Chapter 25

The bus trundled along the highway, Razmik at the wheel with O'Connor in the passenger seat beside him. Homer was reclined on a long couch at the back, engrossed in a stack of newspapers, trying to absorb as much information about the modern world as he could. Ardia lay stretched out perpendicular to Homer, her head resting comfortably on his massive chest as she gazed out the window.

Abe sat in a corner of the bus, pretending to clean his pistol but his eyes kept flicking over to Homer and Ardia.

Homer, feeling Abe's eyes on him, finally couldn't resist and spoke up, "Abe, are you looking at me?"

Abe quickly averted his gaze, pretending to be absorbed in cleaning his pistol. "What? Me? No, I'm just looking out the window, enjoying the scenery."

Homer raised an eyebrow, his expression doubtful. "You sure about that? Because it feels like you're staring at me."

Abe chuckled, "Nah, just checking out the passing trees and buildings. Nothing to see here, big guy."

Homer leaned forward, his massive frame causing the bus to tilt slightly. "You know, I can tell when someone's watching me. I have keen senses."

Abe smirked, unable to contain his amusement. "Alright, alright, you caught me. I was just admiring your reading skills. It's not every day I see a massive ape-human hybrid reading newspapers like a scholar."

Homer grunted in response, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Well, at least now you know that I can do more than just lift heavy things and scare bad guys."

Ardia, who had been lost in thought, suddenly perked up at the sound of laughter and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Homer flashed a mischievous grin and, with a twinkle in his eye, replied, "Oh, just Abe here admiring my rugged good looks. Can't blame him, really."

Abe, caught off guard but trying to play along with the banter, said, "It's hard to resist such a captivating presence, what can I say? You'd know all about that, wouldn't you Ardia."

Ardia rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Oh, please. As if anyone could resist the irresistible charm of our resident giant reading newspapers like a pro."

The tension between Abe and Homer lingered for a moment, a hint of something not entirely pleasant passing between them. As their gaze locked, Razmik, sensing the atmosphere, interjected from the front of the bus in an exaggerated, fake Massachusetts accent. "Hey, you kids playin' nice back there? 'Cause if you ain't, I swear on my mother's baked beans, I'll turn this bus right around!"

Ardia, feeling the need for a distraction from the tension in the air, got up from her spot and walked over to the fridge. She retrieved a water bottle, took a sip, and then mused out loud, "Where could Stryker have gone off to?"

O'Connor absently said, "Well, he's spent an awful lot of time cooped up at the compound these past few months. My guess is he's gone off in search of some lady company."

Ardia raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. "Stryker? Does he even have a girlfriend?"

O'Connor let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, he has about as many girlfriends as he does credit cards, my dear."

Razmik, unamused by the topic, added in a dry tone, "Well, if he's off whoring, it's not on the Order's expense accounts anymore. I'm the one paying his credit card bills now."

Ardia's eyes brightened with an idea as she suggested, "Don't you have some kind of app or system to track spending on your account? Maybe we can see where Stryker has been if he's been using the cards we gave him."

Razmik, surprised by the suggestion but intrigued, nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, of course, we probably have a way to track his spending. It might not have come through yet, but either I or one of my boys can check when we make our next stop."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Ardia leaned in, "And where is our next stop, exactly?"

He replied, "Well, we're going to make our way from Armenia to Turkey, but we'll be taking a bit of a detour through Georgia. I have extensive connections in both countries that will make our passage much smoother. It's necessary to go through Georgia because of the border situation with Armenia."

Homer asked, "What's the problem with the border situation between Armenia and Turkey?"

Razmik sighed, "Ah, well, that's a tricky one, my friend. The relationship between Armenia and Turkey has been... complicated, to say the least. There's a long history of conflict and tension between the two countries, making crossing that border a challenge even for someone with my connections."

He continued, "But fear not, I have some tricks up my sleeve that should hopefully smooth our passage. It won't be easy, but with a bit of finesse and some help from my network, we should be able to make it through without too much trouble."

O'Connor, eyebrows raised, asked, "It won't be an issue to bring our small arsenal, and Homer, through the border given the difficulties?"

Razmik replied, "Oh, the way has been smoothed, my friend. You should know better than to doubt my abilities in these matters."

Looking every bit as claustrophobic as he was really growing, Homer asked, "Will we be stopping soon?"

Razmik nodded and said, "Yes, we'll be stopping at a campsite in Georgia. It's a forested area where you'll be able to get out and stretch your legs at night when there's nobody around to see."

Homer, feeling relieved but still a bit impatient, mentioned, "I was promised coffee shops."

Ardia shrugged and made a humorous comment, "Well, I may have been a little dishonest in my motivations for the trip. But hey, consider it an adventure."

Some hours later, the bus parked at fuel station, Razmik scrolled through his phone while Homer eagerly peeked through the curtains at the shop nearby. Ardia and Abe had stepped off the bus to gather supplies.

O'Connor, watching Homer's nosy behavior, admonished him, "Homer, you need to stop peeking through the blinds like that. Someone might see you."

Homer retorted, "I look human enough with my hair shaved, no one will suspect a thing."

O'Connor couldn't help but laugh and replied, "You look human enough with a trench coat and a hat pulled down low. But with your uncovered face peering out the window, well, at best they'll have nightmares, at worst, they'll call someone."

Homer shushed him, saying, "They said they'd bring coffee. I just want to see if they'll bring coffee."

O'Connor lamented, "Do we really think it's a good idea to continue this bus ride with you hopped up on caffeine?"

An exclamation of curiosity from Razmik caught their attention. Homer turned to face him, and O'Connor asked, "What is it?"

Razmik muttered under his breath, "What's that bastard up to?"

O'Connor approached Razmik, leaned in to look at the phone, and asked, "What bastard?"

Razmik replied, "Stryker."

Ardia, ascending the steps of the bus with Abe, both carrying snacks and a cardboard tray of coffee cups, asked, "What about Stryker?"

Homer rushed forward, the whole bus creaking on its suspension as he moved. Ardia sternly told him to sit down. He did, looking sulky but with eager eyes still fixated on the tray of cups, he asked, "How many of those are for me?"

Ardia said, "One, Homer. One's enough."

Homer's expression remained a bit sulky, but his eyes eagerly followed the cups.

Ardia repeated, "What about Stryker?"

Razmik explained, "Some charges have come through on the credit cards. They're a bit slow with updating transaction history, so some stuff shows up straight away, while other charges can take a few days."

Ardia asked, "And? What's he been up to?"

Razmik replied, "He's been buying airline tickets."

O'Connor, more interested now as he accepted a cup of coffee from Abe, inquired, "Where's he going to?"

Ardia handed Homer his cup of coffee, sternly warning him, "If you misbehave on this, then there's no more for the rest of the trip."

Homer dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand, still focused on his coffee. Ardia smiled at his childish behavior. She reached out a hand and stroked his huge forearm with the back of her fingers. For a moment the gesture caught his attention and Homer lifted his eyes from his precious cylindrical cardboard treasure to hold her gaze from a lingering moment. Then he swiftly returned to the precious contents of the cup. Abe observed the intimate interaction between Ardia and Homer, a dark look on his face.

Razmik continued, "I don't have the receipts, but I can see that he bought some tickets on RyanAir."

O'Connor mused, "Where could he fly to from Armenia?"

Razmik, absent-minded and deep in thought, said, "He can get to many hubs from Armenia— Istanbul, Paris. From there, he could go anywhere in the world."