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“Then we’re all going to die right here in this shithole.”
He eyed the pickup truck. He didn’t believe anything he had been told. But he desperately wanted to get out of this alive, if only to make things right later.
The cred man said, “Look, we’re obviously not the Taliban. Hell, I’m from Nebraska. We’re on the same side here, okay?”
He finally said, “So how about I withdraw quietly from the field?”
“That was my offer.”
“How do you propose doing this?”
“First thing, don’t push the button.”
“Then don’t pull your triggers.”
He edged toward the pickup truck, keeping his finger close to the button. The men parted to allow him passage.
He reached the truck and eyed the ignition. The keys were there.
The cred man said, “What’s the range on the detonator?”
“I think I’d like to keep that to myself.”
He threw his knapsack on the front seat, climbed into the truck, and started the engine. He kept his free hand ready with the detonator.
He shifted the truck into gear. All guns were pointed at him.
The cred man said, “How can we trust you not to detonate when you’re well away?”
“It’s a question of range,” he replied.
“And you haven’t told us what that range is.”
“Would you? So you just have to trust me, Nebraska. Just like I have to trust you that this truck isn’t wired to blow up as soon as I’m out of here.”
He pushed the gas pedal to the floor and the truck roared out of the stone building.
He expected shots to be fired at him.
None came.
He imagined they believed that would lead to their deaths when he hit the button in retaliation.
When he was far enough away he looked at the black box. The red button was right there. All he had to do was push it. And all the men and what was in that crate in the box truck would exist no more. It would solve a great many problems all at the same time.
His finger moved to do just that. He was still within range. He could still do it. But then he thought of the creds the first man had shown him. If they were legitimate there was a lot more going on here than he cared to think about right now. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to see it through.
In fact, he did.
He pulled his finger back from the button and accelerated.
And the only way to do that was to let this play out.
Now he just had to get the hell out of here.
He hoped that was possible. Because most people came to this part of the world simply to kill or be killed.
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