The Tank

The Tank, Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Cordite and the others were in a panic. We’d never seen them like this; until now they’d been so confident and cool. But the loss of Cagney -- one of their own -- set them on edge. And to Cordite she was more than just a member of the team, a sister-in-arms. He’d never admit it, even to himself, but he had feelings for her. I could tell. They organized a search party, and then another search party, and then a third. But Cagney was never found. Neither was Lacey. After the dog appeared briefly to warn Ratchet of the Type-99’s attack, it had disappeared. By mid-day reality had set in. Everyone realized Cagney had probably been captured by the enemy. And then at dusk, our suspicions were confirmed. Axel sent Gap and Hendrix as envoys. They had a photograph. It showed Cagney, stripped to her marine corps tank top, hands tied to a post over her head, staring defiantly at the camera. Cordite didn’t want to believe what he was seeing. “How’d you capture her?”

Hendrix chewed on a toothpick. “Does it matter?”

“It matters.”

Gap frowned and interjected. “Fine. She came to us. Wanted to make a deal. Was even planning on selling you all out. Axel said no way, decided to make his own deal, instead.

“That’s bullshit. She’d never rat us out,” assured Ratchet.

“Then I guess you don’t know her as well as you think,” replied Gap.

Cordite stayed on topic. “What do you want for her?”

Hendrix took the toothpick out of his mouth. “The tank.”

“Woe, no way, you can’t have the tank,” insisted Maverik.

Gap put the photograph back in his pocket. “Then I guess me and the boys will be having some fun tonight.”

Cordite stopped him. “What he means is you can’t have the tank because you don’t even know how to drive it.

“I just had a crash course,” assured Hendrix. He pointed his toothpick at Maverik. “And if that pretty boy can do it I shouldn’t have a problem.”

“All right,” Cordite conceded, “but even if you can, we don’t have enough fuel left to drive it all the way to the prison.”

“Well provide the fuel,” assured Gap.

Cordite stared at the photograph. “If you’ve harmed her in any way –“

“Don’t worry, she’s pure as the driven snow.”

“For now, at least.” Hendrix smiled as he began to chew on the toothpick again.

Gap pocketed the photograph and Axel’s two gunmen departed, leaving the Abrams crew alone with their thoughts. “You can’t be serious about this?” Maverik asked.

“What choice do we have?”

“You heard him – she’s a traitor.”

Cordite shook his head. “I agree with Ratchet. She’d never sell us out. They’re just trying to get under our skin.”

Maverik turned to Tex, who’d been silent during the proceedings. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You think she tried to sell us out?”

“No. I don’t know. But whether she did or she didn’t, we can’t give them a fully functional tank. Think how many more farms he could take over, how many more people he could enslave, just like this one.”

“He’s already got a fully functional tank,” Cordite reminded them. “Or at least, used to. Who’s to say he doesn’t have more? We’re not the only outcasts running around. Chinese Type-99’s, Israeli Merkavas, Russian T-90’s, Canadian Leopards, there could be hundreds of unaccounted for, fully-operational MBT’s on this continent.”