Dire Distraction by Dee Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

avoid a boulder jutting up out of the water. “Damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” she said, more to herself than anything, but Avery heard her.
    He rechecked the rifle and then tested its weight against his shoulder. “Glad to know my guide is prepared.”
    “There’s more ammo in the locker.” She nodded, still concentrating on the rush of water ahead. “And a couple of smaller guns as well. I keep them out of sight most of the time. But as I said, no sense in taking chances. It’s nasty weather, and it’s almost dark. I’d say anyone on the river is suspect.”
    “Including us,” Avery said, pulling a Walther PPK from a side pocket in his duffel. Like Syd, he slid it into the waistband of his pants.
    “Yeah, well, there aren’t really any truly good guys, are there?” She’d meant the words to be teasing, but somehow they’d come out a little stronger than she’d intended.
    “I don’t know about that,” Avery said. “I just think one has to choose one’s heroes carefully.”
    “So you really believe in heroes?”
    “I work with them every day.”
    The words were spoken with understated conviction, and she found them oddly comforting. Although she wasn’t really sure she believed them. People always had their own reasons for doing things. It was just the way humans were built. Self-preservation was hard-wired.
    “We can discuss the finer points of that argument later.” She shrugged. “But right now, I suggest we concentrate on our friends out there. Could be Wai Yan, could be from another cartel, but either way I’d say the odds are pretty strong that they’re not on our side. The only question remaining—are their intentions malignant or benign?”
    “Judging from the gun mounted on the front of the boat,” Avery said, looking through the field glasses again, “I’d say the former. Any chance we can outrun them?”
    “Not unless you know something about this crate that I don’t. She’s damn near indestructible, but she was never meant to move quickly. I can try to outmaneuver them, but there’s no way I can beat them in a full-out sprint.”
    “All right then, we gear up for the possibility of a battle.”
    She glanced back at the boat behind them, steadily closing the distance. “With a twelve-inch on the bow, I’d say we’re a little outgunned.”
    “I’ve been in worse situations.” Avery’s smile was contagious. “What else have you got on board in the way of munitions?”
    “Nothing that’s going to compete with that.” She nodded toward the speedboat. “Just the guns I mentioned and a stick or two of leftover dynamite. I transported some of the stuff downriver last month, near the Thai border, for an outfit building a casino on the Myanmar side. It’s over there.” She nodded to the port side of the wheelhouse.
    “Could have potential,” he said, frowning as he clearly turned over the possibilities. “So, the way I see it, we’ve got two options. We can try to take them out. If I had the chance, I could try to shoot at their fuel tank.”
    “You’d have to be a hell of shot,” she said. “Even in perfect weather. But in this?” She nodded at the torrential downpour.
    “It’s not an impossible notion,” Avery mused. “Although it would mean we’d have to pull well within range.”
    “Which doesn’t seem like the best idea considering they’ve got the big gun. And I’m assuming we’ve got the same problem with the dynamite.”
    “Yeah, I’m afraid we’d be sitting ducks. Which might be worth it, if it was a sure thing. But as you pointed out, there are other mitigating factors that stand in the way of certain success.”
    “So you said there were two options. What’s the second choice?”
    “We make ourselves a nonissue.”
    “So what? You think we should surrender?” She narrowed her eyes and straightened into every inch of her five-foot-three frame. “The last thing we need to do is give them more of an upper hand than they