Free The Road Sharks by Clint Hollingsworth Page A

picture of some sort of cartoon shark. She was sighting on the third man in line when she realized that none of them seemed to be armed. She was almost thirty feet away, but she clearly saw empty holsters and knife sheaths and none of the group was carrying a rifle.  
    They’re all injured! All unarmed.
    Each man that passed was limping, holding an arm or ribs and all seemed to have been battered around their faces. One man was softly sobbing and holding his jaw, which seemed either broken or dislocated and another was patting his shoulder, trying to help. They all occasionally looked behind them, either in fear or hatred but none of them seemed willing to return to whoever had done this to them.
    After she was sure they had all moved on, Ghost Wind moved from her hiding place and paralleled the road for another two hundred yards. Trying to remain alert with all her senses, she eventually heard raised voices ahead and gripped her Henry rifle tighter. Moving with the stealth of a wolf, she came to a point with line of sight to the argument. In front of a large wall, made mostly of concrete, rusty sheet metal and various kinds of barbed wire, Eli stood yelling up to a big hairy man with an old M-24 army rifle who stood on some kind of rampart behind the wall.
    “Damn it, Horace! I’ve been working with and trading with you folks for the last four years! Why in the hell would you stop trusting me now!”  
    The big man spit off to Eli’s left. “A’cause you didn’t kill them bastards when you had the chance, Eli. Ever’ one o’ them Road Sharks that bites the dust is a little more peace o’ mind for decent people. The fact that they’re still breathin’ makes me wonder if you don’t have some sort o’ deal with ‘em.”
    “You saw me come up behind ‘em and kick the shit out of them, isn’t that enough? I have their weapons, and a couple of those men have injuries that’ll take a lot of time to heal, if they ever do,” Eli shouted. “I think that’s enough to send them back to their HQ and report this is a place best left alone.”
    “The less of them around, the less brave they are.”
    “We could sit here and argue all day. Bottom line is, I didn’t feel like killing anyone today that I didn’t have to.” Eli, obviously quite angry, began to pick up weapons from around the area. “I’ll just take these with me, if you’re not interested, or if you really think I’d have a deal with those pukes, go ahead and shoot me in the back.”
    Even from her hiding spot, Ghost Wind could see Horace hesitate.
    “Now wait a second there, son. I mighta been just a little hasty, about that deal remark. I know you ain’t with that bunch. Let me see them guns and such, and let’s see if we can come to some sort o’ agreement.”
    “Okay, but I gotta hurry, Horace,” Eli said, his voice slightly cold. “I’m keeping a lady waiting, standing here jawing with you.”
    Ghost Wind’s eyes narrowed.
    Ah, yes. Thanks for reminding me that I am really irritated with you, trickster. The little woman has decided not to stay hidden in the brush!
    Eli began holding up rifles for Horace to see, and as they started to haggle, more heads popped up from behind the rampart.  
    Ghost Wind calmly and methodically set down her rifle and pistol and moved forward. She kept to cover as she had been taught, emerging into sight fifteen feet behind Eli. She knew the people on the rampart could see her and she carefully raised her hands to show she was unarmed, and put a finger to her lips to signal silence. Eyebrows raised, but the farmers decided to play along and watch to see what would happen. There wasn’t that much to do in these parts, so any entertainment was appreciated.
    She thought about slapping him on the back of the head like a misbehaving apprentice, but decided on something a little less violent. As Eli vocalized the benefits of one of the salvaged rifles, Ghost Wind leaned close and blew on the back of his left