“That seems a fair assumption,” J.B. commented. “But how will it change our tactics? What are the conditions like out there?”
“Just as you’d expect,” Correll replied simply. “The desert is like a swamp right now. The earth has been turned into mud and quicksand, so we’ll have to be careful as we negotiate the old tracks, but it’s drying out rapidly. I figure that we’ll leave some tracks, but mebbe by the time we get to where the rendezvous is taking place we’ll have been out there long enough for the desert to have dried out and not leave any telltale tracks.”
J.B. nodded. It was more or less as he had thought it would be should the rains cease, and he knew that Ryan felt the same. Their main concern was never going to be the conditions if they were anywhere near good enough to start out.
After they had eaten, Correll had the room cleared of all the tables, and the Hellbenders arranged their chairs so that they were seated facing the one direction—the part of the hall where Correll had set up his maps and charts. He waited for the group to settle before beginning.
“Okay, people,” he said, staring at a point somewhere over their heads. “Now I know you all know about the chem storm, and the effect that it’s had on the terrain out there, but I have to tell you that I feel that it doesn’t affect the basic plan. We can still get there in plenty of time to mount our ambush, and then to claim our rightful reward.
“And that reward is ours. We have all been unjustly exiled from Charity—a few of us from Summerfield—and we have been driven from our homes, family and friends by the idiocy and maliciousness of the barons, particularly that coldheart son of a gaudy piece of scum called Jourgensen. When the time comes, I don’t care how or who metes out his chilling, but I sure as shit hope it’s me.
“We leave here in approximately ninety minutes, which should give us all that we need to finish loading and checking the wags. Thanks to Jenny and our good friend J.B., we know that the tools will not be found wanting, so it is to ourselves that we have to look. Have we got what it takes, people?”
He turned and faced the map he had pinned up on the wall, tracing the route with his finger as he spoke.
“This is the route we’ll be taking. It’s more or less direct, but as we get nearer the rendezvous we’ll be avoiding the more obvious tracks so that we don’t leave any sign of our arrival. This is something that has become more of an imperative since the chem storm, as the land around here may still be churned up and wet enough for us to leave wag trails. The other thing we have to watch for is any signs of quicksand. We don’t have the time or manpower to devote to getting anyone out of trouble like that. There’s gonna be a hell of a lot more of them than there is of us, so we have to conserve our energy and hit them hard and efficiently. When we arrive at the rendezvous point, this is what we do.”
He pulled the map off the wall and replaced it center stage with a hand-drawn chart that showed his tactical maneuver for the attack.
“We form a pincer movement at the rear of these two outcrops, and as both convoys converge on the valley where they plan to meet, we close it down from each end, attacking them from the rear and hitting them hard. Then, before they have a chance to regroup, we come around the sides of the convoys, each group splitting to two, and hit them from each side, so they have no idea where to turn. And while they’re turning, we hit them so bastard hard that there’s nothing of the scum left. We know that both Hutter and Jourgensen are attending the rendezvous because of the importance of the trade, so that means they’ll all be carrying their best sec. We hit them and wipe them out, then the ville of Charity is wide open.