A quick flash of how she would have handled this situation appeared in my mind. Jaunty smile, flirt and threat intermingling effortlessly in her words and expressions. I snorted at the thought of any one of us trying something like that. It'd never work, because we weren't her. But with or without her, we were in this situation, and we'd have to deal with it.
Apparently, the thug misinterpreted my snort, and his smarmy smile vanished, replaced with an ugly expression that honestly seemed more at home on his face. His goons closed in, barrels rising toward us. Amateurs. I felt a tight smile stretch my lips. Clustered up close like that, they'd go down like pins from the old pre-war game of bowling. But the lascannon on the wall was another matter, not to mention whatever rabble remained inside the wall. It was still time for words, not bullets.
"Don't rightly know how we might serve you," came the unexpectedly casual drawl from Doc, who was still a couple steps in front of me. It took me a moment to recognize the inflection; It was hers of course, Doc was mimicking her style of speech. He didn't have the presence to really pull it off, but I had to admire the guts it took to try. Besides, this was his town.
"Don't rightly know," he repeated, "because I don't know who you are."
"We're the stewards of Outertown," the lead thug blustered, trying to regain his composure. "The guardians of Nova Vi."
"Bullshit," replied Doc, his reserve cracking only slightly, more fire to the words than she would have put there. "I was born and raised in this town, and I know every single face. You three," he paused, and I could see his head move to look at each man individually, "don't belong here." The man looked taken aback for a moment, and I thought it was about to be bullets, but then he crossed his arms and laughed. He laughed like a goddamn villain from the old movies, out loud, with his head thrown back. His back-up glanced at each other, and laughed uneasily along with him.
"That's where you're wrong, my young buck," he replied, leaning forward, looming over Doc's slight form. "Outertown is ours now, unless you think you're going to do something about that?"
09 May 2017
04 May 2017
Unchosen 33
We rounded the bend, and Outertown hove into view. We could see that they'd been busy since the worm, since the walls were once more intact, and even more, reinforced with what appeared to be blocks of stone cut from the surrounding canyon rock. Doc had move into the fore, and his eyes scanned the walls avidly, a vague expression of approval on his young face. However, as I watched him look at the town of his birth, I saw his expression shift through puzzled into concerned. I turned my own eyes back toward the town, though it took me a moment to see what was wrong.
The gates stood open like they usually did when there was no imminent threat, and thin streamers of smoke rose from behind the walls; Cook fires, and probably Elwin's forge. That was all as expected, but the demeanor of the toughs at the gate was slouchy, and the slight buzz of voices and activity from inside seemed off, more raucous than expected. While the residents of Outertown had formerly been raiders and bandits, they'd acquired a veneer of civility and sophistication in the generation since they'd thrown their lot in with the Nova Vi vault-born. The few visible guardians held themselves like wild dogs; simultaneously wary of a kick and greedy for whatever they could snatch.
"Something's wrong," Doc said, and I nodded. Chasity had obviously noticed it too, as had Tex, since they'd both fanned out to either side of Doc and me. I stopped and dropped one hand to my holster; Doc didn't reach for his submachine gun, but I could easily see the tension in his shoulders as he took a couple more steps forward, eyes still intent on the town.
"Wall," Chasity said tightly.
Looking where she indicated, I saw one of the two pintle-mounted cannons was swinging around, and I could hear the hum as its reactor came online. From the gate, a party of men emerged, the leader not ostensibly armed, but the two flanking him with their weapons at the ready. The lead man had a cocky grin on his face as he approached.
"Welcome to Outertown," he said, his voice oozing with repressed humor, and his eyes dark and cruel. "How can you serve us today?"
The gates stood open like they usually did when there was no imminent threat, and thin streamers of smoke rose from behind the walls; Cook fires, and probably Elwin's forge. That was all as expected, but the demeanor of the toughs at the gate was slouchy, and the slight buzz of voices and activity from inside seemed off, more raucous than expected. While the residents of Outertown had formerly been raiders and bandits, they'd acquired a veneer of civility and sophistication in the generation since they'd thrown their lot in with the Nova Vi vault-born. The few visible guardians held themselves like wild dogs; simultaneously wary of a kick and greedy for whatever they could snatch.
"Something's wrong," Doc said, and I nodded. Chasity had obviously noticed it too, as had Tex, since they'd both fanned out to either side of Doc and me. I stopped and dropped one hand to my holster; Doc didn't reach for his submachine gun, but I could easily see the tension in his shoulders as he took a couple more steps forward, eyes still intent on the town.
"Wall," Chasity said tightly.
Looking where she indicated, I saw one of the two pintle-mounted cannons was swinging around, and I could hear the hum as its reactor came online. From the gate, a party of men emerged, the leader not ostensibly armed, but the two flanking him with their weapons at the ready. The lead man had a cocky grin on his face as he approached.
"Welcome to Outertown," he said, his voice oozing with repressed humor, and his eyes dark and cruel. "How can you serve us today?"
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