You're gonna have to hold on tight, because this rodeo is just getting started. - Joya Ryan
The first fifty miles was easy. They'd had the luxury of a stolen staff car and headed south. Not the direction they wanted to go, but a necessary diversion. A few miles north of Elizabethtown they'd pushed the car into a small pond, well off the beaten path. They headed straight west after that, moving through the countryside on foot, not wanting to leave a trail of stolen vehicles. Hiking through hostile territory was what they knew, after all. Unfortunately, they were also hiking without food, water, or weapons, and they wore the only clothes they had.
Not one of Hannibal's better plans, but under the circumstances...
They were nearing Anderson, South Carolina, just over a hundred miles from Bragg. It had taken them over two weeks to get here, and they were all nearing the end of their rope. Theft had become their new way of life. Not that they were holding up banks or gas stations. Lightening the load on a clothesline, forays into orchards or vegetable gardens, a bit of shoplifting in a grocery store, or taking advantage of an unlocked car in said grocery store parking lot. Nothing big enough to cause real harm or garner any real attention, and only what they really needed to survive a little longer.
None of them liked it. BA was the most vocal about that. Face said nothing. Not that he'd said much of anything since the breakout. But Hannibal knew it bothered Face more than he showed, especially with BA's comments every time the kid came back with another 'prize'. There just wasn't anything he could do about it.
Or maybe it was time to stop for a bit. Just a day or so. Provisions wouldn't be a problem for a few more days yet. They were far enough from Bragg, surely, and couldn't have left any kind of trail. They'd stayed away from small towns where they'd be noticed. Stayed away from larger cities where their faces would be plastered all over. Even when they had stopped near a town, Face had been the only one to actually go in to scavenge.
Hell. Other than the occasional orchard or garden, it was Face who'd been doing most of the dirty work. Taking the chances. And then facing BA, thinking the disgust was aimed at him instead of the whole situation...
His announcement was met with surprise, but also obvious relief. Just being able to sleep in the next morning would be a luxury, even if they still had only leaves piled over brush for beds. They'd slept in worse places.
And Hannibal reminded them of that at breakfast, along with a few other things.
"We need to remember that we are the injured parties here. We did nothing more than follow what we thought were proper orders. I saw them. Morrison handed them to me, but they came from higher up. Much higher up. This wasn't a bunch of grunts looting on the orders of a green louie.
"I know none of us like stealing. None of us. But we have to look at this the same way we did when we got away from that POW camp. Remember that? We stole all the way to friendly territory. We had to, because we didn't know whether the villages would welcome us or kill us. This is no different. We don't know who would help us or turn us in. Hell, we don't know who would shoot first and ask questions later. And it's going to be that way until we get back to LA and can disappear. We can't change that. But we can change a few things.
"First, we're going to re-think how we get our supplies. It's not right that Face is the one taking all the chances. I know that neither BA nor I are as adept at 'finding' things, but that just means adjusting our schedule. When we're getting low on supplies, we'll stop a little sooner, rest up, and then BA and I take our turn at some night work." Hannibal held up his hands, stopping the protests. "Like I said, none of us likes to steal. The 'guilt' as well as the responsibility has to be shared. Period. Now, another two weeks and we should be a good way through Kentucky. That's a month after Bragg. The heat won't be off completely, but it'll be maybe a handful of MPs versus the whole damn Army.
"We get through this next two weeks, and then we'll start borrowing transportation. Yes, it's stealing - but we'll leave them where they can be easily found, and without a trace of us left in them. With transport, we can do a little more zig-zagging so they won't know where to look next. And we won't drop one off and immediately find another. We'll still be on foot a lot of the time - but not all of the time. I figure we should be able to get to LA within the month."
He smiled at his men, who actually grinned back. This was what they needed. A solid plan, shared responsibility, and a clearer conscience to top it all off.
This was gonna be great...