Dead Mech (34 page)

***

The Boss stood in front of his transmitter
array, his face red with anger and frustration, as the Bishop came
up on his vid screen.

“You made me wait, Boiler,” Bishop Wyble
sneered.

“I already warned you about calling me
Boiler,” the Boss growled.

“Yes, yes you have. I ignored that warning
since it came from cannibal trash like you,” the Bishop responded,
rolling his eyes. “Now, where are you and why haven’t you met us
with the Capreze woman?”

“I won’t be making it to your rendezvous
point,” the Boss grumbled. “The fucking mech bitch escaped in the
night.”

***

“Okay, what are we looking at, Jethro?”
Capreze asked, sipping his coffee. The rest of the base personnel
watched Jethro expectantly.

“Well, sir, this communication was
intercepted and recorded in the night,” Jethro responded tapping at
his tablet. “Just watch and listen.”

They all watched as the vid was played of
June being beaten.

“How long ago was this?” Capreze asked when
the transmission was over.

“About eight hours,” Jethro answered.

“So, the Bishop should already have June and
be almost back to the mech base, right?” Bisby asked.

“Well, no,” Jethro said. “Here’s the live
feed from the base.”

***

“You’ve had eight hours and she’s still
missing?” the Bishop asked annoyance dripping from his words. “This
is why your, um, ‘people’ will always be trash.”

“Watch it,” the Boss warned. “I may stop
lookin’ for her and start lookin’ for you.”

The Bishop exploded with laughter. Montoya
offered a handkerchief and Wyble took it, dabbing at his eyes. The
Bishop took a couple deep breaths and composed himself. “If she
isn’t in my hands in the next four hours then I send everyone I
have to wipe you and your mutants out of the wasteland once and for
all.”

***

“You see how the Ranchers are slacking?”
Jethro pointed out on the vid feed. “The Bishop obviously isn’t
back and it doesn’t look like they are expecting him anytime
soon.”

“So, what’s you point?” Harlow asked.

Jethro looked to Capreze. The Commander
sighed. “His point is we may have time to rescue June.”

“What?” Rachel scoffed. “
She
ran out
on
us
! She fucking cut Steve and left him for dead!”

“And she’ll answer for that, Pilot,” Capreze
said. “When she’s safe.”

“How far away are we?” Bisby asked, ignoring
the Caprezes and focusing on Jethro.

“Well, that’s the good news.”

***

Doctor Themopolous stepped from the
transport and away from the morning meeting. She wasn’t a pilot and
military logistics gave her a headache. Stretching, she turned
about, taking in the vastness of the wasteland. Directly behind her
stood Mastelo and several other Skinner men and women. The Doctor
jumped, a small, surprised squeak escaping her lips.

“Good morning,” Mastelo greeted. “I
apologize for startling you.”

Themopolous, hand to her chest, smiled
weakly. “Good morning. And no apologies necessary.”

The two watched each other for a moment
until Mastelo cleared his throat. “Is the Commander available?”

“Yes, of course,” Themopolous answered.

***

“I don’t care, Baby Girl!” Capreze shouted.
“You
will
be accompanying Pilot Bisby on this rescue
mission.”

“You have got to be kidding me?!?” Rachel
yelled back. “She doesn’t deserve our rescue!”

“Ahem,” Themopolous interrupted.

“What?!?” the Caprezes shouted in
unison.

Themopolous’ eyebrows raised. “Um, Mastelo
would like to speak with the Commander.”

Capreze pushed past his daughter. “Bisby?
Plot a course with Jethro. Pilot Capreze? Ready yours and Pilot
Bisby’s mechs.”

The Commander stormed from the transport.
Rachel whirled on Bisby, but he held up a hand. “Don’t start. You
can vent when we’re on our way.”

Rachel fumed.

***

The Boss restrained himself from smashing
the transmitter array to pieces. “Fucking pack that up!” he yelled
at his driver.

The young woman leapt from the ATV and
immediately started breaking down the array. The Boss lifted a
handheld com to his mouth. “Someone tell me somethin’ good!” he
barked.

He was met with nothing but static. “If
someone doesn’t respond with good news, I can guarantee none of you
will live through the day.”

“Um, Hanson and me think we’s found their
trail, Boss,” a voice squawked.

“Good,” the Boss growled. “Where are you two
at?”

“Near Smalley Gulch.”

***

“We need to keep moving,” June said. “Is it
almost charged?”

Olivia, sitting in the ATV’s passenger seat,
a still sleeping child in her arms, looked at the ATV’s dashboard.
“No, looks like it’ll still be another hour.”

“Shit,” June said.

“You should get some rest,” Olivia
whispered.

June stared from the shadows of the rock
outcropping where they were hidden, kicking at the cable running
from the small solar panel to the ATV absentmindedly. “I’m afraid
to rest. I don’t think I’d get back up.”

The older child, resting in the backseat,
sat up suddenly, head cocked and listening.

***

Hanson stopped the ATV and grabbed the pair
of binocs out of Delroy’s hands. He scanned the dry gulch below and
tossed the binocs back. “I don’t see shit,” he complained.

Delroy lifted the binocs to his own eyes. He
checked back and forth, finally focusing on one spot. “There, right
before it turns.” He pulled the binocs away and pointed.

Hanson squinted. “Nope, still don’t- Oh,
wait, yep. That shiny thing?”

“I bet that’s a charger,” Delroy said,
stepping from the ATV and retrieving his carbine. “We better get
down there and find out before the Boss calls again.”

***

June watched the kid listen for a moment.
“What do you hear?”

The child crawled from the ATV and June
helped him to stand. His body was twisted and warped from being
raised in a cage and he wobbled a bit on his feet. He pointed out
into the waste, cocked his head again and then pointed up out of
the gulch. June patted him on the back and eased herself to the
edge of the shadows to take a look.

The second the light hit her face a shot
rang out and bits of rock shattered by her head.

***

“Damn! Missed!” Delroy cursed.

“Should we call the Boss?” Hanson asked.

“Shit no! If we get down there and they’s
gone we’re fuckin’ dead! Better he not know until we’s got them’s
bodies bagged up.”

“But, Boss said to not kill the mechie
bitch, didn’t he?” Hanson asked.

“Yeah, but that don’t mean we can’t kill the
others. It’s just an old woman and the breed feed,” Delroy
responded.

Hanson grabbed his own carbine and surveyed
the edge of the gulch. “Ain’t too steep.” He stepped onto the grade
and control-slid his way down.

Delroy slung his carbine and followed.

***

“Good morning,” Capreze greeted Mastelo.

“Good morning, Commander,” Mastelo responded
turning towards those accompanying him. “I have brought our council
with me this morning to discuss some issues.”

Capreze raised an eyebrow. “Issues? I’m
guessing not everyone wants to join forces with us.”

Mastelo chuckled, as well as a couple of the
others. “You are correct. Many do not see the benefit.”

“Of course. They’d be foolish not to
question,” Capeze said, gesturing to the transport. “Let’s meet
inside before the heat gets too overbearing.”

The group laughed and Capreze smiled. “But,
I guess you folks are used to it.”

***

“This is bullshit,” Rachel grumbled as she
powered up her mech.

“Cut your old man some slack,” Bisby said
over the com. “He can’t turn to the UDC brass anymore. He’s got to
be feeling pretty isolated.”

“Yeah, but why take the risk of going after
June? She deserted us!”

“Because, we need every damn mech pilot we
can get! Think for fuck’s sake! We’re it. We don’t know what’s
happened to Masters or Jay or the Rookie and we have no idea if
Mathew made it to Windy City or not.”

Rachel was silent.

“Oh, sorry, Rache,” Bisby muttered.

***

“I’m detecting heavy activity on the relay
net,” Shiner said.

“Yeah? Like what activity?” Mathew
asked.

“Unclear. We’d have to risk detection to
fully assess.”

“You know what? Fuck it! I think being fully
informed is worth the risk. If the Outsider just keeps getting
stronger then sooner or later it’ll be able to find us, relay or no
relay.”

Shiner processed. “I do not fully agree, but
I do not have a better alternative.”

Shiner/Mathew reconnected to the relay
net.

“Holy fuck!” Mathew yelled mentally. “That’s
a whole lot of deader minds!”

“They are massing for something,” Shiner
said.

***

“I am sensing movement,” Stomper stated.

“In the cavern?” Masters yawned. “More
zombies?”

“No, it is coming from the wasteland,”
Stomper answered. “The ground is vibrating considerably.”

Masters processed the data that Stomper was
detecting. “Hmm, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that was an army.
I mean, listen to it, it sounds like thousands of feet and…
wheels.”

Masters/Stomper turned towards the direction
of Foggy Bottom and focused the scanners. “It is coming from that
direction,” Stomper said.

“Well, I’m tired of just sitting here and
waiting. What do you say we go check it out?” Masters asked.

***

“If we do find June,” Rachel said. “I can’t
promise I won’t kick the shit out of her.”

“I hear that,” Bisby replied. “Whether
directly, or indirectly, she led to Steve’s death. And as much as I
hated that man’s blueberries, he didn’t deserve that.”

Rachel laughed a little. “God, those muffins
were horrible.”

The two mechs, motor drives engaged, moved
across the wasteland quickly, the wasteland heat shimmering across
their exoskeletons.

“I take it back,” Rachel said. “I have a
feeling June has already paid for everything she’s done. Who knows
what those cannibal fucks have done to her…”

***

“Give me your pistol,” June said to Olivia
as she helped the woman and two deformed children find better cover
back in the shadows, putting the ATV between them and the direction
the shot came from.

Olivia handed June the pistol. “We don’t
have much ammo.”

“Don’t worry. If I need more bullets than
what’s already in here then we are fucked,” June responded. She saw
the looks in the children’s eyes and smiled weakly. “Don’t worry.
This is what I do for a living. Or did, at least.”

June crouched low and scooted towards the
edge of the shadows.

***

“Yep, that’s a charger,” Hanson whispered,
as both he and Delroy, carbines at their shoulders, slowly
approached the bend in the gulch. Neither man got a chance to step
closer as June rolled from her cover, took aim and fired her
pistol.

Delroy caught two bullets in the gut while
Hanson collapsed instantly with a hole between his eyes.

“You fucking bitch!” Delroy screamed,
falling to his knees, his hands holding his own intestines.

June approached casually and planted a kick
squarely into Delroy’s insides. He fell over screaming and
continued to scream as June ground down on his guts.

***

A small woman spoke first. “We understand
your situation, Commander, but many of us do not see how your peril
truly affects us.”

Capreze smiled and leaned forward. “It is no
longer about ‘us’ and ‘them’, or about ‘you’ and ‘me’. Whatever is
going on out there is bigger than all of us. I truly believe that
if we do not band together, the fate of the human race is
sealed.”

“But, what proof do you have?” a young man
asked. “We do not know you and you did not know of us until
yesterday. Why should we trust you?”

***

The ATV flew over hills and across the
wasteland as the Boss spoke into his handheld com. “Delroy? What
you got for me?” The Boss waited, but there was no response.
“Delroy? Answer me boy or I swear you’ll end up like Chunks!”

The Boss was answered by a loud crack coming
from the com then the sound of June’s voice. “Delroy
is
like
Chunks, except for the junk in the mouth part.” June laughed. “Did
you like that, Boss? I figured you could appreciate the aesthetic
of a good genital mutilation.”

“I’m gonna gut you, bitch,” the Boss
growled.

***

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” June responded to
the Boss’s threat. “You keep forgetting I’m a mech pilot. UDC
trained and tested. You think a crazy fuck like you can take me
down?”

“You won’t get far with that old cunt and
those little meals slowing you down.”

“Now, is that any way to speak about your
own mother?” June started stripping Delroy and Hanson of their
weapons. “You don’t get it, do you? You are so used to isolation
that you think we all are, but it isn’t true. I have a home, I just
forgot for a bit.”

***

“Jethro, if you please,” the Commander said.
Jethro wheeled forward and handed each of the Skinners a
tablet.

“I’ve put together a vid briefing so you all
will be up to speed on the situation,” Jethro began, tapping at his
own tablet. “It’s only a few minutes long, but you’ll get the idea
quickly.”

Capreze leaned back and watched as Mastelo
and his people viewed the vid. Security footage of the UDC troops
turning into zombies filled the small screens, then of the Ranchers
take over of the base and finally the intercepted communication
between the Bishop and the Boss.

***

Masters/Stomper crested the small hill and
looked out at the expanse of wasteland.