Read Online These Dead Lands: Immolation by Stephen Knight, Scott Wolf - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stephen Knight, Scott Wolf
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crotch of his jeans turned dark. “No, no! No, don’t shoot me!”
“Reader, if you need to put that man down, do it,” Hastings said. “Your call.”
“Tharinger, keep that truck covered,” Ballantine said. “I don’t trust that fucker in the passenger seat.”
“Hooah, Sarge. Got him lined up nicely here,” Tharinger said.
“Driver, disarm yourself right now,” Hastings said. “When you’re done, move over to your friend there, and get on your knees with your hands on your head. Passenger! Remain where you are!”
“Yeah, whatever,” Ponytail said.
“Guerra, keep your eyes open for any other threats,” Hastings said over the radio. “Over.”
“Roger that, Six. We’re good for the moment. Over.”
When the driver had joined the other man, Hastings shouted to Ponytail, “Passenger! Slide across the seat and come out through the driver’s door. Keep your hands in our sight. If you do anything we think is stupid, you’re dead. Only warning.”
“Fine. When do you want me to come out?”
“Right now would be plain awesome with us.”
The man sneered at Hastings again. Keeping his hands above the dashboard, he scooted across the bench seat.
“He’s armed,” Tharinger called down. “Looks like a little Heckler & Koch rifle slung off his right side. Also saw a pistol on his belt. And FYI, the guy’s got blood all over his jeans.”
“There’s supposed to be more of them,” Ballantine muttered.
“Stay sharp,” Hastings said.
Ponytail finally alighted from the truck, his hands still held high. He wore a denim vest over a black T-shirt, and his faded jeans and surprisingly clean white running shoes were dappled with specks of fresh blood.
“Weapons,” Hastings said. “This is—”
“My only warning or you’ll shoot me,” Ponytail interrupted. “Yeah, yeah, tin soldier. I heard you the first three times you said it.”
“Dude, you are not exactly approaching this situation in the best way,” Ballantine said. “Do as you’re told without further comment, or I will shoot you in the right knee.”
From the cab of the Dodge, a voice crackled over a speaker. “Jerry, what’s going on up there? Did you catch the slope bitch or what?”
“So which one of you is Jerry?” Hastings asked.
“That’d be me,” Ponytail said.
“What’s with all the blood, Jerry?” Hastings asked.
He jerked his chin toward the woman astride the motorcycle. “She and her friends set up an ambush. Thing is, they didn’t realize how many of us there were, so they got their butts waxed. We were chasing her down to exercise justice.”
“Justice, is it? Okay. Who’s on the other side of the radio? What is that, a CB?”
Jerry said nothing.
“Silence isn’t going to work out here, Jer. Tell you what, let’s see you place your weapons on the ground in front of you, then you move over to your friends down there. Remember, my man on the fifty will chop you in half the second you do anything he even thinks might be stupid.”
Jerry looked up over Hastings’s shoulder and smiled in Tharinger’s direction.
The guy’s nuts . But Hastings didn’t know for sure if the woman was telling the truth. And one man was already dead. He had been trying to draw his weapon, and Reader had been forced to fire.
“Movement in the trees on the other side of the truck,” Tharinger said. “Reekers. Probably drawn in by Reader’s shots. Smooth move, Ex-Lax.”
“Blow me, brah,” Reader said.
“Distance, Tharinger?” Hastings asked, without taking his eyes off Jerry. “Hey, Jer? Want to comply with my order, please?”
Jerry shook his head. “With those things moving in? Are you out of your fucking tin-soldier mind?”
“Reekers are about a hundred meters out, still moving among the trees,” Tharinger reported. “They haven’t spotted us yet. Can’t get a count, but it’s got to be more than a few. Hey, Jerry, if I were you, jackass, I’d do as the captain orders. The only thing
“Reader, if you need to put that man down, do it,” Hastings said. “Your call.”
“Tharinger, keep that truck covered,” Ballantine said. “I don’t trust that fucker in the passenger seat.”
“Hooah, Sarge. Got him lined up nicely here,” Tharinger said.
“Driver, disarm yourself right now,” Hastings said. “When you’re done, move over to your friend there, and get on your knees with your hands on your head. Passenger! Remain where you are!”
“Yeah, whatever,” Ponytail said.
“Guerra, keep your eyes open for any other threats,” Hastings said over the radio. “Over.”
“Roger that, Six. We’re good for the moment. Over.”
When the driver had joined the other man, Hastings shouted to Ponytail, “Passenger! Slide across the seat and come out through the driver’s door. Keep your hands in our sight. If you do anything we think is stupid, you’re dead. Only warning.”
“Fine. When do you want me to come out?”
“Right now would be plain awesome with us.”
The man sneered at Hastings again. Keeping his hands above the dashboard, he scooted across the bench seat.
“He’s armed,” Tharinger called down. “Looks like a little Heckler & Koch rifle slung off his right side. Also saw a pistol on his belt. And FYI, the guy’s got blood all over his jeans.”
“There’s supposed to be more of them,” Ballantine muttered.
“Stay sharp,” Hastings said.
Ponytail finally alighted from the truck, his hands still held high. He wore a denim vest over a black T-shirt, and his faded jeans and surprisingly clean white running shoes were dappled with specks of fresh blood.
“Weapons,” Hastings said. “This is—”
“My only warning or you’ll shoot me,” Ponytail interrupted. “Yeah, yeah, tin soldier. I heard you the first three times you said it.”
“Dude, you are not exactly approaching this situation in the best way,” Ballantine said. “Do as you’re told without further comment, or I will shoot you in the right knee.”
From the cab of the Dodge, a voice crackled over a speaker. “Jerry, what’s going on up there? Did you catch the slope bitch or what?”
“So which one of you is Jerry?” Hastings asked.
“That’d be me,” Ponytail said.
“What’s with all the blood, Jerry?” Hastings asked.
He jerked his chin toward the woman astride the motorcycle. “She and her friends set up an ambush. Thing is, they didn’t realize how many of us there were, so they got their butts waxed. We were chasing her down to exercise justice.”
“Justice, is it? Okay. Who’s on the other side of the radio? What is that, a CB?”
Jerry said nothing.
“Silence isn’t going to work out here, Jer. Tell you what, let’s see you place your weapons on the ground in front of you, then you move over to your friends down there. Remember, my man on the fifty will chop you in half the second you do anything he even thinks might be stupid.”
Jerry looked up over Hastings’s shoulder and smiled in Tharinger’s direction.
The guy’s nuts . But Hastings didn’t know for sure if the woman was telling the truth. And one man was already dead. He had been trying to draw his weapon, and Reader had been forced to fire.
“Movement in the trees on the other side of the truck,” Tharinger said. “Reekers. Probably drawn in by Reader’s shots. Smooth move, Ex-Lax.”
“Blow me, brah,” Reader said.
“Distance, Tharinger?” Hastings asked, without taking his eyes off Jerry. “Hey, Jer? Want to comply with my order, please?”
Jerry shook his head. “With those things moving in? Are you out of your fucking tin-soldier mind?”
“Reekers are about a hundred meters out, still moving among the trees,” Tharinger reported. “They haven’t spotted us yet. Can’t get a count, but it’s got to be more than a few. Hey, Jerry, if I were you, jackass, I’d do as the captain orders. The only thing
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