Green Desert - Chapter 8.5.3 - Séara

Bhanar was dead. Those two royalists were dead. It was the only explanation. I slapped the cuffs on Zhudıro’s wrists, right beside the last pair.

“A bit like déjà vu, ain’t it?”

I wanted to smack his smug face. Shoot him. But I couldn’t. I had him in custody and I had to let that be enough. I shoved him eastward, the direction he’d been running. “Start walking.”

Zhudıro began forward. Tépíto stepped to the side, giving the murderer a wide berth. I stayed two steps behind him, watching for any sudden moves.

“Where to?” he asked.

“The Kılímos’ house.” To our cars. To the precinct building. To a holding cell, a courtroom, and hopefully an execution chamber.

Zhudıro turned right, up the slope.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

The criminal stopped and looked down, squinting in the light. “It’s much easier up top.” And he proceeded to continue scrambling up the hill, loose dirt flowing down under his feet.

“Cover him,” I ordered Tépíto, and started up the slope myself, grabbing the few bushes for purchase as I climbed.

I reached the top before Zhudıro and unholstered my gun. Zhudıro was right. It’d be much easier walking up here. I should’ve thought of it myself.

“You can come up, Tépíto.” I leveled my gun at Zhudıro, my flashlight parallel to the gun barrel.

The criminal glanced up and my trigger finger twitched.