The Path Changes the Traveler Ch. 04

The rest of me is what fine, decent people like to call white trash. You put those things together and to many people, I'm a pile of trouble looking for a place to happen, that's all.

I was arrested one time because I left the house and forgot that I left the hose on for the lawn sprinkler. But I had a job interview to go to, so I ran back to shut off the water and a cop passed me, going the other way. He saw me running and drove across somebody's grass to turn around. He almost hit me with the car and then he tackled me and held me down with a gun to my head.

If I was running, then I must have done something wrong, right?

So I didn't get the job and I had my clothes torn up from getting tackled by a cop. He looked sad when he found out that I wasn't doing anything wrong. He didn't say he was sorry, either.

They kept me at the police station for four hours and the water ran the whole time. My mother's garden was pretty much washed away by then.

The next week, that same cop came after me again, but it was night time. He pointed his gun at me for nothing, so he woke up in the hospital.

I woke up in the police station because the other cops found me right after that."

He looked out through the periscope opening for a moment, "I had cracked ribs, blood all over my face and in my hair, loose teeth, and I couldn't walk for two days. When I went to the bathroom there was blood in my urine for almost a week.

My father wouldn't speak to me because I embarrassed him. My mother borrowed money to get me out of jail, but I told her no because the cops would only come looking for me and it could only get worse from there.

The judge looked at the charges and my record, and then he gave me a choice; go to prison or join the army and go to Vietnam. I chose the army. He sent me to the state prison farm to work until the papers for the army came through.

I served my tour there and stayed for one more. I didn't want to stay in Vietnam, but I couldn't go back home either. I didn't know where to go and I was about to re-enlist for a third tour, but Morgan offered me work outside, so I took it.

I've learned more than I ever learned in school. They have a great library where we work and I can read all I want to about anything. I don't know what happened. Now I want to learn everything about anything.

I know how to fight because I've always had to know. But in the army, I tried to learn everything that I could from the instructors and they were glad to teach me, so I added to what I already knew.

But I wake up at night on the floor a lot, covered in sweat. I close my eyes and see men that I've killed. Morgan can kill a man from far way. Me, I'm almost always close enough to see into their eyes when they die. I see them in my sleep too."

"But this was after you were with Morgan that time, yes?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Sorry for drifting there."

Sonja nodded, "Is ok. I doing this too sometimes. What happened in Vietnam that time you were saying?"

Priest nodded, "I followed the men chasing Morgan and the others. One by one, I killed them all. I was just too late to save the other two guys. They insisted on going back to look for me. Morgan told them that they had to stay with him. He ordered them not to go back."

He shrugged, "They went anyway."

"Why they did not listen to Morgan?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Over there, you'd get to know who you're with a little bit. You don't have to like them much. But you learn who you can depend on. It feels a little like family. Not much, really. But enough to know who you can trust if you need them.

But a lot of the time, there's a line between the officers and the ones below them.

Those guys thought that Morgan was a lightweight - not a real soldier, because they didn't know him. They thought that he was scared and didn't want them to leave him.

And anyway, splitting up was just a bad idea. Morgan was the one with the radio to call the helicopters, but some guys are just stupid, I guess, or maybe they didn't think that far.

I just knew that I'd seen him around a lot. He didn't go out to supervise and oversee operations. He went out right into the dirt with the rest of us. He always came back from his missions too, and the officers didn't treat him like the rest of the Intelligence officers who came around. Those ones were pretend soldiers - clean uniforms, brand new rifles, because they never went out in the field."

He grinned for a moment, "Morgan always looked like shit every time he came back, so I figured that either he liked to roll around in the mud or maybe he knew what he was doing.

And one thing about Morgan. He can read people. He knew what I was and he knew what I could do for him. That's why he asked for me in the first place."

Priest looked outside through the bulletproof glass in front of him for a moment. From his angle, he couldn't see much other than refracted sunlight, since it was angled for the driver to look through.

"The ride back was quiet and we didn't talk much after he asked if I'd seen the last two and I told him yes and that they were dead too. About halfway back, Morgan nudged me and thanked me for what I did. He said that if I hadn't gone along, he'd have more than likely died with the rest.

We didn't talk after that and I was dropped off at my unit.

About a week later, he was back. I told him no, I didn't want to go. I just told him straight up there was no way that I was going to volunteer again."

He shrugged, "But when the helicopter left, I was on it. I guess that Morgan just has trouble understanding my accent sometimes. We went with only two to four others every time from then on.

Nobody else ever died when I was along."

Priest was silently cursing himself for saying so much about nothing worthwhile. He didn't know why he'd done it, it was just her, he guessed.

He turned to go but Sonja called him back. She struggled for a moment with something that she wanted to say.

Finally, she said, "When I was girl, sometimes my father takes me to one place where he teaching tank drivers. Was army place but was school outside city, yes? Was always when he knows that there not be people there but soldiers - or not many. Was when one teaching time ends and next one does not start for little time when they fix in between classes. Was maybe week long time, I think. My father choose quiet day and come home to take me with him.

He bring me there sometimes. Was way to be together for us. We walk and he brings pack with food so we eat and talk. He was there in this quiet time to see how everyone works to fix ground and things. Tanks make mess and they fix between ... courses. My father tells workers what to fix and I sit in empty class and do my work from school when I waiting for him."

She smiled for a moment as she drove. "Was always special day to me. Everybody knowing him there ..."

Her face changed a little, "Everybody knows that he has no wife, I have no mother. No big bosses there then, only few people fixing things and few soldiers. Was chance for my father take me someplace and be with me. Have to getting up early, long time before sun. Long time to get there, yes?

First time, I was nine. After that, we go two times in year, maybe three.

I was thirteen when he told to me I am big enough to driving tank if I maybe sit on something. I always wanted to do this. First two times we didn't driving anywhere. Was just him teaching me what to do, how to do it, why to do it. I watching him while he driving. Was not place where children could be, but nobody sees me or maybe some know and say nothing."

She smiled, "Really, I think that I was still little bit short and no enough strong, but I liked it.

I liked any day with my father.

Next time, he takes tank to teaching place far away from building. Then, he tell to me sit here and we will drive."

She laughed, "Was hard thing to do! But I get driving better in few minutes and then ... I do not know what happened, but was like I know right away and I drive easy, no trouble.

I shifting, I driving up little hills ... Hard to drive on side of hill. Was little bit hard to drive if we on hill and use mountain brake. Was hard to go again and take mountain brake off and not roll. I stall many times then."

She fell silent for a moment then. When she spoke again, Maddox had to listen hard to pull Sonja's voice out of the rumbling background sounds.

"This is first tank I drive in almost six years.

This is first tank I drive without my father to talk with me. He sit ... where you are now. He is dead now long time.

The ones I learn with, they are all tight to steer, very tight. I only need most steer when I turning. Good men to fix tanks there, yes?"

Priest nodded.

Sonja shrugged, "This one is ... old.

Is like tired tank to me. Pulls to side, then to other side. Here, I cannot make mistake or we all walking. So I need my hands to steering him.

Junah come before to say to me that you help Darotai. She say you take rifle and kill men so fast. Four men.

Me, I am nothing. Only friend is Junah. My mother die when I was little girl. My father was soldier like I say to you, but ... never home. Junah's mother give me place to live with Junah when my father is not home. He was pilot also; fly to different places to teach about tanks.

He die in crash, plane crash. I stay with Junah, go to school, but I have trouble there. That school was for ones who have parents with money. Junah's parents pay for me, but everyone knows I am from poor people, so ... give me trouble always.

Where Junah is from, was little revolution. They call her father back from Moskva to help in government.

Was trap, really.

Junah and me, we go later, on different flight with rest of embassy people. Police come to plane to arrest everyone."

She shrugged, "Revolution is only other word for murder. In beginning, they like smart people - makes them look better, not like bunch of wild men so much, yes? But if they get power, the top ones not trusting the smart ones they want so much before.

We run, Junah and me. We have nothing then. Have to be careful there. They catch you stealing and you lucky they don't cut off hands. We walking everywhere and hide in mountains where Junah is from. Her family has money, but she is not girl who does not know how to live there. She have big family and mother visits them and takes Junah, so she learns everything. How to hunt and get food. Where to look for water in dry dusty mountains, which plants to eat, where animals go, everything.

So hot place in day. So cold at night. Junah show to me place in rocks and say we will sleep there. I think she is crazy, but at night we were very warm.

Sonja laughed, "Old uncle or something, he give to Junah very old gun when we come there. I see she can shoot so easy, never miss and we have food to eat! Junah can live anywhere, I think. But slowly, we come here because men catch us and sell us to slave man that Morgan kill.

But I can drive tank, Maddox. So we not needing to walk, and with Darotai and Junah, and you, Maddox - we can fight maybe, if we needing it.

Can you come closer to me? I cannot let go even little time. Have to holding to steer."

He understood and moved closer and she wanted him to come closer still. "Put head near my head - look out of window with me."

He was straining in the lack of space, but he got there.

Sonja kissed his cheek softly, though too quickly for what she'd have wanted, "Where we go - if we can, I do not think that I have to drive tank. Maybe in little time, you don't have to kill people.

But, thank you for today, Maddox. I like you very much."

He left her to her driving and headed back, thinking that he liked her and her bare chest quite a bit. He'd been careful not to stare and she didn't have much to begin with. But he really liked the way that neither of them had to make much about it.

He tried to remember the last time that he'd felt comfortable with a girl, or anyone. He found that he couldn't - as though that part of his life was a blackboard which someone had erased while he wasn't looking. He'd never liked to think about where his life was going anyway, back then. After that, he didn't like to think about his life at all.

This was still the same thing, he reasoned, but at least he found a hope inside of him that she might be right and one day ...

He didn't try to think about that too hard. He really didn't know what kind of future he could make for himself that didn't require him to be good at the only thing that he knew he was good at.

When he'd been thinking of re-enlisting, for lack of a better option, he'd thought about the girls that he'd known then. He was a different person now. Back then, he'd just been a long-haired rat, just a borderline petty criminal with no options or desire to change. Thinking about it a little more, he reasoned that if he hadn't agreed to the judge's choice, he'd likely be dead by now, or wishing that he was.

Maybe he wasn't that different now, other than the short hair, but he felt differently. He doubted that he'd even want to talk to the girls he'd known back then if he ran into one of them now.

He didn't know about his options, but he did know that he had changed and he also felt the desire to change even more.

He thought about Sonja then and what she'd told him about her life on the run with Junah. He found that he had to give them points for that. He didn't know if they'd get out of this place successfully and if they did, he didn't know if he'd even see her again.

He just hoped that he might.

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Maggie was half way out of the turret with Darotai, telling her where there were turns or sharp bends that the kid would need to slow down for. Her many admonitions were getting a little annoying- or they were until she pointed out that they only had one chance at this and that even a medium-weight ex-soviet tank could be overturned by taking a corner too quickly.

Maggie looked back and then she nudged Darotai, pointing to their right, back behind them at what looked like a wall of dust in the air. Darotai cursed, using words that no one understood.

"I think there must be another road over that hill." She looked ahead and cursed even more. Junah left the translation of the curses that she did understand out.

"That dust is from other tanks. This will be a fight when they see us. They may start shooting."

Maggie felt her heart fall in her chest. "You said there are four tanks around here. We're in one, and we've wrecked one. That dust is from the other two?"

"She says that there are four most times," Junah explained. "From the dust, it is surely more than one. She says that she hopes it is the other two and not someone who knows how to fight in tanks."

Maggie's voice rose, "How can we beat two tanks at the same time?"

She couldn't believe the way that Darotai began to laugh when it was said to her.

Maggie was confused, "Why is she laughing? What's so funny?"

Junah yelled up, "She says that three against us would be a fair fight if your friend can work quickly at loading. Darotai says that the men in those tanks are only men while we are desperate to survive. They are lazy and she knows how to fight with a tank.

She says that it makes us lions - and lions can turn a hunt back on the hunter faster than one can blink.

She yelled toward the front, "Darotai says to slow down and drive around to the back of that building." She looked over through the gunner's sights, "What is that?"

Darotai shrugged, "A place to repair trucks, I think. It will be our hiding place if we can get there before they see us."

As they came around to the rear of the building, chickens and goats scattered and a man began to shout at them. Darotai pointed the top machine gun at him and Maggie told him to be quiet. He left.

They rolled right through the open rear doors and sat idling inside. When he heard about the man, Priest climbed out and jumped down.

He came back inside of five minutes. He didn't say much, only that the man had a telephone, but that as far as he could tell, no call had been made.

He leaned in toward Morgan, "I would have left him alone and only torn out the phone, but he had a radio that started squawking. It was on a command net, so I figured that he was probably part of the government intel network for the way that he jumped when he heard it. He looked at me then and we both knew."

He shrugged, "He lived there alone from what I saw, and for around here, that's a warning flag. Fixing trucks and spying on the neighbors to report them. Great way to show that neighborhood spirit.

From what I read of this place, the president didn't use to be like that. But he's got this vice-president now who's big in the party and he's the strongman now.

Hussein, I think the name was. He's really big on state police.

Look Morgan, this here is right off the rails, what we're doing. I know that you and Maggie are playing the only cards that you've got, but ..."

He shook his head, "Every time we've gone out, then and now, I like to feel the rhythm as it goes to the plan, or something like it.

We lost the truck. I get that, and this tank can get us closer to picking up the plan again. But ..."

"But what?" Morgan asked, "Say it, Maddox. I want to hear what you're thinking."

Priest looked troubled, "How many men were we supposed to kill on this?

None. That was the plan.

As it is, we've been overtaken by events, but I can't hear that nice, comforting clickety-clack that I like to hear so much.

Like this, we're right on the edge of a train wreck and we can't kill everybody, can we?"

Morgan nodded, "If we can just get near to the border and the other truck, we can still get on track."

Priest shook his head, "This might not be much more than a pile of dead people if anything else goes wrong."

He smiled then, "Didja know that the Russian kid driving is a girl?"

He watched Morgan's jaw fall open and Priest liked it and nodded, "She's probably about twenty. Name's Sonja. Nice to talk to and all, just saying."

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Darotai looked their situation over.

"We must to reverse just a little, maybe a meter. Our gun's barrel is showing in the sunshine. Tell our fine loader to load another of the number one shells."

When he heard it, Priest hefted the one of the type that she wanted and passed it on to Morgan.

It only made sense to him, since he was closer and nobody had any room. The one who looked to be the most uncomfortable was Mena, but Priest supposed that all of this from her abduction to now must be like an ongoing nightmare to the daughter of a rich man.

They sat waiting for what seemed like about a half-hour. It was actually less than four minutes before something happened.

When the pursuing vehicles pulled into view, Darotai called down, "I have my wish. More of the militia and not the army - the other two tanks and an MT-LB armored personnel carrier. There are probably a dozen troops inside it."

"Oh fuck," Priest groaned.

She quickly prioritized the threats and fell into the mantra once more.

"Number ONE!" she called out.

"Azimuth: thirty.

Target: tank.

Armour-piercing.

Tell our friend that we will need a second shot as fast as he can load it. They will slow and maybe stop. Even for them, there should be little mystery about where we have disappeared to. I would think of it with my first thought, but we may have luck yet."

As though they'd heard her, the group slowed. Darotai got Maggie inside and she closed the hatch, using her own sight to watch. The lead tank stopped almost directly in front of them a couple of hundred yards off with the rest not far off at all, which was stupid to her mind.