“You sounded pretty confident last night,” he observed.
“Looks like I was wrong.”
The door opened and Sierra stepped out, eyes puffy from sleep. “Did you decrypt it?” she asked.
Lucas shook his head. “Blew up the computer.”
Ruby swatted his arm. “No, it didn’t. I mean, technically, it might have overheated or something, but that’s not the code’s fault. This system’s old.”
“Well, can’t you use the other one?” Sierra asked.
“No point. The results are in, and they’re gibberish.”
Sierra gaped at Ruby, her mouth hanging open, while Lucas walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “Think this water’s safe to drink?”
Bruce’s voice rang out from his bedroom doorway. “Of course it is. What’s all this about blowing up my CPU?”
Ruby glanced at Bruce. “System failed. I can’t get it to restart.”
“Crap,” he said, moving across the room and kneeling down to study the box. He fiddled with it for a few moments and then retrieved a screwdriver from a coffee mug filled with tools and opened the back. Ruby watched as Lucas poured himself a glass of water and drained it.
Sierra walked to the door. “I need some fresh air,” she said, and slid the bolt wide. She stepped outside, and Lucas followed her out, leaving the tech gurus to figure out what had gone wrong. Sierra sat on a collapsible lawn chair and Lucas took the seat beside her. She looked over at him and he found himself unexpectedly lost in her eyes, a thrill running through him like a live wire. “We’re screwed,” she said, obviously unaware of the effect she was having on him, and the moment passed.
Lucas nodded, his face giving nothing away. “Seems that way. Maybe she can pull a rabbit out of her hat, though. Never know.”
“She didn’t sound positive.”
“Nope.”
“Damn.”
“Sometimes that’s how it goes.”
“We have to do something.”
He eyed her. “Like what?”
“I was thinking. One man knows how to get in touch with Shangri-La. He may still be alive. If he is, he’s our only hope of reaching them. He could set up another rendezvous.”
Lucas shook his head. “The scientist in Lubbock? I thought you said he was probably dead.”
“I said he might be. But I don’t know that. I was just guessing that they might have figured out he helped us.”
“Was there any evidence linking him to you?”
“Not really.”
His tone hardened. “That’s not the same as ‘no.’ It’s a pretty straightforward issue. Either there was, or there wasn’t.”
“I…I don’t know whether anyone knew we had a thing. If not, then there’d be no reason to think he was involved.” She hesitated. “We kept it secret, so unless he told someone, he might be fine.”
“Might. Kinda like might not.”
“If he was planning to help us, it doesn’t make any sense he’d advertise the connection, does it?”
“You’re the one who thought he’d be dead.”
“I was just being pessimistic. I honestly have no idea.”
Lucas sighed. “What are you saying, Sierra?”
“We need to return to Lubbock. Find him, if he’s still alive. Get him to help us again.”
“Take Eve back into the heart of enemy territory and risk handing the devil the fate of the world, you mean?”
“There has to be a way, Lucas.”
He thought for several moments. “There is, and we both know it. If I go, nobody knows me. I could find him, assuming he’s alive, and deliver the message. Set up a meet somewhere.” He remembered Ruby’s admonishment about Sierra’s manipulative talents, and part of him understood what she was doing – but there really was no other way he could see if they were to find the sanctuary, given that Ruby was out of gas and Bruce’s talents seemed better suited to rolling joints than decoding cyphers. “Tell me everything you know about him.”
“We…we had a fling. He was lonely, and so was I. We were both stuck in a horrible situation, against our will, and…he’s a good man.”
Lucas studied her face as though looking for a lost puzzle piece. “Would he be easy for them to replace?”
“I honestly don’t know. I mean, he was a specialist, so probably not.”
“He’s the one who got in touch with Shangri-La? Directly?”
She shook her head. “Through someone else. He just told me it was a rebel group.”
“He was the conduit.” It wasn’t a question.
“I suppose.” She studied her feet. “The research facility is heavily guarded, but the staff quarters across the street aren’t. If you could get into those, it’s doable. You could find him and talk to him.”
“What’s his name? How would I recognize him?”
“His name’s Jacob. Thirties, black short hair, glasses, a little shorter than you. He looks like a teacher or something. But there aren’t a lot like him at the facility. Most of the staff are…like me.”
“Tell me about the security. Everything you can.”
“It’s a big place. The University Medical Center. They have a wing set up where all they do is work on this project. There are guards at all the entrances and roving security that do spot checks during the day. I imagine they’ve tightened things up since we escaped, too.”
“Why?”
She furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? Because we escaped!”
“Are they holding anyone else?”
“Well. Oh. I see what you mean.”
Lucas thought for a moment. “So that’s where he is during the day. Tell me about the staff housing.”
“It’s adjacent to the Medical Center, across the main boulevard to the north. They used to be apartments, but are now set up as living accommodations for the high-level workers.”
“Guards?”
“A couple. Not nearly as many as at the main campus.”
“Can you draw me a diagram of the layout?”
“Sure.” She paused. “You’re really thinking of doing this?”
“Barring a miracle, I don’t see any other option, do you?”
“I could go. You could stay here with Eve.”
He made a face. “Not very practical, considering they know what you look like and have the whole state on the lookout for you.”
“I just hate that you have to put yourself at risk again. For us.”
“Beats sitting around here watching Ruby spin her wheels.”
Sierra reached out and placed her hand over his. “You’re a remarkable man, Lucas. I…I wish we had more time to get to know each other. We need to make some when you get back.”
Neither of them said anything, and then the door opened and Eve burst through. “Auntie Sierra! I had a bad dream. You were gone,” she said. Sierra stood and hugged the little girl, and Lucas also rose.
“Sooner you draw that for me, sooner I can be on the trail,” he said.
He went back inside to find Bruce shaking his head, hands on his hips, a look of frustration on his face. “I don’t know. I think it’s the power supply,” he said. “I can scrounge around and see if I can find another one – a lot of the homes here are abandoned, and nobody’s got any use for computers with no Internet or electricity. But this is the second one that’s blown, so it’s a long shot.”
Lucas interrupted him. “How far is Lubbock from here?”
Bruce frowned. “Oh, I know that. It’s…about a hundred and sixty miles.”
Lucas’s expression matched his. “Three hard days, if no problems.”
Sierra came in with Eve and sat down at the small dining room table, a cheap glass and wood affair, the top chipped from hard use.
“Morning, Bruce. You have any paper? And a pencil or pen?”
He looked confused by the question. “Um, sure. Why?”
“I could use a couple of sheets.”
He brought her a notebook. “Go
ahead and take whatever you need,” he said, handing her a pencil. She thought for a long moment and then began drawing a series of lines, connecting them into a rough blueprint.
“Damn,” she said after five minutes, and tore the page out and started over. Lucas watched her wordlessly. The next time she got it to her satisfaction and nodded. She carefully removed it from the notebook and handed it to Lucas. “That’s the overview. I put an X where Jacob’s room is, or at least used to be, and a G where the guards were stationed.”
“That’s good,” Lucas said, considering the drawing before folding it and slipping it into his back pocket. He glanced at Bruce. “Your shower work?”
“I told you. Pressure tank. And a solar heater,” Bruce said with pride.
“Think I’ll go freshen up before I hit the trail.”
“The trail?” Ruby asked.
Lucas didn’t comment, just made his way to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Ruby fixed Sierra with an expression that could have frozen fire. “What did you talk him into?”
“Me? Nothing,” she protested. “You should know by now you can’t talk him into anything he doesn’t want to do.”
“Where’s he going?”
Sierra shook her head and looked at Bruce before returning the older woman’s stare with equivalent intensity. “That’s not for me to say. If Lucas wants to tell you, he will.”
Ruby got the message – no discussion in front of Bruce. She grudgingly backed down and busied herself with preparing breakfast. Bruce came into the kitchen and watched her beat some eggs.
“I forgot how nice it is to have someone around who knows how to cook,” he said.
“If you don’t watch out, you may have us for a while.”
“There are worse things.”
“Careful what you wish for.” Ruby inspected her concoction and smiled. “Where do you get them from? The eggs?”
“Got a few dozen chickens. I’m not a complete wire head, Ruby. I’ve learned along with the rest of them.”
“No question.” She sighed. “Been a long time since I’ve made an omelet.”
“Like riding a bike, isn’t it?”
“Let’s hope I don’t fall off.”
Lucas emerged from the bathroom to the aroma of eggs. Ruby offered him a plate, and he polished it off in a few gulps, obviously anxious to get going.
“Those were delicious, Ruby.”
“You going to tell me where you’re going?”
“Should be back in a week.”
“A week!”
“About that.”
“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Stay put.” Lucas looked at Bruce. “That okay with you?”
Bruce looked uncomfortable, but Sierra stepped into the gap with a sunny smile. “We’ll stay out of your way.”
He nodded. “I…I guess.” His eyes never left Sierra.
She offered him another beaming flash of teeth and then approached Lucas, fiddling with a leather cord around her neck. She slipped it over her head and handed it to Lucas. “He’ll recognize this and know you’re my friend and that it’s not some kind of setup.”
Lucas inspected the medallion hanging from the cord: a cheap green and white yin yang symbol embossed on an enamel disk. He removed his hat and slipped the necklace over his head, where it hung tight against his throat.
Ruby eyed him, not understanding. “Who will recognize it, Lucas? What are you thinking about doing?”
Lucas glanced over his shoulder at Eve, who was watching him with childlike curiosity – and something more, that maturity he couldn’t put a proper name to. He sighed, resigned to yet another ordeal in a never-ending series, and turned back to Ruby.
“Going for a ride.”
Chapter 31
Slim’s horse stumbled for the third time in the final stretch leading to Pecos, and he eased up on the animal, having pushed it to the breaking point all night. It would serve no useful purpose to drive the creature to the brink and have him collapse before they reached the town. The beast slowed to a walk, breathing hard, its mouth foaming, and Slim felt a twinge of remorse, which he brushed aside, as he had all his earlier misgivings. Victory went to the bold, the meek inherited nothing but misery, and winners took big steps and did what was necessary to cross the finish line first. If his horse had to pay, he’d get another one – no, he’d get fifty of them with the wealth he would demand from the cartel for his information.
His head had swum all night with visions of forbidden pleasures – beautiful young women, scarce food, the finest alcohol, a protected compound where he was waited on like a medieval prince. As day broke over the arid landscape, he could almost taste the fruits of his triumph, and he had to remind himself not to goad the horse faster to get to his destination, whose promise shimmered like an oasis just over the horizon.
He tried not to think about what would happen to the woman and Lucas when the cartel caught up with them – that was none of his concern. It was their beef, and they could figure it out. Cano had promised the bearer of meaningful news anything he wanted, and Slim believed the Crew boss would follow through. He’d seen in the man’s face the desperation, the need to locate her, and Slim had heard stories of the Crew’s riches, such as their possession of a slew of southern states, vast resources that would have made their territory one of the wealthier countries if it had a national boundary around it. Anything Slim could ask for would be a pittance, and he had increased his price a dozen times on the ride, originally starting out with a modest demand, but by now, having increased it to a real eye-opener.
He guided the horse along a trail that paralleled the highway for the final leg into Pecos, and pulled up short when a voice called from a guard post as he neared a bridge on the outskirts of town.
“Stop, or I’ll shoot.”
“Easy. I’m here to trade,” Slim said.
“Let’s see your hands.”
As Slim raised them, the guard, his face tattooed, stepped from behind a pile of sandbags. Slim waited as the cartel gunman looked him over, and was relieved when the man appeared to relax.
“What you got to trade?”
“Information.”
The man regarded Slim with a puzzled expression. “Come again?”
“You heard me. I’m here to see…Cano.”
The man’s eyebrows rose. “Cano,” he repeated.
“That’s right. He’s with the Crew.”
“Oh. Sure. That guy.” The guard waved him past. “Headquarters is over at the courthouse. Know where that is?”
Slim’s eyes flitted to the man’s gun and then back to his face. “I’ve been there before.”
“All right, then. On your way. Just keep your hands off your weapons till you’re out of sight,” the guard warned, obviously jumpy.
“You got it.”
Slim’s first obstacle successfully negotiated, his confidence increased with each tired step his horse took. The stallion ambled toward the brick edifice, and Slim stopped at another guard post in front of it. The Locos there were a sight more alert than the drowsy border guard.
“I’m here to see Cano,” Slim announced.
“Yeah? Who’re you, homeboy?”
“Name’s Slim.”
“Slim, huh? There’s a classic for ya,” one of the guards said to his companion, slapping his chest with the back of his hand and laughing. “Slim here wants to see Cano. Isn’t that right?”
Slim’s certainty wavered, but he didn’t let it show. “That’s right. Where is he? He’ll want to talk to me.”
“He will, huh? And why’s that, Slim?”
“I’ve got information he’s after.”
The guards exchanged a glance. “Is that so?”
“Yep.”
One of the men shifted his gun so it was pointing at Slim. “Why don’t you tell us, and if it sounds legit, we’ll take you to him?”
Slim shook his head. “I only tell him.”
“Y
ou’re pissing me off, boy. Bad idea. Spill the beans.”
Slim swallowed the knot that was threatening to strangle him. “He’s looking for someone. I know where she is.”
“She?”
“The woman.”
Another surreptitious glance and the men stood, brandishing their weapons. “Is that so?”
Slim nodded. “It is.”
“Where is she?”
“I told you. I only talk to Cano. That was the deal.”
“Deal? You’re going to make a deal with him?”
Slim didn’t like the way the exchange was going, and dug in. “That’s between me and Cano.” He paused. “He’s not going to be happy to hear you didn’t take me to him immediately.”
“Is that a threat?” the guard asked the other, and then studied Slim. “Sounds like one to me.”
“Look, I have no beef with you. I came to talk to Cano.”
“Oh. Sure. Sort of like, ‘Take me to your leader.’ Except by some hayseed shit-kicker.” The Loco flipped off his weapon’s safety. “Now tell us where she is, punkass. I’m running low on patience.”
Slim shook his head. “I want to see Cano.”
The Loco looked to his companion. “Take his guns. We’ll do this the hard way.”
Realization of the situation he’d gotten himself into struck Slim with the force of a blow, and he tried to turn his horse, but the cartel thug was already reaching for the bridle. The exhausted stallion panicked as the gunman tried to grab it and reared on its back legs, lashing out with its front hooves and striking the Loco, knocking him to the ground, one of the hooves caving in his skull like a porcelain doll.
Slim fought to bring the horse under control as the remaining Loco raised his gun. Slim reached for his to protect himself, and the Loco’s AKM barked on full auto, stitching Slim’s torso with rounds and blowing the horse’s brains all over him in a shower of blood and bone shards.
Rider and horse collapsed, the stallion dead before he hit the ground, and Slim’s life ebbing as his dreams of riches seeped from ragged holes in his chest, the flashes of searing pain replaced by a cold so profound it took his final breath away.
Chapter 32
The Day After Never - Purgatory Road (Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller - Book 2) Page 16