“Mexico sucks!” declared Clay.
“No, trying to find an unnamed set of ruins that isn’t on the map sucks.”
“Yeah, well, for now all of Mexico sucks.”
“At least we’re one step closer to finding Celine and the others, and now we’ve got some basic kit,” said Danny as he examined the procured weapons. The two matt-black pistols were identical: Glock 17s. Older models, but in good condition, and loaded with full magazines. Seventeen rounds in each.
Clay hunched over the steering wheel. “We don’t even know if they work properly. Only one clip each, so we can hardly go plinking tin cans now, can we.”
“Pull over.”
“Why?”
“Just do it, ya big ape,” said Danny.
Before the Jeep had fully stopped moving, Danny sprang from the vehicle. With a Glock in each hand he sighted upon the trunk of a tree some twenty feet away. The pistol in his left hand fired. A triangular sliver of tree bark spun into the air. The pistol in his right hand spat a single bullet. Another chunk of bark sprang from the tree an inch from the first.
“There, they both work.” Danny climbed back into the vehicle. He gave Clay a double thumbs-up to add to his irritation. “You want me to test the Ruger as well? We’re in the middle of nowhere with no one to hear it.”
“Not much can go wrong with a revolver. I’ll save those six shots for someone who deserves them.”
“We just have to find the bastards first.”
“Sooner the better. I just hope she’s okay. I have to get her home safe.”
“I know, big bro. We will. If I was lost, I couldn’t hope for anyone better to come looking for me than you. Sebastian and Salma know that, too.”
“Oh man, you didn’t see their faces. The look in their eyes was horrible. I’ve never seen anyone look as bad. You know how happy-go-lucky they both are, Salma was like The-friggin’-Exorcist, she was so upset. And Seb just looked so… ashamed.”
Danny nodded. “At least he didn’t come charging down here, and then not be able to bring Celine home once he’d found her. He did right waiting for you.”
“I’m not sure they were waiting for me. I just happened to turn up at the right time. I think they were just going around in circles trying to get information from the authorities down here.”
“Hey, take this next turn on the right. I think this may be the road we need. This should take us towards Chios.”
“You call that a road?” asked Clay. The gap in the trees was barely wide enough to steer the Jeep into. Leafy branches scraped along the roof and sides of the vehicle as they entered the dark green portal. The light dimmed almost immediately as the jungle threatened to envelop them.
Clay braked and pointed at the road ahead. “It just keeps getting better and better.”
A fallen tree spanned the width of the narrow road.
“I’ll go check it out.” Clay reached for the Ruger. “You watch my back just in case this is a trap.”
Danny nodded and picked one of the Glocks from the side of his seat. It was an old highwayman ruse that had been around since the days of the horse and carriage. The bandits would block the road and when the occupants of the vehicle began to move the obstruction, they would find themselves staring down the business end of a musket.
The trees and foliage formed a thick green curtain on each side of the road, plenty of cover for a would-be highwayman to spring from. The waning daylight cut interspersing daggers through the thick canopy. Danny pressed himself against the side of the Jeep. He scanned the trees, his eyes moving slowly from shadow to shadow, searching for any sign of danger as Clay moved to inspect the tree.
Tucking the revolver into his waistband, the big Texan squatted at the upper branches of the tree. He struggled to find a grip that provided the required leverage, one of the branches snapping off in his hand, but after a few false starts managed to drag the fifteen-foot length of timber to the side of the road.
“I was half expecting a bunch of desperados to come charging out from the treeline,” said Clay as he climbed back into the Jeep.
Danny gazed at the surrounding trees for another few seconds, then joined Clay back inside the vehicle. “Nothing would surprise me. But I guess trees do just fall down sometimes.”
Clay resumed his usual driving position, hunched over the wheel with his head thrust forward. “You sure we’re headin’ in the right direction?”
“As far as I can tell. We need to keep following this track until we get to Chios. This is the only road that Benito could point to on the map.”
“But Chios ain’t on the map,” said Clay.
“No, but if a shanty town was out here they would still need a road to get in and out, right?”
Clay frowned, the scars on the side of his face crinkling. “I guess. It’s gonna be dark soon. Better get a bit of a tailwind going.”
“Just don’t crash into any trees on the way.”