CHAPTER 12

Bunkhouse, Higgins’ Compound, 15 Months Ago

Little better now for movin’ around some. Damn this place gets chilly of a night. ‘Nuff light to see without trippin’ over every damn thing. Raided the wood pile yonder for a club, found me this nice piece ‘bout half meter long. Feels good to my hand, oughtta do fine.

Now if only these sumbitches’d go to sleep instead of playin’ cards! They been at it since I slid over here and don’t sound ready to quit any time soon. They don’t knock it off afore shift change this could get a little dicey.

“C’mon, Zeeb, one more hand. Give you a chance at winning some of that back.”

“That’s what you said an hour ago and look where it got me. I’m deeper in the hole now than ever. I didn’t know better I’d swear you were cheating.”

“I don’t need to cheat, I’m just lucky tonight.”

“Lucky, hell. Deal ‘em out, but I’ll be watchin’ you close this hand.”

Awright, PLAN B. ‘Stead of takin’ out the sleepers, I’ll bushwhack the two comin’ off shift ‘fore they get here. Sneak up behind as they’re walkin’ and clobber ‘em both. Come back here, and take out these two. Maybe they’ll have quit by then. If not, well, we’ll just have to see.

Need a good spot for the ambush, sumthin’ ‘bout halfway to here. There’s that fountain, statue, whatever the hell that is. Follow the next pair out, then tuck up in the shadow ‘round the base of that. Might be a little rough gettin’ in motion fast enough from there, though.

Mmm.....that’d do temporary, let me work closer to the house. From there to.........that tree. Shadow’s good and deep under it. Suck up tight, make myself part of it. Works.

Now all I need is for a little cooperation. Two comin’ off don’t come back together this could all go sideways in a hurry.

Hera: Jeb’s place, early evening

Finally caught me a break. Guess my not fallin’ for the setups at Gordy an’ Abbie’s is makin’ ‘em a tad impatient. Watched ‘em both get brung to Jeb’s in the hover, trussed up, but didn’t see any bruises or blood. That’s good to know.

Seen five thugs in the hover, so that’s confirmed. Another one at the ship, along with a fella in sumthin’ like a uniform. Old fatigues, maybe. He’d be a merc, part of this crew here. Four of ‘em, standin’ separate from Barty’s boys, one givin’ orders or a briefing, cain’t quite hear.

So that’s five, four, two, and two. Baker’s dozen. Back in the day we’d’ve either dropped a man or took an extra. Thirteen is serious bad juju on an op. Plan on a couple more I ain’t seen, just in case, maybe back at the ship.

Confab is breakin’ up. Boss merc talkin’ to Barty now, Barty noddin’. Two mercs headin’ over to the hover, grab four goons on the way. They got sumthin’ in mind for sure. Maybe settin’ up an ambush for me, maybe gatherin’ up more bait, I dunno. Hover fires up and.......not headin’ towards the ship.

Rest of ‘em all went into Jeb’s. Figger there’ll be guns on each side of the house in a minute. No sense hangin’ around here, got things to do tonight. Get on over to the yard, raid the stash, start gettin’ things set up. After that, pay a visit to their boat in the wee hours. Got that wave to send, de-com the engine.

Figger that’ll cause ‘em to collapse in on Jeb’s after they find the meat. They’ll want to surround the bait, try and trap me. Hmmm...don’t want’em just sittin’ in there holed up. Have to let ‘em know that I’m close, draw ‘em out.

Well, I’ll think on that while settin’ up tonight. Need to be “creative”.

Higgins’ Compound, 15 Months Ago, night

Okay, there they go. Give ‘em about fifty feet of lead, slide on out. If they turn, I freeze, just another shape in the yard. Won’t see me clear at that distance in this light.

Little more...............go.

Stay centered behind ‘em, right in the dead spot. Need to freeze when they make the turn up ahead. Wait....they’ve stopped. What the?

Match. Shut my eyes to slits, don’t want a reflection. Lighting up smokes. Idjits. Screw up their night vision sumthin’ awful. Good for me, though. Even if they look right at me all they’ll see is purple blobs against the night.

They’re movin’ again. That’s right fellas, just amble along. Ain’t nuthin’ goin’ to happen tonight, just like every other night. And....freeze again. Ten...twenty... thirty feet, reach the corner of the house, and gone.

Forget the fountain. Cross the lawn, watch the house. Into the shadows. Here’s my tree. Stay on this side, away from the house. Little lean to it, slide my arm up the trunk, grab that branch, yeah, lean with the tree, hand with the club down along my leg. Really frikkin’ dark under here, prolly not necessary, but why chance it? Shouldn’t be too long now.

Already? That was quick. Together, too. Sweet. C’mon boys, time for a dirt nap.

Right on past me. Now time their steps...go. Bound over the lawn.

Big one hears me, starts to turn. BONK, catch him good alongside the head, starts to drop. Swing straight over and get the other one in the teeth, goes over backwards. Drop to the ground beside ‘em, just one big blur in the dark for anyone lookin’. Big guy makes a noise, not loud, grab the windpipe and squeeze. No more noises.

Lay here a minute, watch the house. Nuthin’. Look back toward the bunk. Nuthin. Shiny. Check for pulses. Big guy’s dead, prolly was when he hit the ground. Head’s all squishy on one side. Other one will be after I drag him outta here.

Don’t like killin’, even them as have it comin’ most times. Had more’n enough of it durin’ the war. But tonight, it’s them or me, and I sure don’t wanna be stayin’ on this toilet of a moon any longer than I have to. Best get on with it.

Hera: Mossberg Salvage Yard, night

Hover came back, same crew as went out in it. Wonder what they were up to?

Awright, let’s get down to business. Got two automatics here, standard mil issue, hide ‘em out in the yard as a just in case. Spare clip each. Box of Grizwalds, with arming transmitter. One demo block of plastic, and remote detonator. Take one of the big grenades anyways, ya never know. Forget the seeker. Now then, let’s diagram this out.

I go to the ship, take down whoever’s there, should only be two. Merc is bound to have some kind of handheld com, take that. Quick sweep through the boat, clear, pull the core card and hide it. Still good, send the wave.

Back to the hide, rest up. They oughtta find the bodies soon enough, pull in all their people, ‘specially after they find the ship is dead. Then lure the bastards into the yard. Snipe at ‘em from that freighter. Maybe get two afore they catch on.

They’ll want to overwhelm me, send the hover out loaded up. Put that demo block here, it’s a bottleneck. Can set that off line of sight within 500 yards. Move out from the freighter and set up here, then. Good line right to the plastic. Okay.

So that’d be seven, eight maybe. Best case still leaves half. So, Barty and Smiley still at Jeb’s, at least one guard for the prisoners. Leaves several on the loose. Get ‘em in here, then scrag ‘em.

Buuuuuut........Might not go full load on the hover. Might send out a small group, or send two and try for a pincer. Don’t know this merc, or how he thinks. Cain’t depend on ‘em to do what I want. Damn. Just have to stay loose and deal with it as it comes.

Still, I like the plastic for the hover. Do that. If there’s pursuit on foot, try to get ‘em over in this alley. Put the Grizwalds on the ground here, arming switch further in. Run through, arm ‘em, exits here and here. Yeah, blow their feet off.

Use the big grenade straight up if I get a good spot, might do to bring down that pile of scrap behind me. Need some distance, or it’ll get me too. See which when the time comes.

Otherwise, it’s either gonna be sneak an’ peek, or shoot an’ scoot. Mercs might pull a fade if I do enough damage. Won’t be the first time someone bailed on a contract gone sour.

Rough plan, but it’ll do til I find better. Surprise might show up in a timely fashion, but ain’t even gonna figger that in. Long shot.