Free Lost Voyage by Chris Tucker

sat there waiting for the right time and location to make their move.
    After barreling down a straightaway about a half mile long and seeing no sign of the black truck behind them, he decided it was time.
    “After the next bend, find a spot and pull over. We’ll have only about a minute or two to get this done, so we’ll need to move quickly.”
    Vigil didn’t need to reply. He knew what needed to be done. After making the last turn, he slammed on the brakes and brought the truck to a halt sideways directly in the middle of the dirt road. Both men got out and waited for their pursuers to finally catch up. They stood silently in the middle of the road as they heard the vehicle approaching from around the bend. Vigil had his Beretta in his hand, and Mercer had his trusty HK pointed directly at the spot where the truck would be emerging from in mere seconds.
     
    ***
     
    Kervin Esperanza sat in the front passenger seat of the black SUV, which was now racing down the dirt road. He was infuriated the vehicle they were following just seemed to vanish into thin air. He angrily shouted at the driver to speed up even more and gain on them once again. The third man in the truck sat in the back in silence, holding an AK47 while he listened to the driver being scolded. He knew it was best to not say anything.
    As they rushed down the road, Esperanza’s frustration continued to compound. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the two men who had killed five of his soldiers. He thought about how he would handle the men once he finally came face to face with them.
    As he was about to lash out at his driver once more for his incompetence, he was suddenly overcome with a loss for words. The driver slammed on the brakes and the truck came to a grinding stop. Esperanza sat in sheer amazement as he stared at two men standing directly in the middle of the road. But what caught his attention even more were the barrels of a pistol and a machine gun pointed directly at him and his men.
    He looked on in disbelief as he witnessed the two men in front of him. After a few seconds had passed, he heard one of the men speak. “Very slowly, get out of the truck. Do it now.”
    Mercer spoke with a very authoritative tone in his voice. As the three men exited the vehicle, he shouted for them to drop their weapons. Esperanza and the driver hesitantly complied, while the soldier who was in the back seat was not as willing to meet the gunman’s demands. He refused to lower his weapon and yelled back in Spanish at the two men in the road, demanding they lower their weapons instead.
    Esperanza turned his head back to the soldier. “Do as they say. Drop it.”
    Still, the soldier refused to comply. He raised his weapon slightly and Mercer let out a final warning. “Drop your weapon now! Or we will kill you!”
    As the soldier's weapon continued to rise, a shot rang out creating an echo in the forest. Mercer had squeezed off one round from his HK, and it was all that was needed. Esperanza turned around and watched at his man dropped from the shot which had struck him in the throat. As he turned back around, he looked the gunman directly in the eyes with a distant gaze.
    When he finally spoke he said, “That’s now six of my men you have killed, but how could I fault you for that one? Besides, I did not like him very much. So, I won’t count that one.”
    Mercer found himself somewhat impressed with the composure of the man talking to him. He thought the man was slightly arrogant, but knew he had to keep up his guard.
    He spoke to him directly. “Who are you and why are you following us?”
    Esperanza calmly replied to the question. “My employer has now lost six men in the past few days and it would seem that you are the reason for that. He is an extremely unforgiving man who you must now answer to.”
    Vigil let out a chuckle. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have guns pointed at you, not the other way around. Looks like you’re the only one who