“I’m not sure about that. We would have for sure run into them on the way out of town.”
“It was still stupid,” said Robie.
“But we’d never been to that place before. And Luke said no one knew that he was leaving. We met up at the B and B because no one would expect us to go there. It’s been shut down for over a year now.”
“But still,” persisted Robie.
Holly looked sheepish. “Shit, Luke got horny, okay? He’s a guy, what can I say? And he was insistent that they had no idea where he was. So I thought it was okay. It wasn’t like it was going to take long,” she added, her gaze averted from Robie.
Robie looked at Reel. Her gaze moved back and forth across the landscape in front of them. It was mostly flat, only occasionally obscured by some higher, rocky ground. There were patches of trees scattered here and there, but the sight lines were still excellent. They could see anyone coming.
But still.
He moved a bit in his seat and his hand reached out and automatically touched the butt of his M11.
Reel must have noticed this because she glanced at him. Their gazes met, and in a wordless display of communication everything that needed to be said was said.
Robie looked into the rearview. Though there was little light he could still make out Holly’s strained features.
Now what had been bothering Robie finally percolated to the surface.
“Holly, how did you arrange to meet with Luke at the B and B in town?”
She glanced at him, one hand clinging tightly to the handle of her suitcase.
“I texted him. He texted me back. That’s how we usually do it. The cell reception out here isn’t the best, so you can’t always hear the person if you call. But the texts seem to work okay.”
Now Reel stirred in her seat. Next to her was her sniper rifle, the stock of it resting on the floorboard and the muzzle pointed to the ceiling.
She said, “Where did Luke get his phone?”
This was just the question Robie was about to ask.
“His phone?”
“Yeah. They’re not cheap. You have to get a call plan with it. Did he do all that himself?”
“I…I don’t know.”
Robie glanced out the windshield again. “Well, try to remember.”
Holly thought for a few more seconds. “Come to think, I do recall Luke telling me that the skinheads gave him the phone. If you can believe it they had some type of business plan set up for all—”
Reel cut in. “Did you and Luke text about meeting tonight?”
“Well, yeah. Why?”
“How did they know you were meeting with Luke at the B and B?” said Robie. “They had to know because they came roaring into town and went right there a few minutes after he got there.”
“I…are you saying—?”
“They give out the phones with malware on them,” said Robie.
“So they can listen in or read every communication,” added Reel. Her hand slipped down to her rifle even as they heard a car approaching. Two dabs of light could be seen coming along the road toward them.
“What kind of car will Luke be driving?” asked Robie.
“He didn’t tell me.”
Robie glanced at Reel, again silently communicating.
She slipped on a headset, powered up the comm pack clipped to her belt, slid out of the car with her rifle, and flitted away into the darkness.
“Where’s she going?” asked Holly.
“I’m going to hit the button for the rear cargo door, Holly. I want you to climb over the seats and exit the vehicle that way. Then, keeping the truck between you and the road, I want you to keep moving away from here. That direction will take you back to town.”
“Mr. Robie, what’s hap—”
“Just do it, Holly,” he said firmly. “We’ll find you later.”
“But Luke.”
“Go, now, before it’s too late,” he barked.
A shaky Holly climbed over the backseat as the cargo door lifted. She got out and, keeping behind the truck and carrying her suitcase, Holly moved away into the darkness.
The Yukon was on a slight incline. Without turning the truck on, Robie shifted into neutral, and the GMC rolled backward. Even with the engine off Robie managed to maneuver the steering wheel just enough to turn the truck to the left.
Like Holly, he climbed out the back, keeping the truck between him and the approaching car. He put on a headset and turned on his comm pack.
Into the headset he said, “Talk to me.”
“Bogie’s a half mile away, coming at a slow speed. I can’t see how many are in it. It might be Luke and it might not.”
“Anything else?”
“Hold on a sec.”
A few moments went by and Reel said, “I’ve got movement at three and nine o’clock, directly in front of me.” She paused another moment. “They’re ATVs, Robie. You should be able to hear them by now.”
“I do,” he affirmed. “How many?”
“I count…eight altogether.”
“And the car, evasive maneuvers?”
“No, coming on straight and true.”
“So it’s not Luke driving.”
“No, it’s not. I guess they weren’t smart enough to think of that.”
“You got high ground?”
“High enough. Where’s Holly?”
“On the retreat behind us. Let me know when you can confirm who’s on the ATVs.”
“They’re coming fast. But they’re blowing up a shitload of dirt. It’s going to make it hard to get a sight line.”
“Roger that. Let me give you an assist.”
He hustled to the back of the Yukon and unlocked the hard-sided case. He gripped the launcher and hefted two RPGs. He slung the launcher over his shoulder after loading the grenades into a belt carrier attached to the launcher’s frame.
He ran to a spot behind a thick tree, knelt down, took out a pair of night optics, and peered through them. He could clearly see the car on the road and the ATVs on the dirt. Reel was right, they were creating quite a dust storm out there. They were now only about three hundred yards away. He would wait until they cut that distance down by half.
He knew it wasn’t the cops or the state police. They didn’t have enough bodies to fill all those vehicles. He was certain it was the skinheads.
He loaded in an RPG and said into his headset, “Fireworks are coming in ten. I’m aiming to make them stop to let the air clear so you can get a lock.”