Chương 123

Louis stood ten feet from the barrier, his hands loose at his sides. The woman swung her legs once and tapped the tablet against her knee.

"I'm not asking to pass for free," Louis said.

"That's good. Because we don't do free." One of the men on the trailer roof shifted his weight. The barrel of his rifle moved with him. Another man stood by the welded gate with a cigarette in his mouth and one hand on the chain. The gate left only a narrow gap. Concrete blocks narrowed the road to one lane. The woman glanced past Louis.

"Who's in the truck with you?"

"Colleagues," Louis said. She looked at him again.

"You don't look like the usual kind of colleague that rolls through here."

"What kind is that?" She smiled once more, showing teeth.

"The kind with guns and bad maps." Louis shrugged.

"It's a dangerous world."

"That it is." She tapped the tablet.

"Where are you all from?"

"Kentucky." He didn't lie about that part. She raised an eyebrow.

"You don't sound like you're from Kentucky."

"Kentucky is a large place." She studied his face.

"You don't sound like you're from anywhere I know." Louis met her eyes.

"Probably you didn't get out much." The man by the gate laughed once, then stopped when she didn't join in.

"Where are you headed?"

"North."

"North where?"

"Charleston." He picked the first city that came into his head. She tilted her head.

"What's in Charleston?"

"Trade, food, shelter." He shrugged.

"Same as anywhere."

"And you expect to get it for free?" Louis kept his face blank.

"I expect to pay what we owe."

"That's good." She stood up from the hood of the patrol car and walked toward the truck without hurry. The shotgun stayed in her hands.

"Engine stays on," she said.

"That costs extra." Louis did not look back at Gladice.

"How much?" She stopped beside the driver's window.

"Two hundred Euros."

"Two hundred?" Louis kept his voice even.

"For driving another mile until the next checkpoint?" She looked at him.

"Next checkpoint is ours too. We own this stretch of the road. You want to use it, you pay." He made a show of thinking.

"How can you make sure the next station doesn't take another two hundred?"

"We radio them." She smiled again.

"We're organized."

"Words are not enough," he said.

"You may not work with them at all." The smile disappeared.

"You calling me a liar?"

"Can you blame me for not trusting strangers in West Virginia?" She stared at him. The cigarette man by the gate stopped moving. One of the riflemen on the trailer stood up straighter. The woman said, "You got a problem with us?"

"I got a problem with paying twice." Louis raised his hands.

"If you can convince me your next station will honor this one, I'll pay." She stepped closer.

"You don't get to decide how we do business."

"Sure I do," he said.

"Because I'm the one holding the money." Then the woman nodded.

"Alright." She walked back to the patrol car, reached inside, and came back with a radio. She clicked it on, adjusted the dial, and keyed the mic.

"Gate 023. This is Gate 022." A crackle, then a man's voice came back.

"Go for 023."

"Got a truck here with Kentucky tags. Heading north. They want a guarantee the toll won't be charged twice." The radio hissed.

"What kind of truck?"

"Technical. Machine gun on the back. Seven on board." Louis said nothing. Behind him, he heard the truck engine idling. The radio man said, "Color?"

"Green, dirty as hell." A pause.

"If they pay here, we don't touch them. Copy?"

"Copy." The woman shut off the radio and looked at Louis.

"Good enough for you?" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Louis nodded.

"You got a pass or something like that?" She smiled.

"Pass." She opened a metal box attached to the gatepost and took out a stamped paper.

"Two hundred Euros for the pass. Another two hundred for the truck toll. And that leaves passenger toll. Armed vehicle surcharge. Road use. Gate use. Maintenance contribution. Unknown-origin fee."

"I told you we came from Kentucky."

"And I told you I don't believe you." She smiled.

"You want the receipt?"

"Just give me the price." She glanced at the truck, then back at him.

"Names of the passengers?"

"No." She shrugged.

"No names costs extra. Fifty." Louis stared at her.

"Fine. Just tell me the total." She counted on her fingers.

"Pass. Vehicle. Road. Gate. Unknown origin. Armed vehicle." She paused.

"Six hundred and seventy. Plus half of the fuel and the MG."

"That last part is not happening." The woman smiled again, almost amused this time.

"Driver," she called. Gladice lowered the window halfway.

"What?"

"How much fuel?"

"Enough." The woman looked back at Louis.

"You train them to answer like that?"

"They answer for themselves."

"That right." She looked toward the cab. Through the windshield, Louis saw Angelique in the passenger seat, turned slightly toward them, one hand low and out of sight. In the back, Willa was nearest the window, Donya beside Cherish. The woman counted them again.

"Funny kind of group," she said.

"You don't all look like you're from the same trade."

"Times are hard," Louis said.

"We take what we can get." She looked at him, then turned and wrote something on the receipt. She tore it from the pad and held it out.

"Seven hundred Euros and a third of the gas and ammo," she said.

"You can keep the MG."

"No gas. No ammo." She shrugged.

"A thousand. Cash."

"Seven hundred fifty."

"Nine hundred fifty."

"Eight hundred fifty, including the pass." She sighed.

"Fine." She held the receipt between two fingers.

"Money first." Louis went back to the truck.

"You heard her." He stood close to Willa's window so the others at the station could not see. Willa nodded once. She opened her pack and began counting out Euro notes. Louis took them and turned back. The woman watched him count the money twice. Then she handed him the stamped pass. Then Louis heard another engine from the north. The sound came down the road before the vehicle appeared, a diesel rattle under a heavy frame. The people at the station turned toward the sound. The roof men shifted.

The rifleman stopped with one hand still on the gate. The woman looked up the road. Her face barely changed. A dark SUV came around the bend beyond the station, mud up its sides, front bumper patched in dull steel. It slowed at the far side of the gate. A man pulled the gate wider. The SUV rolled through and stopped beside the trailer. Louis remained by the truck.

"Get in," Gladice said through the open window.

"We should go." The SUV's rear door opened. A man stepped down. He spoke to the woman first. She listened without looking away from the truck. Then the man turned his head and looked at Louis. His mouth tightened. He said something to her. The woman looked at him sharply. The man said it again, quieter. Then he took a phone from his coat and showed it to her. Angelique said from inside the cab, "That's not good." Louis kept his face still. The woman walked toward him.

"Mr. Collins," she said.

"Welcome to West Virginia." Louis looked at the woman and did not move.

"You must have mistaken me for someone else," he said. The woman smiled.

"No, I think not." She glanced at the SUV.

"You are a famous man, Mr. Collins."

"I paid you already," Louis said.

"We are done here."

"You paid to pass Gate 022." She glanced back at the man from the SUV.

"You did not pay to pass through my road carrying the son of Constantine Collins." Louis held out the money.

"Then name the new price." The woman smiled faintly.

"That is above my grade." The man from the SUV stepped closer. He was in his forties, lean and close-shaven, with a dark field jacket zipped to the throat and a pistol carried openly at his hip. He moved like the men at the gate already knew to make room for him.

"Our director will want to meet you, Mr. Collins," he said.

"Who is your director?" Louis asked.

"Someone who knows things." The man gestured toward the road.

"I think we should go now."

"Where?" Louis asked. The man looked at the truck.

"Charleston. It's on your way, yes?"

"Maybe," Louis said.

"And who are you?"

"Call me Smith." He offered his hand.

"I represent the Road Authority of West Virginia." Louis did not take it.

"I paid for this road."

"And we appreciate your contribution," Smith said.

"But this has become a matter of state interest."

"I am not a citizen of your state."

"You are a matter of interest. To everyone," Smith said.

"The Authority wants to have a word with you. Privately."

"Or what?" Louis kept his voice flat.

"You will try to take me?" Smith looked at the woman, then back at Louis.

"We have eight rifles on this gate, more men beyond the bend, and control of the road ahead. You have one machine gun, one truck, and seven people packed into it. You are not in a good position to bargain, Mr. Collins."

"We got explosives too," Savannah shouted from the back.

"And I'll use 'em on this whole damn checkpoint." Smith looked at her for the first time.

"Impressive." He looked back at Louis.

"But I don't think violence is the answer. We are interested in doing business with the Dominion. Having you as a guest could be beneficial to everyone." Louis almost laughed.

"You want to negotiate with my father? Using me as a bargaining chip?" Smith smiled again.

"We prefer to call it a goodwill visit."

"And if I refuse?" Smith's smile did not change.

"Then you will not have our protection while you cross our territory. And we have some very dangerous roads ahead."

"Bullshit," Savannah said.

"We got across the border ourselves. We don't need your protection."

"That was before everyone in West Virginia knew who you are," Smith said.

"Word travels fast. Especially when there is a price on your head." Louis did not answer. Smith gestured to the SUV.

"Now, if you please." His voice stayed polite. Louis forced himself to stay calm.

"We drive our own truck," he said. Smith smiled slightly.

"For your own safety."

"We are perfectly safe here." Louis kept his voice level.

"Thank you for your concern." The woman tilted her head.

"You don't negotiate very well for a man in your position."

"I negotiate fine." Louis looked past her at the barriers, then at the two men on the roof, then at the SUV idling beside the office trailer.

"You want me alive. That means you don't want to start a fight." Smith did not smile. The woman did.

"Maybe he is his father's son." Louis looked at her.

"Maybe." Smith said, "We can do this the nice way. Or the hard way."

"Sure," Louis said.

"Until you realize the consequence." Smith raised an eyebrow.

"And what is the consequence?"

"Try it and find out." Louis looked at the pistol on Smith's hip. Smith stared at him before reaching for his radio. Then he took a radio from his belt and spoke into it quietly. The woman stepped back and walked toward the trailer. The gate man leaned on his chain and smoked. The two on the roof kept their rifles pointed down but ready. Smith put the radio away.

"You may travel under escort. And two of your people ride with us."

"No," Louis said.

"I don't split my group." The answer came too fast, and Louis heard it. Angelique opened the passenger door before he could look back. She stepped out of the pickup and shut the door. Her face had that composed look Louis knew too well. She had already made her decision.

"I will ride with you," she said. Smith glanced at her, then at Louis.

"That's acceptable." Louis turned.

"Angi—""It's fine, Louis." She came to his side.

"I'll take care of myself." He knew better than to argue here. He nodded once. Gladice opened the driver's door and stepped down after her.

"Then I'll ride with you too." The woman laughed once.

"You volunteering?"

"Someone needs to keep her company," Gladice said. Smith looked at the two women, then nodded.

"That can work. Your truck follows behind. Two more vehicles will join us." He looked at Louis.

"We will be watching. Do not try anything stupid." Savannah climbed down from the truck bed.

"That go both ways?" The woman turned toward her. Savannah looked tired and pale. The bandage showed under her sleeve.

"As long as your men keep their rifles pointed down, we ain't gonna have a problem." The woman said, "I like her." Smith gave a small smile. He gestured to the SUV. Angelique went first. Gladice followed. Savannah got into the pickup and slid behind the wheel. Louis got into the passenger seat. Willa, Donya, and Cherish sat in the back, silent and tense. Louis looked at each of them. Willa nodded once. Cherish held her backpack in her lap. Donya looked at him, her eyes wide. Savannah waited until he shut the door.

"You alright?"

"No."

"Good." She started the engine.

"'Cause this is bullshit."