“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 leastlong 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.
Chapter 41
“I’m going to need you to stay here,” Deadshot told the kid. “I’m going to have to concentrate on the fight, and if you are with me, I’m going to be too focused on keeping you safe.”
“But I want to help,” the kid begged.
Deadshot shook his head. “Not this time.”
“You know I can. I can shoot and fight.” The kid looked desperate. “I helped you in the saloon.”
“I know you are more than capable, but this isn’t the saloon. We have no idea how many of them are in there, and I need to make sure that you stay safe. I promise you, kid, that if your mother and sister are in there, I will find them.”
“What about Quincy?”
“If your mother and sister are alive, I’ll kill him. If they are not there, I’ll keep him alive so that we can get the information we need.”
“Okay,” the kid agreed. “Just stay alive.”
