Black Harvest

by James Axler

  “No, you one-eyed prick,” the baron shouted. “At Spearpoint, you murdered my brother.”

  “And my son.”

  “Allow me to introduce Baron Schini,” DeMann said. “As you’ve already heard, you also murdered her son.”

  Ryan shook his head in disbelief. During all his years with the Trader and on his own with the friends, he had probably chilled dozens, or scores, maybe even hundreds of norms and muties, but he’d never murdered any of them. Murder was something you thought about, planned and committed in cold blood. He’d chilled, but always to save his own life, or the lives of others.

  Ryan wasn’t about to apologize for his past, or any of his actions. If he had chilled DeMann’s brother, and the other baron’s son, it was only because if he didn’t they would have chilled him without a second thought.

  “Don’t remember chilling your brother…or your son,” Ryan told them, “but if I did, then they were probably low-life scum that deserved to die.”

  “Glad you feel that way,” the baron said. “It’ll be so much easier to watch you suffer.”

  The baron raised his hand and the arena erupted in blasterfire.

  People in the crowd started screaming.

  Some ran for cover.

  Others tried to get away as quickly as they could.

  The entire ville was blanketed in chaos.

  A SEC MAN STOOD in the aisle, blocking Doc’s passage.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

  “My hope would be forward,” Doc mused.

  The sec man shook his head.

  Behind Doc, both Eleander and Jak remained silent, allowing Doc to do all the talking since, after all, it was what he did best. “That is truly unfortunate, my good man, because I fully intend to go forward. Now, whether it is around you, through you, or over your dead body, that is entirely up to you.”

  “You’re not going anywhere, asshole outlander.”

  Shots continued to be fired into the arena. The friends could see that Ryan and the others were scattered around the arena floor. The number of blasters drawn against them seemed to be on the rise.

  Doc, however, was unflappable. He slowly raised his LeMat and pointed it at the sec man.

  The sec man started to laugh. “You can actually fire that relic?”

  “I assure you it is in perfect working order.”

  As the sec man considered Doc’s words, the smile vanished from his face. “Then put it down and get back to your seat.”

  “I am afraid I cannot do that. You see, my friends are currently caught in a firefight in which they are armed with toy blasters and their opponents are armed with the real thing. I beseech you, is that fair?”

  “I said put the blaster down.”

  Doc was defiant. “No.”

  The sec man cocked his blaster, a remade Colt with a gray and pitted barrel.

  “Last chance.”

  Doc said nothing.

  A moment later the sec man was clutching at a leaf-bladed throwing knife that had suddenly lodged in his neck. A giant rent opened up in the flesh, and blood was gushing out in a torrent.

  “Thank you Master Lauren,” Doc said, picking up the sec man’s blaster and tucking it inside his waistband.

  “Waiting for you shoot him.”

  “I told him my blaster was in perfect working order…. Unfortunately, I happen to be out of ammunition for it at the moment.”

  They hurried on.

  Blasterfire continued to rain down into the arena.

  INSTINCTIVELY the friends dived for cover, safe for now, but vulnerable to blasterfire the minute the sec men had a chance to change their positions.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Ryan said.

  “No argument here,” J.B. agreed.

  Ryan looked for Doc, Jak and Eleander but couldn’t see them. “There’s a door in the corner of the arena. We’ll try for that and hopefully we’ll meet up with Doc and get our blasters.”

  Without another word, the friends made a run for the arena door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Don’t let them get away!” Robards shouted.

  The outlanders had made their way to the north end of the arena and seemed to have vanished from sight. They were good at surviving and would probably make it out of the arena, maybe even out of the ville. Robards was counting on them getting away, since that would bring the firefight out into the ville where it would be possible for the baron to catch a round from one of their weapons, or if not one of their blasters, perhaps from Robards’s own. After all, once the baron was gone, who would challenge his authority over the ville? If he declared the baron dead by one of the outlanders’ blasters, that would be the end of the matter.

  “Patskou!” Robards called out.

  Almost at once, a sec man and three juniors came running up to the elevated platform.

  “Yes, Chief!”

  “Circle around the south end of the arena, and take as many men with you as you can find. I don’t want them doubling back on us and slipping out the back door.”

  Sec man Patskou nodded and left at double-time, his three men trailing behind, and more joining the train as he circled the outside of the arena.

  Robards watched approvingly.

  The outlanders probably didn’t need his help getting away, but there was no harm in helping to making sure everything went according to his plan.

  BARON SCHINI watched as chaos reigned around her.

  The episode in the arena had been awkward and careless. If DeMann and Robards had wanted the outlanders dead, why didn’t they just tie them up and take their heads off with a volley of blasterfire?

  She looked at Sec chief Robards and listened closely as he sent his men to the opposite end of the arena from where the outlanders had last been seen.

  It all seemed so wrong.

  Unless…

  Unless Robards was working on something, and was using the outlanders’ escape as a diversion.

  “Perhaps I should retire to my residence. It will be safer there,” Baron DeMann said.

  “No, Baron, that might be seen as a sign of weakness by citizens of the ville,” Robards countered. “Besides, the outlanders know where your quarters are, and they might seek you out in revenge for the double cross in the arena. Better to stay here with me so my men can protect you.”

  The baron eyed his sec chief suspiciously. “All right, but I’m warning you, if you let the one-eyed outlander escape, you won’t live to see the morning. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, Baron,” DeMann said.

  Baron Schini looked at Baron DeMann for a long time knowing that whether by her hand, or that of Sec chief Robards, he would probably be the one who wouldn’t live out the night.

  ELEANDER LED Doc and Jak to the north end of the arena. Ryan, Krysty, J.B. and Mildred were waiting for them there, eager to get their blasters back and a chance to shoot their way out of the ville.

  Ryan checked his SIG-Sauer and the small cache of 9 mm rounds he had for it. There were barely a dozen rounds in his lone spare clip. He also had barely a half-dozen rounds for his Steyr.

  He looked around at the others in the group. “How we doing for ammo?” he asked.

  “Eight rounds,” Krysty said, snapping the wheel of her Smith & Wesson in place.

  “I’m out,” Doc reported.

  “I’ve got fourteen rounds,” Mildred said.

  J.B. shook his head. “Clip and a half for the Uzi, mebbe ten rounds for the scattergun.”

  Eleander watched and listened in fascination, marveling at the military efficiency the group utilized when they prepared for battle.

  “What about you, Jak?” Ryan asked.

  “Dozen rounds,” he said. “Plenty knives.”

  Ryan noticed something strange about the albino teen. He seemed listless and slow. “You all right?”

  “Shoulder bastard sore.”

  Ryan nodded. That would explain it, although he’d seen the young man wounde
d worse than he was now and still able to jump, run and shoot faster than most men.

  Eleander stared at Jak for a long time and a look of fear and sadness crossed her face, but she said nothing.

  “Eleander,” Ryan said, grabbing her attention, “we need ammo to blast our way out of here. Either that or a wag.”

  “The armory is too far from here, but the wag pool is just around that building. There are a few machines kept ready throughout the day. If you get to one of those, there should be some ammo on board.”

  “Wheels and ammo,” J.B. said with delight.

  “Then we’ll head for the wags,” Ryan commanded.

  He looked at Eleander. “Take us there!”

  BARON SCHINI had her weapon drawn, a snub-nosed Browning .38, but kept the blaster close to her side. Things seemed to be happening fast, and she wasn’t about to tip her hand until she knew exactly what was going on.

  She called one of her sec men.

  “Yes, Baron,” the man said.

  “Do you have the flare?”

  The man nodded.

  “Make your way to the wall and get ready to light it. I have a feeling a hole is going to open up in the wall around this ville very soon.”

  The sec man ran off, slipping unnoticed into the crowd.

  THE FRIENDS RAN single file through the narrow streets of the ville, Eleander leading the way, Ryan and J.B. covering their rear.

  “Mildred,” Eleander called without stopping.

  “Right here,” the physician responded.

  “I’m worried about Jak.”

  “He’ll be fine.”

  Eleander shook her head. “His wound is almost healed, yes, but I’m afraid he’s been given something. Something bad.”

  “Like what?”

  “Can’t be sure, but just from looking at him, I think he might have been given some bang.”

  “Why would they do that to him?”

  “Revenge would be my guess. If Ryan killed the baron’s brother, then he probably had Jak injected with bang to get back at him, slow down the group.”

  Mildred turned to look at Jak. The albino teen was keeping pace with the rest of them, but the usual spark was gone from his eyes. It was as if he were going through the motions, nothing more. “What will happen to him?”

  Eleander held back her answer as the group turned a corner.

  At the end of the line, Ryan sent a few rounds from his SIG-Sauer down the alleyway, catching a trailing sec man in the chest. The man clutched at his chest and as he died, he momentarily blocked the alleyway. Other sec men appeared behind the man and used his bleeding body as a shield. J.B. fired a few more rounds, pushing the sec men back and chilling the lead man, sending him reeling backward onto the alley floor.

  “When the drug is first administered,” Eleander continued, “the feeling is euphoric. The world is a beautiful place and a person can stay motionless in one position for hours at a time.”

  Mildred recalled Jak had been strangely quiet that morning. At the time she had thought he’d just been getting some much-needed rest.

  “When he’s finished with that stage, he’ll act pretty much normal for a few hours. That’s what he’s going through now. He’ll be able to function, but his eyes will get increasingly glassy…” Her voice trailed off.

  “And then?” Mildred prodded.

  “And then when he comes completely down from the high, he’ll want more of it. He’ll scratch your eyes out for it, even kill for it, and won’t stop until he gets it.”

  “Damn!” Mildred said. “We’ve met up with a few muties like that.”

  “They weren’t muties, they were bang addicts, but they might as well have been muties. Sec chief Robards is still working on the drug. He wanted it to be addictive, but not this powerful. It’s already wiped out a quarter of the ville’s residents so far, and more are dying every day.”

  Eleander began to slow.

  “How can I get him off it?”

  “If he can get through the first few hours of need, he’ll have a bastard headache and will never want to touch the drug again.”

  “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

  Eleander shook her head. “When he asks for bang, tie him down. Make sure he can’t move, and can’t get at anyone. He’ll kill them looking for the drug.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes, let him scream all he wants. The madness is only temporary.”

  “Oh, great.”

  They continued on in silence, J.B. and Ryan keeping their rear clear of sec men.

  “That’s it over there,” Eleander said, stopping in front of a gate that was locked with a small lock and thin gauge steel chain.

  Krysty pulled on the padlock. “Looks like it’s locked.”

  “Not for long,” J.B. said as he approached from the rear. He leveled the Smith & Wesson M-4000 at the padlock and waited a moment so everyone could take cover, then he squeezed the trigger.

  The padlock and much of the chain vanished in an instant under a cloud of smoke and dust, and the steel of the gate behind it was bent and broken by the blast.

  The gate slowly swung open.

  “Key to the ville,” J.B. said, slapping the barrel of the scattergun.

  The friends headed toward the wag pool.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The wag pool was a large barn standing a block and a half northeast of the baron’s residence. It was made of wood that had been worn and weathered by the elements, but the outside walls had been strengthened by sheet metal and aluminum signs collected from the surrounding countryside. Over the entrance was a rusted sign for something called Coke, and between the large overhead door and a small window was a blue road sign that read “St. Louis 150.”

  Positioned out in front of the barn were two sec stations built up with bags of dirt and loose earth. The sec men in each bunker were armed with large-caliber blasters and a healthy supply of ammo.

  “Are there sec men around the back?” Ryan asked Eleander.

  “There’s one, but only because there are no doors on that side of the building.”

  “Can always make an entrance if we need to,” J.B. said, slapping the butt of his scattergun.

  “If we get rid of the sec man, can we get in from behind?”

  Eleander shook her head. “The back wall is even more reinforced with metal plate.”

  Ryan nodded. He needed to come up with a plan in a hurry, since every available sec man in the ville was looking for them and it was only a matter of time before they figured out the friends would be looking for a wag to escape with.

  “Ryan?” Krysty asked after several moments.

  “Okay, here’s the plan,” he said. “Jak will take out the sec man behind the barn, real quiet. Then when he’s got the man’s blaster, he’ll make as much noise as he can. When the two sec men out front come around the building to see what’s going on, J.B. and I will take them out.”

  Jak nodded, as did J.B.

  “Then Doc and Mildred will take up the positions at the front two posts, doing their best to look like the two dead sec men. That should give J.B. time to select a wag from inside and get it running.”

  Ryan looked around to see if anyone had anything to add.

  No one said a word.

  “All right, let’s move!”

  “WHERE ARE THEY now?” Baron DeMann shouted. “I want a report!”

  “They are somewhere in the ville,” Robards assured him. “Probably laying low, waiting for dark for a chance to scale the walls. When that happens, we’ll shoot them like ducks in a gaudy-house arcade.”

  “Your men couldn’t hit a duck if it was quacking at the end of their blaster,” the baron said, obviously disappointed in the performance of his sec squad of late.

  “Not to worry, we’ll have them,” the sec chief promised.

  Without warning, the baron reached over and pulled the blaster from Robards’s hands. The move caught the sec chief by surprise, and he looked at the baron w
ith an open mouth, unable to speak.

  “I doubt that,” DeMann said, turning the blaster around until it was comfortable in his left hand. “First, two residents escape the ville under the noses of your sec men because they wanted to go for a swim. Then you bring these outlanders into the ville and convince me to allow them to stay for a few days. But it was a good thing I did, because they helped stop an invasion of muties that your men seemed unable to control. You had your chance to chill them in the arena, but even that was too much of a task for your so-called highly trained men. And now you’ve lost them inside the ville, outlanders who’ve never walked its streets before.” The baron shook his head in disgust. “Face it, Robards, you did all right when all you had to deal with were muties and a few drunken villagers, but you’ve gone soft on me.” He shook his head in disgust. “You and your force are no match for hardened outlanders like these.”

  Robards said nothing.

  “Are you?”

  “I’ve kept the peace and been loyal to you for the past four years, Baron.” The sec chief spoke slowly andcalmly.

  “Loyal,” the baron said. “That’s an interesting word.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, a loyal sec man wouldn’t do secret work on a new drug without informing me about it, would he?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Baron.”

  “Oh, I think you do.”

  Robards pressed his lips together in a thin white line and his breathing became heavy.

  “And before you go thinking about who it was that turned you in, I’ll just tell you that I heard the news from four different sources.”

  Robards’s face turned white.

  Baron Schini’s hand moved over the butt of her blaster…just in case.

  “I assure you, Baron, I was going to turn the new drug over to you once it was perfected.”

  “Ah, a gift for me?”

  Robards nodded. “Yes, precisely.”

  The baron’s left hand shot forward and the barrel of the Heckler & Koch caught Robards on the chin. The sec chief was thrown backward, stumbling a few times before landing on his rear.

  “I know you’ve already been selling it, turning the usually manageable junkies surrounding the ville into bang-starved killers. It’s too addictive, too powerful, but of course you don’t have the brainpower to figure that out. You’d keep going until all of your customers were gone. Then who the fuck would I sell the regular junk to?”