Land of a Hundred Wonders

Sunup

At first light, Billy shakes me awake. I only drifted off for a bit, worryin’ like I was about Clever, who spent the whole night groaning, moaning, wishing for her mama to magically appear with a heart full of caring. And my guilty Billy, I fretted about him, too. A whole heap. “Gib, get up,” he says, tense.

Groping for the.22, I ask, “Is it the Boys? Have they come for us?”

“It’s Clever. She’s burnin’ up with fever.”

I glance over at the two of them entwined near the back of the cave, the coolest part. Clever’s face looks like it might burst into flames. Cooter is dabbing the sheen off her with his kerchief.

“Gotta get her to the hospital,” Billy says, reaching for his boots.

“But they’ll get us. Just like you said, they’ll have the hospital staked out.”

“I know what I told ya, but I gave this all some thought through the night. The truth is,” he says, “they’re not really coming for Clever. Or me.”

Not yet anyway. But once Cooter is let off from murdering Mr. Buster, they WILL be coming after you, my honey bunch. Somebody’s bound to notice how Mr. Buster’s neck was about twisted off. Somebody will remember your Oriental neck choppers. And how your army knife could do a fine job making those four holes in his chest. Like I said, I don’t know why he murdered Mr. Buster, but knowing how Billy feels about killing people in general, he musta had a damn good reason. (And you, my dear friend, knowing me the way you do by now? You gotta know that I CANNOT let the law cart off my man. I just got him back. No. He and me will head to the border. We’ll send for Clever and Cooter and Rosie once we get settled in the rolling hills of Bolivia.)

“I want you and Cooter to stay put. I’m gonna ride Clever back to the cottage and call my daddy. He can take us to the hospital, ” Billy says, taking charge. “I’ve got the pictures of Buster dead on the beach and I’ll also make sure he gets them into the hands of Judge Larson. Once the judge sees those snapshots, he’ll know the sheriff is up to no good and he’ll call off the hunt.”

Judge Larson is older than Cumberland Mountain, but has always been fair. He’s a checkers-playing friend of Grampa’s.

“Wait a minute. Isn’t your daddy gone? Flyin’ Grampa to Texas for his operation?”

“He’ll be back by now,” Billy says, pulling on his other boot. “That don’ take that long.”

I think on it all for a minute. “So the plan is you’re gonna take Clever to the cottage and call your daddy, who’ll take her to the hospital and make sure Judge Larson sees those pictures of Buster on the beach, and ya want Cooter and me to stay here until the coast is clear?”

“That’s good rememberin’,” Billy says, admiringly.

I say thank you with a kiss on his cheek. Keeper does the same.

Billy lifts his powerful Vietnam binoculars out of his pack and hands them to me. “Once we head down the trail, get outside the cave behind the rock, and if you see the posse comin’… we sh… sh… should go while it’s still a little dddark.”

I press against his chest. “Don’t get all worked up now, ya hear? Cooter and me’ll be just fine. We’ll meet up with ya at the hospital later.”

“Butch?” Clever calls weakly.

Billy says, “I’ll leave the rifle.”

“Butch?”

“I’m comin’, Kid.” Getting to where’s she balled up in the corner, I can feel the heat roiling when I kneel down next to her. See her eyes darting, trying to flee the pain. “Hey, you.”

“Is this what birthin’s s’posed to feel like?” she asks with cracked lips.

“Ya just got a little fever, is all. Remember that time you got the Scarlett and I had to pack you in frozen peas? This is just like that,” I say, smoothing her hair off her face. “Don’t ya worry none. Billy’s gonna ride ya back to the cottage and call his daddy and he’ll come in that beautiful Cadillac a his and drive ya to the hospital. Miz Tay Lewis, you know her, you like her, she did good nursin’ of Grampa and she’ll give you some nice medicine, too. Everything’s gonna be fine. You’ll see.”

Clever, latching on to my wrist, whispers, “But sidekicks… sidekicks don’t ever leave the other one in a bad situation.”

My heart gets awfully snarled having to look at my wild child like this. Her ascared so out in the open. “I got your back. I promise.”

Cooter kisses each finger on her floury white hand, lifts her gently into his arms. “We haveta get you and the baby safe.”

“But… but…” Clever struggles, so worn and warm. “They’s comin’ for ya.”

Cooter lets loose with a laugh that echoes off the cave walls. “Ya think me and Gib can’t take care of those Brandish Boys? Lordy, ugly as they is, they’s not bulletproof,” he says, setting her softly onto the saddle.

Billy swings up behind her, gathers the reins. “Just in case, don’t ffforget the bbback way out,” he says, pressing his leg against the horse’s side. “I already tttied the animals up there for ya.”

Cooter and I follow them outta the cave. Whatever coolness the rain brought, it’s evaporating along with the night. Steamy clouds are rising off the treetops. “They’re gonna be all right,” I tell Cooter as we watch them head down the trail that’ll end close to the cottage. “Billy’ll take care of her. Them.”

Cooter, on the brink, says, “I feel so helpless.”

Being better acquainted with that feeling than most, I know nothing I can say to him will make him feel better, but a hand on the shoulder can be steadying. We watch quiet together ’til Clever and Billy are almost outta sight of the naked eye and Cooter swallows hard and points off to my right, asking, “What’s that moving around over there in those thin trees?”

I lift the binoculars up to my eyes, adjust the wheel.

“It’s them, ain’t it?” he says, panic coming into his voice.

Cooter can’t perceive that this is far worse than he knows, ’cause he’s not looking through the glasses. But I can see that our true loves are riding too near the posse, who’re coming toward the cave on that parallel trail. Looks like only yards away. If Clever gives out a birthing shriek, the Boys’ll be on ’em like wolves on sick calves. And I don’t care what Billy says, I know the sheriff. Even though he’s not chasing after the two of them, he’ll make them suffer if he catches them.

Backing up, tripping, Cooter says, “We gotta get.”

“Not quite yet,” I say, lifting the.22 out from my back. Mr. Howard Redmond in his excellent Creating Diversions chapter states: There will be times when an operative may be forced to draw the attention off of himself/herself/others by creating what is known as a diversion.

“Ya gonna shoot one of ’em?” he asks. “Ya better use the rifle.” He limps back over to Billy’s bedroll and slides the gun out with a sharp snap. I don’t really need something this powerful for what I’m intending to do, but the rifle feels like home in my hands. It’s the kind Grampa taught me on. A Remington. “Aim at that one with the big ears, wing ’em maybe,” Cooter coaches as I wedge the 600 into my shoulder.

I reconsider for a moment. That’d be a twofer, all right- warning Billy AND giving us more time to skedaddle. But you know how pissed off animals can get when they’re wounded?

Through the scope, I can see their black lathered horses down to the nose hairs as I squeeze the trigger back easy, aiming at the treetops.

“Ya missed. Go lower and to the left,” Cooter gasps, running his hand down his endangered neck.

No matter how NQR I am, my Billy knows I wouldn’t be drawing attention unless it was a matter of EXTREME emergency. Like if the enemy was bearing down on him. So he’s doing just what I hoped he’d do. Veering off the trail he’s on over to another one that lets out at the edge of town. Being accustomed to making quick decisions in the field of battle, my Billy’s made his mind up to take Clever straight to the hospital himself. Atta boy.

Of course, the diversion shot got their attention, too. The sheriff’s pointing our way, waving to Deputy Jimmy Lee Boyd, who’s riding in front of him. The Boys are in the lead.

Peering through the scope again, I can see that the one Brandish-not the one that’s got only holes for a nose, the other one with the oozing skin craters-he’s tall in his stirrups and has his rifle up, too. We got a bead on each other. Until he slowly, slowly lowers his gun. Grins with his gums. Run, he mouths. Run.