Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [9]
Daisy wasn’t leashed to the tree, nor was she hobbled. She stayed with Stampede and Hella because she wanted to. She rose to her full height, and her head towered above Hella’s, crashing through the lower tree limbs. Daisy trotted in place eagerly.
“Happy dance.” Despite how the night had gone, Hella’s spirits lifted at the sight of the lizard acting so childlike.
Lowering slightly, Daisy rubbed her rough head against Hella’s shoulder. Hella staggered back for an instant then wrapped an arm around the lizard’s big head. As Daisy chirped excitedly, Hella secured the feedbag around the creature’s head with Velcro straps.
“How do you know that thing’s not going to eat you?”
Hella spun, both of her hands already morphing into weapons.
CHAPTER 3
The man standing three meters away from Hella raised both hands to show that he offered no harm. He wore a hardshell with a machine pistol slung around his neck. His face shield popped open with a liquid hiss and revealed a handsome face and a shock of blond hair so pale it was almost white.
“Easy. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Hella flushed, irritated at herself for not knowing the man had walked over to her and equally bothered by the fact that she was pleased to see him.
“Did Riley sneak up on you again, Red?” Stampede’s mirth vibrated over the comm. The fact that he’d called her by his nickname for her served to underscore his enjoyment. “I saw him walking over in your direction.”
“You might have warned me.”
“I don’t think he has anything sinister in mind.”
“Not used to guys walking up on me, Stampede.”
“Not guys that you’d like to have walk up on you, I agree. Riley, though, he’s something else, isn’t he?”
“A little privacy here?”
“Sure.”
Hella knew that Stampede would still monitor the comm, but he wouldn’t say anything. When they were in-country, which was nearly all of the time, they never cut the comm link. Staying almost inside the other’s head was hard, but it helped them watch over each other. On more than one occasion, the practice had saved their lives.
“Friends?” Riley wore a confused look because she hadn’t responded directly to him. “Or maybe I should head back to camp.”
Hella turned her hands back into hands again and relaxed. “Something you wanted, Captain Riley?”
Riley put his hands on his equipment belt and smiled at her. “You’re a hard person to get to know, Hella.”
“You know enough.” Hella turned back to Daisy and scratched the lizard under the jaw.
“Probably. But that doesn’t make me any less curious. I haven’t met many women like you.”
Women. The term startled Hella. She was twenty, so she was a woman by most standards. She just didn’t think of herself as that. Captain Riley looked at least thirty, and was probably older. In her mind, she was just a scout, just Stampede’s partner.
“I’m sure you’ve met your share of them.”
Riley chuckled. “Is that a question?”
“No.” But Hella did wonder. Over the past few days, she’d grown more curious about the handsome captain than she was comfortable with. She’d learned early to stay away from men.
“Sounded kind of like a question.”
Hella concentrated on her anger. At least that part of the emotions darting around inside her was something she understood. She wheeled on Riley. “If I have a question, I come right out and ask it.”
“Then maybe I should too.”
Hella didn’t say anything. She stayed focused on the man and wished he’d go away. She wanted to be by herself.
“Dr. Pardot hired you. I didn’t get much of a chance to interview you. The last few days, we’ve both been busy with our respective responsibilities.”
The way he spoke sounded soothing to Hella.
“Normally I like to do my own investigating when it comes to people I’m going to work with.”
“Do you work with a lot of people, Captain Riley?” Hella wanted the answers