Chapter 13 #2
“We can’t have that thing following us around,” Devon complains as he tries again to shoo the dog off, but he quickly gives up and sighs.
“Whatever. Is everyone ready? We have all the info we need. It looks like making the exchange for the gun is a go. We’ll follow from a safe distance, understand? ”
The plan is simple, or at least Devon has claimed it is.
In order to get an idea of the route that a group of weapon traffickers is taking, we’ve agreed to a deal.
We’ll pass them money which contains a tracker, and they will sell us a gun.
From there, the information will go to someone more specialized and we’ll have done our part. Simple… supposedly.
When we get to the correct road, we head out to the truck Devon made us cram into on the way over here since having multiple vehicles would give away that there are more of us than there should be.
When Grayson reaches down and grabs the dog, which he throws into the bed of the truck, Devon gives him a look of disbelief.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“It’ll be fine,” Grayson says as he creates a makeshift collar and ties it up so the dog can’t jump out of the moving vehicle. Exhausted and sick, the dog lies down, not seeming to care much about life or what happens to him.
“What the fuck happens when it barks?” Devon asks.
“You think a half-dead dog is going to give our position away? Like do we plan on parking right next to the exchange? It might be a setup, but we still have to look legit.”
Devon sighs, and I know that if any of the rest of us tried this, he’d immediately shut us down, but Grayson seems to get away with more than anyone else.
“You’ll be alright, buddy,” Grayson tells the dog before getting into the truck.
I nervously look into the back, worried the dog will panic and hurt himself or try to jump out, but there’s no way he’d fit in the front of the truck with us, and if we leave him on the streets, he’s going to die. At least he has a chance with Grayson.
Noticing my concern, Grayson looks over at me. “He’s alright. He’d die out on the street. At least we’re doing something.”
“That was sweet of you. I didn’t know you could be sweet,” I tease as I get in the vehicle with the rest of them.
He gives me a wink. “Oh, I’m sweet as sugar.”
“You’re a bit narcissistic too,” Audrey retorts.
“All I know is that I’m half on Grayson’s lap and half squished against the door, and whoever snags this man isn’t going to be disappointed,” Eddie says, since four of us had to cram into the back seat.
Audrey groans. “Jesus Christ, Eddie.”
“It’s not gay to size up your buddy’s dick, right, Cal?” Eddie asks.
“Uh… I feel pretty gay when I do so,” I say.
He laughs, and I glance at Grayson, who is simply shaking his head like there’s nothing wrong with this conversation.
“Here, Eddie. Let me help you out a bit,” Grayson says as he pulls Eddie fully onto his lap and wraps his arms around him. “Better, yeah?”
“I’m feeling things I’ve never felt before, both physically and emotionally,” Eddie answers. “Especially whenever Devon hits a bump.”
“I’m confused… do you want him to stop hitting bumps or hit more?” I ask.
Eddie hesitates before going, “I’m confused too,” which makes everyone laugh.
“You all are such a bunch of idiots,” Audrey says.
“You want to sit on Grayson’s lap? Is that what I’m hearing? Your jealousy is hitting me hard. I don’t really want to share. This is my lap now.”
“Fuck off, Eddie,” she says, but Eddie just cackles, pleased with himself.
“How long until we’re there? The unresolved sexual tension in this back seat is making me uncomfortable,” I comment as the buildings become fewer and fewer and desolate land takes shape. The hills are bare of life with only some shrubs here and there and cacti filling in a few spots.
When the truck pulls off the road, we pile out and I grab my rifle.
Grayson lifts the dog out of the truck bed and ties him to the side of the truck with shade as the hot sun beats down on us. The dog’s used to it. He was probably born and raised here in this hot landscape, but he enjoys the water I pour for him while we wait for the others to get ready.
“Are we set?” Devon asks.
“Set,” Grayson says.
“Let’s move out.”
We cross the road and then split up as planned.
Audrey, Grayson, and I head up the ridge while the others, carrying the case of money Devon said contains a tracker, walk down to make the deal.
We just need to make contact with the people transporting illegal weapons, and once we’ve done that, we can move on and hand the information over to the higher-ups who will help put an end to it.
I walk a few steps before looking over at Grayson, but I can’t seem to figure out what to say.
He seems to notice me looking and smiles at me, and it just makes me even more confused. Will this man please use some damn words?
Then again… I apparently don’t know how to, either.
“You have class tomorrow?” Grayson asks.
“I do. I might skip my morning class depending on what time we get back, though. We never do anything in that class, and the professor just reads to us right out of the textbook and deems that learning.”
“Oh, those are the worst,” Grayson says as we make our way up onto a ridge that gives us a good vantage point of the area below us.
“Here we are,” Audrey says, so I assemble my gun and examine the ground for a good spot to lie down.
I don’t want anything that will block my position, but I also want to make sure it’s not blatantly obvious that I’m up here.
I find some brush that gives me some cover but allows me to freely see my surroundings, so I lay down my equipment before getting everything ready.
“Just don’t roll into anything unless you want to get stabbed with a cactus,” Grayson cautions.
I want to get stabbed by something else, but I really feel like it might not be appropriate to tell him that.
“What if you shield my body for me?” I tease. Yes, yes, that sounds much more G-rated and a better choice.
“If I see you preparing to roll into a cactus, I’ll throw my body in front of it to save you.”
“Just the way I like it,” I say as I lie down in position while Audrey sets up behind me. Grayson technically doesn’t need to be here, but they didn’t need him down there for the exchange, and this allows us to have more eyes from above in case something goes wrong.
He lies down near me so he doesn’t stand out before looking through his binoculars.
“Looks like they’ve reached the contact zone,” Grayson announces, and I shift my gun a bit to get a better look at the people coming to meet our three.
Their vehicle isn’t far off the road, but a large hill blocks most of it from our view.
Audrey is keeping a close eye on them as they come in while Grayson takes in a broader range of things, in case something goes wrong.
“They’re coming in. Are you all good?” Audrey asks me.
“Yes,” I assure her.
My gun is already fixated on them, my hand in position in case I have to pull the trigger, knowing there’d be absolutely no time to waste.
“Looks like three of them,” Audrey says.
Obviously, we can’t hear what they’re saying from here, but it requires very close judgment of their body language to tell exactly what their next move will be, and we can’t make a single mistake.
I will stay on them, thankful that I have both Grayson and Audrey to help me watch so there’s less of a chance that I’ll mess any of this up.
“Audrey, do you see the second vehicle, two o’clock, ridge to the west?” Grayson asks.
“I don’t…”
I want to look, but I know that my job is to stay focused.
Grayson continues, “I can see the very edge of the vehicle behind the ridge there. It’s hidden… Are they just making sure things go okay? Are they here to protect their people in case it goes wrong, like we are… or is there something more to it?”
“What do I do?” I ask.
“Stay on target,” Audrey says, and even though part of me wants to see what Grayson says, I’m aware she’s my spotter and my focus should be on her. I can’t be receiving orders from two people and expect either to go well if I get mixed signals.
“Understood.”
But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be nosy.
“What are you seeing?” I ask.
“They have a sniper, but they’re only watching. They’re definitely closer than we are…”
“Which means they’d be out of my range,” I say, knowing the men I’m watching are already significantly farther than I feel comfortable with.
This means that anything beyond them, including their sniper, would be damn near impossible for me to hit.
I bet this is why they chose this location, knowing that the only vantage point within shooting distance would be one they’d claim.
Yet here we are, placing me on a spot so far out that I’m not even sure I could make an accurate shot.
The three I’m focused on are moving toward our men. They’re greeting each other and are acting very familiar with our crew. Tensions don’t seem to have risen, and everyone seems extremely casual as they pop open the case holding a gun and show it off.
Eddie, who is running the show, is already off making friends with them, judging by the way his hands are flailing about while he tells some story or some other bullshit. Everyone is acting relaxed, but I can tell Grayson isn’t happy with events.
“I don’t like this,” Grayson says. He presses against the transmitter in his ear so he can convey the information to Devon. “Sniper at your two o’clock. Proceed with caution.”
Of course Devon can’t answer us, but hopefully he’s heard it and is being careful.
Devon sets out the money that will be exchanged for the gun as I watch every move of the men, just waiting for a single action that shows me something’s going wrong.
“Something’s not—” Grayson doesn’t even get the rest out before a shot is fired from the sniper. I can’t confirm his target because my attention can’t stray.