Beneath the Fallen City

by Jamie A. Waters

  She leaned forward as she pulled back on the thrust lever. The bike engine roared and shot forward at near breakneck speed. Let’s see how well you can ride, Carl.

  Kayla crouched low on her bike. The wind rushed around her as she pushed the bike to its limits. Angling into a turn, she shifted herself slightly toward the edge of the seat and brought the bike nearly to the ground before pulling out of the turn. She glanced into her mirror and saw she’d left the other bikes far behind.

  Kayla continued driving for another ten minutes until she was sure she’d lost them. She and Veridian had designated meeting locations for those times they needed to outrun traders and their crew. She turned her bike around and went the long way back toward Sector 3, one of the few cleared sectors, making sure not to cross Carl’s path.

  When she arrived, Veridian was already waiting for her under the UV Guard. He was clearly agitated, pacing under the artificial shade. The moment she pulled off her helmet, he asked, “You lost them?”

  “Of course. I drove around making sure before working my way back here.”

  She pulled the cabling device off her bike and handed it to Veridian to reattach to his bike. “I didn’t think they’d be onto us so quickly. Carl must have known you’d try to go back into the ruins before the week was up.”

  Kayla shrugged and opened up her backpack to make sure the artifacts hadn’t been damaged. A beep from Veridian’s bike radar made her look up.

  “What is it?”

  He stared at the radar. “Shit, we’ve got three bikes headed this way. They must have followed you.”

  She shook her head in denial. “No freaking way. I lost them.”

  “Could they have gotten back into our coms?”

  Kayla considered the possibility for a moment. “I don’t see how. Why the hell are they chasing us down for a couple of stupid artifacts? He’s worse than a rash that won’t go away.”

  “Do you want to take off?”

  “Nah,” Kayla stretched her arms over her head and then leaned against the bike. “Not much point if the bastard is tracking us. Let’s find out what he wants.”

  Veridian frowned but didn’t object. They waited while the three bikes pulled up. Carl dismounted, along with Cruncher and Xantham.

  Xantham pulled off his helmet and stared at Kayla. “Fuck me sideways. Where the hell did you learn to ride, girl? I’ve never seen anyone with moves like that.”

  She grinned and winked at him. “You pick it up quick when you have to outrun traders and their crew.”

  Carl pulled off his helmet. “Kayla, we need to talk.”

  She yawned. “Nice to see you too, Carl. But I’m a little busy right now getting my much-needed rest. You see, I’m still technically grounded, but I thought the fresh air might do me some good.”

  “You sure looked pretty damn healthy for someone flying out of Sector 12 earlier.”

  Kayla blinked at him. “Business for you traders must be really slow if you’re willing to chase me across half the district. If you need the credits so bad, go ahead and search us. But keep Leo out of this. He didn’t know I was coming here. I waited two days, which was more than fair.”

  Carl shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I need to talk to you about Ramiro.”

  Kayla's shoulders tensed. There was no way she was going to discuss Ramiro beyond what she had revealed the other day. “There’s nothing to talk about. The guy’s an asshole and I plan on staying as far away from him as I can get. I’m more interested in knowing how you knew I’d be here. I know for a fact that my coms and Leo’s system are squeaky clean. I spent the last two days…”

  Kayla’s eyes widened as a thought struck her and she jerked upright. “You sneaky bastard. You put a tracker on my bike when I came to your camp the other day, didn't you?”

  “Kayla, that’s not important right now,” Carl began.

  She ignored him and crouched down next to her bike, pulling a flashlight out of her pocket. If there was a tracking device somewhere, she'd find it.

  “Ramiro’s gone off the deep end. He’s looking for you.”

  Kayla ran her fingers along the underside of the engine, wondering what it would take to get him to drop the subject. “Yeah, yeah, what else is new?”

  “Dammit, Kayla.” Carl sighed, then walked over and pulled the miniature tracking device off her bike. He handed it to her, taking away her distraction. “Will you please talk to me now?”

  She looked at the device and pouted. “I would have found it.”

  He nodded. “I know. I’m trying to save a little bit of time. We have a problem with Ramiro. He’s been trying to access my com system.”

  “That sounds like your problem, not mine.” She stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants.

  “I’m afraid it’s not. Xantham went ahead and let him into our system enough to find out what he was looking for. He’s looking for you. Cruncher did some checking and found out Ramiro’s put a price on you.”

  Kayla paused while she tried to wrap her mind around what he was saying. Her brow furrowed, and she gave a slight shake of her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. He might have gotten a little worked up the other day, but the Aurelia Data Cube incident happened a year ago. Why would he bother doing something now? Besides, he already knows he hurt…”

  She pushed away those thoughts and straightened her shoulders. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. It’s done. It’s in the past. I stay out of Ramiro’s way and he leaves me alone.”

  A look of guilt flashed across Carl's face but disappeared so fast Kayla wondered if she'd imagined it. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple anymore. Ramiro broke the rules. You may think that as a trader we can do whatever the hell we want, but that’s not the case. Based on his own admission, I petitioned OmniLab to have his trader status revoked.”

  Kayla’s eyes widened. “Why the hell would you do a thing like that? Shit, Carl, he’s going to blame me. If he didn’t already want to permanently dump my databanks, he definitely will now. If you wanted me out of your district so badly, you could have at least given me a head’s up to get the hell out of OmniLab territory.”

  Veridian ran a jerky hand through his hair, looking worried. “Can you call OmniLab and tell them you made a mistake?”

  “I can’t,” Carl said simply. “The other two traders have signed off on the petition and OmniLab is investigating. But even if I could call it off, I wouldn’t. As it is, you don’t trust us. The only way we’re ever going to be able to repair the relationship between traders and ruin rats is if we’re held accountable for our actions.”

  “At the risk of getting Kayla killed?” Veridian demanded.

  “Not if I can help it.” Carl turned to Kayla, holding out his hands in apology. “I wasn’t expecting Ramiro to respond this way. For that, I take full responsibility. I know what you think of traders, but I can protect you. Ramiro’s going to be throwing all of his resources into hunting you down. He seems to think if he gets rid of you, he’ll eliminate the threat of being removed as a trader. If you accept the offer I made, I can help you. I can keep you safe.”

  Kayla’s eyes narrowed. “How?”

  “If you join my crew, you’ll be in a secure base. You’ll have my resources backing you. Otherwise, you won’t last more than a couple of days on your own. Look how easy it was for me to track you down. It’ll be just as easy for Ramiro.”

  She gaped at him. Were they really back to that again? She didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in her voice. “Oh, isn’t that convenient? Forget it. I’ll take my chances with Ramiro. At least if he kills me, there’ll be some poetic justice in that.”

  “Kayla,” Veridian's voice was soft but insistent, his eyes full of concern.

  She shook her head. “Oh no, V, don’t you look at me like that. You know I can’t. I won’t do it.”

  Veridian walked up to her and took her hands in his. “Carl’s right. You need to do this. I’ve been trying to help you pick up the pieces for the pas
t year, but I can’t help you with this. You owe it to Pretz to accept this offer. Don’t let Ramiro hurt you.”

  Kayla tried to pull away. “Don’t you dare bring him up.”

  Veridian gripped her tighter, not letting go. “I can’t lose you, Kayla. You’re the only family I have left.”

  His pained words tore through her and she bowed her head, closing her eyes tight. She wanted to scream in frustration. The thought of hurting Veridian was like a knife tearing through her, but she didn't know how she could possibly reconcile her emotions enough to work for OmniLab.

  As though sensing her need for movement, Veridian released her. She stepped away, feeling torn. Pacing around the small area under the portable UV Guard, she kicked at her bike. Running her hands through her hair in agitation, she contemplated her options. Sadly, there weren't many. She turned to look at Carl, who seemed to be waiting for her to come to the conclusion he'd already reached. She swallowed and hung her head. “How long?”

  “The contract would be for a year,” Carl replied, and exhaled as though he'd been holding his breath. “It’s an OmniLab contract and their requirement, not mine. You can leave after that, if that’s what you still want.”

  She turned away and stared off into the horizon. The sun was beginning to set. Fitting.

  “Kayla, I’m not trying to force you into this. I honestly had no idea Ramiro would target you. If anything, I figured he would have gone after me. It was never my intention to put you in danger. If I could protect you at Leo’s camp, I would. I wanted you to join my crew willingly, not like this.”

  “I know,” she said in annoyance and turned around to look at him. “Dammit, I know. For what it’s worth, I appreciate it. You’re not a bad guy, Carl. You’re a pain in the ass, but you’re not a bad guy.”

  Veridian looked hopeful. “So you’ll agree to join him?”

  “Yeah,” she said in dejection, shoving her hands in her back pockets. “Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice if I want to keep breathing.”

  Carl nodded and Cruncher handed him a small computer tablet. He pulled up the contract and offered it to her.

  “It’s the same contract you reviewed the other day,” he explained. “Just press your thumb on the bottom panel. It’ll scan your thumbprint and take a small blood sample to record your DNA.”

  Kayla took the contract from him. “And Veridian?”

  Carl nodded. “His contract is already prepared. It would be in his best interest to join us too. I’m sure Ramiro knows that the easiest way to get to you is through Veridian.”

  Kayla looked down at the tablet. She pressed her thumb against the bottom panel until she felt a slight pinch. The tablet beeped its acceptance of her sample. It was such a small thing, but she felt like she'd just signed part of herself away. Struggling to keep her hand from shaking, she handed it back to Carl. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. He pressed a few buttons before passing it to Veridian.

  Veridian scanned the document and pressed his thumb against it. When it beeped, Carl took the tablet. “Well, it didn’t happen quite the way I hoped, but I’m glad you’re part of the team. I’ve sent your contracts directly to OmniLab to be recorded. You’re now authorized to act on my behalf throughout this district.”

  Cruncher grinned and shook Veridian’s hand, then gave Kayla a big bear hug. “Welcome to the dark side, kiddo. I’m glad you came around.”

  She couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Yeah, well, let’s see if you’re still saying that after a year.”

  Xantham grabbed her, picked her up, and swung her around. He kissed her cheek and exclaimed, “Shit, girl! This is going to be great.”

  She laughed as Xantham put her down. Carl smiled at them. “If you don’t mind, I think it might be safest if you came back directly to our camp, Kayla. Veridian, Cruncher can go with you to pick up your things and escort you back.”

  Kayla and Veridian exchanged a look and Veridian shook his head. “That’s okay. I think I should go alone. If Cruncher comes to Leo’s camp, a lot of people are going to freak out. I need to talk to Leo and explain it to him. I’ll stay there tonight and come over tomorrow with our things.”

  Carl nodded in agreement.

  Veridian hugged Kayla. “Thanks. You’re doing the right thing.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered but squeezed him tightly as she returned his hug. After she pulled away, she picked up her helmet and glanced back at her bike where the purloined items were hidden.

  “So, now that I’m part of your crew, do I have to turn over the loot I scavenged earlier?”

  Cruncher and Xantham chuckled while Carl closed his eyes and shook his head in exasperation. Kayla gave them a small shrug. Did they really think she'd been taking in the view?

  “We’ll figure it out.” Carl sighed. “It’s getting late and I want to get back to camp and find out what’s going on with Ramiro. They’ve been monitoring his chatter back at camp. I had to bring Xantham with me to help track you.”

  “All right,” Kayla agreed and mounted her bike with the others. Veridian disengaged the UV Guard and gave her a wave before taking off toward Leo’s camp. She hesitated a moment, wanting to follow him but dutifully turned her bike to follow Carl and the others back toward their camp.

  * * *

  When they arrived, Kayla dismounted and followed Carl inside. Even though she had just been there a few days ago, things were entirely different now. She followed the example of the men, hanging up her helmet and jacket at the entrance.

  “Let me show you where you’ll be staying,” Carl offered. She bit her lip but nodded in agreement. Her feet felt heavy as she trudged behind him into the crew’s quarters.

  Someone had already set up two additional sleeping areas, complete with privacy dividers. There was a storage locker and a desk in each area. The personal areas were about three times the size of what she had at Leo’s camp. She couldn't help but feel annoyed at the sight though. These areas hadn't been there a few days ago. Cocky bastard knew we’d accept before he even came out to find me.

  Her first instinct was to snap at him for his assumption. But when she looked up at him, his brows were furrowed as though he was worried about her reaction. She faltered, wondering if she could be reading him wrong. Most traders wouldn't have cared about what happened to someone like her, much less sought her out and offered to protect her. Biting back her retort, she said, “Pretty nice.”

  Carl gave her a warm smile, looking pleased at her comment. “If there’s anything else you need, let me know. I want you to be happy here, Kayla.”

  Kayla looked up in surprise, the intensity of his gaze making her stomach do a neat little somersault. Oh, crap, he’s got the most incredible eyes.

  “Thanks, Carl,” she managed with a weak smile. “I can’t imagine needing anything else, except maybe some clean clothes. I’m not sure what time Veridian’s going to make it back.”

  “I can help with that,” Jinx called out from her private area, making it obvious she'd been listening to their conversation. She popped her head out with a grin, her eyes twinkling. “I’m glad you decided to join us. I know you probably weren’t ready to make the leap, but we’re happy to have you on the team. You can borrow some of mine until you get your things. I’ll leave them in your locker.”

  “Thanks.”

  Carl cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. “Kayla, if you want, I’d like to take you over to the tech room. You should become familiar with our system and we need to configure your comlink for our frequencies. We can check with Xantham too and find out what’s going on with Ramiro.”

  “Sure.” With another wave at Jinx, she followed Carl out of the crew’s quarters and into the tech room. Cruncher and Zane were in the room working on one of the systems.

  When she walked in, Zane stood up and greeted her. “Welcome to the crew.”

  Xantham came skidding into the room. His face lit up at the sight of her and he flashed a huge
grin. “This is going to be great! Kayla, wait until you see some of the toys we’re getting in the next few weeks.”

  Kayla laughed at their enthusiasm. Although she still felt a little uncomfortable, they seemed to be going out of their way to make her feel welcome. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.”

  * * * *

  Carl and Xantham had disappeared and left her with Cruncher, explaining they needed to configure their communication settings to allow her access to their frequencies. Cruncher was in the process of giving her an overview of their system map and she leaned over to get a closer look. It looked like a security grid around the camp.

  She had to remind herself she was playing for the other team now as Cruncher pointed to the screen and launched into an explanation. “These systems track any movement within range. Any guests, invited or uninvited, are picked up. Our bikes have monitors that let us know when it’s one of us approaching or someone else. We’ll install one on your bike tomorrow morning.”

  She nodded. The system appeared much more sophisticated than what they had at Leo’s camp but there were some similarities. She made a mental note to investigate it more fully later on. For research purposes, of course. After all, her contract was only for a year.

  Cruncher moved over to another computer that monitored the camp’s UV Guard, air flow, temperature, light, and energy. Kayla looked at it and frowned, pointing to some numbers. “You guys are using way too much energy on your cooling unit.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Oh? You think you can do better?”

  “Pfft,” she said with a grin, unable to resist a challenge. “Watch and learn.”

  He turned over the controls to her and watched as she rerouted the energy fields throughout the camp. After about thirty minutes, she turned the controls back over to him.

  “Damn, girl,” he muttered as he reviewed her work. “Where did you learn to do this?”

  She gave a small shrug. “Here and there. But while I was doing that, I noticed some potential energy conflicts with some of the new gizmos you’re testing. I think they might be causing a few hiccups in your system. A few months ago, I wrote a program that can help smooth some of these out. Mind if I upload it and run a scan to fix the problems?”