Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [36]
Hella’s stomach gurgled happily at the thought of homemade bread. She was suddenly torn between the bath and the meal Faust had promised.
Lacing his fingers together in front of himself with his elbows on the table, Pardot glared at Stampede. “Your insistence on insinuating yourself into this matter only seems to have made things more incendiary. I had already dealt with things.”
“I’m sure you had. But when I came down here, Trazall was still seated at this table. Now he’s not. Maybe you don’t recognize it now, but later you’ll realize that having Trazall gone is the best thing that could have happened.” Stampede shifted his attention back to Riley. “You should keep that in mind. In case you see him again.”
“I will.”
Stampede excused himself and left. Hella waited a moment, making sure they kept some distance between themselves in case Trazall left someone they didn’t know about in place inside the room. Then she went up the stairs.
“That went well, I think.” Hella closed the door behind herself and double-locked it. She expected Stampede to react to her sarcasm, but he didn’t. “Don’t you think that went well?” She couldn’t stop herself from trying to goad him into at least an argument. Adrenaline still pumped through her system.
The bed creaked under Stampede’s weight when he sat on it. He looked tired. Dust filmed his shaggy coat. “One thing we didn’t need, Red, was Trazall sniffing around.”
“Maybe he’ll go away.”
“After getting a look at all the security guards and ATVs Pardot has running with him?” Stampede shook his head. “Not likely. The question is: Do we deal with the roach here, or do we do it out on the trail?”
“If we fight with Trazall inside the trade center, Faust is going to take some heat for everything. He stuck his neck out for us tonight.”
Stampede smiled wryly. “And Faust doesn’t have much neck to offer.”
Hella grinned but the tension she felt didn’t entirely go away.
Stampede rolled his neck, and the vertebrae cracked. “Go soak, Red. Lemme think about it. Then we’ll take Faust up on his dinner offer. No reason for us to lose the whole evening.”
Not needing a second invitation, Hella grabbed a clean change of clothing and headed for the bathroom. In minutes she was immersed in hot, scented water, and the past few days leached out of her.
“Hey, the guard?” Hella adjusted her sunglasses as she looked at the guards on the catwalk. The cool morning was still gray-pink in the western sky.
One of the guards looked down. “Aren’t you that girl that has the big lizard in the barn?”
Hella grinned. Despite the standoff in the main building the previous night, she’d slept well after her bath and the big meal Faust had promised. If she’d dreamed, she didn’t know it.
“Yeah.”
“The girl with the buffalo-guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Interesting company you keep.” The guard was an older man in his late forties or early fifties. Hella could never tell when they got to be that age. “What do you want?”
“The name’s Hella and I’d like to come up, take a look around if I can.”
The guard conferred with his companion then turned and nodded. “Faust gave you guys free run of the camp yesterday when he let you in. That’s good enough for me. Come ahead.” He kicked a device, and a steel ladder spooled down in a series of clanks.
Hella climbed the ladder easily and quickly gained the catwalk. She stamped her foot experimentally. The steel surface clanged beneath her combat boots.
The guard grinned at her. “When I first got up here, I felt the same way. Just didn’t trust it. The fall’s not that bad, but I didn’t want to take a tumble just the same.”
“I’ve fallen out of taller trees. Just not onto pavement.” Hella walked to the wall and peered over, the edge tucked neatly under her chin.
“They say you and the buffalo-guy—”
“His name’s Stampede. If you call him buffalo-guy to his face, he might stomp you.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that.” The guard grinned then fumbled in his pocket and brought out a packet of jerky. He offered the packet to Hella.
Even though Hella had just enjoyed one of the biggest breakfasts