To Steal a March (Surviving the Fall 11)

“See?” Tina jerked her thumb over at Mark. “He’s got a point, Jason. This little strategy is dependent on a lot of variables.”

An exasperated expression crossed Jason’s face. “What do you want to do, then? Assault the fortress? Get shot before we get halfway across the road? We’d need some sort of insane distraction to pull that off. Something a lot bigger than a couple of shells going off. We can do that if you want, but I don’t think it’ll go well.”

“No. No it won’t. But I know what will.”

“What’s that?”

Tina looked over at Mark, then at Jason. Her worry, frustration, exhaustion and fear had all melted away, replaced instead by a cool demeanor that showed that she knew exactly what she needed to do. She took off her backpack and jacket as she spoke and began rubbing dirt and grass across her clothing and skin. “Neither of you are going to like this, but it’s the best solution. We’re going to do a combination of the plans. I’m going to be the distraction. They won’t shoot me if I come in unarmed, looking like I barely survived a fire. They’ll take me in, put me with the others and I’ll be able to get Dianne and the rest ready to help once you two carry out the other part of the plan.”

“What?” Jason shook his head emphatically, trying to reach for Tina, but she slipped away, moving a few feet further down the ditch.

“You two are going to get in that trailer. I’ll make sure you have ample time to do it. Get inside, wait for them to get to the house, then take them out. Every last one of them. Once you do, wait a few hours and head back. I’ll make sure everyone’s ready to do anything we can to take advantage of whatever chaos you can bring with you.”

“Tina, there’s no way that we’re going to go along with something as idiotic as that!” Jason’s eyes were wide and he hissed at her, but she kept slithering back through the ditch, staying out of his reach.

She smiled at him before looking at Mark who was slowly nodding his head in understanding and agreement. “You don’t have a choice, Jason. And Mark? Make sure he gets on that trailer, okay?”

“I will.” Mark nodded.

“Tina!” Jason whispered again, but she was already gone, half crawling and half slipping through the ditch, covering herself with dirt and debris as she went along.

“Damn fool! She’s gonna get herself killed!” Jason shook his head and leaned back, slipping down the slope as he watched her go. A moment later she was a hundred feet away, still keeping out of sight, when the sound of an engine roaring to life brought both him and Mark up to the top of the ditch to see what was going on.

Across the road the truck and trailer began moving, making a wide turn in front of the community center. Five men sat inside the truck as it went along, the trailer bumping and squeaking behind it, barely held to the truck with a collection of chains and a half-broken hitch. Down the ditch, farther than either Mark or Jason would have thought it possible to crawl in such a short length of time, Tina was nearing a shallow portion. She peeked up and over at the truck and watched it closely. Revealing herself too early would mean that the trailer would be in the wrong position for Jason and Mark to hop aboard but waiting too long could mean an immediate search of the surrounding area which would also keep them from slipping into the trailer.

Truth be told, Tina had no idea why she was risking life and limb with a plan that could easily end up with her being shot and Mark and Jason being discovered. They didn’t have many options, though, and if—by some miracle—they took her captive and Mark and Jason were able to get on board without being seen, they might have a shot at rescuing the captives.

Might. The word ran through Tina’s mind repeatedly as she watched the truck bump along the gravel drive of the community center, slowly pull onto the road and begin to straighten out. Well. Here’s hoping ‘might’ works out.

Chapter 14

Ellisville, VA

“I can’t believe she’s doing it.” Mark whispered to Jason as they both crouched low in the ditch watching Tina.

“She’s insane.”

“She’s just trying to help.”

“And she’s gonna get herself shot doing it.”

Mark and Jason stared as Tina shuffled down the road, limping in an exaggerated manner toward the truck. She kept her head low as the truck pulled to a stop and four of the five men inside jumped out, weapons drawn, and began shouting at her. She stopped in the middle of the road and looked at them before slowly raising her arms and starting a backward shuffle.

“Hey! Stop right there!” The group advanced, keeping their weapons trained on her as they ignored what was going on around them.

“We’ve got to go now, before anyone comes out of the community center!” Jason whispered to Mark who nodded and pulled himself up to the top of the ditch.

“Ready when you are.”

“Go!”

The pair scurried across the road, keeping as low as possible as they took a direct path for the rear end of the trailer. Ahead of the truck Tina tracked them for a split second before she diverted her attention back to the men, ready to try and continue distracting them. “Please, you have to help me!” She groaned at them, intentionally making as much noise as possible.

“Keep your hands up!” The men circled around Tina and the driver of the truck honked the horn several times, causing the others around the community center to start moving toward the road.

“Now! Get inside!” Jason pulled on Mark’s shoulder and they slipped around the back of the trailer. The doors were held together with a tightly-wound bungee cord which Jason quickly slipped off of the handles. He opened one door and Mark went inside, then Jason went inside and looped the cord around the open door handle before pulling the door closed. He tied the cord off on a metal securing ring on the floor before turning back to Mark and motioning toward the front of the trailer.

“Inside more, quick. In case they search this thing.” He whispered inside the stuffy air of the trailer, his nose wrinkling as they stirred up swirls of dust with each shuffling footstep. The trailer was dark, the only source of light coming from an opaque plastic window mounted on the ceiling and a few cracks in the back doors. A few cardboard boxes were stacked up on one side and old scraps of wood littered the floor, remnants of some long-forgotten home improvement project. The smell of old manure clung to the floor and walls and Mark couldn’t help but pull his shirt up over his mouth and nose.