Slowly the pickers went back to doing their job. Ryan and Mildred began picking fruit like the others, but Ryan was still able to watch the couple out of the corner of his eye.
The sec man had pulled out his cock and the woman had taken it in her mouth. He was thrusting against her, holding her head roughly in place. The rest of the workers had gotten back to work as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
When the man was done, he pushed the woman away and did up his pants. She walked back toward the others, a resigned expression on her face.
“What kind of place is this?” Mildred asked.
“Don’t know,” Ryan answered. “But before we know for sure, let’s just get busy picking fruit.”
WHEN THEY REACHED the top of the tower, J.B., Jak, Doc and Dean spent a few minutes admiring the view. Even though Mildred had said only a small amount of water was flowing over the falls, they were still an impressive sight.
But more important than the view of the falls was that they were better able to see Fox Farm from the top of the tower, and could get an idea of its layout. It was located on the northwest corner of an intersection between two roads that had long ago been overgrown with weeds. The farm had to stretch a mile or more in each direction because the far northern corners of the fence were just visible from their vantage point.
Two large buildings stood near the front gate of the complex where the friends had traded for fruit. Set back from the gate was a large rectangular two-story building, which seemed to be the focal point. A tower rose from its center, allowing the sec force to oversee a large portion of the farm. If they were going to rescue Ryan and the others, they would definitely have to take the main building. If nothing else, the tower would have to be knocked over because one or more sec men positioned inside would be able to cover the entire farmyard with a carpet of blasterfire, taking down everything in its path.
Behind the main building were rows and rows of trees that stretched to the north. The shapes and sizes varied, and in between a few of the rows were patches of brown soil that were probably used for growing vegetables.
To the left of the orchards were two rows of tiny cabins where either the sec men or farmworkers lived.
“A lot of places to hide once we’re inside,” J.B. said.
Jak nodded in agreement. “Have to fight house to house. Tree to tree. Many sec men get chilled.”
“It occurs to me that things might go better for us once we’re inside if we know where Ryan, Krysty and Mildred are being held,” Doc commented. “Otherwise, we could be looking for them for a long, long time.”
J.B. nodded. “We’re too far away for that now. We’ll still have to do another recce when we get in closer, mebbe even one inside the fence.”
“But what about the electricity?” Dean asked.
Yes, J.B. thought, what about that?
Off to the left stood a big wooden barn that was probably used for storage of either food or equipment, or both. Smaller sheds stood to the north side of the barn, and it was possible that the farm’s arms and munitions were kept there. But connected to the shed were several thick cables that were strung over the fence and continued toward the west, before turning south toward the falls.
“Electricity might not be as big a problem as we thought,” J.B. stated.
“MAKE YOURSELF comfortable,” Baron Fox said, a bit of a feral smile on his face. He had changed out of his boots and into his slippers, but as always he was still wearing his brightly colored silk bathrobe.
Krysty was glad to sit down on the couch in the baron’s office, having gotten little rest before being taken from the hotel in the middle of the night.
“Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
Krysty thought of the fruits that had made them all sleepy and careless. She could only imagine what might happen to her if she got drowsy now. “No, thank you,” she said.