Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [61]
“Take it.” Hella spoke quietly but her voice caused every head at the cook fire to turn in her direction.
Stampede hesitated only for a moment, glancing from Hella to Colleen with dark suspicion, then nodded. “All right. We’ll get your device back. But we’ll do it on our terms.”
CHAPTER 16
Pardot didn’t like the terms. He fought tooth and nail, and he almost walked a rut into his side of the cook fire, but when Stampede pointed out that if he and Hella didn’t get any rest, they couldn’t ride out in the morning, Pardot finally gave up and angrily retreated to his tent.
Hella squatted on one side of their private cook fire and heated a ham. She could have just as easily eaten the meat cold, but after everything she’d been through and the chill of the semidry chain mail touching her skin after the washing, she wanted something hot. When the meat was warmed through its core, she sliced it, put it on bread, added cheese, sliced apples, and served all of the food on the tin plates they carried in their gear.
“What’s the occasion?” Stampede sat across from her.
Since they were leaving in the morning, Riley had volunteered his men to stand watch. Neither Hella nor Stampede thought there would be any more trouble with the ’Chine. Usually the mechmen stuck with one action or another. They didn’t tend to repeat things.
“I wanted a meal. Not just something to eat.”
“Okay.” Stampede picked up an apple wedge, gave it a test sniff, then popped it into his mouth. He chewed with relish. “So why did you want to take Pardot’s money?”
“It was a lot of money. And if he has the EMPs like he says he has, it will make things easier.”
“Easier but not easy.”
“With the ’Chine, nothing is easy.”
“Getting dead is.” Stampede looked at her levelly.
“You can get dead anywhere in the Redblight.” Hella picked up her sandwich and savored the taste of the grease and bread and meat.
“How much did the woman have to do with your decision?”
“Not as much as you did.”
“You spoke before I said anything.”
Hella smiled at him. “Let me play it out for you. In the morning, if not tonight, Pardot would chase the ’Chine anyway. The only way we weren’t going was if we decided to quit the expedition. You’re not ready to do that yet.”
“I’m not? That’s news to me.”
“It’s a challenge. Us against the ’Chine. Only now we have the EMPs, which we’ve never had before. In the past, we’ve always wiped out the ’Chine wherever we crossed paths with them.”
Stampede scowled. “They’re as bad as cockroaches. Multiply every time you turn around.”
“They also feed on travelers coming through the trade routes, so any we leave behind we might have to encounter in the future. It’s better to take them now, when there are fewer numbers.”
A fierce grin lit Stampede’s face in the darkness. “We did wipe out a lot of them tonight.”
“So they’re weaker. And you also get the chance to push Pardot back, remind him who’s playing on whose field.”
“Have to admit there’s a certain satisfaction in that.”
Hella licked ham grease from her fingers and took another bite. “Getting our fee doubled was just icing on the cake. It didn’t really enter into what you had already decided, but you let Pardot think it did. That way he’s underestimating you, letting him think he can buy you off.”
“And why would I want to let him think that?”
“In case you decide that whatever he’s after is too dangerous for him to have. Things that come through the ripples generally aren’t a cause for celebration. If you think whatever we recover is a bad thing, we can lose it somewhere.”
Stampede’s grin was broad. “Sometimes, Red, I think maybe you know me too well.”
At first light, Riley joined them while they were breaking camp. The captain carried a Kevlar ordnance bag. “The limited-field EMPs.” He handed them to Stampede.
Stampede took the bag, inspected the contents quickly, and passed it to Hella.
Squatting, Hella opened the bag and peered inside. Six gray-green egg shapes lay nestled in the bag. All of the spheres were stamped