sleepy.
The others set up a campfire, a small one. Small stoves around it boiled water, into which they poured powdered food which became a thick, rich stew they handed out in tin mugs. There were not enough spoons to go around, so the soldiers ate with their fingers. They seemed cheerful and relaxed, which helped Chloe eat.
Cristián pulled Parris to one side, close by where Chloe was sitting, yet farther from where Isabela sprawled. “Can you spare a man to take my mother and the girls back to the big camp?”
Parris considered. “It’s best that way,” she said, at last. “Two men, who can oversee security there. I don’t like the way this bunch kept coming, long after dark. The Insurrectos don’t have that sort of grit. Something is driving them.”
“I can go on,” Isabela said, lifting her voice.
“No, Mother. You’re going back to the others,” Cristián said.
“I’m still mobile,” she pointed out.
“I said no,” Cristián said sharply, his hand coming down in a hard chop. “You’re a liability. The girls, too. You can’t move silently to save your lives and I won’t have you putting others at risk.”
Isabela considered him. “Then you’ll be sending Chloe back, too?”
Chloe flinched.
“I need Chloe’s expertise,” Cristián said, as Parris opened her mouth to speak. “Or canyouhack a secure server and loop security feeds?”
Isabela’s mouth thinned as she pressed her lips together firmly. She shook her head.
Parris cleared her throat. “Okay, then. At first light, Ramirez and Gomez can take them back. We can’t wait that long, though.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to risk reporting in, it’s been more than twenty-four hours.”
“Won’t the Insurrectos spot the communication?” Chloe said.
