"Devil's Rim is a natural fortress. Canyon walls on three sides. Only one road in. Crane's got the ranch house here, 40 by 30 feet, two stories. He sleeps on the second floor with three bodyguards.
Bunkhouse here, 20 by 40, holds 10 to 12 men. Prisoner shed is here, 10 by 10, where he keeps the two girls. Two guards on them them 24/7. " Jesse studied the crude map. "Perimeter guards? " "Four, rotating every four hours. But there's another way in. " Marcus drew a line beneath the ranch.
"Old silver mine from the '60s. Cave system runs right under the compound. Connects to the cellar of the prisoner shed. " "Is it stable? " "Mostly. Some cave-ins over the years, but the main tunnel is solid. " "Show me the entrance. " Marcus drew an X two miles south of the ranch, hidden in a mesquite grove. You'll need a lantern.
"And luck. " Jesse turned to Nala. "We go in tomorrow night, midnight. You create a distraction, something loud. Stampede their horses, start a fire. While Crane's men are dealing with that, Marcus and I go through the caves, extract your sisters through the cellar, and we all meet at Red Mesa 48 hours later. " Nala shook her head.
"No, I go through the caves. You create the distraction. You're injured. You need I need my sisters to see a familiar face when they wake terrified in the dark. I need to be the one who breaks their chains. " Her eyes were hard as flint.
"I did not ask permission, cowboy. I told you my decision. " Jesse started to argue then stopped. She was right. The sisters would trust her. They didn't know him.
"All right," he said, "but if things go wrong, you run. Don't wait for us. Get your sisters out and ride hard for Red Mesa. " "If things go wrong," Nala said softly, "we all die together. That is the Apache way. " Marcus cleared his throat. "There's something else you should know.
The guards on the prisoner shed, one of them is Apache, a boy named Swift Bird, one of the children Crane raised. " Nala's face went still. "If we attack, we might have to kill our own people. " "Yes. " The weight of that hung in the air like smoke. Finally, Jesse spoke. "Then we find another way. We don't kill children, not even children who've been turned into weapons. " They spent the rest of the day preparing, checking weapons, gathering supplies, planning contingencies.
As the sun began its descent toward the horizon, Jesse felt his chest tighten. The familiar pressure, the irregular beat, his heart reminding him it was on borrowed time. He stepped outside the shack, away from the others. Drew the small bottle of digitalis from his vest and drank three drops. Waited for the medicine to steady his pulse.
Nala found him there. She approached silently, her healer's eyes seeing what he tried to hide. "Your heart," she said. It wasn't a question. "It's dying.
Has been for years. Shrapnel from the war, too close to remove. " "How long? " "Months, maybe weeks. Hard to say. " Nala was quiet for a moment, then "You should go home. Spend what time remains with your son. " Jesse looked at the desert, at the mountains dark against the sunset. "I will.
After I pay my debt. " "This is not just debt anymore, Jesse Walker. " "Then what is it? " She didn't answer. Instead, she placed her hand on his shoulder. The gesture was brief, almost formal, but Jesse felt the weight of it. Acceptance. Trust.
Partnership. "Get some rest," Nala said. "Tomorrow night we walk into fire. I want you alive for it. " She added. They approached Devil's Rim under a moon three days past full, bright enough to see by, dark enough to hide movement.
Jesse, Marcus, and Nala rode single file leading a spare horse. The cave entrance was exactly where Marcus said it would be, hidden behind a thick stand of mesquite. They dismounted. Jesse and Marcus checked their gear one final time. Colt pistols loaded, six rounds each.
Winchester rifles, 12 rounds each. Rope, knives, lantern, matches, water. Nala would split off here. She'd circle north to the ranch, wait for the guard change at midnight, then stampede the horses and set the hay pile afire. The chaos would last maybe 10 minutes, long enough for Jesse and Marcus to get in, free the sisters, and get out.
If everything went perfectly. Nothing ever went perfectly. Nala faced Jesse in the moonlight. For a moment neither spoke. Then she placed her hand over his, brief as a bird landing.
If I do not return, tell Keona I fought well. Or you'll tell her yourself. Her smile was small and sad. You honor my father's memory, Jesse Walker. Then she was gone, vanishing into the darkness like smoke and wind.
Jesse watched the space where she'd been, feeling something shift in his chest. Not his failing heart this time. Something deeper. She's quite a woman. Marcus said quietly.
Yeah, Jesse said. She is. They entered the cave. The first chamber was spacious, 15 ft to the ceiling, stable rock. Bats clung to the shadows above, disturbed by the lantern light.
Their wings whispered like dry leaves as they shifted and resettled. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness, a steady pulse like a heartbeat. Marcus led the way. He'd been through these caves before, sneaking supplies to Crane's men when bad weather closed the main road. He knew the way.
The tunnel narrowed after 100 ft, down to 3 ft wide, barely tall enough to crawl through. Marcus went first. Jesse followed, the lantern in front of him, Winchester strapped to his back. The walls pressed close. Jesse had been buried alive once during the war, pinned under a collapsed trench while shells exploded overhead.
The memory tried to claw its way up from where he'd buried it. He pushed it back down, focused on breathing, on moving forward. You all right back there? Marcus called. Fine.