Tasker came in to clear that up: “Rurik?”
“Don’t worry.” Katryzna patted Ward’s arm again, more interested in convincing her than him. “You can’t see Rurik. He is no problem. Though . . .” She considered something carefully. “I shouldn’t have told you my name, isn’t it? Forget it, okay?”
Ward gave a very uncomfortable nod. When they reached the airport, she shook hands and wished Tasker good luck, keeping her distance from Katryzna, who looked like she might try that hug again. Rurik apparently advised her against it and she stalked aside, snarling at him. Ward gave Tasker a parting look that said now she’d met the contact she was happy to keep clear of this. Rather him than her. Story of his damn career.
9
Reece revisited the action at the farm in drumbeats, trumpet blasts. The gunshots and shouts were punctuation in a score. A powerful piece, full of force, fear, triumph. He tapped his fingers against the pistol on his lap, picking out the sound. That’s how you made sense of it. Because it made shit-all sense otherwise.
“Almost outta gas,” Caleb said quietly, drawing him back into the moment.
“How’s that?” Reece said. He was sat in back with Zip huddled down between him and Leigh-Ann. Caleb and Stomatt were in front, both staring ahead like they each had something they were burning to say, not sure it was wise to say it.
“Why I chose that other truck,” Caleb muttered. “Had more gas. This one’s dry.”
“You’re telling us now?” Leigh-Ann said, hotly, and Reece gave her a look. They were all on edge. Not a time to take it out on each other. She thumped back into her seat.
“Haven’t seen a stop since the farm,” Caleb continued. He’d hoped a solution would turn up along the way. But they must’ve done an hour now, without a break nor barely a word shared between them. It was a bad way to break the silence. Hitting this long, empty highway had been a mixed blessing, a straight line to Louisiana but one likely to be patrolled. Stopping for gas was a sure way to get back on the Steer Trust’s radar. The rest stations, the stores along the roads, even some of the roads themselves were their domain.
That’s why it made sense to get off the beaten track, Reece recalled now. Why they’d deviated and ended up on that farm. Because he had that feeling they were gonna run into trouble. Same feeling he got now.
“How far till the state line?” Reece asked.
“Not far,” Caleb said. “I wanna say twenty minutes?”
“Got enough to last us that long?”
Caleb didn’t answer, rather than lie or offer news none of them wanted to hear. The Steers had had time, now, to lock down the state. They were a glorified protection racket, for Christ’s sake, they’d be keeping an eye on anyplace Caleb might pull up, and probably had all sorts of people set to inform on a likely crew of miscreants racing by.
“Keep going, it’s all we can do,” Reece said, because they needed to hear him calm, even if he hardly felt it. “Get as far as we can, then we take it from there.”
Caleb nodded, rolling his shoulders with relief at getting his bombshell out the way. But now it was Stomatt’s turn, the little bit of chat triggering him into twisting in his seat. The big guy was grinning in an unfriendly way, focused on Zip. He said, “What do you think, that gorilla knew which vehicle to trash? Make sure we didn’t get away.” He moved restlessly. “It was a gorilla, right? Big, ugly, hard to put down, but a gorilla all the same. You got it between the eyes, right, Reece?”
“Looked like,” Reece said. “But I wouldn’t like to go back and check.”
“I didn’t like leaving her there with it,” Caleb said uneasily. “That farm girl –”
“Took a fucking shot at me! Psycho!” Stomatt half laughed. “What was it – what are we into here? This kid? That thing?”
Reece shifted an arm over Zip’s shoulders, seeing her tensing. “Calm it, Sto. Kid’s got more poise than you right now.”
“More poise, more fu–” Stomatt almost stood out his seat. His bandages had come loose in the fight, fresh blood had dried on his shirt and coveralls. “I ran that thing off. You wake me up in some land of dead farmers and freaky kids and mutant gorillas, and you’re talking about my poise?”
“You trapped us out there, dammit,” Leigh-Ann snapped, her own bottled feelings at breaking point. “We’d be in Louisiana already if you’d given over the wheel!”
“I was good for it till Reece directed us to the ass-crack of nowhere –”
“And what’d become of her?” Reece said. “Might’ve been a mistake heading out there – definitely a mistake letting you drive – but if it hadn’t gone down like that, no one else was rescuing Zip. She’d be living them horrors alone.”
“Last I checked,” Stomatt said, “we set out to make money, not run a fu” – he leered, under Leigh-Ann’s scolding look – “a frigging charity.”
“Last I checked we were musicians holding them Steer bastards to account,” Reece shot back. “Not cold-as-coal assholes. You can take your share and hike – any one of you can – but I’m not leaving a child behind.”
“Yeah me either,” Caleb grumbled. Leigh-Ann let her expression say the same.
Stomatt looked from one to the other, his mocking grin returning. Pissed off and refusing to admit it. “Think I’m some kind of lunatic?” he laughed. “Of course we’re not leaving her. But maybe – here’s a thought – maybe she can tell us what kind of mess she got us into? What do you say, princess? Time to share that with us, now?”
Zip cowered, tiny in the middle of the seat, and looked up pleadingly to Reece.
“She can talk when she’s ready,” he said.
“That before or after we’re all dead?”
“Sto –”
“I’m sorry,” Zip interrupted quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“You got nothing to apologise for, sugar –” Leigh-Ann started.
“They came for me,” she said. “They came for me before and they’ll keep coming. It’s why – it’s why I didn’t get to Daddy. They couldn’t find me at home, but I left the safety and now, they’ll keep coming, they’ll find me anywhere.”
Stomatt gave that a beat before demanding, “The hell’s she talking about? Kid, what are you on?”
Before Reece could tell him to pack it in again, Leigh-Ann came in with a softer question. “You named it. That gorilla? You knew it from somewhere?”
Zip bit her lip. “Giza. I didn’t know it before, no, I …”
“The hell does that mean?” Stomatt started up again. “How the –”
“I felt it,” Zip rushed out. “Sometimes I feel things. Feelings. Names. I know I’m not supposed – it’s not allowed – it’s dangerous, but I can’t help it!” She stared at the big guy imploringly, full of apology. That confused him enough to stay quiet for a second.
“You felt that gorilla’s name?” Reece clarified, gently, and Zip nodded guiltily. “And that’s something you’re . . . not allowed to do?”