Chapter 40
At first, the plan was simply to get closer to the mountains.
Once they had a better view, Deadshot would decide what to do.
As they approached the mountains, some greenery came into view.
So far, during their search of the desert, they had only come across a couple of green patches.
Those were mostly close to where rivers flowed underground.
Those were the places where Deadshot and the kid had filled up their water.
Other water sources were available, but the water in those places was scarce and usually only provided enough to fill their canteens and maybe wash their faces.
The greenery meant that there was water close to the mountains, which would make it the perfect place to hide.
The trees and shrubs would also provide much-needed wood and some shade for them to stay outside and keep their horses safe.
The closer they got, the more certain Deadshot was that this was the place where he would find Quincy and his gang.
It was so far away from anything that it was the perfect place for people like them to hide.
Even those who had gone into the desert to search for Quincy before would likely never have come across it.
It had taken Deadshot and the kid months to find it.
Deadshot wasn’t sure exactly how long they had been searching, but from his experience, he would guess at least two, maybe even three months.
That was a long time to spend in the desert under such harsh circumstances.
The desert stretched for many miles, but Quincy and his gang would know exactly how to find their hideaway, making it easy for them to travel to and from towns. If Deadshot had known where the mountains were situated, it wouldn’t have taken them half as long to get there.
“All right,” Deadshot said as he slowed down his horse. “We need to be very careful now.”
“Just tell me what to do,” the kid agreed.
“We need to look for an entrance, but to be able to do that, we’ll need to get much closer to the mountain.
The mountain walls appeared to be steeper on the left side, so I think it’ll probably be more to the right.
We’ll go around that way, but we have to move slowly and keep the horses as close to the mountain as possible.
We don’t want anybody to see us. If you do see somebody, try not to make any noise and use the hand signals that I taught you. ”
“Okay,” the kid replied, his voice shaking slightly.
Once again, Deadshot thought that it was good that the kid was still scared. Being scared wasn’t always a bad thing; sometimes it helped to keep you alive.
“Be vigilant and ready to draw your weapon.”
Those were Deadshot’s last instructions to the kid before they slowly made their way closer to the right side of the mountain.
He wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for, but any entrance or sign of people or animals would help.
The closer they got, the more dangerous it was.
They needed to find a place to hide the horses and continue on foot.
Luckily for them, there was more than one spot of greenery.
They stayed away from the bigger area and made their way to the smaller area that was further away from the mountain.
Once they tied up their horses, they gathered all of their weapons. They needed to make sure that they had their guns with them, just in case they needed them. Deadshot had learned many years ago that it was always best to keep more than one weapon on hand.
“Remember what I told you about moving stealthily?”
The kid nodded. “Yes,” he replied, his voice barely a whisper.
“Now is a good time to use that knowledge.”
The last thing Deadshot wanted was for one of them to get caught or for the bandits to figure out where they were hiding before they wanted to make themselves known.
Deadshot always preferred to have a plan, and so he wanted to figure out what was happening before he decided what to do.
They made their way back to the mountain slowly, making sure not to make any noise.
The kid walked behind Deadshot, and to Deadshot’s delight, he was light on his feet.
The mountain itself was the biggest Deadshot had ever seen in a desert, and there were many places to hide.
It was going to take them a while to explore, but he was determined to find the entrance before nightfall.
They started at the face of the mountain, making their way around the right side.
He was pretty sure that the hideout would be on ground level.
If it were further up, it would be very difficult for them to move things in and out.
Of course, it was more than possible, and so they searched high and low.
Eventually, Deadshot saw something that made his heart beat faster.
There, in the distance, about forty feet up, was what looked like a wooden door built into the rock.
It was definitely not natural. It was man-made, and it had to be the entrance to Quincy’s hideaway.
Scanning the area, Deadshot quickly found the way up to the door.
It wasn’t steep, and the ground had been evened out, making it possible to come and go easily.
They were hidden by some boulders, and Deadshot didn’t see anybody around, but they still needed to be super careful. He pointed to the door. “Over there,” he whispered. “That right there is their hideaway.”
The expression on the kid’s face said it all. In that one look, Deadshot could see relief, happiness, anger, confusion, worry, and gratefulness.
The kid didn’t say anything. He simply looked between Deadshot and the entrance, obviously waiting for Deadshot to give instructions on what to do next.
Now that they had found the entrance, it was time to figure out a plan.
Deadshot quickly scanned the area and noticed some boulders in the distance.
They were almost directly across from the wooden door and would provide them with the perfect place to hide.
He gave the kid the hand signal to follow him and made his way over to the boulders.
“For now, we are simply going to watch,” Deadshot informed him. “I need to figure out a plan.”
“All right,” the kid agreed.
They still had a couple of hours of sunlight left, but it felt like they were sitting there forever, watching that door and waiting.
At first, it appeared that there was nobody there, but then, as the sun was setting, the door opened, and some men emerged from within.
Next to him, the kid let out a small groan.
“What is it?” Deadshot asked, keeping his voice low.
The kid leaned in and whispered, “That man, he was at the ranch that day.”
Deadshot’s heart felt like it was going to rip right out of his chest. This was definitely the hideaway, and soon enough, he would have the answers the kid had been looking for.
“Don’t do anything foolish,” Deadshot warned as he turned his attention back to the men.
Deadshot watched the men, wondering what to do.
They had some buckets with them and were heading toward the green area to the side of the mountain.
Luckily, they were completely ignoring the area where Deadshot and the kid had left their horses.
Not long after, some of the men returned with buckets full of water, while the others were carrying armfuls of wood.
They had been gathering some resources. The men retreated into the cave and closed the door behind them.
It was a difficult situation because there was no way of knowing how many men were inside or the layout of the cave.
Sometimes caves could be extremely complex, with many caverns, and sometimes it was simply one big hollow cavern.
Without going inside, Deadshot had no idea what they were up against. This was one of those times that he was going to have to act without a plan.
One thing that he was certain about was that it didn’t matter whether you went in during the day or at night.
The cave would be dark inside, and he would have to rely on lanterns or fire to light his way.
It was more likely that the men would be sleeping at night, though, so since he had no other advantage, Deadshot decided to simply go in and get it done.
He had counted six men who had gone to collect resources, but it was pretty certain that there were many more inside, and then, of course, Quincy would be there too.
The idea was to kill as many of the men as he could but to keep Quincy alive, at least long enough to find out what had happened to the kid’s sister and mother.
Deadshot looked at the kid and smiled. The most dangerous part of their mission still lay ahead, but it was almost over.
Usually, Deadshot got excited once he had tracked down his target, and he did feel that excitement, but he also felt something else—sadness.
Once this was all over, he would have to go back home, and he would be alone again.