Diving over the sandbags, the father landed hard, but rolled over and came up with a machete in his hand. The policeman knocked that aside.
“We have blasters!” he snapped. “Inside, they won’t get past us! Save your family, man!” Sheathing the blade, the father nodded in thanks and dashed into the darkness.
Instantly, the guards relaxed their tense posture and, smirking in satisfaction, lowered their weapons. Then they shared a grin, ran inside, firing their blasters into the air.
“The wolves are here!” one private cried, firing his rifle straight into the air.
The other started to walk casually toward the wooden doors. “Stand firm, men! Don’t let them pass!”
“Hurry! Hurry!” the policeman added, lighting a cig and blowing a smoke ring. “Get the axes!”
Reaching the barricade, the wolves stopped and milled about looked expectantly at the men. The lead wolf started to wag his tail in anticipation. Smiling widely, the policeman tossed the pack something from his pockets, which the animals happily devoured and then dashed off into the ruins barking and yipping.
RETREATING A FEW BLOCKS, the companions convened behind a garbage bin before allowing themselves to speak.
“Fireblast!” Ryan breathed. “Did you see that?”
Leaning wearily against a brick wall, Krysty nodded. “A sham. This is all a sham!”
“Longblasters firing not one wolf hurt?” Jak snorted, sitting on his haunches.
“And no dust kicking up from misses, either,” Ryan said. “It’s a new sham on me, and I thought I had seen them all.”
“Bastards,” Mildred spit furiously. “Utter contemptible bastards.”
“What do you think they do with the people?” Dean asked, staring at the junkyard wall across the river. No sounds could be heard from this distance. Even blasterfire would become lost in the wind, so anything could be happening out of sight behind the imposing barrier.
“I don’t know, son,” Ryan said. “Slaves, mebbe.”
Returning to the Hummer, they informed J.B. about the situation.
“Blanks,” the Armorer stated, sitting on the bumper of the Hummer. “Shit-eating sec men were firing blanks! You sure about that?”
“Makes sense,” Ryan agreed. “Searchlights draw in folks to investigate. Then somewhere along the way, a pack of pet wolves attack, herding the people into the ville. The sec men pretend to fight off the muties, and the victims rush inside for protection, while actually thanking their captors.”
“Deuced clever way to increase your population,” Doc admitted in grudging admiration. “Highly contemptible, but I must admit that I am impressed by its sheer audacity.”
“Bastards,” Mildred repeated.
“Agreed, good Doctor. But still brilliant.”
“So what about that winged thing we found in the cave,” Dean asked, holding his new rifle, his eyes never pausing as they searched the shadowy ruins for possible enemies. “Think that’s another sheepdog?”
Krysty dismissed the idea. “Head was too small. No way it was smart as a wolf.”
“I’d guess that was for real,” Ryan agreed. “Or possibly, the stick to the carrot. If anybody tries to escape, it’ll be at night and the bird, whatever, attacks for real.”
“Why doesn’t it attack the ville, then?”
“Weak eyes,” Mildred reminded. “Those searchlights would keep the mutie far away.”
“More tricks and games,” Krysty said grimly.
“However, you all seemed to have missed the most important point,” J.B. said, adjusting his glasses until he had their full attention, then he smiled broadly.
“We now know where dinner is coming from,” he continued, chocking the bolt on the Uzi.
Faces brightened in understanding.
“Wolf hard to kill?” Dean asked, feeling a rush of adrenaline. He wanted to do something for the poor trapped folks, and if he couldn’t free them somehow, then chilling the wolves was the next best thing.
“Most pack animals are,” Ryan said, nodding at J.B. The wiry Armorer saluted in return. “Just have to catch one off by itself away from the others.”
“And once we ace the wolves,” Ryan continued, “tomorrow it’ll be much easier to cut a deal with the baron of the ville without getting caught between two enemies. He’ll keep expecting the wolves to show. That’ll keep him off balance and give us an extra bargaining edge.”
“And if we can’t find them?” Dean asked in concern.