searched every port they could, called up every favor, every shady connection in Garbage Country and beyond, but it was as if their friends had disappeared into thin air. No one had seen them anywhere, on any ship or any list of prisoners or refugees. Not even at the morgue.
Maybe theyâd left, maybe theyâd had enough of the crew, of New Vegas, of the two of them. Who knew? But Wes couldnât believe they would just abandon them without a word or a note. Even so, he didnât know what to think.
It was hard to make sense ofâand even harder to speak of, usuallyâbut today, when Farouk had asked, Wes couldnât shut himself up. As if he had done something to drive them away, as if these were his sins to confess.
Wes told Farouk everything in a quiet monotone, while Shakes kept his hat on his face and remained silent. They missed the little guys, and losing Liannan had hit Shakes the hardest, of courseâseeing as the sylph was the closest thing he had ever known to loveâbut in his own way, Wes was just as bereft. Liannan was their last link to the Blue, and to Nat. Sometimes Wes thought the journey over the ocean was just a dream, that he had made it all up, but Liannan was living proof that Nat was real. Having the sylph on his crew gave him hope that he would find his way back to the Blue and see Nat again. But that hope vanished when he lost his friends.
âThatâs messed up, man,â Farouk said, sighing heavily. He didnât ask any more questions. Wes could only imagine how his friend was now regretting having forced the story out of him.
âYeah, well,â Wes grunted. Because really, what else was there to say?
At least he had a chance, however slim, to save Eliza. If he couldnât be with Nat, if he couldnât find his crew or his friends, at least he could do what he could to save his only sister. The information he had was solid, but the odds of success were still long. When he was a runner for the casino bosses, thereâd been unlimited resources at his fingertips, money for bribes, inside contacts. On his own, Wes had a few watts and two soldiers. He was counting on his luck and wits to come through.
So she was being held in a RSA hospital. Where had she been all these years? Heâd always assumed sheâd been taken because she was marked, but he wasnât sure. His memory of the night she was kidnapped was fuzzy at best. Wes wasnât sure he even wanted to know.
He just wanted her back, like everyone and everything else that had been taken from him.
From all of us.
He tried to put the image of the crowd surging into the form of the drakon out of his mind. He wasnât Nat. He wasnât here to save the world, or even New Vegas. He wasnât a hero. He was just some kid who grew up in the casinos, someone who lived on the scraps and the leftovers.
Just get the job done. In and out. Like the old days.
As if anything was the same as it was then.
Wes closed his eyes and tried not to think at all.
Theyâd been driving for a few hours when Farouk stopped the car again. âFlood,â he said, annoyed. âCome on, help me get the chains on.â The snow had melted into a giant puddle in the middle of the road.
Wes and Shakes got out of the car and helped Farouk rig the wheels with a couple of rusty chains. As the car churned slowly across the slush, Wes asked Shakes if he ever wondered where the ice came from.
âMy ass.â Shakes snorted.
âIâm being serious. You never thought about it?â
âHe thinks about his ass all the time, man. This is Shakes youâre talkinâ about.â Farouk was enjoying the conversation.
âWhat do you mean?â asked Shakes, in a surly tone. âIt got hot, then it got cold. Second Ice Age. Duh.â
Wes rolled his eyes. He knew the facts like any kid in the RSA. It was 111 C.D., one hundred and eleven years after the Catastrophic Disaster destroyed
Maybe theyâd left, maybe theyâd had enough of the crew, of New Vegas, of the two of them. Who knew? But Wes couldnât believe they would just abandon them without a word or a note. Even so, he didnât know what to think.
It was hard to make sense ofâand even harder to speak of, usuallyâbut today, when Farouk had asked, Wes couldnât shut himself up. As if he had done something to drive them away, as if these were his sins to confess.
Wes told Farouk everything in a quiet monotone, while Shakes kept his hat on his face and remained silent. They missed the little guys, and losing Liannan had hit Shakes the hardest, of courseâseeing as the sylph was the closest thing he had ever known to loveâbut in his own way, Wes was just as bereft. Liannan was their last link to the Blue, and to Nat. Sometimes Wes thought the journey over the ocean was just a dream, that he had made it all up, but Liannan was living proof that Nat was real. Having the sylph on his crew gave him hope that he would find his way back to the Blue and see Nat again. But that hope vanished when he lost his friends.
âThatâs messed up, man,â Farouk said, sighing heavily. He didnât ask any more questions. Wes could only imagine how his friend was now regretting having forced the story out of him.
âYeah, well,â Wes grunted. Because really, what else was there to say?
At least he had a chance, however slim, to save Eliza. If he couldnât be with Nat, if he couldnât find his crew or his friends, at least he could do what he could to save his only sister. The information he had was solid, but the odds of success were still long. When he was a runner for the casino bosses, thereâd been unlimited resources at his fingertips, money for bribes, inside contacts. On his own, Wes had a few watts and two soldiers. He was counting on his luck and wits to come through.
So she was being held in a RSA hospital. Where had she been all these years? Heâd always assumed sheâd been taken because she was marked, but he wasnât sure. His memory of the night she was kidnapped was fuzzy at best. Wes wasnât sure he even wanted to know.
He just wanted her back, like everyone and everything else that had been taken from him.
From all of us.
He tried to put the image of the crowd surging into the form of the drakon out of his mind. He wasnât Nat. He wasnât here to save the world, or even New Vegas. He wasnât a hero. He was just some kid who grew up in the casinos, someone who lived on the scraps and the leftovers.
Just get the job done. In and out. Like the old days.
As if anything was the same as it was then.
Wes closed his eyes and tried not to think at all.
Theyâd been driving for a few hours when Farouk stopped the car again. âFlood,â he said, annoyed. âCome on, help me get the chains on.â The snow had melted into a giant puddle in the middle of the road.
Wes and Shakes got out of the car and helped Farouk rig the wheels with a couple of rusty chains. As the car churned slowly across the slush, Wes asked Shakes if he ever wondered where the ice came from.
âMy ass.â Shakes snorted.
âIâm being serious. You never thought about it?â
âHe thinks about his ass all the time, man. This is Shakes youâre talkinâ about.â Farouk was enjoying the conversation.
âWhat do you mean?â asked Shakes, in a surly tone. âIt got hot, then it got cold. Second Ice Age. Duh.â
Wes rolled his eyes. He knew the facts like any kid in the RSA. It was 111 C.D., one hundred and eleven years after the Catastrophic Disaster destroyed
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