Chương 90

Louis woke with his head against the metal wall as the truck stopped.

"Charlotte," Savannah said.

"Get ready."

"How long was I asleep?" Louis asked.

"One hour," Angelique said.

"Don't worry. Nothing happened."

"Good." Louis pushed himself upright with the cane. The others were already gathering their bags. The rear doors opened. The afternoon sun filled the cargo compartment. Reese stood on the pavement below them, his shirt dark with sweat at the collar. He motioned for them to climb out.

"We're here," he said.

"Out." They climbed down beside the receiving dock of an old textile finishing plant. It was the first part of Charlotte Louis had seen. Reese rubbed the back of his neck.

"Darnell should be here," he said.

"He wasn't answering on the road, but that don't always mean anything." He looked toward a row of offices beside the loading dock.

"Come on." He led them through a personnel entrance propped open with a broken cinder block. A black woman in a reflective vest sat behind a metal desk with a calculator in one hand. She looked up when Reese entered. Her gaze moved past him and across Louis's group.

"Reese. How's Atlanta? Heard it got hot."

"We got out." Reese shook his head.

"Where's Darnell Barlow at?" The woman set the calculator on the desk.

"If I knew that, I'd be a happier woman than I am. He left a little after twelve. Took his van and said he was going to Mae Pearl's for lunch. If he ain't back, he's either drunk, laid up, or having too good a time to care what kind of trouble that leaves the rest of us in." Reese stared at her.

"It's four." She shrugged.

"It is."

"Did he say anything else?"

"Said today had a special lunch menu." Savannah gave a short laugh. Reese pressed a thumb to the bridge of his nose.

"What now?" Louis asked. Reese lowered his hand.

"We need Darnell. He the only one who can get y'all across the border clean." He turned to the woman.

"Any chance he still at Mae Pearl's?" She shook her head.

"Honey, Mae Pearl quit serving lunch at two."

"Shit." Reese looked toward the personnel entrance.

"I gotta get back to Atlanta. My mama's there alone. I can't leave her in that mess. But I can't leave y'all here either."

"Go," Savannah said.

"If your mama's there, she needs you." Reese looked at her, then at Louis.

"Marcus wouldn't like it."

"Marcus ain't here. I am. Go home."

"All right." He nodded.

"Y'all stay here. Keep low. Darnell will come back. He always does. Don't leave till he does." Louis said, "We will decide what to do if he doesn't." Reese nodded.

"Be careful." He left the same way they had come in. A moment later, the truck started and pulled away. The engine noise faded beyond the yard.

"Do we absolutely need this guy? Barlow?" Angelique asked.

"Looks that way." Savannah looked toward the hall.

"My father told me once Barlow had bought off a whole checkpoint near the Virginia line. He's an old smuggler. If he's still alive and sober, he's the best way out." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Willa said, "And if he's not?"

"Then we improvise." Savannah started down the hall.

"Come on. We might as well get comfortable." They followed her into the back office. Savannah closed the door, sat on the edge of the desk, and folded her arms.

"We wait."

"I don't think it's a good idea to just wait," Louis said.

"You got a better idea?"

"We cross the border on our own." Louis leaned against the doorframe, shifting his weight to test the knee.

"We have the papers. We have the money. We have weapons."

"And we got no idea where the checkpoints are, who's running them, or what the state'll do if we get caught." Savannah looked at him.

"Or are you volunteering to shoot your way through God's chosen militia at the state line?" Louis did not answer. Angelique said, "We find a truck, then find a place to cross. Maybe a farm road. Something backcountry." Savannah shook her head.

"Too risky. The border ain't a line. It's a zone. They patrol deep inside it, and they got sensors." She looked at the others.

"I know this country. Y'all don't."

"How about we just crash through one checkpoint?" Gladice said.

"Shoot anyone who stops us."

"Good way to die." Savannah picked at a loose thread on her jeans.

"They got machine-gun posts at every crossing. You can't win that fight."

"I can snipe the gunner before he sees us, if I can find a new rifle."

"Not from half a mile out, you can't. And you'll have to come out of cover to get close enough." She looked at Gladice.

"So unless you got a tank hidden in one of those backpacks, we wait for Barlow."

"Maybe we can pay them," Donya said.

"The one Barlow bought. We have money." Savannah looked at her.

"That's a better idea. But y'all don't know which checkpoint got bought. You try to bribe the wrong people, they'll take your money and kill you anyway." Willa leaned against the wall.

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"Wait." Savannah shrugged.

"Barlow'll come back."

"You heard the woman. He's been gone for hours," Willa said.

"Then we decide what to do next." Savannah met her eyes.

"But I ain't walking into Virginia blind just because we're impatient."

"I'd rather find this Barlow than wait," Louis said.

"What do you think?" Savannah studied him for a moment.

"I think you're used to people doing what you say. And that don't work here." Angelique stepped forward.

"He is trying to keep us alive."

"Same as I am." Savannah looked between them.

"Look, you ain't wrong. We can't stay here forever. But if we move before we know more, we might as well put guns in our mouths."

"We don't have the luxury of time," Louis said.

"Secretary Hargrove is hunting us. We need to act decisively. I am going to look for him." Savannah raised one eyebrow.

"And how you gonna do that?"

"I am going to Mae Pearl's." She gave a short laugh.

"You think Barlow's still there?"

"No. But somebody will know where he went. Or where he might go. It's a lead."

"More likely it's a dead end. And a place full of people who don't like a white boy asking questions."

"It's better than sitting here." Louis looked at her.

"Are you coming?" Savannah stared back at him for a long moment. Then she pushed off the desk.

"Fine. But if we get shot, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough." She looked at the others.

"Anybody wanna stay can stay. This place is safe enough for now. Rest of us can go ask the wrong questions." Gladice moved to Louis's side.

"I'm with Louis."

"Me too," Angelique said.

"Of course you are," Savannah said. Willa sighed.

"I guess I'm coming too. Someone has to watch you make mistakes." Donya bit her lip.

"I don't want to stay here alone."

"Then come." Louis nodded at her.

"But stay close." Savannah led them back through the front office.

"Where's Mae Pearl's?" Louis asked. The woman picked up a notepad from her desk and tore off a sheet. She wrote down the address and handed it to him.

"Two miles north." She looked at Savannah.

"You be careful out there, girl. Your daddy'll break my neck if anything happens to you."

"Don't worry." Savannah took the paper from Louis.

"You got a ride for us?"

"Take one of the company vans. Keys on the rack." She pointed toward the wall beside the door.

"Just bring it back."

"Thanks." Savannah took a set of keys from the rack and led them outside. She went to a white cargo van with rust around the wheel wells.

"Let me drive," Gladice said. Savannah tossed her the keys.

"Be my guest." They climbed in. Louis slid the passenger seat back to make room for his leg. Gladice adjusted the mirrors and the seat, turned the key in the ignition, and the engine rumbled to life. She pulled out of the lot and onto the street.

"Head north," Savannah said.

"I'll tell you when to turn."

"Got it." Gladice shifted gears.

"Anybody hungry? Might as well eat while we asking questions." Savannah looked back at the others.

"I could eat," Donya said. Willa sighed.

"Sure. Why not? Let's have a meal in a place that could get us killed."

"Life is short, Willa," Gladice said.

"Enjoy the little things."

"I'm trying to."

"What's the best thing on the menu?" Donya asked.

"Is it halal?"

"Child, ain't nothing at Mae Pearl's halal," Savannah said.

"It's soul food. Fried chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese, cornbread, sweet tea. You want something else, you in the wrong place."

"The Quran says you can eat non-halal food if you're in danger or if there is no other choice," Donya said.

"Well, you're in danger," Willa said.

"And there is no other choice," Donya added.

"So you can eat," Gladice said.

"Fine." Donya looked down.

"I'll just eat the cornbread."

"Cornbread got pork in it," Savannah said. Donya's face fell.

"Really?"

"Nah." Savannah laughed.

"I'm messing with you. Cornbread's clean. You can eat that." Donya let out a sigh of relief.

"I like her," Angelique said, glancing at Louis.

"Me too." Louis smiled.

"Good.

'Cause you're stuck with me till Virginia." Savannah looked out the window.

"Turn right up here."