Quaranteam - Dave in Dallas

This chapter contains scenes of combat and nonconsensual intercourse. For this reason, it has been categorized under 'NonConsent / Reluctance'. Most of that is implied, but an experienced QT reader will undoubtedly know exactly what is happening.

I would like to thank CorruptingPower for his continued approval of this and other side stories. BreaktheBar and Agathon deserve a huge shoutout for their work keeping all of us on theme within the QTverse. I'd also like to thank the guys in the writer's room for proofreading and continuity checking before Break and Aga, so those two can stay focused on the big picture. (I'd list them all individually, but damn, there's a lot of us now!)

Lastly, of course, thank each of you for continuing on this wild ride. Well, it's really gotten wild in the past chapter or so. Much of what came before was getting you to know the people in Dave's house. Now we're into the stuff planned since the beginning, when I first approached CP for permission to write this tale.

******

Ch 12 -- A Walk on the Chaotic Good Side

October 29, 2020 12:30am

The hum of the heater fan on its lowest setting combined with the warm air coming off the windshield were not helping Dave maintain alertness. Livy drove while he checked their route against what he'd seen on the detective's map. So far, it was just a matter of 'drive towards Athens'.

Dave snuck the window down a little, inviting some cool air to help him stay fresh. Not too far, though. Occasionally, they'd run into an isolated cloud still giving up a pittance of drizzle, remnants of what passed over their house yesterday morning. Mostly it was just cold.

"I miss the little triangle windows that pivoted open on Dad's old beater pickup."

Dave chuckled. "Yeah, those were useful. Guess somebody decided to save money and make them fixed instead of movable." Olivia hmphed in response. When she said nothing for a few minutes, he reached into the bag on the seat between them and pulled out an apple. She didn't notice until he took his first crackling bite.

"Damn. Again?" she laughed. "Fill up too much and you'll bust out that stab shirt. Sorry, it's just..."

"I'm eating way more often than the rest of you, and not gaining any weight. Yeah, I know. They said this serum shit has weird side effects. Seems for me it's kicked my metabolism into the stratosphere."

"Oooo, big words like 'stratosphere' huh? Hmm, ya know, the higher metabolism would explain why you're outrunning me."

Dave turned his head towards her, a mock annoyed expression on his face. "I've been faster than you for years. For a bit there in your teens you gave me a good challenge."

Liv giggled. "I got faster so you'd have to look at my ass."

"I worked harder to stay ahead of you so I wasn't looking at a sixteen-year-old's ass."

Out of the corner of his eye, Dave noted Livy giving him a rueful look. With a quiet voice -- and one eye on the road -- she asked, "Is this the only way we could have been together?"

His heart skipped a beat. His voice was deepened with loss when he replied, "I don't know, Olivia. I just don't know. The two of us together would have been a very unusual pairing in other circumstances. No law would have stopped us being together but a lot of custom and tradition would interfere." He reached his hand out and she took it.

"So it was either this, or an asteroid hitting the Earth for me to get you?"

Dave laughed. "Maybe not quite that dramatic."

Their joined hands lay on the seat between them for a time, enjoying the union of their lives as the cold, damp miles passed.

Half an hour later, signs proclaimed a junction ahead as they neared their first waypoint.

"Want me to stay on 175 and go east around Athens?"

"No, west on 7. When we get to the southside of town, we'll take 19 south." Dave waited before asking, "You need to switch out. We've both had long days."

"I'm good. Just hand me another Dr. Pepper."

Dave knee-stood in the seat, reaching back to the cooler with water, soda and reusable freezer packs. Ice would have been too loud loading at the house, and going to an automated ice station was more deviation than he was willing to take. The drinks weren't ice-cold this way, but they were at least cool. Between the caffeinated soda, and the No-Doz bottle in the glove box, they could fight off the drowsiness the road hum threatened to induce.

Weirdly, the squeeze from the compression shirt for the stab plates helped keep him awake, though it did make it tougher to twist around for things. Maybe if he wore it more often, he'd know how to move better in it.

With the late hour, and pandemic rules in effect, they hadn't seen another vehicle since pulling out of their own driveway. They crossed three overpasses for major roads out of town before exiting to southbound 19 / Palestine St.

The creepy feeling intensified as they took their exit. The north side of the road held a hospital with what was undoubtedly the only ER for thirty miles around. In some directions, even further than that. And there was no activity at all. The lights were on. But no signs of human movement. A few miles down the road they passed the middle school, completely abandoned since March. Liv's hand slipped back to the middle of the bench seat. Dave added his to hers, holding her gently but firmly.

Ten minutes later, with their headlights boring holes into the pitch black, Dave's phone buzzed. He pulled it out, noting the time was now approaching 2am.

-There's been another attack, this time on a very rich man's estate. Bodyguards dead, left laying there.

-Rich man dead, carried off, along with most of his partners.

-Last seen southbound on 45, suspect they are taking that to 287 until Palestine. No intelligence beyond that.

Please ask your friend to decide quickly.

Dave quietly fumed. Another attack meant more suffering that he hadn't prevented. That was the whole point of this crazy scheme wasn't it?

Immediately, he recalled a story Carter had told only once, after they'd been roommates for more than a year. It was a 'Boy's Night In' with two pizzas and a tsunami of beer, and some typical action flicks playing. Dave's friend related a time when they'd been too late to protect a local villager that had cooperated with the Special Forces team. The local government goons had not been kind to the collaborator. Or his family.

"We found out too late, got there too late, not a fucking thing we could do. Not one fucking thing. Except," he raised his head so his bloodshot eyes were revealed, "we tracked the fuckers and took them out before they got back to their base. It was beyond our mandate. We were supposed to train only, not engage directly. We did it, and never talked about it."

Track the fuckers down and take them out. Little wonder why that particular memory surfaced now.

"Something wrong?"

"Text from the detective. They hit another house. Successfully this time."

"Oh shit. What are we going to do?"

"What an old friend once told me was the only real option. Track the fuckers down and kill them."

"Dad was such an eloquent man."

Dave barked a laugh as he texted back.

-We're already enroute.

-We'll locate them on the run and track them to their base.

-Thank God.

-And thank your friend for me.

Dave still saw no reason to inform her of his omission. Well, he felt a little guilty, but she'd get over it. Lupe on the other hand, might just tie him to the bed and spoon feed him between each woman's 'dosing' turn. Shawna might or might not help Lupe, but she was not going to

help

Dave

avoid

Lupe. Hell, by the time he got back, Lupe might be so worked up she'd chew him out exclusively in Spanish for over an hour. In between kisses and hugs because his dumb ass came home in one piece.

Getting his mind back on the present, Dave pulled up a map on his phone.

"This may make it easier to find their base. They're coming down 287. Previous attempts tracked them as far as Palestine. We'll intersect with 287 just outside Palestine, so we'll pick a good spot when we get there and wait. I suspect they will be an hour or half hour behind us."

"K."

Dave zoomed and scrolled on his map for several minutes. "There's a community college north of the intersection. It has a parking lot that will give us a good view, but far enough away we could miss something. There's also a gas station and a convenience store on the south of the intersection, on the west side that would give better views, but higher risk of detection. It's probably closed. If we're the only car there, it's going to be awfully suspicious -- especially if we pull out right after they pass."

"Don't worry, Dad gave me a few lessons on shaking a tail, and on tailing. Just before I went off to college, he even had me drive back country roads with no lights -- on the road or car. If we can avoid getting noticed when we first pull out -- by waiting 'til we can just see their tail lights -- we should be fine."

"Let's go for the convenience store first. If it looks too dicey, we'll move off to the college parking lot."

Liv nodded her agreement. The silence that followed persisted until the intersection loomed. The community college parking lot had all of its lights on, as did the Exxon just south of it. The Valero on the west side and south of the intersection had its awning lights on, but no more. No lights were on around the convenience store south of the highway confluence. Even better, there were two vehicles parked in the lot.

Liv pulled into a space near one of the other vehicles. But not too close. She killed the lights, lowered the windows halfway, and turned off the ignition. Both occupants of the truck surveyed first the near vehicle, then the more distant one, looking for any sign of occupancy. If these guys were good, they might have a lookout posted to watch for a tail. During the forty-five minute wait, neither their eyes nor ears detected any sign of another person in the parking lot. For that matter, there was no sign of anyone around the college, or in the gas station south of them. The station across the way probably had an attendant inside.

A low rumble coming from the northwest initially alerted Dave and Liv to their approaching quarry. Without exchanging words, they each hunched down in their seats. Both were on full alert. Hunter versus hunter was a dangerous game. Of course, if one hunter doesn't know the other is around, so much the better. For the other at least.

Five SUVs, varying from mid-size to huge, rolled swiftly through the interchange. They slowed from far in excess of highway speeds, down to something reasonable for the possibility of merging -- if one had incredibly sparse traffic to handle. Which worked just fine, since there was absolutely zero traffic to merge with.

As the engine sounds began to fade, Livy sat up and started the engine. She quickly doused the lights that automatically lit up before backing out from behind the vehicle two parking spaces over. Hopefully, it shielded them from the target's notice. Well, that and the fact the targets were headed away from them, and presumably keeping hostages in check. With swift, smooth motions, Olivia got the pickup on the highway following the distant trail of tail lights.

Noting the woodlands on both sides of the highway limiting visibility around the curves, Livy began rapidly closing the distance. Balancing that were the few streetlamps and the need to not show up in the last vehicle's rearview mirror. The train of SUVs passed under one, went dark again except for the taillight -- which brightened briefly -- then were illuminated again for a flash before disappearing.

"Shit," she muttered.

"It's gotta be the underpass for the loop. That's why they went left and cut off. They went behind the embankment. Just take the loop to the left and keep pressing. We'll catch them. Just be careful of more street lamps. I'm not sure if this loop they're hopping on is limited access. If they hit stoplights, we'll need to be very careful to avoid notice."

"Right."

There were a few traffic lights to negotiate, but both were solid green the entire time the runners and the pursuers were in view. The greater concern was the street lights near the intersections. Increasing their following distance once a traffic light became visible bought them some grace. They also took the risk of allowing the convoy to get out of view over a small rise while they waited just outside the pool of light before making the left at Park Ave.

That was followed by mild panic until they could catch up with their quarry. A sweeping left turn awaited just over the crest. Dave spotted tail lights turning right as they finally hit a straight section. It turned out to be another curve in the road. This road had just enough curves to allow Livy to close the distance and remain unobserved. As the pursuing duo came around one curve, the convoy ahead was disappearing around the next.

Just as they cleared a shallow 's' turn, Dave spotted tail lights disappearing to their right.

"Ease up, I think we're going off onto a narrower road."

By the time they reached the turn, Liv had them at an appropriate speed. No sign of the convoy ahead, and greater darkness with the trees closer in, she had to go slower. Fortunately, the road was winding through a few tight turns which caused the convoy to go even slower. They managed to catch sight of taillights and hear engine noises through the trees before they got close enough to be noticed.

The asphalt took a gradual rightward curve, but a faint red glow inside the dust cloud ahead signaled the convoy had plunged ahead onto the dirt road. Hunter and unwitting prey slowed again, but the frequent braking and the scattering effect of the dust kept Dave and Liv well aware of their quarry's position. Liv coasted and maintained distance so she never had to touch the brake. To do so would reveal their pursuit.

The convoy slowed further and Liv allowed the truck to coast to a stop.

"Let's find a place to park this thing and dismount." Dave pointed off to a small pocket beside the road where the trees curved away from the dirt track. Each opened their door gingerly, sliding quietly to the wet grass. Liv and Dave first checked their own gear, then each other's. Satisfied they wore or carried everything they thought they would need, they eased the doors closed, latching them softly.

"One benefit of this weather -- the gators will be hibernating, and maybe the snakes too," Dave said in a whisper.

"Brumating. And probably yes on both counts. The gators will be in the water, but the snakes will find a burrow or hollow log. So stay away from likely hidey holes."

"Yes, professor." Dave's wry grin was both smart ass and respectful. Liv's nature knowledge far exceeded his own. Her reply smile was appreciative.

Then both faces went blank as the two focused on their mission. Using every technique Carter had taught him, Dave slipped stealthily through the trees. Crouching, he moved swiftly from bole to bole, taking care to avoid rock piles and downed logs.

The red glow in the distance was diminishing. He noticed sets of tail lights lining up side-by-side before extinguishing. They were parking. That was a good thing, because Dave and Liv were already on foot. That also meant the possibility of guards on the perimeter. Dave paused a bit longer in his position, searching for any sign of patrols or stationary sentinels. Seeing none, he dashed forward to a new location and watched again for any sign of an observer. Liv moved from her prior spot to the place Dave had just vacated.

Morning twilight was in full swing, so the pair had good lighting. Periodically, Dave observed men moving to each vehicle, removing a woman, and leading her to one of the buildings. A few men guarded the vehicles, but their focus was on the occupants, not someone outside. All the better.

Dave and Liv found themselves places within whisper distance a few feet back from the tree line. Unobstructed views with low probability of getting spotted. In better circumstances, they would observe for hours, from multiple positions around the clearing, gathering information and striking in the wee hours, or at first light tomorrow. But... those women being taken inside compelled faster action. Whatever these assholes were doing needed to be stopped. At the same time, they couldn't just rush in, or they'd lose, Dave would be dead, and Liv would be dead or worse. And not long after, the rest of his family would be in very dire straits.

So don't fuck up, asshole

. This had to be what Carter meant about walking the razor's edge.

One thing was clear -- these guys had no security posted. The pre-dawn twilight was sufficiently bright that someone looking out the window would spot them if they got stupid. The trees opened up into a large clearing. Within the open space sat the parked SUVs, two large buildings, and several smaller ones. The two large buildings were corner adjacent and perpendicular on their long axes. They were somewhat longer than they were wide. The large building stretched wide across their eyeline seemed to be where everyone was gathered. That's the building the women had been taken into. Several others converged on that location not long after.

About half an hour after the last man disappeared into the big building, Dave and Liv spotted someone leaving. He had someone over his shoulder. He headed for one of the smaller buildings. About five minutes later, it happened again.

Time to communicate. He pulled out his phone, already set to silent, no vibration. Fortunately, he had a few bars.

-Compound located. Track my location.

Stuffing his phone in his pocket without waiting for a reply, Dave slid closer to his partner. "I'm going in closer. I'll get under the windows and listen in."

Liv's face was unconvinced. "Is that wise?"

"We need to know more before we do anything. I've got to get close enough to hear them. Get your rifle ready to snipe. Keep me covered. I'll pass on the outside of the first building," he pointed to the one that lay along their line of sight and perpendicular to the target building, "and then cross along the near wall of the one they're in. You'll be able to see me for most of that time, and you can see either end. You'll know if someone's about to come around and spot me."

"We need Dad's low watt tactical radios."

"If wishes were horses, hun." He gave her a quick kiss, then silently backed further into the trees. This allowed him to move more quickly without detection, though he still remained on alert for any sentries out here in the trees. There were none. Approaching the tree line again, he scanned thoroughly with eyes and ears, for any sign of someone that would spot him emerging. With still no sign, Dave dashed from the trees to the near wall of the

likely

empty large building.

There he waited, listening for any sound suggesting he'd been seen. His heart was pounding. He worked to calm himself so he could hear anything over the roar of the blood in his ears. Of course, that could just be the contrast. This rural fall morning was incredibly quiet thus far. Satisfied he was as yet undetected, Dave moved stealthily to the far corner of the building. He put a hand on the wall, feeling the rough brick exterior. It was distinctly not new, but not decrepit either.

A few short steps brought him to the building's corner. Using the 'slicing the pie' tactic Carter taught him so long ago -- and re-taught over and over and over -- Dave passed around the corner to find no one there. Hugging the wall, he crept by, pausing at each of the two doors, listening for any sign of occupancy. By the time he reached the end of the building near the occupied building, the sun was not yet up, but the sky was well-lit. As was the compound.