Borderlands: Gunsight Read Free Page B

Bloodwing fluttered down onto his shoulder as he descended on the exterior elevator platform to the ground outside the tower’s base. Reaching the bottom, he glanced around the perimeter—no enemies handy. He should probably send Bloodwing up to look around, or maybe check the area scanners . . . No. He just wanted out of here right now, before he weakened. He had to make a statement, let the woman know he wasn’t clay to be molded by Daphne Kuller. He was his own man, dammit.
    Mordecai turned to the two parked outrunners, went to the slightly smaller one, tossed the rifle in the back, checked the ammo supply and fuel charge, then jumped in, startedit up, and headed out, Bloodwing clinging to his right shoulder.
    He sped up the raw dirt track that wound toward the main road. That road would eventually take him to the settlement of Sanctuary—a curious place, built on a gigantic flying mining-company craft, which was now grounded, settled into the mountains . . .
    Maybe that’s where he and Daphne should be living. Sure, Moxxi had a place there but then “Mad Moxxi” had lots of places she could be. She was still setting up coliseum show fights as well as running a bar. Moxxi might not even be in town. Maybe he and Daphne could have her nest right there in Sanctuary. But—a child ? It made his head spin to imagine it. He, Mordecai . . . changing diapers?
    He snorted to himself, and slammed down on the accelerator, so that Bloodwing had to dig her claws into his shoulder to hold on against the wind.
    He was nearly to the main road when the call came on the outrunner’s ECHO comm system. “Mordecai? We’re not done!” It was Daphne, sounding pretty mad that he’d done exactly what he’d said he was going to do. She’d probably expected him to buckle under as usual and come back to bed.
    “Look, Daphne, I told you—”
    “If you don’t come back right now,” interrupted her crackling voice on the ECHO system, “ I’ll come after you and we’ll discuss this right out in the middle of skagland! I’m not giving you up to that bitch Moxxi! I’ll see her dead first! ”
    “I’m not going to even see Moxxi!” he shouted, bending toward the ECHO. “I told you what I’m gonna do! Okay, I promise you that I won’t even go into her place for a drink.You want to come, then come, and we’ll make a night of it in Sanctuary, we can see Roland, have a few drinks—”
    “And that’s another thing, if this is just an excuse for more drinking, Mordecai—”
    “Oh—you know what? Go screw a Tunnel Rat!” he snarled. And he turned the comm system off.
    He had an uncomfortable twisty feeling inside, when he did that. It wasn’t good security to be out of touch with her. Then he chuckled and shook his head.
    There was nothing to worry about; it wasn’t as if Kuller the Killer couldn’t handle herself.
    He got to the main road, turned onto it, then slowed—and looked back toward the tower, which was now more than a kilometer back. He figured if she was following, she’d thrown on her fighting togs and was jumping into the outrunner right now.
    Ah—there it was. He could see the rooster tail of dust as her outrunner started away from the tower after him.
    Well, he wasn’t going to meekly sit here waiting for her. She could bloody well follow him to Sanctuary. They’d hook back up there; he’d wait for her at Roland’s.
    Mordecai started down the road, tooling along, not too fast, so it didn’t look like he was trying to leave her behind, but not too slow, either. His head was thumping from the booze . . . damn, why’d she let him drink in the morning?
    Three minutes or so passed. The road unreeled past him, the wind sighed.
    Then Bloodwing croaked something that sounded like a warning.
    Mordecai heard the first explosion from the direction of the tower. From his home.
    He hit the brakes hard, the outrunner spinning and stopping in its own cloud of dust. Wiping dust from his goggles, he could