45 Hones (1/2)

3 days later..

A forest green truck drives along the bumpy road behind a black armored vehicle. The front bumper of the armored truck has a large black snow plow attached to it. The vehicles drive through the wastelands toward the grasslands.

It is a two-hour drive from Warts to the closest grassland area. Right before a brutal sandstorm hit, a messenger arrived at Warts communications center. One of their partnerships requested a meetup. After the powerful sandstorm subsided they exited Warts.

Meetups are never held at the same location these days. None of the allies wanted to be the first to invite the other to their headquarters. Their alliances weren't born of trust but necessity.

Unlike their allies, the Mercenaries were fine with people knowing their headquarters, but they still had rules. The most important rule: any group larger than a solo messenger would be shot down immediately, no questions asked.

All incoming traffic is monitored and without an escort, entrance into the merchant hub would be prohibited.

Ika sits up in his seat chewing on a piece of jerky. His rifle is propped up between his legs. The blue scarf around his neck is loose, revealing pale skin. His goggles hang around his neck as well, underneath the scarf, and bounce across his collarbone.

His grey eyes are attentive to the road in front of them. Periodically, he checks in with the truck behind them with his radio. He barely registers the salty meat as he works it around his mouth. A hill comes within sight.

”Stop there. Wait for the heads up,” Ika says into his radio.

The green truck stops driving about a mile away. It's within sight, but outside of the range of any firearms. The armored vehicle pulls up near the hill.

On the right of the vehicle are identical black trees for miles. The bark of the trees is charred black. The branches are naked of leaves. To the left of the vehicle is a vibrant green field. Of course, some of it is yellow and short, but the abundance of green grass is a sight unseen in the wastelands. As the years pass, more and more of the land is becoming viable once again. The farther west, the more fertile the land has become.

Ika remains in the vehicle as the driver gets out. He tosses his bag of jerky on the center console, without looking away from the mercenary approaching the grass mount.

The mercenary stops walking halfway between the hillside and the armored vehicle.

”Kraaaaaaaa!” The mercenary sloppily calls.

A figure pops up from the other side of the hill. Then two, three, six. Six figures stand atop the hill holding various weapons.

Ika opens the glove compartment and pulls out a pair of binoculars one-handed. He holds the binoculars over his eyes and sees two familiar forms. The man, or rather the Savage, that had summoned them to this rendezvous point.

The current Savage leader, Raco, and his partner, Nils, stood atop the hill among four unknown people. When they identify the mercenaries, the two men begin walking toward the driver.

'That's odd...where is the other creep?' Ika thinks before tossing the binoculars onto the dashboard.

He opens his side door and hops out of the truck. The guard blocks his sight for a moment while retrieving his weapon. Then he strolls up to his driver and nudges him at the waist. The driver goes back to the armored vehicle to let out their 3 other men from the back of the truck.

The four hooded unknowns stand tall intently watching their transaction. A moment later, a figure came barreling down the hill behind the two Savages. Ika can recognize the lanky figure right away. Slim the Savage.

Ika's hands firmly grip his rifle, and his left index finger lies relaxed near the trigger.

Raco, Nils, and Slim were inseparable. Where Raco went he always took his two partners. At first, Ika had thought the two were his bodyguards, but Raco didn't need a bodyguard. As Ika waited, he scanned the area for any more unknowns.

Grass, trees,...dirt road. The mercenaries trucks were the only vehicles around.

When Raco gets within five feet of Ika he stops. Raco is coated from head to toe with mud and is wielding a short spear at his side. It is unusually crafted with a sharp blade welded onto the end of a piece of metal. There are spikes along the metal for blocking and tearing away weapons. It is tucked under his armpit and extends out three feet past his hand.

Raco eyes the shorter male, wind passes by and stirs the unusually thick hair atop the Savage leader's head. It's curly and white. On Raco's left, a buff male with a bald head and patchy skin glares at Ika. On his right stood a slim woman, Slim, who was bald as well. She huffs as she looks over the perimeter and grins at Ika. She is missing some teeth, but the ones that still remain have been sharpened.

Ika grimaces at the Savages.

”We agreed to meet with you and your...buddies. Who are those people up there? They don't look like your usual sort.” Ika questioned.

Raco turns his neck and a bit of the mud coating his skin crumbles to reveal his albino complexion. Raco's pink eyes turn back to Ika and he grins sharply at the mercenary, ”Those guys. Friendly bunch. We met them quite a while ago. Spider enthusiasts...”

Ika raises an eyebrow at that.

”Their leader was a spider researcher. Invaluable information about those targets you gave us, has come from him. Bit of a freak though,” Raco laughs. ”But I don't mind. Freaks get the job done.”

Ika refrains from rolling his eyes and waits. They all sit in silence before Raco turns to Slim.

She is clutching a dirty messenger bag at her side. It is quite plump.

”These are the items you requested,” Slim says before handing the bag over.

The contents inside clink together as the bag transfers hands. Ika almost flinches at the disgusting smell of the bag but holds it close as he searches it.

It is quite heavy. Every pocket is filled with something. While Ika looks inside, Raco lazily looks over the armored vehicle. Four men are hanging back with their weapons drawn. Nils remains focused on every movement Ika makes.

Ika glances over the materials inside, closes the bag, and then holds it out with his arm straight out. One of the mercenaries at the truck lowers his weapon and comes jogging up to get the bulky messenger bag.

”Look about right?” Raco asks.

”Hmmm.” Ika grunts.

Ika is about to raise a hand and signal the other vehicle when Raco takes several steps backward and says, ”Why don't you come meet them?”

Ika pauses, ”Your spider friends? No thanks.”

He signals the other truck. When it pulls up, the mercenary's temperamental doctor hops out of the back of the truck and runs over to retrieve the messenger bag that contains the goods. The doctor scowls at the poor condition of the bag and tsks at the fact that all the glass and plastic bottles are stuffed inside without much care. One good drop would shatter all the precious insulin inside. After a quick count of the insulin containers and pill bottles, he yells confirmation to Ika.

”Iz all here!!” Pheno yells.

Ika nods but keeps a firm grip on his weapon.

”So close to your territory, but you haven't yet come across them. Don't you find that interesting?” Raco comments.

Nils and Slim begin returning to the hill where the unfamiliar hooded figures still stand. Raco stays behind, scratching his flaky hair.

”I figured, why kill em when we can join em. They have some interesting ways of securing their location and access to...” Raco says.

Ika turns his back on Raco. Raco's face stills as he is ignored. He licks his lips and spits onto the ground. Silent for the moment.

Ika passes by the four men that still have their weapons drawn and focuses on Raco. He passes by the armored truck to get to the second vehicle. He knocks twice on the side of the green truck before continuing to the back and speaking with his people.

”The keys,” Ika is thrown a single key from Priya.”Change of plans. We might need to cancel out this subscription. Priya, you're in charge. Stay back after the exchange. Pace yourself. Nard and Turner, you're with me. Pheno and Kid, into the back.” Ika doesn't wait for a reply before walking back over to the Savage leader.

Everyone moves into position.

As he approaches the Savage leader, he eyes the man's form from top to bottom. Unlike his companions, Raco looks to have been completely submerged in dark mud. His smell is awful as well. Even more than usual.