Gunn started. “They’ve been out there?” He stabbed a finger at the window. “Do they have a death wish? No way, I’m not getting paid enough to tangle with those fucking man-eating freakshows.”
“The team has been taking precautions. Using strong spotlights and snipers. It’s their job.” Her gaze narrowed on Gunn. “Let them do theirs, and you do yours.” She smiled at Niklas. “I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to hear the Sun Stone was loaded and is in pristine condition.”
His heart kicked in his chest. Yeah, he was. He itched to get a good look at it. “That’s good news.”
“I also asked them to gather any data they could get on the…zombies. We might encounter them again, so any information we can compile could give us an advantage.”
“They don’t like high-pitched noises,” Nera added. “We could use that as a deterrent.”
“Noted. I’ll pass the information on.” Avril shook her head, pressing her palms to the edge of the table. “I really hope we won’t see any more of them, or at least not so many.”
Nik thought that was wishful thinking. There had been zombies in New York, in that chasm. He was certain of it. But for whatever reason, they hadn’t attacked. He was worried the creatures, or at least some of them, were far more intelligent than they thought.
“Real lucky you didn’t get eaten by a zombie, Phoenix.”
Gunn’s sarcastic tone pulled Nik from his thoughts and made his jaw tighten. He felt Nera move and put a hand on her arm. “Screw you, Gunn. I know what you did. I won’t forget it.”
Avril frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Nik answered, his gaze boring into Gunn’s muddy eyes. “It’s a very uninteresting story about an unintelligent, little coward. I wouldn’t want to bore you.”
Gunn’s face twisted and he strode forward. “People like you make me sick, Phoenix.” Gunn spat the words. “You think you’re so smart, so much better than everyone else. You’ve had everything given to you on a damn platter.” He shoved Nik in the chest.
Nik tightened his hold on Nera’s arm, very afraid she was going to explode forward and kill Gunn. When she stayed still, he released her. Anger was an ugly ball in his chest. Because of Gunn’s childish antics, Nera had almost died in that damn museum. Nik shoved Gunn back…hard.
“You’re deluded. I’ve fought for everything I’ve ever wanted. My brothers, too. Life isn’t easy, Gunn. You have to work for what you want, but that doesn’t mean kicking every person around you in the face while you do it.”
Gunn quivered. “You don’t know what it is to fight. To have no bed to sleep in. To live in the streets and eat garbage. To be prey for every pervert and killer around. To have to be meaner than everyone just to survive.” The man’s chest heaved and he suddenly realized everyone was watching him. He drew in a ragged breath, then his trademark smirk covered his face. “You fight for everything you want, huh? Except that plush job you had at the Institute. That slipped through your fingers. Didn’t fight for that, did you?”
Nik froze, the words punching him low in the gut. With a swagger, Gunn crossed the room and dropped into a chair.
“Okay, I think that’s more than enough.” Avril pressed her hands to the holo-table. “If we can please shelve personal problems and focus on the hunt.”
“You did what you had to do,” Nera murmured for Nik’s ears only.
“I left,” he murmured. “I walked away and did nothing.”
“Niklas—”
He straightened. “But not now.” He looked down at her. “Not one of the artifacts from this trip is getting lost or sold. Everything we find will be seen by the people of the galaxy. I’ll make sure of it.”
She inclined her head.
For now, all he could focus on was the hunt. He headed for the holo-table and raised his voice. “So, we’re headed south. Where?”
“We’re traveling along the west coast of what were the American continents.” Avril traced her finger across the holo-table and a golden line appeared behind it. “I believe we are currently over what was once Panama, in Central America. So far, the jungle has taken over.” She frowned. “The conditions are not…optimal. Extremely dense vegetation and large animal signatures.”
“What are you thinking for the next exploration site?” Solomon asked.
“That’s why you are all here. You’ve all postulated some interesting locations to the south. It’s time to pick one.”
Gunn crossed his beefy arms over his chest. “Rio de Janeiro.”
Solomon snorted. “That was picked clean before the Terrans even left Earth. How about Peru?”
Nik nodded. “It had a rich history and was the center of the ancient Inca culture. But I’ve seen partial e-docs that say it suffered heavy bombing.” He glanced at Nera. She stood by the window, seemingly ignoring them all. Although he guessed differently. “Nera?”
“Lima,” she said. “It had the greatest concentration of museums.”
