Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [66]
“Do you see Pardot’s cargo?”
Hella shifted her binocs again, sweeping the ferry’s deck. “No. They must have already put it inside. The sled is there by the high dock.”
The ferry had three sets of docks for different levels of the river. The third one, the highest, sat back farthest from the river’s edge. At least it was supposed to. The third dock stood in the water, and the floor was several centimeters below the raging current.
“Are we going to go down there and hope the EMPs knock out the ’Chine?” Hella sincerely hoped not, but she couldn’t imagine another way of mounting the assault.
“I’d rather come up with a plan we can survive, Red.”
“Me too but if we don’t think of something quick, they’re going to be across the river. We can follow in the ferry, but they can push us back to the Coyle if things go badly.”
“ ’Chine function best on level ground.” Stampede put his telescope away. His voice was normal, as if he were discussing the weather.
Hella’s stomach tightened because she knew that was when Stampede was at his most deadly and most risky. She also knew he wouldn’t risk their lives for Pardot and the expedition or even for the promised bonus. He’d liked and respected the Wroths. Whatever he was coming up with, most of it was about vengeance.
“While they’re on the ferry’s deck, they’re going to be out of their element, more vulnerable. That’s when we’ll take them.”
“How?”
Stampede grinned and it wasn’t a pleasant sight at all. “You’re really not going to like this, Red.”
Hella didn’t like it. She liked it even less when she belly crawled down the hill to the two poles set deep in the earth to anchor the ferry to the north side of the river. During the last five meters, she got soaked as she climbed across muddy ground and through the shallows.
When she reached the first pole, the ’Chine were nearly all boarded. The ferry wrestled with the current, but it was holding steady enough. Hella still didn’t think it would survive the rapids in the middle.
And you’re about to put it through even worse than that. Hella shut down her mind and didn’t think about that. She focused on looping plastic explosive around the anchor pole and inserting a remote-controlled detonator. Riley and his troops had a lot of firepower, and Stampede had borrowed liberally.
The ’Chine started turning the windlass aboard the ferry and the vessel slid out into deeper, rougher waters. Shudders ran through the ferry, and the mechmen on her second deck held on tight. Many of them shifted and knocked into each other. Stampede was right about them being more vulnerable on the ferry.
Hella hurried to the second pole and looped plastic explosive around it as well. At the same time, Stampede broke cover and ran for the first pole. “Take your comm link out, Red.”
That was the part that Hella hated most. She was used to Stampede being in her head all the time, privy to everything but her most private thoughts. Not having him there, not being able to hear him and talk to him whenever she wanted, unnerved her. Still, she made herself pluck the comm link bud from her ear and place it into the special container Riley had provided. She just had time to snap the container closed and store it inside her pants pocket when the ’Chine spotted Stampede and opened fire.
“Throw!” Stampede drew back his arm.
Hella fisted one of the EMP grenades and readied herself to throw. She estimated the distance to the ferry as twenty meters. The Wroths had driven their anchor points deep into land that wasn’t saturated with underground water from the river. She was within the effect radius. She threw and was dismayed to see that she’d overshot the ferry wide to the left.
The EMP plopped into the water and disappeared at once.
Stampede’s grenade sailed prettily and landed on top of the ferry’s open second deck. The ’Chine had hardly any time to react before the grenade blew up.
Hella barely remembered