Pickers 4: The Pick Read Online Free Page B

within.
    Around the edges of the chamber were a selection of small vehicles- pickups and fork lifts to move things to and from the deeper chambers. But they were insignificant next to the main show. Parked in the centre of the space, dominating it, was a huge vehicle. It was a beast, and made it clear why the door was so large. Veronique and Maxine both turned to their father. He didn't need to make a sound for them to know he was in love with the giant truck before them. He nodded and grinned.
    Remy forced himself to turn away from the truck. "Okay. Georges, Lucas and Fabien, can you get the rest of the wall down and the vehicles in. Veronique, you had best stay near the surveillance centre. Can you and Sarah start on the shelves so they can get in. Maxine, you take Justine and Amandine deeper. Find the seed stores, but don't open them until we're ready to move stuff. I am going to stay here and see which of these vehicles we can use."

* * *
    Remy had walked around the articulated truck twice. It was so large he thought they should qualify as treks. The tractor unit itself was as long and tall as one of their wagons. The bonnet section was as long as the cab, the front curved and rounded in a nod to aerodynamics. The massive bull bars on the front, however, made a mockery of any attempts to carve through the air. Skirts covered the wheels from the side. Remy tapped one and knew it was armoured
    The long, long trailer had three axles at the back. The side panels were solid, and hinted at armouring, and skirts extended over the wheels as well. They were complemented by low slung bars hung from the frame of the trailer which would keep smaller vehicles from getting trapped under it.
    There were steps up to the cab doors, and handles either side to help. Remy clambered up and tried the handle. The door opened, and he swung easily into the driver's seat. The back wrapped around and extended forwards, providing support in the unlikely event the truck performed a sharp turn. There was another seat by the other door, what seemed like a very long way away, and a third, behind them and mounted high. This seat was held in a frame suspended from the roof. Whoever used it would have to stick their upper body through the hatch above it and look out from the cupola on the roof. No doubt they could mount a gun up there as well.
    Behind the gunner's seat there were two bunk beds and lots of storage. A rack under the bottom bunk was full of ammunition boxes, for high calibre rounds. Maybe the gun to go with them was back there somewhere as well.
    Remy settled into the seat, and rested his hands easily on the steering wheel. The controls were similar to those on the wagons, from the basic accelerator and brake on the floor, through to the twist control to balance which wheels provided the most drive. There was an added level of complexity, the wheels on the trailer could be driven as well, which would make for interesting speed runs or tight manoeuvres.
    "It doesn't matter how powerful and clever it is. That thing is never going to make it back over the route we took." Veronique said from somewhere far below.
    "No, it isn't." A meter on the dash said there was power in the truck's batteries. There had been cables running to it from a panel in the floor. Remy found the key in the ignition, and turned it one click. Read outs and lights flashed up across the dash, previously hidden by the smoked finish of the panel. There were three fuel tanks, and they were all full. What with, the display didn't say, or what state the liquids were in.
    "If it's got a turbine, don't go firing it up in here. The last thing we need is this thing pumping out carbon monoxide in an enclosed space."
    "There is battery power. We'll use that to move it out of here so the wagons will fit in."
    "And then you'll fire up the turbine and want it even more."
    "Maybe."
    "Father, I can see the plan you're plotting. And it's crazy and dangerous."
    "So was coming here at all.