Page 15

Chapter Nine

A nde sucked hydro-gel into his mouth, his gaze fixed on the holo as his fingers controlled his avatar’s movements. Some sort of racing car whizzed around a corner, killing a pedestrian. “Where the fuck have you been, Vic?”

“How long have I been gone?” She disappeared into her room, throwing her carry-all onto the bed. The memory foam dented to accommodate it.

“Six days, but the Ring said they were videoing you or some such bullshit,” he said, leaning against the doorframe, stuttering the door as it attempted to close.

“You look good though, no bruising, no hindered movements. I expected worse after Fortuna’s defeat.

Gotta love Carne’s medical teams.” His black curls flopped over his umber brow, snagging her gaze which traveled over his bulging arms straining his F-suit.

“Did you just come from sparring?” Vic flicked her fingers at his fight-suit made of a steel-thread-polymer mesh. It fit him like a glove, curling over his tight ass like a lover’s caress. She sighed, cursing the fates that made her best friend gay.

“The question is, where did you come from? Is that a hygiene wrap?”

“Carne thought I needed improvements,” she said, tossing in her oldest clothing. Where she was heading, evening and sparring garments wouldn’t be of use.

“Shit.” Ande’s curls bounced when he jerked forward to grab her shoulders. “What did they do?”

He ran his fingers over her bare skin, summoning shivers.

She wasn’t used to caresses of any sort.

Yanked, punched, shoved, or flipped was the extent of her physical contact.

Able to feel his touch meant her nervous system had accepted the cybernetics.

It took a few days, so they said. It explained why she’d yanked out the shard of glass without writhing in agony.

Nanos had swarmed the wound, repairing the severed mechanics and lacerated pseudo-skin.

“They caused an accident that tore off my left arm and leg.” She separated the magnets and shucked off her hygiene wrap, letting it pool on the floor. Uncaring that she stood there in the nude, she twisted her left arm, showing Ande all the angles.

He whistled, tracing a thin scar that ran over her shoulder, around her breast, and across her ribs.

“That’s a beaut, sweetheart.” A similar scar curved over her hip, denting her ass cheek.

She watched him in the mirror trace the line with a steady fingertip.

“They did this in days? Holy shit, Vic, they must have thrown their best at you.”

“It’s the final straw, Ande. I said no to cybernetic enhancements.

I was proud of my all-natural ability to defeat my opponents.

” She dipped, scooped up the medical wrap, and tossed it on the bed.

“I made the representative relinquish ownership, but despite the witnesses, I doubt Carne will consider this legally valid.”

“Farg no. You are…were their biggest draw.” Ande flopped onto the bed. “They care nothing for human lives, Vic. Those witnesses will be dead by tomorrow.”

She stilled, sucked in a sharp breath, then slumped. “I know.”

He was right. Carne wouldn’t see this as done. They’d rise to the challenge, hunt her down by all means necessary. She had to leave…Earth. Kicking Pa off the farm and running it herself was no longer an option. A lump formed in her throat, matching the heavy weight squeezing her heart in a vice.

With a yank and tug, she wore her old worker breeches, the oil stains having taken up residence.

It was a little tight over her backside, but she’d been a decade younger when she’d last worn them.

Next were her trusty old boots. Thankfully, Ande hadn’t incinerated them when she’d swapped them for new ones so many years ago.

She pulled on a plain white tank, which shimmered as it shrank to conform to her body.

Sex sells, and accentuating her curves meant she was a whore-extraordinaire, selling more Ring tickets.

It wasn’t unusual for the P.R. department to fake relationships between fellow fighters.

Too many times she had to drape herself across a gladiator’s body, but the contact was fleeting and brought no comfort to her lonely soul.

“Now what? If you skip out before the ceremony, you’re under the Ring’s thumb anyway?”

“Farg them, not when their ‘word’ means nothing.” She zipped shut the heat-res suit, the final layer protective against the sun’s rays.

With flicks of her fingers, she wrapped the aged strips around her wrists and forearms to cover the tears in the suit.

Farg, she should have invested in a new suit, rather than deal with this.

“I’m heading home, selling the farm, and taking to the stars.

You in, or are you going to waste more time on them?

No offense, babe, but winning your next deca-match isn’t guaranteed. ”

She tried not to hold her breath, to place too much importance on Ande coming with her.

He stood to lose so much more with time left in his contract.

After losing his deca-match, he had two more years to become a champion before they renewed his contract for another decade.

Yet… Ignoring the fluttering in her chest, she nibbled on her bottom lip.

She needed him to share this adventure with her.

Doing this alone was too daunting to contemplate.

“What’s the destination?” He folded his arms across his sculpted chest. Scars marred his forearms, some from lucky opponents, some from cybernetics. He had to accept the enhancements after his first near-death match.

“I’ll take anything off-world.” With a biometric thumbprint, she activated the magnetic fastenings sealing the bag.

She faced the mirror, her fingers flying over the controls as it scanned her face and hair, removing the artificial coloring.

Her auburn hair faded to fawn, and her eyes once more their lackluster mud-brown.

Around them, crow’s feet had formed. She forced a smile, staring at the single dimple on her left cheek as if it was new. She didn’t recognize her older self.

“Fine, want to wait for me, or should I meet you at Lunar Base?”

Tears stung her eyes, but she didn’t shed them, having not cried since her father betrayed her. She was so grateful to Ande that she wasn’t facing this path on her own. Not making eye contact in the mirror, she kept her head down, just needing a moment to gain control of her silly emotions.

“I’ll send you a location marker when I get there,” she said, squeezing his arm before striding out of her apartment, not looking back.

Having moved up the rungs, feeling any attachment to materialistic things meant giving her trainers leverage.

Even attachments to fellow fighters cost her.

Ande was big and downright menacing. Their friendship had stood against manipulations and rumors.

She latched her bag to her sol-cycle and swung her leg over the seat as the Ring’s security pulled in front of the building. From the shadows, she watched them scurry through the glass doors as their autodrives’ hovered.

Not sparing Ande a thought when he could handle a small security band, she tapped her helmet on and steered her sol-cycle toward the old harbor.

A tunnel separated the safe and unsafe zones.

She climbed out, gasping when the sun hit her.

The heat was intense, but no worse than she remembered.

She just wasn’t used to it anymore. Still, she relished the burn, as if it greeted her after her long absence.

Outside the dome’s protection, the sun beat down, killing anyone foolish enough not to wear protection.

Abandoned and rusted tankers cast sharp shadows, cooling the sand.

The homeless occupied the cruise liner leaning to the side and many cabins from yachts, fishing boats, or tugboats protruded from the shifting sands.

She drove down a dune and skimmed the dry-bed’s surface in the direction of Deadweed.

No roads scarred the seabed since the winds shifted them daily, obscuring any definitive paths.

She opened the throttle. It had been a decade since she last saw her home.

Ten long years since the day Erv had collected her.

She had a score to settle with the folks of Deadweed, with Jolson, with Pa.

If she saw them, she would consider her next venture blessed.

She would make fargen sure that both men would see her fist coming.

Year: 2219

Deadweed

V ic stepped inside Leviathan, and the stench of old sweed hit her. It tweaked her nose even as nostalgia snatched her breath. The customers turned as one, watching her stride to the bar behind which stood Cleg, older but none the smarter.

“Vic?” He arched a bushy eyebrow, sneaking glances between her and the holo announcing her death.

So, that’s how they want to play it? She snorted.

The images showed her spinning full circle amid ticker tape stats and past kills.

She had to admit that the last decade had treated her well.

The holo of her was from the deathmatch.

“You haven’t seen me, Cleg.” Vic faced the room. “None of you have. I’m popping in to visit Ren, then I’m gone.”

“What do you want with my pa?” Junior rose, his lank body as shriveled as she remembered.

She smiled, delighted for something to have gone her way.

Nudging her head toward the door, she asked him in a genteel manner to meet her outside.

He hesitated, and she didn’t blame him. Anyone with a little intelligence would expect death at her skilled hands, yet he scurried out the door just as Jolson burst in.

The sight of him ripped a fresh hole through her.

Sharp pain pierced and throbbed, cinching her chest with renewed anger.