Page 22 of Stalker
Stalker then handed Jax the com-tablet. “You can also call for assistance if you are under attack. Just tell it to call law enforcement or me, Stalker Knight.” He repeated his name because people often forgot after hearing it only once. “Now, if you show us where you would like your supply drop, we will put in the order and be on our way.”
“Come with us,” said Jax. “There is a cul-de-sac in the center of our territory.
It was another five-minute walk to Jax’s neighborhood. A group of ten rundown bungalows lined a crumbled paved circle. Dirty children dressed in rags played in the dirt in yards that grew spindly-looking vegetable plants.
Women dressed in primitive-looking clothing tied together with cloth strips watched over the children. Stalker looked around at them and frowned. This was not the kind of community he’d pictured for his family in his virtual life.
They lived in broken-down houses with no power or water service. Most of them looked undernourished, including the men.
“Right here where we are standing would be perfect. We’ll be here to get it when it comes,” said Jax as they stopped in the middle of the circle.
“It will come by drone, and they will probably send you a message with the arrival time,” Stalker said. “We’ll check back with you the next time we are in the area.”
With a nod to the neighborhood leader, he said, “Let’s go,” and turned back to the way they’d come. Neely fell into step beside him. “Extract your helmet. We don’t know what’s changed out there since we got here.”
Neely nodded and pushed the button on her belt to extend the helmet and faceplate. Stalker did the same as they walked back to where the sky cycle was stashed. They both carried their rifles by the shoulder straps with their hands near their blaster pistols. She instinctively knew not to talk to Stalker as he scanned their surroundings for danger.
Five minutes from their destination, bullets bounced off Stalker. Shrugging off his rifle, he caught it and aimed in a split second. He deliberately fired to the shooter's side on the roof of a building about fifty yards away.
Neely couldn’t move as fast as Stalker, but she pulled her rifle down and held it up so she could see through the scope. She spotted the shooter as well but didn’t fire. Instead, she did an about-face, scanning the area behind him.
“The shooter on the roof is gone. Let’s keep going.”
“Are you okay?”
“Fine, it bounced off. Now you understand the reason for our armor. I’ve been shot at nearly every time out,” Stalker said and added, “Let’s keep going.”
Stalker walked backward while Neely moved forward, rifle poised as she scanned their surroundings. No one else shot at them, but they could still hear intermittent gunfire in the distance. It took only a few more minutes to reach the crumbling building where they left the sky cycle.
Inside, Stalker retracted his helmet and indicated Neely should do the same. He stowed his rifle in the sky cycle’s sling while Neely went to the other side to put hers in a matching sling. When she straightened, Stalker was standing in front of her.
“Come ‘ere.” He moved closer and pulled her against him, kissing her in what began as a tender kiss. His arms tightened around her, pressing their armored bodies together while the kiss quickly turned passionate.
Neely slid her arms around his neck, caressing him as his tongue danced with hers. She couldn’t feel his erection through their armor, but she didn’t doubt it was there as desire surged through her body, alerting her lady parts.
Lost in their kiss, she vaguely wondered if he planned to initiate sex there. As aroused as she was, she had no will to resist. But this was not the time or place. When he pulled back, parting his lips from hers, she was relieved and disappointed.
“Stalker…” she spoke his name in a breathy sigh, staring into his eyes. Gone was the impersonal commander, replaced by her passionate lover.
“Save that thought for later. I just needed to hold you,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. “We’re going to find out who was shooting at us and why.”
He held her for a few seconds more, then reluctantly released her. Neely smiled at him, realizing she had needed that, too.
Stalker climbed on the bike and pinged his helmet to cover his head. Neely followed his example and mounted the bike behind him.
“I’ve pinpointed the building where the shooter was. We’re going to investigate. Stay alert.”
“Absolutely,” Neely assured him.
Stalker tooled the hoverbike a few feet above the remnants of once busy streets. The ancient pavement was cracked and crumbling and partially blocked in many places by debris from bombed-out buildings. After a hundred years, the city and suburbs looked like a war zone where many people had died. There were even skeletal remains in the rubble.
It reminded Stalker of the many worlds he’d fought on in the wake of the Mesaarkan’s destruction. Within days of the first bomb, every major city on Earth was reduced to this. After so many years left on their own, bringing these people back into a semblance of a country would be a monumental task.
He'd been right to put their helmets back up. The closer he got to the shooter’s building; the more people were shooting at them.
Stalker stopped the vehicle close to the center of the hidden shooters and called for them to cease firing. His voice was amplified through the console of the sky cycle. He continued by identifying himself and asking to speak to whoever was in charge.
As the shooting stopped, Stalker settled the cycle to the ground and waited. A few minutes later, a tall, bald, dark bearded man emerged from a mostly standing building down the street. He was flanked by four burly-looking men carrying automatic projectile weapons. The apparent leader had a sawed-off shotgun.
