Freedom

Chapter 38

Well, it wasn't like I was surprised. They'd told me upfront they were joining Duty. The fact that I worked for Freedom just put a new spin on things, that's all. The two Americans weren't my friends – but I knew them. They weren't faceless enemies, like the cultists. I wondered if I would be able to pull the trigger on them when the time came. There was no guarantee that time would ever come – in fact, it was highly unlikely. But even so. As I gazed across the yard at them, I couldn't help but think about it. My right hand warmed at the thought.

I was finished eating. Overhead, the stars were actually pretty bright. That was nice, because I'd need the light if I was going to go see Velvet. This wasn't the forest, but there were a lot of trees out there, and the going would be treacherous even if I didn't bump into anything hostile.

I felt better after eating – and it helped that I knew the fate of my friends after the ordeal on the ship – but I was still tired. Something told me Velvet and the Biker wouldn't have much sympathy for me. Actually, they probably didn't view me as a spoiled rookie. I mean, I'd pulled my weight so far, right? I felt like I had. And after what they'd seen me do to that hallway full of infected, I was pretty sure they had to take me seriously.

I left the canteen without letting Slayer and Dixon spot me. If the guards had looked at me curiously before, now they were downright incredulous. It was late, and I was going back out into the night alone, and obviously unarmed. They thought I was crazy, and they were right. This wasn't necessary. I could wait until morning. So what if the Biker wanted someone to check on Velvet? I could check on her tomorrow. I looked down at my right hand, then at the guards, then got moving. Due east.

I didn't jog this time. The footing would be poor, and I'd be better off to move quietly. The little building was even closer than the Biker had indicated – a small, squat shape against the forest. A concrete structure with a metal door, which was firmly closed – but I could see smoke rising from the top.

Aligning myself to the right of the door, I eased it open. Velvet was there, staring at a small, but cheery fire. The interior of the station was stiflingly warm – it was cramped, and well-insulated – and Velvet had stripped to the waist, revealing a surprisingly fancy black brassiere. She hadn't noticed me, and I opened the door just a little more for a better view – but the damn thing squeaked. She looked up in surprise.

"Don't be such a ninja," she said. That made me want to laugh – it must have been her accent. "Don't stand there. Come in."

I did. She pulled on her fatigue top, and that was a shame – but also good, because I wouldn't have been able to focus if she hadn't. It was hot. I took off my outer armor and sat across from her. She shifted to put just a little more space between us. I had a feeling she'd have done that no matter where I sat. I got to the point.

"Biker's okay. Sagaris looks bad. I didn't see the girls. What's going on?" I looked around. There was nothing there but her and the fire. "Where's your weapon?"

"I sold it. Why keep it with no bullets?"

I sighed. This was bad. "What's the deal?" At least she wasn't hurt.

She gazed glumly at the fire. "We wait for the Merc. He travels fastest alone."

"He'll bring back equipment?"

"No, artifacts I've had stashed – but we can sell them."

I nodded. If just keeping her ragged little band armed and healthy was stretching Velvet's budget this much, how did she expect to get a faction off the ground? I wasn't going to ask that aloud – her day couldn't have been much better than mine.

"So that's it? We wait for him? How long?"

"Two days. Perhaps three."

Well, it wasn't like I didn't need the rest. And we probably weren't going anywhere without the Biker anyway. But we couldn't just sit around here broke for three days – for all I knew, the money the Biker had given me was the last actual cash any of us had.

I was making Velvet uncomfortable. She was doing a good job hiding it – but I have instincts. And lately they'd been sharper. She didn't like being in here with me. I didn't think she disliked me. I hadn't given her a reason to, that I could think of. What I'd done to the infected? Was she scared of me? It was possible. It probably bothered her that we'd come off the ship so ragged – we'd won the engagement, if you could call it that, but it was not what I'd call a convincing victory. Maybe she was beating herself up over the lackluster performance there – or maybe she was just upset that she couldn't provide for her troops. She seemed the type to take her responsibilities seriously, even when it wasn't reasonable to do so.

Whatever the case, nothing had eaten me on the way out to her, and nothing was going to eat me on the way back. If my presence made her uncomfortable, I would go. I didn't know if Velvet liked me, but I liked her, and not just because she was a total babe.

I had a couple of sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, which I'd brought along because I hadn't been sure how soon I'd get back to Kevorich, and I had no other provisions to speak of. I had a feeling that even just reaching out to take them from me would have been an ordeal for Velvet, so I just put them down by the fire.

"Here," I said. Man – you know she's the type to go without food to save a few rubles for her troops in need. With that, I picked up my armor and left the building, heading back west. Okay, so that was abrupt, maybe even a little rude – but I didn't want to give her pride a chance to do something she'd regret.

So I was alone in the Zone, walking through the woods, penniless and unarmed. But I'm not looking for your sympathy – I just want to illustrate how just a couple of days before, I'd been one of the best-equipped and situated stalkers around. My gear had been intelligently chosen, and was of the best quality. I had also fallen in with some of the finest stalkers. This ragged little Freedom crew was small, and, well, ragged – but they looked out for each other, and it wasn't like they couldn't handle themselves.

But now it was different; one chance encounter with a bunch of crazy people had scattered and hurt us – and this was far from the worst-case scenario. Things change fast in the Zone. No rules. I don't feel like a lot of people appreciate that.

Waiting for the Merc, huh? If he wanted to do the heavy lifting, fine. That guy was sure earning his pay. He'd signed on with Velvet awfully quickly, though it seemed like he had a reputation as the lone-wolf type. Was he hoping to get laid? Well, good luck.

I made it back to Kevorich without any problems, though about a quarter of the way there, I'd heard a scream that hadn't come from anything I'd ever heard of. Even outside the Zone, you can go to one of the many Zone-related sites and listen to audio clips of stuff. Sometimes there's even video. I was pretty sure whatever had made that scream wasn't on any of those sites. It made me want to run, but that would just give me away. I knew that in my dirty black armor, I was all but invisible, and as long as I didn't rush, nearly silent. Slow and steady wins the race.

Kevorich was winding down a little when I got back. People would still be up and making noise for a while, of course, because Kevorich never really sleeps – but the peak hours were coming to an end, and so was my sixth day in the Zone.