Sam glanced at Remi. “Going back’s out of the question. For now.”
“What about the truck?” Remi said. “As heavy as it’s loaded, we’re not going to outrun them.”
“No. But maybe we can find a better place to make a stand.”
“A stand?” Hank said. “You can’t be serious.”
Sam ignored him, looking through the binoculars in the opposite direction. “What the …”
“Sam?”
He handed Remi the binoculars, then pointed farther up, near the bend in the road. “About halfway between here and the trees.”
Remi swept her gaze across the stretch of rutted dirt, at first seeing nothing alarming. “Empty road.”
“Take a closer look.”
She adjusted the focus, noticing that what at first glance appeared to be dried brush and leaves strewn across the roadway actually formed a fairly straight line. Too straight for it to be natural. Which meant it was covering something. “Tack strip? We’re being chased into an ambush?”
“If I had to guess, the other half of that ambush is just around the bend, by those trees.”
“What if we drove around the tack strip?”
“We run into whoever’s waiting for us on the other side.”
Remi glanced back at the yellow vehicle speeding toward them from the opposite direction. She looked around for cover. With nothing but long grass on either side of the road, they had nowhere to go.
And very little time to come up with a plan.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
– AFRICAN PROVERB –
Sam took one last look through the binoculars, then handed them back to Remi. “Remember that time in Mozambique?” he asked.
“Yes. But we have two cars to move and an ambush coming from both directions. How—”
“Put the Land Rover in neutral.”
“You, Fargo, are brilliant.” Remi grabbed Nasha’s hand, pulling her away from the truck.
Sam jumped into the driver’s seat, starting the engine, while Hank climbed into the passenger’s seat. “What’s going on?” he
asked Sam.
“We’re creating a diversion for the women.”
The color drained from Hank’s face. “Us?”
“You should probably get out and wait with them.”
“No. I’ll wait here.”
Sam glanced at Remi through the open window, waiting for her to move the car.
“Amal,” she shouted. “Take Nasha and wait by the side of the road.” Remi bent down, looking into Nasha’s dark eyes. “You stand next to my friend. Wait for me.”