74

After fitting Liana with a radio earpiece and giving her a crash course on the 50 BMG caliber rifle, Ackerman picked up a grenade from the table and walked over to Tobias Canyon, who was tied and gagged in the corner of the room.

With duct tape in one hand and a frag grenade in the other, Ackerman smiled down at the wide-eyed Canyon youth and said, “I like to call this game: Kissing the Pineapple. Because typically frag grenades have a sort of bumpy pineapple shape. You have to use your imagination in this case, since these fragmentation grenades are actually round, but I still like the imagery. Anyway, pucker up.”

After he had finished taping the grenade to Tobias Canyon’s face, with the pin and trigger release still accessible, he proceeded to cut the fishing line from Tobias’s hands, feet, and chest. He then rewrapped the young man’s hands and attached another grenade to the back of Tobias’s belt.

With his preparations complete, Ackerman shoved Tobias toward the door and said, “It’s time to take the long walk, kid.”

Liana stood by the door leading onto the covered porch and front steps of the trading post. The sight of her waiting there like an expectant wife ready to hand him his thermos and give him a kiss on the cheek before he headed off to work made Ackerman’s heart flutter in a strange way that he had seldom felt. He gave her a genuine smile and asked, “Do I get a kiss goodbye?”

She replied, “I wish I had never met you.”

“Well, that’s not a very nice thing to say. Especially to someone marching off into the lion’s den.”

“Let me finish. My life was a hell of a lot simpler before you barged into it, but that doesn’t mean that I want to see you get killed now. Why don’t you put on some of this body armor and take one of the Berettas?”

“I have my push daggers. And I’ve never been one to use body armor, it’s restrictive, and it always felt like cheating.”

“I thought you were in favor of cheating.”

“I’m in favor of winning when it comes to life and death circumstances because winning equates to surviving. But I also love a challenge, and bad things seem to happen when I use guns.”

“Then put on one of the vests.”

Beneath his frag grenade gag, Tobias Canyon mumbled something. Ackerman replied, “You don’t need a vest. No one’s going to shoot you. And I prefer freedom of movement over extra armor.”

“I’m not letting you out this door without you putting on a vest and strapping on one of these Berettas.”

He found the look on her face quite adorable. She reminded him of a little girl ordering a parent to put on a coat for risk catching cold. With a roll of his eyes, he said, “Fine, I’ll wear the vest and take the gun.”

She seemed surprised. “Really?”

“Yes, I’m not sure how you intend to stop me from going if I don’t adhere to your demands, but considering the time it takes to argue and our escalated timetable, it’s easier to merely acquiesce.”

Liana didn’t say anything more, but she had a little grin on her face as she strapped on his body armor and stuck one of the procured 9mm Berettas in the back of his waistband. Just before he stepped through the doorway, he turned back to her, winked, and said, “Don’t worry, darling. This is what I do.” Then he shoved Tobias Canyon down the front steps of the old trading post and began the long walk toward the awaiting army of enemies.