Chapter 68

"You trying a little spray and pray there?" Finn asked, his voice trembling from the jolt of adrenaline coursing through his body.

"That's what an AK is good for," Liv replied as she tried to steady her nerves. "Holy shit, that lead foot massage was getting pretty scary!"

"Yeah! I figured it was only a matter of time before I took one up the crotch! When we get home, I'm going to personally thank whoever invented this armor. And probably have them make me a cup out of it!"

"Boys and their junk," Liv shook her head. "You never see girls going around and grabbing their crotches."

"Hey, our 'junk' is like our favorite hat. As a man you just wouldn't be right without it. Chicks can't understand. It's like the coolest dude in the world is hanging out in your pants, he's always there for you ... but not in a gay way ... unless you are gay. But that's a different story."

"Whatever it is, it's weird." She climbed through the hatch and crawled back into the driver's seat. Once comfortable, she restarted the engine and used the winch to play out the line until the rear bumper hit the ground with a thump. Finn closed the hatch, crawled back into the passenger's seat and buckled in. Liv let out more line, and the Jeep started flipping over backward, onto its roof.

"Umm, I hate to interrupt you there, Miss Evil Kneivel, but this doesn't seem like the right way." Finn nudged her in the ribs.

"Oh, you want Evil Kneivel, huh?" A devilish grin spread across her face.

Finn hesitated. "I take that back; you were doing just fine. Go ahead and park it on its roof. I'm cool with it!"

"Nope. You challenged my parking abilities. And now you have to live with the consequences."

"It's the living part I'm concerned about," Finn responded worriedly.

"Hey, have I gotten you killed yet?"

"Well, there's always a first time ... it's also usually the last." Finn gulped as Liv reversed the winch. Seconds later, they were once again dangling in the air, buffeted by the ever present wind. Her finger hovered over the winch switch, waiting for the perfect gust. It wasn't long before a strong burst howled around the Jeep twisting them sideways. Her finger smacked the switch, and the armored SUV dropped to the ground with a jarring bang. This time it was leaning in the right direction.

"Was that good for you?" Liv purred.

"That wasn't quite rough enough. I really prefer it to be crazier. I mean, I only felt like I was gonna die twice!" Finn rubbed the back of his head where he had smacked it against the headrest.

"I can do it again," Liv threatened, her finger resting on the winch controls.

"No, no. I'm good. Maybe later ... or never."

"Aww, you're no fun." Liv pouted and lowered the SRT-8 onto the tracks. As soon as they were flat on the snow, she and Finn grabbed their assault rifles, hopped out, and crept to the main door of the mine. Most of the snow in front of the entrance had been cleared away, and only a few inches remained. The rocks were slippery from ice and made each step treacherous. The roaring wind bit through their thick jackets and threatened to blow them off the ledge.

Unlike the Three Crosses Mine, the main door to the Bathsheba was made of thin, but sturdy sheet metal. "Think we can just knock?" Finn asked.

"You never know ... they are expecting us. I really hope they have something warm to drink. I'm freezing my ass off out here."

"I think the only drink they want to give us is probably a bit heavy on the lead. Got any ideas?" Liv shook her head and pointed toward a large boulder. The two crept behind its shadow, which provided a welcome shelter from the wind.

"There's almost no way they don't know we're here. They seem to have a pretty top-notch security system." Liv shivered slightly.

"Yeah, I think if we ram the door, we're gonna end up with an RPG up our ass."

"Hmm, that sounds decidedly unpleasant." Liv winced. "I mean, we hardly know them. Besides, I've got a better idea." She turned and led Finn over to the corpses of the dead guards.