His shirt was off, his bronzed body swathed in sweat and even though the day was rapidly evaporating into evening the temperature still hovered well above one hundred degrees. He held the pistol cradled in his hand wrapped by the blue shirt. The Mexican in the pick-up truck had been just stupid enough to stop to investigate the blue shirt lying alongside the road, bending to pick it up and Alex's strong hands and arms had broken the man's neck in seconds.

He'd run the truck off into the dunes, too afraid to trust driving it and being spotted, better to try the roadway he felt. Now he was regretting his decision, wondering if her should make the five-mile trek back down the road to the truck.

The automatic rifle on the seat of the truck was hidden in the short scrub grass on the other side of the road, too far away to be of much use if the approaching vehicle proved to be hostile. And how would he make that determination? Without seeing his Mexican captors would he be able to tell a possible friend from foe? He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

The whine of a high pitched engine reached him and he saw the feathering of more dust approaching. Bravely he stepped into the middle of the road but at the last minute realized he'd made a bad mistake. The black SUV appeared over a slight rise in the sand dunes but before he could get a good look it had gone down another steep dip. Too late he saw that when it reappeared it would only be fifty yards away from his body in the road, the high rate of speed not allowing enough distance to stop.

Before he could react the dark truck was on him, his frantically waving arms in the dying light his only hope. Again, for a fraction of time he realized he was too late, the driver was not seeing him and he 3was doomed. Just as fast the trucks brakes suddenly locked up, the SUV veering into a slide, the rear left coming at him as if in slow motion. He hurled himself to the right and felt the metal bumper brush his left leg just enough to bring a flare of pain and then he was on the ground.

The car slid left and then fishtailed right, the brake light alternately flashing on and off as the driver fought for control. Up on two wheels it tilted, hanging in a slide that it seemed no car could recover from and then it was back onto the pavement, engine roaring and brakes squealing until it slid off the side of the road into a shallow ditch and pitched to a halt, engine smoking. The smell of burnt rubber permeated the air, the desert scent overpowered by hurting vehicle smell.

Alex slid back up to his feet, cursing as pain shot through his left hip and leg and his skinned knees. Minor flesh wounds at this point was not something to sit and whine about, he moved swiftly towards the truck, eyes scanning closely for any signs of trouble. He let out a pent up breath as he made out the two scared kids in the back, faces white, one a teen and the other much younger five or six possibly. He grinned at the two, both as a sign of reassurance but also a reaction to the facet they were not the enemy. The third reason he realized was an involuntary pedophile reaction to any young ladies he met, a put you at ease while I troll for your panties kind of move.

The door opened abruptly revealing a heavy set man, a beer paunch pushing his red tee shirt out to the limits, face red as a beet stepped out. No, hopped out would be more appropriate, his agitation evident as his beefy mouth opened and he screamed at the approaching man, disregarding both the height and size of his almost roadkill now that he had him in his sights.

"You crazy mutha-fucker, you almost killed all of us, including my kiddies. What the fuck are you some kind of a ...?"

His words were cut short, his breath expelled in one long gasp as the pistol Alex had in his hand was violently shoved into his gut, deep and hard.

"Keep talking and walk with me," Alex said in a calm voice, placing his free arm around the man's neck and leading him back across the road to where the rifle lay. "I mean you or your family no harm but I am in mortal danger and others lives depend on me. Believe me, I do not mean to do you harm but I will kill you if you even hesitate for a minute with what I tell you to do, understand my friend?"

The man nodded dumbly just as they reached the sagebrush hiding the automatic weapon. The light had now faded, dark enough so the people across the roadway would not be able to see clearly what was going on. Alex picked up the rifle and placed it inside the shirt also, the dark barrel visible but not so to the people in the dark.

"I'm going to sit in the back behind your children and if you don't act calm and do as I say I am going to shoot them. First the little one and then the big one. How old are they?"

"Almost six and thirteen," he muttered as they re-crossed the blacktop and came closer to the truck in the ditch.

"Names?" ......(cont)