CHAPTER 34

Montayva was lying on her stomach, peering down the scope of the rifle Mordecai had given her. They had been studying a group of Varkids out by the old abandoned Observatory. It was the largest group they had spotted so far, and the most easiest to reach location.

'I figure, if we get one of those old shipping containers from over near the buzzard academy, we could lure them in with some bait. Wacha think?'

'What bait would you use?' Montayva asked, not as familiar with the flying insects as the hunter was.

'Well, midget psychos would be perfect. But I'm all out of those today'

'Are any other camps close by?' Montayva queried. Mordecai tweaked his goatee in thought.

'Hmmm, if we head up and check out the old Molehill mine, there could be the odd hermit tunnel rat up there. Otherwise its the Dust, or Three Horns' Mordecai didn't really want to waste the time it would take to head out to either of the latter locations, so he hoped fervently the could find something in the old Eridium mine.

'OK, that's what we'll do then' Montayva agreed, and pulled herself up off the ledge. 'Er, would you like me to try phasing us up there?'

'Whoa, you can do that?' He didn't want to sound doubtful of her abilities, but he hadn't known she was able to do it.

'Well, I have done it only once before' She admitted slowly 'Out on the Southern Shelf. Did you think I carried you all the way back to Liars Berg?' She smiled.

'Hadn't even thought about that.' He laughed at the thought of the girl trying to drag his frozen ass back up the hill. 'Well, I got no problem with it then' Montayva took a deep breath.

'OK. Hold tight'

When Mordecai opened his eyes, they were standing at the top of an old conveyor belt. A brisk wind almost caused him to lose balance.

'Wow. You got us here alright!' He chuckled as the pair assessed their not-so-ideal landing location.

'Hmm, i need abit of work' She shrugged, it wasn't of the uttermost importance at the time.

'Hey, I've been in worse situations than this before!' Mordecai bent down, to assess how far down the jump was. Without looking twice, Montayva was down over the conveyor and landed with a soft thump in the dirt. 'Why does she feel the need to show me up like that?' Mordecai leaped also, but his landing wasn't as graceful. They began sweeping the perimeter, each searching for signs of inhabitants.

'Well, they're not short of containers up here' Mordecai slapped the side of the old mining container, previously used to haul out the precious Eridium. It was fully enclosed, all but the open shutters in one end.

'How do you suppose we would get it to our location?' Montayva didn't think she would be able to phase it back, but she was wiling to try.

'Look out' Mordecai pulled his revolver from its holster as the miner rat ran up behind the siren. Montayva ducked. One critical shot took the mutant down, as its brains exploded over the dirt.

'Thanks' She offered 'But do we need them alive to use them as bait?'

'Oh yeah' Mordecai remembered. 'But dont worry. Where there is one, there'll be more'

He was right of course. Tunnel and midget rats began appearing from the ground and mine shafts. Mordecai hastily reloaded his revolver.

'Remember, we need at least 1 alive!' He called to Montayva, who was taking cover behind some empty ammunition chests. A midget appeared, firing its shotgun at her, the force of the weapon sending it flying backwards with a screeching wail. Montayva stood, and with one smooth motion of her left arm, her phase shield appeared.

'Mordecai, behind you!' She warned the hunter as he took down a tunnel rat. Another was approaching him from behind. Both Montayva and Mordecai fired at the disfigured man, Montayvas shot sending the creatures innards exploding over the hunter. Montayvas shield depleted, and she barrel rolled forward to escape another midgets shot, taking him out with a critical hit. She raised her arm and a shimmery haze filled the air.

'STOP!' she yelled, and the mutants collapsed into a zombified trance. They crawled and clambered over each other, still intent on attacking the siren. but the sirens ability had reduced them to a clumsy ramble. She began picking a few off, one by one, as Mordecai joined her.

'Which one do you want to keep?' She asked, taking out a larger man. Mordecai walked forward, not intimidated by the wailing, disfigured men.

'This one will do' He picked out a midget who was screeching loudly, and shot him in both his legs. As the thing wimpered in pain, he reached down and yanked the loaded shotgun from its grasp.

After several attempts, Montayva had successfully phased the empty container amongst the Varkid dens. Mordecai was fixing the midget, who hadn't ceased his incessant wailing, to the rafter in the container. Montayva kept watch as he did so, the psychos ruck-us had began to stir the Varkids.

'We're going to need to hurry things along' the siren urged. she her a sickly thump, as Mordecai smacked the midget across the head.

'There, that's better' He said as the creature fell silent.

'Er, he's still alive right?' Montayva stood at the entrance, ready to leave.

'Yeah, he'll just be outta it for awhile. That give me a chance to get this smelly shit of my face!' He referenced to the guts of the mutant Montayva had shot before him earlier.

'Sorry' She scrunched her nose at the putrid smell beginning to emanate from the hunter, and he cheekily made a grab for her. She was too fast for him though, and ducked out of his reach, laughing.

'C'mon, lets just get outta here.' He drew his revolver as Varkid larvae began to emerge from the dens.

Back at the tower, Montayva was keeping a watch out, as Mordecai went to wash off. He had rigged a trapdoor to the container, and from his tower, they had an easy shot at the rope that would need to be severed in order to trap the creatures. The midget hadn't yet woken up, so they had no need to rush. Montayva glanced out across the snow-tipped mountains. Despite its hostile environment, the planet still held some beauty about it. She couldn't imagine staying here to live, but the vault hunters were doing their best to make it better for its current citizens.

Mordecai didn't bother turning on the hot water facet. He was hot and sticky enough as it was. Working in close proximity with the siren probably wasn't his smartest idea. It only served to fuel his desire for her, so he needed to work constantly to keep his mind clear. Not to mention, he knew that she was able to tell when his mood... drifted. After he had scrubbed all traces of blood and other bodily fluids from his body, he turned the water off. Gabbing a towel, he headed upstairs to his room. Donning a clean pair of pants, and restocking his ammo belt, he slung his rifle over his bare shoulder. He didn't worry about a shirt at this point in time. He didn't have the patience to dig to the bottom of his backpack to find a clean one, and he was keen to see how their trap was going.
He climbed out the manhole onto the ledge. Montayva was in the shade on the southern side of the tower, lying on her belly, rifle propped on an empty booze bottle. He laughed to himself.

'Any action yet?' He asked as he sat down beside her outstretched legs, in the shade.

'No, I dont think your friend has woken up yet' Montayva explained.

'Try letting a shot into the side of the container. Might wake him up. Montayva did so, and no sooner had the slag bullet exploded on impact, the incessant wails began once more. 'Shouldn't take long now' Mordecai leaned back against the iron roof. He reached out, letting his hand rest on Montayvas leg. He noticed her slight flinch as he did so. It didn't take his mind long to wonder astray. He ran his hand up the inside of her leg, and felt her light tremble.

'I can feel what you're thinking remember' Montayva glanced back at him momentarily, giving him the evil eye.

'Hmmm, yes you can' He leaned forward and squeezed her bum, and chuckled as she jumped.

'You keep it up and I wont be able to make the shot! All our time spent on this will be wasted!' She scolded, although he could tell she wasn't as serious as she was trying to make out to be. Her body told him otherwise.

'Damn' He muttered under his breath 'It just aint fair'

'Life's not fair' she countered, as he withdrew his hand to place it more appropriately back on her ankle. It wasn't just the sexual tension he was enjoying, it was the comfort she gave him just by being close. Just the smallest of touches made him feel warm inside again, and he cherished that part above the rest.

'They're taking the bait!' Montayva spoke, snapping him out of his little trance.

'How many are in there?' He asked, not being bothered enough to check for himself

'Almost a dozen now' She informed him.

'OK, just a few more should do it' He stroked his goatee as he waited.

BOOM. Montayva got the rope first shot, and they could hear the Varkids screaming from their position on the tower.

'Well, baby, our work here is done!'