Wasteland Rules: Die Fighting (The World After Book 4) (18 page)

   “The only real threat the city currently faces is
conflicts or power struggles within the Junk Traders themselves.” Derek further
explained. “In the beginning they had open warfare between the militias as each
Junk Trader established their turf. Now they each have clearly defined
territory that they control with the Market being neutral ground ‘owned’ by all
of them. There is still some fighting between the different Traders, but it is covert
instead of out in the open.”

  
“We should be able to
exploit that to get the core.” Sterling informed them. “If we can convince the
group that one or more of them is trying to cut the others out, we should be
able to get them fighting. We can use that as a distraction to steal the core.”

   “You make it sound so easy.” Derek quipped.

   “Yeah, what about the other buyers?” Rora added.
“They aren’t just going to let us walk out with the core.”

   “If we play it right, they will also be too busy
fighting each other to intervene.” Sterling explained. “The auction is in the
briefing room inside the main building at the old air base. But the core is
being kept in a secret location prior to the auction. We need to get the Junk
Traders to move it and then we can steal it. If we make them think the location
is compromised and that one of them is going to steal it, they will move it.
That’s when we grab it.”

   “And the other buyers?” Rora persisted.

   “We make it look like one of them took the core and
they will be too busy fighting over that to look for us.” Sterling said firmly.

   “And how do we do that?” Derek asked, still not
convinced.

   “Leave that to me.” Sterling said cryptically.

   After talking over the plan, or what Sterling was
willing to share, Derek was sufficiently cooled off enough to talk to Devil.
They needed to know everything she knew about the bounty hunters after them.
Once Derek knew who was after him, he would know what to look for and be better
prepared to stop them. He knew that Rule #30, don’t let emotions cloud your
judgment, applied here. Emotions caused hesitation and hesitation got you
killed. So he went back to talk to Devil. She gave him a dirty look as he sat
down next to her, which he ignored.

   “Tell me about the bounty.” He demanded.

   “Why should I tell you? Maybe one of them will get
lucky and take you out.” She said irritably.

   “Because that would rob you of that pleasure.”
Derek replied sardonically.

   Devil gave a small laugh. “I guess it doesn’t
matter. Okay I will tell you. What do you want to know?”

   “Who else is after me?”

   “Originally it was Zona, Huey Luey, and I; but
after you killed Huey Luey and Zona got captured they hired more.” Devil
informed him. “They added Grizzly, Montoya, Honsu, Mongoose, Mr. James, and the
Buckwalds.”

   “I know all of them except the Buckwalds, are they
new?” Derek asked.

   “I’m surprised you don’t recognize the name, you
killed about twenty of their kin in Arkansas.” Devil told him contemptuously.
“They probably hate you more than I do.”

   “Derek makes friends wherever we go.” Rora
interjected. “But I think those were the two hillbillies we killed during the
escape.”

   “They aren’t dead.” Devil told her with a smile.
“And wrecking their car just made them angrier.”

   “Why bounty hunters?” Derek wondered. “Why not just
drop a laser guided bomb on me or hit us with a missile strike?”

   “Most of those assets are tied up in the war in the
South.” Devil explained. “And they don’t want everyone in the wasteland afraid
that the U.S.T.G. is just going to snuff them out when they feel like it. We
still have agents out there that need to work with people.”

   “That doesn’t make any sense.” Derek pointed out.
“They could have hit us when no one else was around. No one ever would have
known about it. There has to be another reason.”

   “If there is, they never shared it with me.” Devil
told him firmly.

   “Why did you agree to come out into the wasteland
and work like this?” Derek asked her, curious. “You were a Red Beret; you lived
a life of relative comfort. Why give all that up for this?”

   “You gave it all up to come out here.” Devil
replied with a smile.

   “I didn’t have a choice; they exiled me and threw
me out of a chopper.” Derek said indignantly.

   “Let’s just say that it was in my best interest to
get out of the U.S.T.G. and leave it at that.” Devil said flatly.

    Derek and Rora tried to get more out of her but
she refused to talk after that. He eventually gave up and went back up front
with Sterling, while Rora stayed with Devil. He heard them talking after he left
but couldn’t make out the details. Whatever it was Devil sounded upset and Rora
seemed to be comforting her. He would have to keep an eye on that, Devil was
very tricky.

I-135 North of Wichita, KS

September 15, 2029

   They reached the outskirts of Wichita the next
morning without any problems. The slow speed of the RV and the conditions of
the back roads had caused the trip to take longer than expected. Derek was
surprised no one had bothered them, he had half expected raiders to attack them.
That had been pretty much par for the course since he met Rora. Anyone and
everyone had been placed in his path or chasing after him. It seemed everyone
wanted his blood. Rora was right, he was good at making enemies and not
friends; but it had been ridiculous.

   They reached a checkpoint and Sterling was forced
to slow to a stop behind a line of vehicles waiting to enter the city. Armed
guards were slowly checking each vehicle thoroughly before allowing them to
pass. Several pickup technicals with heavy machine guns kept watch from behind
the checkpoint. More guards manned the jersey barriers they were using to block
the road. A truck mounted crane lifted a jersey barrier in and out of place to
allow each vehicle to pass.

   The guards were not in uniform but all sported
black baseball caps. Other than the hats they wore a mishmash of street clothes
and body armor and carried a wide variety of weapons. Their attire indicated
Trader militia and the baseball cap was their identifying mark, but he couldn’t
remember which Trader’s color was black.

   “I’ve never seen so large of a militia presence.”
Derek commented to Sterling. “I’ve also never seen them be so thorough or take
so long.”

   “There must be extra security because of the
auction.” Sterling replied, unconcerned.

   “I guess.” Derek agreed, not fully convinced.

   Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his
finger on it. He surveyed their surroundings looking for a threat. The line of
cars looked normal; all of them were the ragged looking vehicles of scavengers
and traders. A few were lightly armed, but nothing that would pose a threat to
the RV. Ruined buildings lined the roadway alongside of them. Empty strip malls
and gas stations that once served this stretch of interstate. They were burned out
or crumbled from the Collapse and the Aftermath. It was possible something
could be concealed there, but not much.

   That left the militia as the largest possible
threat. It was possible someone had paid them to attack the RV, but it was
unlikely. The Junk Traders prided themselves on their neutrality and attacking
someone at the checkpoint would be bad for business. Still, there were an awful
lot of them. He pulled out the shotgun and kept it handy as they approached the
checkpoint. Sterling rolled slowly forward when it was their turn and stopped
at the barrier.

   Oddly, no guards approached the vehicle. Derek
glanced in the side view mirror and realized there wasn’t anyone behind them.
The steady flow of vehicles had disappeared, and then so did the militia units.
The guards quickly scrambled onto the technicals and they suddenly pulled away
leaving the RV all alone at the checkpoint.

   This was not good. Derek was about to tell Sterling
to back up when he saw glint of reflected light from one of the abandoned
storefronts. Then a red dot appeared on Sterling’s chest. He urgently reached
out and dragged Sterling down into the gap between the seats just before a hole
appeared in the windshield and fluff exploded from the driver’s seat. Derek
reached up and threw the lever to drop the armored shield over the windshield.
It had been a mistake to leave it up, but he had wanted more visibility. The
sniper must have a powerful rifle because it had punched through the
bulletproof glass like it was nothing.

  “What are you doing?” Sterling growled at him.

   “Sniper.” Derek responded quickly. “We need to get
out of here; there have to be more of them.”

   “Right.” Sterling agreed and scrambled back into
the driver’s seat.

   As Sterling threw the RV into reverse, they were
struck hard from behind with a grinding crash. Derek was thrown up against the
windshield before bouncing off and falling back onto the passenger seat. He
heard screams and crashing from the back of the RV indicating Rora had been
thrown around too. He was getting up when they were struck again, throwing him
backwards into the passenger cabin.

   The metal frame and armor of the RV screamed under
the assault and he could see the walls of the RV actually ripple from the
impact. Already the RV’s frame was buckling under the repeated assaults.
Looking back Derek saw a massive dent in the rear where something had struck
them. He could also see Rora on the floor trying to grab ahold of something to
pull herself up.

   “It has to be Grizzly!” She yelled to him.

   “He’s going to tear us apart if we don’t move!”
Derek yelled.

   “I’m on it!” Sterling called back.

   The RV slowly moved backwards as Sterling threw it
in reverse and stepped on the gas, but the heavy bulk of the RV meant it was
slow to get started. He had just started to back up and turn when they were
struck again, throwing Rora and Derek around the cabin. Devil watched with
crazed glee from her secure spot tied to the bed.

   “Sterling!” Derek yelled “Do something!”

   “I’m trying!” He screamed back as he desperately
turned the wheel.

   But the RV was too large and too slow. Derek heard
a loud, almost triumphant, blast of an air horn and then the RV was struck
extremely hard on the rear driver’s side. The thunderous collision of metal was
deafening. Derek grabbed for handholds as the RV was knocked over by the
crushing impact. Gear and random objects flew through the cabin as the large
vehicle flipped on its side and then slid into the barriers. Rora screamed as she
was tossed across the cabin and Derek heard Sterling yelp in pain as he was
thrown from his seat.

   “We have to get out!” Derek yelled urgently. “Exit
through the roof hatches and run for the nearest building! Keep your head down
to avoid the sniper!”

   They all scrambled to get out. Derek helped a dazed
Rora exit the RV and a bloodied Sterling followed her. Derek saw the crate that
contained the SMAW and went back to get it. They were going to need a little
firepower to get out if this mess. It had landed next to the bed where Devil
was still secured. He could see her staring at him with hate and fear filled
eyes. Gritting his teeth, he went back and grabbed it.

   “What about me?” Devil snarled at him. “Are you
just going to leave me here?”

   “Sorry. No time to save you.” Derek said with
shrug. “Rule #31, every man for themselves.”

   She cursed and spit at him as he bolted out of the
overturned RV. He felt a little bad leaving her to die in the wreckage, but it
wasn’t like he had a choice. If he didn’t get out, he would die and so would Sterling
and Rora. Derek crawled out and rolled free just as the RV was struck again.
The armored truck collided with the RV and pushed it forward, the rear of the
RV just missing him as it slid by.

   As he got up and ran, Derek gave Grizzly’s truck a
quick glance. The entire thing was well armored including the gas tanks. There
were minimal weapons, which made sense since the thing was a weapon unto
itself. And it fit Grizzly’s M.O. He liked to kill people hands on, preferring
to strangle them. He sometimes used guns but he didn’t like them. Smashing
people with the truck was like an extension of his hands.

   Looking forward he saw Rora and Sterling scramble
into an empty storefront. Oddly, no one seemed to be shooting at them. But any
possibility that the sniper was gone was eliminated when Derek felt the impact
of a round on the back plate of his body armor. The force of the round knocked
him forward, but he tucked the weapons case to his chest and turned the
momentum into a dive roll. He came to his feet and kept running, but zig
zagging to make himself a harder target to hit.

   Bullets sparked of the pavement around him as the
sniper tried valiantly to hit him, but Derek was too quick. Diving over a pile
of rubble he joined Rora and Sterling in the abandoned store front. Both
clutched weapons they grabbed on the way out. Rora an M4 carbine and Sterling a
P90. All three paused for a moment to catch their breath as they hid behind the
rubble in what had once been a convenience store.

   They watched, captivated, as the armored truck
backed up for another strike. With three blasts of the air horn it surged
forward and struck the crippled RV in the middle of the now exposed under
carriage. Flames burst out as the gas tank was ruptured and sparks from the
impact ignited the leaking gas. The armored truck backed up as the fire spread.
Then with a loud boom, the gas tank exploded engulfing the stricken vehicle in
flames.

   “Where’s Angela?” Rora asked with concern.

   “I didn’t have time to get her out.” Derek said
coldly, ignoring her glare. “Let’s focus on getting out of this alive. I doubt
that Grizzly and the sniper are the only ones here. Keep an eye out for other
bounty hunters.”

   Another bullet ricocheted off the rubble they were
hiding behind as if to punctuate his point. Both Rora and Sterling flinched.
All three heard the roar of the armored truck’s engine as it revved up and then
faded away. Derek didn’t know where Grizzly was going, but he wouldn’t be
running away.

  “We’re stuck here unless we take out that sniper.” Sterling
pointed out. “If anyone else is here we’re going to be sitting ducks.”

   “One of you draw his fire so I can locate his
hiding spot.” Derek ordered as he flipped open the case containing the SMAW.

   “You must be joking?” Sterling replied scornfully.

   “I’ll do it.” Rora said with a sigh.

   “Okay.” Derek said with a nod. “Stay low and keep
your movements short. Try to jump from cover to cover.”

   Rora prepared herself, gathering her nerve. Then
she burst out from behind the rubble and ran towards a support column. A shot
rang out as she ran, and when she reached the cover of the column she checked
herself for wounds; but found nothing. Derek had dared a quick glance once she
started running and was rewarded with concrete fragments to his face as a round
shattered the rubble next to his head.

   Great. The sniper, which he assumed to be Honsu,
was only shooting at him. Honsu had figured out that Rora was bait and had
waited for Derek to show himself. If Derek had been any slower, he would be
dead. The healing factor wouldn’t help with a shot to the head.

   “Here.” Derek told Sterling, shoving the SMAW into
his hands. “They want me, so I need to draw his fire. You should be able to get
a good bead on him and hit him with the rocket while he is shooting at me.”

   Sterling nodded slowly and slung his P90 onto his
back. Taking the SMAW he checked the weapon and made sure he was ready. Derek
gave a quick gesture to Rora to stay put, and then gave Sterling a quick three count
with his fingers. At three Derek burst out from the rubble sprinting as fast as
he could towards the back of the empty store, dodging shelving units and
counters.

   A round sparked off the shelving next to his head
as Derek wove his way through the store and another round struck the armor on
his shoulder. He dove through an open doorway into the back of the store as a
bullet whizzed by his ear. There was a brief explosion in the distance and then
silence.

   “Did you get him?” Derek called to Sterling.

   “I think so.” Sterling called back.

   “It sure looked like it.” Rora agreed. “Sterling
hit the spot where the gunfire was coming from right after the last shot was
fired.”

   “Great! Let’s get out of here before anyone else
shows up…” Derek said before he was interrupted by the sounds of steel and
concrete being pulverized.

   He leapt back just in time as the massive steel
plow of Grizzly’s armored truck smashed through the store. Metal, glass, and concrete
shattered and sprayed in all directions as the truck crashed through the wall,
passed right through the store, and out through the other wall leaving gaping
holes in both walls. The shrapnel sprayed everywhere and Derek was cut in a
dozen places. The truck passed so close, Derek could feel the displaced air
blast him in the face.

   Movement in the hole in the first shattered wall
caught Derek’s attention and he managed to dive for cover as a rocket propelled
grenade hurtled towards him trailing smoke and flame. The blast knocked him
sideways into one of the store’s bathrooms. Time had not been kind to what was
probably an already disgusting scene. The small room had no other exits and
Derek knew if he stayed there he was going to be blasted by grenades.

   The RPG could only mean Mr. James had arrived and
his favorite weapon was an M32 MGL or multiple grenade launcher. It used a
revolver mechanism to allow the user to fire six 40mm grenades in quick
succession. Mr. James loved to open with a LAW or RPG and then follow up on his
stunned opponent with grenades. He was a coward who preferred to surprise his
opponents and gun them down from a distance with overwhelming firepower.

   Derek barely exited the bathroom as the first
grenades sailed in. The blast propelled him out into the wreckage of the store.
The trucks passing had shredded the shelves and counters and their razor sharp
ruins were scattered all around. He twisted as he fell to narrowly avoid being
impaled on one of the ruined shelves. Gunfire from the front of the store
indicated that others were attacking from the front. A quick glance revealed
Rora and Sterling shooting at multiple opponents outside.