What the—!
A yell from the end of the field drew Blade’s gaze, and there were over a dozen men in black charging toward the Warriors, the tall figure leading them.
Hickok leaped into the bed and stepped behind the big .50. He smirked as he swung the machine gun to cover the attacking Hounds. “Let’s see how you coyotes like a taste of your own medicine,” he said, and fired. The half-track was moving at a snail’s pace, enabling him to aim with his customary deadly efficiency.
The .50-caliber made mincemeat of the Hounds, its heavy slugs ripping through the men in black and felling them in midstride. Geysers of blood spattered the grass as the thundering .50 mowed them down. Within 30 seconds all of the Hounds were dead except for two, the tall figure and one other. They had turned as the gunman began firing, and they managed to reach the protective shelter of the forest before the .50 bagged them.
His ears ringing, grinning impishly, Hickok peered over the smoking barrel at the row of crimson-dotted corpses. “Piece of cake,” he said.
Blade rose, clutching Chastity in his left arm. He crossed to the nearest of the pair he’d slain with his Bowies and removed the knife. After wiping the blade clean on the Hound’s black outfit, he repeated the procedure with the second commando.
The half-track continued to crawl toward the tree line.
“Daddy!” Chastity called excitedly.
“Don’t yell,” Blade advised, jogging after the vehicle.
“Why not?” Chastity inquired.
“If you make a lot of noise, you let your enemies know where you’re at,” Blade instructed her.
“Don’t they already know where we’re at?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then I don’t see why I can’t yell,” Chastity declared.
“Because if you make a lot of noise, you draw their attention,” Blade explained.
“But they’re running away.”
“I know, but—”
“Then why can’t I yell?”
“Because I said so,” Blade stated in a stern tone.
“Oh.”
Blade looked at the half-track and observed the gunman swing into the cab from the roof. A moment later the vehicle clunked to a complete stop and the engine died.
“Isn’t Daddy wonderful?” Chastity asked in awe.
“He has his moments,” Blade admitted, grinning. He reached the driver’s door and glanced up. “Are you okay?”
Hickok shoved the door wide and slid to the ground. “Fit as a fiddle.”
He took Chastity and squeezed her tight. “And how are you, princess?”
“Fine,” Chastity answered. “But I was so scared for you.”
“I was fakin’.” Hickok detailed. “I wanted to catch these varmints by surprise, and my plan worked like a charm.” He snickered, “We sure skunked them, didn’t we?”
“Not quite,” Blade said.
“How so?” Hickok responded.
“You’re forgetting about Rikki.”
Hickok gazed at the woods with a worried expression. “No, I’m not, pard.”
Chapter Four
“Move it!” General Thayer barked.
Rikki had heard the harsh sounds of the battle, anxiety flooding over him at the thought of his friends dying due to his negligence. He’d listened with baited breath when the gunfire abruptly stopped, and now the general and another man were racing up to the jeeps, both winded.
“What happened, sir?” Sergeant Boynton asked.
General Thayer sat down in the passenger-side seat in the jeep Rikki occupied. “I said move it!” he snapped. The katana was snug under his belt on his right side.
“You heard the man,” Boynton said to the four troopers, three of whom promptly climbed into the second jeep. The fourth took the wheel beside the general, while Boynton positioned himself at Rikki’s side, hunching over and unslinging the HK-33.
“Memphis,” General Thayer ordered the driver.
Rikki felt the jeep vibrate as the key was twisted in the ignition and the motor caught. The driver backed up, then took a sharp right, following a path of pulverized vegetation bearing the marks of caterpillar treads in the soft earth.
“If you don’t mind my asking, sir,” Sergeant Boynton ventured to inquire, “where are the rest of the men?”
“Dead,” General Thayer said angrily.
“All of them, sir?” Boynton queried in astonishment.
“All of them,” Thayer said.
“May I ask what happened?” Sergeant Boynton questioned.
“You may not.”
“Sorry, sir.”
General Thayer gazed speculatively at the martial artist. “Who are you?”
Rikki did not reply.
“I’ll find out, sooner or later,” General Thayer vowed. “One thing I do know. Whoever the hell the three of you are, you’re damn good.”
“The best,” Rikki said.
“That leader of yours is unbelievable.”
“Leader?” Rikki repeated quizzically. How did the general know Blade was the leader of the Warriors?
“Yeah. The guy in the buckskins. I’ve never seen anyone take such gambles,” Thayer commented. “And fast! If I had a regiment like him, I’d conquer the whole continent.”
The general was referring to Hickok! Rikki lowered his face so his captors couldn’t see him grin.
“Something’s nagging at me,” General Thayer remarked. “There’s something about the three of you, as if I should know you.”
“We’ve never met before,” Rikki said.
“I know.” General Thayer scratched his chin. “Maybe it’s something I’ve heard about you.” He studied the small man, reflecting. “But what?”
“Sir,” Sergeant Boynton interjected. “I’ve had the same feeling.”
General Thayer glanced at the noncom. “You have?”
“Yes, sir. Ever since I saw this guy in action,” Boynton said. “But I can’t put my finger on it.”
“This is most extraordinary,” Thayer mentioned.
They drove in silence for the better part of 15 minutes, with the jeeps staying on the pathway of crushed vegetation until they came to a dirt road. There, they turned to the left.
“We’ll be in Memphis in about a half-hour,” General Thayer said to the Warrior.
Rikki merely nodded.
“Provided we don’t bump into a Leather Knight patrol, sir,” Sergeant Boynton remarked.
“Use your head, Sergeant,” General Thayer said. “The Leather Knights never send patrols southeast of the city, and you know it. St. Louis is northwest of Memphis, remember? That’s why we encounter the Leather Knights on highways to the northwest.”
“One day we’ll wipe out those bastards,” Sergeant Boynton declared.
“Or should I say bitches, sir?”
General Thayer looked at his prisoner. “The Leather Knights are bikers, and their leaders are all women.” He paused. “At least, they were all women once. But we’ve heard reports that some men are serving in leadership capacities now.”
“I don’t believe it, sir,” Sergeant Boynton stated. “Those women would never allow a man to have a say in anything. They’re all a bunch of rotten dykes.”
“They are not,” Rikki disputed him, and instantly regretted his impetuousness. But he would not permit an insult to his beloved Lexine to pass undefended. She had been a Leather Knight, until she’d tried to buck the system and been sentenced to death. He’d saved her, grown to love her, and taken her with him to the Home. The poignant memories of the run to St. Louis stirred his mind. He recalled, vividly, the battles with the Leather Knights; the repulsive rats; the savage mutants, Slither and Grotto; and the forging of an eternal binding amid the blazing heat of combat.
“You sound like you know the Leather Knights,” General Thayer said suspiciously.
“The Knights are widely known.” Rikki declared.