Page 4 of Rough Choice

“I know why you’re here,” he said sharply and removed the flashlight from his belt. “I have orders too, boys. My orders are to make sure you got the job done.” He shined the light into the hole that was already half full of dirt. “She in there?”

“Yes,” Kye answered. “We sent the video to Max.”

“How’d you do it?”

“With a cell phone.”

“You got a death wish, son?”

“Grier, shut up,” Kye demanded. “I slit her throat. Put a couple in her chest to make sure she was dead. Sent proof to Max.”

“Really? Seems like overkill to me,” the ranger said shining the flashlight onto the car. Inside, Eliana ducked even lower to avoid the beam.

“Well, when Max wants proof…” Kye said, trailing off.

“Speaking of that,” the ranger added as he pocketed his flashlight. “I need to see her.”

“Fuck if I’m going to dig her back up,” Grier snapped. “We’ve been out in the rain for an hour already. Max has his proof. You should have gotten here earlier.”

“Then I’ll do it.” He picked up one of the discarded shovels and jumped into the hole.

“For fuck’s sake, she’s dead; just leave her be,” Kye yelled. Behind the ranger’s back, he gave Grier a worried look as the man began digging.

“I’ve got orders to deliver a hand,” he called from inside the hole as he continued to dig. Grier gave Kye one last look, and he nodded. Trying to discreetly move backward, Kye used his large frame to block the hole from the view of the camera on the road.

“Let me help,” Grier offered and jumped into the hole. The ranger didn’t have time to argue as Grier pulled the knife from behind his back and drove it into the man’s gut. His final scream was gurgled and mostly lost under the downpour, and a sudden flash of lightning gave Kye his chance. He was under the camera now and, using a rock from the ground, hit it dead center and hard enough to knock its position askew.

“Hurry!” Kye hollered. Grier set to the grisly task of separating the man’s hand from his arm. Dragging his body out of the hole, he pushed it into the Jeep.

“We’re fucked,” Grier said, returning. He had blood on his right hand and a severed hand in his left.

“We need to go,” Kye said just as quickly. The passenger door opened, and Eliana looked out. Her face was pale, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the body part Grier was holding. “Come on,” Kye said, helping her from the back and into the passenger seat. Grier rounded the front and slid into the driver’s seat.

“Here,” Grier said, reaching over Eliana to where Kye stood just outside her door. He handed him the ranger’s cell phone.

“Please be unlocked,” Kye prayed as he swiped the screen. Fortunately, the ranger hadn’t set a password. Pulling up the text messages, he saw the unmarked number the ranger had been texting, the last one read: confirm that the girl is dead.

“What do we do?” Eliana asked as she read the message. Kye was already working, however.

‘She’s dead. Throat was slit and had a few bullet holes in her chest. Not much blood; she’s been dead a while.’ Kye sent.

“Nice touch,” Grier complimented and set the hand on the dashboard. Eliana had to swallow the vomit that had risen in her throat. A moment of silence passed as they waited, and finally a response came in.

‘Do you have the hand?’

‘Yes, she doesn’t need it anymore,’ Kye punched in. He hoped his brief impression of the ranger gave him the context of the man’s dry sense of irony.

“They’re going to want to see it,” Grier spoke in a serious tone. Kye looked at him knowingly. As if on cue, the text came in.

‘Send it back with the kid.’

“That’s Max,” Kye said, knowing that only the old man called him ‘kid’.

“We’re fucked,” Grier said again and leaned back against the seat.

“No, you’re not,” Kye said, drawing both of their attention back. “You stick to the plan.”

“Don’t you mean ‘we’?” Eliana asked, panic starting to creep up inside of her. Kye reached over her and buckled her seatbelt. “Kye?”