Shopping in Whitetower

The group is back on the road. Zed has swapped his old Kevlar vest for a brand new model from the vaults of LAW’s arsenal, a parting gift from his old jhat. He rides a dirtbike, always ahead of Mal Porter’s Conquistador. The LAW-markings on its tank have been painted over. And while judge Korvanova left Mal without his signature rifle, his car is in better shape than ever. The men are traveling east: A dead Man’s GPS points out a place called George Madison Correctional Facility, and if they are to learn more about the false benefactors, then this is their best lead.
They decide to take it slow. From Memphis, they could reach the place in a day’s driving, but they decide to spend a night in Whitetower before moving on.


They reach this bustling nexus between Memphis, Santeria and Holy Flame City in the late afternoon. Zed quickly makes out a LAW-patrol. While the old man of Whitetower never submitted to a permanent presence of LAW, there is always a good chance of meeting a Judge in the shadow of the tower. The LAW-soldier guarding the jhat’s vehicles points Zed in the right direction: Lola’s Bar and Diner, a circus-sized tent festooned with red and yellow lights, one of the most underrated meeting points in the Wastes. Lola allows no guns in her establishment, so they leave their hardware in the Conquistador. Inside, Zed and Rod quickly make out Judge Bozeman and his troupe: four men and one woman in heavy armor and wearing the three letters of the law. Bozeman knows Judge Boyd and is happy to hear of his recuperation. He patrols the popular routes towards New York, and while he never visited the old jail himself, he has some things to say about it. “It’s called Refugium now. The inhabitants use the jail as a kind of fortress. They collect books and DVDs. You get there by following the eastern road for twenty clicks, then there’s a t-crossing, with road signs and all. From there, it’s another twenty clicks south to a place called Good Water. The route between Good Water and Refugium was dangerous, but that trouble has passed. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.” “Do we have people there?” Zed asks. The female soldier, a flint-eyed shrew called Mariah, speaks up “The Tribunal asked the people there repeatedly if they would like us to station a Judge in their town, but they always declined. And while they were never hostile, they will probably be less than enthusiastic about a member of LAW turning up. Maybe you should stay incognito.” Zed nods.
At the same time, Mal and Dan Hawking frequent the bar. They make the acquaintance of the legendary Lola, and after learning that Whitetower is a good place for acquiring new weapons, they visit Saint’s arsenal, the local armory which doubles as a gunshop. Dan wants a backup gun after losing his silenced Glock to LAW’s depredations, and Mal just goes along for the joy of haggling. An ancient and quite loquacious merchant named Miles receives them. The walls of the room are hung with firearms, and although there are an impressive number of guns on display, there is not much choice. After interminable dithering, Dan settles for a Glock 17, its parts scavenged from half a dozen other pistols. All the while, Mal looks at the rifles at the wall: some hunting rifles in various calibers, one M16 variant and a FN FAL. After Dan is done, Mal asks Miles to hand him the FN FAL. “That’s a lot of rifle for someone of your size and build. But it is really deadly. Will go through your normal vest like nothing. Semiautomatic, because no one would be able to handle this monster on full-auto. 20-shot box mag, and I’ll throw in two further mags if you buy it.” Mal weighs the gun. As he turns it in his hands, he realizes that it is worse in nearly all respects to the Dragunov Korvanova took off him. Handles differently. Heavier, and yet somehow not as sturdy. The Magazine sticks out for half a mile and Mal just knows it will snag on the rim of his hatch. But he needs something to make really big holes. He sighs. “How much?”
The next morning, the small convoy leaves Whitetower for Good Water.