chapter 3.4

"Where is it to now?"

"We'll meet up with the others in Paelen then we're off to another job."

He groaned, "Already?"

Rickon ignored his complaints and drove through the sand in silence. I watched the array of stars move across the sky, trying to block out the throbbing in my wrists, while the car bounded over dunes of sand.

I aroused from my half doze when the truck pulled to a stop. It seemed that we'd left the desert behind, it was true that the journey was a little smoother for some time now, when I looked out the window, endless sand dunes had been replaced with little shrubs and it seemed we'd been driving on an actual road for a couple of miles.

"they're late." Rickon grumbled, drumming his finger on the steering wheel.

After a couple minutes there was the soft rumbling of a car engine, and I watched in the wing mirror as a white old beaten up truck pulled up beside us. Rickon climbed out to greet them, "What took you?" he snapped.

"Just a few unforeseen issues." Leon answered coldly.

"Were you fully briefed?"

"yes sir."

"Good. Lets get going then, and I don't have to remind you that being late can be fatal in this line of work." He added harshly.

Leon dipped his head, "I understand." He mutters.

Without giving a reply, he strides back to our car and starts the engine. Leon only lingers for a moment in the rear-view mirror, before returning to his own car and thrusting it into life.

We travelled for the rest of the night and the following day, stopping for few pee breaks in between, we didn't eat so my stomach was a hollow cave by the time we pulled up on the side of the road and began hiking through the terrain. The steppe had been replaced by large expanses of grey rock about ten miles back, but even then, the rock was hot and harsh on the feet.

They hiked fast, within five minutes I was struggling at the back of the pack five paces behind the rest of them, taking two large steps for their every one. I mindlessly followed the backs of their heads as we headed west, the sun boring into the nape of our necks as sweat soaked our clothes. There was nothing but grey rock, the sun and the sky for as far as the eye could see.

About mid-day, the rock dropped off into a shallow canyon. I couldn't believe my luck when Rickon started to climb down it. I watched each of the men wordlessly followed after him until I was the only one left standing at the edge of the plateau. I peered over the edge and I'm stuck with sudden vertigo. There's no way I can climb that! It was about sixty feet of uneven rock before it levelled out into a plate before another twenty feet or so before reaching the bottom.

"We won't come back for you kid! Follow or die. Your choice." Rickon's voice echoed up the canyon. I peered over again, I counted eight heads rapidly descending the canyon with rapid speed and methodological accuracy that almost wasn't human. No man showed fear or hesitation, as if they were unaware that one wrong footing could end their lives. Follow or die. I chose to follow. The hardest part was letting my weight shift from my top half of my body (still clinging to the edge) onto the footing I had on the vertical rockface.

lead dropped through my stomach and my balance shifted from my shoulders to my feet which immediately slipped on the loose rock underfoot. A gasp escaped my mouth as I desperately grasped the edge of the cliff and tried to regain my footing. I could hear the men ascending below me, I knew they were far below, but I couldn't bear to twist my body to look. My palms sweated and chaffed against the rock, but I daren't loosen my grip. Each movement was agonising and slow, I checked and double check my footing before putting my weight onto the foot holds. Even then, there we times where I slipped on rock that'd worked loose, and I desperately grappled at the side of the cliff face, searching frantically for another foothold before my arms couldn't take the weight anymore. Then I'd take a moment to calm my racing heart before continuing my decent. After an eternity my feet hit the rock of the ledge, and all the tension escapes from my pours. Only then do I peer over the edge at the progress of the other men; Rickon had already reached the ground and was impatiently waiting just inside the shadow of the cliff. I had to assume that the others weren't far behind. I steadied myself before doing it all again.

My legs gave way underneath me when I finally reached the ground, they buckled under the release of pressure and I fell straight on my arse. The squad had already left, their backs were disappearing in the meander of the canyon; I scramble onto my feet and chase after them.

When I reach them there are three cars parked the width of the canyon at odd angles as if they'd just skidded to a halt. As I neared their group, a man and a woman got out of the cars to meet Rickon. I silently watched their exchange.

"Look, we're sleeper agents- spies- we're not meant to be kidnapping government agents just because your boss tells us to." The man complained. He was a small ratty man dressed in a suit, wearing an entitled expression.

"I don't care what you're meant to be doing, if someone is of higher authority, you follow their orders. Regardless of what you were originally assigned, this is all for Garlantia. You can go now, don't ruin the mission because you're a little bit scared. Have a bit more backbone."

The man in the suit recoiled, taken back at his bluntness and a little offended. But he knew better than to argue with Rickon. "Come Xian, we have our orders." The women beaconed him expressionless, and the ratty man reluctantly turned tail and climbed roughly back into furthest car, where a second man already sat. Without another word the women returned to the drivers seat of the same car, leaving the other cars vacant. Not long after the engine roars to life, and in a cloud of dust, they're gone. Few words were exchanged and apart from the ratty mans outburst, there was something strangely mechanical about it.

No-one watches them leave, by the time the women climbed into the drivers seat, they'd already been forgotten, and Rickons focus was entirely on the outcome of the exchange. He snatched the keys out of the ignition and opened the boot. Inside was the body of a man, his legs tied together, his knees forcefully bent towards his chest so that his large frame could fit in the boot with his arms bound behind him. He also wore a gag and a blindfold, but even then, the change in light caused him to wince and he tried to say something through the gag.

"It's him." Jay assessed.

Rickon grunted a response and whipped off the blindfold and removed the gag. The man groaned against the bright light of the afternoon sun.

"What is your name?" Rickon asked the man.

"Go fuck yourself!" the man cursed. Rickon signed, then viciously lashed out, punching him in the face.

The man laughed hysterically, exposing blood stained teeth behind his cracked lips.

Rickon jabbed him again in the stomach, thrusting a painful gasp out of the mans' throat.

"Your name." Rickon glared.

"I'm not telling you bastard's anything."

"Don't make it hard for yourself, I'm just asking your name, you need to save your strength for the real questions later. Believe me, I'm just getting started." Rickon twists his arm up until his shoulder starts to creek and balls of sweat sneak down his bloodshot face as he attempts to hold in his cries of pain.

"Louis Grey." He spat, breathing heavily through his teeth.

"Good." he is released, and his whimper of relief is cut short as the boot slams shut on top of him.

"In the cars- all of you. Boy, you're with me." he instructed, and I scrambled in the seat behind him, strongly aware of the beaten man, lying inches from my back.

Within seconds, the engines roared to life and we continued West until the setting sun blurred our vision. All the travelling and the near-death experiences of the day made me tired, and I watched the barren terrain through cracked eye lids, too tired to be fully awake, but not relaxed enough to sleep.