Page 56 of Fearless
His eyes scanned the room. “Would anyone else like to bring up a matter of business to discuss?”
I cleared my throat.
“Yes, Gunner?”
I ignored the way his brow furrowed at me and addressed the room. “There’s a traveling market setting up next weekend on the Navajo Flats, just an hour’s ride from here. While I’m still trying to secure a long-term trade partner, the market’s vendors should have enough goods to keep us well-stocked in the meantime. I suggest several of us ride out, to maximize our load.”
Dallas raised a hand.
“Yeah?”
“The wife’s been begging to spend some time outside of Sheol. You think this market will be safe for women?”
“I don’t see why not,” I shrugged. “Many of the vendors are women offering clothes, jewelry, crafty shit. If Andrea don’t mind carrying her own stuff, she can make it a shopping trip.”
“Great, now she’s gonna tell my sister,” Reaper grumbled.
“Will there be medical supplies?” Jandro asked. “Mari’s running low on some things she needs.”
“Might be a lot of those weird snake oil remedies, but there should be legit vendors there too.”
“Who wants to ride to the market?” Reaper asked the room. Nearly every hand shot up and our surly president groaned. “Some of you fuckers need to stay here to defend this place.”
“I’ll stay, President,” Shadow volunteered. “I have no need for anything at the market.”
We all knew the big guy hated big crowds of people, but no one was about to point that out.
“Thank you, Shadow. I’ll need a few more. You all can draw straws or whatever the fuck you do. Anyone else have business to bring up?”
Jandro raised a hand. “I want to propose patching in the prospect Stephan as a full member of the SDMC. He earned my respect when he stepped up to fight me last month, and he’s had my back while I’ve been working overtime on everyone’s bikes. I trust the kid. He’ll go to war with us on a single word from Reaper. Of that I have no doubt.”
“You think he’s ready?” Dallas stroked his beard with a frown.
“He’s young. He hasn’t proven himself yet,” Brick pointed out.
“Let’s bring him on the market ride with us,” Reaper suggested. “He’ll bring up the rear, where Shadow usually is. If shit gets hairy, we’ll see how well he does. If he impresses me, then we can patch him in.”
Jandro nodded, accepting that solution.
All other church topics were mundane stuff—the status of our solar panels, water treatment systems, food rations, blah blah blah. I was itching to get out of my seat and go for a solo ride, maybe fly over some canyons while looking through Horus. Of course I wouldn’t be allowed to leave that easily.
When Reaper banged his gavel, signaling the end of church, the next thing I heard was, “Hold up, Gunner.”
Jandro, naturally. Reaper hadn’t succeeded in bringing me into their weird, hippie love triangle, so now his tag-team partner was trying his shot.
“What’s up?” I propped my elbow on the table as everyone else filed out of the room.
Jandro moved to a seat closer to me, mimicking my posture. “What’s going on, Gun?”
I shrugged, regarding him with a bored expression. “Nothin’.”
“Yeah?” He cocked his head. “Why did you get shitfaced right before fighting Big G?”
“Why the fuck does it matter?” I demanded. “And while we’re at it, why is everyone grilling me about shit that’s none of their fucking business?”
“Because it’s not like you to set yourself up to lose.” Jandro leaned back in his seat. “Come on, dude. I’m coming to you as your friend, not your VP. Everyone knows you can hold your own against Big G, but you put yourself out there intentionally to send a completely different message. Why?”
“It wasn’t intentional. I meant to just have a couple to get warmed up. I drank too much. I fucked up, okay? You think Iwantedto embarrass myself like that?”
