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Jericho opened his eyes after being hit in the back of the head...again. His arms were pinned behind his back...again. He heard Nashida breathing behind him. He fell for the exact same ambush twice. Maybe he should consider finding another career path. Who wants to hire an assassin that couldn't even dodge one damn FBI agent?
"Jeez, I suck."
"Stand up!" Nashida shouted as he slung Jericho's backpack over his shoulder.
Jericho sighed and played along. Shifty little wolf scampered off again. Snitch.
"What do you got to say for yourself?" Nashida asked, staring him in the dark green lens.
"Nothin'."
That was true. Jericho had worked a pretty good con to try and get Nashida to release him. The agent was hungry, tired, and starting to lose his grip on reality. Manipulating someone in that state wasn't a terribly difficult feat. Of course, there was no way he would fall for those tricks a second time around. No matter how insane he was at the moment, Nashida was no idiot.
"Let's go!" Nashida said, jamming the barrel of the shotgun into Jericho's back.
"Go where?"
"Back to the crash site."
"You want to walk back, in the opposite direction, for what reason?"
"You got any better ideas?"
Jericho looked over his shoulder. He was stuck, for now. If he was going to be a prisoner, he may as well make captivity a little easier on himself.
"Yeah. There's a highway five miles south of here and major town about an hour and a half to the east."
"You're lying!" Nashida said, gritting his teeth.
"You think I wanna be walking around in these damn woods with someone who has absolutely no idea where they're going? Especially with that thing out there hunting us down?"
Nashida shrugged. "Fine. We head south," he said, jamming the barrel into Jericho's back.
"You know, there's a pickup truck about a mile or so back that way," Jericho nodded behind them.
"How do you know that?"
“'Cause I drove it there."
Nashida turned Jericho around so they were face to face again. "What's your angle, Jericho?"
"One, Stop calling me that. Two, I figure we can either spend two days walking in the snow, with me trying to figure out a way to kill you when you least expect it, or we jump in the truck and end this whole thing tonight."
"How does that help you?"
"Because you're not going to bring me in. Period. I'm gonna outsmart you at some point. Now, we can play more games in this freezing ass snow, or we can finish it off warm and in the city tonight. Choice is yours."
Nashida scoffed at Jericho's arrogance, but knew there was some truth to his words. Jericho would be looking for an escape at every turn, whether walking or driving. Maybe Nashida could figure his own game plan out.
On the road, they would undoubtedly run across some Mounties. He still had his badge and could use their help. Nashida was tired of battling the elements. He was starving and losing touch with his own sanity. Plus, if he was driving and Jericho tried something in the truck...well, he could make sure that neither of them made it back. What did he have to lose? At this point, what other choices did the agent really have?
"Let's go find this truck."
"Good choice, Agent Nashida."