The Vitalis Chronicles: Steps of Krakador (32 page)

At least they shouldn't give us any trouble,
Keaton thought. And then the lead car started to flash its lights. An arm stuck out of the driver's window, signaling for them to slow down.

“
What should we do, sir?”

Keaton banged on the back of the cab to alert the men riding in the bed of the truck. “Slow down, and hope they don't recognize us.”

Saltman slowed until he was pulling up alongside the lead truck and matching their speed. The man in the driver's seat was already leaning out of his window; Keaton rolled his down in response.

“
You boys headed back to the front?” The man wasn't anyone Keaton recognized at least.

“
Yes sir!” Keaton tried to play the soldier ready for a fight. “Just got some fresh ammo to deliver, and we'll be done with all of these runs we've been making.”

“
A bit late to be out making ammo runs, isn't it?” The man kept looking forward to ensure he stayed on the road. It was straight; there wasn't really a great chance he would wander off of it any time soon.

“
That's what I said!” Keaton laughed as well as he could manage. “But you know the brass. Orders are orders.”

“
Orders are orders,” the driver agreed. “You boys know this road well enough then, hey?”

“
Not much to know,” Keaton responded. “It's a straight shot south from here. The only windy bit is through the hills before you hit the desert.”

“
You mind if we follow you, then? I hate driving enough as it is in places I know. Damned trucks are death traps, I always say.”

Keaton dared a glance at Saltman who was shaking his head vigorously. He looked back to the other driver. “You know, we're going a lot faster than you guys. We were supposed to have this shipment back by dawn, and we'll be lucky to make that.”

“
We can speed up!” The driver grinned. “To be honest I'm just slow when I'm the lead like this. We'll follow you in and help you unload your cargo when we get there.”

There was no way to say no, Keaton realized. To do so would draw suspicion, and there was no losing them in any case. It really was a straight shot south from here, with nowhere for a truck like this to easily hide.

“
Keep up, then!” He shouted.

Saltman pulled away and in front of the lead car, leaving Keaton wishing that they were driving something significantly faster.

“
How on earth are we gonna take these guys into occupied territory?” Saltman asked as he checked his mirrors. “They're definitely going to keep up with us now, and we're dead men if we get caught.”

“
Just drive.” Keaton stuffed his maps into the compartment in front of him. “We'll figure something out.”

Keaton unlatched the metal covers over the rear windows and slid them to the side so he could explain what had happened to the men in the back. The drive south had been dangerous enough when no one knew they were coming. Now they had soldiers following them towards soldiers they had hoped to avoid. Keaton watched the lights of the cars behind them bobble and shake in the mirror, wishing they would shrink and grow dim. He was tempted to make a stand right here to avoid getting caught between both forces.

But he knew that was suicide, and even if it didn't mean a certain death, it meant certain failure to get to Merodach. If they had an idea of where the Mayor actually was at that moment they could strike at him; going out in a blaze of glory was acceptable so long as the despot was deposed. But Anders Keaton had no idea where to find his enemy; he would have to hide and wait. Unfortunately there was no hiding and certainly no waiting going on behind him. The convoy stuck right to them as they continued on.

How they could possibly lose them now was beyond Keaton. The road barely diverged until they reached Liscentia. As they entered the desert itself, he knew there was no chance of hiding. Back in farming territory they could have tried to pull off the road among the fields and farmhouses. There would have been a chance to hide there at least. Now that the low dunes of the Lorendian Desert surrounded them, there wasn't any track to take that didn't run the risk of bogging them down in the process.

The damned lights stayed in his mirror. There was no stopping them; at least there was no way to stop them without drawing suspicion. They were already conspicuous enough as it was, traveling so late. The convoy itself was coming south at an odd hour, but troop movements at night were nothing to find particularly strange, especially if they were expecting action from Silverdale. Keaton still wondered what they were planning that required so many fresh troops to move at once. Merodach must be very seriously concerned about Silverdale's movements.

He shook those concerns free as the impending reality demanded more of his attention. They would have to be ready to fight. The possibility was decent that they would get gunned down at the checkpoints they would have to pass, if not in the middle of the camp itself. The hours passed too quickly, and soon they approached the first Elandrian checkpoint north of Liscentia.

“
If they figure us out, just make enough room to make a fight of it,” Keaton said as Saltman slowed the truck.

The checkpoint itself consisted of two trucks on opposite sides of the road with a chain strung between them to block their way. They slowed almost to stop as a soldier stepped out onto the road and waved them down. Keaton's breathing got shorter as the truck moved slower. He swallowed hard as he slid his sidearm out of the holster and held it close to the side of his leg.

But the man caught a glimpse of something behind them and stepped back to the truck on their left. The chain dropped immediately after, and they were waved through.

“
Looks like traveling in convoy isn't so bad after all,” Saltman sighed as they sped past the trucks.

“
Not for checkpoints at least,” Keaton agreed. “Getting through the base and surrounding camp will be a different story. Did they ever move into Liscentia?”

“
No.” Saltman shook his head. “Desert rats surrendered under condition that they wouldn't be directly occupied. Last I knew, Lucius had honored the agreement.”

Lucius.
Keaton's certainty in killing Lucius had wavered significantly in the past few days. He had been one of his own men once, after all.
Would you really have been able to help?

“
We'll have to try and hit the ring road around the walls if we can to get south.” Saltman flexed his grip on the steering wheel. “From there we should be able to find the road to the harbor.”

“
Let's get through these checkpoints alive, first.”

The next two checkpoints went much as the first, though the last almost brought them to a full stop before dropping the chain. Keaton could see the first hints of sunlight tickling the heavens as the broad military encampment came into view under the low walls of Liscentia. The glow of the city itself contested the validity of the sunrise in Keaton's mind. He wasn't sure if the exhaustion was playing tricks on him yet or not.

The lights over Liscentia were notably dimmer than they had been in the past. As they approached, he realized there were massive scars and holes in the walls. He wondered just how much damage had been inflicted on the city before they had given in.

The final checkpoint at the entrance to the encampment was an actual gate. It sat between two low structures that had been erected along the road and looked to have room for a couple dozen guards between them. The red Elandrian flag with Lucius' long black star flew over each structure. Keaton wondered if they knew what had become of their general or if the flags flapped and fluttered on in ignorance.

The convoy came to a halt as the gate remained in place. Two guards stepped out of the building on the left and came strolling towards the lead truck. Keaton could make out a handful more standing at the ready just beyond the gate and the reach of their headlights. Keaton realized as they approached that their Hunters' helmets were still on the seat, and he brushed them to the floor hastily before the first guard appeared at the window.

“
What are you boys doing down here so early?” He was already asking the question before Saltman had his window down. “You must have been driving all night.”

“
Just making a delivery, sir.” Saltman's predetermined alibi didn't hold so much weight now that they were being followed by an entire column of trucks, and the look on the guard's face said as much. “We had a late start; supply didn't get everything together until late in the evening and we had troubles overheating the whole way.”

“
What are you delivering, exactly?” The soldier didn't even bother trying to hide his disbelief. “We don't have any arrivals down for tonight.”

Keaton slipped the safety on his sidearm off as silently as he could, gauging in the darkness how well he thought the truck could take the gate in front of him. From this standstill it wouldn't do well, and there were possibly a dozen rifles to contend with on the other side. They would have to bail and try to make their way west from here into the desert. There was low foliage this close to Liscentia, at least. But they would be hunted down and exterminated if they couldn't disappear instantly.

“
Well, soldier?!” The guard was yelling at Saltman now, whose answers were continuing to disappoint. But then the guard's attention was grabbed by something behind them. Keaton could just make out the blustering voice of the driver in the car behind them.

The guard told Saltman not to budge, then made his way back to the Western Battalion's lead car. His companion remained just ahead of Saltman's window, gun held low but not loosely. Saltman turned to Keaton slowly and raised his eyebrows. “I don't think he bought it.”

“
Whatever gave you that idea?” Keaton shook his head as he turned to look at Saltman. It was the men in the back he wanted to hear him, but he had to speak quietly. “When I give the signal, make west. One of you blow the truck behind us, one of you toss something towards the gate. We'll have to make it on foot from here; just do your best to vanish in the confusion.”

“
That's gonna be a long run,” Saltman said from behind a pent-up groan. “We don't have the water for it.”

“
Better thirsty than bleeding out.” Keaton cut off the objection.

A shout came from behind, catching the attention of the guard to their left. Keaton unlatched the hilt of his short-sword on his thigh as he reached for the door. Then suddenly the man was shouting at the gate and waving them forward. The gate swung open and they found themselves free to move forward.

“
Well get on with it then,” Keaton said as he sat back, clasping his weapon back in place before saluting the guard as they passed him.

“
Whatever they told him must have sounded a hell of a lot more plausible than what I said.”

“
They could have told him we were rushing a pregnant woman to the hospital and it would have sounded more plausible than what you said.”

They were waved on by more guards on the far side, who pointed to the right to signify which direction they were to go when they hit the junction ahead. Roads skirted off to the sides between the low makeshift shacks and tents that had been raised by the military in their occupation of Liscentia.

It made sense to Keaton to reinforce the occupation, now that they were truly frightened of Silverdale trying to land a force near here at the Central Harbor. He wondered why they hadn't moved south to secure their alliance with Meddlands and guarantee that the inland routes were closed off. Perhaps Merodach had done a better job of approaching them diplomatically than he had with Liscentia. The Central Harbor would be the fastest and most direct route for Silverdale in any case, but whether or not they had the strength to openly contend with Elandir he remained uncertain.

They came to the junction, a large road erected by the military nearly a mile from the city to feed the bulk of the encampment. Keaton motioned for Saltman to pull just past it, then leaned out of his own window. The trucks behind them started to pull to the right but stopped before they committed.

“
Where are you boys headed?” The driver from the lead car was leaning out his window already.

“
We have to make our delivery closer to the gates.” Keaton waved. “You get some good sleep, God knows you'll need it!”

“
Thanks for taking the lead there,” the driver shouted back. “See you around!”

And without any further ceremony, Keaton motioned for Saltman to keep going. “We need to ditch this truck south of the city.”

“
Sir?”

“
It won't be that far of a run from there, Saltman. Longer than we want, but this truck is bringing down too much attention as it is, and I don't want to have to try and hide it too close to the harbor.”

“
No rest for the weary,” Saltman groaned as he shifted a gear higher.

The morning light broke over the low walls of Liscentia as the Western Battalion pulled into camp. “What were those guys doing making a supply run at that hour anyways?” Cram asked as he watched the truck that had led them south continue towards the city.