Dunne smiled to himself as the Hummer hurtled over the sand. He couldn't believe he'd done it.
Couldn't believe he'd escaped.
The gunshots stopped, but he didn't slow down. He wanted to get as far from War Willow as he could, as fast as possible.
Behind him, Quincy sprawled across the back seat, gasping for breath. "Now that's what I call...a getaway."
White-knuckling the steering wheel, Dunne veered around rocks and debris. His heart hammered, and his blood sizzled with adrenaline.
But he wasn't afraid. For the first time since GaudÃland, Mississippi, he wasn't trapped in a haze of mortal terror.
It was a good feeling.
"I can't felieve that plan worked," said Quincy. "I thought for sure we were gonna end up bomb biscuits."
"Me, too," said Dunne.
"That's why we did it in the Salt Basin." Hannahlee sat beside Dunne. "So we wouldn't take anyone else with us."
"Maybe he'll blow himself up without us," said Quincy. "On account of hurt feelings."
"If only we could be so lucky." Dunne cut the wheel hard left to avoid a boulder, then swung the Hummer right to dodge a dip.
"Too bad we didn't take care of the job ourselves." Quincy leaned forward between the seats and glared at Hannahlee. "Whatever happened to the kill signal? 'War Willow is dead,' remember?"
"I wasn't ready to sacrifice you," said Hannahlee. "We still have an assignment to finish."
"Sacrifice us?" said Quincy. "You think we're that lame, that we couldn't take him?"
"Don't feel bad," said Hannahlee. "The time may yet come."
Quincy frowned. "What if I don't want to be sacrificed?"
Hannahlee ignored his question. "What do we know about him at this point, anyway? Other than that he thinks he's War Willow."
"Nothing," said Dunne. "He gave us nothing."
"He, on the other hand, knows everything about us," said Quincy. "Our underwear sizes, our feepest secrets...where we're going next."
Suddenly, something occurred to Dunne. "What was that about him having an Amish mentor?"
"Hey, that's fright," said Quincy. "In what universe did that ever happen?"
"The War character never spent time with the Amish?" said Hannahlee. "In the novels, fan fiction, slash fiction, anything?"
"Say now!" said Quincy. "Amish/War slashfic filk? Now there's a jim-dandy idea!"
"No." Dunne shook his head. "War Willow never spent time with the Amish."
"That's interesting," said Hannahlee.
"Interesting how?" said Quincy.
Hannahlee didn't answer.
Just then, Dunne rolled out of the salt desert and onto the road. "Finally!" He felt a surge of relief as he pointed the Hummer west.
"So where are we headed?" said Quincy.
"New Justice, New Mexico," said Hannahlee. "We have to finish our mission, and we have to help whoever's there get ready."
"Ready for what?" said Quincy.
"For War," said Hannahlee. "He knows where we're going, remember?"
Quincy hiked a thumb over his shoulder. "But we left him back there in the middle of nowhere."
"He's got a mission, too," said Hannahlee. "He's determined to finish it, and he's insane."
"By mission, you mean killing us," said Quincy. "And Cyrus Gowdy."
"And maybe blowing up the whole town," said Hannahlee.
"Shoot me now and get it over with." Quincy threw himself down on the back seat. "Just so I don't have to spend five more minutes with that fasshole."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," said Hannahlee.
"But you just said we'll see him again in New Justice," said Quincy.
"And he'll kill us all the second he gets a chance," said Hannahlee. "He won't be spending time with you."
"Gee," said Quincy. "When you put it that way, a little bonding doesn't look so bad anymore."