by Sam Sisavath
“I don’t know,” Hatch said without hesitation. “Five, I think?”
“You think?”
“I don’t know for sure. There might be more out here today.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. Things were hectic all morning.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Hatch repeated.
“Why were things hectic this morning?”
“I don’t know. Something happened last night, I think.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“What happened last night?”
“Oh. I don’t know.”
“You don’t know much, do you?”
“I guess not…”
Keo didn’t think Hatch was lying. The man didn’t seem capable of coming up with on-the-spot lies. Hell, the guy hadn’t realized he was still holding onto the half-peeled potato. Besides, Keo had seen plenty of mooks like Hatch. They were grunts—and worse, they were happy to be grunts and to stay that way. Guys like Hatch lacked ambition and were content to be one of the guys holding the guns instead of having one pointed at them.
He crouched in front of Hatch, grimacing a bit (and hoping the Bucky didn’t notice), and said, “Let’s change subjects. Were you there? At Winding Creek?”
“Winding what?” Hatch said.
“Winding Creek.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s a town. South of here.”
Hatch shook his head. “I told you, man, I’m just a patrol guy. I just patrol Fenton, that’s all.” His eyes snapped to his two dead buddies. “We don’t go out with the others on the raids.”
“So this is your regular gig?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Keo stared at the man, trying to decide if he was scared and incapable of lying or just really good at acting.
Finally, he said, “The women and children from the raids. Why are they taking them?”
“I don’t know,” Hatch said. “I’m just—”
“On patrol, I know, you’ve said that before.”
“I swear, man, I don’t know anything that has to do with the raids. None of us do. You gotta be in Buck’s unit to know about that stuff. He keeps things really close to the vest. Real need-to-know.”
“You’re not a part of Buck’s unit?”
“Not really.”
“Explain.”
“Huh?”
Keo pointed at the circled M over one of Hatch’s vest pouches. “Explain that, if you’re not one of Buck’s guys.”
Again, that hesitation as Hatch tried to decide if he should talk or not.
And again, Keo decided to help him out by firing a bullet, this time just an inch above his right ear and splitting bark from the tree behind him.
“Jesus!” Hatch said as he flinched with his entire body again. “Stop doing that!”
“Don’t be such a princess.”
“Christ.”
“You kiss your mom with that mouth?”
“My mom’s dead.”
“It was a figure of speech.” Keo pointed at the circled M again. “You were in the middle of explaining that to me.”
“Buck’s guys trained us. Once we’re done with training, we get to wear the M. It’s like a privilege. But Buck doesn’t really trust anyone who wasn’t a part of his original unit. Not enough to watch his back when he’s out on a raid.”
“And he always goes out in person? Buckaroo?”
“Yeah. It’s part of why his guys like him.”
“Explain.”
“You know, because he always puts his money where his mouth is? He won’t ask his guys to go out there if he won’t. That’s why they like him.”
“So you were in Fenton long before he showed up?”
Hatch nodded. “I was there even before the ghouls died off.”
Not all of them, Keo thought, but kept that to himself.
He said instead, “What about the women and children that Buck’s people brought back to Fenton?”
“Like I said, I don’t know about that stuff.”
“You’ve never seen them in town?”
“Maybe, I don’t know. There’s a lot of people in town. I mean, a lot.”
“How many is a lot?”
“A few thousand…”
“That’s a lot.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“The guy who runs the place,” Keo said. “Copenhagen. Is that his name? Like the capital of Denmark?”
“Yeah, that’s him,” Hatch nodded. “I don’t know about no capital, though.”
Keo chuckled. “You don’t know much, do you?”
“Nah, I guess not.”
“Tell me about him. Copenhagen.”
“Like, his past or something?”
“Like, yeah,” Keo smiled.
“I think he used to be a cop.”
“You think?”
“Maybe he used to be a cop. I dunno. He was there when the ghouls were still running the place.”
“One of the overseers.”
“I guess you could call him that.”
“Go on…”
“After The Walk Out, the people in town either left or stayed. He was one of the bosses that stayed. Then one day, it was just him.”
“What does that mean?”
“Of all the bosses we had when the ghouls were still around, he was the only one left afterward.”
“What happened to the others?”
“I don’t know. I mean, no one knows for sure. Some think they decided to leave—you know, head back to where they came from. But others think he killed them.” Hatch shrugged. “No one knows for sure, and it’s not like anyone asked. Anyway, he’s been running the place by himself since.”
“When did Buck and his boys show up?”
“About two years ago, I think?”
“How many men did he have with him at the time?”
“Two hundred? Maybe more?”
“You think?”
“I think,” Hatch nodded.
Keo smiled again. “How many men did Copenhagen have before Buck showed up?”
“You mean, guys that used to be soldiers, or everyone?”
“The former.”
“Huh?”
“The first one.”
“Oh. About a hundred, I think. But that ballooned pretty fast when people started showing up from other places.”
Like Lewis and Vince from Winding Creek?
“How many guys are wearing that now?” Keo asked, pointing at the circled M again.
“Five hundred or so.”
“What’s the draw?”
“I don’t understand…”
“Fenton. What’s so special about it that so many guys are joining up?”
Hatch gave Keo a perplexed look, like he couldn’t comprehend the question.
“What are they doing, giving away free virgins?” Keo asked. “Or maybe free new cars for everyone who signs up?”
Hatch shook his head. “It’s nothing like that, man.”
“So what’s it like, then?”
“They’re just…strong.”
“Strong? How so?”
“Strong,” Hatch said as if Keo should understand. “Have you been out there? If you’re not strong, you get run over. People come and take things that you have, that they want. That’s just how it is out there. Fenton is strong. No one’s going to take anything from us.”
Because Fenton is the one doing all the taking. And who doesn’t like a winner?
Hatch was staring at Keo when he asked, “Are you going to kill me?”
“Now why would I do that?”
The Bucky glanced at Six-Pack behind and to Keo’s right, then Sandy Blond to Keo’s left.
“Ah, them,” Keo said. “I just wanted you to know that I was serious, that’s all. Also, I was in a bit of a foul mood. But I’m all good now, so you don’t have to worry.”
“That’s…good?”
“Absolut
ely. Now, I need you to do me two favors.”
“Two?” Hatch said, more than a little nervously.
“First, drop the potato.”
“Huh?” Hatch glanced at his hand, the one clutching the potato. He dropped it like it was on fire before looking tentatively back at Keo. “What’s the second favor?”
“I need your radio, and then I need you to deliver a message for me,” Keo said. “I guess that’s three favors, now that I think about it…”
THIRTY-TWO
IT DIDN’T TAKE Hatch long to deliver the message.
Keo was enjoying a big slice of the roasted fawn he’d taken from the Bucky campsite before moving back into the woods, retracing his steps away from Fenton, when the radio on the ground next to him squawked and a voice said, “EB. My old friend.”
He recognized Buck’s voice, but instead of answering, Keo took his time chasing the venison down with some water, then wiped his oily hands on his pants legs. He had been fully prepared to wait another hour before he acted just in case Hatch hadn’t, for whatever reason, come through.
“You there?” Buck asked through the two-way.
Keo let him wait a few more seconds before he finally picked up the radio and pressed the transmit lever. “Buckaroo. How the hell are ya?”
Buck chuckled through the radio. “I could be better. You caught me at a bad time, EB. I’m a little busy right now.”
“You know what they say: when it rains, it pours.”
“More like a drizzle. But in any case, it’s a good thing I’m adaptable. How’ve you been?”
“Can’t complain. Busy killing a lot of your guys.”
“Is that right?”
“You know the ones down at Jonah’s yesterday?”
“That was you?”
“Yup. Saw more of your boys show up later, all gussied up and ready for a fight. Thought you might have tagged along.”
“Unfortunately I had other matters to attend to. Ghosts from the past, if you will.”
“Sounds like the beginning of an interesting story. Tell me more.”
“Maybe next time, when we see each other again in person.”
“Promises, promises.”
“So, that was you making all that trouble for me down there?”
“Guilty as charged.”
“Well, damn, EB. I don’t know whether to put down this radio and immediately launch a one-hundred-man strong manhunt for you or offer you a job.”
“Either way works for me.”
“What would you do if I went with the former?”
“Nothing fancy. Just wait around and kill your guys one by one. It’s not like I got anything else better to do. My calendar’s wide open these days.”
Another amused chuckle from Buck. Keo wondered if that was for his benefit, since Buck didn’t have to keep his radio keyed while he did it.
“So, did you get my message?” Keo asked.
“Sure did,” Buck said. “Quote: ‘Let everyone you took from Winding Creek go, or I’ll kill everyone in Fenton, including you and Copenhagen.’ Did I get it right? Hatch was a little nervous when he was repeating it to me, so he might have gotten some of it wrong. I just want to be sure.”
“Hatch got it right.”
“But just to be one-hundred percent certain: Let everyone I took from Winding Creek go, or you’ll kill me?”
“That’s about it.”
“And Copenhagen?”
“Oh yeah, him too.”
“He didn’t like that. Copenhagen, I mean. He got kind of annoyed, actually. Here’s this guy he’s never met, threatening his life.”
“You didn’t tell him about me?”
“I did, actually.”
“What did he say?”
“He was like me—he didn’t know whether to hunt you down or offer you a position on his staff.”
This time Keo chuckled—and he kept the transmit button keyed so Buck could hear it. “So what’ll it be?”
“I’m afraid we can’t give them up.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Does it matter?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Besides, you have me curious, EB. I’m wondering which one of these Winding Creek residents you’re so desperate to get back. It can’t be all of them, I know that.”
“Do you now?”
“Oh, I’m sure of it,” Buck said. “Almost as sure as I know your name’s not really EB. Am I right…Keo?”
Shit, Keo thought, but he didn’t hesitate to answer back, “Good guess.”
“Not really,” Buck said. There wasn’t quite the triumph in his voice Keo was expecting. “I asked the people from Winding Creek about you. It wasn’t really hard to get an identification as it turned out: Male, Asian, six-feet-something, with a big ol’ scar across one side of his face. I wasn’t sure about the scar, but Hatch confirmed it.”
“Good ol’ Hatch.”
“So who is it, Keo? Who do I have that you want back so badly?”
“I’m surprised you didn’t ask them that, too.”
“Maybe I don’t want to.”
“And why would that be?”
“Maybe what I really want is to see you make good on your threat.”
“Oh, it’s not a threat, Buckaroo. I don’t threaten.”
“You just promise, is that it?”
“You’re smarter than you look.”
Buck laughed. It wasn’t nearly as convincing as he was probably hoping. “Smart enough to remember that name. Keo. It’s a hard name to forget, after all.”
Double shit.
“You know what the M stands for, don’t you?” Buck asked.
“Yeah,” Keo said.
“Of course you do. You killed him. Blew his brains out. I wasn’t there when you did it, but I heard about it. I heard all the grisly details. Then you somehow escaped the hangman’s noose.” Buck paused. Then, “You’re a hard man to kill, Keo.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“I don’t doubt that whatsoever. A man of your skills. The things you must have done even before the world went to shit. You are indeed impressive, Keo.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“I’m sure you have.”
“So now that we know each other better, where do we stand?”
“I think we both know the answer to that one,” Buck said. “If you want the people from Winding Creek back, you’ll have to come and get them. I’ll even make you this promise, Keo, from one professional to another: I won’t hurt them. I won’t lay a single hand on them or try to find out which one you’re so stuck on.”
“That’s mighty big of you.”
“So thank me.”
Keo clenched his teeth for a brief second. Then, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Buck said. “Now, let’s see you make good on your promise. You know where to find me.”
“Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo,” Keo said.
Buck laughed again. This time, it came through more convincing. “They did say you were an odd duck for a killer.”
“So that’s it, then.” Keo added, in his best game show host voice, “Is that your final answer?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Don’t say I didn’t give a chance.”
“Likewise.”
“I’ll see you again very soon, Buckaroo.”
“Don’t keep me waiting too long, Keo,” Buck said, just before the radio went silent.
Keo put the two-way back down and finished the slice of venison.
What exactly had he expected?
Pretty much this.
He was wiping his hands on his pants legs when Horse, standing next to him, lifted his head and snorted loudly.
“Yeah, I know, I can hear them, too. Ol Buck was stalling me, that little scamp.”
He stood up and unslung the MP5SD submachine gun, then took a second to think about what Hatch had said about Fenton:
“They�
��re just…strong. Have you been out there? If you’re not strong, you get run over. People come and take things that you have, that they want. That’s just how it is out there. Fenton is strong. No one’s going to take anything from them.”
No, maybe not, but Keo had seen stronger forces buckle when you hit them at just the right spots. He had personal experience with that.
Right now, he swore he couldn’t just hear them trampling around the woods, snapping branches like primitive apes, but he could also smell them.
And they reeked, all right, but it wasn’t body odor in the air. They were emanating excitement because they were hunting him.
Keo grinned at Horse. “The more things change, blah blah blah.”
The animal snorted back.
“Exactly,” Keo said, before picking up Horse’s reins and starting off, the two of them vanishing like ghosts.
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
And we’re back!
I honestly thought it would take longer before I got the itch to return to the Purge universe, but it’s barely been a year since THE BONES OF VALHALLA wrapped, and here we are. For those new to the post-Purge world and GLORY BOX is your introduction, welcome! Sit back and enjoy the ride!
(And oh, if you are new, it’s not too late to learn how it all went bad. If you liked what you read and want more, pick up the 9-part Purge of Babylon series today.)
Meanwhile, please help spread the word by leaving a review for GLORY BOX at a retailer of your choice. Even a short review would be most appreciated.
Until then, the mystery around Fenton deepens and more familiar faces show up in…
BOMBTRACK
BOOK 2 IN THE ROAD TO BABYLON SERIES
Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
About Glory Box
SIX YEARS AFTER THE PURGE
FIVE YEARS AFTER THE BATTLE OF HOUSTON
Radio Broadcast From 5 Years Ago
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21