CHAPTER 40
Between Lillith, Maya and Mordecai, they had made Montayva comfortable on the lounge in the control room. Angel had agreed to monitor her vital signs, and let the others know if her condition changed, as the others didn't trust Montayva to let them know if she felt worse. They had also agreed to take shifts in keeping her company, although she had told them it wasn't necessary, and Mordecai had told the other two sirens he would do it all himself. But they had an important task for Mordecai once the dust storm had settled. And even Mordecai had agreed that, in order to avoid failure, he was the best they had for that particular task. In order to take down Kent Duraph and his growing army, the would first need to take down the newly re-established outposts in the Dust. These two new outposts guarded the entrance to The Gulag day and night, and taking them out was the only way to gain access. Mordecais mission was to scope out and assess each stronghold. Montayva had secretly convinced Brick to go with the hunter, though he didn't need much persuasion at all. Montayva was concerned that he would continuously worry over her condition, and his mind
drift from the task. But Brick was more than happy to head out on an adventure, and Montayva trusted the big guy well enough.
Day two into her recovery, and Montayva was beginning to become quite restless. Lillith and Maya were very strict on what they would allow her to do. Her recovery looked to be an agonisingly slow one. Maya was taking her turn in occupying Montayva, as Lillith headed out into the Dust to check on the boys re-con work. Maya was looking over some surveillance footage Angel had dug up, when Axton came strolling in, a very chuffed look on his face. He had a bundled up package under his left arm.
'Ladies, I have the solution to all your problems' He smiled broadly.
'Oh, I doubt that!' Maya said sceptically, but still curious as to what he was hiding under his arm. He plonked down beside Montayva, the package on his lap. Maya's curiosity didn't have to wait long, as Axton began to unfold the object.
'Ta-da!' He pronounced, holding up a vintage style gaming console. Maya laughed.
'And what are you planning to do with that? Throw it at the next drunk that tries to camp under our balcony again?' She came closer, to get a better look at the object. Axton dusted it off, un-phased by Mayas rebuff.
'Nah, babe, its for Montayva here. See? Solves alllll your boredom problems' He seemed quite proud of himself for coming up with the idea, and Montayva picked as much from his head also. Maya gave him a look that said You're an idiot. But Montayva knew that she actually thought he had done something quite sweet. She smiled to him thankfully, as he handed her the console for a closer look.
'And hey, its got two controllers! Two player!' He held them up excitedly.
'Thank you. Its very thoughtful of you.' Montayva placed her hand on his shoulder, and Axton looked away awkwardly at her act of affection.
'Man, you are worse than a child at Christmas' Maya laughed.
'Well, never had Christmas where I came from.' He shrugged, and took the console back from Montayva. 'Angel, where's the bet place to hook this baby up, so we can get it up in front of Monty?' Angel appeared, and gave him directions to set up the old console appropriately. He selected a racing game, gave one controller to Montayva and took a seat beside her, with the other controller.
'Alright! This is gonna be awesome. Takes me back to my childhood!' He fidgeted excitedly.
'Oh, I wasn't aware that you had actually grown up yet' Maya teased, she seemed to enjoy provoking him.
'If you want a turn, you know you just have to ask nicely' He shot back, and she laughed at him.
'Well, if you are going to be here for awhile, do you mind keeping and eye on Montayva while I duck out for a moment?' She asked more seriously.
'Sure. Go your hardest!' He replied, starting the race on the screen. Montayva concentrated on figuring out the con trolls as did Axton. Maya knew they would be well occupied for the next little while, so she felt safe enough to leave the girl in Axtons care.
An hour on, and the pair playing in the control room, had gained a better understanding of their game, and where racing each other around the track in Monster truck style vehicles. Montayva had her leg propped up on a pillow, on Axtons lap, as the lounge wasn't long enough for them both to fit. They zoomed around the track on the screen, Axton having a minor tantrum after Montayva won a race, and finding out Angel had hacked the game to help her win. But he had gotten over it fast enough, and both Angel and Montayva had vowed to play fairly. They heard the heavy door downstairs creak open and closed again, but only assumed it was Maya returning.
Montayva was just about to win the race, when she picked up the familiar thought pattern, and turned her head towards the door. Mordecai stood in the doorway with a smirk on his face as he watched the pair playing the video game.
'YES! Beat that you useless... oh, hey man' Axton turned to see Mordecai also.
'Looks like you've been kept well occupied' He approached Montayva, and noticed her legg still bandaged and propped up. 'I guess the recovery's not going as well as it could be?'
'It has improved some' Montayva said hopefully, gingerly removing her leg from the commandos lap, after sensing Mordecais pang of jealousy. Axton stood awkwardly, and handed Mordecai the other controller.
'I'll, er, let you two get re-acquainted' He said as he ducked out. Montayva reached her arms out to Mordecai, beckoning for him to hold her. He lifted her carefully.
'Still weak?' He asked, hugging her tightly.
'Yes' she admitted. 'But my wound is improving at least' she added quickly, trying to ease his concern. He continued to hold her, feeling as if it had been an eternity since she had last been in his arms. 'How did your mission go?' Montayva asked, trying to change the subject to cease his worrying.
'Not bad, not bad. Half as many soldiers stationed on the outposts as what he should have. Either this Duraph doesn't know what he's doing, or he's playing us into a trap' Mordecai told her. Montayvas biggest worry now was that she wouldn't be well enough to head into battle with her new family. If they forced her to stay behind, she wasn't sure if she would obey their orders.
