Boondocks

Chapter 42: Savannah

TEX

The corpse of what was once Savannah lay in ruins. Trash littered roads, sidewalks, and empty lots. It spilled out of broken windows and shop doorways. Places that used to sell art and electronics and all the other bullshit people thought they needed back then. The air burned, everywhere, eyes and throat and lungs, and they made people live in this—work and eat and sleep in this. My hands fisted as I stared at the massive fence in the distance. Six different guard posts towered above the ground, two suits in each one, shining spotlights with trigger happy fingers. I'd bet my last bullet that the massive, steel buildings they watched over were where the prisoners were being held. "Those have to be the barracks."

Merle and Cecil stood on either side of me, the rest of the men grouped together at our backs. We'd planned for every possible scenario and were still walking in like newborn babies. We didn't have the layout. We didn't have one single fucking clue what this place looked like beyond the gate.

"If we can get inside one before they know we're here, we'll have more numbers before the fighting starts." Every man was loaded down with extra guns and ammo. If I could get to the people being held, hand them a gun and tell them to point and shoot, we might have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling this off. I scratched my jaw. They weren't far from the fence, but the guard posts were right beside them, and the lights had no rhythm. Trying to get this many men past them would turn us into target practice.

"I vote we blow shit up," Merle said.

I shook my head. "We need more numbers, and our greatest asset is surprise."

Cecil motioned with his chin. "Why don't we send some of our boys up to replace those mother fuckers." He pointed around as if counting chickens. "There's only six towers. That's twelve men. We can kill twelve and keep it quiet."

I grinned. "Cecil, you're a goddamn genius."

He grunted. "If you think that's genius, then we're even more fucked than I thought."

***

We stretched out flat on our stomachs and trained our guns, covering the six pairs of men as they crouched and sprinted across the darkness. My eyes stayed on Croc as he got a huge lead on Reggie and shimmied up the post like a fucking spider. "Slow down," I muttered, but he couldn't hear me, and Reggie's stupid ass couldn't seem to catch up quick enough.

When Croc went over the side without waiting, I cursed beneath my breath. "Son of a bitch!"

"Wait," Merle said.

I ground my teeth and focused back on the rest of them. They were climbing, one just above the other on opposite sides of the poles. Reggie just managed to do the same, but it would all be for nothing if Croc couldn't take down both those men on his own.

When no alarm came, and the lights met in the center, we knew we were clear.

I clenched my teeth as I pushed up from the ground. "That could have gone real bad real fucking quick."

Merle gripped my forearm for support and pulled himself up. "He felt it was his job to protect her. Don't matter how many times I remind him that she was my wife." He snorted. "Boy is blood thirsty. You said kill those men, and I don't reckon he wanted to share with old Reggie."

"That would have been some nice shit to know before I gave him a gun and a high point to fire it from."

Cecil stepped closer. "He don't like guns. He acted like I'd asked him to hold my damn purse when I handed him one." He rolled his eyes and started toward the fence.

Merle and I followed, waving the rest of the men behind forward.

"He's wearing a belt full of kitchen knives," Merle murmured.