Chapter 44
Pursuit
Ezra continued scanning the area, keeping an eye out for trouble. He noticed when his teammates entered the town, based on the distrustful glances being thrown their way.
“Hi mister,” a child's voice came over the communicators. “What are you doing out here?”
“Minding our own business,” Sarah replied in a cool voice. Ezra saw her flip a coin to a small boy with mocha skin and dense, curly hair. There was something familiar about the kid's huge smile as he snatched the coin and ran off, but Ezra couldn't quite place it...
“And watch where you're going!” Mat yelled after the retreating boy good-naturedly. “Ah, good to get off my feet,” he said with deliberate casualness as they took the outermost table at the open air tavern. “The road out there is hot as thunder-struck's head. Barkeep! Can we get some water and a meal over here?”
Panning to the bartender, Ezra saw the man grimace as he gestured to the lanky serving boy, who ducked into a back room and emerged with two mugs and a plate of what looked like cold ham and hash. “Don't have the hearth going yet,” he growled at Mat, “so you can eat the same as the rest of us.”
“No problem, friend,” Mat said jovially. “Must have been a bad time of it yesterday. We saw smoke coming from this valley like you wouldn't believe. Then again...” He looked around the obviously devastated town. “Maybe you would believe it.”
“Hng,” the barkeep grunted noncommittally, as if the town around him wasn't mostly burned to the ground. “Where was it you said you were from again, friend?” He asked the question in an off-hand kind of way, although his voice sharpened at the last word.
“Just heading home from a little tributary off the Silverstream,” Sarah answered smoothly. “We represent the interests of a minor gem merchant out of Eastpoint, looking to expand. We came by way of the blight road heading here, thought we'd take the scenic route going back.” She looked around in obvious distaste.
“I know the place,” the man behind the bar nodded slowly. “Quite a walk for just the two of you out there.”
“Well, they don't pay us to lay around,” Mat laughed easily. “And we don't want Velor coming down on us for giving Eastpoint a bad name, you know?” He gave another significant look to the burned out section of town. “Who's the fire-kissed in these parts, anyways? And what's he on about with all this?”
“We don't got no fire-kissed out here,” the gangly youth chimed in, scowling. “Don't need one, neither. But one of them Besmirched is comin' out here, sayin' we's part of their territory. But we'll show the blighted sons of–”
“Jeremiah,” the barkeep barked sharply. “I think you forgot to move that barrel out back, boy.”
Jeremiah's eyes widened slightly, then he bowed and hurried sullenly out the back door.
“You seem awful curious about fire-kissed for gem merchants,” the barkeep's hands vanished behind the counter, his voice hard. “Might want to keep that to yourself around these parts.”
Mat was quick to raise his hands in the air. “Whoa, whoa, we're not looking for any trouble, friend,” he exclaimed. “Bad things happen, you know? Just thought we should know who to avoid. Can't blame a man for that, what with the ground burnt black as far as the eye can see.”
Mat and Sarah received calculating looks, then the man sighed. “Been a little tense,” he mumbled. “Stephen over there is the only fire-kissed you'll find for a hundred miles around here, and he was just kissed yesterday. Boy woke up with it right in the middle of the firestorm that did all this.” A sweep of his hand encompassed the destruction. “ Must've been a little spark out in the brush... the wind caught it up and it got out of control.” His voice took on a quiet intensity. “That boy saved us all as surely as I'm standing here talking to you. My advice? You two should pack up all your questions and head back to your thundering gem merchant. You won't find anything you're looking for out here. But you might find something you're not.”
Mat gave Sarah a significant look. “Well, I was tired of sitting down anyways.”
“If you can't find happiness on the road,” Sarah grumbled, “where can you find it?” She dropped several coins on the table and nodded to the bartender. “My thanks for the meal. Good luck to you.”
They rose and left, angling through the ruined section of town, following the road out opposite the way they had come in. Ezra watched the barkeep, Ernest, track them with his eyes until they were out of sight. He glanced back to the other side of the tavern, where Bert was suddenly sitting, all nerves and restless energy. Ernest nodded to him curtly, then went back to polishing the bar. The shifty looking man glanced around, then strode out of the tavern and into a nearby house. Moments later, two hard looking men prowled out of the house with predatory grace. They followed the path Mat and Sarah had taken, vanishing from Ezra's sight amongst the burnt-out buildings.
“Mat, Sarah, there are two men following you. I don't think they want to have a friendly chat, either.”
“Well, that was fast,” Sarah chuckled. “Think we should set up an ambush over here, or try losing them in the ruins?”
“I don't have anything against these people,” Mat hissed. “I'd just as soon lose them. There's nothing to be gained by fighting.”
Ezra crossed to the opposite side of the bell tower. He caught a glimpse of Sarah's pale hair in the burned out city below. “Just keep going that way,” he said, quickly calibrating his controller. “You're coming up to a square. Walk around the fountain and I'll pick you up. They won't see anything.”
“Understood,” came Sarah's response.
Ezra watched them closely, waiting for the right moment... there! He engaged the wormhole just as Mat and Sarah walked through, cutting it a fraction of a second later. Mat looked around the bell tower in appraisal. “Nice,” he sounded genuinely impressed. “You realize that after this mission report, Blair's going to lock you in a lab until every active team has one of those thingies, right?”
Ezra grinned. “At least someone appreciates my genius.” He returned his gaze to the scope, still focused on the blackened square his friends had just vacated. The two men stalked around the fountain then stopped, looking around furtively. His grin grew. “Oh yeah, that's going to throw them for a loop,” he said, tone heavy with satisfaction.
“You're going to clever us all to death one day, Hawkins.” Sarah rolled her eyes.
“Hey,” Mat interrupted, cutting off whatever snarky quip Ezra was working up to. “What's up over there?”
Ezra swung his view back around to the other side of town. A man dressed all in black and gray was practically sprinting from the gate to the house Bert had entered a few minutes ago. Ezra got a bead on the window and switched settings to broadcast to the whole team just in time to hear Bert yell, “What?” The door to the house flew open as Bert half dragged the other man over to the tavern.
“Bert, what are you doing?” Ernest asked calmly.
“Tell him what you told me,” Bert demanded of the unnamed man.
The man gulped, then stammered out, “Well, uh, sir, we've been keeping watch on the roads and passes to Eastpoint, just like you said, sir. We saw two people come down the road earlier today, but they seemed harmless enough.”
“Skip to the important part, you blighted idiot.” Bert looked around furtively, as if expecting to find someone watching him. Then again, Ezra supposed, it's not paranoid when it's true.
“Yes sir.” The scout swallowed hard again. “Word came down that they left the city, sir. B-but sir... the Besmirched who's headed out here... sir, i-it's...” He trailed off, as if trying to work up the nerve to say the name.
“Who?” Ernest asked. “They sending one of Jonus's little lieutenants? Or maybe old scar-face himself? Can't say that I'd mind getting to take him out of the picture...”
Bert cut in abruptly. “It's Val,” he hissed, eyes wide with terror. “Valerie Estavon is coming to Helena.”