Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money. I'm just playing.
Shadow Puppets
Chapter 20
Tank's thoughts were a tangle of anger and worry as he strode the trees trying to find a route. He needed Ranger now, badly. He had no idea how the man managed all the conflicting demands on him. This had started out as a mission to find a cure for him and Stephanie, plain and simple. Instead, as well as the mission he had two women to protect, a horse tagging along just because it wanted to and now this desperate girl who needed a savior. It burned to walk away from children imprisoned in towers. He needed Ranger to make the moral judgments and come up with a plan. He didn't make plans, he executed them. He desperately wanted his old role back as silent back up, whatever Lula thought of the new him.
A rustle in the bushes ahead snapped him back to attention. All thoughts were banished in favor of the simplicity of combat training; potential threat ahead, be ready.
He raised a hand to silently signal the rest of his motley group to stop. When he was satisfied that they had, he hefted his gun and crept forward, every sense on high alert.
"I'm no threat." A golden haired youth stepped out from behind a tree, hands out in front of him.
Tank didn't lower his gun. "And you are?"
"Jack. I heard that you were looking for help to find Ash."
"And you thought you'd offer yours. Why?"
"Why not? She's no friend to me, and I have business in the area anyway."
Tank looked the youth up and down, taking in the long knife tucked in the boy's leather pants and the bow across his body. "What kind of business?"
He grinned. "It's a long story. What you really need to know is that, right now, you're going the wrong way. If you don't start bearing east you'll miss her. I think I'm worth taking a chance on, don't you?"
Tank cursed internally. He really needed Ranger. Having to make decisions under pressure was going to end up killing him. He gritted his teeth and made a decision. "All right. Show me where we need to go."
Jack doffed his green cap and bowed. "Wonderful. Follow me."
* * *
Jack stuck to Tank as they went in their new direction, chattering and directing a constant stream of questions at him. Where did he come from, how long had he been in the area and what was he going to do when he found Ash?
Each time Tank answered shortly, giving away a minimum of information. It didn't seem to deter him though. When he wasn't asking questions he was pointing out sights; the mountain to the west where the talking animals were said to have come from, the river that caused flash floods last year, the caves where he sometimes sheltered when he left his village on business.
Tank noted that he was still vague about his 'business', pronouncing it long and boring, and pointing out a patch of edible mushrooms instead. When the mushrooms were all collected he found a nut tree and scrambled up it, throwing down nuts for Tank to catch.
Before long their packs were filled with an astonishing amount of produce to supplement the provisions that Garrick had bought for them.
"I'm useful, aren't I?" Jack beamed. "You definitely need me around. I know somewhere good to sleep around here too. Follow me."
He led them to a wide clearing crossed by a tiny stream. "This is a good campsite. I've used it lots of times before. There's good hunting around here too. What kind of weapons do you have anyway? Do you have bows? Anything else good for hunting? What was that thing that you had earlier?"
"Never mind." Tank wasn't about to start showing this capering youth how to use a gun. "Lester's the hunter. Lester, you want to see what you can find around here? Take Morelli with you, too."
Lester got up from the log he'd found to sit on. "Sure thing. Let's go see what we can find to eat around here. After you, kid."
The two men followed Jack into the forest, leaving Tank to set up the tents with Lula while Edna looked for firewood.
"What's his deal anyway?" Lula asked as she threaded tent poles through canvas. "Why does he want to be your new best friend?"
"Hell if I know, but we don't tell him anything we don't have to and we don't give him a gun to try out, just in case."
"But if we don't trust him, why are we following him?"
Tank threw the flysheet over the top of the tent he was working on and pegged it down at the corners. "Don't see that we've got much choice. We don't know where this bitch is. We could walk right past her and never know it. Right, this one's done. You want to move our stuff into it and I'll finish the other one?"
"I'm gonna bunk with Edna tonight. Keep her company."
Tank stopped. "Are you still pissed at me?"
Lula shrugged. "The way I see it, we ain't working no more. No reason to keep on goin' like this." Lula turned her back before he could answer and fixed her eyes on the tent as if it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.
The hunting party picked that moment to arrive back swinging a pair of birds apiece.
"Kid wasn't lying," Lester said. "They pretty much flew straight at us. It was like shooting fish in a barrel."
Tank frowned. "I didn't hear any shots."
"Didn't need them. The kid's a demon with that bow of his."
"I'd like to see your weapons," Jack said hopefully. "Tomorrow?"
"Maybe," Tank muttered. "I'm going to see if Edna's found any firewood." He stalked off into the forest alone.
* * *
The forest grew dense the following day. Thick, dark conifers crowded the path and stole the light so that they walked in perpetual gloom. The deep carpet of needles on the ground muffled even the horse's footfalls. Jack's relentless chatter was unnaturally loud in the oppressive silence.
"Not much further till we're back in the open forest, then I know some good places. We're only about two days from Ash's place now; it's by a big lake. I hope you have a plan, though. She's dangerous. And I still haven't seen your weapons. Do you have any special weapons for killing witches?"
* * *
In the late afternoon the trees came to an abrupt end. They ran up to the edge of a rocky shelf and stopped there. The path continued over the lowest part of the shelf. The rock sloped up steeply on each side, forming a narrow pass. They'd have to go through in single file.
Tank stopped, forcing them all to stop behind him. "No. We're not going through there."
"Of course we are," Jack insisted. "We have to. If we don't we'll have to turn around. We'll lose at least a day if we have to go on to the next pass."
"We turn around," Tank growled. "Find another route."
"But they're all like this. I know this area. Ash is there for a reason. It's hard to get through, less chance of attack. Do you want to reach her or not?"
Tank narrowed his eyes. "And why are you so desperate to take us to Ash anyway? We still don't know your business. Why are you helping us?"
Jack looked at each of them in turn, appealing. "Because she has my mother."
Lula watched him closely. Something about Jack was making her skin prickle. If he had been a john back in her street days, she'd have been looking for the other girls. He felt very wrong. She thought that maybe Tank had the same kind of feeling. He was staring at the boy like he wanted to see right through to his bones.
"So why didn't you say anything before?"
"You were strangers. I wasn't sure if you'd help me."
"You didn't think we'd trust you?"
"No."
"Well here's the thing: I don't. Climbing through there is going to leave us strung out like sitting ducks. We turn back. Now." Tank turned away from the narrow pass.
"That's a pity," Jack said behind him. "It would have made things much easier for everyone. Now the humans have to be brought into this."
He whistled sharply. A dark shape rose from the top of the rocky shelf and dropped down on Tank, knocking him flat. At the same time a host of dark clad men emerged from their cover in the dense conifers, all with bows trained on them.
Lula froze in horror as she watched Jack plant a boot on the back of Tank's neck and rest a blade at the base of his skull.
Morelli and Lester, combat trained, reached for weapons instead.
"Don't," Jack said sharply and pressed the blade in a little. Lula's stomach flipped over as a thin stream of blood ran down Tank's neck to soak into the pine needles. They both lifted their hands into the air away from their guns.
"We only want the giant," Jack called to the men that surrounded them. "Leave the others unless they interfere. If they're still here after a minute, kill them."
"You treacherous little bastard," Tank growled into the dirt. "I knew there was something wrong about you."
"Give your instincts some credit," Jack sneered. The chattering child act was over. "Not many of your kind don't know about me. You really must be from far away. Did you honestly think you could come to human territory without someone hunting you down?"
Tank didn't answer, and the question hung in the air unanswered. The silence stretched out.
Unable to stand the tension, Lula spoke instead. "So you might as well tell us who you are. Any fool can see you just waitin' for us to ask."
A smug grin split his face. "I'm Jack the Giant Killer."
She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh you stupid little asshole. He ain't no giant."
"Enough," Jack snarled. "Leave now unless you want to die with this thing."
"Lester," Tank shouted from the ground. "Get them out of here."
"Got it," Lester answered. "Lula, Edna, move. Now."
"We can't just leave him," Lula objected.
"Shut up and move." Lester took her arm and pulled her away.
"No. And don't you be tellin' me what to do, asshole."
"Tank wants you out of here. We don't have any other choices that won't kill him. So you go. Now move." He grabbed her arm again. "Morelli, you got Edna?"
"Right here."
"Then we're out of here."
"But Tank–" Lula couldn't take her eyes off him where he lay on the ground surrounded by armed men.
"Later."
"I ain't leaving him."
"Lula." Lester pulled her close and hissed in her ear. "If you make a fuss they're going to kill you too. There's at least fifteen of them and they're all ready to fire. We have no choice."
The trees blurred behind the film of tears as she ran with Lester away from Tank and the mob that surrounded him.
* * *
They ran until Lula's lungs were bursting and the sky pulsed pink in front of her eyes. Lester still had a bruising grip on her arm.
"We need to stop," she puffed.
"Not yet."
"Yes." She dug in her heels and pulled back, forcing him to let go. The pain in her arm flared then disappeared.
Unable to stop in time, Morelli ran past her with Edna clinging to his back and the horse at his heels. They straggled to an untidy stop and returned to where Lula and Lester faced each other.
Lula put her hands on her knees and breathed deeply, trying to force air back into her lungs. "We gotta go back," she wheezed.
"No." Lester was breathing heavily too, but not nearly as much as her. "We're not far enough yet. We need to get clear and make a proper plan."
She straightened up and glared at him. "There ain't no time. We can't let him die."
"If we don't plan properly, we all die." He took hold of her arm again and pulled.
This time she fought him, pulling her arm out of his grasp. "Let go of me, asshole. There's no time for this."
"There will be," he said through gritted teeth, "but first I need to get you safe. Now come on." He grabbed her arm again and turned to start dragging her, almost crashing into the horse's broad shaggy rump in the process.
"Morelli," he snapped. "Will you get this walking carpet out of the way?"
The horse took umbrage. Laying her ears flat against her head and squealing, she swung her rump around and knocked him flying. Lula's arm went with him, making her yelp with pain. She fell heavily to the ground where Lester lay still next to her.
Morelli reached down and helped her get up on to her knees.
"What the hell just happened?" she asked.
He picked up a fist sized stone lying on the ground by Lester's head. "Looks like he hit his head."
He rolled Lester over on to his back. "He's out cold."
"Well you take care of him. I got business back that way." Lula got the rest of the way up and hobbled the few yards over to the grassy patch where the horse had retreated to. She ignored the flattened ears and rolling eyes to pull an automatic pistol from one of the packs.
"Lula, wait."
"What?" She turned to glare at Morelli. "You got somethin' to say?"
"I have. You know the problem with Ranger and his men?" He followed her over and took another gun from the pack, followed by a couple of extra clips. He passed one over to her. "They're all too damn quick to sacrifice themselves."
He tucked the extra clip into his jerkin and tied the horse securely to a nearby tree. "Edna, can you watch sleeping beauty till we get back?"
"Of course I can. Just you bust a cap in that little shit's ass for me."
"Deal," Lula answered grimly. "We'll be back." She set off back the way she had come with Morelli beside her.
* * *
They crept back to where they had left Tank and took cover in the same conifers that their attackers had used. Jack and his men were still there. They had a fire burning now, and a collection of blades heating in the flames. It looked like Jack had plans for his latest giant.
Tank lay motionless on the ground, his hands tied behind his back. His ankles were tied with a line that ran around a nearby tree. He wasn't going anywhere.
"Is he still alive?" Morelli breathed in her ear.
"They better hope so or they goin' the same way," she murmured.
She put the gun down in front of her and pulled her jeans off.
Morelli glanced at her and did a double take. "Ah, Lula? What're you doing?"
"I'm givin' them somethin' to think about," she said through her tee-shirt as she pulled it over her head. "You notice the way all the women around here wear dresses that cover them right up to their neck and down to their feet? I'm guessin' that they don't let 'em fight either. That means they don't know 'bout guns and they don't know 'bout women like me."
"You're crazy."
"And that asshole on the floor there is mine. I need him back so I can kick his ass for sendin' me away like that."
She dropped her panties on top of the pile of clothes in front of her and picked up her gun again. "Now you get ready to shoot as many of those bastards as possible, 'cause I don't know how long they're gonna stay surprised."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Oh yeah. Time for them to get a look at a proper woman."
She stood up and strolled naked into the clearing, weapon clutched in her hands the way she'd seen it in the movies. "Hey Jack," she called. "We got unfinished business."
The response was gratifying. Jack's men stopped in their tracks, jaws hanging. Their bows stayed by their sides.
"You wanted to know what we got?" she asked. "Check it out."
She lifted her gun and started firing. The blood roared in her ears, making the clatter of gunfire dull and distant. She was dimly aware of Morelli firing too, and of men being scythed down like rows of wheat.
The sight of their comrades falling galvanized the rest into action. Too late, Lula saw a large bearded man rise and race towards her. He slammed a fist into her face, splitting her lip. She reeled and fell back, her shots sailing harmlessly into the air.
He followed her down onto the hard ground, reaching for her throat. Instinctively she brought a knee up and slammed it into his balls.
It didn't stop him but it slowed him down and took him off balance as he pinned her to the ground. She fought hard, biting and scratching at his face, raising a deep welt on his face that dripped blood into her eyes and turned the world red. He snarled wordlessly, put his hands around her throat and squeezed, his breath foul in her face.
She bucked and writhed underneath him, fighting to get away. She managed to get the gun between them and fired once.
Lack of air had made her dizzy and she watched in dazed slow motion as his body jolted and fell forward, pinning her to the ground.
* * *
Tank tried to ignore the pain screaming through his arms and legs and concentrate on getting free as the fight got nearer and nearer to him. As he wrenched at his bonds, Jack appeared above him. The sun behind him shadowed his face and turned his golden hair to flames.
"Your human whore is back for you," he hissed, his voice twisted with fury, "but she won't get you back alive." He produced a long bladed knife and stepped forward.
Tank braced himself to drive upward in one last desperate attempt to head-butt his tormentor before he could cut his throat and let his life pour out onto the pine needles.
He didn't get the chance. A clatter of automatic gunfire deafened him and Jack's face disappeared. Another appeared in its place, and Tank wondered if Jack had cut his throat already and he was dead without knowing it. It was the only reason that he could think of for why he would be looking up at a naked, heavy breasted woman with the sun shining through a halo of red afro hair. Only somehow he didn't see angels being covered with blood, let alone toting automatic weapons. He squinted and blinked hard.
She bent down to pick up the fallen knife and the sun no longer obscured her features.
"Lula?"
"That's me." She sliced through the ropes at his wrists and ankles. "Can you get up?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Rescuin' you, asshole. And don't you ever try to tell me what to do like that again." She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, and it was suddenly the most erotic thing that he'd seen in his life. His groin stirred as he took in the entirety of the naked warrior woman kneeling in front of him.
"Your blood?"
"Hell no. Well, just some of it. It don't hurt."
"Good." He pulled her down on top of him and kissed her hard, feeling her bare breasts crushed against him and tasting the coppery blood from her split lip.
"You're amazing," he mumbled into her mouth.
"Hold that thought." She pushed herself up, pressing down on his groin and making him groan with desire.
"Morelli!" she yelled. "Go back for the others. But don't rush."
He heard Morelli's laughter as she dropped back down around him and reminded him exactly why he wanted every crazy, blood-stained, full-figured inch of her.
* * *
They were dressed and waiting when Morelli returned with Lester and Edna. Lester was walking stiffly and sporting a livid bruise on his temple. He wolf whistled when he saw Lula in Tank's arms.
"Finally. Who'd have thought it would take near death at the hands of a homicidal teenager to fix you two. How the hell did you manage to take them all down anyway?"
Lula met Morelli's eyes and he shook his head once.
"Nothing but good shootin'," she lied. "I don't know why you chickened out and made us run in the first place."
He stared at her for a long moment.
She met his gaze blandly and shrugged.
Lester gave in. "Whatever. We'd better get out of here anyway. Hey, are you okay?"
Lula was rubbing her back. "Fine. I must have got pine needles in my clothes while I was fighting, that's all. Edna, you got any more of that green shit?"
"Sure." Edna pulled a bag of paste out of her pocket and raised the back of Lula's tee-shirt. "Oh my. Your back is raw. What, were you rolling around in the pine needles while you were fighting?"
"Pretty much."
"Your shirt is fine though. How did you manage that?"
"No idea." Lula was glad that Edna was behind her. "It's startin' to hurt now though."
"We'll fix that. Just stay off your back for a while."
"No problem."
"More of a problem than it was yesterday, maybe."
Lula tried to keep a serious face and failed. She felt herself grinning stupidly. "S'okay. Just means I get the top for a while."
Edna patted her shoulder gently. "I'm happy for you. You might want to keep the noise down from now on though. We heard you screaming about a mile away. If Joseph hadn't stopped us you might have had company earlier."
Lula felt her cheeks burn, but the grin stayed.