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“Go on, little buddy.” Derek tapped the windshield.
“Derek’s got a soft spot for the reptiles,” Boone said to Grayson. “Probably reminds him of his last girlfriend. She was one cold-blooded -”
“Cut it out, Boone,” Derek said before tapping on the windshield again. “Get moving, lizard. Go home to your family.”
“Or your mistress,” Boone said.
Wes glanced in the side mirror at the two vehicles stopped behind them. The second vehicle idled just outside the open gate, while the third hadn’t even made it out of the base yet. The radio crackled, and Jorgens, the second vehicle driver, said, “Everything good, Masters?”
He grabbed the mic and pressed the button. “Yeah, all clear. Just waiting for a lizard to cross the road.”
“Of course, you fucking are,” Jorgens said. “It ain’t like we got somewhere to be, right?”
Wes ignored him as Derek tapped on the windshield a third time.
“Maybe you should get out and carry him to safety,” Boone suggested. “I can take your picture if you want. Post it on Twitter. Hero soldier saves lizard from certain squashing.”
“It’ll go viral for sure,” Grayson said.
Boone laughed as Cooper said, “Wes, keep moving.”
“Yes, sir,” Wes said.
Derek made a pained expression, and Wes hesitated before tapping the horn. The short beep was enough to get the lizard moving. It scampered across the road, climbing over a pile of jagged rocks and disappearing into the shadows formed by them.
Wes stepped on the gas, and Derek relaxed in his seat. He braced his arm against the window, his fingers tapping at the top of the windowsill as he said, “They’re also called the Zagrosian lizard. They’re in the family Lacertidae, which means wall lizards.”
“Fascinating,” Cooper said dryly.
“Hey, someday, we’ll be in a situation where obscure lizard facts will save our asses, and Derek will become the hero he was meant to be that day,” Boone said.
“Thanks, I think?” Derek said.
The road led them through the desert to a town whose inhabitants had long since fled. Wes had driven through its deserted streets numerous times before on their way to different patrol areas.
Abandoned buildings lined either side of the road they drove down. Burned and blackened cars sat on flat tires in front of the buildings. Most of the buildings were crumbling from mortar rounds, with chunks of rock and brick perched precariously on caved-in roofs and deep cracks lining what walls had managed to remain upright.
A flicker of light to Wes’s left caught his attention. He glanced out the window, searching for the source as his heart beat a little faster. The reflection of the sun off the scope of a sniper rifle, maybe?
“Wes, the intersection is coming up. Turn left,” Derek said, tapping his fingers again at the top of the windowsill.
“It’s a right,” Wes said as he glanced at the road and then studied the building roofs.
“It’s a left,” Derek said.
Wes slowed down, still sweeping his gaze over the charred landscape beside him. It was probably just the sun catching on a shard of glass that caught his attention.
“I checked the map before we left. I’m sure it was a right,” Wes said with another glance at the road.
“It’s left, asshole. I know how to read a fucking map,” Derek said. “Christ, Wes, you’re gonna miss the fucking turn. Take a left, for fuck’s sake.”
Wes turned left. The two cars behind him followed dutifully, and Wes took a final look in the rear view mirror. There! The light flashed again, and Wes relaxed against the seat. Just like he thought, nothing more than the sun hitting some broken glass.
“Do you know what I’m going to do when we get back from patrol?” Boone said.
“Soak your feet and watch Back to the Future?” Grayson said.
“Nah, I’m gonna -”
