“Miss Fluffykins here is with the Fallout Pets, they’re the ones dressed as animals. Grumpy here…”
“I’m not grumpy, I think we should just be careful who we let our guard down to,” the man in the cowboy hat answered.
“Alright, this is Lesley, he’s with the Gayboy Berserkers.”
Lesley looked over and nodded to Nero.
“I’m Lady Darcy Pride,” said a woman wearing black leathers with holes for her breasts and crotch. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Nero said, noticing she was holding a chainsaw in one hand that was caked in blood, and in the other a lead. On the end of the lead, a woman, covered entirely in an old PVC catsuit from head to toe with holes for her eyes, mouth, breasts, and crotch, nodded to them casually. She didn’t speak, though, mainly because of the ball gag in her mouth.
Lady Darcy noticed them looking over at the girl on the lead. “Oh, this is Austenella Prejudice, and don’t worry, she’s just my Sub.”
“Your Sub?” Nyx asked.
She nodded. “Sure. I’m a Dom, she’s my Sub. Nero noticed Austenella reach up and unclip her ball gag and remove it from her mouth. She wiped her mouth and smiled.
“Hi,” she said and offered her hand. “Don’t worry, like Darcy said, I’m totally into it.”
Nero shook her hand, followed by Nyx.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to stare. It’s just we’ve just been dealing with Queen Latrix and her harem,” Nero explained. “She did this fetish and pet play stuff, and it was not consensual.”
“Then she’s not a fetishist. All fetish play should always be voluntary and consensual. Otherwise, you’re just a psychopath,” Darcy answered.
“We’ve heard of Latrix. She’s just a bored bitch on a power trip… or was…” Miss Fluffykins added.
“You know she’s gone?” Nero asked.
“Heard the other day,” Grok answered. “About fuckin’ time, too. We’ve been trying to get to her for ages. When we heard she’d been killed, we moved our timeline, and did this,” he said, clearly talking about this attack. Then he looked up at Nero. “How do you know she’s dead?”
Nero smiled, but kept a firm grip on his gun, ready for in case this was some kind of clever double cross. “Because we killed her.”
“You?” Darcy said.
“Really?’ Grok questioned him.
“You did what?” Lesley asked.
“We killed Latrix. We made a stop at her court, and she pulled a fast one, putting Nyx here in her harem and tried to throw me into a cell. Luckily, Kat helped me escape and I was able to free Nyx. Latrix ran. We chased her down and killed her.”
“Fuck,” Lady Darcy replied.
“That’s so metal,” Grok said, nodding with approval before he turned to Lesley. “Does that satisfy you?”
“I guess,” Lesley answered.
“From what I’ve heard of what she did to her harem, yeah, I can understand it,” Lady Darcy said. “Look, I know we might look… different, but when we’re not fighting the Whisperer’s forces, we’re all about consent and safe play.”
“Good to know,” Nyx answered.
“So, how come you attacked the convoy?” Nero asked.
“You first,” Grok answered.
Nero looked over at Nyx, who shrugged but didn’t seem averse to telling them.
Nero looked back at Grok. “We’re hunting for the Whisperer,” he answered, keeping his voice low.
“Hunting for him? As in, wanting to kill him?”
“That’s the idea,” Nyx answered with a smile.
“Then you know where this is going,” Grok replied as understanding passed over his face.
“In broad terms. We know it’s headed south; we’d like to know where. We were hoping the driver would know. Have you seen him?”
“Not yet,” Lady Darcy answered. “But we need to sweep the crash site, make sure there’s no more hiding in there.”
“Then what are we standing around here for?” Nyx asked, and turned to walk back to the rig and the crashed vehicles. Nero followed, his shotgun ready.
“So, how about you guys?” Nero asked.
“With Latrix gone and the Trinity attacking the Daemon Rig, we wanted to play our part. So, we figured if we can catch the convoy’s run through the tunnel, we can disrupt the Whisperer’s supply chain. Then we can use the rig to attack the southern compound from inside the tunnel and cut off the northern end, too.”
“And then attack that one as well?”
“Divide and conquer,” Grok answered.
As they walked, Nero saw several more men and women dressed as animals, another group of men in very little clothing at all, and more generally fetishistic looking people around the rear of the rig and the hole in the tunnel wall.
They were quite the force to be reckoned with.
Ahead, at the front of the rig where a couple of vehicles were still burning, movement caught Nero’s attention as several people moved from behind cover and started to open fire on the fetishists.
Nero ducked behind the nearest available cover and got ready with his gun. Popping up, he fired towards the enemy, but it didn’t seem to hit anyone.
“Shit,” he cursed, and looked back to see Nyx and Kat nearby, taking cover. He noticed Nyx was looking at him and made a gesture that seemed to ask what should she be doing. Nero looked at the scene around him, and an idea formed in his head. Looking back, he pointed at them, and then at the rig, and moved his hands to indicate they should go around the back of the crashed trailer and to take these last remnants of the convoy crew by surprise.
Nyx nodded, and telling Kat to follow, ran back the way they’d come to make their way around the back. Nero watched them go for a moment, and then returned his attention to these new attackers.
“The girls are flanking them. Tell your guys to be careful with their shots,” he said to Grok, beside him.
Grok nodded to him and passed the message along as the convoy survivors fired pot shots at them. Nero did the same, not really getting anywhere. As he watched, one of the fetishists scored a hit. Nero focused his attention on spotting where Nyx and Kat were, and suddenly caught some movement through gaps in the rig.
“When I say, we charge them,” Nero called out.
“Gotcha,” Grok replied as Nero watched Nyx’s progress. He suddenly lost them for a moment, then a few seconds later, cries and yells sounded from where the survivors where.
“Now!” Nero yelled, and ran forward, jumping over the rubble and up onto the cover the remains of the convoy crew were hiding behind. Nyx stood before him with Diesel held hostage, her sword under the man’s jaw and pressed against his neck. Close by, Kat faced off against Sable, Diesel’s partner. Sable and the few men that were with her looked up at Nero and the others, who now stood above and around them, their weapons trained on them.
“It’s all over; drop your weapons,” Nero called out.
“We surrender,” Diesel answered.
“What?” Sable yelped.
“We can’t win this,” Diesel answered her.
“Oh, grow a pair,” Sable said and threw her gun down.
Nero dropped down while some of the other fetishists disarmed the remaining crew and detained them. “Good call, surrendering. You might just live through this.”
“I wasn’t planning on dying today,” Diesel answered. He shook his head as he looked up at Nero. “I knew you were trouble from the moment I saw you.”
Nero shrugged.
“Well done, by the way. This must have taken some serious planning,” Diesel complimented him.
Nero smiled. “Would you believe most of this happened by chance?”
Diesel nodded but said nothing for a moment, before eventually answering, and changing the subject. “What do you want?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I want to find the Whisperer,” Nero explained.
Sable laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Nyx asked.
“Lit
tle girl, even if we did know where he is, which we don’t, what makes you think we’d tell you, and also, what makes you think you can find him, let alone beat him?”
“You’ll tell us,” Nyx answered, and pulled her sword tighter against Diesel’s neck.
“Ack, ugh,” he gagged. “I’ll tell you; I’ll tell you.”
“Fuck’s sake,” Sable muttered.
Nyx loosened her grip on him slightly.
“Well, I’ll tell you what I know, which isn’t much, but what do I get in return?”
“Your life,” Nero answered.
“Good deal,” Diesel replied.
“Go on then, talk,” Nero urged him.
“Sable is unfortunately right, we don’t know where the Whisperer resides. But I do know where I was going to meet my contact.”
“Your contact?”
“The Whisperer is very careful about who he let’s know about his home. He doesn’t want unexpected visitors. All I do is take my cargo to the designated meeting place and hand it off to my contact. I don’t know if he knows where the Whisperer is or if he has another contact, but that’s the best I can do.”
“And where’s this meeting place?” Nero asked.
“It’s called the Crossroads.”
“We know where that is,” Grok cut in.
Nero considered Diesel’s words, and as far as he could tell, the man was not lying. But, how would he ever be sure at this stage? There was little else to do but accept him at his word.
“Alright, thanks for the info,” Nero said.
“So, we’re free to go?” Diesel asked.
“Hell no. You’re coming with us so we can check out your story. I hope it’s accurate, for your sake,” Nero said, and Nyx jerked the sword at his neck.
Diesel nodded dumbly.
“You fucking wimp,” Sable muttered darkly as Nero turned away while fetishist members helped Nyx secure him.
“Got what you need?” Grok asked.
“So far,” Nero answered.
“Good. Now, are you still up for helping us liberate the southern settlement?”
Nero nodded. “We’re headed that way anyway, so, sure, you bet.”
Nyx had also wandered over. “Of course, we’ll help you. It’s the least we can do for you.”
Chapter 12
Nero
Ahead of them, the rig, dented, scorched, but operational, sped towards the end of the tunnel and the closed gates that were backlit by the midday sun. The rig hit the barriers with a crash and barrelled right on through, before turning and braking.
Before it even stopped, the fetishists were jumping off, firing their guns and brandishing their weapons.
Beside the Charger, the last operational truck from the convoy, also loaded up with more fetishists, pulled ahead slightly. Nero moved his Charger in behind the truck and followed it through the destroyed gate and out into the large courtyard.
Nero scanned the area quickly and spotted a knot of guards running from a building carrying guns. Nero aimed for them and caused them to scatter.
They tried to recover to mount a counter-attack, but they weren’t quick enough, though. Nero simultaneously pulled the handbrake and turned the wheel to kick the back end out, slamming into the group and hitting several of them. Nyx was out of the passenger seat before he’d stopped, while Kat jumped out the same time he did.
Nero raised his gun and aimed at a guard, who was turning to run at him with a large and dangerous looking dagger. A look of terror briefly passed over the guard’s face before Nero pulled the trigger and blasted him off his feet.
Racking the foregrip, Nero turned to his right as another man swung a club at him. Stepping into him, Nero slammed the butt of his shotgun into the man’s nose, breaking it with an audible crack and sending him to the floor.
The man scrambled for something in his belt and began to withdraw a gun. Nero shot him before he got it clear.
“Should’ve used the gun first, idiot,” Nero muttered.
Pointing the gun one-handed at another guard, Nero fired again and put another down as he looked over towards the tunnel exit and saw the monster truck roll up to it and slow to a stop. Seeing Cryptus looking at him, Nero held up his hand, palm out, directing him to stay there.
Cryptus had Diesel and Sable in the back of his truck, and Nero didn’t want them killed, so Nero had told Cryptus to hang back. He’d also keep the other travellers, who had been behind him, inside the tunnel.
Looking around, Nero spotted another group of guards, this time upon a balcony, surrounding a man who was pointing at the unfolding attack and yelling at the men and women surrounding him.
“Jackpot,” Nero muttered. “Camp leader, twelve o’clock high,” he called out as the girls finished off their opponents. They looked to him, and then where he was facing.
“Ready when you are,” Nyx said, and moved around the Charger, swinging her blade at an oncoming guard and dropping him to the floor.
Nero turned and led the girls left, making his way towards a nearby set of stairs that led up to the level the leader was on.
Gunshots rang out and Nero could clearly hear bullets zipping past with a thwip, before they slammed into the earth by their feet, or hit some of the equipment they were dodging around.
“Move it,” Nero shouted, keeping his head down and running as fast as he could, before finally getting out of sight of the shooter as he reached the bottom of the stairwell.
His shotgun ready, Nero charged up the steps as the two girls reached the bottom looking harassed.
“Get that fucker,” Nyx exclaimed.
Nero took the steps two at a time and quickly reached the level with the leader and guards. It was a platform, around five meters wide and easily double that deep, that looked over the camp. Doors led off into the building it was in front of, but the small crowd was on the right-hand side, looking over the compound.
Nero identified the nearest shooter, took aim, and fired as he surmounted the stairs and ran onto the platform.
Footsteps just behind him told him that Nyx and Kat were close.
The shooter took the buckshot to his shoulder and yelled in pain. Just behind him, another man raised his gun in response, but Nero was quicker.
BOOM! The man was flung backwards into several others as Nero aimed again, racked the foregrip, and fired.
Chaos was taking hold in the crowd up here as people panicked. Some ran away from Nero and co, running from their imminent death. A couple of the guards tried to protect the leader and attempted to usher him towards the doors into the building while others turned to fight.
Nyx and Kat passed Nero on his left and charged into the guards, swinging their swords, making blood fountain around them to the sound of screams of pain.
With another bang from his gun, another guard fell, but still another approached, too close to Nero to bring his weapon to bear. Letting go of the foregrip, Nero backhanded him across the face and saw a tooth fly from the man’s mouth.
Nero swung the gun around, but the attacker knocked it away with a wild swing of his arm and a lucky hit. Nero’s opponent whipped his other hand around as well in the same wild fashion and caught him on his cheek.
His face stung with pain, but he ignored it and brought his gun up with two hands and smashed it into the man’s face. The attacker staggered back with a grunt as Nero hit him with it again, and again, hammering his face with the weapon.
Nero noticed another attacker duck in towards him on his right. He raised his weapon and fired, sending him to hell, only to see a guard on his right going for him.
There was a glint of metal behind the woman, who arched her back with a scream as she fell to reveal Nyx behind her, brandishing her sword.
The man he’d been engaged in hand to hand with started to get up. He was one of the last guards remaining. Nero kicked him and knocked him back before raising his gun and blasting him in the face.
Nearby, the leader stood near the railing. A singl
e guard stood before him, holding a blade that looked like it was made by him, too.
“Come on, come on,” the guard yelled at Kat and Nyx, who stood ready with their swords, dancing forwards erratically to try and make him commit.
“Guys, guys, can’t we talk about this?” the leader asked.
Nero raised his gun at the leader’s head. “No,” he said and fired.
The guard ducked away and watched in horror as the camp leader, his face a bloody mess, fell to the floor. He then looked up at Nero and the girls in terror and dropped his sword as he fell to his knees.
“I surrender. Please, don’t kill me. Please.”
Nero looked over at Nyx and Kat, his expression questioning.
Nyx looked at the guard, and then over the edge of the platform. Nero could see the fetishists were already gathering up surrendered guardsmen down in the main compound. Walking over, Nero kicked the man’s sword away and waved his shotgun. “That way, downstairs. Move it!” he barked at him.
“Thank you, thank you. You’re kind and merciful,” the guard said, and started to make his way towards the stairs. Nero followed him, and so did Nyx and Kat.
“Looks like it’s over,” Nyx said. Nero scanned over the compound. Most of the fighting was finished, and it looked like they were already moving on to cleaning up. The guards and other residents were being gathered together and restrained.
“That was quick,” Kat commented.
“These guys are good,” Nero added, noting the calm and practised movements of the fetishists. They might look odd in their strange outfits, but they were decidedly deadly.
Nero handed over the guard to the guys who were dealing with the survivors and turned towards Grok, Lady Darcy, and Lesley, who were stood nearby.
“Well done up there,” Grok complimented them. “You got the camp leader.”
“No worries,” Nero answered. It was all in a day’s work as far as he was concerned.
“So, what are you guys doing now? I know you wanna head out, but you could stay the night here. You only have part of the day left.”
Nero pulled a face in contemplation as he thought through the suggestion. He was right. They wouldn’t get too far before the night started to close in. Plus, he guessed that the convoy would have likely stayed here for the night as well. He turned to Nyx and Kat.
Wasteland Road Knights Trilogy Page 43
