GhostWalkers 10 - Samurai Game

boat.
    Ryland’s team returned, looking as dejected as he felt. Kadan gave his report. Ryland’s echoed it. The port was too heavily guarded to chance it. They’d have to move on.
    Firefly has our ride in place.
Sam was glad to give some good news.
Rye, the problem both in the general’s office and the one you wanted addressed has been taken care of.
    Ryland’s nod was barely perceptible, but he looked pleased.
    It was a long, slow walk skirting the town. Several times they ran into dogs, but Gator quieted them before they could bark and give the team away. On the other side of town, they once again split into two teams for another recon. Almost immediately Sam spotted a van. The vehicle didn’t look in much better shape than the truck had been, but it was transport. Old and rusty, the paint chipping, it would at least provide concealment as well as needed transportation. From what Sam had seen, most of the vehicles—and there weren’t many—were in the same condition.
    Gator and Sam crept slowly to the edge of town where the vehicle sat. A dog barked somewhere close and Gator turned his head toward it. The dog let out a soft whine and ceased barking. Sam went down on one knee and guarded Gator’s back while the Cajun hot-wired the van. Gator sent Sam a triumphant grin when the van rumbled to life. Sam jumped in on the other side and they got out of there quickly. A quarter mile away, they paused at the edge of the road long enough for the others to jump in the open side door.
    “Wonderful carriage,” Kyle quipped.
    “Nice work,” Ryland commented.
    The van creaked and moaned, but it was running and that was all that counted. They only needed to get another ninety-two miles according to the GPS. Having a vehicle, even though it was rusted in three spots on the floorboards, allowing them to see the road beneath flashing by, meant they would make their destination by daybreak.
    It was a long trip as a few more cars occasionally shared the road with them. Once a truckload of soldiers rumbled past and all of them held their breath, grateful the van was closed and nearly impossible to see into in the dark. Gator simply slowed and moved to the side, allowing the truck to rumble past them.
    “Stop strokin’ that gun, Kyle,” Gator said. “You’re makin’ me nervous. I’m thinkin’ you’re about to make love to the damn thing.”
    “She is purty,” Kyle said, giving the gun one last caress, his eyes watching the truck ahead. “Slow down a little, and let them get ahead of us, Gator.”
    “What if they put up a roadblock?” Jonas asked.
    Ryland opened one eye. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Can the chatter and let me sleep. We’ve got swimming to do and I’m getting too old for this shit.”
    “Do they have sharks off this coast?” Jonas asked.
    Sam snickered. “You and those sharks, Jonas.”
    “I have nightmares, man,” Jonas protested.
    “I’ll feed you to a damn shark if you don’t let me sleep,” Ryland drawled.
    Kadan and Nico exchanged amused glances.
    Ryland opened both eyes. “I heard that. I’m not
that
old.”
    They all laughed and tension eased now that the truckload of soldiers was well up ahead of them. They drove through the night and made it to the coast just before dawn broke. Working fast, they filled the waterproof bag lining their rucksacks with air. The combination of inflated bags, empty canteens, and removing anything unnecessary would allow them to float their weapons and remaining gear out to the boat with them.
    For what they couldn’t carry, they dug a hole, piled in what was left of the gear, and used the remaining explosives saved for just such an occasion. They always destroyed anything that could later be used against them—or against another team—and anything that might identify them. They detonated the explosives as they waded out to sea.
    Gator turned and waved with a big grin. “Nice meetin’ y’all.”
    “ I s Mari in the tunnel yet?” Lily asked.
    Azami shook her head. “She’s refusing to go and I can’t say that I blame her. She wants guns and ammo. Briony took her twins down and she has Daniel. I’ve got Eiji with them and no one will get past him. He knows that they’re the main target and he’ll guard them with his life. We need all the available trained soldiers up here. I told Daiki to stay with Mari.”
    “Mari will lose those babies if they get to her and try to make her move.”
    “She’ll lose them