Part VII
"Hannibal?"
"Yeh, Face?"
"It's going to be getting dark soon."
"Tell me something I don't already know, Face."
The atmosphere was heavy in the car. The anxiety of the two men was growing by leaps and bounds with every minute that passed without a sign of their comrades. Then Face suddenly hit the brakes.
"Face? Are you alright?"
"I just remembered - we're in Decker's car."
Hannibal just gave Face a puzzled look that slid to looking irritated.
"I was there when we stole it, so yes, I was aware of that, Lieutenant."
Turning in his seat slightly, the haggard conman looked directly at Hannibal.
"If it was the two of us on the run and wounded? What would we be doing if we saw this car?"
It took only two beats before Hannibal's expression changed totally. Then the Colonel groaned and answered his second-in-command.
"We'd be hiding from it. And we certainly wouldn't get close enough to see who was in the driver's seat. You're right, we'll never find them in this because they won't let themselves be found while they can move at all. We need to double back to the right area and ditch this car."
"Well, hide it at least, sir. If the guys aren't able to walk far, we'll need a way to get us all back to the van."
"Good thinking, Face - again. Sorry for snapping, son."
"I'm worried too, Colonel."
They parked and reconsulted the map, deciding to go back down the dirt road to the point straight across from the wreck. They were almost to that point when Hannibal noticed the overgrown fence in the fading light.
"Let's see if we can get the car behind that. All that growth will help hide it and we'll add a few branches to finish the job."
"And then what, Hannibal?"
"Then we try to get some rest, Face. I don't like that anymore than you do, but if they did see this car and are hiding from it, what chance do we have of finding them in the dark? If we call out for them, we'd be as likely for Decker and his goon squad to hear us. And if they just hear our approach, but not our voices, they'll assume that we're Decker's bunch and evade us. We need for them to be able to see us as much as we need to be able to see them."
Face found an opening in the fence, carefully easing off the drive and going parallel as close to the fence as possible. It was fully dark out by the time they had the car camouflaged to their satisfaction. Hannibal insisted that Face take the back seat and stretch out as well as he could.
"Get some rest if you can. Come first light, we'll start off doing what you suggested."
"What I suggested? Umm - what did I suggest, sir?"
"We're going to relook over this area, putting ourselves in their shoes. What choices would we have made on our own and wounded? I've been thinking about what you said earlier. We've been a unit now for a lot of years, Face - both in 'Nam and here. There's a good chance our choices will line up, but as I said already, they're going to have to be able to see us to trust us."
Laying down on the backseat, Face nodded and allowed himself to feel more hopeful about it. He had to feel that way. Right now, he just couldn't even think seriously about the possibility that either of their teammates might already be lost to them.
