“We’re from a small fishing ville,” sec chief Ganley said. “All we have to trade is fish, and we need new breeders to keep the ville alive.”
“Not my problem,” Bauer said. “You want to trade fish, we can give you some fresh fruit and vegetables for them.”
Ganley nodded. “If we bring blasters to trade next time, might we trade for breeders then?”
Bauer was impressed. Obviously this was a man who understood the nature of trade. Established trade partners got better deals than new ones. “Your chances of taking a breeder back to your ville would be better, yes.”
“Then we’ll take your fruit and vegetables now, and return another time for a breeder.”
The two men shook hands, exchanged goods and went their separate ways. The fish went straight to the cafeteria, where it would be included in the next meal. Most of the fruit, however, was dumped by the raiders while on the way back to camp, since it was too heavy to carry such a distance when they’d be needing all their strength and energy for the raid later that night.
The raiders were sorry to see the sec chief come back empty handed.
But the muties along the way were happy for the fruit, and now thought of the raiders as friends.
DEBBY RETURNED to her cabin an hour later.
“Did you find Mildred or Krysty?” Ryan asked.
“I found both of them in the nursery,” she said, handing a few fresh fruit to Ryan. “Thought you might be hungry.”
“How were you able to get there and back without arousing suspicion?” Maurice asked.
“I told the sec men along the way I was having women’s problems. They didn’t seem too interested in hearing the details and let me through to the nursery.”
Ryan took a bite of an apple. “Did Mildred and Krysty tell you anything?”
“They sure did. Mildred said to tell you they were healing a sec man who the one-eyed outlander cut with a leaf-bladed throwing knife.” She said the last four words very carefully so as to not make a mistake.
Ryan was confused for a moment, then understood that Jak was somewhere close by.
“And Krysty wanted me to give you something.”
“What?” Ryan asked.
“This.” She pulled Ryan’s SIG-Sauer from beneath her dress, and two full clips from the deep cleavage between her breasts. “She said you’d know what to do with it.”
Ryan took the blaster in his hand, quickly checked it over to see that it was in good working order and then stuffed the clips into his pockets.
“And I guess she was right,” the woman said.
“Did she say anything else?” Ryan asked.
“Yes. She said, ‘See you after dark, lover.’ ”
Chapter Thirty-Six
J.B. sat on the hood of the wag, wiping down his Uzi. The .50 calibers and the cannon were in as good a working order as he could manage. The wag was running better now, too, but it was clear that one or more of its eight cylinders was dead, and there was no guarantee it would be running long enough to get them all out of the farm complex.
They’d get in on the back of the wag, but getting out might just have to be done on foot.
Just then Doc called out to him. “I believe Jak and young Dean are returning from their recce.”
“Are they alone?” J.B. asked.
“Afraid not. Jak seems to have picked up a wild hare or some sort of squirrel.”
J.B. jumped down off the wag to meet the two youths.
“There’s something happening on the farm,” Dean said excitedly. “There’s sec men all over, but Jak sent a message to Dad. Man, what a message—”
The information was coming too fast, and with too much noise for J.B.’s liking.
He waved his right hand at the boy to cut off his words and turned to Jak. “What happened?”
“Slaves all inside. Outside looks someone escape. Mebbe Ryan, mebbe not. Sec men on triple red. Stuck sec man in leg with knife. Send message to Mildred. No mistake. Tonight be ready.”
J.B. nodded.
“I could have told you all that,” Dean said, visibly disappointed.