Blighted Land: Book two of the Northumbrian Western Series (Northumbrian Westerns 2) (24 page)

There was no more conversation after that. Daniel hummed to himself and Casper fiddled with the gun controls. Becky drove and I sat back. We were headed through the Lowlands. Once we’d skirted the cities I’d be off. That was my plan now. Daniel could stay with them or I’d take him and drop him somewhere. I’d work that out later.

Midmorning we had a stop by a stream. We ate stale bread and dried meat, Casper by Becky and Daniel beside me. He gobbled his food up. Maybe he’d not found any animals to eat for a while. I tried to ask him about where he’d lived and how long he’d been there but his answers didn’t make sense. Then there was all the stuff about knowing that I’d come. He said it again but I didn’t quiz him. Not with Casper there.

So after a while we fell to silence. Casper stared off at the moors but Becky watched Daniel. When he’d finished his food she gave him some of her bread.
 

‘So, through Galashiels then north,’ I said.

‘That’s the plan,’ said Becky.

I was all right with this. Galashiels was reasonable town, one of the few I liked, even if I did have some history there. If she’d suggested going through Kelso I’d have kicked up a fuss. That was where Maxwell had had his headquarters. Maxwell who I’d stolen the Gehenna details from, killing a few of his men in the process. He was dead but there’d be some of his gang hanging around and I had no wish to meet any of them. Fellas like that had long memories.

We set off again and Becky cranked the speed up. The Eblis rattled past a couple of carts filled with hay, the first vehicles we’d seen that morning.

The outskirts of Galashiels looked the same as last time I’d been there, all pre-Collapse buildings, relatively tidy, but slightly shabby like everywhere. This was one of the towns that had given up on trying to rebuild the old world. They’d gone back to simpler ways, growing wood for fuel and using animals for transport. Maybe it wasn’t as lively as other places but it was safe enough.

We passed a sign advertising that it was market day. Becky slowed the Eblis and drove towards the town centre, cutting past a horse pulling a cart. People on the pavement stopped to watch us, curious but not threatening. There were shops and green spaces, many of the town’s buildings in good repair.
 

We approached the bridge and Becky cried out. ‘Shit!’

The Eblis stopped and she threw it straight into reverse so that we pitched forward. I adjusted the monitor and hung onto my seat, as I tried to work out what she’d seen. Daniel gave out a low moan as he fell forward.

‘What is it?’ shouted Casper.

‘He’s at the bridge.’

There he was, standing by the bridge’s parapet. It was Nico, dressed in long coat. In his hand was a rocket launcher and behind him his Range Rover. As he set the weapon on his shoulder Becky raced the tank backwards, ignoring the carts parked at the side of the road and horses lined up.

As we negotiated the corner there was a deep thud and deafening explosion, followed by darkness.
 

T
HERE
WAS
A
FLICKER
and the lights came back on. The monitors showed static then clouds of dust. Becky grabbed the controls and thrust the Eblis further back up the road, not worrying to wait for her screens settle down.
 

‘Are we hit?’ I said.

Daniel had his hands on his ears and rocked back and forward.

Becky shook her head, tapping buttons, adjusting settings on the controls. ‘Missed us. Took out at building. Poor shot.’

On my screen the side of grain merchants’ appeared out of the smoke, now without walls. Floors open to the street.
 

‘Is there another way across the river?’ said Casper.

‘Not for this weight of vehicle,’ she said.

‘We could go back and take another route north —’

‘We need to sort him out,’ I said. Nico was armed with something capable of damaging the tank. If we came out in the open he’d have us. He had a vehicle with him as well so we couldn’t outrun him. He’d track us down. ‘He won’t give up until he’s got us.’

‘There are loads of ways —’

‘Trent is right,’ said Becky. ‘We’ve got to face him. It might as well be here.’

Daniel was still rocking in his seat, repeating something over and over.
 

‘Don’t worry,’ I said. Once we got out of this, if we got out of this, I’d talk to him properly. But there wasn’t time now.

Becky gazed at the screens before her as the smoke and dust settled. ‘What will he do? What will Nico do?’

‘Wait for a while then come for us. He might have Gregg and Will with him as well.’

She reached into a locker and pulled a walkie-talkie out. ‘You ever used one of these?’ She handed it to me.

‘Not really. Maybe Casper should go.’

Casper grunted. He reached over Daniel and loaded ammo into the gun. Clanged the breech shut.
 

‘You know Nico,’ she said.
 

I did know Nico. She knew how to drive the tank. And Casper was a coward but knew how to shoot, so I probably was the best person to go.

Casper opened the hatch and I turned the walkie-talkie over in my hands. Twisted a knob so it hissed. Been a while since I’d seen one of these.
 

‘Back soon,’ I said to Daniel and I stepped out.

Debris had settled across the pavement. I picked my way back through it to the corner of the road. At the far side several horses stamped in agitation as another lay whimpering, its hind quarters crushed as blood pooled around it. There was no one on the street but people stared out from inside shops. Out at the rubble and smashed carts. A shower of masonry rattled down from the wrecked grain merchant’s. There was no sign of Nico by the bridge but his Range Rover was still there.
 

I grabbed the walkie-talkie up, pressed the button and spoke into it. ‘I’m at the corner. There’s no sign of Nico or the others.’ When I released the button there was a hiss.

Becky’s voice came on. ‘Okay. Contact me if he shows up.’

I pulled my pistol out and lined it up on the bridge. Stayed like that for some time as the horse whined and debris fell from the building opposite. Then Nico’s head popped up. The rocket launcher was in his hand pointed upwards. He was too far off for me to hit him so I slid the pistol away. He shifted along the wall, moving towards the right to allow him to see the tank.
 

I picked up the walkie-talkie. ‘Spotted him,’ I said.

‘Come back to the Eblis. I’ve got something for you.’
 

When I got there Becky already had the hatch to the open and held a couple of grenades. ‘Know what these are?’ she said.

‘Yeah. You want a diversion?’
 

‘Get as far forward as you can, then contact me.’

I set off with the pistol in one hand and a grenade in the other. The walkie-talkie and other grenade were stashed in my jacket. I made my way back down the road, my eyes fixed on the bridge, where Nico was. He hadn’t moved much further, now setting up the weapon. If Gregg and Will were around they weren’t beside him or in the Range Rover. Maybe they’d split up and he’d left the other two on this side of the bridge. Maybe they were dead. Maybe not. I ducked down and stayed at the side, made my way up the pavement, hiding behind the smashed carts. Nico aimed at the side road we’d gone up, the rocket-launcher on his shoulder, ready for when the tank appeared. He didn’t even glance over at me.

I laid the pistol and both grenades on the ground and radioed Becky.

‘Ready,’ I said.

There was no reply. Nico set up the sights and was now angling further across. There was a chance that he’d clip the front of the tank from that angle and they’d not see him.

‘Becky?’ I said.
 

Again, nothing. If I couldn’t contact them I’d have to do something on my own, maybe get even closer and try to hit him with the grenade, take a couple of shots.

I tried once more.

Becky’s voice crackled back. ‘Trent?’

‘I’m here.’

‘Pull the pins, count to five then throw them.’

‘He’s too far off.’

‘Just throw them. Anywhere.’

I put down the walkie-talkie, pulled both pins, counted and threw them over the road.
 

I ducked down behind the remains of a cart. There was a rumble and clatter from the Eblis as it moved forward.
 

Then two great blasts shook the street. Glass smashed in a shop opposite and pieces of metal zinged off the stonework behind me. Into the cart.

As soon as the smoke cleared there were two other explosions. One came from behind me, a deep hollow sound. It roared over me with a blast from across the river.
 

It was followed by another one. This was higher pitched, sharper, accompanied by bits of stone in the air. Dust. From my position it was hard to tell who had fired which but it sounded like the first was from the Eblis. Then Nico had responded. This meant they hadn’t hit him. Casper had missed.
 

I raised my head. The tank was behind me, intact but sprinkled with debris, the building behind it now a hollowed out ruin after Nico’s second shot. Over at the bridge there was a smoking pothole in the riverbank.
 

The Eblis fired again. There was a great thud and smoke that sent a shockwave through the air. The buildings shook. The shell punched into the far bank of the river with a cloud of black smoke. Sprayed up earth and stone. Bits of the road and wall and god-knows what else. It cleared to show a scorched crater. Nico’s Range Rover was a blackened skeleton, flames licking up one side.
 

Debris dropped down on me. Dust and bits of masonry. The air smelled of smoke.

I spoke into the walkie-talkie. ‘I’m going to check on Nico.’ I headed off, not waiting for a reply. On the way I stopped by the stricken horse. It rolled it eyes up, tongue lolling out. A great chunk of brickwork lay on its flank and blood poured out of the animal. I pulled the pistol out, aimed and fired a shot into its head. It jerked back then was still. As the gunshot echoed off the buildings I made my way to the bridge, towards Nico. My gun was raised. Ready.

All the way across the bridge I kept an eye on where he’d been, beside the Range Rover. There was no sign of him now: no movement or sound. Just the crackle of burning plastic.
 

There was a black circle of carbon around the wrecked Range Rover, the result of the explosion. Behind it was a great fissure in the road where the shell had finally buried itself.
 

Then I saw Nico. He was down by the river, on a patch of mud, face down, immobile. There was no sign of the rocket-launcher. Or Will and Gregg. It would have been handy if they’d hidden in the Range Rover but that wasn’t their style. If they’d come with Nico they’d have hung around with him.
 

I climbed the parapet ready to go down and check on him. Make sure he was dead.
 

The Eblis pulled up and Casper appeared out of the top. ‘Come on,’ he said.

‘Nico is down there.’

‘Did we get him?’

‘Think so.’

Casper smiled. He reached into the tank and pull out a semi-automatic, swung it round and fired twice into Nico. Into his back. There was no movement or sound from Nico. ‘He’s dead. We need to get going.’
 

I didn’t move. I was annoyed with Casper, maybe because he’d shot Nico or because I’d been cheated out of it. Maybe I was just annoyed.

Back at the other side of the river people came out of the buildings, some carrying farming implements, several standing over the dead horse. I got into the hatch.
 

Daniel was still in his seat. He made whimpering noises.

‘Your little friend is calming down,’ said Casper. ‘Think he’s been crying.’

‘Fuck you,’ I said.
 

Casper laughed.

Daniel stared up at me. His eyes were red-rimmed, mouth turned down.

‘We’re going to be fine,’ I said.

As I sat down Becky gunned the vehicle forward and we left town. My monitor stayed on the smoking remains of Nico’s car until it was out of view.
 

W
E
CARRIED
ON
NORTH
. To save time we stayed on the main road, keeping a good cruising speed. I didn’t say too much to Becky and Casper. I spoke to Daniel after I’d persuaded him to put the headphones on.
 

‘It’s all right, Daniel,’ I said. ‘That was a bad man but he’s gone now. Gone.’

Daniel didn’t reply but he nodded, which seemed like a good sign. This wasn’t something I was used to doing, or that I was any good at, but it seemed to be what was needed. Anyway, talking stopped me thinking about Nico. About Casper shooting him in the back. I’d never liked Nico and had often wished him dead. That wasn’t the way I’d wanted it done, though.