“Tornado,” she said suddenly.
Ryan’s heart sank and he reached toward the SIG-Sauer, seeing that J.B., Jak and Krysty had also picked up on the flaring danger signal, seeing that Joaquin had also noticed what Emma had said. He put his knife down and stared at her.
Baron glanced across at the woman. “I’m sorry?” he said quietly.
“Said that it would be a big tornado.”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
“Not a quake.”
Ryan stepped in, aware that he was probably too late. “Yeah, it could be a quake, couldn’t it, Emma?”
The sharpness in his voice penetrated to the doomie, and she dropped her mug of coffee spilling it all over the cloth. “By stone! I wasn’t thinking, Ryan. Sorry.”
Now Sharpe was becoming seriously interested. “What are you sorry about, lady?”
“Spilling my coffee and making such a stupe mess.”
“But you said you were sorry to Ryan, rather than to me. Were you upset by the lady ruining my cloth, Cawdor?”
Ryan for once couldn’t come up with a quick answer. The light of suspicion was riding high in the baron’s eyes, and he knew that this was one of those razor-edge moments.
Dean helped the tension to pass. “Your prairie dogs figure it for a big quake, Baron? That would be a hot pipe. Never been in a big shaker.”
Sean Sharpe, distracted, slipped into one of his odd changes of mood. “Well, well. Quakes bore me. So do storms. If you all want to go and get yourselves torn apart by the ravening forces of Nature, then who am I to try and stop you?” He went on with his meal, then paused a moment. “Best you leave quickly, but tell Joaquin where you’re going in case it becomes our turn to rescue you.”
“Sure thing, Baron,” Ryan said.
KRYSTY WANTED to get as close as they could to the actual center of Washington Hole, where the nukecaust had its unholy spawning.
Joaquin was insistent on knowing their plans. “You heard Baron Sharpe. The Hole’s one of the toughest places in all Deathlands. Shanties and ruined suburbs of the old superville. All kinds of muties hanging around underneath the stones. And most of the norms’ll slit your gizzard, soon as look at you. Whole family got butchered the other day, just because the old man was carrying a Randall knife on his belt.”
Ryan nodded. “Trouble is, we don’t really know what our plans are. Just take a look around.”
The sec sergeant sniffed. “Not good enough. Sharpie might send me out with an armed patrol to make sure you all do like he said. He wouldn’t want any of you to get hurt. No way, Jose!”
“We’ll likely skirt the Potomac Lake. See how near we can get to the centre of the old ville of Washington-”
“Before your rad counters go screaming off the top end of the scale.” Joaquin grinned. “I’d say that the heat of the crater, most of which is like rippled, jagged black glass, is probably the hottest hot spot you’ll ever see.”
“How long?” Ryan asked.
“Much over a half hour and you get sick. Teeth drop out and gums bleed and hair falls and. Shit, Ryan, I don’t have to tell you, do I?”
“No. Guess you don’t.”
“So, take care out there.”
Ryan turned away, then faced Joaquin again. “Baron’s goin’ to have us tracked anyway, isn’t he?”
The grizzled veteran sec man laughed. “You might say that, outlander, but you can’t expect me to comment on it, now, can you?”
RYAN LED HIS FRIENDS, and Emma, out of the ville a little after eight in the morning.
Josh Morgan shook hands with all of them, embracing Ryan in a bear hug, using the chance to whisper in his ear.
“Women in kitchen say Emma spilled her guts. Tornado, she said. Loud and clear, she’s likely a doomie. Lit Sharpie’s fuse, good and proper. You’ll be followed at a distance by Joaquin.”
“Grief?”
The beard was scratching Ryan’s cheek. “Baron likes to be sure. Day passes without a tornado, then you walk safe away. Otherwise.watch your backs.”
“Appreciate it,” Ryan said.
“You remember it.” Morgan moved back to join the other sec men on guard by the main gates to the ville complex, waving a hand as they walked away.