Separation

“No surprise that she is unconscious,” Chan muttered, “not with a graze such as that.”

“Pity it wasn’t a straighter shot and took the bitch out with a blast through the brain,” Elias returned with venom. “Now, my sweet little child, let’s just see how far from conscious you really are.”

As he spoke she felt the hard pad of his thumb on her eyelid. She rolled her eyeball back into her head, which took considerable effort to keep it there as he held her eye open for some time. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep it rolled back.

“Yes, I would say that she is well and truly unconscious,” Elias pronounced with some satisfaction. “Now we should get her out of here. It’s far too public for my taste. There will be some blood on the ground. When I lift her, scuff the earth to cover it.”

“I am not as stupe as you seem to believe,” Chan returned petulantly. “I had already considered this point.”

Mildred felt herself be lifted up by the giant Elias as though she were nothing more than feather, and was flung unceremoniously over his shoulder. He strode off, each step bumping her stomach on his hard shoulderblade. She could hear the scuffling of Chan’s feet as he covered the bloody signs of her shooting, and then the patter of the lighter man as he ran to catch up with Elias.

Elias was dangerous because of his size and strength. Chan was a lightweight in every way. She had already sized him up as neurotic. But they were two, and she was alone. More than that, she was quite possibly concussed from the bullet crease and may find it hard to act quickly when called upon. And, finally, they were both armed, and she wasn’t. The only advantage she had was surprise, as they believed her to be unconscious. Somehow, she figured that it wouldn’t be enough.

They walked for some distance, the two men bickered all the while. The longer they walked, the more she would learn. But to what end?

“I don’t like this. We should have finished the job there and then,” Chan said.

“And let her be found? There would be an investigation and sooner or later it would be discovered that we have nothing in the way of an alibi. Where would we be then? Would you be able to talk your way out of that with your brother?”

“But the longer we are in possession of the accursed woman, the greater the chances of being caught,” Chan argued.

“Not this way,” Elias said with confidence. “I have watched carefully the patterns of the security patrols, and I know for a fact that there is no work going on out here. The wood for the boats has long since been felled. All we have to do is keep things relatively quiet. Not difficult with these silenced blasters,” he added. “I thought it rather a master stroke to use the one-eyed man’s blaster. If anyone checks the armory, they’ll find it has been recently fired.”

“Would anyone?”

Mildred felt the giant shrug beneath her. “I doubt it, but it would supply a neat and rather confusing finishing touch.”

“You have approached this entirely with an unbecoming sense of humor,” Chan snapped.

“Oh, come now,” Elias replied calmly, “is not the whole thing quite absurd in many aspects? Who would consider the prospect of either of us deigning to work together? You are well known for your bigoted and inflexible views, whereas I am known for my forward looking attitude.”

“I—You are the most—”

“And your complete lack of a sense of humor. I really should have added that,” Elias cut across the albino’s protest, almost musing to himself. “However, I will grant that you showed a commendable streak of ingenuity when you came to see me.”

“Pragmatism. I could not do it by myself, and I could see that you have your own reasons to be self motivated.”

“Ah, yes, greed. A fine thing. After all, if you don’t look out for number one, no one else will.”

Mildred felt herself being lifted off his shoulder. Knowing he would drop her with little regard for pain, she allowed herself to relax and to not anticipate her landing. It was hard and painful. She hit the ground on her back, her head bouncing on the ground. She figured they had to be near the river, for the ground was softer here and there was the sound of running water nearby. Had they carried her down to where the treasure was hidden? How the hell had they found out about it? From their conversation, she had assumed that they were aware of both its existence and its whereabouts. She was about to find out how, as they continued their conversation, as if oblivious to the fact of her even being there.

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