Alas, Babylon Chapter 11 Summary

  • Lib and Randy are "married at noon that Easter Sunday" (11.1). Helen donates her wedding ring to the cause, while Preacher Henry presides over the ceremony.
  • Marriage isn't the only thing on Randy's mind, however. Tonight, he'll be executing his plan of brutal revenge on the equally brutal highwaymen.
  • The ambush crew consists of Randy, Malachai, Admiral Hazzard, and Bill McGovern. Not exactly The Expendables, but they'll do in a pinch.
  • Randy is planning to drive, but at the last second Malachai takes the job, arguing that a bunch of thugs would be more likely to steal a truck from him than Randy. Randy reluctantly agrees.
  • After a while, they notice a car trailing them. Think our boys just snagged themselves some highwaymen.
  • Malachai keeps driving, but eventually reaches a blocked bridge, where two goons are waiting. There are at least another two following from behind.
  • Malachai stops the car, waiting until the two highwaymen are practically inside before pulling out his gun and blasting away.
  • The other three men jump out from the rear, and within a few seconds, the bad guys are soundly defeated.
  • It's a rousing success, but there's one big problem: Malachai has been shot. They take the one surviving highwayman as a prisoner and rush back home for medical assistance.
  • Dan does his best for Malachai, but without his medical equipment, which wasn't recovered, he's fighting a losing battle. Malachai dies.
  • The next day, the surviving highwayman is "hung from a girder supporting the bandstand roof in Marines Park" as a warning to other criminals looking to exploit Fort Repose (11.144).