His Hostage

“No. But look closer. You’re missing the bigger detail,” he says. “You see these mountains here?” He points to a big range of mountains, spanning across half of the desert.

“Yeah, so?” Jeffco says.

“Have you ever given some thought about situate some men at the top, here?” he asks.

“Looks like a two day trek, at the very least,” Iago says. “I don’t know if our men could do it. Besides, what’s the advantage?”

“What’s the advantage?” he laughs at the question. “Give your men some rifles, and you could probably take out the Hunters with four guys.”

After everyone looks confused, he reiterates his point. “Think like an army for a second,” he says. “I’ll station my men at the high peaks of the mountains. You face them over here, face to face.”

“What makes you so sure that Kaine will bring his men to us at this very point?” Rowan asks him.

“Because you’ll sit out in the open long enough. It may be a day. It may be a week. Regardless, they’ll go stir crazy. They’ll ambush. When they do, we’ll have the upper hand. My men will surprise them from behind. The snipers will guard the other side. They won’t stand a chance,” he says.

“I don’t know,” Rowan mutters. “It’s risky business.”

“Trust me on this one,” Maynard says. “They may be good at intimidation, but they’re terrible at strategy. That’s why you’re here, right? You need my expertise.”

Rowan thinks it over.

“It sounds like a solid plan,” Rowan says. “What do you guys think?”

“I think it’s about the only shot we have,” Iago says.

I nod and say, “Yeah. It seems good.”

“I just want this to be over and done with,” Rowan says. “I think we’re good on this, Maynard.”

“We’ll have radio contact the entire time,” he says. “We need to stay alert. You never know when things change up on you.”

He digs through a few of the drawers in the cabin and pulls out a box of what looks to me like high-tech walkie-talkies.

Outside a boat pulls up along the river. It’s the man we drove up with. He’s got a box full of weapons and supplies. “Ya’ll coming, or what?” he asks.

Rowan turns to Maynard for reassurance. “We’ll be there,” Maynard promises. “I swear on my life and all that is good.”

“How can I trust you?” Rowan asks.

“You’re just going to have a little faith.”

All four of us step onto the boat and head back toward the bar. The mood is better now, but there is a lot of uncertainty floating in this river.

“Do you trust them?” Jeffco asks Rowan, cigarette in mouth, eyeing the man moving the boat.

“Do I have a choice?” Rowan asks.

“Suppose not,” he says. “But I’m not going to rely on them showing up. Who knows if they’re the kind to fall back on their word or not? I’ve met too many fools like them to know that not everyone tells the truth when it involves gaining territory.”

The man driving the boat scoffs. “What territory do they have to gain?” he asks.

We all look up at him.

“They are constantly moving. They don’t believe in territory like you do,” he says. “And they’re not fools. Only a fool would suggest they were.”

“I trust them,” Iago says. “They would have no reason to lie to us. They have everything they need. Protection from the land, money, the safety of their men. Those are all things a gang needs, and they already have that.”

“Iago’s right,” Rowan says. “If they wanted to see us lose, they’d have killed us then and there. They don’t like the idea of the four corners disassembled as much as we don’t. It’s a lose, lose for both of us. They’ll fight, and they’ll do a damn good job. I’ve got faith.”