The Midget snorted and shook his head. "Nothing that concerns you Merc." He looked away and stared into the clearing.

"Oh really." She said flatly, "I saved your ass for a reason and that…" she pointed towards the dock with the barrel of her gun, "seems to be it. So tell me Midget, why the sabotage?"

Her question set off a small storm of reactions in the Midget; he banged his forehead against the boulder and uttered low snarls to punctuate. Thud.., snarl. Thud.., snarl. Thud.., snarl. Lilith's eyes widened, but she held her ground. It was weirdly fascinating to see the midget flip from calm to crazed in the space of a minute.

The Midget rapped his skull one last time and cleared his throat. "It's complicated." He refused to look at her.

Lilith studied his profile and wondered what the Midget really looked like underneath his mask. If the stories are all true.., then he's hideous. She shuddered inwardly. She had seen a lot of ugly in her time but she was reluctant to discover this particular flavor any time soon. Her gaze returned to the bandits at the dock. Now both of them were topside and one of them was banging away in the box. But the brute at ground level was staring straight at their location, and that made her uneasy.

"Try me." She prodded and he sighed in resignation. Lilith sensed that he had come to some sort of internal decision. He eased down into a sitting position and looked up at the featureless gray sky as he spoke.

"That charging station belongs to the Hedgers. They must be stopped." The Midget made a cutoff motion with his hands and dropped his gaze. Lilith marveled over his demeanor. He seemed so still and so focused, something that hinted to a purpose far greater than what he revealed.

She sank down into a crouch and looked at him intently. "Who are the Hedgers?"

The Midget swung his gaze slowly around to level with hers. "They're asshole Sledge wannabees, that's who. Damn scum suckers stepped right in after you guys took out Sledge." He glanced at her pack and Lilith knew he was thinking of the shotgun stowed in there. The image of a midget rocketing backwards through the air clutching a smoking shotgun bloomed in her mind.

She put a protective hand over the bag and warned, "Forget about the gun. It's mine and I earned it. Besides, you midgets and shotguns are notoriously mismatched."

He snorted and threw his head back. Lilith expected another fit of rage, but he surprised her by laughing instead. She had heard the psychotic laughter of mutant midgets many times before, but this was markedly different. It was lower pitched and rolled out smoothly in rhythmic chuckles. It suddenly dawned on her that she was hearing a genuine midget belly laugh. Lilith ogled at him, then broke down and snickered.

After their mirth subsided, he expanded his explanation. "The Hedgers want to continue the old order, to keep up the brutal and sadistic ways of our former master Sledge. But some of us are tired of the senseless killing and want to break away."

"So why sabotage their equipment? Why not just leave?" Lilith peeked back at the clearing for a quick check. She was alarmed to see all three bandits hurrying towards the vehicle.

"We did leave, but it's not enough. The Hedgers are planning to…" the Midget trailed off as he noticed her posture. He scrambled to his hands and knees to peer out. "Ah shit."

The vehicle rumbled to life and promptly headed towards their rocky hideout. Lilith and the Midget exchanged a glance. "Follow me!" She began to wind her way further in among the massive boulders. The Midget followed closely behind her and they worked their way up to the top of the ridge while keeping out of sight from the clearing below.

The peak itself was bare and would provide no cover. Lilith hung back in hiding and scanned the length of it, looking for a dip, a shadow, anything that would allow them to slip over undetected. There was nothing.

The bandits pulled up seemingly right next to the spot where Lilith and Midget first began their rocky ascent. She cursed and looked down at herself. What the hell caught that brute's attention to give them away? She eyed the Midget, crouched several feet away. He appeared just as unremarkable as she. He watched her, awaiting her next move. Lilith shook her head in confusion and dismissed the question.

"Come out come out, wherever you are!" Both Lilith and the Midget startled at the sound of the loud abrasive command. Heavy laughter bounced around the dry crag. "I got a present for you… a nice fat going away present! Oh you're gonna love it so much you'll never leave, hah hah hah!"

They could hear the bandits scrabbling through the rocks and getting closer. Lilith knew by instinct that the sharp-eyed brute remained down in the clearing, gun ready to pick their sorry asses off as soon as they came into view.

The Midget nervously scanned the bare backbone of the ridge and seemed itchy to make a run for it. Lilith got his attention. "I'm going to distract them with this!" She reached down and grabbed a hefty sized rock. He nodded and braced himself to run.

Lilith cocked her arm back to throw and was stopped cold by a guttural low growl. Coming over the ridge was a huge adult skag. From the looks of the milk-swollen teats hanging down from its chest, it was Momma Skag on the hunt for her pups.

"We are so screwed!" Midget looked over at Lilith and hissed, "What now Merc?"