Nomad didn’t answer.
“He should’ve come with us.”
“He made his decision. Besides, there are more important things to—” Nomad said, stopping in mid-sentence. He held for a beat, then said, “What the hell is this?”
Watson brought his eyes forward and saw two people standing in the road, just to the right of center. One was taller and the other one was shorter by a foot or so—both waving their arms. So far, the vehicle hadn’t changed speed. “You’re going to stop, aren’t you? They obviously need help.”
“No time. Plus it might be an ambush,” Nomad said, his foot never leaving the accelerator. “Grab my swords.”
Watson was about to lean over and grab the man’s weapons from the rear seat but stopped when the face of the shorter person came into view. It was a female with glasses and black, shoulder-length hair. “Is that Liz?”
“The doctor?” Nomad said as they zoomed past her on the left.
Watson glanced at Nomad’s feet, seeing his right shoe now hovering about an inch above the accelerator. He obviously hadn’t committed to the idea of stopping but was thinking about it. “Come on. It’s Liz.”
“Who’s the guy with the weapon?”
Watson had only caught a glimpse, but he didn’t want to sound undecided. “That’s Bishop. One of Krista’s guys.”
“Is he a problem?”
“I think he’s solid, but I really don’t know him that well.”
Nomad put his foot on the brake, then turned the steering wheel hard to the left, bringing the vehicle around in a skid across the dirt.
He gave the truck some gas, then let it drift forward at a measured crawl, sliding in next to Liz, who was now on the other side of the road. So was Bishop.
When the truck stopped, Nomad put the transmission into park but left the engine running.
Watson rolled his window down and leaned out. “How the hell did you get out, Doc?”
She pointed to the man with her. “Bishop.”
Watson gave the man a slight head nod. “I don’t know if you remember me or not, but I’m—”
“The cook. Yeah, I remember you,” he answered in a terse tone.
Watson wasn’t sure what that meant, but he decided to ignore it. “Hop in, guys.”
“Hang on,” Nomad said to Watson in what could only be described as a frustrated tone. “Not so fast.”
Watson glared at Nomad. “You’re not thinking of leaving them, are you?”
“What part of ‘no extra weight’ don’t you understand?”
“Then why did you turn around and stop?”
“A moment of weakness. It won’t happen again,” he answered, moving his hand to the shifter.
Watson put his hand out and grabbed Nomad’s wrist, hoping his gesture would stop the man from putting the truck in drive and speeding off. “These are our people. Friends. We can’t just leave them here,” Watson said. “Besides, didn’t Liz save one of yours earlier?”
“A lot of good that did.”
“Look, that wasn’t her fault. She did her job. So did the rest of us—well, sort of. That has to count for something?”
“We can’t afford the weight, Watson.”
Bishop walked to the front of the truck and appeared to be headed to Nomad’s side of the truck.
Nomad grabbed one of his swords and hopped out the vehicle. He held up his free hand in a stop gesture, keeping the blade down at his side. “That’s far enough, Bishop.”
“Easy there, pal, we’re not looking for any trouble.”
“If you take another step, trouble is exactly what you’ll find.”
Watson opened his door and got out, taking a position next to Liz. “Wait. Wait. Wait. We’re all on the same side here.”
“He’s right,” Liz said. “Everyone just take a deep breath.”
Nomad pointed to the right of Bishop. “You need to step back. Now.”
Bishop reversed course toward Liz as the doctor and Watson closed ground to his position. The three of them came together by the front right bumper.
Nomad remained next to the driver side door, his hand still on the sword.
“Have you been to Nirvana?” Liz asked Watson, her face covered with exaggerated wrinkles.
Watson almost couldn’t get the words out, his mind showing him flashes of the carnage that littered the hallways. “We saw what Fletcher did.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. “The kids, Watson. The kids. They killed them all.”
“I know, and it breaks my heart.”
Bishop grabbed Watson’s arm. “What are you doing with Nomad? I thought he was in custody.”
“Long story. But let’s just say he’s on our side now.”
“Where’s Wicks?”
Watson didn’t want Bishop to know the truth about Nomad killing him, even if it was self-defense. It would just turn this situation into one nobody could control. One where someone wouldn’t make it out of here alive. Probably Bishop. “He didn’t make it.”
“Fletcher?” Bishop asked.
“Wicks put up a good fight, but in the end, he was no match.”
Bishop dropped his head and sucked in a breath.
“That’s why we’re out here, though it took a bit of convincing for Nomad to bring me along.”
Liz wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Fletcher has to pay, Watson. He can’t get away with this.”
Watson agreed more than she knew. “That’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”
The truck’s horn blasted three times in succession. “Let’s go,” Nomad said. “We’re losing precious time.”
“You need to take us with you,” Liz said.
Watson shrugged, knowing what she was asking was going to be hard sell. “He’s not going to allow that. Not after we stripped the truck down to damn near nothing for speed. He won’t take on the extra weight. I was lucky he allowed me to go.”
“Then I’ll talk to him. Make him understand,” Liz said, pushing through Watson and Bishop and cruising around the front of the truck, on her way to Nomad.
Nomad held up a hand. “Doc, I know what you’re going to say, but I can’t. We need to go. Now. Every minute puts us farther behind.”
Liz put her arms out. “Just hold on for a second. Hear me out.”
Nomad didn’t respond.
“You need our help,” she said upon arrival.
“With all due respect, ma’am, I don’t need anyone’s help.”
“Well, that’s not true. Not when it came to your little harem. Or are you forgetting the fact that we did help you with your women?”
“And I’m eternally grateful,” he said. “But I can’t take on any more weight. It’ll slow me down to the point where I may never catch up. You want them to pay, right?”
“Of course I do, but—”
“Then I can’t take you. It’s as simple as that. I know what I’m doing here, Doc.”
“You’ll be outnumbered ten to one.”
“Won’t matter. I have justice on my side.”