Wasteland Rules: Kill or Be Killed (The World After Book 1) (15 page)

  She started to argue but Derek gave her a look and
Tex tossed her the keys. She struggled to her feet and slowly made her way
outside. When they heard the thud of the truck door shutting Tex and Derek made
their way to the top of the staircase. Derek struck another flare and tossed it
down. It bounced several times and then came to a rest on the basement floor.
There were no sounds of movement in response. Guns drawn they carefully went
down, cautiously checking for any surviving Drinkers that might be hiding down
there.

  The stairway ended in a small marble foyer with a
solid oak table in the middle. There were doors on either side leading into
small rooms that customers would have used to inspect their boxes in private.
Ahead of them was a gated entry to the vault. The barred gate stood open as did
the vault door. Derek was both relieved and worried. They wouldn’t have to blow
the doors to get in, which could have been impossible, but someone else could
have already been here.

  Inside the vault, the safety deposit boxes were on
all three sides. All the doors to the boxes were closed and the layer of dust
on everything was undisturbed, so it was unlikely anyone else had gotten here
first. But until they opened the box they wouldn’t know for sure. Derek went to
box 327 which was on the far wall. He quickly wired it with a stick of dynamite
that Tex handed him. Lighting the fuse, they both rushed out into the lobby and
took cover in opposite cubbies.

  The blast wasn’t huge but it did blow past them.
The shockwave stirred up all the dust in the vault and left Derek and Tex
choking in the thick swirling cloud. Once the dust cleared they could see the
door to the safety deposit box hanging open. Derek moved into the room and
dropped to one knee in front of the box. He pulled it out and hesitated for a
second before opening it. Would the device, and his ticket to a good
retirement, be in there? He flipped the lid on the box open and there it was. 
Wrapped in felt cloth was a small device that looked like an iPod.

  Derek heard the cocking noise before he felt the
barrel of Tex’s gun touch the back of his head. He sighed; he had been hoping
it wasn’t going to come to this. He and Tex and had been partners and friends
for some good years. He had hoped he could trust the man, but greed was a
powerful emotion. That’s why Rule #10 was always watch your back.

  “Sorry, old buddy. But I have another buyer. One
willing to pay five times what you are getting.” Tex informed him. “If you give
me the device and go along with it, I’ll still cut you in for your original
fee. But decide quickly, my buyers will be here soon.”

  “Are you talking about the Outfit guys in the two
Humvees?” Derek replied calmly.

  “How did you know that?” Tex asked surprised.

  “I marked their vehicles in the town parking lot
when we got there. They stood out from the other riff raff’s vehicles. They
weren’t in the saloon and I didn’t see them around town or at the Station
House, so they were just waiting around for something. Waiting for you to
betray me apparently.”

  “You are so damned clever, you know that. But you
didn’t see this coming, did you?”

  “Please, I had you pegged from the beginning. I
just hoped it wasn’t going to happen based on our friendship. The fight with
the Order thugs was a total set-up to get you back in with me. They were the
only ones not drunk in there. And you’re last minute save was so clichéd. The
arrest and fight in the lockup surprised me though. What if that monster had
killed me?”

  “That wasn’t me, I swear. I set up the fight and I
had your vehicle impounded so I could go with you, but that’s it. I’m still your
friend. This isn’t personal, it’s just business. If we weren’t friends I would
have just shot you in the back of the head and been done with it. I’m still
willing to split it with you, but it’s going to my buyers one way or the other.
If I have to cuff you and leave you down here I will.”

  “To be eaten by the Drinkers? What about Rora?”

  “Look man, I have to give these guys the device.
Work with me.” Tex cajoled.

  “I don’t think so. I’m taking the device and
walking out of here. You get one chance to lower your gun and leave here
alive.” Derek informed with deadly seriousness.

  “What are you going to do? I have a gun to your
head.”

June 12, 2029

Zinc, Arkansas

  Rora was in the SUV fiddling with the computer
when the two black Humvees roared into town and blocked her in. Armed men in
black fatigues and body armor surrounded the vehicle and ordered her to get
out. Since the vehicle was trapped, she wasn’t able to fight them off, and she
wasn’t sure how much gunfire the SUV could take; she complied. The armed men
slashed the SUV’s tires, and then dragged her into the bank and back to the
carnage. All of their actions were executed with amazing precision. When they
got inside, one of them whistled in amazement.

  “Holy crap. Look at all the Drinkers in here. Two
guys killed all these. Pretty impressive.” He muttered.

  “Stay sharp, there could be more.” The leader
ordered. “Two of you cover those doors to the back and the rest of you cover
the top of the stairs. The Regulator will either bring us the device or we kill
the mercenary if he comes up and take it.”

  He grabbed Rora and held her in front of him as
his men took up their positions.  Two men stood fanned out on either side of
him their M-4 carbines trained on the stairwell. They all looked very
professional and serious to Rora. All of them sported tight crew cut hair and
looked to be in good shape. The way they walked, talked, and handled their weapons
she figured they must be military of some kind. But they wore no insignia on
their uniforms and had nothing on their vehicles. Mercenaries probably. Men
like Derek, trained killers.

  They didn’t wait long before they heard two shots
from the vault, a moment of silence, and then a final shot. All of the men
steadied themselves and prepared to greet whoever came up the stairs. The
leader put a gun to her head and Rora froze. The fading sunlight coming through
the windows was behind the staircase making it hard to see. Shadows were
starting to enter the bank and the sun was almost directly in their eyes.
Silence fell in the bank as they all waited to see which man would emerge
victorious.

  It wasn’t long before they heard footsteps coming
up the stairs. The gunmen moved forward imperceptibly, trying to see who it
was. When Tex’s black cowboy hat slowly rose from the stairwell, Rora let out a
breath she didn’t even know she was holding. Surprisingly, she felt the man
holding her relax and saw the other visibly relax as well. Were they that
afraid of Derek? Who was he really?

  Tex staggered slowly up the stairs, visibly
wounded. He carried the duffel bag in his left hand and his right hand was
under his duster clutching his ribs. He was bent over slightly, his hat
covering his face, and he seemed to be struggling to breath, much less walk. He
stopped at the top of the stairs and leaned on the column there for support.

  “Did you get it?” The lead gunmen asked anxiously.

  “It’s in the bag.” Tex whispered.

  “And Storm?”

  “Dead. But he shot me first. I think I have some
broken ribs.” Tex moaned softly.

  “Suck it up; you can go to a doctor later. Toss me
the bag.” The leader demanded.

  “What about my money?”

  “I’ll give you the money and the girl once I
confirm you have the device.” The leader informed Tex.

  Tex tossed the bag forward with his left hand, but
it flew in front of the two men to the leader’s right instead of him. Tex
sagged against the banister as if it had been too much effort just to make the
toss. The leader snarled in annoyance, but ordered the man to check the bag.
All of the gunmen moved slightly closer wanting to see the mysterious device
they had been paid so much and come so far to get. Even the leader loosened his
grip slightly on Rora.

  The look of horror on the gunmen’s face when he
opened the bag was almost comical. A faint hissing noise came from the open bag
now that it was open. The leader loosened his grip even more as his man’s
reaction confused him. Rora took advantage and pulled free. She dove towards
the stairwell seeking some cover. The lead gunmen turned to grab her, but
before he could reach her the bank was torn apart by a massive blast from the
bag.

  The lit dynamite inside the bag erupted in a ball
of fire. The man holding it was practically vaporized and his comrade next to
him was flung sideways into the teller line breaking his neck on the marble
countertop. The leader was knocked down and his gun sent flying. The two men to
his right and the two covering the back door were sent flying by the blast.
Ears ringing they were sent tumbling amongst the desks along the wall.

  The blast knocked free Tex’s hat, revealing it to
be Derek wearing the duster. He straightened up, obviously not hurt, and shot
the leader in the face with his pistol. The blast had swept through the bank
and stirred up the dust piled up on everything. The inside was now a swirling,
choking cloud of dust and debris. Visibility was minimal so the gunmen had just
opened fire blindly on full auto in Derek and Rora’s general direction. Bullets
ricocheted off the marble floors and sparked off the brass banisters. Flashes
of gunfire strobed in the billowing dust, the gunshots echoing throughout the
bank.

  Derek pushed her further down the stairs to keep
her under cover and then disappeared into the dust cloud when the gunmen
stopped to reload. He came back seconds later with one of the gunmen’s carbines
and slid down next to her. She started to speak, but he shushed her with a
finger to the lips. The dust was starting to settle and they could hear the
gunmen whispering to each other frantically. Then, a decision apparently made,
they heard some of the mercenaries start to approach.

  Derek pulled another piece of dynamite from the
duster and lit it. He hurled the stick out of the stairwell, waiting a few
seconds and then popped up. The stick bounced of the wall and landed with a
sizzle behind the desks two of the gunmen were still using for cover. The two
moving up on the stairwell watching it arc over their heads. The two behind the
desks panicked and tried to scramble over them to escape the coming blast. All
four were distracted as the blast sent the two men behind the desks flying and
staggered the other two. Derek cut them down with four swift bursts from the
carbine. He shot two more that rushed through the front door. They went down,
triggering their guns as they fell. The rounds stitching holes in the ceiling.

  He immediately grabbed Rora and dragged her past
the bodies and out of the bank. As they ran past, she could see that the gunmen
weren’t all dead. Derek had either only wounded them or their armor had stopped
his rounds. She was surprised when he didn’t stop to kill them or loot their
bodies. Something she had become accustomed to him doing pursuant to his “rules
of the wasteland”. They instead raced out in the dwindling sunlight and to the
SUV. The shadows of the building were starting to cover the street and the
vehicles. When they reached the now disabled truck, Derek growled in
frustration. He ditched the hat and duster as he examined the Humvees.

  Rora’s curiosity got the better of her and she
asked. “Why didn’t you kill them or get their guns? I thought those were the
rules?”

  Derek laughed a nasty little laugh. “They’re dead
shortly anyway and we don’t want to be there when that happens.”

  Rora started to ask what that meant, and then she
heard the howls. A lot of howls, all coming from inside the bank. The sun had
moved and the shadows had deepened while they had been inside the bank. More
and more of the inside was now dark. The blasts and gunfire had probably
attracted even more of the monsters from their nest. Those gunmen would be torn
to pieces in minutes and Derek and Rora were in grave jeopardy if they didn’t
get out of town soon.

  Seeing the SUV was disabled, he checked the
Humvees and was astonished to find the keys in them. He assumed that because
the two merks had been guarding the vehicles they hadn’t removed them. They had
probably realized the possible need for a quick getaway. Derek smiled; for once
luck was on their side. He snatched the M-14 out of the SUV and their gear from
the back. Seeing a flare gun he grabbed that too. The ability to start fires
always came in handy. Throwing it all into the Humvee he waved Rora inside. She
jumped in next to him and he floored it. The Humvee sprayed fountains of dirt
behind it as he spun around and headed out of town, leaving the rapidly
darkening valley behind.

  As they headed out of the gates, Rora had to know.
“What happened down there?”

June 12, 2029

Leaving Zinc, Arkansas

  While they drove away Derek told her what had
happened in the vault. She listened with rapt attention. It started with him
kneeling in front of the safety deposit box with a gun to his head. His former
friend had just betrayed him and was trying to take his ticket to freedom.
Mercenaries were on their way to retrieve it and were probably already upstairs
holding Rora hostage. They were deep inside a town full of Drinkers, including
giant super mutant versions. Just another day in the life of Derek Storm.
Fortunately, this was exactly the kind of situation he thrived in.

  “I bent the firing pin on your gun, Tex.” Derek
informed him.

  “What?”

  “When you were out after the battle with the
Drinkers I bent the firing pin. Remember me handing your gun back to you?”

  “Bullcrap. You’re trying to trick me.” Tex fumed.

  “Sorry buddy.” Derek said with a sneer. “I knew
you were going to betray me, so I took advantage of the situation.”

  “What if more Drinkers had come?”

  “Then you would have been SOL…”

  “I don’t believe you.”

   “Then pull the trigger.” Derek dared him.

  At the sound of the gun’s hammer striking down
ineffectively, Derek popped to his feet and turned around. His pistol was
already in his hand and he fired two shots into Tex’s chest. His vest stopped
the rounds, as Derek had known it would, but it knocked Tex down and broke
three of his ribs. Tex fell backwards into a sitting position against the
barred wall and his hat fell off and rolled to the center of the room. Derek
kicked Tex’s arm as he tried to pull a knife from his belt and stomped down on
his hand as he reached for a backup in his boot. Defeated and broken he slumped
backwards and groaned in pain.

  “You bastard…Both of my arms are no good now and
you broke my ribs.”

  “You tried to kill me…”

  “It wasn’t personal.” Tex whined.

  “How many of them are there?” Derek grilled him.

  “At least seven, but there may have been more
waiting with the vehicles...I can’t breathe man, help me out here.”

  “Who are they working for? Why do they want the
device?”

  “I don’t know Derek, they offered a lot of money
and I didn’t ask questions. I think you broke my hand.”

  “Quit whining. You were going to shoot me in the
back of the head and take the device. Some friend you are.”

  “I told you it wasn’t personal. We’re still
friends.”

  “Rule #2 Tex, there are only friends or enemies.
That means no in between and friends don’t try to kill each other. That makes
you my enemy.”

  “I can still help. You can’t take on all those
guys by yourself.”

  “I don’t think you are in any shape to be much
help. But you are still going to go up there and take care of them.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You know rule #3.”

  Tex sighed defeatedly. “Never leave an enemy at
your back. I know.”

  “Exactly.”

  Derek fired one shot at Tex, striking him directly
between the eyes. As Tex fell over lifeless Derek snatched up Tex’s cowboy hat
and stuck it on his head. Then he stripped Tex’s duster off of his limp body
and pulled it on over his own jacket. He grabbed the duffel bag with the
remaining dynamite, lit it and closed the bag, and then headed for the stairs.
Derek bent over to conceal his face with the brim of the hat and acted hurt as
he ascended the stairs. They were expecting Tex, and Tex they would get. Then
Derek would make a surprise appearance.

  “You know the rest.” He told Rora.

  “I was worried until you came up the steps. Then I
knew it was just a matter of time before you started killing them. So I started
looking for cover right away.”

  “How did you know it was me?” Derek asked.

  “At first I was worried when I saw the black
cowboy hat. But then I saw you had the duffel in your left hand, and I knew it
couldn’t be Tex.”

  “Good girl.” Derek said with genuine affection.
”You are learning. That’s rule #7, Always pay attention. Even the littlest
detail can save your life.”

  Rora smiled at the compliment and blushed a
little. Fortunately for her Derek didn’t notice in the fading twilight. She was
very glad Derek had survived. The moments between the gunshots and him
appearing had been gut-wrenching. She glanced sideways at him covertly with her
peripheral vision. He was a cold blooded killer but he did seem to have a sense
of honor, some sort of moral code he followed. Maybe she could trust him…