Take the deal

"All right," Jade says. "Tell me."

"Gimme the kit first."

"No. Tell me first."

"Stupid bitch!" the man shouts, then coughs again. "What do you think I'll do, not tell you? Then you'll take a good swing at me, and I'm in no shape to fight back. Even that stupid little twig in your hand'll put out my lights for good!"

He's got a point, Jade realizes. She reaches into her pack and tosses the first-aid kit over. "Leave me what you can, I might need it myself at some point," she says.

"No shit," he says, and opens the kit. First, he rips open some **** wipes and swabs them over the cut on his head, grimacing at the stinging pain - Jade can't help but wince a little just watching. Then, he lays a gauze pad over the wound, and wraps three lengths of medical tape around his head to hold it in place. "Got some water?" he asks.

"That wasn't part of the deal," Jade insists. "Five words, you said."

"Fine, be like that," he grumbles. "All right, then, here they are: Your map is printed backwards."

"Huh?" Jade asks.

"It's a fuckin' mirror image! They want to confuse you, keep you on the wrong track for a while. That's how they do it and still make it look legit enough so you'll trust it."

Jade looks at the map again, carefully. There's no words on this map, not even a compass, she thinks. He might be right. And if he was going to lie about something, I think he'd choose a simpler lie, like telling me where the nearest safe house is. She looks up, sees him about to pop a pack of aspirin. "Don't!" she shouts, involuntarily.

"What, you got a fuckin' headache? Mine's worse," he growls.

"No, it's just..." she hesitates, then decides she might as well say it. "Aspirin is a blood thinner. That's the last thing you need right now. You could bleed out even through that bandage."

He pauses, looking Jade in the eye. "You're tellin' the truth," he decides, and puts the pills back. Then he pushes the kit back in her direction and slumps back down, clearly exhausted. "That's worth somethin' extra. There's fresh water in that direction, about five minute's walk. 'Course, all the men know that, so someone's prob'ly gonna be waitin' for you. Your call."

Jade reaches out with her stick, hooks the kit, reclaims it. Then, without another word, she turns to leave.

"Hey... I hope you win," the man calls after her.

Jade turns back, looks him in the eye for a last time. "I hope you live," she replies, and then leaves him behind.