Certain Reprisal
Page 12
"This one," I said.
Reece opened the stall and bridled the horse. Handing me the reins, she went to a stall on the other side and bridled a horse of her own.
After leading our mounts out of the stables, she told me to grab the bags from the van. Once I returned, Agent Reece walked me through saddling up and securing the saddlebags to my horse.
Yeah, that's right. The backpacks were saddlebags.
Then she went to the front seat of the van and came back with a holster for the Scythe and a scabbard for the e-spear. After handing both to me, I put the holster on my hip and attached the scabbard to my horse, inserting the corresponding weapon as I did so.
"What's her name?" I asked as I mounted my horse.
"That's Pepper."
Gutenberg lay to the south, so we turned south once we reached the road. Pepper was easygoing and responded well. Agent Reece was obviously an experienced rider. And, I was enjoying the hypnotic clop, clop of hooves made our way down the road, sprinkles of the morning sun shining through the canopy guiding our way.
"You sure you're ok with what you're about to do?" Reece asked.
"To be honest, I'm not really thinking about it. Not yet, at least. I do know that I prefer living to dying, and if I have to prove that my life is worth living I'm going to do it."
We turned right, heading west, and then we rode in silence until we came upon the on ramp for a highway that ran north to south.
"The drone is in your bag," she said. "Fly it to the middle of the city, then straight up to five-hundred feet. The canister will explode once it reaches altitude."
After pausing for a second, Reece said, "There's something different about you."
She turned her horse around, dug her heels into its side, and let out a short, ya!
Reece took off down the road at a trot.
Pepper and I climbed the on ramp, heading south.
Coming soon!