Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [17]
Riley radioed his team and gave the instructions then powered his ATV to catch up to Stampede. “What’s Blossom Heat?”
“Another trade camp. Bigger. They’ll have fuel for your vehicles. With an outlaw gang of Sheldons on the loose in the Redblight, I don’t want to take a chance on running out of fuel.”
CHAPTER 5
Klein Pardot stabbed an angry finger at the map image on his PDA. “Blossom Heat is ten miles out of our way. A half day’s travel. I don’t want to lose that kind of time. Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear.” He stood under the canopy in the center of the camp as darkness closed in around them.
Hella soaked up heat near the cook fire and thought dry thoughts as she spooned rabbit stew from her bowl. The rainy season remained upon them. Stampede had made the stew even though it had been her turn to cook for them. She was grateful because his cooking was always better than hers and she’d wanted something hot and filling.
“Blossom Heat has fuel.” Stampede didn’t back down from the twitchy, little man.
“We took fuel into account when we mapped this route.”
“You took the distance into account. I’m sure you did that. But did you take the rain into account?” Stampede thrust his big head into Pardot’s face. Electric light glinted from his horns. He’d argued against the use of electrical lighting, stating that it was visible and might draw the Sheldon biker gang like bloodmoths to a flame. Pardot had disagreed and said that Riley and his men were equal to any threat the marauders might offer. It also kept the defense bots fully charged and at the ready in case there was an attack.
The confrontation between the two would come to a head, and that realization left Hella with mixed feelings. She was sick of Pardot and his pushy manner, but she knew Stampede and she could use the profit. Having funds meant being able to hole up in a safe spot for a while without the necessity of immediately finding another guide job. Resting between expeditions meant better health and continued alertness, a greater chance to stay alive out in the Redblight. Traveling by themselves was easy, but traveling with others was risky.
Stampede pointed a big finger toward the pool of ATVs and groundcrawlers in the shelter of the trees. “Ask your quartermaster or clerk to take stock of your supplies now. I guarantee that the extra strain of getting through the mud has exhausted more of them than you’d planned on.”
Reluctantly Pardot punched keys on his PDA then studied the results. After a moment he looked around and singled out one of his men. “Is this correct?”
The man checked the figures on his own device then nodded defensively. “As you can see, we’re still within the established parameters, Dr. Pardot. I’m confident we can make—”
Stampede remained focused on Pardot and drew the little man’s attention through sheer force of will. “Do those parameters include possibly being flushed off your trail into the brush by a gang of scavengers? Because if it doesn’t, your escape at some point is going to be on foot and will mean jettisoning everything you’ve brought with you.”
“Captain Riley and his men are well equipped enough to—”
“Enough to be a major attraction for those Sheldons when they find out about you. The weapons your security men carry and those groundcrawlers are going to be necessary additions to an outlaw gang trying to survive its own numbers. If anything, they’re more reason to attack. Once they find out about you, they may well come after you just for raiding privileges. Can you enter those facts into your little machine, Dr. Pardot? Let me know how that ciphers out for you.”
For a moment Pardot was silent. He shook with rage, which made his exo twitch even more.
Hella didn’t know how the argument would go. Mentally she was already packing her gear. She knew Stampede well enough to recognize a make-or-break call. And she thought she knew Pardot well enough too.
Pardot put his PDA away. “All right. We’ll do this your way.” Without another word, the man turned and stomped away.
Stampede continued