Hangman's Army: Lake Of Sins, #3

by L. S. O'Dea

  As they continued following the faint odor of Producer, the morning turned into late afternoon. Some of the Guards were grumbling but he didn’t care. The longer it took to catch the Producers, the longer he got to enjoy the forest and since Cal had insisted on bringing his entire troop, they weren’t going to capture anything. Even quiet, fifty Guards made noise and gave off scent. He hadn’t seen so much as a squirrel in their path.

  The ripple of the command to stop filtered through the troops. He leaned back against a tree, enjoying the sun on his face. This was typical of Cal’s astute leadership. They had even less of a chance of catching anything when they weren’t moving.

  The Guards parted as Cal and his second approached.

  “Jethro, take four Guards and continue on. If you find something report back,” said Cal.

  He pushed off from the tree. “Yes, sir.” So, Cal wasn’t stupid enough to keep hunting with an entire troop of Guards. That was a surprise.

  “Take Indy, Brick and those two.” Cal pointed to two other Guards and then faced Jethro again, his lips twitching in amusement. “I expect results.” His eyes darted to his second. “Or Jason and Conguise do. I don’t expect anything from you.”

  “Yes, sir.” He kept his face impassive as he turned and headed into the forest.

  Cal had purposely picked the worst Guards in the group. Brick was as dumb as his name. He was big and muscular but stupid and the other two were so young that they should be home playing with toys not running around in the forest. Indy was another story. The Guard was about his age, had dark brown hair, kept his beard neatly trimmed and had brown eyes that sparkled with humor and intelligence which was Indy’s main problem. He was smart and found amusement in almost every situation, causing him to take nothing seriously.

  They made their way through the woods in silence, none of them except the two, young Guards happy about this assignment. Jethro knew it was a waste of time. Whatever Producers had been in the area were long gone, warned by the approaching troop of Guards. This was sabotage on Cal’s part. When they went back into town in a few weeks, the captain could report to Jason and Conguise that Jethro had been given an opportunity to capture Producers but had failed.

  “Smell that,” said Brick, grinning. “We found the scent again.”

  “Yeah.” Indy turned toward Jethro. “Producer. A lot of scent but it’s old.”

  He nodded. He’d realized that over ten minutes ago.

  “I don’t think there’ve been any Producers around here in weeks,” said Indy.

  “Are you sure?” He was positive.

  “Yeah. The first scent we’d caught had been fresher. We must’ve lost it somewhere and picked up this trail.”

  “Hmm.” He wasn’t sure what else to say, since he agreed. He wanted to tip back his head and inhale deeply, catch all the scents in the air, but he didn’t dare.

  “We should report this to the captain,” said Indy.

  “Not yet. Let’s follow the trail a little longer to see where it leads.” He was in no hurry to return to the others.

  “It’s not going to lead to any Producers,” grumbled Indy.

  “Humor me or do you want to go back and listen to Cal gloat?”

  Indy eyes widened and a smile spread across his face. “I thought all you Almightys were best friends.”

  “Hardly.” He headed into the brush.

  “I’d keep that quiet, if I were you.” Indy jogged to catch up with him. “Some of these idiots are loyal to Captain Cal.”

  “Good to know.” He didn’t care what Cal thought of him, but the man was going to report on his progress which would eventually decide his fate. He didn’t want to lead his own troops against Jackson, Hugh and Trinity, but he also didn’t want to run the Producer encampments. Eventually, he’d have to send Producers to the Warehouse District and he wasn’t ready for that. He needed time to figure out how to get out of both of these jobs and still keep his home.

  His nose twitched. Guard. He paused, holding up his fisted hand to signal the others to stop. This scent was fresh. The Guards were close. The urge to track them down, to hunt, was strong but he didn’t want to catch them. If he were alone, he’d stalk them through the forest for the challenge, but he wasn’t alone. If he caught them, he’d have to turn them over to Cal. “Ah, it’s getting dark. We should go back. Let Cal gloat and be done with it.”

  “You just said...” Indy stared at him like he was crazy.

  “Come on.” He turned around. He could live with the Guard thinking he was an idiot.

  “Why did you stop?” Indy looked back the way they’d been heading.

  “Because I decided it was time to return.” He kept marching forward. “Now, come on.”

  Brick and the others followed him.

  “I’ll catch up.” Indy darted off in the direction they’d been traveling.

  “Wait here,” he ordered the three Guards as he ran after Indy. The damn Guard would catch the scent soon. He skidded to a halt.

  Indy stood with his finger on his lips to signal silence. The Guard pointed through the vegetation at a clearing. It was an abandoned camp. The old scent of Producer, Servant, Guard and Grunt assailed his nose. He wanted to punch Indy in his smiling mouth. This camp had to have been used by the Allied Classes. Only the AC would be this large, diverse and deep in the forest.

  Indy nudged him and pointed to the far side of the camp. Three Guards sat in a circle. One was putting a rabbit on a spit over a newly started fire. The other two were taking food out of their backpacks.

  There was no way they’d capture these three, especially since he wasn’t going to be very helpful. Physical work wasn’t expected of him. He was an Almighty. He signaled for Indy to circle around to the other side, but the Guard shook his head, giving him a disgusted look. Indy tapped his nose, pointed at the AC Guards and held his fisted hand up in the signal to wait. Dread filled his chest. Even Brick was smart enough to come running at the scent of fire and roasting rabbit.

  He needed to do something fast or they were going to catch these Guards. “We...” He caught Indy’s wrist, stopping the Guard from covering his mouth.

  Indy’s eyes widened for a second as he grabbed Jethro’s arm with his other hand and headed away from the camp. Jethro walked as loudly as he could, earning him more disgusted looks from Indy, but his efforts were wasted because the AC Guards didn’t move. He would’ve heard them if they had.

  Indy stopped when they were several yards away from the camp. He dropped his hold on Jethro’s arm and studied him. “How’d you block me?”

  “It wasn’t hard. You were slow.” He didn’t shout but he wasn’t quiet either.

  “Shhh.” Indy glanced around and the tension around his eyes eased as Brick and the other Guards crept up to them. “Boys, we found some Guards.” He turned to Jethro. “Wait here. It’ll only take a minute.”

  “No. I’m coming with you.” He’d use the opportunity to make as much noise as the average Almighty did when trying to be quiet, which was a lot.

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” said Indy.

  “Too bad. I’m in charge.” He almost cringed at the words. He sounded like Cal and every other asshole Almighty in the troop.

  Indy rolled his eyes, but didn’t say a word as he led the way back to the camp and ordered the others to surround the area. Jethro had stomped and hit every dried twig and pile of dead leaves he could, but the AC Guards were chatting and focused on their meal. They were fools.

  Jethro held his breath as one of them looked up and sniffed, but the AC Guards were upwind from them. There was nothing else he could do. His four Guards were too close now. If he made a noise, his Guards might get hurt. He couldn’t do that. He wasn’t a traitor.

  In a coordinated action his Guards stepped out of the brush. The AC Guards scrambled, but it was too late. His Guards were trained in combat and had the element of surprise. In less than ten minutes, the three AC Guards were tied up in the center of the old camp
.

  Indy jogged over to him, a huge grin on his face. “Captain Cal isn’t going to like this.”

  He didn’t either. Perhaps he could arrange to set them free on the way back to the others, maybe not all three of them, but at least one. “Ah, we need to take them back—”

  “Captain Cal will want to see this camp.” Indy gave him another disgusted look. “We should be able to figure out which direction the AC headed from here.”

  “Yeah, right.” Another thing he didn’t want. “Go back and get the captain.”

  Indy turned to the youngest Guard. “Speck, you need—”

  “No.” His voice was low and commanding. He needed Indy gone not one of the other idiots. “I said you should go.”

  Indy gave him a puzzled look. “I thought we could start interrogating—”

  “The captain will want to do that. Plus, you should get the credit for this.” He slapped Indy on the back. “You were the one who wanted to keep going.”

  “Thanks.” Indy gave him a suspicious look.

  “I’m not Cal. I believe in acknowledging good work, no matter who does it.”

  “I’ve never known an Almighty like you.” Indy sent him another suspicious look before jogging into the forest.

  “Brick, you and the others watch these guys.” He turned and headed into the forest.

  “Sir,” called out Brick. “You shouldn’t go out there alone.”

  He didn’t need this right now. He needed to hide any traces of the Allied Classes’ trail he could. “I won’t go far, but I have to take a shit.”

  “Oh.” Brick chuckled. “First capture can do that to a guy.”

  He slipped into the brush and headed a few yards out. He had to be far enough away that his Guards wouldn’t hear him. He raced through the forest, his feet silent in the grasses. He inhaled deeply but there were no scents, nothing but pine and herb. It didn’t make sense. If the odors had dissipated naturally, there wouldn’t have been the faint scent of Producer, Guard, Servant and Grunt all over the abandoned camp. He stopped. There were some broken leaves and branches. It wasn’t much but it was a sign. He followed the path for a little way and then snapped some twigs and tore some leaves. The sap would be stronger on the fresh breaks. A smart Guard would wonder why some of the scent was fresher, but this army didn’t have too many smart Guards. He cringed. That wasn’t fair. Most of them weren’t dumb; they just weren’t used to the forest.

  He continued to circle the camp, doing his best to hide any paths. Lucky for him, the AC had done a good job of concealing their trail. The sound of the approaching army drifted to him on the wind. It was time to go back. He’d done what he could to protect Jackson and the others. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do for the three Guards they’d captured, but it wasn’t all bad. Sure, the Guards would be questioned and taken into custody but he’d have a favorable report given to Conguise and Jason. He wouldn’t have to go back to the Producer Camps yet and that gave him more time to figure out a way out of this mess. The only worry was if the prisoners talked. Hopefully, Hugh’s Guards were more loyal than that.

  CHAPTER 3: JETHRO

  JETHRO HAD A HARD time not grinning as Cal wandered around the old camp. The captain was not happy. The discovery of the abandoned AC camp was a coup and Cal was going to have to report that Jethro had been the one to find it.

  All three prisoners were kneeling in the center of camp with hands tied behind their backs. They were adults, probably around thirty years old. He was reasonably sure by their grim faces that they weren’t going to reveal any information about the AC, at least not easily.

  Cal stopped in front of the prisoners. “Where’s the location of your new camp?”

  “Don’t know what camp you’re talking about,” said one of the Guards.

  Cal slapped him across the face. The Guard spit the blood from his mouth but other than that didn’t make a sound.

  “What do they call you?” Cal motioned and Brick yanked the Guard to his feet.

  “Ranger,” said the Guard.

  “Ranger, if you don’t know anything about the insurgent’s camp, explain what you’re doing here.”

  “Me and my boys were hunting and we found this place.”

  “Alone? Let me see your papers.” Cal’s voice was smug. Everyone knew what happened to strays.

  “We don’t have none, sir.” Ranger’s brown eyes were brittle. “Our dear master passed away a while ago. Maybe, we could join your group.” He glanced at his companions. “We know this forest and we could use steady food.”

  “Invite spies into my army?” Cal laughed.

  “Excuse me, Captain. May I speak with you?” Indy tipped his head toward the forest.

  Cal let out a disgusted sigh but followed the Guard away from the prisoners and closer to where Jethro stood.

  When they were far enough away that the AC Guards wouldn’t overhear, Indy said, “Let them join us. When they sneak away, we’ll follow them to their new camp”—Indy glanced at the prisoners—“and if we’re wrong about them, we have a few more Guards.”

  “Nonsense,” said Cal. “We’re not wrong and I don’t allow traitors in my ranks.” He strode back to the prisoners. “Hold him tight.”

  Brick tightened his grip on Ranger’s arms and Cal punched the prisoner in the stomach, again and again.

  Indy wandered over to Jethro and leaned against a tree. “Torture doesn’t work, but Captain Cal never learns that lesson.”

  Jethro shrugged. He didn’t like seeing the Guard beaten for no reason, but it probably wasn’t the worst beating he’d received. None of the three looked like they’d had easy lives. They were all thin and had scars on their faces and hands.

  “This is what we do to liars,” said Cal as he hit Ranger one more time and then lowered his arms. “Tell me where you moved your camp.”

  “I told you. We don’t know nothing about a camp,” said Ranger.

  Cal motioned two other Guards over by the prisoners. “Bring them and follow me.”

  The Guards yanked the other prisoners to their feet and dragged them over to Cal who stood at the edge of the camp near an old log.

  “Him.” Cal pointed to one of the prisoners. “Bend him over the log.”

  Cal’s Guard glanced at the captain in confusion but forced the prisoner to kneel, the top half of his body resting on the log.

  “Ranger, you have one more chance to answer my question.” Cal pulled his sword from his sheath.

  Ranger’s eyes stared at the blade as it glistened in the dying sun, and then his gaze moved to his friend. The Guard on his knees trembled as he glanced up at Ranger and shook his head.

  Ranger swallowed visibly and said, “Don’t do this. I swear. We don’t know nothing about a camp.”

  “He won’t actually do it, will he?” Jethro asked Indy. Beating the Guards was one thing, but killing them served no purpose. Dead Guards couldn’t talk and given time one of these three might tell what he knew for more food or freedom, even Cal had to understand that. Of course, he’d have to figure out a way to free them before that happened.

  Indy shook his head. “No. It’s a scare tactic...”

  Cal’s blade flew through the air, severing the head of the kneeling Guard. Silence fell over the camp, not even the birds chirped. Indy’s knees buckled and he staggered backward away from the tree. The air caught in Jethro’s lungs as his gaze locked on the blood as it spurted from the torso into the air, splashing onto the ground. The body twitched and then stilled, but the blood still came. The geyser slowed and finally stopped, leaving a small black river of life to dirt.

  Cal wiped his blade on the back of the beheaded Guard before turning to face the two remaining prisoners. Ranger’s face was pale and his eyes were locked on his dead friend.

  “Next.” Cal pointed to the Guard next to Ranger.

  “No, don’t do this. Please.” The prisoner bucked and kicked, fighting to stay away from the log as Cal’s Guard dragged him for
ward.

  “Someone help him.” Cal directed another Guard to assist. “Make him kneel.”

  “Stop! Enough!” Jethro forced his eyes away from the decapitated Guard as he strode across the camp to Cal. “Dead Guards are no use to us.”

  “Get back,” said Cal.

  “The Supreme Almighty isn’t going to be happy about this.” He had to convince Cal that this wasn’t the way.

  “I said make him kneel,” said Cal.

  Another Guard came forward and the three forced the prisoner to his knees.

  “Don’t do this, Captain. We need them to talk but not this way. Guards are used to punishment. Show them kindness. They’ll talk.” He was rambling, but he didn’t know what else to do.

  “Where did you move the camp?” Cal stared at Ranger.

  Ranger’s eyes met his companion’s.

  “Please, don’t do this,” begged the Guard who was on his knees.

  Cal bent, peering into the Guard’s face. “I won’t, if you tell me about your new camp.”

  The prisoner shook his head. “I can’t. I swear, we don’t know.”

  “Liar.” Cal straightened and raised his sword.

  This wasn’t going to happen. Not again. Jethro lunged, hitting Cal in the chest and knocking the sword from his hands. They fell to the ground, dirt flying in the air. He wanted to plant his fist in Cal’s face, something he’d yearned to do from the moment they’d met, but he refrained. Instead, he pushed his forearm against Cal’s throat.

  “There’s no need to kill anyone else.” He put more weight onto his arm. “Do you hear me?”

  Hands pulled at his shoulders, but he wrapped his other arm around Cal keeping the captain tight against him. “Call them off.” He gave a quick, hard push to the captain’s larynx. The captain nodded the best he could and Jethro loosened his hold a little so Cal could speak.

  “Back off,” said Cal, his voice raspy.

  The hands at Jethro’s back disappeared. He continued to stare into Cal’s blue eyes, his weight pressed against the other man’s throat. “Do we have a deal?”