At
first, the ride through the wasteland had been exciting for George.
However, it ended in pain and discomfort, most of which was
concentrated at his armored bottom. The armor also protected his bum
from receiving rubs of relief. When had Mabel slap a piece of armor
there anyway?
The
battle outside the tower against the waster gang was a new experience
but he had only been a spectator. And the turret camera had not
provided a good view of the fight. Which was not much better than the
action movies he could download from Covenant's network. The sound
quality was not that good either.
The
meeting with Iona, the third member of the Scarlet Vixens, was
interesting, to put it politely. She was the first person he had met
who was not a citizen of Covenant. Maybe he could learn more about
her later.
However,
thus far, George's adventure was not as exciting as he had hoped.
Hopefully, he would have the opportunity to contribute within Madboy
Keith's Tower of Trials. Maybe he could fix or take apart something.
After all, that was what he had been hired to do.
What
sort of danger would George and the Vixens face inside within the
tower? Monsters? Mutants? Killer droid assassins? George felt the
anticipation of danger and adventure. And it was about to begin. And
it would begin with...
A bald
bespectacled man seated behind a counter looking up expectantly from
the terminal he was working on.
The man
was dressed in a business suit, looking no different from the
office executives George had seen in Covenant. The bald man's
only acknowledgment to the fact that they were in the wastes was the
breathing mask hanging from his neck.
Mabel
stopped the transport in the wide space within the tower. "Right,
let's get out," she said.
The bald
man and his counter were at the middle of the floor, next to a broad
staircase that led to the circular mezzanine level. The mezzanine had
closed windows facing the outside. A smaller curved staircase
extended from the mezzanine to the upper levels. The area was
brilliantly lit and there were cameras hanging from the ceiling and
the mezzanine.
George
followed behind Mabel and Iona as they headed for the counter. He
noticed the Vixen logo on one of the bone plates attached to the back
of Iona's helmet. Since Mabel kept her mask on, George decided to do
the same. Tricia was still at the entrance, looking for the control
to close the main doors.
"We're
here to raid your tower!" Iona announced upfront to the man.
"Ah,
yes." The man tapped into the terminal in front of him. "You're
the Scarlet Vixens, if I'm not mistaken."
"That's
us!" Mabel confirmed.
"I'm
Lukas Grimbold, caretaker of the tower on Master Keith's behalf,"
the man introduced himself, "The rules, if any apply in this
wasteland, is that you get to keep whatever you can carry away with
you."
Iona
slipped behind the counter and effortlessly lifted Lukas and his
chair. The girl was strong!
Lukas
jumped off his chair and backed away. He raised both hands palms
forward defensively. "Whatever you can carry with you! And I'm
certainly not going to let you carry me off!"
"Aw,
but I like you!" Iona tossed the chair away and cheerfully
chased after Lukas, "You look like a nice plaything!"
Lukas
ran around the place with Iona after him. "Y-you can only take
away what you can take! Anything from the upper reaches of the tower,
not here!"
"Oh,
then I'll just have to carry you upstairs first!"
"B-but
the most valuable treasures are at the top level of the tower!"
"But
I want you!"
Okay,
that sounded very creepy. Even if it was uttered by a cute little
girl.
"Help!!!"
Lukas cried.
"Io,"
Tricia called as she joined the others at the counter, "There's
probably some better playthings at the top level waiting for you."
Iona
stopped. "Really?"
"Yes,
yes!" Lukas confirmed desperately, "you won't be able to
carry both me and those 'playthings'!"
Iona
turned to him with a predatory grin. "Are you sure? I'm pretty
strong, you know."
"Yes,
I'm sure!" But by the sweat on his round head and his shaky
voice, anyone could tell that he was desperately lying.
"Oh,
okay." Iona skipped back to the rest of her party.
Lukas
straightened his suit and dusted his pants. Then he replaced his
chair and took his place behind the counter. "Erm, yes. You may
begin when ready."
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