The Quest: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 6 Read online

  “But that creates a dilemma for me. In order to get more of your gold I have to rely on you to stay close by long enough for your hunger to return, again and again.

  “And you, my friend, are a drifter. You don’t live around here. None of my men have ever seen you before.

  “And obviously you yourself are a man of means. Most men in these parts have to scratch out a meager living. To them a single gold coin means enough food to survive for two or three months.

  “You, on the other hand, have so much gold that you can give away that same gold coin for a couple of hours of pleasure.

  “You ask why I am doing this. The answer is simple. For you to spend such wealth so foolishly, you must have a lot of it.

  “It is not on your person. It is not in your saddlebags. Your saddlebags contain no provisions, other than a few bottles of water. Yet you obviously aren’t starving, and you obviously have the money to pay for food.

  “Therefore, my logical conclusion is that you are camped nearby and have left your food there.

  “Now, I have no need for your food. It probably wouldn’t meet my high standards anyway. But your gold is obviously stored at or near your campsite as well.

  “And that, my friend, is what interests me.

  “Yes, I could let you go. And hope that you stayed around to rent my girls until I had all your gold.

  “But why should I do that when a good beating with baseball bats will accomplish the same end in a lot less time?”

  Payton noticed that Tom’s head had flopped to one side. He was bleeding from both nostrils and both eyes were blackened and swollen shut. He coughed and a mouthful of frothy blood flew through the air in front of him.

  He was very close to losing consciousness.

  Payton held up his hand and his men stopped the beating.

  Two of them, as though on cue, lifted Tom up by the arms until his head was level with Payton’s.

  Payton leaned over and whispered into Tom’s left ear, which had been ripped half off by one of the baseball bats.

  “Are you still with me, my friend?

  “Because it would be an awful shame if you died on me before I had a chance to determine the location of your gold.”

  Tom coughed again and managed a few weak words.

  “If you kill me… you’ll never know where my gold is.”

  “Ah, that is true enough, my good friend. But it is also true that you will never again get to spend that gold. Either you will die tonight at the hands of my men. Or… you will lead me to it and I will confiscate it. Either way, it is no longer yours to enjoy. Whether or not it is mine to enjoy depends on how badly you want to live.

  “Come on, now… just say the word and we’ll stop. Then you can tell me where your gold is. I’ll send my men after it, and when they return with it I’ll set you free. I’ll even give you some time with your blonde. Because we are friends now. And I take care of my friends.”

  Tom was in a world of hurt. He knew there was no gold. At least not in the amount that Payton was expecting. And what gold he did have was indeed back at the campsite.

  And no amount of beating or pain would ever make Tom give away Sara’s location.

  So he had nothing to say.

  Which infuriated his captor.

  “Beat him some more,” Payton told his men. “He must want to die tonight.”

  -50-

  By the time Randy let the fire burn itself out half an hour before sundown he and Sara were starting to worry.

  Tom had said before he left that he’d probably be back in late afternoon.

  “But don’t y’all have a hissy if I’m running a little late,” he’d said. “I’m still new at this, and it may take a little longer than I’m expecting it to.”

  They were trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. But he was one of them, and Sara in particular loved Tom like a father.

  “How long should we wait before we go after him?”

  Randy chose his words carefully.

  “Well, that depends. I could go and scout the town tonight. But that would create a whole lot of new problems. I don’t know Tom well, but I’m guessing he’d want us to give him some extra time, instead of jumping to conclusions and creating chaos just because he’s a bit delayed.”

  Sara was perplexed.

  “What kind of problems? What are you talking about?”

  “Well, like I said, I could go scout the town in a few hours, after most of the townsfolk have gone to bed. But that would mean I’d have to break a promise I made to Tom, and I’m not one to break a solemn word.”

  “What promise? What did you promise him?”

  The answer to Sara’s own question suddenly popped into her mind. And it made her angry.

  “Did he make you promise to stay here with me… to babysit me?”

  Randy said nothing, but wished he was somewhere else.

  “Answer me, damn it!”

  “Please don’t use that word. It’s not necessary to get your point across.”

  “I’m gonna get something else across if you don’t answer me, damn it!”

  “He never asked me to babysit you. He asked me to stay with you to help protect you if somebody stumbled across the camp while he was gone.”

  “So all this time I thought you were hanging around here because you were my friend. And now I find out you’re just here because I’m a pathetic little girl who can’t be trusted to fend for herself. A helpless child. Is that what you think I am?”

  “Honestly? You want me to answer that?”

  “Yes! I honestly want you to answer that!”

  “Well, you are acting a bit like a child.”

  It certainly wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.

  “What?”

  “Well, I mean you’re pouting like a child, just because a man who loves you cared enough to arrange for some extra protection for you. A man who knew how ruthless men can be, especially when they travel in packs like wolves.

  “A man who knew how vulnerable a young woman can be when caught in the woods alone. Especially when she’s outnumbered and outgunned by the bad men.”

  “Is that how you see me, Randy? As a spoiled child?”

  “Actually, no. But that’s how you’re acting. Tom gave you the gift of protection, because he valued your life more than his own. He could have asked me to go and back him up in case he got into trouble. Many men would have.

  “And actually, that would have been the move I likely would have made. Because the odds of someone stumbling across you in the woods alone weren’t that great.

  “The odds of something going wrong on the kind of mission he’s on, though, are much greater.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you go with him then?”

  “Oh, my. There’s that word again. Do you have to use that word? There are so many others that will do.”

  She softened a bit.

  “Randy, why didn’t you go with him if you thought he might be in greater danger than me?”

  “Because it wasn’t my call to make. It was his. My point is, he cares more for you than he does for himself. He chose to protect your life over his own. That’s a gift. A very special gift. And you shouldn’t dishonor that gift by getting angry with him or by second-guessing his judgment.”

  “I asked you if you saw me as a spoiled child. You said no. Well, how do you see me, then?”

  He thought for a moment.

  “And though she be but little, she is fierce…”

  “Holy crap! A Texas Ranger who quotes William Shakespeare?”

  “You think that just because I’m a Ranger I can’t be a bit refined?”

  “No… I… I’m sorry. It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

  “Look, Sara. I think you’re a very impressive woman. And for being as small as you are, I get the impression you’re a wildcat, and I wouldn’t want to ever come down on your bad side.

  “But Tom knows much better than you the evils that are lurkin
g out there. And for all we know these woods are crawling with bad men who would show you no mercy at all should they come across you alone out here.”

  “You’re right. I’d fight like a wildcat.”

  “Yes. And that might fend off one, or two, or three. But what if there were half a dozen or more?”

  “Well hell, Randy. Why not stop there? What if there were a dozen or more? What if they outnumbered both of us and took both of us alive?

  “Don’t kid yourself. There are those who favor men like yourself. Would you want them to take you alive? Would you want them to force you to do the same things to them that they would force me to do? I don’t see you crying to have someone stay behind to protect you…”

  Randy was caught off guard, but only for a moment.

  “Did I say that Tom wanted me to stay back and protect you?

  “I’m so sorry, Sara. I misspoke. I meant to say that Tom told me he was leaving you here because he wanted you to protect me.

  “I said, ‘Tom, are you sure she’s up to the task?’

  “And he said, ‘Yes, Randy. For though she be but little, she is fierce.’”

  Sara just looked at him.

  Then she said, “Now I know why your eyes are brown.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning Tom wouldn’t quote Shakespeare if his life depended on it. Because he’s never read Shakespeare. He’s an old cowboy, through and through. Now, if you wanted a quote from Zane Gray or Will Rogers, he’s your man. But Shakespeare… no way, Jose.”

  “I’ll tell you what, Sara. I’m not as worried about Tom as you are. I’ve been on enough of these missions to know that sometimes things go wrong. And that he may be in trouble, yes.

  “But I also know that rushing in to help him without a plan could be a bad thing too. If they’re on to him, it’s probably because someone saw the two of you together at the bar the other night. And if that’s the case, they may be holding him hoping you’ll come looking for him. Then they’ll ambush you, and instead of just having him they’ll have both of you.

  “And if that happened… if they did see the two of you together, then whether you like it or not you are the grand prize. You’ve got something that Tom can’t give them. Something they covet greatly.

  “So rushing in there without a plan would be not only foolish, but also dangerous. And it’s not something Tom would want.

  “Let’s give him a few more hours. If he’s not here by midnight, I’ll ride into town and see what I can find out. I’ll break my word to Tom, but I’ll tell him you made me. He’ll take it out on you instead of me.”

  He stopped and looked at her in the fading daylight.

  “You better watch it. You might accidentally smile at me.”

  “You’d break your word for me? Really?”

  “Yes. And… well, because I’m starting to worry a bit myself. But we’re not going to rush headlong into an ambush. We’ll wait a few hours and if he hasn’t returned I’ll see if I can find out what we’re dealing with. Fair enough?”

  “Yes.”

  “Atta girl. Now, in light of the situation, we should post watch tonight. I’ll take the first shift.”

  “Will you wake me up if Tom comes back?”

  “Yes. And if he doesn’t come back, I’ll wake you up when I head out for town.”

  -51-

  Try as she might, Sara wasn’t able to get a wink of sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw things she didn’t want to see.

  Like a bullet-riddled corpse lying cold in a lonely field.

  Wearing Tom’s clothes and hat.

  Or the vision of Trigger, Tom’s horse, coming back to the camp without him.

  Or, worst of all, Tom coming to her in a dream, dressed all in white, saying, “I’m so sorry, Sara. I tried my best to save her. But there were only two of us and way too many of them.”

  The last vision had sent a shiver through Sara’s tiny body. For it implied that she’d lost not only Tom, but her mother as well.

  And it was enough to convince her that she didn’t want to fall asleep.

  For sleep on this particular night would only bring things that would cause her pain.

  Instead, she placed the palms of both hands beneath her head and lay upon her bedroll, gazing up at the stars and listening to the sounds of a forest at rest.

  It wasn’t really at rest, of course. Not everything in the forest sleeps at night. In darkness the forest is actually quite active. Because of the still of the night, each sound is amplified greatly, and at times it seems that the forest is most active in the darkness.

  It’s not really. But to one lying in the dark in the middle of a forest, it can sure seem that way.

  A million things flitted into Sara’s mind, paused for a moment, then ran away again.

  She looked at the stars above, wondering why masses of them seemed to blink all at once.

  Then she felt foolish when she realized they weren’t blinking at all, but were blacked out by swaying treetops that she couldn’t see.

  She wondered why the treetops were swaying so when she could feel no breeze on the ground.

  She wondered why some stars blinked and some stars didn’t.

  She wondered why the mosquitoes were so thick on some nights they covered her like a blanket.

  And other nights she saw nary a one.

  She wondered why a rabbit running through the forest at night made more noise than a freight train.

  And the same rabbit running during the daytime seemed to make no noise at all.

  She wondered why the woods weren’t overrun by wild dogs. With such an abundant food source and no natural predators, it seemed amazing that the forest wasn’t teeming with them.

  Then she decided she was glad that it wasn’t.

  After several hours, she got bored enough to decide to get up.

  She sat up on her bedroll and said quietly, barely above a whisper, “Randy?”

  His answer came from the shadows, closer than she expected.

  “Yes, little darlin’?”

  She fell silent for a moment, then said “Please don’t call me that.”

  “Why not?”

  She hesitated, then answered.

  “Because Tom calls me that sometimes. And… well, I don’t know. I just consider it something he’d say. That’s all.”

  “So what should I call you, then?”

  She thought again.

  Calling her Sara every time he addressed her sounded so… formal, since they’d gotten to know each other and became friends.

  “Well, okay. I guess you can call me that. But please remember that I’m a married woman.”

  Randy laughed.

  “I’ll remember, little darlin’. But even if you weren’t, you’re not my type.”

  His words certainly weren’t intended to, but they stung just a little.

  “Really? And why not?”

  “Because you be but little, but way too fierce for me.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning I’m afraid of you. If I ever upset you, you’d likely tear me to pieces and then feed me to the coyotes.”

  His words made her smile this time.

  “Damn right… darn right. And don’t you forget it, mister.”

  “I couldn’t if I tried.”

  “Hey, Randy?”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Do you have a watch?”

  “I don’t wear a watch, sugar. But it’s about half an hour after midnight, give or take twenty minutes.”

  “If you don’t have a watch, how do you know?”

  “You just look at the Big Dipper, and its position on the horizon. Then you add a few numbers based on the month of the year, and add and subtract some numbers based on other factors. The numbers you end up with represent the time. It’s never exact, but pretty close.”

  “Would you teach me sometime?”

  “Sure.”

  “Hey Randy?”

  “Yes
, ma’am?”

  “How far away can you hear gunshots?”

  “It depends on several factors.”

  “Such as?”

  “The type of weapon. The amount of powder in the cartridge. The length of the barrel. The wind direction and wind speed. Whether or not the shot is fired in the open or in the forest. Whether or not the listener is in the open or in the forest. Even something as benign as humidity can be a factor. A heavily humid day can lessen the distance a gunshot carries.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “If Tom was shot tonight, would we have heard it?”

  “Probably. He’s not that far away and the winds have been predominantly out of the west. But merely hearing gunshots doesn’t mean they were shooting at Tom. Remember, these woods are alive with animals. And wherever you find wild animals, you’re going to find hunters. We can use ourselves as a case in point.”

  “I’m worried about him, Randy. I love that man. A lot.”

  “I know you do, sugar. I’m worried about him too.”

  “Wait a minute. I thought you were going to wake me up at midnight so I could take watch and you could go into town.”

  “I was. But I’m in no hurry to go into town. I can leave as late as two or three and still make it back before first light. I was hoping you’d get some sleep before I had to wake you up. You’re much more likely to be sloppy if you’re alone in the woods and sleepy.”

  “How’d you know I couldn’t sleep?”

  “Because you make more noise than a bear, thrashing about on your bedroll, tossing and turning and propping yourself up on one elbow, then lying flat on your back with your hands behind your head.”

  “Wait a minute. You were watching me?”

  “There’s not a lot to do pulling watch on a dark night. Might as well watch you as anything else.”

  “I can’t see you at all. How can you see me?”

  “I have better night vision than you, I suppose.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose God rewards the less ornery with more gifts.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “You’re welcome a lot. Besides, watching you in the night is rather entertaining.”

  “How so?”

  “You’re quite oblivious to some of the things going on around you. For example, a couple of hours ago you were lying there looking up at the stars and a possum wandered over, sniffed your hair, and then left again. I’m guessing he didn’t much like your choice of shampoos.”