Sea of Greed

WITH THREE of the attackers subdued and their weapons now in friendly hands, Kurt sensed they’d improved their position greatly. “We’ve evened the odds,” he said, “but we’re not in the clear yet.”

As if to prove his point, the drone buzzed back, turned and made a strafing run, unleashing a quick hail of bullets as it passed.

Kurt glanced down at the leader of the group. “You don’t look like the type to own an armed, high-performance drone. Who are you working for? Who hired you?”

The man shook his head and Kurt noticed the tiny bud stuffed into the man’s ear. He yanked it free. “This is highly unsanitary, but…”

Putting the earbud in his own ear, Kurt picked up the chatter from whoever was directing the operation.

“You idiots, they’re still in the main building,” an electronically distorted voice said. “The four-wheeler was just a diversion.”

Another voice chimed in. “Any sign of the old man? He’s not in the main house.”

“They haven’t found your dad,” Kurt whispered to Misty.

“I told Bricks to forget about him. Get back to the main building and burn it down.”

“They’re going to burn us out,” Kurt said. “We need to hide. Woods or the water?”

“Can’t burn water,” Joe said.

“We can hide in the reeds, near the estuary,” Misty said. “That’s where Dad fishes when he’s not on the dock.”

Kurt glanced out the door, waited for the drone to make another pass and then took off running.

They’d passed the animal pens and the piles of computer hardware before they were spotted.

“Targets running to the northwest. Away from the buildings.”

Kurt listened to every word. He couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman, but there was a pattern to the words, short sentences, clipped delivery. He would remember that pattern for the future.

“We’ll cut them off,” an unmodified voice replied.

The sound of the ATV was growing louder as they ran.

“They have the ATV,” Kurt said. “How far do we have to go?”

“Just over the hill,” Misty said.

By now, the drone was turning toward them and setting up for another attack run. It locked in and accelerated, the propeller buzzing feverishly as it approached.

Kurt, Joe and Misty sprinted down the hill toward a shallow, reed-filled glade. But even as they ran, the drone bore down on them, opening fire.

Kurt dove to the side as the dirt kicked up at his feet. Joe and Misty darted in the other direction and the trail of bullets passed between them.

The drone raced by, leveled off at ten feet and then flew out over the water. Just as it tilted upward to climb and turn, a figure appeared out of the marsh and fired several shots with a rifle.

The drone jerked to one side with the first hit, lost part of a wing with the second and then burst into flames with the third. It fell in a corkscrew motion, spinning out of control and slamming into the placid water with a large splash.

“Dad,” Misty shouted.

Redfish stood in the reeds, soaking wet and holding the thirty-aught-six. He hugged Misty with one arm as she ran up to him.

“Be glad he chased you with a bat,” Kurt said.

“Believe me,” Joe said, “I am.”

The ATV and the men on foot were the next danger.

“Over here,” Redfish said. “They’ll never see us.”

Kurt and Joe dropped into the shallow water with Misty and her father. Crouching and waiting, they watched as the ATV came over the ridge.

At first, it traveled on a diagonal, coming down toward the water but not directly for them. The rider slowed and looked around as he drove.

The other men came over the ridge behind it. They’d rescued their leader and were now back to full strength. One of them held a scope to his eyes.

Kurt and the others were crouched down in the water and hidden behind a layer of reeds. They would be difficult to see, but they were not invisible.

“If they spot us,” Kurt said, “open fire.”

He gripped the pistol firmly, in both hands, set the hammer and rested his finger on the trigger.

When the man with the scope turned toward them, Kurt pulled the trigger. The spotter went down in a heap and at the same instant Redfish fired and knocked the rider off the ATV.

The other men scattered. Instead of pressing their attack, they grabbed their injured comrades and took off, heading for the cars they’d come in.

With two vehicles racing away, Kurt and Joe emerged from the water.

“Do you think they’ll come back?” Misty asked.

“Unlikely,” Kurt said. “These men had nothing personal against you. They were hired to stop us. Still, you might want to put in a call to the sheriff and find another place to stay for a while.”

“The sheriff is Dad’s fishing buddy,” Misty said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind staying over for a few days.”