CHAPTER 10

15 Months Ago, Aboard Barty’s ship near Higgins’ Moon

Well this has sure been fun. Haven’t been out this cabin since we left Persephone. Least I got two hots an’ a cot this go-round, and ain’t had to look at Smelly’s ugly puss the whole time. Things are lookin’ up.

Job don’t look to be over-complex. Just sneak in, grab the book, stuff it in the preservation bag, hightail it on back to the boat and fade away. Simple. Only it never is. Anything goes wrong with this I may end up in a little bitty sheet iron box out in the swamp, or slingin’ mud for the rest of my days. Barty may turn me over to the gorram slavers when and if I get back. Deal with that when I have to.

Gotta admit, neat setup for Barty. Scheme works, he’s rollin’ in coin. Don’t work, I’m left swingin’. Sure, I could tell Higgins the scam, doubt he’d believe it. Even if he did, Barty’s likely got a way to cover his skinny little ass. Say his “client” put me up to it, or some such. I’d still be here. Higgins don’t take kindly to bein’ screwed with.

Startin’ the de-orbit, sounds like. Go over the plan one more time.

Hit dirt at local dawn, in this canyon, that’d be east of the house about five miles or so. It’s a drop & run, so the boat goes back upstairs. Follow the creek downstream to the dry wash, uphill in that to this ridge, up over and down to this bigger creek. Upstream along that to the edge of the compound. Find a good hide, lay chilly til nightfall and observe.

There’ll be at least two hired guns on duty. There’s six all together, rotating in 8 hour shifts. Fresh pair comes on at midnight. That’s two asleep, I hope, two going on, two coming off. Take the sleepers at shift change. Take two more as they come back to the bunkhouse, they’ll be lookin’ for their beds, not trouble. That leaves two roamin’ loose. Take them out one at a time. Reinforcements in Canton, the foreman and his prods, but I plan on bein’ long gone afore they can arrive.

Two domestics in the house, should be in their rooms asleep down to