AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Some wood. Just a few dozen four-by-four beams."
"You're shitting me."
"It's not really the wood, it's what's in the wood."
"Gold? Platinum?"
"If you don't know, you can't tell anyone. I just want to know if you can get them into the Boston Mountains."
"Boston Mountains? You're misinformed. That's just a screen. The Ozark high command's hiding out in the bayous in the southwest. Big Hal Steiner's got them hidden."
"Really?"
"Easier to feed them from the swamps and rivers. He's got rice up the wazoo, too. The part of your army that's holding out up north, it's mostways teams of your Bears and Wolves wearing Guard uniforms. The invaders got so busy blocking up the mountains they didn't catch the evacuation south. They think the whole southeastern corner of Arkansas is a Kurian backwater. All those Grogs Steiner has around the place has them confused."
"I've been there. You could hide an army there."
"They won't be hiding there much longer."
Valentine, already excited, hooked a thumb in his belt near his .45's holster. "When?"
"Soon. Within weeks."
"You a Cat, or what?"
Mantilla bristled. "Look, Colonel, let me have my secrets, too. We're on the same team, isn't that enough?"
"When you're on a team it's nice to know if you're talking to a quarterback or the towel guy."
"I'm more like the towel guy, Colonel. I'm due downriver yesterday. Can you get me your beams in double time?"
"How's tonight?"
"Tonight's excellent," Mantilla said, nodding approvingly and relaxing again.
"How you want to work it?"
"There's lots of shallows on the south bank, just downstream of the pilings from the first bridge. I'll ground her. I'll splash ashore and your men will rock me off using the wood as levers. That okay with you? Don't want to break open the Quickwood and have a bunch of gold fall out."
Valentine came to his feet. "Quickwood? How the hell do you know it's called Quickwood?"
"From you."
"How's that?"
"Call it intuition. Specific intuition."
"I thought only the Lifeweavers did tricks like that."
The enigmatic captain scratched an itch between his eyes. "Lifeweavers and us towel boys."
"Can you get me some bourbon and cigars? I told Hamm I was here to see you about that."
"Popular items. I keep them in stock. I'll drop them off tomorrow."
Valentine held out his hand. "Until tonight, then, Captain."
"Until tonight."
