Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [25]
Daisy ate greedily, gulping her meal and getting blood on her face. She cawed for more before Hella could free another rat.
Even before the shadow fell on the ground, Hella knew she had company. She heard Riley approach and knew him from the sound of the way he moved. Daisy’s body language shifted, and the man’s reflection showed in the lizard’s eyes.
“You need to be careful there, or you’re going to lose an arm.”
Hella didn’t bother to turn around. “Only if I get surprised.”
“Maybe I should have waited.” Riley paused a moment. “That was a joke, right? I guess you already knew I was coming.”
“I knew you were here.” Hella freed the last rat then made Daisy sit and wait for it, just to remind the lizard who was in control of the appetite.
Daisy waited expectantly. The lizard never took her eyes from the prize, but she watched Riley as well. Obviously she wasn’t relaxed around him either. With a flourish, Hella tossed the dead rat into the air. The lizard rose up onto her haunches, towering over Hella and Riley as she gulped down the rat.
Hella turned while Daisy dropped back to all fours. Riley had stepped back out of fear, and his hand had dropped to his holstered weapon. Hella braced herself, determined to knock the man on his butt before he could clear leather.
With visible effort, Riley stopped moving and took his hand from his weapon. His face inside the hardshell helmet had paled. “I didn’t know that thing could move like that.”
“Daisy’s full of surprises.” Hella cleaned the bloody stringer on the grass. “Is there anything I can do for you, Captain Riley?”
“We don’t have to be so formal.”
“All right.”
He frowned, obviously not satisfied with her answer. “Dr. Pardot wanted me to thank you for saving Dr. Trammell.”
Took him long enough to get around to that. Hella nodded. “All part of the service.”
Riley hesitated. “I noticed you talking to Dr. Trammell a little while ago.”
Hella knew that was a lie. Riley had been nowhere near when she’d talked to Colleen. She waited.
“I was wondering what she had to say to you.”
“She thanked me for saving her.”
Stampede chuckled coldly in Hella’s ear. “Isn’t he the busy little bee?”
“Did she happen to say anything else?”
Hella lied glibly. That was also one of the first things Stampede had taught her. “She just told me how terrible it was, how she thought she was going to die, and how she didn’t want to leave Alice alone in the world.” She paused. “Alice is her daughter.”
Riley’s eyes narrowed, almost disappearing in the shadows of his helmet. “I’m quite aware of who Alice is.”
“Okay. Now, if there’s not anything else, I’ve got some gear that needs attention. Hopefully we’re moving out soon. Sitting here makes me feel like a target.”
“We’ll be moving on soon enough.”
Not soon enough for me. Hella started to pass him.
Riley put a hand on her shoulder. Daisy cawed in warning and lumbered over. The lizard really didn’t like Riley, and Hella had learned to trust Daisy’s instincts. On numerous occasions they had kept them both alive.
Riley jerked his hand back. “It’s okay to talk to Dr. Trammell, but don’t believe everything she says.”
Stampede’s voice turned colder, harder. “Pardot sent Riley to do damage control. That doesn’t make me happy. Step carefully here, Red.”
“She said she was scared and she thought she was going to die.” Hella met the Riley’s gaze full measure. “I don’t see anything that I shouldn’t believe about that.”
“Of course not.” Riley smiled flawlessly. However, his eyes never lost their bleak hardness. “But for future reference, Dr. Trammell suffers from a mental disorder. A near breakdown. Some days she’s a walking basket case. Paranoid. You saw what she was like last night.”
“Frightened?”
“Don’t play with him too much, Red. Riley’s not the kind of guy to take much without snapping.”
Hella knew that but she couldn’t just stand there and take his condescending attitude without striking back in some way. She considered her behavior on its best terms since she wasn’t calling him a liar to his face.
“When she went