Sam sat on the ground cross-legged, staring at the map of the region. The old document and the translation lay nearby. He'd finally managed to translate the whole thing and felt like he'd just finished reading a good book.
Only after getting the technical language issues out of the way, could he truly appreciate the flow of the words and the beauty of the descriptions. He had cursed many times, wondering why that conquistador dude couldn't just spell everything out. But the riddles were the beauty of the whole story. And honestly, he would've been disappointed if it were too simple.
Sam put the document away, concentrating on the translation. He planned to finish drawing the map of the inside of the temple. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure something was not right. According to the document, the ruby should be in the other temple. So maybe he could do this without actually having to face Snitch Gravel. A single person could hide much easier than an entire group.
Sam looked up, frowning. The sound of crunching vegetation preceded the appearance of Snitch Gravel and a handful of his men. They walked towards him as if on a leisurely stroll.
Sam scrambled to his feet, taking his gun out in the process. He pointed it at Snitch Gravel's head, just as he had come only a foot away from Sam.
"Now, now, brat." Snitch Gravel said pleasantly "We both know you would never pull that trigger.
The gunshot, blood, Carlos' body all flashed before his eyes again. His hand tightened around the gun, but Snitch Gravel was right. Sam hated himself for not being able to pull the trigger.
Snitch Gravel's eyes narrowed. "Just put the gun away and we can talk like civilized people."
Hatred rushed through Sam like poison, intoxicating every part of him. His muscles clenched against his will.
A look of concentration broke through Snitch Gravel's impassible mask. "Would you do this for me? Sell your soul? Become a murderer?"
Sam held his gaze. Did his thoughts show on his face? But he was tired of these games. He threw his gun to the ground.
Snitch Gravel grinned and raised his own gun, pointing it between Sam's eyes. Sam didn't flinch. He continued staring into those dark blue eyes. Snitch Gravel looked so familiar, like an old friend from childhood he hadn't seen in years. An unexpected feeling of security mixed with the anger and the dread.
"You're not scared," Snitch Gravel said.
"No. I'm fed up." Sam's pulse quickened. He knew what he was doing could lead to Snitch Gravel actually pulling the trigger, but he couldn't stand there anymore. He had to do something to end this, anything. "You're dragging out too long. Make up your mind! I'm sick of your games and I'm sick of limbo. Just pull the trigger."
Snitch Gravel's eyes narrowed again. Sam's heart went haywire. As if it was trying to make up for all the years in which it wouldn't get to beat anymore. For a second, time seemed to stop. Then Snitch Gravel lowered his gun and sneered.
"You're so much fun. But you have a bad habit of not taking your messages."
Sam felt his muscles relaxing against his will. He didn't want to let his guard down. Snitch Gravel's games weren't a reason to relax. He clenched his fists, his jaw set.
"Oh, stop this dramatic anger act. What's this about? Almost getting your twin killed?" Snitch Gravel waved him away. "Cry me a river."
Sam felt the need to throw something at Snitch Gravel, but contained himself. "If you're not here to kill me, then what do you want?"
"To deliver the message you refused to take from Von Crooken. But I'd rather we go somewhere without an audience." Snitch Gravel nodded behind Sam.
Kyle, Tom and Jimmy were there, pointing rifles at Snitch Gravel. Sam stared at them for a second and made up his mind. He wouldn't risk their safety in any way, not when they were so close to getting away.
"Fine. There must be a tent still standing around here." Sam turned his back on Snitch Gravel and his men and walked towards his brothers.
Tom grabbed his arm as Sam passed him. "Are you out of your mind?" he said between his teeth.
"Keep an eye on them." Sam nodded towards Snitch Gravel's goons.
"Punch him between the eyes if you have to. You'll have a chance to knock him out," Jimmy whispered.
Sam smiled and walked on, Snitch Gravel right behind him. They reached a random tent and went in.
"This is nice and cozy," Snitch Gravel said, looking around.
"Cut the crap. What's the message?"
"Rather rude, aren't we?" Snitch Gravel smiled shrewdly. "I'm here merely to present you with a challenge."
Sam raised his eyebrows. "A challenge?""
"I want to have a showdown to decide your fate. One of my men against one of your men."
"A showdown? As in have them shoot at each other?"
Snitch Gravel pursed his lips as though trying not to laugh. "No. I was thinking more along the lines of hand-to-hand combat."
Sam crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay. Why?"
"Because it will keep me entertained."
Sam balled his fists. He wondered if this was the right time to punch Snitch Gravel between the eyes. "I'm not here to keep you entertained, you sick bastard. We're not toys."
Snitch Gravel frowned. "I'd watch my tone if I were you. I wasn't as stupid as to throw my gun away."
Sam cursed himself. He was still acting like an idiot. "Fine, so this keeps you entertained. It's not my idea of fun. What's in it for me?"
"Ah, there we are. A much better attitude." Snitch Gravel smiled smugly. "It's a win-win situation. If you win, I'll let you run home to your mommy. If you lose I'll kill you."
"How's that a win-win situation?" Sam asked outraged.
"I didn't say it was win-win for you." Snitch Gravel grinned.
Sam once again had the mad desire to punch him, but decided on something even better. "Oh, no. How about if you win you let us run away and if we win, you give us the ruby and give yourself up?"
Snitch Gravel stared at Sam for a few seconds then burst out laughing. "You're so funny. I'm still going to kill you if you lose, though."
"Okay, if you insist upon that, I'll accept the rule. But if you lose, you give us the ruby."
Snitch Gravel narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think I'd give up the very thing that brought me here?"
"Because it's not what brought you here." Sam shrugged. "You're here because of us. You want us dead badly enough to stick around, still, not enough to actually kill us."
"I like playing with my food."
"So I've noticed. What's it to you if you give us the ruby? You'll get it back after you kill us, anyway." Sam smiled as though daring Snitch Gravel to find a flaw in his logic.
Snitch Gravel watched him carefully for a few seconds. "Fine. You have a point. Now, on with the other rules. I don't want you to be the one who does the actual fighting."
"Why not?" Sam asked, trying not to sound offended. Was his incompetence that obvious? Plus, he would be the only one left. Except... now he was certain the rest of the group couldn't leave. Snitch Gravel would hunt them down.
"Okay, then," Snitch Gravel said as though he was doing Sam a huge favor. "You can fight. But then I don't want Kyle fighting."
Sam felt like punching himself this time. He'd fallen right into that one. They were only playing negotiation. He was sure he couldn't convince Snitch Gravel to give up on a rule he truly cared for. Plus, he had an ace up his sleeve. "Fine. Any other rules?"
"You get the right to deny one of my men as well."
"I don't know your men..." Sam stopped just as he had raised his hand to wave Snitch Gravel away. "Don't take Cannon with you."
"So be it. The match will take place tomorrow at noon. Chop, chop and unpack your camp again." Snitch Gravel turned to leave.
"I don't want your men to come armed."
Snitch Gravel glanced over his shoulder. "Ha, ha. No."
"Then I want them to put their guns away while the fight takes place," Sam insisted. "Guns make us nervous."
"Fine, cry baby. Anything else?"
"Shouldn't we be sealing this in some way?"
"Oh, yes, let's cut our wrists and become blood-brothers!" Snitch Gravel said, feigning enthusiasm. He rolled his eyes and walked out.
*
"It's not like your handy negotiating left us with many alternatives," Jerry said, shaking his head. "I'm starting to hate this quest."
"Stop being such a grouch. We have a chance to get the ruby back," Tom said.
"God, I only wish you guys would've left sooner," Sam said leaning his chin in his hands.
Good thing the others were already asleep and only the five of them were left around the fire. He wouldn't have wanted anyone freaking out over the whole thing. He'd let them know what was going on, but not that things were much more complicated than a fistfight.
"Kid, get it through your thick head that no one was leaving anyway," Kyle said.
"No, as soon as this is over, if we survive, you're all going--"
Kyle and Jimmy raised their hands. "Big brother card," they both said at once.
Jerry sighed and raised his hand too. "Yes, Sam, I'm pulling the big brother card as well. I hate this place, I hate this quest, but there's no way I'm going home without you." He looked at Tom and Jimmy. "Without all of you. We're much stronger together."
Great. Here he was, trying to be noble and his nobler older brothers were running everything. "Yeah, we'll have this conversation again after all this is over. Jimmy, I think you know what to do."
"I don't think Jimmy should do it," Jerry said quietly.
Jimmy grinned at his twin. "Why not? You don't want your pretty face ruined?"
"It has nothing to do with your face or mine. It's just that if Jimmy does this and wins..." Jerry looked around at everyone. "Snitch Gravel will know that he can fight, too."
"He might know that already. I pretty much plowed through his men. And it's not like we have much of a choice. The rest of you suck."
"Hey, I resent that!" Tom said.
"Okay, now that's out of the way, let's concentrate on how not to get killed tomorrow," Sam said before the discussion went haywire.
"If he wants to shoot us, there's not much we can do," Tom said. "Unless we manage to somehow replace their bullets with jellybeans."
"That's what I want to do." Sam stood and started pacing in front of the campfire.
"Jellybeans?" Jerry asked in disbelief.
"No. I want to gather the weapons Snitch Gravel's goons will bring along for the duration of the fight. Then, while they're distracted, we can replace the rifles all together..."
"With the rifles we took from them when we caught them in that net," Kyle said impressed.
Sam nodded. "There must be a ton of those lying around in Gina's ex-tent. We should unload them, count and replace them tomorrow."
"Yes, brilliant plan. But how on earth will we manage that without them noticing?" Jerry rolled his eyes.
"They'll be watching me." Jimmy stood too. "They'll be distracted enough. But we must work fast and unnoticed."
Sam pointed at Jimmy. "And you have to stall as much as possible."
"You're crazy," Jerry said.
"So you're not in?" Jimmy asked, raising his eyebrows.
Jerry rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm in. We're crazy."
🔷🔷🔷
We'll, things are starting to go to hell in a handbasket. Should they trust Snitch Gravel? Will their plan work? What the hell is going on?
You shall soon see. I'm very devious.
Vote and comment or I kill someone.