“But…”
Hickok motioned for silence. “Stay here,” he whispered.
Joshua nodded.
Hickok crouched and entered the trees, ducking under limbs and carefully circumventing tree trunks and bushes. Had the SEAL been discovered? If so, by whom? The damned Wacks? He doubted anyone could move the vehicle. Blade had locked the doors, and there was no way the impervious body could be breached.
Blade had locked the doors!
Hickok froze, stupefied. How the hell were they going to get inside the vehicle? Blade had the only set of keys! He’d forgotten! His only consolation was that Joshua hadn’t realized their predicament either.
The crunch on the twig alerted him to the danger behind him, and he spun, bringing the Henry up, too late.
A powerful figure slammed into him and forced him to the ground, knees gouging his stomach.
Hickok dropped the Henry, his right hand flashing to his Python, the Colt out and up and cocked before he recognized his assailant.
“You crazy Indian!” Hickok exploded. “You almost got yourself killed!”
Geronimo, astride Hickok’s chest, reared back and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Hickok demanded.
“You should have seen your face!” Geronimo couldn’t contain his hilarity.
“Get off me!” Hickok bellowed. “Only you would pull a stunt like this!”
Geronimo rose to his feet, slapping his thigh in merriment.
“Indians always were sneaking up on the white man,” Hickok grumbled as he stood, dusting his buckskins off.
“Admit it.” Geronimo grinned. “I got you, but good.”
Hickok bolstered his Colt, smiled, and clasped his arms around Geronimo. “Damn! It’s good to see you, pard!”
There was a crashing in the underbrush behind them, and Joshua broke into view.
“Geronimo!” Joshua shouted. He ran to them and hugged Geronimo, pounding him on the back. “Geronimo! We thought you were dead!”
“And we thought you were dead.”
“We?” Hickok questioned hopefully. “Did you say we?”
Geronimo nodded. “He’s in the rear of the SEAL. He was pretty beat up when I found him.”
Hickok and Joshua rushed to the SEAL and climbed in.
Blade was dozing in the rear section. He roused as they clambered inside, his eyes widening in disbelief. “It can’t be!” he said, gaping at his two friends in the back seat.
Hickok glanced at Joshua. “If this is all the welcome we’re gonna get, I say we go back into the Twins. Even the Wacks are friendlier than this big lug.”
Blade reached for them across the seat, gripping their hands in his. “I thought we lost you,” he said, his voice shaking. “I can’t believe it!”
“Ever the eloquent sort, eh?” Hickok wisecracked.
“What happened to you?” Joshua asked Blade, pointing at the hole in his pants on his left thigh, the fabric caked with dried blood.
“Arrow,” Blade replied. “The Wacks. They came close.”
“We all had our share of close calls, pard,” Hickok stated.
“We decided to come back here and wait for you,” Blade said as Geronimo climbed into the passenger-side bucket seat. “If there was any chance you were still alive, we knew you’d make it back here. We’d about given up hope.”
“Where’s Bertha?” Geronimo queried.
Hickok glanced at the floor. “She was injured too. She’s with the Nomads, recuperating. She’ll be bedridden for a couple of weeks. We’ll pick her up when we come back.”
“Come back?” Geronimo repeated. “Did I hear you correctly?”
“Sure did, pard,” Hickok said.
“Why are we coming back?” Blade inquired. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had all of this place I can stand.”
“Joshua can explain on our way to the Home,” Hickok declared.
“What about the equipment Plato wants us to get?” Joshua commented.
“What about it?” Hickok demanded. “The old man doesn’t know what we’ve been through. He’ll understand when we come back empty-handed.
When we return to the Twins, we’ll have all the time we’ll need to scour this city for the stuff Plato wants. Another month won’t make that much difference, will it?” He turned to Blade.
Blade scratched his head.
“Hickok has a point,” Geronimo stressed. “All of us have been battered rather badly. We’re not at peak efficiency, and anything less in the Twin Cities can be fatal. I don’t see where another month will make any difference.” He glanced at Hickok. “Although I’m curious to hear the reason for returning in a month.”
“We’ll get to that,” Hickok said. “How about it, Blade? Do we head for Home, or stay and continue our search for the items Plato wants?”
“All your considerations are valid,” Blade stated. “I agree we’re not in fighting form, and we can’t jeopardize our lives, the SEAL, and our mission by obstinately pursuing our assignment when common sense dictates we should regroup and try again.” He grinned at Hickok.
“Besides, if we’re coming back to the Twin Cities in a month, we can try and get what Plato needs then.”
“Then we head for the Home?” Joshua asked.
“We head for the Home.” Blade smiled, thinking of Jenny and the reception awaiting him.
“So why are we coming back here in a month?” Geronimo faced Joshua.
“What say we get this show on the road?” Hickok gazed out at the trees.
“We can be well out of the Twins by dark.”
“Good idea.” Blade reached into his right front pocket. “Here.” He handed the keys to Hickok.
“You want me to drive?” Hickok took the keys hesitantly.
“I don’t think I could, not with my leg the way it is,” Blade replied. “And you’re the only other one with experience.”
Geronimo made a show of rolling his eyes toward the heavens. “Great Spirit! First the Wacks! Then the rats! And now this! Hickok is going to drive again! I must have been overdue for spiritual testing and tribulation!” He smiled at Hickok.
“I see your wonderful, warped sense of humor is still intact, pard,” Hickok cracked. He climbed out and back into the SEAL, perching nervously on the driver’s seat.
“You can do it, Nathan,” Blade said, expressing his confidence in Hickok.
“Piece of cake.”
The transport flawlessly turned over, and Hickok carefully backed the vehicle from the trees. He quickly crossed the field and bore north on State Highway 47.
“Back to our Home, sweet Home,” Hickok announced as he accelerated.
“I can hardly wait,” Blade commented, reclining, placing his hands under the back of his head. “It will be great to see Jenny again.”
“I’m relishing the prospect of seeing my parents,” Joshua admitted.
“I’ve missed them.”
“The trip to the Twin Cities won’t be a total loss,” Blade stated.
“How do you figure?” Hickok asked, concentrating on his steering, thrilling to the sensation of power and speed conveyed by the SEAL.
“We know what to expect when we return,” Blade pointed out. “We won’t come blundering into the Twin Cities in the middle of the night again. We won’t walk into another trap. We’ve learned valuable lessons this time. Next time, we’ll be prepared.”
Hickok chuckled and winked at Joshua.
“What’s so funny?” Blade inquired.
“Nothing,” Hickok smirked.
“I know you better than that,” Blade said thoughtfully. “What is so funny about the prospect of coming back here?”
“Speaking of coming back,” Geronimo chipped in, “isn’t it about time for Joshua to tell us why we need to come back to the Twin Cities in a month?”
“Yep. Tell him. Josh,” Hickok urged.