Downrigger Drift by James Axler

Author:James Axler
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

With the storm quickly outpacing them to the east, Ryan was able to drive without incident on the highway for another hour. Occasionally they had to detour around broken sections of the road, but for the most part, they kept heading due southeast.

The sun blazed high overhead when they stopped for lunch and to give the engine a rest, pulling into the overgrown gravel driveway of one of the long-abandoned farmhouses that dotted the countryside. After sweeping and clearing the area, Mildred and Krysty laid out a spread of cold meats, cheese and a loaf of bread, and everyone enjoyed thick sandwiches, along with a jar of clean-looking water that Ryan purified anyway, just to be sure.

After lunch and cleanup, Doc and Jak lay underneath towering oak trees for a nap—Jak due to tiredness from the previous night, and Doc simply because he was Doc, muttering something about the “pastoral locale and Little Boy Blue.” Krysty and Mildred wanted to poke around in the tumbledown house and barn, and J.B. settled down with his maps to plot the next leg of the journey, conferring with Ryan on the best route.

“How solid you think Brend’s information was on Madison?” the one-eyed man asked as he sucked on a hollow tooth.

“Depends. It’s not like they get out much, so info’s always second-and thirdhand. Don’t see much use in convoys misleading the ville, so it’s probably got some truth to it.”

Ryan scrutinized the map, tracing the red line of the highway they were on as it led into the vicinity of three lakes where the onetime state capital had sprung up. “If we turned off here—” he tapped an intersection of Interstate 90 and State Road 60 “—we could avoid the city altogether and keep heading east. Maybe check out this place—” He pointed at a patch of green labeled Poynette St. Farm Home. “Might be a good place to hole up for the night.”

“Seems like we got plenty of those places around right now. Just pick a farm, and you’re good to go. Can’t count on everybody bein’ as friendly as the last ville.”

“Never do. We’ll give the sleepyheads another half hour, then get back on the road. Let’s check out that farm place anyway. It’s far enough away from Madison that we shouldn’t have to worry about any cannies.”

Carefully folding the map, J.B. regarded him. “How’re your bandages?”

“Itch like hell, but I’m not gonna give the women the satisfaction of seeing me scratch them. You?”

“Same. Feel like my luck hasn’t been all that great the past few days.”

Ryan shrugged. “Bound to turn soon enough.”

J.B. frowned. “Damn well better. If it gets any worse, it’s liable to kill me.”

The two men went to find their respective women, who were returning from their recon of the ruined house. Mildred and J.B. went to relax a bit before they hit the road again, leaving Ryan and Krysty to walk around the barn and through one of the overgrown fields, as much to steal a moment together as to get the lay of the land.

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