They got back in the ATV and drove for about twenty minutes. Marcus thought they were circling the Dust Dogs base, heading for the north side. It seemed they were constructing a wall all around Purgatory Valley. No wonder they needed the quarry. They crested a dune, coming up on the front gate. The wall here was a little taller. About ten guards stood watch. They looked alert when Razen drove the ATV up to the gate and stopped. Most of them had makeshift machetes or what looked like guns. Very old guns.

Blake explained to the guards that he wanted to see Dorian Jaiban and they let him through.

“They really let you through just for asking?” Marcus said.

“We’re just one ATV and three men,” Blake said, “We’re not a threat to them.”

Marcus nodded, feeling his anxiety increase. They were inside the Dust Dogs’ base, about to talk to their leader.

They drove into the valley by way of a road laid with bricks. Hundreds of shacks crested the dunes around the city. Not everyone could get shade, it seemed. In fact, the trees here were surrounded by small brick barriers so people couldn’t disturb them.

“Trees are valuable here, aren’t they?”

Blake nodded. Without shade, the pools would dry up and we’d all die.

There were more than just trees here in this oasis. Surrounding the river were other lush looking plants that grew well in the desert, providing they had water. And like in Life City, the river and pools of water were shaded by canvas overhanging’s. A lot of the shacks had them too.

The city got thicker, the buildings taller. Many of them looked to be fortified. Just from first glance at the guards near the gate, Marcus could tell that the Iron Kin of War had much better weapons than the Dust Dogs. That was probably why they had a fortified base. They needed the extra protection in case of some kind of war.

Shortly after entering Purgatory Valley, they were allowed to park the ATV and were shown to a waiting area inside of a large house that spanned over the river.

This all seems quit civil, Marcus thought as they were escorted into the building.

“I’m surprised they just let us in here and give us rooms.”

Blake peeked outside of his window. Then he turned to Marcus. The Iron Kin of War trades with the Dust Dogs all the time. Right now we have upwards of seven trade deals. We let their guys in our base, and they let us in theirs. Prices and item values are mostly established. They think I’m here to broker a new deal.”

“Oh,” Marcus said, nodding. “What did you do before you were sent here?” he hoped that didn’t touch a nerve with Blake.

“I was an import-export agent,” he said, smiling.

“That makes sense.”

“How about you?” Marcus asked Razen.

“Whatever...”

Marcus turned back to Blake. “How long do we wait here?”

“Until those commandos signal us for help, or it comes time for us to leave and meet them at the quarry where we dropped them off. Hopefully they will have that guidance system.”

Marcus frowned. “I don’t remember them saying they were ‘commandos.’”

“Commandos, ex-soldiers, operatives, whatever,” Blake said. He turned to look outside the window again. The room was decorated with clay vases. The tables were constructed out of wood. The walls were also lined with wood paneling. Rooms like these must have been what was considered high luxury on Acheron, seeing as they were made from such a precious commodity.

* * *

The work for the day seemed to be over since the workers were beginning to disperse, many of them heading for what looked like the residential areas, or those bars.

“How the hell do we figure out where that guidance system is?” Dan asked.

Shane nodded to the bar and started walking. Dan followed him. The “bar” didn’t seem like much; more of those bricks from the quarry, a few windows covered with tattered curtains, and an open fireplace in the center of the room. The smoke wafted into the air and out of the hole in the roof. Men were sitting or standing, drinking. There were a few women too. Nobody seemed to be getting very rowdy. Dan expected to see a little bit more intake, considering how hard these men and women worked and didn’t get paid.

Maybe this is their payment, he told himself.

Dan moved up to the bar and asked for a drink. The man behind the counter gave him one. It tasted like piss, but Dan drank it anyway. He looked at a man to his left, who didn’t seem to notice him as he looked into his mug—probably wishing he could have more. The allotted amount that was allowed after work had to be limited.

Dan turned back to the bar tender. “How does a guy get an audience with Dorian Jaiban around here?”

The bar tender just looked at him, then started to laugh. “Good luck,” he said, then he turned to hand out more drinks.

“I’m a little new here,” Dan said.

The bar tender turned around. “When were you dropped?”

“Today.”

“Ah,” the bar tender said. “I see.”

“Can you help out a couple guys?”

“Listen,” the bar tender said. ”Nobody talks to Dorian Jaiban unless you join his army and rise through his ranks far enough to get noticed.”

“Where does he live?” Shane asked, his voice scratchy.

The bar tender raised an eyebrow. “In the manor house... or that’s what they call it. It’s the castle at the center of purgatory Valley.”

Dan nodded. “Thanks.”

“You won’t get in.”

“We can try,” Dan said, then he made a motion to Shane and they left the bar. “A castle...”

“Fucking great,” Shane said.

It was starting to get dark, the sun just barley peeking over the dunes now. They looked around. The bar was on top of a hill, so they had a good view of Purgatory Valley.

Dan saw a large building with five levels, surrounded by a ten foot wall, all built out of those baked bricks. “That’s got to be it,” he said pointing.

“Agreed,” Shane said.

Strangely, the bastard’s mood wasn’t as pissy as usual. That made the hairs on the back of Dan’s neck stand on end. He followed Shane as the man started for the manor.

“Any idea on how we get in there?”

“Hop the wall,” he said. “Kill a few guards... find the device.”

“And Susa Jaiban.”

Shane didn’t respond.

They walked for about ten minutes before they were low enough in the valley not to be seen by anyone looking for something out of the ordinary.

The rush of the river wasn’t far. Dan made his way toward the water, and realized that the river went under the manor. The house, or castle, was actually two buildings with a bridge connecting them. There were other levels above the two structures positioned directly over the river.

Kind of nice, Dan thought, until he saw the guards on the second level circling the terrace that surrounded the entire manor.

“Shit,” he whispered.

“Like I said,” Shane said, smiling. “Hop the wall and kill a few guards. Easy.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Dan said.