Dice laughs, “Yeah, so am I, but we all know she loves the chaos as much as Graham. She just goes about it in a less noisy and obvious way. As for trouble, we’ll see Chaos, we’ll see...”
I’m the driver for the first half of the journey. Dice has had a nap for around two hours, so is now awake and checking his phone. “I’ve had a message from Target. He said you are not responding,” Dice laughs. “Probably not realizing you are too busy at the moment. Anyway, he said not to worry about work, and not to worry about Winter, Victoria and Jack. They are waiting to get into Sterndale’s house. They are going in after dark.”
“Fuckin’ hell, Dice. Take over at the next truck stop, and I’ll grab us some water and snacks. Then I’ll sleep for a while. We need to catch up with them before they go inside his place.”
Dice looks at me, “Do you know this Sterndale character?”
“I know who he is. I’ve heard through brothers that I keep in contact with that they’ve had issues with him. It seems he likes to mess with veterans. Well, this veteran is going to beat his ass if Winter doesn’t do it first.”
“Okay, let’s do this, Chaos. You may need to live up to your name!”
“Don’t give a fuck about that, Dice. If it means watching my woman’s back, then I will do whatever is needed.”
“Do you think Victoria will do a runner?”
My shoulders moved in a shrug, followed by a frown as the idea struck me that I would pursue and get her back if she left. “If she does, then she does. But you know I’ll catch her. It could be fun having a chase though.”
“Chaos, we have a white van following. Turn into whatever we hit next. I noticed them earlier and thought nothing of it, but they seem to have been behind us a long time.”
“You got your weapon handy?”
Dice takes out his Smith & Wesson M&P, which is a military and police weapon. He has had this weapon since I met him. He gives it a small, nearly loving stroke before taking out a Beretta. “I’m armed and ready,” Dice smirks and looks like he is ready to go to war if needed.
Pulling into the next truck stop, I drive the truck behind a big-rig. It will give us cover if we need it. Dice is out of the truck and disappears before I’ve cut the engine. I take my time, check my Bowie knife is in my waistband, and slowly climb out of the truck. I’m going to make out that there is a problem with the back wheel. It will give me a vantage point without being out in the open.
I see the white van pull into the stop and park a little further away. What makes me grin is the back doors open and three men get out. All dressed in hoodies and jeans. The driver and passenger get out, stretch their arms, which I’m sure is to give the impression they are relieved to be out of the van after a long drive.
Two of us and five of them. Not bad odds in my book. All five head my way and I get behind the wheels of the rig's trailer as they get closer. Knowing they can’t see me, I slip under the trailer and come out behind them. Hearing one of them mention Sterndale’s name, it’s clear who they work for.
When they see the empty truck, they all look towards the buildings. Not a very smart move on their part. Stepping closer, I’m on top of the rear two before they sense me and slam their heads together as hard as I can. Hearing a sickening crunch, I may well have just killed those two in one move.
Spinning to face me, two of the other three step forward and take a fighting stance. The third seems to have a little more savvy and looks around for Dice. This would be a good time for him to make an appearance, I have to say.
Paying attention to the two facing me, one has his fists balled and looks nervous as though this is a new experience for him. The other looks comfortable and relaxed, which tells me this isn’t his first rodeo. Spinning on my left leg, I lash out with my right, and nervous guy gets my foot to the side of his head. He joins his two friends on the gravel of the lot.
Facing the fourth who I hope is my last opponent, as I’m still expecting Dice to make an appearance for the fifth guy, I see he has a wicked-looking Ka-Bar knife in his right hand. Pulling out my own Bowie, I grin when I see the hesitation show in his eyes. He wasn’t expecting that and my blade is easily half as long again as his Ka-Bar blade.
Two shots ring out from above me, and although not loud, I wasn’t expecting them. Seeing that I’m now standing alone, I look up and see Dice atop the big-rig trailer.
“Put that fucking sword away and stop playing Zorro. We need to be back on the road. Always playing fucking games when we need to be cracking on,” Dice says as he shakes his head and then disappears yet again. Slipping my Bowie away, I start to drag the dead or unconscious bodies to the back of the trailer when their white van pulls up. Opening the rear doors, Dice helps me lift and throw each one into the back. Each time he checks for any sign of life, and if he finds one, he quickly snaps their neck and gives a quick nod to himself.
“Don’t want any witnesses, do we?” He winks at me and throws the van keys in the air, catches them, and grabs the rear doors.
Slamming the doors shut, he takes the van to the remotest part of the parking lot, locks it up and tosses the keys into some undergrowth as he walks back.
Now we are back on the road, he first cleans his Smith and Wesson, then his Beretta. Happy with his work, he turns and looks at me as though this was just a ride in the country.
“What? I take care of my weapons, and they take care of me. In fact, they took care of you, too. Why were you playing with them? You know we’re on a tight schedule.” Leaning back, he closes his eyes in mock sleep before I can give him any abuse.
An hour later we’re driving on a dirt track on the edge of Sterndale’s land. As we approach a small wooded area, Dice grunts and points into the shadows of the trees. Knowing what to look for, I see the outline of a vehicle.
Parking the truck Dice and I stealthily check out Winter’s truck. I look at Dice, “Yeah, we need to move our butts. They are already inside.”
As we turn to enter the enormous grounds we both stop dead in our tracks when Winter, Victoria and Jack nearly walk into us. We all stop and look at each other before Victoria rushes forward and jumps into my arms. I, of course, catch her and kiss her just as hard as she is kissing me. Her legs are around my waist and if not that we are in a dangerous position right now, I’d fuck her up against the truck.
