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They slept for three hours, long enough to give their bodies a break, then moved through the hills more cautiously. Valentine kept his lifesign down, and hoped that his old ability to feel the cold presence of a prowling Reaper hadn't been dulled by disuse. Sure enough, there was one in the gully with the hairpin turn on the road, keeping watch.
They put earth and trees between themselves and the Reaper, threw a wide loop around-
And Valentine sensed another one, a dark star on his mental horizon.
It reminded him of the installation he'd come across with Gonzo in Wisconsin, before their disastrous encounter with a sniper.
He and Ahn-Kha backed off, put another half mile of woods and wildlife between themselves and the sentry Reaper.
"I might be able to get through them alone, old horse," Valentine said. "You don't make human lifesign, but you make enough for them to get curious."
"I could go first. When it comes to investigate, you-"
Ahn-Kha was no fool. The Golden One knew exactly what he was saying, that he was willing to draw a prowling Reaper and trust Valentine to dispose of it before it killed him.
"No. A Reaper goes missing and they'll know someone's poking around. Go back to the house, keep to thick cover, and wait for me. Or Duvalier."
"What will you do?"
"I'm going to get past the Reaper sentries. Then keep down until the day watch comes, if any. If I'm lucky, I'll be inside the sentry line and outside the wire, and I can get a real look at the place by daylight. At dusk I'll creep out again."
"If you're not lucky?"
"You and Ali get back to Southern Command. Hopefully they'll try again with a better-prepared team."
"I remember having this conversation before. We only just found you. Would it not be better to look around from inside the wire, my David?" '
"Of course. How do we do that?"
"It is a hospital. One of us just has to be sick enough."
Valentine nodded. "I know a couple of old tricks. One or two can even fool a doctor. Let's get back to Ali first. If this blows up in our faces, I have a feeling we'll never get outside that wire again."
* * * *
Valentine, Ahn-Kha, and Duvalier stood at the crossroads. The river road stretched off east and west, the road leading to the well-guarded hospital branching off.
She didn't discuss her "date" the previous night-save to deny that she got anything of use out of the soldier. "He's going on a long patrol. He offered to see me again in four days."
"Are you going to wait for him?" Valentine asked.
"Depends if you and the jolly gold giant here go through with this insanity."
"It will work," Valentine said.
"Price left us a bass boat," Duvalier said. "And I've still got our Spam. How much action do you want?"
"Just a little fire or two on the other side of the river. Tonight. Nothing too hard."
"And your illness?"
"A little ipecac and other herbs with unfortunate pharmacological side effects."
"Will that be convincing enough?" Ahn-Kha asked, scanning the road and woods. "I think I see your dinner, Alessa. My David, may I see your pistol?"
Valentine handed over the gun. Ahn-Kha checked it over, then pointed it at his neck.
"Ahn-"
