“I think I could have gotten him with a cleaner shot,” said Mandy.
“It was a good shot,” said Max. “It did the job.”
“Yeah, but I think… you know, I just want to make sure I’ve still got it, that I can do what I need to do.”
She hadn’t stopped talking about killing the man since it’d happened ten minutes ago. She seemed to be trying to convince herself that she wasn’t going to be weak, that she was able to kill when it was necessary.
Finally, Max had to put a stop to it.
“Listen, Mandy,” he said. “I know you were dealing with some shit. But talking about it isn’t going to change it. You either do what you need to do or you don’t. And you did it. It was a good shot, and that’s that.”
Mandy fell silent.
“The snow’s falling heavier now,” said Max. “I don’t know how long we have before the snow covers up these tracks completely. Come on, let’s pick up the pace.”
“But what happens when we find him?” said Mandy.
“We’re trying to take this one alive,” said Max. “If it’s at all possible.”
“And if not?”
“Same as the last one,” said Max, running his thumb across his neck. “If he’s from the compound, or the militia, we can’t let him leave alive.”
“I’m worried he’s just at the end of these footprints, waiting, ready to shoot us.”
“That’s probably exactly what he’s doing,” said Max. “If he has any sense at all. I think this one is smarter than the last one. The visibility is so low now that I think we have the upper hand.”
“Let’s hope so,” said Mandy.
The wind had picked up, and it was hard to see in front of them. The snow blew furiously, the wind changing direction sporadically.
They were walking across a field. If it hadn’t been for the snow, they would have been easy targets.
They were coming up to the end of the field, where the tree line started again.
“If it was me,” said Max. “I’d be waiting right up there in those trees.”
“So what do we do?”
“Stop here. We’re right past the range of his rifle. Here’s what we’ll do. You stay here. Keep your eyes on the woods. I’ll go around from the side and cut him off. If he’s there, I’ll take him by surprise.”
“And if he’s not?”
“Then we’ve got to keep following him.”
“We might freeze to death, Max. We can’t follow him for hours and hours.”
“We’ll have to,” said Max. “We can’t let him leave.”
“He doesn’t even know where the camp is, remember?”
“As far as we know, and that doesn’t mean much. I screwed up giving John a meeting place over the radio. I’m not going to let that mistake get us all killed.”
“What were you going to do, though? You had to give John somewhere to meet you.”
“There’s no time to discuss that now. And we’ll worry about tracking this guy later. My bet is that he’s there in the woods, waiting for us.”
“Are you sure about this, Max?”
Max shook his head. “No, but it’s the best plan. For now. And remember, don’t shoot him dead unless you really need to.”
“Unless I really need to.”
“Unless he’s about to kill one of us, try to keep him alive. Remember, we need information.”
“I don’t think I’m that good of a shot, Max.”
“It’s not that hard. Remember, stay calm. You’ll be more accurate.”
“Easier said than done.”
With a nod of his head, Max set off through the snow, leaving Mandy behind. He turned his head to see her getting behind a tree. Her rifle soon became the only thing visible, protruding out from the trunk.
A minute later, he couldn’t see her at all. The falling snow was in the way.
Max’s boots made huge deep prints in the snow. He cut a big half-circle of a path, taking the long way around so that he could come up from the east.
His hands were so cold they were stiff, so he slung his gun back over his shoulder, and stuck them in his pockets. He needed them warm for when he needed the rifle.
Max could see his breath in the air. He walked quickly, but not enough to make him actually feel warm. Just fast enough to keep him from freezing. He hoped Mandy would stay warm enough to fight effectively.
If it came to that, that is. Max was hoping he’d be able to sneak up on the guy from behind, avoiding any kind of firefight.
Of course, he knew very well that things were never as easy as he’d hope. Plans never went the right way. The smart thing to do was expect changes and adapt on the fly. Easier said than done.
Max had crossed the field, and he entered the heavily wooded area. The presence of the trees somewhat protected him against the falling snow. But there was still plenty of snow on the ground, on the trees, and in the air.
In another time, this would have been an idyllic scene. There was a certain type of quiet in the air that only comes from a fresh snowfall.
But Max wasn’t paying attention to that aspect of his surroundings. His eyes were scanning the forest carefully, looking for any signs of the man.
Max was coming up from behind. Coming from the opposite direction the enemy would be expecting. Hopefully.
It was as much of a game of strategy and intelligence as anything else. Max had to outsmart the enemy in order to stay alive.
He walked slowly, bending his back, crouching, staying low to the ground.
He had his rifle out now. His hands and fingers were cold, but they’d work well enough.
Truthfully, he felt more comfortable with his Glock. But it wasn’t ideal for this sort of situation. Only the rifle could provide the range he’d need.
There was something up ahead, towards the line where the woods met the field. Max thought his eyes were playing tricks on him at first. Then he realized it was the man’s white winter coat simply creating a strange illusion. It was the hat that made him visible. A big, incredibly warm looking hat, like the kind the Russian soldiers wore in old movies. It was black, and stuck out from the white snowy background like a sore thumb.
Max stopped where he was, not wanting to make any more noise.
He put his eye to his rifle’s scope. The man was facing away from him, his own rifle pointed towards where Mandy was. He was definitely lying in wait. Max had been right to expect the man to be waiting for them rather than continue on.
Max took careful aim. The man’s right shoulder was in Max’s crosshairs. Hopefully, that’d be enough to immobilize him, and prevent him from using his rifle.
Max squeezed the trigger.
He’d hit him.
The man didn’t scream. He let off a strange grunt-like noise of pain, muffled by the snow and trees.
As long as Mandy stayed where she was, she’d be safe. After all, there was a chance the man could still get off a shot.
Max darted behind a tree trunk and waited. The man’s painful grunting continued, turning into an animal-like wail.
Max waited, then made his move. But not before getting his rifle back on his shoulder, and getting his Glock out and ready.
Max dashed towards the man, the Glock pointed directly at him.
“Don’t make a move,” Max shouted. He didn’t need to worry about others in the area overhearing him. He had no need to be quiet anymore. Hopefully.
The man had dropped his gun on the snow. He was clutching his shoulder. It’d been a good shot. Max had hit him right when he’d been aiming.
The man’s face was contorted in pain. But that didn’t stop Max from recognizing him. James had been right.
He was from the compound.
Max pointed his Glock right at the man’s face.
“One move and you’re dead,” said Max.
The man nodded his understanding.
“Any other weapons?”
The man shook his head.
“I’ve learned not to trust answers like that,” said Max, using his free hand to pat the man down.
Sure enough, there was a handgun tucked into the man’s waistband.
“They don’t issue holsters at the compound?” said Max. “They’ve sure got you outfitted well for the snow.”
The man said nothing.
“I need to know,” said Max, “why you’re here. Tell me the truth, and I’ll let you live.”
But Max was lying. He didn’t know if he could let the man live. He didn’t like playing this game, making a promise he couldn’t keep. But that was what the circumstances dictated. If he let him live, he’d head back to the compound and tell them everything he knew. That was a given.
“Why should I trust you?” said the man, a terrified expression on his face.
“You shouldn’t,” said Max. “But you don’t have any other choice.”
Max looked up to see Mandy coming out of the falling snow, her body slowly becoming visible as she emerged from what looked like a moving white curtain.
“You got him?”
Max nodded.
“Anyone else here?”
“Not that I can tell. I need you to keep a lookout, though.”
Mandy eyed the man, looking him up and down. “Your friend wasn’t as smart as you. But you weren’t smart enough.”
“He’s not my friend.”
“What’s your name?” said Max.
The man hesitated. But only for a moment. He glanced at Max’s Glock, and seemed to decide that he’d have a better chance of living if he answered the questions.
“Josh.”
“And you’re from the compound, the same one we escaped from?”
“You mean the same one you attacked?”
“Attacked?”
“You killed a lot of good men.”
“We didn’t have a choice. You tried to kill me, and you were going to keep our women kidnapped there forever.”
“That’s not the way I heard it.”
“Well you heard wrong,” said Max. “Those are the facts. Now what are you doing here?”
“Just going for a walk.”
Max moved fast, upper cutting Josh in the stomach with a solid punch. It gave him no pleasure to do it. But he needed answers. Real ones. He needed to show him he meant business.
Josh gasped for breath.
“Take your time catching your breath,” said Max. “But the next words out of your mouth better be something real, something useful. My suspicions are that you’re out here scouting our location, that you heard us on the radio, and want to come finish the job. But what doesn’t make sense to me is the motive. Aside from pure revenge…”
The seconds ticked by, and Josh hadn’t yet spoken.
“You’d better do as he says,” said Mandy. “You seem to think he’s a killer, but you don’t know the half of it.”
“And that is?” said Josh, a sarcastic twinkle in his eyes. He didn’t seem to take her seriously.
“That I’m a lot worse.” As she spoke the words, she pulled out her Mora knife. She leaned down swiftly, and pushed the tip of the knife against Josh’s throat. Hard enough to draw a single spot of blood, but not hard enough to do any serious damage. She held the knife there. “One wrong move, one wrong word, and I’ll thrust this knife so far into your throat that…” Her words trailed off, but the fire didn’t leave her eyes.
Max gave her a quizzical look. She hadn’t acted like this before. But he knew she’d been fighting with something inside herself. She’d hated the fact that she’d hesitated to kill when it had been necessary to save Max’s life.
It seemed she’d gotten over it, though. She’d shot the other man from the compound. And now she didn’t seem to hesitate to threaten real violence. And it wasn’t an empty threat.
Max just hoped she didn’t swing too far over to the other side. If she became a loose cannon, she’d just as much a danger to everyone if she was hesitant.
But it was Mandy he was thinking of. She was sensible and practical. It would take a lot for her to swing too far to the other side.
“Answer the question,” hissed Mandy.
“OK. I’m from the compound, and…”
Mandy pressed the knife a little harder into his throat. Just hard enough for some blood to come trickling out. She didn’t have the knife against his jugular, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. “You already told us that,” she said.
“Mandy…” said Max, his tone warning her against going too far.
“Damn, lady,” said Josh. “Take that knife away from my throat and I’ll tell you.”
Max gave her a look.
“Fine,” she muttered.
She pulled the knife back, but kept it close to Josh, ready to strike at any moment.
“I’ve been instructed to find your position. You were right, Max. They heard you on the radio. But they don’t know the position of your camp.”
“It’s a lot of work just for revenge,” said Max. “What’s the end game?”
Josh started talking quickly, spilling the beans on the whole story. He told them about the man from the militia, the one who had chased John and Cynthia through the wood on a dirt bike. He told them how the militia wanted the radios, and how the compound was more than willing to team up with them.
“But what’s in it for the compound?” said Max. “Just the promises from the militia?”
“Basically,” said Josh. “But there’s internal politics going on. Since Kara’s death, it’s been chaotic. I don’t like the way things are going… they forced me to come, Max… I didn’t want to do it. I’m not like the others, you’ve got to believe me…”
“Just tell the rest of the story,” said Max. “You said Kara’s dead. What’s happening in her place?”
“New people are vying for power,” said Josh. “There’s a guy named Anton. He’ll lead the raiding party if I go back with your position. Not that I’m going to do that, Max. You’ve got to believe me. Let me live, and I’ll… Well, I’d join you if you’d let me.”
“We’ll worry about that later,” said Max. “Just out with the information. Nothing more. OK?”
“You heard him,” said Mandy, waiving the knife threateningly.
Max shook his head briefly at her, indicating for her to cut it out. That kind of behavior wasn’t going to get them anywhere. The threat of the Glock was already there.
Josh glanced up at Max.
“Info,” said Max. “Now.”
“OK, OK. Anyway, Anton is looking to lead the raiding party. He thinks he’ll be able to gain power within the compound by doing so, as well as strengthen his own personal ties with the envoy from the militia. I doubt it’ll work, but that’s what he’s intending… Now if you’ll just hear me out, I have a lot to offer you guys.”
“Anything more I should know?” said Max.
“Anything more?”
“If you’re hoping to join us, I’d think you’d want to give us all the information possible. Information that would help keep us alive.”
“Ah, well, of course. No, that’s about everything.”
“OK, now I need you to be quiet,” said Max. “While we figure out what to do with you.”
“Don’t kill me,” pleaded Josh, still clutching his shoulder. “Please don’t.”
Tears were streaming down from his eyes, and his face contorted into a desperate wail.
Max’s own face remained unchanged. He didn’t take his eyes off Josh.
“Not one more word,” said Max.
Max wasn’t cruel, but he also didn’t trust Josh. After all, he was a stranger, a man from the compound. And he had every reason to lie to save his own skin.
“So what do we do with him?” said Max.
“Kill him,” said Mandy. “There’s no other way. If he goes back to the compound, we’re dead.”
“What if he’s telling the truth?”
“About what?”
“About wanting to join us. We could use someone like him.”
“Someone like him? A killer from the compound? The same people who tried to kill us? Are you going soft, Max?”
“I’m trying to be rational,” said Max. “That’s not the same as going soft. You don’t want to go too hard, either, Mandy.”
“Don’t listen to her, Max,” said Josh, who hadn’t stopped crying. “There’s no reason to kill me. I could help you guys out. I could tell you everything the compound knows…”
Max wasn’t being soft in considering keeping the guy alive. He was thinking about the survival of himself, Mandy, Georgia, and the others.
If he had to kill him, he would. Plenty of “innocent” people had died already. And plenty more would soon enough.
And Josh’s innocence was highly suspect.
The snow hadn’t let up. Instead, it was falling heavier now than ever.
And the temperature was dropping. Max felt the cold. Especially his leg. The cold seemed to aggravate his injury.
The sun was completely blotted out by the snow. Max raised his wrist to check the time, so as not to take his eyes off Josh. It was almost noon.