No one spoke as they traversed the sandy earth, each lost in his or her own thoughts, until Ryan spoke up, spotting the incoming four-man sec patrol and hailing them when they were a few hundred yards from the storage tanks.
“Hey, how’s it going?” asked the leader of the sec patrol as they came within recognizable distance under the light of the crescent moon. The returning patrol was lit by the lamps they carried and was led by McVie. “Hell, you look like you’ve been in a fight,” he added when he could see the companions more clearly. And when Ryan explained what had happened, he whistled low. “Shit, that’s gonna make a few people drop their load. And that kind of shit will flush out any troublemakers triple fast, ’cause they’re gonna be way pissed with you.”
“That is partly the idea.” Ryan grinned. “If we’re going to fight, then I want to know who.”
McVie acknowledged this with an inclination of his head. “Fair point, big guy. So you’re covering the site now?” And when Ryan assented, he continued. “Well, it was all clear up to half hour past. Trouble is with only four of us, by the time we’ve covered one sector, then anything could be happening back where we started. And you ain’t got any lamps, either,” he added.
J.B. answered, “Don’t want them. With more of us we can cover more ground and mebbe catch anyone unawares. So having no lamps would be a real bonus.”
“Fair point,” McVie conceded. “You take it easy out there. It’s quiet so far, so mebbe you’ve had all your action for one night.”
“Let’s hope so,” Ryan said. Although it crossed his mind that at least a sabotage attempt may give them some clues as to the perpetrators.
WHEN THEY REACHED the work site, it was deathly quiet, but Jak seemed to be concerned about something.
“Ryan, something happening,” he whispered as they brought their horses to a halt by the storage tanks. The one-eyed man had intended to split them into three groups at this point, and cover the whole site in a staggered, circular route so that anyone trying to avoid one part of the patrol was likely to be picked up by the following group. His plans were stayed by the sudden reaction of the albino hunter.
“No noise, but smell,” Jak continued. “Not sure…like gas.”
“We’re at an oil well. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t smell fuel of some kind,” Dean uttered, perplexed.
Jak shook his head. “Not like this,” he said shortly, indicating the tanks behind them. “Like gas used on a wag…like shit belching out behind.”
“You can smell wag exhaust?” J.B. asked. “But how come the last party missed it? Dark night, it wouldn’t be like you couldn’t hear a wag out here!”
“Mebbe enough time between them leaving and us arriving to sneak in,” Krysty answered, “especially if it was someone who was familiar with the patrol schedule.”
“Which makes your idea ever more likely, my dear John Barrymore,” Doc mused. “An outside saboteur. Intriguing.”
“Mystifying more like,” Mildred snapped. “Let’s get the bastard and find out just what is going on here.”
Ryan nodded. “We need to move fast and silent. Leave the horses here and go on foot. Mildred, you and Dean take the pipeline with Doc. He’s familiar with it. J.B., you and Jak cover the refinery buildings. Krysty and me’ll take the wellhead. Jak, any idea where the smell comes from.”
The albino shook his head. “Not get direction. Just know here.”
“Okay. Let’s go. Triple red, people,” Ryan added before setting off for the wellhead.
Mildred, Doc and Dean took the route along the pipeline, dividing into three in order to cover every inch thoroughly. In a hoarse whisper, Doc described the manner in which the pipes were laid out, and warned that there was little cover, both for any saboteur and also for themselves. The three companions took a different pipe route, knowing that they would all end up at the refinery buildings.
Which was exactly where Jak and J.B. were headed, the albino and the Armorer moving across the desert floor at a run, crouched low lest they be seen against the horizon. They stayed silent, saving their breath for the run, and their concentration for any signs of activity ahead of them, ignoring what lay behind as that was in the capable hands of their companions.