‘Is it getting hot in here?’ I asked the three other men stuffed into the tank with me. ‘I wish we could crack a window.’
‘I don’t think cracking a window would make it less hot in here,’ Reyes smirked from the gunner seat, eyes hidden by the periscope he was pressed against.
‘At least we’d have a breeze,’ Jones nodded at me, acting like he was considering it.
‘If you want a breeze, I can give you a breeze,’ Luca chuckled.
‘NO!’ we all shouted in unison, turning to glare at him. I think I actually saw Jones reach for his holster.
‘We’ve warned you, Luca,’ Reyes said, eyes steely. ‘One more time and we will strap you to the front of this thing.’
‘It was just a joke!’ Luca laughed again, hands up in surrender. ‘God, you guys are frostier than a car aircon repair in the Arctic.’
‘Did someone tell you that you were funny, once?’ I frowned at him.
‘If they did,’ Jones went on. ‘They were lying to you, and you should probably never trust them again. I hope it wasn’t your mama.’
‘Woah, woah,’ Reyes said, stiffening against the periscope. ‘We have some movement fellas.’
‘What sort of movement,’ I frowned down at my instruments. ‘I can’t see anything on my end.’
‘Three ‘o clock,’ he murmured, swivelling to follow whatever he was seeing. ‘Boys, did I ever tell you about the time I visited a quality mechanic who repairs cars in Deception Bay? He did such a good job of looking after my car. It taught me a valuable lesson.’
‘Sir?’ I asked, swapping confused looks with the other two behind Reyes.
‘Sometimes, boys,’ Reyes slowly let a grin slide up his face. ‘It pays to be patient. Especially if you’re the truck. That was the lesson.’
‘What? That makes no sense’
His fingers tightened on the trigger, and the whole tank shook with the boom.