Unfortunately, there were only two plate-carrier vests, so Ben would be using his backpack, which was bulky in its own right. He’d squeezed in a half dozen loaded magazines for Jack’s Trijicon-equipped AR-15 and another eight magazines for the MP5. On top of that, he had a bottle of water, two extra magazines for his Glock, and a couple of flares he’d taken from the back of the Blazer.

  Ben also made sure to tuck Ed’s crude map of town into his bag. If something happened to Ed, the map would become invaluable. He and Joel would be lost in a hostile town at night without Ed to lead the way. Ben had no intention of letting Ed’s greenness lead to the man getting hurt, but the map was insurance, and you could never have enough of that these days.

  Ed wasn’t putting off an overly confident vibe, and his eagerness to use all of this cool gear he’d acquired over the years seemed to be less of a risk right now. In fact, Ben’s concern at the moment was whether or not Ed was up to this at all. Ben hoped he was and chalked his timid demeanor up to pre-operation jitters. It was a common occurrence, and for all Ben knew, this might be the first time Ed was faced with the potential of seeing any real action.

  Ben glanced over at Joel, who was diligently looking over his gear and double-checking to make sure he was carrying everything he was supposed to be. It was hard to believe this was the same kid who just a short while ago needed to be woken up, sometimes twice, for school some mornings because he’d stayed up too late playing video games the night before. Those memories felt older than possible and very distant.

  Joel noticed his dad looking at him and nodded quickly before going back to what he was doing. He was a man now. Ben would forever see him as that little boy learning to cast a flyrod, but that was no longer who Joel was; that boy was gone. Now he saw a young man sporting almost as much facial hair as him, albeit thinner and a little on the scraggly side. The thin beard obscured what remained of his boyish features, much like this world had done to his innocence.

  Chapter Thirty

  Ed continued to fiddle with his gear and look things over in the back of his and Max’s RZR, but Ben knew there was nothing else they needed to do. It was time to leave.

  He was fairly sure Ed was doing his best to stall, even if it was subconsciously. Allie gave Joel a long hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek before allowing him to climb into the RZR and buckle into the harness.

  “Please be careful. Don’t take any unnecessary risks, okay? Promise me! This isn’t paintball with the boys on a Saturday afternoon, you know.” Julia held Ed’s face in her hands and forced him to look her in the eye.

  “Babe, I promise. We’ll be fine.” He forced a smile, clearly uncomfortable about being called out. She gave him a hug and struggled to hold back tears.

  Ben was watching them when Julia turned to walk away and shot him a knowing glance, as if he were in complete control of their fates tonight. It threw him off guard, and he didn’t notice Sandy approach from the other side. As he turned to climb into the driver’s seat of his and Joel’s RZR, they met face to face with only a few inches between them.

  “You too.” Sandy surprised him with a hug and quick kiss on the cheek as well.

  Ben nodded. He was at a loss for words and a little embarrassed. It felt like all eyes were on them all of a sudden. He was thankful for Brad and Emma, who ran to his side and hugged him as well.

  “Thanks, Dad. I know you’re doing this for me. And thank you. And you, too, Joel.” Emma turned to face Ed and Joel individually.

  “You don’t have to thank me, sweetie. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you guys.” And Ben meant that. There was no way he wasn’t going to end up back here with medicine in hand.

  Max was growing impatient now that he was clipped in and began to whine about their progress. But he wasn’t the only one, and Ben understood exactly how the dog felt.

  “All right, Max. We’re going.” Ed let out another deep breath and tightened the chin strap on his ballistic helmet before climbing behind the wheel. Ben stepped into his vehicle as well, closing the flimsy door. Thoughts about how easily a bullet would penetrate the thin composite material flooded his mind. He wouldn’t allow himself time to worry about what hadn’t happened yet, though. Instead, he tried to take comfort in the fact that Joel at least had the vest. He focused on securing the four-point harness before finally donning his helmet with the mounted NVGs. He looked over at Ed and noticed the man’s hands shaking as he made his final adjustments.

  “Ed… Ed.” He finally looked at Ben. “Go at your own pace. We’ll be behind you all the way. Remember, it’s not a race. Nice and easy, got it?”

  Ed nodded, and Ben could see him swallow hard. “We can use the lights until the edge of the property. We shouldn’t run into anybody until we get closer in. I’ll let you know when we’re there.” He held up the two-way radio.

  Ben nodded and looked down at his and Joel’s radio. It was tucked into a recessed pocket on the console. Ben didn’t think they would use the radios much, especially once they got into town and hid the RZRs somewhere. But it wouldn’t hurt to have the ability to communicate without yelling while they were driving. There was also the chance they could end up separated at some point. As much as he wanted to avoid splitting up, there was no telling what they were up against or how things would go.

  The Patriot Hooligans were a bad bunch—there was no doubt about that—but Ben didn’t have an axe to grind here. In spite of what might or might not have been direct attacks on them by the gang, nothing was more important than Emma’s health. The plan was to get in and get out without being spotted, but if he’d learned anything in the last few weeks, it was that things rarely went according to plan.

  Martin opened the big overhead door under Julia’s direction, revealing an empty void of darkness and weeds beyond the outbuilding. Ed pulled out first, waving goodbye to his wife one final time before speeding off toward the wooded part of the property and the trails beyond. Ben followed and accelerated quickly once off the concrete slab of the garage, managing to catch Ed a couple hundred yards before he reached the wood line.

  The powerful LED light bar mounted to the roll cage cast a searing white light over everything in front of them. The light reflected off the head-high weeds lining both sides of the path and made seeing to their left or right impossible. Not that there was much to see, but Ben was in favor of using the NVGs sooner rather than later. They might have to drive slower, but it would be worth it if they could move undetected. He didn’t care how far out in the boonies they were; these lights were some of the brightest he’d ever seen. They were certain to catch someone’s eye as they sped across the landscape on a night this dark.

  Ben was about to suggest they go dark when Ed kicked up a cloud of dust from his rear wheels and launched away from them. The sudden burst of speed surprised Ben, and he abandoned going for the radio, instead gripping the wheel firmly with both hands as he mashed down on the accelerator in an effort to catch up. There was no need to go this fast, and Ben wondered if Ed was showing off or if he always drove like this. Ed was familiar with the trails and probably knew every bump by heart. Ben did not. The dust Ed was creating only served to complicate things, as it reflected the lights back into Ben’s eyes.

  They were into the wooded section of the trails now, and while Ben was glad to be out of the open field, he was too busy avoiding trees to appreciate the added cover. Ed only slowed a little when he entered the woods and seemed just as comfortable speeding here as he did in the open.

  It happened before Ben could react. Ed’s taillights disappeared for a split second, and at the same time Ben realized they were traversing a ditch he remembered catching air on earlier in the day. The only difference now was that he was traveling at twice the speed.

  “Woah!” Joel reached out with both hands and grabbed ahold of the passenger’s handlebars as the RZR left the ground and crested the other side of the ditch bank. It was probably best that it was dark out so they couldn’t see how high they were, but Ben was sure he caught a glimpse of a deer stand at eye level as they sailed by.

  The landing was softer than he expected, but it was far from smooth. Ed seemed unfazed by the jump and continued on through the woods. Ben was trying to decide how much longer he was going to let this go on. He appreciated the fact that they were making time, but at what cost? It wouldn’t do Emma any good if they ended up wrapped around a tree.

  Then again, a part of him enjoyed the adrenaline rush of moving this fast and quiet through the woods at night. Besides, he was starting to recognize some parts of the trail. He also noticed Joel was grinning from ear to ear. Considering what lay ahead for them tonight, Ben thought he could suck it up for a little longer and keep up with Ed. And they did just that for a few more minutes until Ed slowed down.

  Even Ben recognized they were entering a new area. The brush was thicker here and the trail more overgrown than the well-worn paths they’d been using. Ben took advantage of the slower rate of speed and checked to make sure the Velcro straps securing the MP5 to the roll cage were holding up.

  He pulled the two-way from the console. “Come in, Ed. I think we should go dark as soon as possible, just to be on the safe side. Over.”

  It took a few seconds, but Ed finally answered. “Yep. We’re about there. Not much farther on this trail and we’ll hit the logging road that will take us into town. We should wait and use the goggles when we get through this section, though. It gets a little tight up here. Over.”

  “Sounds good. Over.” Ben was okay with waiting until the logging road to use the NVGs. The units attached to both his and Ed’s helmets were high-end gen-three technology, but once they switched over to the goggles, their field of view would be cut down to about forty degrees. That was certainly something to consider when traversing an already narrow trail that was scattered with telephone-pole-sized hardwoods.

  Ed was right. The trail was barely wide enough to get the RZRs through in some spots without forging a new trail altogether. Then they squeezed between two large pines, and the woods seemed to fade away. They found themselves on a pine-needle-covered single-lane dirt path that was fairly clear and smooth, from what he could see.

  Ed cut his lights and Ben followed suit, flipping down his NVGs and powering them up. He was thankful now that he’d taken the time to adjust them in their mount back at the house. These were a little different than the NVGs he’d used in the past. The quality of vision, despite the natural light, was far better than he anticipated. They had outstanding gain and no noticeable black spots. What he would have given to have a pair of these back in the day.

  “You ready? Over.” Ed’s voice came over the radio as Ben watched him pull out and head left down the road.

  “Right behind you. Over.” Ben set the radio between his legs and put both hands on the wheel. He was relieved to see that Ed wasn’t going to try setting the same pace as he had before, although with these NVGs, Ben would have been comfortable moving a little faster.

  “I’m glad you can see where you’re going.” Joel was seated like he was bracing for impact any second.

  “I can see fine. Nothing to worry about,” Ben assured him.

  “If you say so.” Joel relaxed in his seat slightly but kept both hands on the passenger grab bar. Ben could easily understand how riding blindly through the woods at thirty miles an hour might be concerning from his perspective—or lack thereof, but Ben was growing more anxious by the minute. He wanted to lay eyes on the clinic, and unlike before, he had no desire to ask Ed to slow down.

  It was time to hunt.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  After a few minutes of being blindly jarred about the inside of the RZR, Joel noticed his eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness. He trusted his dad unequivocally, but flying through the woods without being able to see much was unnerving at best. On top of that, he was feeling a little queasy at the moment and doing his best to keep dinner down. Joel took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. He couldn’t get sick; the last thing he wanted his dad to think was that he couldn’t handle this.

  He was surprised he’d been allowed to come along at all but proud his father had agreed to it so readily. And that was exactly why he couldn’t afford to puke right now. He opened his eyes and focused on an upcoming shadow to the left of the trail. The deep breaths had worked, sort of. He was starting to feel better now. It helped that he was able to make out some of their surroundings more clearly.

  The shadow turned out to be a stump. Then he noticed a few more. There were a lot of stumps here, which made sense if this was a logging road. As his eyes adapted further to the faint moonlight, he was able to make out that they were driving through a section of forest that looked to have been recently cleared. Most of it, anyway. Venturing too far to the left or right of the trail would put them in a mix of downed trees, scrub brush piles, and a minefield of jagged stumps haphazardly protruding from the ground.

  Fortunately, the trail was smooth, aside from the occasional side-to-side movement. There were permanent ruts in the road from heavy usage by trucks or some other large equipment, and the RZR’s wheelbase was too narrow to put a tire in both at the same time. His dad was doing his best to pick a line, but every once in a while, the opposite track sucked them in. Joel could see Ed’s RZR ahead of them and noticed he was having the same problem.

  He was happy to hear Ed’s voice on the radio; he was announcing that they were getting close to their destination. He also knew that meant it was almost time to do more than just ride along in the passenger seat. At least he felt comfortable enough to finally let go of the grab bar now that he could somewhat see what was going on.

  Joel looked down at his armored vest. Carrying this much gear on his body would take some getting used to. He ran his hand over the double magazine pouches stuffed with extra magazines for the AR-15 he was taking along. He’d found the rifle among the cache of weapons they’d acquired from the moonshiners. It was a short-barreled version chambered in the standard .223 caliber. But he liked the way this one was put together, from the angled foregrip mounted under the keymod front rail to the holographic sight on top.

  His dad said it was a cheap optic, but the fact that it also had a built-in green laser made it a good choice for quick target acquisition in the dark. Joel just liked the way it looked and felt. And if the cheap optic failed, the rifle had a set of Magpul pop-up sights he could fall back on. The gun reminded him of something from one of his video games, but this was no video game. And he had no illusions of it being anything other than a real life-or-death situation.

  He put his arms at his side and felt the pouch of 12-gauge shells. He would also be carrying the KSG as backup. Joel would have loved to take the MP5 but understood why he wasn’t. The one he shot at the range for his birthday was hard to control and not too accurate in full auto. Not for him, anyway. His dad had more experience with that kind of thing, and they needed that experience to get them back tonight.

  Joel noticed Ed slowing down, and before long the trail dumped them into a large opening filled with enormous stacks of logs, all organized into rows at least a hundred yards long and thirty feet high. Driving slowly between the log piles made it too difficult to see much, and it reminded Joel of the slot canyons near Wolf Creek. He had to look almost straight up to find open sky. Eventually, they cleared the shadows, and a large building began to take shape in the distance.

  “Let’s park behind that building. Over.” Ed turned and headed that way.

  “Roger that. Over.” Ben followed, but when they reached the building, he parked in a way that left the RZR pointed back toward the logging road they’d driven in on. Ed saw what Ben did and moved his RZR into a similar position. Once both engines were cut off, the silence enveloped them like a blanket. The only sound was the constant chatter of a thousand crickets.

  “Come on. Grab your stuff.” Ben spoke just above a whisper.

  Joel unbuckled and got out first, reaching back in for the KSG and the AR-15. He’d keep the KSG slung on his back and carry the AR-15 in the ready position. He also had his 9mm Smith and Wesson strapped to his hip for backup, but he doubted he would need that. They had brought so much ammunition with them; they couldn’t possibly go through it all, could they? Did his dad really think they were going to run into that much resistance? Joel glanced down at the 180 rounds of .223 strapped to his vest.

  Ed met them at the back of their RZR, with Max attentively at his side. He was carrying a pry bar in one hand and the MP5 in the other, along with an empty duffle bag for the contents of the safe. Ed also brought an AR-15 but had it slung over his back with the duffle bag. Ben reached into the back of the RZR and grabbed an axe and another pry bar, which he handed to Joel.

  “Can you carry that and handle your weapon?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah, I can manage.” Joel juggled the two for a second until he found a way to slide the pry bar through the side straps of his vest and carry it hands-free. Ben worked out a similar solution with the axe, slipping it through a couple of side straps on his backpack; they were originally meant to hold his four-piece flyrod in its travel case for easier hiking.

  “Stash your key.” Ben looked at Ed before reaching down and stashing his key in the RZR’s subframe. Joel had no idea why his dad wouldn’t just pocket it, but now didn’t seem like a good time to ask questions.

  “Got everything?” Ben glanced at Joel and then Ed before moving the MP5 around to his back on the sling. The AR-15 would be his primary weapon tonight unless things went south.

  Ed nodded but was still working on securing the pry bar in his vest like Joel had done.

  “I’m ready,” Joel answered.

  “All right, the clinic is a little less than a mile away. I guess we’re on foot from here?” Ed scanned the area.

  “Yeah, driving the RZRs through town is too risky. Let’s stay below the radar and get this done.” Ben pulled the charging handle on his AR-15 and flipped off the safety. Ed nodded and headed toward the building as he charged the bolt on his MP5. Joel did the same and made sure to turn on his holographic sight as well. The laser on his rifle was activated by a small pressure pad on the foregrip. All he had to do was point the green dot and squeeze the trigger. It sounded simple, but when the target wasn’t a cardboard-backed bull’s-eye at the range, it was more complicated than that. That was a responsibility Joel was still trying to come to terms with. But right now wasn’t the time.