Borderlands: Unconquered Read Online Free PDF

blood and excrement rose richly from the corpse.
    Gynella yawned,then bent, delicately wiped the blade on the Psycho Bruiser’s back, and resheathed it as she straightened up. “You others—back to your barracks. Rest! We fight tonight!”
    She flicked a hand at them, and they backed away, then turned and went mutteringly, sated and exhausted, into the barracks. Smartun called to Sergeant Flugg, who turned from the barracks door with a look of resentment that wasso plain it could’ve been a hand-painted sign. Flugg passionately hated taking orders from Smartun. “Yes, Lieutenant?”
    Smartun pointed at the reeking cadaver of Splonk. “Clean up that mess, Sergeant. Feed it to the skags in pen three.”
    Flugg looked as if he wanted to snarl a refusal, but he glanced at Gynella, saw the look in her eye, and gave Smartun a sloppy salute. “Sure thing, Lieutenant.”
    Gynella turned to Smartun. “I have a mission for you. Come inside.”
    Licking his lips, Smartun nodded and followed her into the entranceway to the old coliseum. Vialle followed them; Runch stationed himself in the shade, outside the door, to keep an eye on the barracks.
    As the door closed behind them, the metal latch echoing in the bare rusty-steel hallway, she turned first to Vialle. “Doctor,for the first time, the drug failed! Perhaps we’re not giving it to them often enough.”
    “Failed?” He shook his head. “It worked!” he declared in his piping, oily voice. “Even on that oaf you killed. But human behavior—or, in this case, semihuman behavior—is not entirely predictable. There are always a few variables and oddities, with genetically random degrees of resistance. But you handled itperfectly! The occasional thug with a bit of self-will will be winnowed out, exactly as you did it. I salute your efficiency!” His mouth twisted in a mocking smile as he bowed to her.
    “Better increase the dose anyway,” she said. “Go on, back to your lab. I want to talk to my special operative.”
    Special operative . He loved it when she called him that.
    “Listen, Smartun,” she said, taking a smallcomputer memory tab from a pocket of her skirt. “Take this, put it in your palmer, study the files. Selina cracked Dahl’s threat-assessment program for Pandora. We’ve found a group of people who have to either be recruited or eliminated. First on the list . . . one Lilith.” She grimaced and shook her head. “Too powerful, and she’ll never submit to my rule. I knew her off-planet. If Lilith comesback to this dirtball, have her assassinated. Immediately! And using every resource at your command! And don’t try to do it yourself . Get someone expert to shoot her in the back. She’s too dangerous to take on headfirst. The second one on the list is a certain Mordecai. He’s a crack shot. Might be of use . . . and might be recruitable. Third, there’s a Bruiser called Brick.”
    “I’ve heard of him.”
    “Brick would definitely be useful to me—on several levels, I suspect. But if he can’t be recruited, see that he’s eliminated as well. Still, we’ll try the SusDrug on him first. And the last one—you ever hear of a mercenary, former military, name of Roland?”
    “Big black guy?”
    Her nostrils flared. “ Oh yes. That’s him.”
    Smartun grunted. “I saw him in action once, from a distance, just outside ofNew Haven. Bunch of raiders jumped him, tried to take his outrunner. Kind of surprising how little time it took him to deal with it. He killed four men in three seconds.”
    “Exactly! Good-looking galoot, too. I’ve got surveillance vid of him in action. He really caught my eye.”
    Smartun didn’t like the sound of that. But he kept his expression neutral and said only, “Not my type.”
    She smiled icilyat his feeble joke. “He’s our type—a deadly soldier. If we can recruit him, he’d make a great subcommander. His military experience would be quite useful.”
    “And suppose he can’t be recruited?