Chapter 63: 'Take down'

Luks rounded the largest trunk he'd seen for a while and suddenly went tumbling, punctuating each successive impact as he rolled downwards into the dark.

"OH! OW! FUCK! DAMN!" His eloquence in motion was halted abruptly by a large bramble at the bottom of the gully he'd unintentionally discovered. Both cushioning and making his final impact a most memorable occasion. Realizing, eventually he was still somehow conscience and not at all certain that was such a good thing. He lay for several moments softly moaning before even lifting his head. Then wished immediately he hadn't! The renewed pain was more than sufficient for to curse life in general and Sato in particular for dragging him out here!

Spiting the dirt he suddenly realized was in his mouth. Luks took stock, feeling hope rise ever so slightly. Half covered in brambles at the bottom of a gully! He might have just stumbled into a place to wait this out! Least till sun up. Glancing around his little 'hidey hole', he then felt the gorge rise in his dry throat. He wasn't alone! Laying a few feet away, another prone body was just visible. He strained his vision and felt recognition suddenly catch.

"Hito!" Luks hissed from between his teeth. The light wasn't good but he was certain! "Hito!" he repeated, slightly louder.

"Shut up man!" Came the whispered reply "That bitch with the gun is still back there!"

"I know!" Luks grimaced, not even wanting to think about what they'd seen fading in behind her! A trick of light? Everything he knew told him it had to be! Women don't just materialize out of thin air ether! "Where's Jax?" He asked.

"He split!" Hito told him in a hushed voice. "Said, we all could just fuck ourselves!"

"Sounds just about what that pussy would say!" Luks grumbled shaking his head. He'd never liked that asshole. The recent shit with the gun? Only served further indication. The guy was bad news.

"Is Izo with you man?"

"Hell!" Luks swore. "His chicken shit ass took off before any of us!" He'd seen Izo starting to bolt before that broad had even fired.

"We can't just keep running!" Hito told him. "Sooner or later we'll run out of woods!"

"I'm open to suggestions." Luks shot back his way.

"Once we're in the open, she'll pop us!" Hito continued, belaboring the flaming obvious. "We could wait here?" He then suggested. "Till sun up. It's pretty dark." Luks waited, nodding more to himself of course. Noticing then Hito had fallen Silent, hopefully in thought.

"That might work." he considered. " But if she don't find us, by morning this place will be crawling with cops!"

"Yeah maybe." He heard Hito breathe. Luks chewed his lip. Not certain at all what it was that Jax had shot back at the shrine but he'd shot something! Maybe even somebody! Burglary he could handle, there was no way he was doing time for murder!

"We gotta take her out." He added quietly. There was the expected shock laden pause.