“Maybe three miles. We’ll need to go higher so we can look down on it and make some more plans.”
“How much higher?”
Hunter said, “Why, are you prone to nosebleeds?”
“No. I just wondered.”
“We won’t crest the mountains, but we’ll find a place below it so we can see the road leading into Pasqual’s place. Just in case somebody’s coming that we might be interested in seeing.”
The path became steeper and the trail narrowed to less than six inches, leaving a long, sliding drop on their right. Hunter stopped several times so they could take a breather. Art looked at the moon and said, “You can see okay like this?”
“Pretty good.”
“I read that your vision is 20-10, so I guess that helps.”
Hunter turned to him, “You’ve got a file on me?”
“Relax, they provided me with a basic report to bring me up to speed faster.”
“What else did it say?” Irritation found its way into her words.
“Whoa, whoa.” Art said, holding up one hand in a stop motion, “Don’t kill the messenger here. I read what they gave me. You’d do the same before a mission if someone told you to.”
Hunter let the heat settle in her, “I know. When it’s you, though, that sort of thing feels different. What else did it say?”
“You sure you want to know?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not gonna shoot me or anything?” The grin showed, his teeth shining in the moonlight.
She placed her hands on her hips, “Tell me.”
“It was all good. Information about your work ethic. Some on your background and your health, which is where I read about your eyesight. Did you know that the pilot Chuck Yeager had 20-10 eyesight, too?”
“Keep going.”
“It mentioned your shooting championships.”
Hunter said, “You’re leaving out something. Stop hedging.”
“It said, because of the number of armed encounters you’ve been involved in, that you may have a tendency to shoot too fast. They want me to stop that from happening if a situation develops.”
“Really.”
“I’m just telling you what it said.”
Hearing Art say that felt as if she had done her best and the bosses slapped her face because of it. She said, “I never did that, shoot too fast. Ever. The people saying that haven’t been in a situation where your life might end in a second if you don’t shoot. Dammit.”
Art said, “I’m hoping we get this done and get out of here without any gunplay.”
“So do I.” She looked at Art, “I don’t go looking for it. I just do my job as well as I can. And sometimes things happen.”
Art said, “It’s only us out here, so relax. No second-guessers around.”
Hunter nodded, moving forward on the trail. Art gave her a few seconds to put some distance between them and followed.
An hour later they crossed a ridge and saw the glow of Pasqual Osorio’s hacienda beyond a low hill. Hunter led again, angling higher on the steep slope. She heard Art’s feet slip and him scrambling to regain his balance. She turned and hurried a dozen quick, dangerous steps down the mountain to catch his arm before he hit into a pile of boulders.