» Thu Jun 18, 2015 5:39 pm Hard Trails and Dirty Business - IC THREAD
Russell 揟horn?Kilburn
He woke up late, stretched and looked at the time on an old Vault-tec atomic alarm clock, Catherine had fixed up for him. It was 10:30am. Russell always enjoyed the times when he could wake up late, which were few and far between one another. Most of the time he was up early, tending to the needs of the brahmin, and other such tasks that needed to be done and finished, before the day could really start. It was a habit that had been formed, when he抎 been a boy and slave to the Kilburn family, and continued when he抎 started on with the Helena Trading Company.
There was suddenly a knock at the door of his apartment. Russell sat up slow, scratched his head and stretched again, reaching for his revolver that rested on the bedside table, beside the alarm clock.
Another knock came, followed by a familiar voice.
揜ussell, you awake? Wake up, dammit, today抯 the day!?It was Lenny Crane, owner and operator of Helena Trading Company. He sounded like he was anxious and in a hurry.
Russell put the revolver down on the drawer, behind the door. He sighed, still waking up and opened the door.
揌ow are things at the company, Lenny??Russell asked.
揌ello to you too,?Lenny said, gently pushing his way in. He was a man of medium height, but strong, even if he was growing a bit of a gut and had hair thinning, with grey at the temples.
Russell closed the door behind him, a bit annoyed at having a guest so suddenly. 揌ello, Lenny, how are things at the company??/div>
揊ine, just fine, Russell. We抮e doing better than ever, and with this new plan, we抣l all be rolling in the caps. We抣l have trade routes and posts all over the West!?/div>
Russell could see in Lenny抯 dark brown eyes, a fire of anticipation he rarely saw in other people. The short but powerful man had a drive that had just recently, began to infect others in the Montana Wasteland. Mainly those others were Lenny and the Helena Trading Company抯 competitors.
揝o what are you here for, Lenny? I just woke up, and you don抰 usually make house calls for anybody. What抯 happened??Russell took a seat at the small round table, along with Lenny who pulled out a folded piece of paper.
揧ou抮e right, but this couldn抰 wait. It抯 about your caravan headed west.?/div>
揥hat about it? I had notices put out for weeks, and you O.K.抎 it all just the other day.?/div>
揧eah, well, your caravan is still headed out, but you抮e going to be short on manpower.?Lenny unfolded the paper, showing Russell the slots where names usually went, when signing up for a caravan job. There were a few, but not a full roster of names.
Russell took the paper in his own hands, and read the few names that were there, and remembered the ones that weren抰.
揇amn, those are a lot of empty slots. What happened to them all??Russell asked, looking up at Lenny, then back down at the names.
揝ome just fell out, guess they weren抰 up to the task of heading west. Others, they just disappeared.?/div>
揇isappeared??/div>
揧eah, I had a couple runners go fetch them from the Helena Inn, where they were listed as staying. But when the runners came back, the people were gone. Guy at the front desk told the runners they抎 left a couple days before.?/div>
揝trange, don抰 you think? Who were they??/div>
揑 don抰 know their names off the top of my head. There were three of them though, a team or something. Friends at the very least. Anyway, doesn抰 matter, you抮e still heading west today, short or not.?/div>
Russell sighed heavily. 揝till with a full brahmin train??Lenny nodded.
There were only a couple names on the actual list, that Lenny had added to the roster. One of them Russell knew by reputation, the other sounded vaguely familiar: Dusty Rhodes, an old guard at one of the small inns in town, who抎 not long ago, turned Caravan Guard. Russell hadn抰 known much about Dusty, aside from the reputation he抎 built up, keeping out unwanted types. Russell imagine he was a good person to have on the trail, and at the trading table, if things got difficult.
The other was Teddy Thompson. The Thompson name sounded familiar, but Russell and his tired mind, couldn抰 quite pin it.
揥ho抯 this??Russell asked, pointing to the name.
揙h, Ted? Kid used to work with his dad, Roland Thompson. They worked with the company off-and-on, sorting certain things the caravans brought in. He抯 green, I think he抯 looking for a bit of adventure, so he抣l be a good one to learn the new trails and posts, when they抮e made.?/div>
"If he survives the trip west." Russell looked at the paper a bit annoyed. 揝o we haven抰 got a doctor, or medical specialist at all??/div>
揇on抰 think you did to begin with, actually.?/div>
揑抳e got one potential hard-ass, with a reputation, and me. Then this kid? That抯 what you want to send out west, Lenny? Really??/div>
Lenny leaned back in the old chair, and sighed himself. 揑 guess you抣l just have to rummage through town to find that medical specialist, and whoever else you can find, that will join the caravan.?/div>
Russell was really annoyed now, in fact he was a bit more than angry. 揕enny, you really expect me to find a whole caravan crew, by today, and head out on the trail today? It抯 too tight, can抰 be done.?Russell crumpled the roster and tossed it at Lenny.
揇on抰 be rude, Russell,?Lenny said, calmly picking up the roster from the floor, and getting up. 揧ou抮e headed out, short on crew or not. Find who you can, is all I抦 saying, and get headed west.?/div>
There was no more to say, as Lenny made for the door and let himself out, but not before a quick, 揋ood luck on the trail.?/div>
It was 11:30am, by the time Russell got himself ready. He was all suited and armed up. His traveling supplies were already at the old Helena College, where Helena Trading Company抯 HQ was located. But that wasn抰 his first place to go. Instead he headed for one of the few places he knew he could hire a person or two, on short notice, the Bison Bar.
-
lacy lake - Posts: 3450
- Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:13 am
1 post
• Page 1 of 1