“He got to be sec on all the things that Baron Al thought were important, but weren’t under direct threat from outside—which, I guess, more or less meant all the old tech he’d got and was hoping to use. I’d be in there sometimes looking at stuff and he’d turn up with some other guys, and then I’d have to hide. That was easy, ’cause it was always Dad that did the search. But I’d hear Baron Al talking about the stuff to these other guys, and he figured that he could make himself ruler of all the Deathlands if he could figure out how to use it.”
Dean took all of this in as they neared the bottom of the mountain road. It seemed to him that Danny knew more about the old tech than he perhaps even realized, and if together they could find some way into Charity and get to see, or mebbe steal, some of those papers, then that could be even better than getting the old tech itself. Dean figured that it was the paperwork that held the key to how the tech operated, and that was the real secret, the real treasure.
“So how did it all come to an end?” Dean asked as they leveled out from the steep descent and hit the soft desert soil at ground level.
Danny shrugged. “I got too involved in the comps one day, didn’t hear anyone coming until it was too late.”
“How come the baron didn’t chill you?”
Danny grimaced. “It was kinda more complicated than that. The baron was with someone—I think it was some trader who claimed he knew something about the old tech. They were right on me before I heard them, and although I hid, I guess the trader heard or saw me just getting out of sight. Dad did the search and left me alone, but just as Baron Al was about to start talking about his plans, coming on like he always did, the trader stopped him and came right over to where I was hiding.
“Course, that really fucked things over. Baron Al didn’t recognize me, but he was really pissed at Dad for not finding a kid, and real pissed at being shown up like that. He had a blaster on Dad and was about to chill him and me on the spot. Dad went for his, and I guess he wanted to end Baron Al’s reign and worry about shit afterwards. But it didn’t go that way ’cause the trader thought it would be a good opportunity to try and steal some of the old tech stuff. Stupe bastard actually tried to palm some radio stuff that didn’t work—I know ’cause I’d tried it out before— and Baron Al caught sight of him.
“It was chaos. Baron Al chilled the trader, and as he moved he put himself just out of line for Dad’s shot, which took him down but left him alive. Course, all that noise brought all the sec out of the woodwork, and Dad had to steal a wag and head out to the desert with me. He knew Joe was out here somewhere, and just had to trust to us finding him, or him finding us, before Baron Al caught up with us or we ran out of water or food—what little we were able to grab.”
Danny’s tone suddenly changed. Up to this point, he had been matter-of-fact about his tale, as though he was distantly recalling it from memory. But now the memory became crystal clear, and his tone dropped down to a hush, a sadness invading the very timbre of his voice.
“Thing is, it was too late for Dad. There was a firefight as we got out of Charity, and he caught a couple of slugs. It didn’t seem too bad, but I guess he was bleeding a lot inside, and he got less and less strong the more hours we were in the wag. It was evening when we broke out of Charity. By morning he’d bought the farm. I managed to keep driving, even though I’d never actually driven a wag before. I guess I must have nearly bought that farm by the time some of Joe’s people found me. They must have seen the wag on a patrol or something. Shit, I don’t know how else they could have come across us, as I don’t think Dad knew where he was heading, and I sure as shit didn’t. It was fate. As Joe says. He recognized my dad when they brought the wag in, and I guess I’ve been there ever since.”