Before dawn, they walked.

The plan was simple enough: Solomon, King, Woody and Neckbone would head towards King's shop. Rocko and Khalid would stay several yards away and set up a distraction which involved an explosion. Khalid and his brother had sold fireworks at the Kwik Stop, including some that weren't even legal in South Carolina, and they had managed to sneak some out of a storage unit near the outskirts of town where they had stored them a week earlier.

Rocko and Khlaid would set them off and run. This would distract any of Babul's men and give King and Solomon the time they needed to get in, grab the weapons from the secret stash and get out. It seemed Babul had underestimated how hard it would be to patrol the border of such a large area, so his men were spread very thin as is and it didn't help that half of them were always on patrol looking for them. If the fireworks went off, anyone in the area should run towards them. That's when they'd make their move.

But first they had to go there and that was the hard part. The old gym was far from down and required them avoid patrols they'd been both avoiding and studying for weeks. They knew the routes they took and the approximate time it took to patrol, but it was still risky.

They stayed low through the brush and trees, all armed They'd tried to stay in the thick growth of the woods, even if it meant getting struck and stuck by every blackberry brier in their path. They were guided by pre-dawn moonlight. It was a new moon and shined on them like a spotlight, but over the horizon faint blue had begun to appear: the sunrise.

It was a delicate balance: stay in too thick brush and it would move and draw attention, but stay out of it and they'd be too open and easily spotted.

Solomon looked at the brush and shook his head. He was having flash backs again. This was far from the jungles of Southeast Asia, but it was bringing back memories all the same. In the bush, he'd been an excellent tracker. Among the best. But here his paranoia was getting to them. He felt like Charlie was going to jump out behind every tree to get him.

Soon he had gotten about King and Woody and felt one with the forest. He instinctively dipped his hand into a muddy puddle and smeared the mud on his face in streaks. He felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately his stick was against King's adams apple. He looked at him wide eyed.

"You okay?" he asked nervously.

Solomon took a slow breath to calm himself.

"I'm fine nigga. Shut the fuck up" he whispered.

He examined the puddle closer. There was a boot print in it. It was fresh. Neckbone sniffed at it and looked at Solomon, tail wagging, as if to confirm.

He pointed to it and Woody and King nodded and then he pointed in the direction it was headed, away from them. They forged ahead, drawing closer to the edge of the woods and civilization -- at least what was left of it. Solomon hoped Rocko and Khalid were doing as well as them.

The sunrise was now fully upon them. There was now light to see, which was good, but that also meant light to see them.

Solomon stopped. More foot prints. Again they were going in the opposite direction. Still, there was a clearing ahead and this made Solomon nervous. He'd go ahead and check it out from a different vantage point before they all crossed.

He put a hand up, telling Woody and King to stay put. They nodded. Neckbone sat obediently.

Solomon, staying low, moved forward. He'd gotten halfway across the clearing when he saw it: a random footprint in a soft spot in the ground going in the opposite direction as the previous ones. He then saw the rest, leading off into a nearby clump of brush.

"Shit" Solomon muttered.

"Hands up, don't move!" the man who emerged from the brush pile shouted at Solomon. He was holding an AK-47.

"Drop your weapon!" he shouted.

Solomon didn't want him to get too loud and alert anyone else, then it would definitely be over. Right now there was still a chance. He dropped the stick.

"Alright bitch, you got me..."

The brown skinned man with long hair and a long beard was wearing a black face mask, but Solomon could see he was young and could see the glee on his face.

"I got him... I got the infantile..." he muttered to himself. "Babul will reward me richly!"

But he was also nervous and Solomon could tell.

"Don't move!" he shouted again, as if on cue, and began reaching for his radio. If he did that it was over. Solomon hoped King and Fed wouldn't be stupid enough to fire a shot and alert everyone. That would ruin everything. So far, though, even though they had clear shots and were unseen, they hadn't done it.

Solomon had one trick up his sleeve, but just as he was about to whistle for Neckbone to attack the Jihadist went limp, his entire facial expression changed and his eyes went white. He fell forward immediately, revealing the arrow in the back of his head.

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Solomon picked up his stick and pointed it forward.

"Who goes there! Show yourself motherfucker!"

From the brush a figure emerged in hunter's camo, holding a bow. They had a quiver of arrows on their back and a pistol strapped to their side.

"Whatcha gonna do with that stick from way over there, old man?" the figure said. It was a woman's voice or so he was pretty sure, because it was husky with a thick Southern drawl.

"Depends on what ya gonna do with that bow" Solomon responded.

"Nothin' I ain't gotta do" the woman said and pulled down a hood to reveal her face. She had short cut black hair, a lip piercing and a slightly chubby face, although awhile she wouldn't when a beauty contest, she wasn't bad looking. She did have nice teeth as she grinned at Solomon. Solomon looked her over. Normally he didn't take to white folks, least not right away, but there was something about this big gal he liked. She had an honest face.

He lowered his stick.

"That's better" she said. "Seems like you and me are on the same side of things..."

"How's that?" Solomon said, raising an eyebrow.

"The enemy of my enemy..."

"...is my friend" Solomon finished.

"Your the boys they've been looking for" she said. "I hear them over their radio. They're not the brightest bulbs in the drawer. Why don't you tell your two friends and your cute dog to come out so we can all introduce each other..."

Solomon looked over at the brush where King, Woody and Neckbone were hiding and nodded to them. They slowly came out.

"That's better" she said, grinning again. "I'm Becca... and you are?"

"Solomon" he said, speaking first.

"I know who you are. From the repair place. I got a CB Radio fixed by you maybe 5 years ago..."

Solomon thought about it for a moment and then he remembered. He didn't get a lot of white customers, but she didn't look like she did now.

"You don't look..."

"Like I used to?" she said, smirking. "Yeah. I look like myself now, I didn't then. I was a prim and proper lady then... only 18. The CB Radio was for my dad. These days I'd use it for myself...."

"That's right" Solomon said, remembering.

"...And you're the guy that runs that black beauty shop, right?" she asked, looked at King.

King smiled and nodded.

"Never had much cause to go in there. Not exactly got the right hair type" she said, snorting as she laughed.

"You should keep your voice down" Woody said, in a serious voice.

"And you..." she said, not missing a beat. "You're that Fed that was lurking around town for weeks before all this shit started thinking he was so slick but was being so obvious. You're lucky these ragheads are so dumb. Truth be told, I thought you might be here for me and all the shine I've been making..."

Solomon really liked her now.

"No, ma'am, I..."

"Whoa! I don't identify as no woman!" Becca responded sternly.

Woody's eyes grew wide and he turned red.

"I'm so sorry I didn't...."

Becca laughed with another snort and slapped her need.

"Oh man... I'm just fuckin' with you, son. I'm all woman, believe me, I'm just a big old dyke... and don't worry, I scouted this whole area. That little bitch right there is the only one for miles right now".

She nodded at the man on the ground and hocked a loogie and spit it on him. King took the moment to take the man's AK-47 and ammo, careful not to touch Becca's snot wad.

"...And this must be the cutest dog in the world!" she said, calling to Neckbone. To Solomon's surprise it went right over and let Becca pet her.

"Used to see this dog by the tracks and bring it deer bones all the time" she said.

Solomon nodded.

"So tell me why?" Solomon asked. "I could just think you were doing this because they've taken over your home... but I can see it in ya eyes... this is personal".

Becca looked at him and suddenly was disarmed. She looked away and held the tears back successfully, clearing her throat.

"You know the woman and the two little girls they.... that son of a bitch.... killed...?"

Solomon nodded.

"My wife and daughters" she managed to choke out, tears running down her cheeks. "That veteran in the uniform they beheaded?"

Solomon nodded again. He knew where this was going.

"That was my Grandpap. They've taken... everything from me... They took everyone from me..."

She gritted her teeth as anger replaced sorrow.

"Well, Becca" Solomon spoke softly. "We're going to get some weapon's from King's shop and then we're going to kill these motherfucking towelheaded niggas... you in?"

Becca snorted, wiped her eyes and nodded hard.

"Well, let's get moving... we're already running late" Solomon said and they began to walk but Becca stopped them.

"I know a better way" she said. "Quicker...."

Solomon paused then nodded.

"Lead the way".