He’s losing consciousness.
I dab at it and determine that the bullet didn’t go through. It grazed his head. I heave a sigh of relief, though a bullet doesn’t have to go in to do a hell of a lot of damage. It’s a blow to the head, just like a baseball bat could do.
He’s mumbling.
“Stay still.” I tie a makeshift bandage around his head like a headband, then I tear off my jacket and tuck it around him. I pull his pants back up and tuck his cock back in and button him up.
A rustling sound. I grab the gun and stand. The one who shot us stares sightlessly at the sky. I watch him for a while, just to make sure he’s not faking it. I’ll shoot him if I have to.
More rustling—from another direction.
I back up to the shadow side of the tree.
A squirrel.
Deep breath.
I go back to Kiro. He tries to get up, then sits back down. Dizzy.
“You’re okay, you just need to keep still.”
Except this is a dangerous place to stay. Dead men all around. Are they all even dead? More could just be injured.
I examine the gun in my hand. I’ve had firearms training, but I’ve never shot anybody who wasn’t made of paper. That’ll change if anyone else goes after Kiro.
Think, think.
I turn my senses to our surroundings. Handle immediate danger first—that’s the rule at times like this. I creep around, find another body. Another. One that looks alive until I toe him and see the amount of blood that’s run out of his mouth.
I spot a pack near a tree and go to it, carefully, like something might jump out.
There’s some kind of radio walkie-talkie device in the outer pocket. Inside a small Styrofoam pack are several baggies of dried food and beef jerky. Money, first aid, two guns. I hear the voice—faint.Hello? Come in.
It’s coming from the radio walkie-talkie thing. The connection is open.
I put down the pack and take it out, holding it like it’s alive, like it might bite me.
Come in, motherfuckers,the voice says.
Nothing.
Who’s out there? We’re fifteen minutes out. Keep your lines open—we have your location. You copy? You out there?
I stare at the thing.
Last time I send boys to do a man’s job,another voice snarls.
Fifteen minutes. Keep the line open.Can I get to the canoe and get us out of here in under fifteen minutes?
Then I get an idea. I open the pack and take out the Styrofoam. I break it up and shove the walkie-talkie in a baggie and wrap the thing up with medical tape. I run to the nearby river and set it off.
I collect a few other walkie-talkies and quickly do the same thing. Then I set my phone off in its own Styrofoam raft. My whole fucking life.
I hear the drone of engines in the distance, but it could be my imagination.
I check Kiro again. Groggy. “You can’t fall asleep.”
He grumbles. He’s really dazed.