James Axler – Trader Redux

“I have no wish to open fire upon a defenceless woman, madam,” he called.

“But you’re happy to beat the shit out of a poor donkey. And I don’t take too kindly to that ‘defenceless’ crap.”

“Firstly it is not a donkey. Secondly it is not poor. It is the most vicious animal ever placed on this planet by a malevolent deity to plague us human beings. Thirdly I apologize for the ‘defenceless’ slur.”

“You sure speak strange, mister. You from the east?”

Doc hesitated. “I would say that I am from the east, madam, but also from the north and south and west.”

“You sound like Johnny fuckin’ Appleseed.” There was laughter in the voice.

“Bad language in the mouth of a woman is like unto a worm within the fruit.”

“Sorry, I’m sure. If I come out, do you promise not to blow me in half with that pretty cannon you got there?”

“Of course. Are you alone, madam?”

There was a long pause, the voice sounding suddenly less aggressive to Doc, far more vulnerable. “Sometimes I am. Then again, sometimes I’m not.”

“What sort of time is it right now, if I may make so bold as to ask?”

“Right now it’s sort of alone time.”

“Then might I offer you a drink, fresh from Adam’s own brewery. And a little fruit, perhaps?”

“Might take you up on that, mister.”

“Come ahead, madam.” Doc had learned enough from his time with Ryan Cawdor to keep the Le Mat free of the holster, ready in his right hand. He coughed, letting the sound cover the faint click as he cocked the hammer over the shotgun round.

Judas neighed, trying to turn his head to look at the figure that had finally appeared from behind the jumble of frost-riven boulders.

She was around average heightDoc guessed somewhere close to five foot sixlightly built, with the sun catching the glint of silver threads among the gold of her shoulder-length hair. She wore a divided skirt over riding boots, a white blouse that had seen better days and a dark blue jacket. A necklace of rough-cut turquoise was around her slender neck.

Her complexion was tanned by the New Mexico weather, her teeth showing white in a small smile. Doc noticed that she walked a little unsteadily, as though her feet were blistered, or she was fatigued. He also spotted that she was holding an automatic pistol in her right hand.

She stopped twenty paces away. “Best we introduce ourselves. Then we can mebbe both tuck our blasters away.”

“By all means. My name is Theophilus Tanner. My friends call me ‘Doc.’ And you are”

“Susan Smith. Out of Hildenville. One-hoss burg in the middle of the plains. You’d not have heard of it, Mr. Tanner.”

“Doc. Please call me Doc.”

“Surely. And you must call me Sukie, if we are to be friends, Doc.”

“Pleasure.” He bowed, his silver hair tumbling forward to frame his face. “And as a token of the friendship to come, I shall holster this ponderous gun of mine.”

“I’ll do the same. You sure talk funny, Doc. Kind of old-fashioned.”

“A fair comment. Now come sit with me and let us pass some time with a loaf of bread and a jug of of water.”

“And this will be paradise enough, Doc.”

“You are familiar with the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Sukie!” he exclaimed, delighted.

“That stuff about moving fingers writing and moving on? Sure. My father had a copy he used to read out loud most nights.” She swayed and put a hand to her face. “Sorry, but”

“My dear lady.” Doc sprang forward to her assistance. “Allow me to offer you my arm.”

“Been walking some ways since”

Before Doc could reach her, Sukie Smith fell to the dirt, her head striking the sandy earth with a sickening thud. Her skirt rode up as she fell, reveling her naked thighs. Ane her jacket dropped open, showing Doc the great stain of fresh, bright blood across her chest.

Chapter Eighteen

There weren’t many people in all of Deathlands better than Ryan Cawdor when it came to trying to cope with a sudden, horrific emergency.

But the monstrous earthquake that struck at their camp near the river at the bottom of the steep-sided canyon was so devastating that all his combat reflexes were useless. The natural laws of time and space seemed to dissolve around him.