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of the other truck.
    Perez hopped up onto the running board of the truck, trying not to touch the mangled bodies that were still leaking blood. He tried the engine, but it was totally dead, with more bullet holes in it than the two dead bodies inside the cab. He cursed and hopped down, grabbing the driver and hoisting him up into the cab with the two young kids. He ran back to Chris, wiping his bloody hands on his pants.
    “Skipper! The truck is totally dead. Now what?”
    Cascaes wiped his sweaty forehead. “Shit. This wasn’t part of the simple plan. I’ll try and push it with our truck, but it’s only on two wheels. I dunno if this is going to work or not. Let’s get it off the road into those rocks if we can. Maybe it will go unnoticed at least till we’re out of Saudi. Get behind the wheel and try and aim it towards that depression off the road.”
    “What about them?” asked Perez.
    “Leave them in the cab. There must be a million rounds in this truck and all over the road—hiding the bodies isn’t going to fool anybody.”
    Perez jogged back to the cab and looked in. Flies had already materialized out of thin air. Blood and hunks of flesh and brain were splattered everywhere. There was no way he was sitting in the driver’s seat, so he stood on the running board with the door open while Cascaes drove his truck slowly into position behind the dead vehicle.
    The two trucks groaned with the sound of metal on metal as Cascaes slowly eased into the rear of the fifty million dollar fruit truck. Perez cranked the wheel with the gears in neutral as Cascaes used first gear to push. Sparks flew off the bare metal rim of the front wheel, and the last pieces of rubber fell off the back tire as the truck slowly inched forward. Perez fought the wheel as the truck turned off the road and picked up some momentum.
    The truck slid into a small depression off the road and stopped moving. Cascaes gave it more gas, but it was no good and the tires on his truck began to spin and smoke. He could smell burning rubber. He gave up and backed away from the truck, yelling for Perez to get back to their own vehicle. Jones ran to their truck and Cascaes called to Hodges to rejoin the group. As Hodges made his way down, Chris went to his duffle bag and pulled out a white phosphorous grenade. When Hodges arrived, Cascaes told everyone to get into their truck, which he had turned in the direction of Eskan Village. He walked down to the cab of the other truck and tossed the live grenade into it, then sprinted back to his own vehicle down the road. The cab exploded in a huge fireball and burned wildly. By the time anyone found it, there wouldn’t be much of anything except some burnt metal.
    He hopped into his own truck and gunned the engine. As they peeled off for Eskan, he told Hodges to try and call Mackey. Hodges did as he was told but, as happened earlier in the day, there was no signal. Jones craned his neck and watched the burning truck getting smaller in the distance. He fought the wave of nausea in the pit of his stomach as it exploded again, giving him one final stab into his heart.

Chapter 10
    Top of the 9th
     
    What had gotten off to a great start only lasted until the Saudi team came up to bat in the bottom of the first inning. Moose was throwing hard, but by the end of the first inning it was three to three. By the end of the fifth, they were losing seven to four. Now, top of the ninth, they were getting ready for their last attempt to come up with three runs.
    Moose was the lead-off hitter, and he was exhausted. He had pitched the whole game, not expecting to be facing professionals. They had pretty much shelled him all day. And he had been throwing as hard as he possibly could. This was finally his chance to get some revenge.
    No such luck. Torrez threw him curves, sliders, and finally struck him out with a knuckle ball that seemed to dance around in front of him before passing his huge swing. Moose surprised his teammates