It didn’t sound like that difficult a question. But Ryan knew from previous experience that it was the sort of query that might have a lot behind it, the sort of question where the wrong answer could bring down a hail of lead to sweep a man away.
“Outworlders?”
“You have to ask, then that has to be the answer. You don’t come from around here?”
“No.”
“Where from?”
“Different places.”
The man gestured with the muzzle of his carbine. “Got a lot of blasters. You mercies, or guns for one of the traders?”
“Neither. Just friends. Passing along.”
“Where?”
“Where we want to go.”
“You want to come into the ville of Ginnsburg Falls? That the idea?”
“Mebbe. How’s that set with you?” The constant questions were beginning to grate with Ryan. He could feel a pulse beating at his temple, a sure sign, he knew, that there was a risk of his temper slipping out of control.
“You come in with us. Walk ahead.”
“We got a choice?” J.B. asked.
“Sure.” The man almost smiled. “Walk ahead or we chill you. All of you.”
“Some fucking choice,” Finnegan whispered.
Chapter Nine
THE JEEP GROWLED along after them, keeping in low gear. One of the sec men kept position on the machine gun in the rear, covering the seven of them.
“Sure is a big ville,” J.B. said.
Doc Tanner shook his head. “There is something about it that puts me unconscionably in mind of a trim little town in the Bible Belt before the war.”
“In vids, you mean, Doc?” Finnegan asked.
“Yes, of course.”
The leader of the patrol called out to them as they neared a barrier across the road a single striped pole beside a small stone hut. Two sec men, carrying brightly polished carbines, marched briskly to and fro in front of the barrier. Ryan was struck again by the neatness and cleanliness of the whole operation.
“Hold it there.”
They stopped. Ryan turned to face the jeep. “This going to take long? We’re real tired and we could do with some food.”
“You don’t have any passes. Don’t have any Ginnsburg Falls creds. No food slips. And you haven’t seen Mayor Sissy.”
“Who?” Ryan asked incredulously.
“Mayor Sissy. And I surely hope that isn’t a smile I see on anyone’s face. Best learn first off that rule number one isn’t to find names funny. Believe me, an outworlder can get chilled faster than a fish down a fall. You’ll meet Mayor Theodore Sissy before you reach your quarters. First, we got to get your names. Corp!”
The taller of the two guards on the barrier came smartly forward, giving a salute that involved patting his left shoulder with his gauntleted right fist. “Yes, Sec Commander?”
“Note of names.”
“Sir.”
The man in charge of the jeep came closer. “You’re the leader here,” he said, addressing Ryan Cawdor. “Watch your people and walk the line. You’ll enjoy your time with us in Ginnsburg Falls. You’ll do fine.”
“Have a nice day,” Doc Tanner said, making the sec commander turn and look at him suspiciously, as though he suspected the old man was sending him up.
“You,” the tall guard said, pointing at Ryan. “Name. Place.”
“You mean, where have I come from?”
“Yes. Place of habitation.”
“Name’s Ryan Cawdor. I came from” he hesitated, wondering just where he did come from “Front Royal out in the Shens.”
“Don’t know it. That’s outworld here.”
The Armorer answered next. “Name’s J. B. Dix.”
The guard wrote it down on a large pad. “Another outworlder. What are the letters for?”
“What letters?”
“Your name? Your first name?”
Ryan’s jaw dropped. He’d known the little Armorer for something approaching ten years, and he realized now that he’d never even known what the initials stood for. It had always been J.B., nothing else.
“First name’s John.”
“What’s the B for?”
“Barrymore, you double-stupe bastard! John Barrymore Dix. You got it?”
“Don’t let anger lead you into dangerous pathways, my outworlder friend,” the sec guard replied, calmly writing the name down.
“John Barrymore!” Ryan repeated unbelievingly. “No wonder you kept that closely guarded.”
“Your mother must have had thespian interests,” Doc Tanner said.