Green Desert - Chapter 7.3.1 - Bhanar

Pain? No pain. I wasn’t shot. The two men kept scuffling in the darkness, cursing each other with half-words. The sweet smell of dirt hit my nose.

Maybe I should take cover. I ducked behind a nearby tree. “Stop fighting! Let’s get Zhíno!”

They must’ve heard me, because they quieted down except for heavy breathing.

“Get up, asshole.” Umo. “And give me your gun.”

“What, no!”

I stepped out, gun drawn and pointed at the dim form still on the ground. “Give him your gun, Lango.”

“You can fuck off.”

Umo blurred and I heard a hard thud. Lango cried out and coughed a gurgle.

“Don’t kill him, Umo.”

“I didn’t use my gun, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you. Do you have . . . handcuffs?”

Umo stood up, grunting. “No, why?”

How were they going to take Zhíno into custody without handcuffs? “For Lango.”

The little bastard groaned. Umo stepped past him and held out something to me. “Lango’s gun, Your Majesty.”

I already had one gun and zero holsters. “You keep it.”

Umo tucked it away. “Very well, Your Majesty.” He turned back down the path, pausing only to kick Lango in the ribs.