“Sometimes, but not always. This time, I think they will stop. In Sonora. I know they’ve stopped there several times in the past.”
Ike accelerated, but not so fast he lost control. The small hills and mesas dotted with mountain cedar and cactus slid by as they pushed north. Hunter noticed sparse grasses in the clearings, but they were going so fast she couldn’t identify the types.
Several miles further brought them to a gate, and Hunter hopped out to open it, lifting the latch and pushing the gate to the side until the black Ford passed, then she closed and latched it. She checked the ground near the road as she walked to the passenger door, spotting buffalo grass, sideoats grama grass, and the spiny-tipped lechuguilla plants that reminded Hunter of a miniature maguey.
Ike sped off as soon as she was inside, but they hadn’t gone far before an oil field pickup stopped them and a glowering, bull-shouldered man of about forty walked to Ike’s window. “The hell y’all doing on this property? It’s private. Wait here till the local deputy arrives.”
Hunter thought fast and pulled her Border Patrol credentials from her pocket and pushed it in front of his face. “We’re undercover out here,” she nodded her head in Paco’s direction, “Finally found this one. He’s been stealing from rigs and locations from Del Rio to Ozona. We got lucky this time and found him up here.”
The man hesitated, “We’ve been missing some stuff, you think he took it?”
“Could be. We’re taking him up the road so we can have a long talk in a private place, if you know what I mean.” She winked at the man.
He lifted his chin in understanding as a faint smile formed, “Ah, you bet. You all go ahead. I’ll call and let the others know. And thank you all for doing such good work.”
Hunter gave the man a small wave as they passed, and Paco said, “You lie very well,
senorita.”
Hunter looked at Ike and said, “It’s a gift.”
Paco hoped to gain favor as he said, “I said nothing, did you notice? I was helpful.”
Ike kept his eyes on the road, “I know your partner almost burned those kids alive in that van, so don’t expect anything from me, you understand? If we didn’t need you to find Anita, you’d already have a bullet in your head and be rotting in a ditch somewhere.”
“I did not light the fire, and you would still do that?”
“Guaranteed.”
Hunter said, “You get us to Anita and we rescue her, that’s your only chance, Paco. Your only one.”
Paco licked his lower lip with his tongue. “I will get you there.”
Ike said, “You’d better.”
They made good time on the roads, and after an hour, Ike took a road that went straight toward Highway377. As they approached it, Hunter said, “We’re going on it now?”
“No, that one goes to Carta Valley and on to Rocksprings. There’s a ranch road in this area that goes under it and we can continue going north for a while longer. It should help keep us out of sight.”
Hunter nodded, and ten minutes later Ike turned onto the road. Ike stopped at a locked gate within sight of the highway. Ike exited the truck and opened the rear door, where he flipped up the rear seat and removed a small tool box from the compartment below. He said to Hunter, “I’ll take the box, in case I can’t pick the lock.”
He walked to the gate and pulled out a small instrument that looked like a child’s small ray gun. Hunter called to him, “Is that a Brockhage?”
“Yeah, works nice, too.” He slid the two needle-like picks into the lock and worked the trigger. The lock opened. Ike slid the hasp out of the hole and carried the tool box to the pickup, placing it back into its place under the rear seat.
Hunter exited and waited at the gate until Ike drove through, then re-locked the gate. They were out of sight of highway 377 in less than two minutes.
The area north of 377 became much rougher, with more hills and small, weaving valleys. Ike said, “This in here isn’t an oil field road, so buckle up.” The first rocky pothole they hit clicked Hunter’s teeth together, and fine dust drifted down from the headliner.
“Dang,” she said.
“We’re just getting started.”
Ike held to the narrow, rough and rocky roads that were more animal trails than something made for vehicles. He slowed down only once, when the road travelled up a hill and traversed the spine of several of them on a path that was solid, irregular limestone. When they dropped off the north end of the last hill, Ike said, “I almost needed a mouth guard for that.”
Hunter rolled her neck to relieve the muscle tension and nodded. Paco said, “My kidneys, they are broken, I think.”
Ike and Hunter ignored him.