Two steps.
Three.
And then all hell breaks loose.
16
A HILL TO DIE ON
BRYS
Nicolai and I have spent the last several hours bored out of our minds.
Pugli left the freeway and cut an hour and a half into the countryside, and then another twenty minutes rattling to pieces down a two-track trail over swelling hills and down into gently sloping valleys before we crested one last hill and spied our target: a massive, sprawling manufacturing plant in the end stages of dilapidation surrounded by endless acres of yellowing, waist-high grass.
"Fucking Pugli," Nico had snarled, letting the truck roll back down from the hill so we aren't skylined, although the plant is a half-mile away at least. "No cover. An old building with basements and subbasements and all kinds of places to hide. The evil bastard is too damned smart."
"So…now what?" I asked.
He shrugs. "Reconnaissance. A fancy word for sneaking and watching and being very bored."
"What can I do?"
He eyed me. "A good question. Whatcanyou do?"
"Well, I have zero military training or experience, and I’ve never shot a gun, but I'm coordinated and not a total moron.And I've seen heads blown off already and made it through that, so…"
Nico smirked. "More than most can say." He stared out the window for a few moments, thinking. Then, he looked at me again, serious and steady. "You will not be content to remain here, I assume."
"Not a chance, buckaroo. That man down there…" I shake my head, unsure of what I was even going to say, only that sitting in this truck doing nothing was not an option. "No. Whatever happens, I'm a part of it. I'm not, like, jonesing to shoot anyone, but I will if it puts an end to this once and for all. For him," I gestured toward the building where Jakob was being held. "And for you. So I'll do what has to be done."
Nico had nodded. "Very well. Allow me a few minutes to conduct initial reconnaissance and formulate a plan. I shall return." He patted my hand. "I am only looking and thinking. And we cannot assault them on our own anyway—we must wait for the others."
“How long will it take them to get here?"
He grinned. "Oh, not as long as you are thinking. Jakob has access to some rather fascinating aeronautical technology."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning a Roth jet."
My mind had wobbled a bit—those are the most expensive private aircraft on the planet, and beyond mere expense, they only make a handful every year, so they are nearly impossible to get ahold of, even if you could afford one.
"Oh."
"An experimental, unreleased Roth jet."
"That's…" I trailed off, at a loss.
Nico shrugs. "That's the boss. He can do things, find information, find people, and procure things that should beimpossible. And it is not merely a matter of money, either. Money cannot buy everything."
"It's still weird to me that you work for a man you've never met," I said.
He shrugged. "Loyalty is a strange thing." Another pat on my hand. "Now. Stay here, if you please. We do not know if they have patrols. I think not, but it is best to be safe. I shall return in a few minutes."
He had left, sniper rifle on one shoulder, walking parallel to the ridgeline, just below the crest.
A few minutes became ten, then thirty, and then he finally returned. "I bear good tidings, Miss Bennett. I know where he is being held, and I have seen him. They had what appeared to be a veterinarian attend to his wound."
