The back door of the truck was pulled open and Jackson fell out onto the gravel on the shoulder of the highway. McNabb looked down and frowned at Jackson curled up, hands cupping his groin.
“Just what the hell is going on here?” he said. Looking up onto the back of the crew compartment he found the young redhead, bleeding from the lip and trying to jerk her bleeding wrists from her hand cuffs, her features carved in rage.
Jackson just groaned, rolled to his side and tried to get his knees under him but McNabb used a foot in the middle of his back to keep him prone.
“I’ll fucking end you,” Jackson wheezed. This caused McNabb’s guards to take aim, ready to end him simply for the slight to their commander.
“Your ability to end anyone is significantly compromised.” He motioned to his men and they picked up Jackson and slammed him back first against the side of the truck. McNabb knew they couldn’t stay here long, they were making a hell of a racket and he’d been briefed that even with the sun up it wouldn’t take long for this place to be overrun.
The girl was hysterical, trying to rip her arms from her restraints.
“Get the medic over here and get her sedated if it’s needed. You have five minutes to get this truck secured and underway again. I’ve never missed a pick up window in my years of service and I’m not going to miss one now.”
Men saluted, scrambling about. They knew that his comments would be the only warning they were going to get before he started talking heads. Normally he wasn’t so quick to bite. But someone had made him look like a dishonorable prick, and he didn’t like looking like a dishonorable prick. Ever.
McNabb stepped in close to Jackson; either she’d kicked him or he’d struggled and the men “slipped” getting him up. “I don’t know what you’re playing at Jackson, but beating up a young woman is not what we agreed upon.”
Jackson smiled. “Hey, brother. I was just getting friendly.”
With a hard punch to the gut, Jackson’s eyes crossed and he doubled over, heaving. “Strap him up, put him in with the supply trailer for the trip.”
“Sir it gets hot in the…” The solder let his words trail off with one look from his commander.
By the time Jackson was strapped up and carried off, the doc had the girl sedated and pulled out of her cuffs.
McNabb pulled himself into the back of the cab and looked down at the girl. She looked up at him, blinking glassy eyes. “Christ, Doc. How much did you use on her?”
“She seemed rather resistant to the drug. It could be the amount of adrenaline in her system. I couldn’t say for sure.”
From the other side of the cab the large man with an unkempt beard called out to him, “You better hope I get my hands on you before she does.” He was the one they’d called Roger before, he remembered that.
“I can understand why you might be upset.”
“You’ll understand it when I get my hands on you.”
With a sigh McNabb turned away. “Doc, put her in the medic van, we’re moving out.”