Jenna’s raven eyes gleamed and glittered, flashing a mixture of hatred and lust at the one-eyed warrior. For a moment there was a stalemate. Then, just as suddenly as she had begun, Jenna averted her gaze and shook the slumbering baron.
“Wake up!” she snapped in a tone of voice that suggested she harbored nothing but contempt for him.
Alien awoke with a groan, mumbling and rising on one elbow to stare blearily at the sight before him. He was only half awake, and unsure why there were people in his rooms. His brow furrowed as he recognized the intruders.
“What is the meaning of this, Ryan Cawdor?” he asked.
“We need to talk to you,” Ryan replied, holding up both hands, “and there’s no need to reach for your blaster.”
Alien smiled and withdrew his hand from under the cushions and pillows that covered the far end of the bed. As he had been questioning the one-eyed man, he had slipped that hand—unobtrusively, he hoped— toward the cushions in search of the concealed blaster.
“How did you know I had one there?”
“Even the fairest baron in the most peaceful ville can’t take chances against an enemy from within,” Ryan replied simply. His eye flickered toward Jenna as he spoke, almost involuntarily. If she noticed, she gave no sign.
“Very well. Then tell me what it is you’re wanting,” Alien said, now fully awake and alert.
So Ryan began. Doc described what he had seen in Samtvogel, and when Jenna interjected with a query as to how the old man knew so much about predark tech, Doc bluffed his way out of it with a story about finding a stash of old vids in a ville during his travels. She didn’t seem convinced, but Mildred hurried the proceedings along with a query to the baron as to whether they could attack Samtvogel with any degree of stealth.
Alien stroked his long beard, twisting it between his fingers in intense concentration. “I’d have to consult Harv to be really sure, but there isn’t any safe way of hiding a large sec force along that route. It’s too open. But those mutie fucks don’t come out of their ville that often, so mebbe if we sent scouting parties ahead…”
“We have to get that nuke,” Ryan said urgently. “Sunchild is pissed off, and if he has any idea how to use that thing…”
“I agree,” Jenna interjected. “We should get that as soon as possible.”
And as she said it, Krysty shuddered, her hair coiling about her neck. The titian-haired woman’s seeing traits rose to the fore as Jenna sent out an unconscious wave of pure hate. She wanted that nuke for her own purposes. Krysty knew at that moment that recovering the missile from Samtvogel would be but the beginning of their problem.
While this raced through her mind, Ryan had swiftly moved the subject on to his missing son. It was a difficult matter to broach, as Ryan’s people were all firmly of the opinion that Jenna had him secured someplace. But it was up to Ryan to raise the matter without arousing the dark mutie’s suspicion.
The one-eyed warrior outlined the barest details of Dean’s disappearance, and the baron was suitably sympathetic.
“We’ll get Raw searched while we raise a raiding party,” he stated. By now he had risen from the bed and was dressing, pulling on the freshly cleaned fatigues that marked him as the baron. Others in the ville had clothes that were patched and darned many times, repaired and faded. But as baron, Alien had the pick of any new stock from a passing trader.
When he finished, he picked up a cupped speaking tube and blew down it. Jak had noticed many small runs of similar tubes during his explorations of the winding underground ville, and had wondered what they were for. That question was now answered. They were a means of quick communication between links vital to Raw’s sec.
A whistle from the far end of the speaking tube announced that the sec chief had answered. From where the companions stood, it was difficult to make out what he said, but there was no mistaking Alien’s meaning from his loud bellowing. He ordered the sec chief to get his ass over right away, and before he had finished lacing his boots, the sec chief appeared in the doorway.