Black Harvest - James Axler

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      The sec chief shrugged. “No, but they were naked, and in the water. They had no provisions with them other than two remade blasters.”

      “Perhaps they were using the outing as a test of the walls and of your sec force’s brand of security.”

      Robards was silent, knowing there was nothing he could say in his own defense.

      “Obviously you failed.”

      More silence.

      “But even though they got outside the ville undetected, they can’t leave. They need to be close to the ville for the rest of their lives.”

      Robards waited for the baron to punish him for being so careless with the ville’s security.

      “Eleander must be punished,” he said at last.

      “Thank you, Baron,” the sec chief said, acknowledging the order. Then he said, “When the outlanders came upon them, the two women were about to be raped by a gang of muties.”

      “Muties? You’re supposed to take care of them as well.”

      “We did our usual sweep, Baron. They must have found new places to hide, or these scum were new muties.”

      The baron sneered, obviously disappointed with his sec chief’s performance. “So these outlanders saved them?”

      “Chilled the muties like they were chilling flies.”

      “Then I suppose we owe them a debt of thanks.”

      “I’ve conveyed as much to them.”

      “Good, give them some jack and send them on their way.”

      Again the sec chief hesitated. It was the best he could do to let the baron know that he didn’t exactly want to follow the order.

      “What is it?”

      “I’ve offered them a place to stay for a while. And you’ll be meeting them in an hour at a reception.”

      The baron sighed. “I don’t want to waste my time with outland garbage.”

      Robards lowered his head. “Your feelings on the subject are well known, Baron, but I would like to keep this group close by for the next few days.”

      “Why is that?”

      “Well, for one, I’d like to test my men against them.”

      “Yes, I suppose that might be fun. I’ll see if it can be arranged. What else?”

      “The leader of the group is somehow familiar to me. I’ve sent a man to Indyville to check on something for me. He should return in a day or two.”

      The baron looked at his sec chief with an inquisitive eye. “All right, Robards. I trust your judgment enough to let you play this out. But, in the meantime, would you mind telling me what all this is about?”

      “I’d rather not until I’m sure. Could be right, could be wrong.”

      “Will I like what you have to tell me if you’re right?”

      Robards shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

      “Then don’t tell me until I need to know.”

      Chapter Five

      Ryan lay back on the cot watching Krysty strip to the waist. There was dirt and grime on her skin, darker on her arms and shoulders, lighter but still present on her back, belly and breasts.

      “No running water in here, lover,” she said, running her hands gently over her body. “But they did leave us a few jugs of water, washcloths and a washbasin big enough to stand in.”

      “Very kind of them,” Ryan said, admiring the firm shelf of Krysty’s chest and the perky nipples placed high on each breast. The Deathlands had made her body hard, but it was hard and sculpted in all the right places.

      “Would you like to wash my back?” she asked, slipping out of the rest of her coveralls, exposing her exquisitely shaped buttocks, and powerful thighs and calves.

      Ryan knew that if Krysty felt comfortable enough here to wash up, then they were probably safe for the next little while. Ryan too felt safe for the moment, and he also knew that the feeling wouldn’t last. It was best to take advantage of the moment and enjoy it while it lasted.

      “How could I say no?”

      He got up from the bed and approached Krysty from behind. She gathered her fiery red hair in her hands and pulled it forward around her neck and away from her shoulders to expose the base of her neck and top part of her back.

      Ryan picked up a washcloth and dipped it into the lukewarm water. After squeezing out the excess water, he dragged the damp cloth across Krysty’s shoulders and watched as the dirt and dust of the day flowed away, leaving her smooth, unblemished, and clean skin behind.

      “Mmm.” She sighed. “That feels good, lover.”

      Ryan said nothing in response. Instead, he rinsed the washcloth and continued bathing Krysty, moving down her back, over her buttocks and inside her thighs.

      And then she turned so he could do the front.

      Ryan started at her neck and shoulders again, moving slowly down her body, spending extra time on her breasts, enjoying the way her nipples responded to his touch, and that of the water. Next came the reddish thatch of hair between her legs, which she parted slightly to give him better access to her legs.

      “You’re right, lover,” Ryan said. “This does feel good.”

      “Your turn now,” she said, smiling.

      Ryan stripped down, keeping the SIG-Sauer and Steyr within arm’s reach. The water felt cool on his skin, and Krysty was careful to wipe gently over his scarred flesh to make it feel more like a lover’s touch than a bath.

      “Does that feel good?” she asked.

      Ryan didn’t answer at first.

      Instead he turned around and let her see the aewas having on him.

      “Oh, lover,” she breathed.

      Ryan took Krysty in his arms and carried her to the bed.

      THERE WAS a knock at the laboratory door.

      Eleander was hard at work in the lab, making insulin for an East Coast baron with diabetes.

      “Just a minute,” she said, trying to free her hands to open the door.

      But before Eleander could answer it, the door burst open and Sec chief Robards was standing in the doorway. There was a look of evil on his face, as if he intended to hurt someone.

      Someone like her.

      “What is it?” Eleander cried, shrinking from the doorway. “What do you want?”

      The sec chief took a few steps forward, pushing her backward and forcing her to crawl away from him, but running out of room in the tiny lab.

      “You know why I’m here,” he said.

      “We were swimming, I swear.”

      “A good story for the outlander trash, but not good enough for me, or the baron. We know you were testing possible escape routes.”

      “No, that’s not right,” Eleander insisted. “Moira just wanted to get away for a little while, just the two of us, alone. How could I refuse her?”

      “You’re supposed to have an escort anytime you leave the ville. You know that as well as anyone.”

      “And with the way your sec men look at us, who will protect us from them?”

      The sec chief’s hand came out of nowhere, hitting her hard on the cheek and knocking her off her bed. The flesh

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