Page 10 of Ruin (Villains for Hire)

L ira’s pulse set to hammering, the rapid thud of it throbbing behind her eyes. The musty air suddenly felt thick and suffocating. The walls of the narrow passageway seemed to press in on her.

She tried to focus past the clawing panic, to think of what to do next, but her mind felt like it was full of static.

What if Ruin never woke up? What if he was wrong, and the poison was lethal?

Forcing herself to draw in a slow, calming breath past the choking tightness, she pressed her forehead to his shoulder, letting his scent and the steady rise and fall of his chest soothe her.

He wasn’t dying. He was just… sleeping. Sort of.

Exhaling shakily, she concentrated on pushing back the fear. He couldn’t afford for her to fall apart. He needed her to be strong.

First things first, she had to get him somewhere safer. Preferably back to their hideout.

When she felt more in control, she maneuvered around, hooked her arms under his, and heaved. Teeth gritted, muscles screaming in protest, she put everything she had into moving him.

After several agonizing minutes of straining and grunting, she’d only succeeded in dragging him about a foot.

Sweat dripped into her eyes, stinging painfully, and her arms trembled with exhaustion. Admitting defeat, she propped him back against the wall and stood. Lira scanned the dim passageway, searching for anything that might help her transport his massiveness back to their hideout.

Scattered trash, a pile of scrap metal, some tattered old rags of what might’ve once been clothing. None of it helpful.

Her gaze slid back to the pile of metal and narrowed. Something about the shape of it was oddly familiar. Walking over to it, she pushed aside the debris, brows shooting up when she realized what she’d found.

It was a maintenance bot, but she hadn’t seen this model in use in… well, for as long as she could remember.

Even dented and cracked, the metallic exoskeleton torn open in places to reveal the inner nodes and crystalline filamentation, it still looked to be in surprisingly good shape.

Streamlined and sleek, with four arthropod wings along its narrow back and half a dozen thin, nimble limbs, it was made to navigate tight spaces. She knew, somehow, it was Quicksilk tech, though how she knew that was a mystery.

She was also pretty sure she knew how to fix it.

This wasn’t the first time she’d gotten a feeling like this—an intuition that she possessed knowledge she couldn’t remember learning. Erasing someone’s memories wasn’t the same as erasing the things they knew.

This might just work. If she could get it powered up, it’d be more than capable of carrying Ruin for her.

Of course, that was a big ‘if.’

“Can’t know until we try,” she whispered under her breath.

Casting one more glance back at Ruin, just to make sure he was still breathing and didn’t look uncomfortable, she got to work.

With a hard exhale, she let her mind go blank and just… started. Her hands seemed to move of their own accord, repairing connections and rerouting burnt filaments with a precision that felt almost instinctual, as if she’d done this a thousand times.

Time seemed to blur as she lost herself in the work, barely noticing the ache in her back or the grime coating her hands.

After what felt like hours, she sat back and wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Okay, let's see if this works.” She pressed the activation node and held her breath.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Just as her shoulders began to slump, it gave a soft whir and the photoreceptors flickered to life, glowing a pale pink. Its wings twitched and unfurled as it jerkily lifted itself up on spindly legs.

A slow smile grew as she peered up at the now-standing bot until she was grinning so widely her cheeks ached.

“I did it.” She huffed an incredulous laugh. “I can’t believe I actually did it.”

The bot swiveled its narrow head toward her, two long antennae twitching. The photoreceptors, made to appear like large black eyes, pulsed with a soft pink light as it scanned her.

“Hello. I’m Lira. Can you vocalize?”

It gave a tinny, “ Brr-ta zeep .”

“Okay, um, how about… nod your head like this for ‘yes’, and shake it like this for ‘no’. Can you do that?”

It nodded, antennae twitching.

Pointing to where Ruin lay slumped against the far wall, she asked, “Can you carry that much weight?”

The bot nodded confidently and skittered over, its articulated legs easily navigating the uneven floor. She sucked in a breath just as it reached for him, holding out a staying hand.

“Be careful, please. He’s—” She paused. Ruin wasn’t fragile by any stretch of the imagination, and yet… “He’s mine.”

With surprising gentleness, it maneuvered its two front limbs under Ruin's body and lifted him.

As it stood up on its back four legs, holding Ruin aloft with the front two, Lira's brows rose. The bot was much taller than she’d anticipated now that it was standing. It was also kind of creepy looming over her like that, holding the most important being in her universe.

It tilted its head down at her, then looked at the unconscious Ruin cradled in its grasp, then back at her, tilting its head again in what felt like a questioning manner.

Creepy in a cute way , she amended.

“You did good. That’s perfect, thank you.”

The bot’s wings gave a wiggly flutter in response to the praise.

Lips quirking, she waved. “Okay, follow me. We need to get him back to our hideout.”

She hadn’t gone more than a step when a thought had her turning abruptly to squint up at the bot. “Is anyone accessing, or able to access, your visual data? Or control you?”

It shook its head.

“Would you tell me if there was?”

It nodded vigorously.

Lira studied it a moment longer, then gave a little nod of acceptance. “Alright, let's go then.”

As they made their way through the winding passages, Lira kept glancing back nervously, both to check on Ruin and to make sure they weren't being followed. Even upright, the bot moved gracefully, keeping Ruin's unconscious form steady, and there wasn’t any sign of another being in the corridors.

Still, every shadow made her flinch, every distant sound had her whipping her head around.

Finally, the hideout came into view.

Lira's palms went clammy as they approached. Ruin had sensors and security measures scattered throughout the area, invisible to the naked eye, but deadly.

That morning, before they left, he’d added her bio-signatures to the nexus, so it should be safe. But there was no way to know if him being unconscious changed things.

She pulled in a deep breath and glanced up at the bot. “There are security measures, okay? So be really careful. And stay right next to me.”

Its antennae twitched in acknowledgment, big black eyes flashing pink.

Moving slowly, she followed the path Ruin always took, steps cautious and deliberate. Every muscle was tense, her nerves frayed. She more than half expected to be shot or blown up any second.

They made it into the old warehouse without incident, but she didn’t relax. Arriving at the door to their room, she disengaged the lock with a grimace, shoulders hitched up around her ears. A soft beep sounded, making her entire body jolt with expectation…

And then the door swished open.

Exhaling shakily, she ushered the bot inside, then closed and locked the door behind them.

“Gods, that was stressful,” she croaked, slumping back against the door.

“Zzr bikbik.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, on the bed, please.”

The bot deposited Ruin onto the mattress with the utmost care. As soon as it stepped back, she moved to his side, immediately seeking the pulse point on his neck. Still steady.

Lira brushed her fingers over his cheek, tracing the familiar lines of his scars, noting how his harsh features had softened in unconsciousness. At least he didn't appear to be in any pain.

“Please be okay,” she whispered.

A series of soft clicks and whirs drew her attention back to find the bot’s head tilted, antennae twitching.

“He's alright. Just unconscious. An assassin poisoned him, but he said it's non-lethal.” The words felt hollow and did little to ease the knot of worry in her stomach.

The bot gave a low, sympathetic beep.

“Me too.” She sucked in an excited breath. “Hey, can you monitor him? Track his life signs and alert me if anything changes?”

“Sspop!”

“Oh, that’s amazing. Thank you.”

Realizing there was nothing more she could do but wait and hope whoever Ruin had called for backup arrived soon, she pulled a chair up next to the bed, determined to keep watch until he woke.

One hand rested on his chest, finding comfort in the steady rise and fall. The other clutched one of the knives he'd given her, ready to defend them both if needed.

Minutes ticked by. The silence pressed in, and her eyes burned with exhaustion, but she fought against the heaviness of her lids.

Lira jolted awake, blinking heavily and looking around, trying to figure out what had disturbed her. The door was still closed and the bot… was pointing at the bed?

Whipping around, she gasped. “You’re awake!”

Ruin’s eyes, usually so bright and alert, were hazy and unfocused. Sweat beaded on his pale skin, making the black tattoos stand out even more starkly.

Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch his face. “You're burning!”

His lips moved, but no sound came out. He tried again, his voice a hoarse rasp. “Water.”

“Of course, of course.”

She scrambled off the chair. Her legs felt wobbly, pins and needles prickling through her muscles from sitting so long. She stumbled to the small table, grabbing one of the drink tubes from the pile.

Hurrying back to the bed, she almost spilled the water in her haste.

He gulped greedily, droplets running down his chin. When he finished, he fell back against the pillow, chest heaving.

Lira perched on the edge of the bed, her hand finding his.

“Fuck,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut briefly before squinting at the bot in the corner. “The hells is that?”

“I found it. I couldn’t carry you, so I fixed it and it carried you back here for me.”

With effort, he raised his arm and focused blearily on his sub-dermal implant. Whatever he saw there made him relax back against the bed.

“S’clean. No trackers.”

Glad to know the robot had been telling the truth, she let out a quiet breath.

“How do you feel?” she asked, hating how small and scared her voice sounded.

A weak smile tugged at his lips. “Like shit, little bird.”

Despite everything, her stomach fluttered at the endearment. She tried to smile back, but it felt wobbly.

“Is there anything I can do? Should I try to find a medic or?—”

“No,” Ruin cut her off, his grip on her hand tightening. “Too dangerous. Just… gotta ride it out.”

She bit her lip, torn between the need to do something, anything, and the fear of leaving him alone. “What about the crates? Is there anything in there that could help? Even just a cold compress for the fever?”

Ruin nodded, his eyes drifting closed again.

Relieved to have some way to help, she reluctantly let go of his hand and went to the cleansing room. Finding a cloth, she emptied another drinking tube onto it, then returned to his side. Gently, she placed it on his forehead.

He hissed at the contact, then sighed as the coolness seeped into his heated skin. “Thanks, bird,” he murmured.

She sat back down and watched the rise and fall of his chest, counting each breath like it was the most precious thing in the universe. Because it was.

He was.

The silence stretched and her mind wandered, imagining all the horrible things that could happen. What if backup didn't arrive in time? What if more assassins found them? What if the poison did something irreversible? What if?—

“Stop it,” Ruin's gruff voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

Lira blinked, focusing on his face. His eyes were open again, watching her with a mixture of fondness and exasperation.

“Stop what?”

“Worryin',” he said, reaching out to brush his fingers against her cheek. “I can see the wheels turnin' in that pretty head of yours.”

She leaned into his touch, savoring the contact even as her heart ached. “Can't help it,” she whispered. “I'm worried about you.”

His expression softened, something vulnerable flickering in his eyes. “I ain't goin' anywhere. Promised to keep you safe, didn't I?”

She nodded, tears pricking at her eyes, and caught his hand in hers, pressing a kiss to his palm. “But who's going to keep you safe?”

A deep purr rumbled in his chest. “Got you for that, don't I?”

The simple statement hit her with a sudden jolt and left her reeling. He trusted her. Needed her. The realization was both terrifying and exhilarating.

“Yeah,” she breathed, voice thick with emotion. “You do.”

His eyes drifted closed again, his breathing evening out. She sat there, holding his hand, watching over him as the hours ticked by.

She'd be damned if she let anything happen to him on her watch.