28
Rowan
Iago rounds up the men, telling them he has an announcement.
Even Caroline moves in, grabbing a weapon herself. “We need to band together right now more than ever,” Iago says.
“Where the fuck are the Hell Squadron?” a man asks. “I thought you said we’d have resources.”
“They’re coming,” Iago says. “Right now, we’re buying time.”
“They’re attacking us at every angle,” the guy yells back.
“This is just a distraction,” I weigh in. “They’re breaking down your defenses, until they send the real guys in. Trust me, this is an understandable tactic.”
“We have bombs strategically placed all around the entrance. No one knows where we’ve placed them,” Iago says. “What Kaine is trying to do is get those out of the way as quickly as possible. Once most of them are gone, he’s coming in with his men to claim our compound. We’re far enough away from society that no one will see this coming, not even the police.”
I tell them the truth. “The Hell Squadron is coming in tomorrow. We just need to hold the Hunters off as long as we can. If we do that, the Hell Squadron can take them out from the mountains nearby. No doubt, Kaine will be coming in from that direction. We’ll rush them and sandwich them in. Then, we’ll take ‘em out.”
The men aren’t in good moods, and their confidence is dwindling. Still, they’re ready to fight. It’s about all they can do, trapped inside this compound like this.
“What do you need from us?” Caroline asks.
“What I need is some help. We need to rebuild the outside defenses as best as we can. The more obstacles, the better. If we do that, we can buy some time,” I say, heading out the front. “Come on. I’m going to need everyone in here’s help.”
When we walk outside, bullets ricochet nearby. I take aim and fire forward. Some of the men on the roof do the same and take out whatever stragglers are left.
Inside my bag of weapons is a few sticks of dynamite. I turn to the men who have followed me outside.
“Let’s line this dynamite along the front. If they come through, we’ll blow it,” I say. “I’m going to need you to cover my ass out there. I don’t trust all the front lines are gone.”
“I got you,” Jeffco says.
Caroline grips her pistol. “Me too.”
I take a deep breath and run to the front entrance. I hate that Caroline is stuck here with us. I hate she’s participating in this bloodshed with me. This isn’t her way. She doesn’t need to fight. It’s not her battle.
Still, she’s got a fire inside her that I never want to put out. I don’t make any attempt to argue with her. There’s been too much of that lately. I just hope for the best and hold my gun steady because both our lives depend on it right now.
I line up the sticks of dynamite carefully and run the line across the yard. I head back, tossing the line to one of the men on the roof.
“If you see any of them, break through, you light this up and send them to hell,” I tell him.
He nods and waits.
“What else do we have?” I ask.
“We don’t have anything else,” one of the men says. “All we got is some vehicles and a few more guns.”
“Shit,” I curse. “Okay, let’s get those cars running.”
“What are you going to do with them,” Caroline asks me.
I shrug and say, “We’re going to use them as a distraction.”
The guys get the cars near us, and I go to make sure they have a full tank of gas. They’re both about more than halfway, so we keep the engines off for the time being.
I hold a brick in the air. “Okay, folks. When they come in, you put one of these bricks here on the gas pedal. Send it straight at them with the brights on. We’re not aiming to kill them with this. It’s just a distraction. Anything that slows them down is good right now.”