05-05-2020, 12:49 AM
The jab to the stomach made him flinch. It was something deep and visceral that flickered impending darkness. Instinct clamped down on her finger, the other to her shoulder. It wasn’t a hard jerk of the arm. Just enough to grab attention. Finally, the humor broke through and he grinned.
“That tickled,” and he returned in like kind.
“Let’s just hope your family keeps trickling the coin. I have an open invitation to join the world tour of HUNKS any time, but I really hate to have to get a job right now.” He grinned through a finger-snap hip thrust motion. Probably unlikely to really get the job after the scars were added. Though maybe he could pass it off as some kind of bizarre tribal tattoo pattern. Maybe that could be his shtick? Eh. Well. Thoughts for another time.
He purposefully avoided glancing too much at the diner when they loaded up the truck. He still had the gun taken from the school. A plastic take-out bag that previously hauled food was the only sort of luggage, which Jay dropped into the floor board as they rolled out. A few people milled about the parking lot, but there was no sign of police. Though from the look of a pair of guys exchanging goods under the motel sign, he was pretty sure police should have confiscated whatever just passed between them.
The border was approached in the evening, about an hour before dusk. Jay hadn’t planned on crossing today, preferring the blare of bright light to show the way. Nor did he want to roam around the other side of the border after nightfall, but it was better than sleeping another night with his own demons. Natalie could only chase away so many. Jay was ready to detonate the rest of them.
The border itself consisted of a high wall lined with barbed wire fence at the top. The road plunged straight through. Buildings and funnels required every car to progress in a slow moving line. Tech screened the vehicles for anything stolen, unregistered, or out of the ordinary. Strike one against their progress. Armed border agents roamed through all the vehicles, taking samples and verifying identity. Anyone flagged by either government may get tagged and dragged away for questioning. Strike two. Then there were border crossing fees, and Natalie was not an American citizen. Strike three.
He stopped the truck ahead of their approach to the border, and thumbed the wheel thoughtfully. Illegal crossings would take days to organize. Days they didn’t have.
“Think we can ride one last miracle off your name? I doubt a discharged Marine American citizen and a Custody Ambassador can just pass through on a smile. Try it and work plan B if it goes south?”
He seized the power and squinted in the distance, but the border agents weren’t patrolling in the typical way. He frowned and translated in case she couldn’t see the same he could. Then he gasped. ”There’s something going on. They’re closing the border.”
Sure enough, cars were rerouted off the passageway and began to turn back. The wall gates were sealed. Some kind of silver-plated border patrol chief exited the building, consulted with the patrol agent in charge a moment, and were quickly flanked by armed junior agents that took up a watch along the American side of the border facing outward. Jay heard the blare of sirens before seeing any approach, and he twisted in time to see a convoy of Texan national guard and state police.
That’s when he realized what was going on. “Well fuck me. The state is taking over the border from the feds.” Eyes flared wide, he had the strong urge to draw a hat low over the brow.
He exited the truck, moving slow but steady. Hiding and acting suspicious would only draw attention he didn’t want at the time. They weren’t the only witnesses. Some from the previous line of cars at the crossing had paused nearby to also watch. The smarter folks got the hell out of dodge.
”If this conflict sparks, we’ll have a chance to get through, but it’ll be hot. How’s your channeling? Remember the hospital in Sierra Leone? It’ll be like that, but way worse. Formally trained fighting forces are coming to conflict. If federal agents die today, Texas may find themselves at war.”
A war that would be bloody and pricy for both sides. Thrice and Amengual were partners somehow. On the other side of that wall, were the Mexican border patrol agents readying to ally with the state police? The force could easily be strong enough to take the federal agents captive, but shit, were they smart enough to lay down their arms without a fight? They were sworn to protect the border at all costs, but did that include protecting it from a state in the union?
He thought quickly. Pieces plunking into place. Among the unholy alliance of Governor Thrice and Zacarias Amengual, Texas and Mexico would have to work together to make this new nation powerful enough to succeed. And in the middle of this wildfire was a Custody rod of dominion, a channeler, a soldier, and an American who wanted nothing but decimate Amengual. If that happened, Thrice would have total control uncontested. Assuming the other cartels didn’t rise up in Amengual’s place. She could rally them against the Custody as the killer of their great lord. If he killed Amengual, he was effectively giving two nations to a mad woman.
If he didn’t. Cayli’s death. The slaughter of untold children. And a psychopath would go free. He would win.
His fists clenched only a moment before they slammed into the hood of the truck. The thud of metal clanged his ears as the national guard convoy rolled into an offensive position ahead of the border wall.
“Let’s go,” he spoke quiet. Cool. Despite what raged within.
“That tickled,” and he returned in like kind.
“Let’s just hope your family keeps trickling the coin. I have an open invitation to join the world tour of HUNKS any time, but I really hate to have to get a job right now.” He grinned through a finger-snap hip thrust motion. Probably unlikely to really get the job after the scars were added. Though maybe he could pass it off as some kind of bizarre tribal tattoo pattern. Maybe that could be his shtick? Eh. Well. Thoughts for another time.
He purposefully avoided glancing too much at the diner when they loaded up the truck. He still had the gun taken from the school. A plastic take-out bag that previously hauled food was the only sort of luggage, which Jay dropped into the floor board as they rolled out. A few people milled about the parking lot, but there was no sign of police. Though from the look of a pair of guys exchanging goods under the motel sign, he was pretty sure police should have confiscated whatever just passed between them.
The border was approached in the evening, about an hour before dusk. Jay hadn’t planned on crossing today, preferring the blare of bright light to show the way. Nor did he want to roam around the other side of the border after nightfall, but it was better than sleeping another night with his own demons. Natalie could only chase away so many. Jay was ready to detonate the rest of them.
The border itself consisted of a high wall lined with barbed wire fence at the top. The road plunged straight through. Buildings and funnels required every car to progress in a slow moving line. Tech screened the vehicles for anything stolen, unregistered, or out of the ordinary. Strike one against their progress. Armed border agents roamed through all the vehicles, taking samples and verifying identity. Anyone flagged by either government may get tagged and dragged away for questioning. Strike two. Then there were border crossing fees, and Natalie was not an American citizen. Strike three.
He stopped the truck ahead of their approach to the border, and thumbed the wheel thoughtfully. Illegal crossings would take days to organize. Days they didn’t have.
“Think we can ride one last miracle off your name? I doubt a discharged Marine American citizen and a Custody Ambassador can just pass through on a smile. Try it and work plan B if it goes south?”
He seized the power and squinted in the distance, but the border agents weren’t patrolling in the typical way. He frowned and translated in case she couldn’t see the same he could. Then he gasped. ”There’s something going on. They’re closing the border.”
Sure enough, cars were rerouted off the passageway and began to turn back. The wall gates were sealed. Some kind of silver-plated border patrol chief exited the building, consulted with the patrol agent in charge a moment, and were quickly flanked by armed junior agents that took up a watch along the American side of the border facing outward. Jay heard the blare of sirens before seeing any approach, and he twisted in time to see a convoy of Texan national guard and state police.
That’s when he realized what was going on. “Well fuck me. The state is taking over the border from the feds.” Eyes flared wide, he had the strong urge to draw a hat low over the brow.
He exited the truck, moving slow but steady. Hiding and acting suspicious would only draw attention he didn’t want at the time. They weren’t the only witnesses. Some from the previous line of cars at the crossing had paused nearby to also watch. The smarter folks got the hell out of dodge.
”If this conflict sparks, we’ll have a chance to get through, but it’ll be hot. How’s your channeling? Remember the hospital in Sierra Leone? It’ll be like that, but way worse. Formally trained fighting forces are coming to conflict. If federal agents die today, Texas may find themselves at war.”
A war that would be bloody and pricy for both sides. Thrice and Amengual were partners somehow. On the other side of that wall, were the Mexican border patrol agents readying to ally with the state police? The force could easily be strong enough to take the federal agents captive, but shit, were they smart enough to lay down their arms without a fight? They were sworn to protect the border at all costs, but did that include protecting it from a state in the union?
He thought quickly. Pieces plunking into place. Among the unholy alliance of Governor Thrice and Zacarias Amengual, Texas and Mexico would have to work together to make this new nation powerful enough to succeed. And in the middle of this wildfire was a Custody rod of dominion, a channeler, a soldier, and an American who wanted nothing but decimate Amengual. If that happened, Thrice would have total control uncontested. Assuming the other cartels didn’t rise up in Amengual’s place. She could rally them against the Custody as the killer of their great lord. If he killed Amengual, he was effectively giving two nations to a mad woman.
If he didn’t. Cayli’s death. The slaughter of untold children. And a psychopath would go free. He would win.
His fists clenched only a moment before they slammed into the hood of the truck. The thud of metal clanged his ears as the national guard convoy rolled into an offensive position ahead of the border wall.
“Let’s go,” he spoke quiet. Cool. Despite what raged within.
Only darkness shows you the light.