Deadman Chapter 59: Pre-Flight Checklist

You trading, or paying? asked Bill.

Paying.

He rubbed his chin. 3 points.

Seems a little steep. Especially considering you werent able to sell it to him, she gestured at with a tilt of her head.

I was surprised she had been able to slip into the store without my noticing. Particularly since my senses were in overdrive from the recent bloodshed. She was disguised as a normal waster. She wore worn out rags and cracked sunglasses, along with an old rain poncho shed cinched at the waist with a belt. She didnt have her rifle, it was too big to hide easily and would give her up imdiately, but I did notice a pistol and a knife at her side.

She finished her haggling, bought her book and walked outside without acknowledging . I slid my purchases into my bag, gave a nod to Bill, and walked out. I spotted Leah just across from the store in a nearby alley. I walked over to her, and leaned against the wall.

Leah.

Donovan, she responded in her raspy voice. Her characteristic scar was covered by the rags around her throat. I appreciate you getting the ssage to your people in Potts. Looks like mine and yours will be working together for a good long ti.

I nodded. Looks that way.

In order to formalize things, and maybe do a bit to earn your trust and Potts, I wanted to formally invite you to et them.

Them?

The Cabinet. The ones in charge of the Remnants.

Theyre here?

She shook her head. No, but theyre going to be in STAR territory soon. You and I are going to rendezvous with them there.

Wouldnt they be passing through Horde Territory? I asked. I believed theyd be coming from the old capitol. Id never t anyone from that far east, but given the technology Id seen Leah and Graves bring to bare, I was certain that theyd have so thod to get through all the deadzones, raiders, and would-be despots that covered the territory to the East of the Horde.

No, she answered, not elaborating beyond that.

I shook my head. I dont know that I have the ti to make that kind of trip. I gestured to the destruction that had been cut through the center of Jasper. These raiders are due for a reckoning. Beyond that, I wasnt sure I should go alone to a eting. I was curious, and wanted more information on the Remnants, but I was still wary to fully trust them. Even if I took my bike, I would be leaving this problem to grow for more ti than I should.

Leah gave an amused smile. If you co with , I can have you at the eting and back within the next 24 hours.

How? I asked.

She tilted her neck, gesturing for to follow her before she started walking out of the town. I hesitated, but fell in line behind her, keeping my nose active in scanning for any signs of ambush. We walked for a little under an hour before we ca to the shelled out ruins of an old office building. She led inside, and I saw Graves leaning against a half-destroyed wall. He gave a small wave, the servos of his armor grinding slightly, and I returned the gesture.

Leah led past the wall and when I turned the corner I saw her leaning against a large, sleek vehicle of so kind. It was colored black and had four wings, each of which contained a set of propellers.

What is that?

She smiled. We call it a Shrike, its a silent aerial vehicle.

You have planes? You can fly!? That thought imdiately pushed my mind into re-evaluating the power balance of the wastes.

Graves shook his head and his voice ca out as a burst of static. We have a plane.

Leah added in. Courses take a long ti to plot due to the abundance of deadzones and weather variations. We were only able to chart a course here and back that would be safe for us due to the information provided by your maps and notes, which we received so of through Potts. The heavy fuel cost makes this sothing we can only utilize in specific circumstances. Manufacturing on a large scale is alsodifficult.

I nodded, making a ntal note that if a deadman had been piloting, they likely could have gone through the majority of deadzones without much trouble. I could just picture Julian salivating over having one. I wasnt sure I believed them when they ntioned they had only one, but the issues they ntioned made sense to . Id ntion it to the Honored Dead next ti I was in Potts to see what they made of it.

So, will you accept the cabinets invitation?

I thought for a mont. It made no sense to set a trap for . If Leah wanted to attack , it would make much more sense for her to use her rifle from a distance, or just send Graves at in a straight line. This much of a runabout would be unnecessary in the extre.

Ill go, but Ill need to pick so things up from my deadzone and take care of a few things first. Give three, possibly four hours.

Leah nodded and smiled, patting her jacket pocket. Thats fine. I just got a new book to kill ti.

Graves took a step forward. New books?

After loaning Graves one of the books Id just bought from Bills, I headed back to my Deadzone. The first thing I did was store all of my excess ammo and books. After that I left a small note about where I was going in a black envelope I left out for Deux or Nico in order to ensure my bases were covered. Then I did a couple passes through the zone, hunting for at to feed Gus. It wouldve been much easier to simply go back to Jasper, recover so raider corpses, and toss them into a pile, but the image of a deadman dragging human corpses into a deadzone wouldnt exactly help my relations with the settlent nearest to my ho.

I slogged to the furthest end of the zone, wading in so swampy mud until I finally found sothing worth hunting. It was a goose, at least that was the animal it looked the most like, with a thickly scaled neck and wings tinged bright orange. It was roughly the size of a small car. I lined up a shot with my rifle, aiming for center mass, and fired on it. The shot hit true, but instead of killing it, the goose simply whipped its head to look at , let out an ear-piercing honk, and charged .

Id taken cover in so underbrush before firing on it, and let out a few more shots before it managed to close in on . It didnt bite or flail its wings at , but rather used its neck as a flail, trying to beat to death with it. Its armored neck smashed through the trunk of a tree as I dodge out of the way, and I drew my shotgun. It swung at again, and I moved beneath its strike, and pressed the barrel of my gun into the soft down of the creature's chest. I pulled the trigger, and the beasts neck straightened, then fell.

I let out a breath. That thing had been a helluvalot aner than Id been expecting. I grabbed it by the armored neck and got to work dragging it to the usual spot I fed Gus. I butchered it, taking so of the at for myself to salt and dry, then when all that was finally done I grabbed my gear, along with the laser pistol just in case, and made my way back to Graves, Leah, and their plane.

They both looked to be roughly halfway through their respective books when I arrived. Leah closed hers imdiately and glanced at Graves who held up a finger for us to wait and then slowly put it down, and closed the book.

You ready to fly? asked Leah.

Graves was already loading himself into the cockpit, which seed to have been built with a person in armor like his in mind. Leah stood looking at with a single foot into the Shrike.

No, but lets go anyway.

Leah nodded and got the rest of the way in. Buckling herself into the seat next to Graves, and casually re-opening her book, as if what we were about to do was commonplace to her.

I climbed into the seat behind them. Noting that the Shrike could hold at least a dozen people at max capacity, possibly fewer if they were loaded down with gear or wearing armor. I braced myself, strapping into the seat, and felt a gentle vibration as the vehicles engine ca to life.