She sighed. So, maybe three in the front room, well, if those are even the same people every time. I know Matt and Grant are there too, but I really doubt they’re up walking around. They’re probably stuffed in a back room or something with another S.A. Guard watching them. So… let’s assume four inside. And with the two on the porch, maybe six of them total? I don’t know. There still might be others. Once that sun goes down, I’ll be free to move around a lot easier and hopefully get a better count. For now though, I keep watching, gather as much info as I can.
After another hour of surveillance, the shadows began to lay long across the snow. The black uniforms of the Guards holding post across the street began to blend in with the nightfall. She placed her chair closer and rested her chin on the windowsill between two empty cans from a meal eaten earlier.
Little else happened. Another shift change passed—the extent of the action. Her eyes grew heavy with boredom, with watching nothing.
“What’s the matter, kiddo?”
“Nothing… Just trying to get my work done.”
“Come on, Jenny… You’ve been in a funk for over two weeks now. I tried giving you some time to work it out, but I’m missing my buddy.”
“Dan—”
“You remember my buddy, right? This peppy, energetic girl that got here maybe a month ago, you know the one, she used to come around and play with Sherman all the time. You haven’t seen her around, have you?”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“Not even a smile?”
“I just wanna get my work done, so I can go to sleep.”
“That’s all you do anymore.”
“I guess I’ve been tired.”
“Too tired to eat?”
“I eat… not that it’s any of your business.”
“So? What? I can’t be worried about you?”
“You can do whatever you want.”
“Quit playing like this. Something happened, and I want to know what it is. I want to help you, but I can’t if you just shut me out like this. Everyone knows everything about everyone. This place is too small to hide anything.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Did someone do something to you?”
“No.”
“Matt or Grant?”
“Hell no. They’d never do anything to me like that.”
“Like what, Jenny?”
“Nothing. I didn’t mean to…”
“I didn’t come here to fight. I’m sorry, just worried about you, kiddo. I actually came here to try and cheer you up. Kinda failed, huh?…Well anyways, the—the good news is I ended up talking to Griffin.”
“Wha— Why? Why’d you do that? He’s got nothing to do—”
“Here, calm down. He came to me, told me Derrick wanted a break from scouting and asked who I wanted to replace him with. Asked me if I had anyone in mind. And, seeing how you’re a natural with Sherman and eager to learn, I brought your name up. Said he was good with it.”
“Really? You’re not messing with me?”
“There’s that smile… And no, I’m not messing with you. You start tomorrow if you want.”
“I do.”
“We’ll be training everyday away from the Depot, so you’d better get used to being out in the world. But don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you. All I ask is that you never give up. No matter how hard it gets. You earn my trust like that, and I’ll protect you with my life.”
“I’m not asking for all that.”
“You don’t have to. Just get the job done, and we’ll be square.”
Her eyelids jerked open. Shit! How long have I been out? Peering through the window, it seemed nothing had changed across the street. The fire still burned. Silhouettes in the house, on the porch. She tossed the blanket to the floor and stood, wobbly from her doze. A quick touch to the rifle leaning against the wall, to the pistol resting in her leg holster. Everything’s okay. You gotta be better than that though. Can’t afford to doze off like that. You owe him. Danny said to get the damn job done, and we’ll be square.
Light snoring interrupted her thoughts. “Sherman,” she whispered.
Not a stir.
“Sherman.” She tried to raise him several more times. Still no use. Guess I’ll have to go wake him up. She felt her way through the dark, both hands outstretched, shuffling her feet across the carpet. Night had fallen hard upon the street, leaving the room’s layout to her imagination. Overestimating the distance to the bed, she knocked against one of the posts, startling Sherman from his sleep. “Sorry, boy, but it’s almost time to get this going.”
She angled herself at the window, peering through the blinds once again. What the…? Now, it appeared only one Guard held post at the front door. In that brief moment of waking Sherman, she must’ve missed where his partner had slinked off to. Anxiously, she scanned the house, porch, street, the yard, trying to find him and allay her fear the Guard had slipped away—now, unaccounted for. Come on… where are you?
It wasn’t but a few seconds later, and the missing Guard stood from behind the porch’s railing. Her heart slowed. Briefly, something was said between the two of Guards, then the other man took to the porch, hands against the concrete, legs straight out behind him. A push-up contest? These guys think they’re on vacation…
With her patience wearing thin and her imagination churning on about what awaited Matt and Grant, she snatched the rucksack from the floor. “We got all the info we’re gonna get watching up here.” From inside the ruck, Jenny managed to locate the flashlight, a hunting knife, and water. In between gulps, she tested the flashlight underneath the blanket and drew the knife along the fabric—it tore through the edge without fail. She slung the rifle across her back after stuffing the flashlight and knife into a cargo pocket. The rucksack would remain in the house.
Jenny took hold of Sherman’s lead and coaxed him from the bed with a few light snaps of her fingers. “Let’s go, boy.” The two crept through the house, slow and steady through the darkness. Back through the bedroom. A hallway. Past several doors. Around the corner, then she released the lead. “Blieb.” The last thing I need is you falling down these stairs. She dabbed her foot against the first step, making sure it remained her first step down—one at a time would do.
Taking handfuls of the pine railing, she kept her eyes affixed to the front door at the landing. A sheer curtain drawn across the door’s full-frame window concerned her. That curtain isn’t shielding anything from the street. Or from that damn porch. Actually… She stopped herself midway down the flight. Hanging her head just over the banister, she bent her eyes down the hallway toward the back of the house. No backlight. It won’t be a problem. Her feet eased down the remaining steps. “Hier.” Sherman responded, and the two of them hustled through the back hallway and outside.
The air stung against her face. She drew the kerchief high on her cheek bones and adjusted her sock hat, leaving only her eyes to suffer the bitter cold. She brought the pistol from its holster and kept the lead in her other hand. Sherman seemed indifferent to the conditions. He simply stood there, patient, waiting next to Jenny for the signal to advance. Which way? The kerchief absorbed her sigh as she studied her surroundings.