Freelancers: Falcon & Phoenix (8 page)

“
W
ell there goes that
,” Phoenix says as she and Falcon watch their getaway vehicle speed up the road without them.

“And he’s got the rifles,” Falcon adds, looking over his shoulder to make sure no other Natives are within molotov throwing distance.

“Start walking.” Phoenix points her hand gun at him.

“This again?”

“Unless you have a faster way.”

Falcon sticks his gun in his belt. She’s right. There’s no point in getting into another stand-off and he did make a deal with her. He turns back around and laughs at the unexpected sight of their car, stopped, just up the road.

“What’s so funny?”

Falcon points toward the vehicle. “That’s the Dealer. Always putting just enough gas in that it’s too far to walk back and demand more.”

“That’s one way to keep costs low.” She holsters her gun and the two run for the car.

The Freelancers re-draw their guns as they near the vehicle. Falcon walks to the driver’s side and sees Little Wang holding the machine gun. He fires just above the car and Little Wang drops the heavy weapon.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Falcon tells him.

The car thief hangs his head low. “What’s the point? Without gas, I’m just a walking target out here. Not even enough bullets in this thing to save my life.” Lifting his head, he glares at Falcon. “This is your fault.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” He looks at Phoenix who puts her gun away. None of them are going anywhere and if Wang wanted to walk away from them at this moment, she wouldn’t try to stop him. Nor would Falcon.

“You were a good lookout back there.” Falcon takes the machine gun.

“Who cares.” Little Wang gets out of the car.

“Well, now that we’re out of the fire, no one.”

“Is that what I think it is?” Phoenix stares just past Falcon.

Turning around, he spots the run down gas station just off of the road. “That was probably ironic even in the old world,” Falcon tells her.

“Think the tanks have anything left in them?”

Falcon starts for the back of the car, signaling for Little Wang to follow him. “We’ll push.”

Phoenix jogs to the driver’s side and gets in. She shifts to neutral and Falcon and Little Wang begin pushing the stalled car across the road. Phoenix turns the steering wheel hard. With no power steering, it takes a good amount of effort to turn the dead weight of the vehicle. A glimmer catches her eye and she looks down the road to see a pair of oncoming headlights.

“Hey,” she says to no response. “Falcon.”

“What?”

“More Natives?”

Falcon turns to face down the road. “No. But whoever they are, the Natives will probably get them.”

“They’re coming in really fast.” She rises out of the car.

“We need you to steer,” Falcon says, strained from pushing the car. He seems to be taking the brunt of the work.

“Where are the Natives?” Phoenix watches the two pairs of headlights grow larger as they head their way.

Both Falcon and Little Wang stop pushing. They stare down the highway and the car slowly rolls to the middle of the road. It comes to a stop and rolls back a few feet, leaving the left lane open.

“Marauders.” Little Wang’s voice shakes.

Phoenix looks at Falcon. “Why aren’t the Natives attacking?

Falcon only shakes his head, unable to answer. “We need to hide. Head for the gas station.”

The three of them run to the building. As they get closer, it becomes obvious the place is an empty shell of its former self. Windows are busted out and an entire side of the building is nearly gone.

“Inside?” Wang asks.

“They’ll look there.” Falcon tells him. “Go around the back.”

Little Wang runs ahead of Falcon and Phoenix. As they follow him, they see a cage with one propane tank on its side resting against the building.

“Come on.” Falcon climbs up the cage. Phoenix follows him. He crouches halfway and makes a cradle with his hands. “You first.”

She puts one foot in his hands while balancing herself on the wall. “Ready?” he asks. She nods and, in one motion, Falcon stands straight and lifts Phoenix up. She reaches up and grabs the edge of the roof.

The roar of approaching engines breaks the night air. “Hurry up.” Little Wang starts shaking as he bounces up and down, nervously.

“You’re next,” Falcon tells him as Phoenix pulls herself onto the roof. Little Wang dashes to the top of the cage and barely waits for Falcon to clasp his fingers together before his foot is in them. Falcon pushes him up as he did Phoenix who leans over the side to help pull the little brother onto the roof.

She reaches back down for Falcon. “Ok, let’s go.”

Falcon hops off of the cage.

“Falcon, come on,” she demands.

“I just want to see who it is.” He walks to the corner and peers around in time to see the vehicle lights growing brighter.

Phoenix and Little Wang go to the awning above the gas pumps and peek over the side. Two vehicles pull up beside their stalled car. The Dealer’s wreck of a dune buggy is instantly recognizable, even though only the moon lights the scene. But it isn’t the Dealer who gets out.

Little Wang begins to speak but the hammer click of Phoenix’s gun stops him.

“You say one word….” She looks back at the vehicles as Big Wang climbs out of the dune buggy and walks to the stalled car. Her eyes shift to the other vehicle. The door of the raised truck opens and Phoenix instantly recognizes the driver.

“Not a word,’ she says to Little Wang before, low and quickly, moving back to the building.

Phoenix looks over the side to see Falcon back on the propane cage. “You see who’s here?” She reaches down for him to grab her hand.

“Daken,” he says as they both struggle to get him to the edge of the roof. Despite their weight differences, Phoenix manages to pull Falcon to the building's edge. He gets hold of it and pulls himself up the rest of the way.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go out there, guns blazing,” she whispers as they make their way to the awning.

“I should. But I’ve only got this.” He taps the handle of the pistol sticking out of his belt. “And once I’m out, I’m out.”

“I could cover you.”

They step onto the awning then lower themselves to crawl the rest of the way.

“The minute we run out of ammo, it would be over,” he whispers. “He would shred this whole place with that thing.” He points to the large machine gun slung around Daken’s back.

The three of them peek over the edge and watch as Big Wang and Daken look through the car.

D
aken pulls
out both the machine gun and the rifle. “They were here.”

Big Wang turns the key of the car. It tries to start but never turns over. “Out of gas.” He walks to the front of the car and puts his hand near the grill. It’s still warm. “They couldn’t have gotten far.”

Daken hands Big Wang the rifle and raises the machine gun up to the gas station. He pulls the trigger and holds it, sending rapid fire bullets into the gas pumps. Big Wang follows suit and fires the rifle, bolting round after round until the magazine is empty. Daken stops firing when the gun clicks. They take a look at their handy work. The pumps are shredded.

“Let’s see them fill up, now.” Daken tosses the machine gun back into the car. Big Wang does the same with the rifle and the two walk slowly toward the gas station. They dart their heads back and forth, searching for any movement.

“Think they’re in there?” Big Wang asks.

“Natives could have got one of them. Run out of gas and hide in there to lick their wounds."

Daken is the first to enter the gas station, walking through the front door. Big Wang enters through the missing wall. It takes little time for either of them to realize there’s no real place to hide amidst the overturned shelves. Big Wang walks to the register counter and looks behind it. Nothing. Daken moves to the bathroom. It, too, is empty. The only place left are the old beverage coolers, long since emptied out. Even the racks that once held soda, water and beers are fallen to the ground. Daken opens one of the doors and sticks his head inside. No signs of life.

“No one could hide in here.” He heads back for the door with Big Wang following close behind him.

T
he three on
the roof listen to the sounds of movement below them. Their breathing is slow and shallow. The glass crunching under Daken and Big Wang’s boots is almost deafening in the silence of the night air.

“They must be further down the road,” Big Wang says as he nears the dune buggy.

“I don’t care what happens with the girl. It’s Falcon we want.”

“And my brother.”

“That’s your problem.” Daken pulls something from the back of his vest. He tosses it into the stalled car before walking back to his truck.

F
alcon aims
his pistol at Daken. “If I take him out now, we can leverage the brother with the brother.”

“Do it.” Phoenix whispers.

“What if you miss?” Little Wang asks.

Falcon’s only answer is to pull the hammer of the gun back. He takes a deep breath and follows Daken till he gets to the door of his truck. Falcon starts to squeeze the trigger when a large explosion forces all three of them to duck back down. Their car goes up several feet off the ground in a ball of fire.

Falcon pops back up only to see Daken’s truck moving past the burning wreck. Little Wang watches as his brother drives away, leaving him with the Freelancers.

Phoenix stands and watches as the car burns.

“Now what?” Little Wang asks.

Phoenix walks back to the building. “Both of you, come here.”

Falcon and Little Wang look at each other, wondering what it is she wants. Hesitantly, they follow her to the roof of the building.

“I’ve been shot at, nearly pulled out of a car and in one too many wrecks for one day. I’m tired. I want to sleep,” she says.

“That’s a good idea,’ Falcon agrees.

“But in order to do that, I need to know I don’t have to worry about you running off.” She cuffs Falcon's wrist. “And you killing me in my sleep.” She grabs Little Wang’s wrist and drags them both to a steel pipe coming up out of the roof and curving back down into it. She puts the other half of the hand cuffs through the upside U and secures Little Wang’s wrist, cuffing he and Falcon together. “There. Now I
know
you can’t go anywhere.”

“What if I kill him in his sleep?” Little Wang says.

“Your Emperor wants him. And besides, I’m letting him keep the gun.”

“And here, I thought we were making strides,” Falcon says as he sits down on the roof.

“I’m just ensuring our deal sticks. Now get some sleep. We’re on foot tomorrow. You don’t want to be tired if we run into more Marauders.” She lays down and stares up at the night sky full of bright stars. It wasn’t that long ago that it was full of dark storm clouds. Phoenix exhales and lets her eye lids get heavy. “Please don’t let us run into any more Marauders.”

T
he morning sun
peeks out from behind the trees, once again hitting Falcon in the eyes. He squeezes them shut and turns his head to the side before gradually opening them. The next thing he feels is the cold steel of the hand cuffs. He doesn’t even bother looking at them as he sits up and reaches around to his lower back, sore from the battles of yesterday. He glances at Phoenix on the other side of the roof. “At least someone slept well.”

“Who slept well?” She rolls over on her side and pushes herself up. Her hands also go to her back, sore for the same reasons.

Falcon tugs at the cuffs, pulling Little Wang’s arm into the pipe, startling him awake. He darts up, expecting the worst.

“Calm down. How’s your back?” Falcon asks.

“It’s fine. Why?”

Falcon and Phoenix share the same ‘
Of course
’ expression.

“Can we be done with these, now?” Falcon jerks the cuffs, again. “And maybe for the rest of the trip?”

Phoenix walks to the two of them. “I can’t promise for the rest of the trip.” She unlocks the cuffs, releasing them.

The three of them walk back onto the awning. There is no sign of Big Wang or Daken. Only smoldering remains of the car. Just another burned out wreck of twisted metal to add to the road.

“On foot, huh?” Falcon pulls his gun and ejects the magazine. He flicks out three bullets before the magazine is empty. “Plus one in the chamber.”

Phoenix draws her gun and checks the ammo. “I have two rounds left. Nothing chambered.”

“Six bullets and no car.” Falcon puts the gun back in his belt. “That sounds about right.”

“What if more Marauders show up?” Little Wang asks.

Falcon starts walking to the edge of the building. “They’ll catch us. Tie us up. Beat us. Cook us then kill us. Not the preferred order but…”

“He’s kidding, right?” Little Wang turns to Phoenix, genuinely worried.

“I don’t have a lot of experience with Marauders. I don’t know,” she says, unaffected by Falcon’s answer as she follows him to the edge.

“You see that?” He points forward.

“Is that a bus?” Phoenix asks.

“That is a bus.”

“There’s a vehicle I never thought I’d be happy to see and tired of at the same time.” She crouches to the edge and turns around to lower herself to the propane cage.

“Let’s go,” Falcon says to a worried Little Wang who reluctantly walks to the edge and follows Phoenix.

Falcon’s boots hit the ground as Phoenix and Little Wang walk to the bus. Just like the Marauder’s, this one lies on its side. The front faces a decline that opens up into a field.

“Got any ideas?” Phoenix looks at the vehicle. She walks around to the back and pulls the door open. It’s empty, save for the driver’s seat.

The three of them step inside. Dirt and grass sit in place of the long busted out windows. Phoenix looks at the ceiling. On it are the words [TO SALVATION].

“War scared people,” Falcon says.

“Where did they think they were gonna go?” Phoenix asks.

“Anywhere there wasn’t fighting.”

“The whole country was fighting,” Little Wang adds.

“I wonder if they made it,” Phoenix touches the painted words.

Falcon makes his way to the steering wheel. “ Back then? To a place with no fighting?” He finds the wires and starts messing with them. “Point the way.” He strikes wires together and the engine starts then stutters out. “Come on. Come on.” He tries again. This time it works. The engine turns over, sputtering a little but Falcon pushes on the gas pedal, revving it a few times until the motor idles, steadily. “That’s one problem solved.” He releases the wires and the engine shudders off. “Now we just gotta get her on her feet.”

The three of them climb back out of the bus and walk to the front. “We can’t push it,” Phoenix says.

Little Wang looks at the tires then he looks at the decline. The field goes off as far as he can see. Destroyed power lines run back toward the Capital City. “I have an idea. We can drive it right off of this little hill.”

“It’s on its side,” Falcon tells him.

“But if we can get the wheels to spin, it might nudge it just enough to get it to roll to all four tires.”

“Or it might just roll onto its other side. I’m tired of being in rolling cars,” Falcon says.

Phoenix walks down the decline and gets a good look at the front of the bus. “He’s right.” She walks back up. “This thing is angled just right. If the tires can spin it toward there, it might just roll upright.”

“You study physics before the war?” Falcon asks.

“You got any better ideas?”

Falcon stares at her, his mind empty of thoughts on the matter. He turns to Little Wang, wondering if this will really work. “Fine.”

“Get it started and work the wheels a little. Try to get it to lift up some.” Little Wang runs down the decline and stands in front of the bus. “When I tell you, turn the wheels to the right as hard as you can.”

Falcon looks at Phoenix one more time as though expecting her to agree with him.

“If it doesn’t work, we’re still on foot,” she says.

He runs back to the rear door and climbs inside the bus. Phoenix turns her attention to Little Wang who appears excited about his idea.
He’s just hopeful he won’t have to walk.

Falcon strikes the wires again and gets the bus started. He twists them together and revs the engine. Once he’s got it idling, he takes a deep breath and puts his hand on the gear stick. He turns the wheels back and forth and the bus rises, gradually, with each turn. He looks out the front window and sees Little Wang motioning for him to start. Falcon puts the bus into drive and slowly hits the accelerator. He hears the tires rubbing against the grass and pushes a little harder. The bus lurches forward, slightly. He gives it a little more gas and the rear of the bus starts moving to the side.

“Stop!” Little Wang shouts. “Not like that!”

“Falcon, stop!” Phoenix yells.

He can’t hear either of them but he can see Wang waving his arms up and down. Thinking he’s telling him to really go for it, Falcon floors the gas pedal and the rear end of the bus slowly circles around. Falcon looks back to see the world moving by instead of away.
At least it’s moving.

The slow movement gets a little faster. Phoenix leaps out of the way before the bus slams into her.

“That’s the wrong way!” Little Wang shouts one more time. Just as before, his words fall on deaf ears.

Or, at least, ears deafened by the sound of the bus engine. The long vehicle swings around to the decline. Falcon watches as Phoenix runs to the front of the bus and motions for him to turn the wheel. He cuts it to the right just as the rear tires comes to the edge of the decline. The large vehicle pops up a little as the rear wheels move off of the grass and hang over the decline. Gravity does the rest and the weight of the bus carries it downward. Falcon stabilizes himself and keeps the accelerator pressed while the bus, slowly, rights itself.

“It’s gonna roll!” Phoenix shouts. She makes circular motions with her arms.

Falcon turns the steering wheel to the left just in time for all four tires to hit the ground. He quickly sits down in the seat and pushes the gas pedal with his foot, driving the bus down the hill. Once on flat land, Falcon releases the gas pedal and lets the large vehicle coast down to the field.

Little Wang and Phoenix run to the bus door.

Falcon opens the thin double doors. “All aboard.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Little Wang says as he and Phoenix step inside.

“It worked, didn’t it? Now I just hope it can make it up the hill."

Falcon hits the gas and turns the bus around. It’s slow going but the big passenger vehicle makes it back up to flat land, through the parking lot and onto the main road. Phoenix walks to the back to close the rear door. She pauses to watch as their previous car continues to smolder.

“I hope this thing has enough gas in it,” she says loudly.

Falcon looks at the gauges. “Unless these things are broken, we have a little less than half a tank.”

Phoenix walks to the front of the vehicle and sits down against the wall. “It will have to do.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Falcon tells her.

The bus hauls as fast as it can go down the empty road. As they pass a couple of boarded up restaurants, Phoenix stomach growls. “I didn’t realize I haven’t eaten in a while.”

“Should have taken the Emperor up on his offer,” Little Wang says.

“Give me a break,” Falcon ignores Little Wang and grips the steering wheel
.

“What is it?” Phoenix stands and looks toward the front window. She sees two vehicles on the side of the road ahead. Both vehicles start to pull onto the road as they pass.

Falcon’s eyes follow the raised truck and lock with Daken’s as they pass by.