“Yeah,” I say, leaning forward to scan the diagram again. “Deck’s right. Not only will they be easier to hit, but what happens to the vehicles afterward will be more predictable than if we shoot the drivers. But the shooter is still going to be in a dangerous position. There’s going to be a bunch of guys in the trucks, and it’s likely at least a few will see the shooter as they approach. If they’re not hit by the trucks themselves.”
“I’ll do it,” Burgundy says, her tone cool. Almost cold.
“What the—!” Micah begins, his expression conveying his dramatic objection to this idea.
“I want to do it. Those bastards held me against my will for months. They tried to turn me into a spineless victim. I want to be the one who shoots the fuckers’ tires out.”
There’s a chill in her words that gets to me. I’m experiencing it too, and I was only in that compound for a day and a half.
Micah’s face is still twisted in defensive outrage for his sister, but to his credit he doesn’t put it into words. Her declaration must have gotten to him too.
“No.” Logan. Bland and matter-of-fact and brooking no argument. He’s speaking for the first time in nearly thirty minutes. When Burgundy starts to argue, he cuts her off. “We just got you back. I understand your anger, but you’re not making yourself a target. And Kat’s right. Shooting from the side of the road is too big a gamble. Too much could go wrong. But look here.”
We all stare down at the diagram as he draws a sketchy hill on one side of the road. “The slope right here is high, and the trees clear out at the top. It’s high enough to get a full view of the road. Our shooter will be positioned right here.” He draws anXnear the top of the hill.
My lips part as I visualize the geography and realize he’s right.
“That’s too far away,” Carl says. “No one can shoot accurately from that far back.”
“Deck can,” Logan says.
The big silent man on Logan’s right side shakes his head and does a few gestures in sign language that conclude by pointing toward me.
Logan can obviously understand Deck’s gestures nearly as well as Lilah does. His eyes shift to me.
Even I know what Deck just said.
“He’s right,” Micah says. “Kat is a better shot at long range than Deck is.”
“You’re comfortable doing this?” Logan asks me, tapping theXon the diagram.
“Yes,” I tell him. “I can hit tires at that distance.”
“You’ll be exposed in this position. It’s not an easy distance, but if any of them have skill with rifles, they might be able to shoot back at you.”
“I understand.”
“All right. You’ll need backup, so Micah and Burgundy will go with you.”
Burgundy’s face flashes with brief annoyance, but she doesn’t vocally object. She clearly believes Logan is shuffling her into the background, and she doesn’t appreciate it.
I can sympathize. But I’d rather have her and Micah with me than anyone else.
“So that’s the plan then. We’ll set up a roadblock ahead of them right here. The group in the rear will wait out of sight and then blockade the road behind them once they pass. Kat will shoot out the tires when the vehicles reach this point.” Logan indicates the location on the diagram. “Then we’ll advance from both sides when their vehicles are disabled, and we’ll have folks stationed here, here, here, and here in the woods to keep them from retreating that way. It shouldn’t take more than ten minutes.”
While the others start volunteering from their positions, I study the diagram and finally nod.
It’s a good plan.
It has a better chance of succeeding than anything else.
“You’re really good with this?” Micah leans over to murmur the question into my ear.
“Yeah. I am. They’re coming after me. I should be the one who does this.”
“But you’re not doing it alone. Not anymore. I’m going to be right beside you. You know that, right?”
I turn my head to smile at his earnest face. “Yes. I know.”
