AT THE ROAD OF THE AVALANCHE DROP, a lifeless hand stuck out from beneath the snow.
The other arm burrowed out next, Reeves’ head with oozing bloody from cuts and scrapes delving out. He gasped to breathe before he forced his upper body out of the sepulchre icy, white grave. He gasped for his breath again before both of his arms went back beneath — and heaved the bigger True Bob out...
“You okay, Bob?"
True Bob gasped with hard coughs, and he nodded back in a daze. Their blood was dripping red, on the pale snow. The half-Cherokee then pulled something from beneath...
“I think this is yours,” he said — passing over the Savage 110FP sniper rifle.
They both started laughing in relief that they had survived the mad ordeal run — they started to scrabble their buried bodies, out from the snow pit.
***
The Mustang sojourned twenty yards away from the Canadian armed authorities, the Intersexual rebels threw their rifles and pistols out of the vehicle. Troy was the first to step out of the bullet-ridden convertible — he dropped on his knees, and capitulated with raised arms...
"We all surrender, please don't shoot."
Joe mirrored his actions, with his hands also raised.
Laura got off the Mustang, and she stood beside Troy. She saw...
... two figures coming from behind the armed Canadian soldiers — a Black Intersexual Immigration officer, named Capt. John Halen — and, with him was her sister Roberta.
Dreadful gripping thoughts flashed in the two kneeling AOG rebels’ minds — Troy and Joe —that the brutal Jensen would attack them or even worst, shoot them dead at point-blank — but instead saw Roberta choking in tears, after seeing Laura who had come out of her eighteen years in a coma...
"Laura!" Roberta called out.
Laura took a few steps back — and crouched, shielded herself behind the kneeling Troy — she was afraid to see the grown-up Roberta in person, after learning about her ruthless reputation.
She was evil in her dreams too...
Roberta stepped up, calling...
"Laura, it is me, Robbie," and Laura instantly became defensive...
"I know who you are — stay away from me!"
"Laura, I am your sister, Robbie — I have come to take you home."
"No, you get away from me, you murderer!"
She was clinging on Troy's back, begging him. “Troy, don't let her take me away, please!"
Roberta suspected that she was either suffering memory loss — or experiencing Stockholm syndrome with her deep empathy towards her captors — especially if she was brainwashed by her freak-son Reeves.
Roberta reasoned out aloud...
"No, listen, Laura, they are ones who are the murderers — and those damned shemale rebels — have killed lots of women!”
Capt. John Halen, who was also an Intersexual stood behind Jensen — he felt insulted when he heard the word ‘shemale’— it seemed like being called an N-word at that moment.
"You have murdered my son Reeves — and Truman too!"
Laura crawled over to quickly, picking up Magnum pistol and pointed it up — every armed soldier trained their rifles up, a soldier called out nervously — at her pointing the devastating hand-cannon at them...
“Lady, put the weapon down — now!" A Canadian soldier intervened...
Even Roberta froze a moment.
She had waited for years for Laura’s index-finger to move while she was hospitalized in coma — now, out of coma — that index-finger was the trigger finger...
Roberta soon moved — and went in-between the soldiers and Laura, to shield her...
"Don't shoot her! I am taking my sister back across the border with me!”
Laura was angry. “No, I am not going back!"
Capt. Halen finally stepped into the commotion...
“Looks like your sister don’t wish to follow you, Miss Jensen — so I may suggest you get on that chopper of yours, and go back to where you came from.”
The furious Roberta barked back...
“What do you mean? She is following me back now — and so are these AOG rebel prisoners, who are under FBI’s jurisdiction. They killed 2 Federal agents back there, just now! They will have to go on trial for their terrorist crimes — and for their recent attempt on the life of the President of the United States in Los Angeles.”
The suspended Roberta was sounding like the by-the-book, recently deceased FBI Agent Maxine Harvest.
“Where is Reeves?’
Roberta did not see him, at the Canadian border with the others...
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
“Pardon me, Jensen — you are not FBI!” Capt. Halen intervened...
“It’s best for you to leave now — and you will only come back with proper written authorization — as for the current situation now — and, these people are under the immunity of the Canadian authority, and I don't want you to further threaten nor harass anyone in here, during my watch...
“...now beat, Jensen!”
The Canadian officer knew of Roberta Jensen’s repute across the US border — and how she brutally massacred his kind over there — with the authority of her jingoistic president, who was popularly worldwide known as the despotic Snake-woman.
But, Roberta pointed back at the officer — and disputed acrimoniously...
“You listen here, Haley — now you get me your damn superior to talk to me because you don’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation here — it is all because, your laidback country may not be going through the shit, of what we are facing over there!”
The butch pointed at the two kneeling rebels — and continued to be indignant...
“Look, these two AOG radical fuckers have kidnapped my sister, and all poisoned her mind — till to the point that she does not know who the bad guys are — so listen, I am not leaving here, without the three of them in my custody — do you get me, Capt. Halen?”
“I don't give a jack-shit to what you say and demand over here, Jensen — because over here it is my call (you can quote me too, in your CNN TV interviews) — that I am ordering you now, to get on your chopper and go the hell home — or else — I will throw your decorated ass in the Canadian prison!’
The angry, unarmed Roberta looked around in desperation at the pressuring Intersexual in uniform — and then eyed her sister, before barking...
“Laura, you are coming with me, right now!”
Laura looked back in disgust and loathed...
“No, Robbie, get lost! I never going anywhere near you ever — I would rather kill myself than go back with you!”
Roberta really felt her sister’s bitter umbrage.
She glowered deeply back at her older sister, before taking something out of her pocket — and she tossed it at Laura's chest...
Laura saw the Mimi pendent in the chain, dropping on the tarmac.
Laura placed the Magnum down, and picked up her pendant and palmed it — crying again in thoughts, of giving it earlier to Reeves for good-luck.
Roberta turned her head to the kneeling Big Joe — he froze when she stared...
These were the lowlifes her wife Lilya too was protecting.
Roberta snatched up her Magnum from the road...
“This is mine, you fat-fucking bitch!”
Everyone witnessed Roberta storming away towards the FBI chopper.
Troy saw Laura crying alone, and he hugged her. Everyone looked at the Bell helicopter lifting off, blowing the snow off the ground.
Roberta looked out at Laura from the chopper, for one last time...
It was now to her advantage that Laura was unaware that the pendant had a tracker in it — and Roberta would return back — someday soon and surreptitiously abduct her.
The chopper flew away towards the US border.
Capt. John Halen walked towards Joe, who was still on his knees — beside Troy and the crying Laura...
“You all are the Preacher's followers?”
“We used to be — but the Preacher is now dead,” Joe replied to him forthright.
“Well — the mess has ended, now go in peace,” the Canadian said.
“What Sir? We are free to go?”
It surprised all of the three Americans.
“Yes, but just one simple rule to abide — no more guns for you all when you are here in Canada. Other than that, I don't see any reasons to hold you.” John Halen looked at his watch — and then pointed at the hills ahead...
“I got a ton of paperwork to do about that shit that happened over there. Now the three of you — get lost from here, before I change my mind.”
Troy stood and noticed a female Immigration officer searching the Mustang — opening the dashboard compartment — and confiscating the flare gun. Troy turned to Capt. Halen...
“Captain Sir, you can have the flare gun after I fire it one last time — it will be in memory, of my two other friends who one of them is Laura’s own son — both of them, buried in the avalanche out there.”
The Canadian captain paused briefly, looking at Laura — before he nodded...
Troy was given the flare gun by the other officer — he raised it up — and shot it in the air above...
The burst flashed splaying into the dawning sky.
He then handed the gun back to Capt. Haley and thanked him. Laura got into the backseat, and Joe started the car and drove ahead — he detected lots of clanking and creaking sound from the Mustang.
Joe turned towards Troy beside him — whispering something incongruous, to break the silence with everyone — still lamenting even after entering Canada...
“Seriously, it is time to change our car.”
“Now how on earth are we going to afford that, Fat-boy?”
Joe lifted his T-shirt up — and revealed four fat stacks of US dollars strapped on his tubby belly — Troy was surprised and he asked, where he got it from...
“How on god’s earth, did you ‘hit a lick’ like that?”
Joe giggled with a teasing tone — as he had almost kept a secret hidden from them, for almost a week...
“I got that from that woman — whom we gave the gasoline to before we went into the cannibal town. She gave it to me, and I know that Reeves was really mad at her back at that time — and he may have refused in accepting it — but seriously dude, this is lots of money to pass up — so I held on to it — for us.”
Troy laughed at the good fortune in this new country, which they would be living in for now.
He finally too understood why Joe acted as a ‘tycoon’ and had wanted to pay in cash — for Haley Eastman’s ration in Wellsville back then, while they were low on food ration.
Troy glanced over at the disconsolate Laura — seated detached in the backseat, with deep thoughts — her fingers were twisting her mother’s pendant chain, which she had worn back on her neck...
Something then caught Troy’s eyes, from behind her...
“Joe, stop the car, hey look! Laura — look over there!”
They all looked over towards the US border...
They beheld another flare that was shot in the sky over the hills — where the avalanche had hit them earlier....
Joe was laughing aloud now, totally overjoyed...
“It is Reeves and the Chief — they survived!” Hesitantly, Laura reacted...
“Are you sure, Joe — are they both, really alive?”
“Yes Mimi, I grew up with that stubborn douchebag all my life — and my bro-instincts are pinging strong, to say that — Reeves is really-really alive over there!”
The three hugged each other in exult.
***
Over at the US soil, Reeves saw True Bob dropping the flare gun, on the snow — after he had fired it.
Judging by the flare that was shot after the FBI chopper that flew past them earlier, Reeves assumed that the three detached team-members — had not been taken over the US border...
“It is good to know that they managed to make it into Canada,” Bob said out — and Reeves nodded subtly in agreement...
“Yeah, Mimi is in good hands with Troy and Joe — the three of them will be safe over there for now.”
“So are we going to find our way into Canada?”
Bob asked nonchalantly — even though he knew the high possibilities of them being gunned down, the minute they could reach the US Immigration border ahead. Reeves was looking at his sniper rifle in his hands — which was given to him by the ‘late-Preacher’ at the Mojave Desert for an infuse mission — that he had always sidestepped...
“No Bob, not yet — I still have got a lot of unfinished business here.”
“Okay then Commander Reeves, I will tag along with you — the Universe is saying that it will be a while before I can catch up with Troy — and get my hundred and thirty bucks back, which he owed me in prison. He better pay me back, with interest this time.”
True Bob humoured, and patted the stolid looking Reeves’ shoulder.
The two of them started to scale along the snowy terrain. They intended to walk ten miles back undetected — towards the destructed Army base — where nearby at the higher ground, was True Bob's chopper bike...
It would be their temporary ride back, on to their next destination — to Washington DC.