Jonathan Hayes - A Hard Death

T he airboat was nearing the edges of the Glades, wending its way through a series of small sloughs. The dry season had been unusually harsh, and parts of the swamp where Tony could normally fly over the sawgrass at full speed were shallow mazes of protruding sedge and parched marl.

The airboat, bought used from a local tour operator and beefed up with a Chevy big block engine, had a flat hull that could glide through the shallowest marsh. Tony was perched high up on the stick, in front of the safety cage around the roaring six-foot propeller.

The going was slow. The airboat was always trickythe stick controlled the two vertical rudders, but there was no way to slow down, no reverse, and the slower you moved, the harder it was to steer.

With six passengers, the boat was near capacity. Smith was boss for the day, Bentas second in command, and Tony on the rudder. And Brodie had sent Tarverthat boil on the ass of humanityalong for the ride. And then there was their cargo, the two Mexican prisoners, the whole reason for the trip.

Squinting into the setting sun, Smith shifted the shotgun into his left hand, scowled, and turned to make a cutting gesture to his pilot. Tony throttled down, abruptly tapping the stick forward to send the airboat scudding left to miss a rotting tree limb.

The Mexicans sat in the front row, each hooded with a white plastic bag that read DELFINE PIGLET FEED in red; the heavier ones shirt was soaked in bloodTonys handiwork. A coarse yellow nylon rope hung slack between their necks, tying them together for their last precious moments of life. Their wrists were lashed behind them; Smith hadnt bothered shackling them to the seatswhere were they going to go? They knew hed shoot them if they went into the water, shoot to wound, let the gators finish them off.

He wondered what hed do in their place. They knew what was going to happen: when men finally made it into the inner circle, while still high on all the money theyd be making, Brodie showed them his special videotape. And once theyd seen the video, the men knew they were in, that there was no turning back.

The fat one wouldnt quit blubbering, the sound so loud even the noise of the prop couldnt drown it out. Smith was sick of that shit, but if he just gave in and blew Gordos head off and dumped the body, thered be nothing to show the other workers, no way to teach them that the Rule was the Rule, and the Rule must be obeyed.

Smith leaned over, tapped Bentas on the arm to get his attention. He yelled, Shut him up! jabbing his finger toward Gordo.

Bentas bent forward, smacked Gordos hood hard with the butt of his rifle, and yelled, Oye, puto! Sigue as y vas a echar las entraas. Y si vomitas ah, te vas a ahogar!

Gordos head jerked forward and stayed there, craning away from the unseen club. Smith couldnt hear the blubbering anymore.

What did you say?

Bentas grinned. A little joke. But he understands.

Smith turned back to stare out to the horizon, looking for the big island of trees. He wondered if it had a name; Tony claimed to be an eighth Miccosukee, maybe he knew.

The airboat was almost idling now, edging slowly forward. A snowy egret roused, skittering across the surface of the water before launching awkwardly into the air.

The airboat swung into a wide curve; Tony whistled and nodded to the right. The humped shape of the hammock, rising like the back of an elephant out of the marsh, maybe a quarter-mile further. A couple of acres of dark loam covered by thick swamp forest.

As the boat drew closer, a handful of vultures rose from the canopy and flapped high into the air to wheel and glide over the tree tops.

As Tony let the airboat float in toward the bank, Tarver lifted the camcorder and shouted, Guys, guys! Let me out first so I can get them coming off the boat!

Before Smith could stop him, hed scrambled out and onto the island, almost sliding to his knees in the mud before grabbing a branch and hauling himself up onto the solid ground. He turned, lifted his camcorder to his face, and yelled, Okay! Come on!

Tony climbed down from his seat and stepped nimbly up onto the bank. When Smith pulled the hoods off the two men, they looked around wildly, blinking in the light. Gordos black hair was now slick with blood from when Bentas had hit him.

Bentas prodded them to their feet with his rifle, nudging them toward the front of the boat. Wrists bound behind their backs, necks leashed together, they hobbled clumsily forward, frantically overbalancing as the boat gently tipped and slid under their moving weight. They slowed to a shuffle, so Bentas gave Gordo another tap.

Joaquin went down first, but missed the bank, his feet slipping back out from underneath him as he fell face-forward into the bank, toppling Gordo, who fell on top of him. The two writhed together in the mud, Joaquin kicking as he slowly slid back toward the water.

Tony pushed Tarver out of the way and reached down to haul the fat one up onto solid ground, while Bentas stepped down into the muck to grab Joaquin.

Smith let them catch their breath before going on toward the clearing.

They moved in single file through the thick undergrowth, crashing through the tangles of muscadine and devils claw as the ground firmed under their feet. They squeezed past tall gumbo-limbo trees and into the heart of the island, where the gumbo-limbo gave way to a few dozen towering mahogany trees. A long time ago, timber poachers had carved a hollow into the small forest, leaving a moss-covered clearing at the center; the deep green shadow flickered with light when the wind stirred the canopy high overhead.

As they entered the clearing, Gordo slipped on the moss, pulling Joaquin down to his knees. Gordo lay there rigid on the ground, not moving as Bentas and Tony tried to get him to his feet, Joaquin being dragged back and forth as they struggled. Finally Bentas swung the butt of his gun into Gordos head one more time, connecting with a low, hollow pock! that resonated dully through the dead air of the clearing.

Joaquin muttered, Tenemos que hacerlo, vamos ya de una vez. Como quiera, nos van a matar. Haz tu paz, mi hermano. Its going to happen. Lets get it over with. Theyll just hurt you more, and then kill you anyway. Make your peace now, brother.

Bentas grunted, Hazle caso a tu hermano, cabron. Es inteligente. Listen to your brother, asshole. Hes smart.

But it didnt take, and Gordo began to writhe and kick again as Smith and Bentas dragged him forward across the moss, Joaquin scrambling forward on his knees as best he could.

Tony had set the chairs against a big mahogany, the rust-pitted metal backs pressed firmly against the thick gray trunk. He stepped forward, and, with Smith and Bentas holding Gordo down, quickly loosened the rope. He pulled the noose tight around Joaquins neck so that he couldnt run, then dragged him over to the tree.

He motioned for Joaquin to get up on the chair.

When the Mexican hesitated, Tony wordlessly pulled out the knife hed used to cut Gordo earlier.

Joaquin straightened. They had lost, and now it would happen, but he was a man: he wasnt going out like some little bitch.

He was calm now, the clearing hovering around him like water, distant and separate. He was moving through the air, he was stepping up onto the chair, he was leaning forward to steady himself against the trunk, he was turning to watch them drag Gordo to the other chair, punching him and clubbing him as they went. He was. He was. He was.