Hannah ran over and climbed onto Jack's back, watching him happily as he continued to complete the final details, occasionally leaving a lipstick mark on his face.
Grandpa Bonham shook his head and turned to find Aunt Molly.
In the afternoon, everyone prepared to set off. Walker drove his Ford F-150 loaded with camping gear such as a grill and tent; Emily drove a Subaru Forester SUV with the two children; and Jack's Firebird followed at the rear.
[A/n: Freaking change the car man. I an you go to shooting scenes in this knowing a damage could occur but then complain about it.]
After waving goodbye to the two elders, the three vehicles sped towards the southwestern border desert.
Perhaps because Emily's car was following behind, Walker slowed down slightly, but still maintained a speed of almost 90 miles per hour for nearly four hours.
In a vast open field, the three vehicles stopped one by one.
"Let's camp here tonight. Emily's supply point is just ahead. There are no drone patrols here at night; it's a common route used by immigrants."
Walker got out of the car and pointed to a spot not far ahead.
The area they were currently at was slightly higher, almost like a small hill. The spot Walker pointed to was less than a kiloter from the summit, from where the terrain sloped down to a gentle slope.
A path, clearly worn down by footsteps, was visible at the bottom of the slope.
"We've set up three supply points on the surrounding hillsides, each with 20 barrels of drinking water and a small amount of food," Emily explained, pointing to the three locations.
"We co here weekly to collect empty barrels and replenish our drinking water and food supplies. The money cos from everyone's donations."
Illegal immigrants from xico are one of the pillars of this Lone Star state's economic boom, and ranchers welco this cheap labor.
As long as the illegal immigrants work diligently on the ranches and stay for a certain number of years, they can apply for legal status — a mutually agreeable arrangent, of course, that's just a nice way of putting it.
"They set off from xico, and to avoid being discovered, they have to walk nearly thirty kiloters. Every year, weak children and won collapse in this desert. This is all we can do," Emily said with a hint of helplessness.
"It's too dangerous here. Do you always co alone?" Hannah asked worriedly.
Emily smiled and reassured her, "Geri always cos with . She should be here soon, and I have an AR-15 in the back of the car, so you don't need to worry."
Hannah's expression was a little strange. "Is that Geri who runs the bar? Your rival? Is she still single?"
Emily smiled and patted her lightly. "Geri is a mutual friend of ours. Walker has always been loyal to . Don't talk nonsense."
Walker looked smug, as if to say, "You can't sow discord between us." He kissed Emily on the cheek, but she pushed him away and urged him to get to work.
Jack and Walker unloaded the grill from the car together, and Walker's two children were also quite diligent and capable, quickly setting up the three tents.
Jack grabbed a shovel and dug a shallow trench around the campsite. He then sprinkled sulfur powder inside to repel snakes and insects, as rattlesnakes and scorpions were common visitors in this desert.
"Jack, co and see!"
The two Walker children were already quite familiar with Jack. After setting up their tents, they started wandering around when suddenly Stella ran over, grabbed Jack's arm, and started running.
Sowhat bewildered, Jack followed the little girl to a rock, where they saw a thick rattlesnake locked in combat with a strange creature.
The creature was quite large, over half a ter long, and grotesquely ugly or beautiful, depending on the person, covered in a hard shell, yet with sparse, long hair. Unfazed by the rattlesnake's fangs, it bit down hard on its opponent's vital spot.
The rattlesnake, despite its size, was helpless against its heavily armored enemy, twisting its body but unable to break free.
"Is that an armadillo?"
Jack was seeing this native species for the first ti. In his previous life, he had only seen them in nature docuntaries, and his impression was that they would curl into a ball when threatened. He never expected them to fight a rattlesnake.
Soon, the rattlesnake was mangled beyond recognition, and the armadillo began gnawing on its head.
"Can we catch it and play with it?" Stella asked curiously, trying to approach, but Jack pulled her back.
"If I rember correctly, armadillos might carry diseases."
Jack took out his phone and snapped a picture of the scene before him. It wasn't completely dark yet, and seeing this ancient beast was truly rare.
Bats, armadillos, and longhorn cattle are all iconic Texas animals, and he hadn't expected to see one of them so soon. Bats weren't particularly interesting, but he wanted to see longhorn cattle; he'd heard their horns could grow to over 3 ters long and tasted good.
He led the two curious children back to the campsite, where a pickup truck had arrived. A beautiful woman, with a completely different style from Emily, was chatting with everyone.
This was Geri, whom they had ntioned earlier. Like Emily, she had long blonde hair, piled high on her back, but compared to Emily's gentle deanor, this girl possessed a wilder, more untad air.
After a brief introduction, the n and boys were herded to start a fire and roast at, while the girls, young and old, laughed and chatted as they carried supplies to resupply the surrounding supply points.
Augie, bored, put on his headphones and crawled into his tent to listen to music. Jack and Walker lit the fire on the grill, chatting as they did so.
"Can you tell about your experience in New xico?" Walker asked with a smile.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "What do you know?"
"There aren't many secrets within law enforcent. So rumors have spread — rumors that an FBI agent encountered so strange people in the mountains and discovered a gold mine."
Jack chuckled. "That natural gold nugget made that connection, didn't it? But strictly speaking, I'm not an FBI agent yet."
He tried to choose non-sensitive topics, giving a general description of the encounter.
Walker said with so regret, "It's a pity the whole case was kept strictly confidential, otherwise, this legendary story alone would be enough to get Geri to treat you to a month's worth of free whiskey at her bar."
Jack was about to reply when a gunshot rang out in the distance, followed by a scream, "Walker!"
The two n were startled, exchanged a glance, turned around simultaneously, drew their pistols, and ran towards the direction of the gunshot.
As Walker ran, he shouted to his son, who had also heard the gunshot and was curiously erging from the tent, "Take the gun, it's in your mother's car."
Augie nodded quickly, opened the trunk of the Subaru, slung his AR-15 over his shoulder, and followed.
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