Chloe nodded her head.
Dan secured their saddle bags and then climbed up on to Weiser.
Chrissy and Lacey unhitched the horses and handed up the reins.
‘You know where you’re going right?’ Chrissy asked Dan.
He nodded and said, ‘I’ve studied the map all morning, we’ll be fine, and thanks for all your help, really you’ve both been great.’
‘No problem sugar-pie,’ Chrissy said.
Lacey passed both Chloe and Dan two water canteens and they hung them over the horns of the saddles.
‘Top of the first ridge there’ll be water a plenty for the horses, and there’s plenty of grazing all along the hills, they’ll be fine, there’s enough rations for you guys for five days,’ Lacey told them.
‘Thanks,’ Chloe said.
Dan looked at Chloe, ‘Ready?’
Chloe said she was and Dan took the lead heading towards the path that would take them over the hills.
‘Good luck,’ Chrissy and Lacey called after them and Dan raised one hand and waved back to them. Chloe kept her hands on the reins and prayed that she wouldn’t fall out of the saddle; it had been a while since she’d last been on a horse.
They camped that first night in a bluff secluded from the wind and Dan got a small fire going, the fire wouldn’t be seen by anyone and Chloe was thankful for the heat, this high up it was a lot colder at night than down in the desert. Chloe was a little saddle sore that night but Dan made it better by massaging her ass before she fell asleep in an exhausted heap.
The following morning they moved along the trails and by lunchtime of that second day they could no longer see the camp far below them and that night they camped in rock overhang and fell asleep to the wind howling through the hills to the north.
On the third morning they crossed down on to the other side of the ridge and before noon they could see Williams’ ranch six miles away to the south. They didn’t worry about being seen as the trail they were on hardly ever broke cover from the vast red rocks all around them.
The sun was intense on them and Chloe wiped at her face with a shirt.
‘It’s so fucking hot, who the hell would want to live out here in this?’
Dan looked back at her and he smiled at her, ‘I can think of two good reasons to be out here.’
‘Yeah and what’s that?’
Dan laughed as he pointed at her breasts bouncing up and down in rhythm to the horse’s movements beneath her. The bikini struggled to contain them and Dan regularly told her that he could see her nipples.
Chloe adjusted the bikini yet again with her left hand; she was now comfortable enough in the saddle to ride one-handed.
‘Pervert,’ she joked and laughed again.
‘How long until we’re within shooting distance do you think?’ Chloe asked.
Dan checked his watch, ‘I reckon about mid-afternoon, hopefully we won’t have to wait all night for a chance, and that way we can be heading back up tonight.’
‘Right,’ Chloe said. ‘Dan?’
‘Yes?’
‘My ass is hurting like a bitch,’ she said with a chuckle.
They rode down out of the hills, this side was easier riding and Dan settled in next to Chloe; riding alongside her. He reached across and held her left hand, they rode that way for quite a while; their horses knew what they were doing, it was just like Chrissy had told them, all they needed to do was stay in the saddle.
Dan stopped their horses near a small rock pool and they decided they’d dismount and have some lunch before finishing off the trek down. Chloe jumped down out of the saddle and rubbed her ass and made pitiful noises complaining about the pain in her rump.
Dan made her sit down and then rolled her on to her side and told her to unbuckle her jeans. She did and he massaged her buttocks beneath her knickers.
‘Oh that feels so good; my ass just isn’t cut out for riding.’
‘It’s the saddle that’s all, if we ever get that slice of Montana we’ll get you rigged up properly.’
Chloe sighed with obvious relief as Dan’s fingers worked at the pains in her rump. Chloe looked over her shoulder at him and said, ‘I hope you aren’t getting any ideas mister.’
Dan leaned forward and kissed the nape of her neck and promised her that his intentions were completely honourable.
They tied the horses off to a snaggle-limbed long dead tree; its bark white from the sun’s rays over the years.
‘We’ll walk it from here,’ Dan said as he untied his saddle bags. They were in an arroyo, its steep sides offering shade for the horses.
Chloe unfastened her pack from the rear of Bud and rubbed at her ass through the seat of her jeans.
‘When we get back to civilisation you’re going to spend serious quality time making my rump feel better.’
Dan laughed and untied the sniper’s rifle from behind his saddle. He opened one of the canteens and drank, when he was finished he offered it to Chloe who was grateful for the liquid even if it was warm from the heat. She wiped her forehead with the back of her right forearm and looked up at the sun.
Dan checked his watch; it was two thirty in the afternoon. He slipped the watch off of his wrist and put it in his jeans pocket, he didn’t want anything glinting in the light and Chloe rotated her engagement ring hiding the rock in against her palm.
Dan handed her a t-shirt and she used it to wipe the sweat from her upper body, she unsnapped the bikini’s front fastener and wiped her exposed breasts. ‘Pass me the sun-block,’ she said as she wiped at her neck.
Dan handed her the bottle of sun-block and she applied liberal amounts to her front and arms, she smiled at Dan as she rubbed the lotion all over her large breasts, working the cream in to her nipples.
Dan just shook his head and told her to turn around and then coated her shoulders, neck and back. When he was finished Chloe covered his body where it was exposed against the sun.
‘Don’t you think you should cover up?’ Dan asked with a wry grin.
‘Spoil sport,’ Chloe pouted but secured her breasts beneath the bikini top.
‘For what little good it does,’ remarked Dan.
‘If I get tan lines it’s your fault.’
They applied more cream to their faces and Dan put the bottle back in one of his bags and slung his saddle bags over his right shoulder. The binoculars hung around his neck and he carried the rifle over his left arm; its tripod resting against his back. Dan consulted the compass he’d purchased in Tokyo and pointed to their left.
‘That way; maybe a quarter of a mile.’
Chloe nodded and hefted her saddle bags over her shoulder mimicking Dan. She had the Glock tucked in to the waistband of her jeans at her back; its grip hot against her skin. She carried two canteens of water and followed in Dan’s footsteps along the arroyo’s wide bed.
‘It’s hard to believe that rivers once flowed through here,’ Dan said over his shoulder.
‘We’ve been here for days and apart from our horses the only wildlife we’ve seen is a big-ass spider and a lizard, I was hoping we’d see kangaroos, who comes to Australia and doesn’t get to see Skippy?’
Dan slowed and said, ‘I think this’ll be about as close as we can get.’ He slid back down the embankment and Chloe held her hand out and helped him to his feet.
‘The ranch is about a mile away, I didn’t see any movement but all the vehicles are accounted for, Williams’ is probably staying out of the heat.’
‘Can’t say I blame him,’ Chloe replied. The sweat was already back and covered every inch of her. They both smelt bad and Dan had joked that it was a good job they were downwind of the ranch or Williams would have smelled them before he’d see them.
‘We’ll set-up up top, help me with this will you?’ Dan said as he unstrapped one of the saddlebags and handed Chloe a camouflaged nylon sheet; its colour matched the natural tones of the desert around them, another thing to thank Chrissy and Lacey for. He handed Chloe the small po
les that would secure it above them, when it was erected it would cover them both and give them not only protection from the sun but would hopefully hide them should Williams decide to scan the desert for any reason.
Chloe helped Dan sort what they would need up top, the rest they would leave at the bottom of the bank.
Twenty minutes later they were both lying flat on a thin groundsheet; the shelter erected over them, there was about two inches of room between their heads and the canvas. Large rocks were layered at the edges encase a sudden desert wind blew.
They were lying on their fronts, Chloe held the binoculars and Dan had set up the rifle to his right, Chloe on his left; they both wore ear protectors but could hear each other speaking.
Squashed flat Chloe’s breasts were pushed close together and Dan had said two minutes earlier that it was the best cleavage he’d ever seen. Chloe had pushed against him and said, ‘I’m just glad to be off my ass.’
‘Well get comfortable, we could be here for a very long time.’
Dan had assembled the rifle in the arroyo and now it was loaded and set on its tripod, he had got himself comfortable, his legs out flat, his feet turned out on the sides of his boots, he was relaxed as he looked through the sight at the ranch.
Chloe held the binoculars to her eyes and swept over the ranch and its surroundings.
‘According to the gauge you showed me yesterday, it reads one point oh four seven miles to the porch steps. Honey, not to question your abilities but are you sure you’re able to make that kind of shot?’
Dan was breathing slowly and evenly like he had been taught years before, he wore a cap, bill at the back on his head to keep the sweat from trickling down in to his face.
‘I hope so.’
‘It looks so far, I never knew people could shoot someone from this distance.’
‘Farther too, you’d be surprised what some snipers are capable of, at my old shooting club there was an ex-SAS man who once shot a target at just over one point five miles.’
‘Shit!’ Chloe said.
‘It’s hard at this distance but no way impossible, its more about science, specifically Physics when you’re shooting at these distances; wind, elevation, even the curvature of the earth and gravity’s pull comes in to play, hence the very expensive binoculars and scope.’
‘Uh-huh, and you’re sure you can trust me to read these gauges correctly?’ She said it light-heartedly but she was also sincere, she was worried that she’d screw it up and that Dan would end up hitting the barn rather than Williams.
Dan smiled at her, ‘I trust you honey, just read the digits that appear through lenses when I ask for them, you can’t screw it up.’
‘Okey-dokey.’
Dan chambered a round and Chloe commented on the sheer size of the cartridge.
‘Unlike in the movies when this round hits its target there’s not just a neat burst of blood and a hole in the bad guy’s forehead. It’ll hit like he’s been shot up close with canon, chances are if my aim is right his head will totally disappear.’
‘Like Nakatomi right?’ Chloe said.
‘Something like that, which reminds me we’ve got to talk about that sometime.’
Chloe nodded her head but didn’t say anything. She lowered the binoculars and uncapped one of the canteens; she took a couple of mouthfuls and asked if he wanted any. Dan said he was fine and continued to look through the scope at the ranch house.
Two hours later and Chloe said, ‘I love you baby but you smell rotten.’
Dan laughed. ‘Right back at you.’
They were both struggling now, the heat, even beneath the shelter was unbearable, they’d gotten through one canteen already. Chloe licked her dry lips and said, ‘I think I’m going to wet myself soon.’
Dan grinned at her, ‘I had to let go about twenty minutes ago.’
‘I knew I could smell piss,’ she said and smiled at him.
‘Hey, if you got to go, go, we can’t move out from under here until the cover of darkness.’
‘This is so embarrassing,’ she said but did as he’d told her and she felt her urine pooling beneath her and soaking in to her jeans. ‘Just don’t ever tell anyone okay?’
‘Baby; it’s no big thing.’
The smell in the shelter intensified and Chloe said, ‘I must really love you, pissing myself in front of my fiancé, something I could never have foreseen.’
Chloe wriggled her hips and then settled once more; she was aware that Dan hadn’t moved once from his firing position. The man must have the patience of a Saint, she thought.
‘Movement,’ Dan said.
Chloe held the binoculars to her eyes and zeroed in on the ranch.
‘Where?’
‘Window to our left of the front door; see it?’
Chloe saw a man walk past the window.
‘I saw it.’
She continued to watch and the front door opened and a man stood in the doorway, he was in shadow and Chloe said, ‘I can’t see if it’s Williams or not.’
Dan zeroed in on the figure, even with the scope’s military-grade capabilities of magnification he couldn’t tell either and he didn’t want to shoot the wrong man. All they’d learned led him to think that Williams was out here on his own but Dan wasn’t going to take a chance at fucking this whole thing up.
‘What do you think?’ Chloe asked.
‘Let’s wait and see what he does.’
Two minutes later and the man stepped out on to the porch and out of the shadows.
‘It’s Williams,’ said Chloe with a mixture of relief and excitement.
‘Okay, give me the figures.’
Chloe said aloud the digits illuminated in the binoculars’ lenses and Dan adjusted the rifle accordingly.
On the porch Williams raised a hand to his forehead and looked out across the desert. He appeared to be looking straight at them and Chloe felt her body break out in goose-bumps.
‘Is he looking at us?’
‘Doesn’t matter if he is,’ Dan replied calmly and pulled the trigger.
Chloe jumped at the sound, loud even through the sound suppressors she wore and she felt her bladder give again. She hadn’t expected the shot.
Chloe managed to keep the binoculars on the front door, several seconds passed (time seemed to daw out, to lengthen as far as Chloe was concerned) and then she jumped again when Williams exploded back through the open doorway. She hadn’t seen any blood; she was shaking too much and the image through the binoculars jumped all over.
‘Is he dead?’ Chloe asked; her voice quivering.
Dan chambered another round as he kept his eye to the scope. His aim had been a little off; not catching Williams in the head as he’d hoped but high up on the man’s left shoulder near his throat; when Williams had crashed back through the open door he no longer had a head or left arm.
Dan scoped in through the doorway and could see the lower body of Williams; the man was flat on his back.
‘He’s dead,’ Dan said and pulled the trigger again.
Chloe yelped.
Dan counted the seconds off until impact and then watched as the body in the doorway recoiled from another hit and Dan smiled in satisfaction at the carnage the last round had caused.
Dan lowered the rifle and Chloe said, ‘I thought you said he was dead?’
‘Making sure.’
Chloe used the binoculars to scan the rest of the ranch; she saw no movement.
‘You made me wet myself again.’
Dan turned on to his back and stretched his body, his shoulders were sore and his hips were numb from the lack of movement for so long.
‘How long should we wait here for?’
Dan rolled back over and lifted the rifle and looked through the scope at the house and surrounding barns, there was no movement of any kind. Katsumoto had been right; Williams had lived out here in isolation.
Dan lowered the rifle and turned to Chloe, ‘I think we can leave, unless you’d like to
stay.’
Chloe brushed her sweat-soaked hair from her face and smiled at Dan.
‘Let’s get out of here, if we ride fast enough I think we can camp at that small spring we passed this morning, I need a bath, and so do you.’
Dan took off his ear protectors and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
‘Nice shooting by the way.’
Chloe was the first to slide in to the small rock pool, the sun had passed over the hills but the shallow water still remained very warm after a full day of basking in hundred degree heat. The horses were drinking from the other side of the pool and Chloe watched their muzzles working at the water.
When they’d reached the pool Chloe passed her reins across to Dan and slid from the saddle where she quickly pulled her chaps and jeans off, hopping as she struggled to get free of the wet, sticky clothing. She’d tossed her bikini over her head and collapsed in to the pool; at its deepest she was able to submerge herself completely.
She looked up now as Dan stripped from his clothes and she said, ‘I don’t suppose we’ve got any shower gel?’
Dan walked over to Weiser and Chloe laughed at the scene before her; a naked man rifling through a saddlebag. He turned around and held up two items that Chloe never thought she’d be so excited to see; a single bar of soap and a small travel-size bottle of shampoo.
‘My hero,’ Chloe said and stretched up to get at the soap.
Dan stepped in to the pool and slid on his back beneath the water. Rising up once more he said, ‘I feel ten times cleaner already.’
Chloe was lathering her body with soap bar, rubbing the bar all over her chest and shoulders and along her arms until all of her above the water was lathered in soap.
‘Good job you filled the canteens first,’ Chloe said.
‘And the horses have had their fill.’
Chloe passed Dan the soap and he started to clean himself. Chloe splashed water across her body and then stood up and stepped between Dan’s legs and he quickly washed her legs, she turned around and he scrubbed at her ass. She took the bar from him and opened her legs and cleaned herself vigorously.
Rage Against The Machine: Special Edition (Dan & Chloe Book 1) Page 35