[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

like they knew their business. Never gave a half chance."
"Magus or Wolfram carrying?" the Armorer asked.
Jak shook his head. "Couldn't make them. They kept to one side, out of line of sec men.
Careful and professional." He shuddered. "They're one triple-sick pair. Magus acted
almost like android. Part human. Had sort of steel gloves or nails on hands. Tapped his
eyes, and it was like metal on metal."
Ryan nodded. "Word is that the Magus is partly prosthetic. False hand or hands. Face got
messed up by Trader, long years ago, somewhere in south Texas or over the border. Story
was vague. Had his skull rebuilt by some old surgeon. Metal contact lenses, they say.
Steel teeth. That's how I remember him. You got anything to add, J.B.?"
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Axler, James - Deathlands 33 - Eclipse at Noon
"No. Long and narrow, while Wolfram was big and round."
"Huge," Jak said. "He did most of talking. Said how they'd known you and J.B. in old
days. Kept smiling a lot. But not smiling inside. Made me want throw up. Tell truth&
more scared than ever been."
Ryan nodded sympathetically. "I can believe that, Jak. Why were they on the Golden
Eagle?"
"Wolfram talked a little about their plantations and mines upriver. Spoke about problems
with stickies. Rebelling and escaping. Magus interrupted and said wanted strong
overseers. Foremen. Run sec side and stop trouble. Asked if we'd be interested."
Krysty shook her head, laughing. "They sure got a nerve asking that."
Ryan looked grave. "Not funny, lover. Not at all. What I remember of them, they don't
waste words. And what they say is like the blank surface of a muddied pool. Looks placid
and calm. Got all manner of evil and danger hidden just out of sight. Raw head and
bloody bones."
"What else did they say?" J.B. was leaning against the door of the cabin, cradling the Uzi.
They had closed the shutters over the cabin windows, giving them a degree of privacy.
"Not much. What didn't say was worse. Didn't threaten chill or kidnap. Only hinted
vengeance. Like you said, Ryan, all below surface. Both seemed friendly, apart from
drawn blasters. Said they reckoned that we'd be seeing something of them during journey.
Mebbe eat together sometime."
"That'll be the day, pilgrim," the Armorer said. "Trader used to say that if you ate with
Wolfram or the Magus, you used a damned long spoon."
"I suppose that it could be just a coincidence that they're on the same boat as us," Mildred
commented.
Ryan stood and walked to peer between the slats of the shutters. "No way, Mildred.
Trader used to say that a coincidence was just a well-hidden plot. Mebbe we should leave
tonight and head back overland toward the redoubt."
"We're having such a good time up to now, lover," Krysty protested.
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Axler, James - Deathlands 33 - Eclipse at Noon
"Sure. Up to now. Up to now we didn't know that two of the most dangerous butchers in
Deathlands were traveling with us. Men who would cherish a grudge to their hearts like
the coals on a winter fire."
"Now we know that the villains are aboard, can we not keep an extra watch?" Doc
stretched out on the sofa. "I confess that I am greatly relishing this trip thus far. It would
be a deep sorrow if we had to abandon it."
Jak also stood, walking nervously around the cabin, hands tangling like a nest of snakes.
"Why not get in firstest with mostest?"
"Take them out?" Ryan glanced at J.B. "It's an idea. But they're well guarded. We don't
know how many sec men they've got up there."
The Armorer nodded slowly. "If we'd seen them first off, it could have been a possible.
Have to remember how many enemies those two must have throughout Deathlands. Yet
they're still living, and most of their enemies aren't."
Ryan sighed. It was a difficult decision. His combat sense told him that Wolfram and the
Magus were probably on the boat for a reason linked to their own presence aboard. And
that reason would only be malign.
But there were six of them, well armed and experienced in chilling, which should be
more than enough to deter the two protagonists and an unknown number of their sec men.
He didn't see how either side could possibly hope to have a clear-cut victory, except at
the cost of much blood spilled. Kind of a Mexican standoff.
And it was an odd fact that the fat man and the Magus should have chosen to come out of
their secret stateroom closet and deliver such an explicit warning to Jak. That wasn't
normally their way.
In the past the two men were notorious for slaying from hiding. The bullet in the back.
The garrote in the night. The stiletto in the groin. The poisoned chalice.
Krysty was at his side, her hip pressed against his, hand light on his arm. "What do you
reckon?"
"Can't decide."
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"What would Trader say about it?"
"Trader was a man for playing safe. Only take chances when you had no choice."
"We got a choice here."
There was a gust of wind, strong enough to make the mighty vessel rock slightly, tugging
at her moorings. From the saloon below them, they heard the faint squealing of whores at
the sudden and unexpected movement.
Ryan looked at Krysty. "This trip means a whole lot to you, doesn't it?"
She nodded, the golden light from the lamps heightening the brilliant fire of her hair.
"Yeah, it does. A little comfort and luxury kind of charges up the batteries. Gets us ready
for what comes next along the highway."
"Sure. But if we have a run-in with those two evil dogs, there's likely to be some of us
traveling on the last train to the coast." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]