Pride of the Veld

Andrea and decide he had a more efficient method of subduing him. It pushed Danie to act now, before Geo arrived back at camp and embroiled himself in the middle of this mess.
    Danie raised the rifle and carefully aimed, checking the area one last time through his scope before firing. He watched blood spray into the air in a fine red mist as the bullet caught the man in the shoulder. The force of the bullet spun him off Andrea and into the dirt. He roared in pain, scrambling to reach behind for his gun.
    Andrea had rolled over and was grappling with the man to control the pistol. Fuck. There wasn’t much Danie could do while Andrea was in the way; he was regretting not picking a more permanent placement for the bullet. Sliding down the face of the rise and ignoring the scrapes along his back, he managed to keep his feet and propel himself forward until he was within a few feet of the struggling men.
    “I wouldn’t, friend ,” Danie hissed. “Kick the gun over to me. Drea, are you okay?”
    Andrea was gasping in pain, trying to move his arms gingerly. His shirt was bloody from his reopened wound, and the side of his face was covered with blood from the impact of the bullet. He looked pissed. “I’ll live. Fucking bastard kicked me.” He reached carefully for the handgun lying in front of him. His assailant was now settled on his knees, hands held in front of him as Danie moved closer.
    “What a mess.” Danie muttered under his breath . He held out a hand to Andrea to give him some leverage to stand, all the while he keeping his eyes and rifle trained on the other man.
    The man was still bleeding freely, and Danie knew he’d have to do something about that soon unless they wanted a body on their hands. Always so much easier to hand them over still breathing. The authorities were less likely to make a fuss over a little bodily damage.
    “Friend of yours, Drea?” he asked. Andrea barely looked able to stand. He was as pale and shaky as the other man, and twice as bloody.
    “Karl’s just the muscle. Botha― or Ronson I guess, just took off after someone. I was hoping it was you. I haven’t seen the third one yet…” He trailed off, wincing as he gripped his arm.
    “Keep that on him, and shoot if he gives you any trouble. I need to get something to stop all this bleeding, then I’ll go find Geo. He can keep out of trouble on his own, but eventually he’ll be back here trying to rescue us. Can’t let him have all the fun, can we?” Danie’s words were light, but the tone was wrong even to his own ears. Andrea gave him a sympathetic look before wincing again.
    Danie ducked into the tent to grab the red backpack where Geo had the medical supplies stashed. He paused a moment, going in deeper for his own duffle. In a side pocket was his collection of tape, string, wire, and yes! He found his assortment of zip ties. Opening the package of longer straps, he extracted three before heading back to Andrea.
    “First things first, Drea.” Danie knelt behind the other man. “What’s your name, friend ? And while you’re thinking of a lie to tell me, please note that Andrea will happily put a bullet into that head of yours if you move your little pinky. Yes? If you play nice, I’ll see what I can do about stopping the bleeding in your shoulder. Otherwise, I’m not too concerned about you living to see another day. Do we understand each other?” He poked the man in his wounded shoulder, until he got a grunted response.
    Satisfied, Danie quickly zip tied the man’s hands behind his back before strapping his feet together, as well. He wasn’t moving very quickly now. Andrea eased into a nearby chair and laid the gun in his lap. He was pale and shaking, and Danie wished Geo was there… for so many reasons. He focused on the chore at hand and wrapped the wounds of both men in pressure bandages. It would have to do for now. Danie’s head and heart both screamed at him to find Geo.
    “Go Danie. Go get him. I’ll babysit.” Andrea was still drawn, but his color was slowly returning.
    Danie handed him a warm Coke from Geo’s medical bag and nodded. “I’ll drag him into the shade. I think he’ll be fine out of the sun for now. You should go lie down.”
    “I’ll think about it.” Waving him away with the Coke, Andrea settled deeper into his chair, taking a sip, grimacing at the taste. Danie felt himself smile, and he leaned down, pressing his lips against the man’s brow. “Be well, Drea.” The