“She’s gassed up,” Quinn said over the sluggish chugging of the engine.
“Good job, man,” Sam said. He jumped into the boat beside Quinn. “Edilio, cast off.”
Edilio whipped the ropes off the cleats and jumped in. “I gotta warn you, man: I get seasick.”
“Not our biggest problem, huh?” Sam said.
“I started it, but I don’t know how to drive it,” Quinn said.
“Neither do I,” Sam admitted. “But I guess I’m going to learn.”
“Hey. Hey.” It was Orc’s booming voice. “Don’t you pull away.”
Orc, Howard, and Panda were at the end of the dock.
“Mallet,” Sam said. “He saw us. He must have told them.”
The three bullies started running.
Sam looked frantically at the controls. The engine was chugging, the boat, unmoored, was drifting away from the dock, but too slowly. Even Orc could easily jump the gap.
“Throttle,” Edilio said, pointing at a red-tipped lever. “That makes it go.”
“Yeah. Hang on.”
Sam moved the throttle up a notch. The boat surged forward and slammed into a piling. Sam was knocked almost but not quite off his feet. Edilio snatched at the railing and held on tight. Quinn sat down hard in the bow.
The bow scraped past the piling and almost by accident ended up aimed toward open water.
“You might want to take it slow at first,” Edilio said.
“Stop! Stop that boat,” Orc yelled breathlessly, pounding down the dock. “I’ll beat your stupid head in.”
Sam steered—he hoped—in the right direction and chugged slowly away. There was no way Orc could clear the distance now.
“Caine will kill you,” Panda shouted.
“Quinn, you traitor,” Howard yelled.
“Tell them I made you do it,” Sam said.
“What?”
“Do it,” Sam hissed.
Quinn stood up, cupped his hands, and yelled, “He made me do it.”
“Now tell them we’re going to the power plant.”
“Dude.”
“Do it,” Sam insisted. “And point.”
“We’re heading to the power plant,” Quinn yelled. He pointed north.
Sam released the wheel, spun, and landed a hard left hook into Quinn’s face. Quinn sat down hard again.
“What the—”
“Had to make it look good,” Sam said. It was not an apology.
The boat was in the clear now. Sam raised his hand, middle finger extended, high above his head, moved the throttle up another notch, and turned north toward the power plant.
“What’s the game?” Edilio asked, mystified. He stood well back from Sam, just in case Sam decided to punch him next.
“She won’t be at the plant,” Sam said. “She’ll be at Clifftop. We’re just going north as long as Orc is watching us.”
“You lied to me,” Quinn accused. He was playing with his chin, making sure his jaw was still attached.
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t trust me.”
Orc, Howard, and Panda disappeared from view, presumably running back to town to report to Caine. As soon as he was sure they were gone, Sam spun the wheel, pushed the throttle all the way up, and headed south.
Drake lived in an empty house just off the plaza. It was less than a minute’s walk away from town hall. It once had belonged to a guy who lived alone. It was small, just two bedrooms, very neat, very organized, the way Drake liked things.
The guy, the homeowner, Drake forgot his name, had been a gun owner. Three guns in all, a twenty-gauge over-under shotgun, a thirty-ought-six hunting rifle with a scope, and a nine-millimeter Glock semiautomatic pistol.
Drake kept all three guns loaded all the time. They were set out on the dining room table, a display, something to be gazed at lovingly.
Now he hefted the rifle. The stock was as smooth as glass, polished to a high shine. It smelled of steel and oil. He was hesitant about taking the rifle because he’d never fired a long gun before. He had no real idea how to use the scope. But how hard could it be?
He slid into the leather strap and tested his shoulders for freedom of movement. The rifle was heavy, and a little long. The rubber-cushioned butt came down to the back of his thigh. But he could manage it.
Then he hefted the pistol. He squeezed the cross-hatched grip and wrapped his fingertip around the trigger. Drake loved the feel of this gun in his hand.
His father had taught him to shoot, using his service pistol. Drake still remembered the first time. The loading of shells into the clip. Sliding the clip into the butt of the gun. Ratcheting the slide to lift a round into place. Clicking the safety.
Click. Safe.
Click. Deadly.
He remembered the way his father had taught him to grip the butt firmly but not too tight. To rest his right hand in the palm of his left and sight carefully, to turn his body sideways to present a smaller target if someone was shooting back. His father had had to yell because they were both wearing ear protection.
“If you’re target shooting, you center the front sight in the notch of the rear sights. Raise it till your sights are sitting right under your target. Let your breath out slowly and squeeze.”
That first bang, the recoil, the way the gun jumped six inches, the smell of powder—it was all as clear in Drake’s mind as any memory he had.
His first shot had completely missed the target.
Same with the second because after feeling the kick the first time, he had flinched in anticipation.