“Don’t fire, for the Lord’s sake, don’t fire,” Chan yelled, his voice pitched high with fear.
“Then get out of the damned way,” Elias snorted as he tried to take a clear aim.
With one hand, Mildred grabbed the blaster that had fallen from Chan’s hand when he’d been pitched sideways as she grabbed the albino around the throat with the other. It was a difficult maneuver, and the albino was slippery, but at least she had the blaster.
“You dimwit, you didn’t even have the safety off,” she yelled at him as she flicked the catch.
Elias fired again, the shot whistling past both of them at head level.
“What are you doing?” Chan yelled. “For the Lord’s sake.”
“Not so loud,” Elias ordered. “There are still security patrols—”
He was cut short by a blast from Mildred that tore up a clod of earth to his left. Her usually deadly aim had been spoiled by the albino’s movements, which she still sought to contain.
This was a stalemate, and one that couldn’t continue for long. Sooner or later Elias would tire of this and just fire through Chan, or the albino would wriggle free and she would be an open target.
What she needed was a miracle. What she got was something close.
“Mildred! Duck!”
Mildred didn’t think about what was happening, or where Jak had sprung from. She just threw herself to the ground.
The explosion from behind her was a signal that Jak’s .357 Magnum Colt Python had been called into play. It was lucky for Chan that he had also reacted to Jak’s call, as the slug would have hit him if he had stayed on his knees instead of flinging himself away from Mildred when she released her grip. The slug tore a great chunk out of the ground in front of them.
Elias had already turned and begun to run for cover. Jak sighted and loosed another shot, which took a chunk out of a tree to the left of the giant’s shoulder as he ducked behind it. The wood cut into his shoulder, making him scream but doing nothing to delay his progress. Chan was close behind him, scuttling for cover as Mildred had just a short while before.
Mildred sighted with the blaster she had taken from Chan and fired. But at the last she pulled the shot and it flew wide of the intended mark. Now wasn’t the time to take them out.
Jak had stopped firing. He had appeared on the far side of the shallow river and was wading across, unable to stop to take aim if he wished to reach the other side rapidly. His main concern was Mildred’s safety, and that had been assured. However, he couldn’t understand why she had pulled the only shot she had loosed, and asked her as much as soon as he reached her.
Mildred shook her head. “If I chilled Markos’s brother, whether or not it was with Elias, then there would be a whole shitload of explaining to do, and I’m not sure that Markos would want to hear it straight off. And when we get those Bastards, I want it to be clear what they’ve been up to.”
“You be safe till then?” Jak asked.
“I figure they’ll go to ground, maybe thinking we’ll go straight to Markos or Sineta. Which also means they’ll have to act fast. I reckon they’ll be back tonight to try to get the stuff out of the rocks and make a break for it. But what the hell are you doing here?”
Jak shrugged and smiled. “Was on errand to livestock, getting stupe measurements for crates and boats ’cause of fuckup…lucky fuckup. Saw Chan and Elias on roof. Not trust one, and seeing other with him made curious. Then blasters out. Didn’t know firing on you till followed them when you picked up. Followed out here and kept tail. Didn’t know how bad you injured, or if you making out unconscious—body not quite loose enough,” he added with a hunter’s grin. “Anyway, saw you move and figured time right.”
“Sure as shit was,” Mildred agreed. “I was never more pleased to see you.”