Lizzie shoved the gun in the hollow of his throat. “Anybody want to follow this dipshit?”
The Independents in her field of vision glanced from one to the other. A rumbling rose behind them. Another snowmobile. Reinforcements?
Her father appeared beside her. He pulled Travis’s handgun from the holster.
Her vision contracted. Stay standing, Lizzie.
Jess appeared with a rifle.
Lizzie saw Zach slip over to where the kid’s body lay. He knelt with one knee up and picked up his rifle.
Mannie spoke, his voice loud and commanding. “Anybody else want to die tonight? I don’t.” His eyes searched the crowd, begging for a calm, reasonable response.
Their guns were not going down. “Shit.” Lizzie knew that everybody’s trigger fingers were itchy. It would only take one, and then they would all die.
The rumble grew closer. Lights bounced across the snow. A huge man bulky in some sort of military armor rode the snowmobile standing up. He slid to a stop at the edge of the standoff, throwing snow. He jerked a large gun from the snowmobile. He pulled off his helmet and a giant braid fell. “Drop ‘em.” His big gun swept the Independents. The giant native man bellowed. “Drop the fucking guns. Now!” Their guns fell.
Then his gun pointed toward Lizzie and the rest as he backed up to a good vantage point. “I mean everybody!”
Lizzie heard guns fall, but she held hers to Travis’s throat.
A squeal rose behind Lizzie until it became a word. “Randeeee!”
“BeeGee? Where are you?” The big man held his gun on Lizzie.
Lizzie felt the cold breeze. She stared back at him.
BeeGee came running out from behind the broken down truck, grabbing the rifle on the ground by Jess as she ran. “Randy Blackhawk. I knew you’d come.”
“Which ones are the bad guys?” Randy asked.
BeeGee shrugged and pointed at Travis. “Him mostly. But them too.” She hooked her head toward the Independents and continued to collect guns.
Blackhawk pulled his gun from Lizzie and grinned at her. “Pretty gutsy, girl.”
“I’m Crazy Lizzie.” Lizzie scrutinized him. “You’re not an Independent?”
Blackhawk chuckled. “Always thought of myself as an Independent, but not one of them.” His eyes swept the crowd. “I want everyone where I can see them.”
“Move it,” Lizzie ordered Travis. “Forward.” He walked toward Blackhawk.
She searched for her father. He was standing funny with his fist pressed into his chest. She noticed there was blood on his shirt. Dizziness was coming. “Daddy?” You can’t die. Her stomach contracted and she vomited bile into the snow and sank to her knees. Stars dotted the edge of her vision. She closed her eyes.
“You,” Blackhawk growled.
Lizzie eyes shot open as her equilibrium left her. The last thing she saw as she fell into darkness was the deadly anger Blackhawk aimed at her father, along with his gun.
Zach took in the carnage on the ground. Carter lay in a bloody circle of snow. The kid who’d taken on Travis lay face up. Lizzie teetered as her eyes darted from her father to Blackhawk.
“You,” Blackhawk said, staring an accusation at Mannie.
Then Lizzie fell. Zach ran to her, but stopped short as he saw Blackhawk’s shotgun point toward Mannie. He froze. Wanting to scream. No. Enough. Nothing worked. If Lizzie survives I’m going to have to tell her about her dead father.
Mannie stumbled toward Lizzie. Blackhawk tracked him with the gun.
Zach stepped toward the gun and in between Mannie and Blackhawk. He saw BeeGee move.
Travis had stopped walking. Zach could see him gauging his chances. The surreality of the situation stole all sound. Zach couldn’t get his mouth to say words.
BeeGee’s hand touched Blackhawk’s arm and the gun came down. “No,” she said. “Not him.”
Zach saw a curtain of darkness fall across Blackhawk’s eyes and disappear as he nodded. Mannie was falling to his knees by Lizzie, holding his fist against his chest above his heart. Zach moved swiftly to help him down.
Mannie kissed Lizzie’s cheek and then rolled to his back with a groan. His hand slipped from his wound as his eyes rolled into his head.
Zach applied pressure as blood began to flow through the hole in Mannie’s shirt. He took the pistol from Lizzie’s hand and pointed it at Travis. “Travis, don’t move. Blackhawk?” His eyes found the big native’s eyes, now calm. “Are we on the same side?” Zach saw Duke slipping around behind Blackhawk, a rifle ready in his hands.
Blackhawk glanced at BeeGee and she nodded. He looked back to Zach. “Yeah. Looks like it.”
Duke’s rifle moved to cover the Independents.
“Nev?” Zach hollered. “Jess?” The girls came out from behind the van with Charley and Saj. “First-aid training? Nev? Jess, grab a gun. Help Blackhawk and BeeGee. Rachael? I need you here. Your hand.” Everybody moved.