by Lucy Smoke
I turn abruptly and face him, shrugging away his hands. "What is your problem?" I snap.
"Why do you want to know about Levi?" he asks.
"I was just asking, dipshit." I scowl. "You don't need to get so defensive about it."
"Are you interested in him?" Aaron demands.
My eyebrows fly up as I stare at him, gaping mouth hanging loose. An unladylike snort erupts, and I press the back of one hand to the lower half of my face as my mouth snaps closed again. He frowns in confusion, but leans forward anyway, trying to intimidate me with his size.
"If you are–"
I wave my free hand at him, cutting him off. "No, I'm not." I try to hold more snorting laughter back. "You have nothing to fear. I'm not interested in your boy."
"How do I know you're not lying to me?"
I drop my hands down to press on his chest. Muscles bunch under my fingertips as I push him back a few inches. He lets me and that's the only reason I'm able to. I debate on telling him and decide that it couldn't hurt.
"I'm not in love with your boy," I say plainly. "I'm not interested in him. So, no worries, I'm not planning on seducing him or anything."
"You don't have to be interested or in love with someone to be attracted to them," he points out.
I'm shaking my head before he's even finished his sentence. "I do," I say. "I won't fuck someone I don't love."
He blinks at me, still frowning and I pat his chest as he anchors away, giving me some breathing room. "And if you feel that strongly about it, I'll try extra hard to make sure I don't fall in love with your boyfriend," I say it jokingly, but as I turn and make my way down the hallway, I don't hear Aaron refute the statement.
Aaron follows me out of the hallway and meets Levi and me at the front door. Together, we exit and when Levi heads towards the elevator, I notice Aaron shake his head and nod towards the stairwell. I glance at him out of the corner of my eye and though I don't say anything, I'm thankful that he remembered my dislike for elevators.
We hit the streets and as we head towards the nearest zipcar platform, I notice a few enforcement hovercars down the street in the direction that Thayer had left the stolen vehicle we had commandeered earlier that day. Our feet steer us in the opposite direction.
Eight
Losing Control
Hollow Pointe is one of the coolest places on Tartarus. Built low so that the metal cages encasing the upper half don't reach higher than the government building—the one that Vincent lives in. A breeze drifts across my shoulder and sifts through my hair, blowing it into my face until I turn towards it and let it blow across my cheeks.
The buildings in Hollow Pointe look like they've been cut off too soon, their rooftop platforms indented in so that a ledge rings around the entirety of the top. Wedged in that ring are the bars of the cages. They stretch up what would have been several flights and come to close off at the top like a massive birdcage attached to a building.
Sometimes, like tonight, portable platforms are brought in and attached to the iron bars of the cage. Anchored by dozens of massive chains, and portable support beams are wedged into place and bolted down. I don't know how Morgan and his crew manage to get it set up or keep enforcers from knowing about it, but I suspect it has something to do with a lot of money exchanging hands.
I stare up at the platform as Aaron and I wait in line to be lifted up by a system of pulleys attached to an open, top-welded, metal box that looks like some sort of iron picnic basket. The ropes along the top are thrown over the cage's bars ensuring that when we reach the platform there will still be enough room for the picnic basket to go up further if needed. I hate it on sight.
Levi is already up there with Morgan and Morgan's right-hand man, Dallas. Aaron tells me that Dallas is someone we're going to want to talk to tonight before we leave. I nod my head, but all I can see and think about is getting in that metal picnic basket and being levered up to the top of the cage before someone drops us. I do take comfort in knowing that the damn thing isn't enclosed. If the box drops, I can just grab the rope and ride it to the top of the cage. I can hoist myself up on the metal bars and use those to climb down. Yeah, I'll be fine.
"Cassandra?" I glance at Aaron as he says my name. "It's our turn, are you ready to go or do you want me to wait with you down here?"
I blink at him before a smile stretches across my lips. "Nah, I got this, Hercules."
He frowns as we step into the box. "Hercules?"
I laugh at his puzzled expression. "Yeah, big guy. You're definitely a Hercules." He's tall, muscular, and already I can see the women getting into the box with us sizing him up as if he's a demigod. I reach up and pat his arm as the little door to the box is hooked closed and two of Morgan's larger assistants—probably fighters themselves—move to grip the pulleys.
Aaron glares at a guy that brushes a little too close and the guy turns his head to snap at us, sees Aaron’s expression, and quickly moves away as far as he can in the little space provided. I laugh outright, causing several others to glare at me in annoyance and Aaron to look at me in confusion. I'm thankful when the box stops at the platform and two more assistants pull it onto the edge for us to unload. Most occupants mingle into the already growing crowd, rooting into their pockets for gambling money as bet takers call for their attention. Aaron and I slip towards the back, edging along the sides until we get closer to the fight circle.
"You never did tell me why Levi fights if he doesn't like it," I comment.
Aaron tilts his head down to me, considering, before he answers. "Levi gets too caught up in his head sometimes," he says, pulling his eyes away as he scans the crowd. "He seems pretty relaxed to most people, like he lets everything roll off his back when he's really just letting it build. He gets into this focused mood right before a match. So, when he was laughing with you back at the pod, I thought..."
"You thought we were flirting," I say for him when he can't seem to come up with the term.
"Yeah," he nods his head. "It's not unlike him to use sex as another release."
I'm quiet as we shuffle along with the crowd as more and more people are added to the platform. I pray the damn thing holds. I've never heard of any of them breaking before, but there is always a first time for everything.
I start talking again to keep my thoughts from freaking me out. "You don't have to worry about me and him," I say.
"Why's that?" Aaron asks.
I shrug. "I just mean that I meant it when I said I have to love someone in order to sleep with them."
"Hmm." Aaron doesn't say any more, and I begin to focus on the faces in the crowd as we move along, looking for Morgan or Dallas or maybe even Alvin. I relish the idea of seeing Alvin and the look on his face when he catches a glimpse of Aaron.
My hopes are crushed though because soon enough I catch sight of Morgan as he heads towards the center of the fight ring, getting ready to announce the evening's fighters. Some asshole shoves up against me and moves around in front of me causing me to stumble back into Aaron. Big hands grip the tops of my arms to hold me steady.
"You know," he says leaning down as Morgan introduces Levi's opponent, Maverick ‘the Machine’ Sorensen, to the crowd. "If you're going to hang around these types of crowds, you might want to try doing a little pushing and shoving of your own."
I chuckle, but don't turn towards him, keeping my eyes on the ring as Levi steps up to be introduced as the Ghost Fighter. "If I start doing that, I'd rather just throw them off the platform. That way I'd only have to make an example once and they would all just stay away."
The guy that shoved his way in front of me hears me and turns my way with a scowl. When he sees Aaron hovering above me like a dark demigod warrior, he quickly spins back and tries to cut through the crowd.
"You really are one of the best guys to have around," I say more to myself than to him.
Still, he answers. "Why do you think that?"
"You repel the insects," I say, nodding my head to t
he quickly retreating man.
His chest shakes against my back and I realize with a sense of triumph I've made the big man laugh. I bask in the glory of my accomplishment up until a bell dings and I watch as Levi attacks the Machine like a feral animal.
My eyes widen in alarm as the guy known as the Machine goes flying past the edge of the ring with one punch. He topples over several onlookers, sending them to the floor of the platform as well. The platform rocks and shakes under the impact as his big body slams down and the others fall like dominoes. Without thinking, I turn and grab Aaron, trying to stay upright.
"What the fuck!" I snap.
Aaron grabs me, pulling me closer when the Machine gets up and dives for Levi and the platform rocks again. His arms slide behind my back even as I turn and crane my neck around to see what's happening. I gape as they clash and though Levi is a smaller opponent, lean and built more for speed, he manages to deliver another blow.
"I thought you said he seemed more relaxed?!" I lift my head to look at Aaron.
His eyes are trained on the match. "He is. He just wants it over with quickly." He speaks with an understanding. "If he was looking to prolong a fight—and if he was in a bad mood, he would, just to be sadistic—he wouldn't have started out with a debilitating shot like that. I'm surprised Maverick is still standing."
I look back to the fight with doubt. "Are you sure?" I ask. To me, it seems as though Levi's face is a mask of building darkness, all of it focused on his opponent. I have seen him fight before but hadn't really known him then. I didn't know why he and the others kept trying to grab me. Now that I do, and I trust them, somewhat, it's a little confusing for me.
Levi is, by far, the most easygoing of the group. He's followed closely by Thayer, but Thayer can sometimes lose himself in his focus and become too closed off. Levi is the one I usually feel the most comfortable around. He teases me, and he didn't hold it against me when I escaped the first time.
Now, he goes at the Machine like a man possessed. His whole face is hard as granite, eyes narrowed on one goal—winning. Aaron's arms loosen on my back and he raises his hands to land on my shoulders, turning me around and pushing me forward a little.
"What are you–" I start, but Aaron's eyes aren't focused on me. They're focused over the edge of the platform. Maybe suspending a special ring up on one of Hollow Pointe's building cages wasn't such a good idea on Morgan's part. People yell and cheer Levi and the Machine on as I lean over to see what Aaron's looking at.
"Oh, fuck." I stare down what must be several flights of nothingness below us, suddenly realizing just how fucking high we are. Panic crawls up my throat. The only thing that calms me is that we're not enclosed in anything. I take deep breaths as my fingers on Aaron's arm slowly slide towards his hand.
It's not the height that's the bad part though, it's what we can see outside of the cage. Far below, across the street, blue lights flash as enforcement arrives. Morgan reached too far this time. I glance around, looking for his usual extra exits but we're up high and there's really only one way up and down. A couple in the back, near Aaron and me, turn and glance back the same way we are. The woman screams, dropping her boyfriend's hand and turns back to warn the crowd. Before I can warn her not to start a panic, she's already yelling.
"Enforcers! Enforcers are here!"
"Shit." I search for Levi in the crowd. He looks up for a moment, ducking away from the Machine's latest punch.
Fight attendees begin to realize something is wrong and more and more people back away from the fight ring, drifting to the edges of the platform. Aaron still hasn't said anything.
"What are we gonna do?" I ask.
I can't get caught by enforcers. I can't go to containment. If I do, then Kida's as good as gone forever. People in containment have a way of dying young and they are never allowed visitors.
Aaron turns to me, looking over my head towards Levi. It's almost like they have an entire conversation over my head in the span of less than thirty seconds. Aaron nods once, the only indication that they have a plan. I don't know what it is, but I've seen how these guys operate, and I'm thankful that they do and that I'm with them.
The crowd quickly turns into a mob, feet stomping as people crowd to the metal box to get down as quickly as possible. By some miracle, Morgan's assistants haven't left their posts at the bottom or maybe they don't realize that enforcers are just below the building on their way up. They can't see the way we can up on the platform.
"You have a plan, right? What's the plan?" I heave, trying not to notice the blue flashing lights or the way the platform is shaking. "Please tell me you have some sort of plan."
Aaron shakes his head and grabs my wrist in one iron-fisted grip. "The plan," he says, "is for you to hold on tight."
"What—no!" I scream as Aaron—who keeps my wrist locked in his hand—turns his back to me and jerks me up like a bag of laundry. I scramble to hook my arm around his neck as my feet leave the ground. My stomach is shaky and queasy, but I manage to lift my other arm and wrap it around his shoulder, loosening my hold on his neck. If he's about to do what I think he is, and I pray he—nope, never mind, he totally is. Fuck. Me. Sideways.
Aaron strides to the end of the platform, the side everyone has abandoned in favor of trying to make it to the metal picnic basket. Despite all the weight on the opposite end, the platform manages to stay anchored to the cage. Levi meets us there.
"How are we doing this?" he asks.
"Straight down the outside and then to the second window down. The enforcers won't be arresting people inside or if they are, they won't be heading for them first."
"WHAT?!" We are not climbing out of the building cage hundreds of feet up in the air. They have to be insane to attempt that. It doesn't take but a quick nod of agreement from Levi to make me realize that they are truly insane. Before Aaron can even step off the platform, I let go of his neck and shoulder and drop off.
"What are you doing?" he snaps. "Get back on."
"No," I say. "If we're fucking doing this then I'm climbing my own damn self down." That way I'll have no one to blame but myself if I fall to my death.
Without a second glance, I step forward between the two of them and reach for the first bar, leveraging my foot against a lower one. I scrunch down and slide between them, turning so that I'm facing the guys. They stare at me as I start to lower myself to the next one.
"Well, are you coming or what?" I snap.
They look at each other once before mimicking my actions, sliding out on my side of the bars and making their way down. That's the key about losing control, you have to find it again. That, and don't think about the crazy shit you're doing or the impossibly high chances of dying. It was so much easier when it was just jumping off buildings and onto the bottom of zipcars. Levi manages to go down a lot faster than either Aaron or me, but I don't mind. If he gets to whatever window we decide to climb into first, he's going to have a hell of a time trying to hold onto the outside of the building and getting it open before either of us gets there.
Across the way, under the platform, only a few dozen people have been lowered to the ground before Morgan's assistants realize why everyone is leaving so soon and in such a hurry. They don't see any point in sticking around to risk their necks and are soon gone, along with Morgan who was one of the first people to be lowered down.
"Hey, wait! Isn't that Dallas?" I turn my head and look down as Aaron slips his foot down to a lower rung and edges down further than me. Dallas is with Morgan and both are on their own definition of a warpath trying to carve their own exit with just their bodies and sometimes their fists when people try to fight back. Even strung out, Morgan can do some damage.
"Yeah, what about him?" Levi calls back up.
"Should we... I don't know try to grab him?" I ask. He was the major reason we are at the stupid fight tonight, and why we're all climbing down this godforsaken building.
"You wanna go after him," Levi says with a huff. "Be my
guest. You can carry his ass down too."
"Aaron was gonna carry me," I point out. But he's right. It just seems such a waste.
"Forget it, Rocket. We'll get him another time." I nod at Aaron's sensible tone before I realize what he's called me.
"Rocket?" I ask as I pass him on my way down.
"Rocket?" Levi repeats as well, tilting his head to stare up between the two of us. It seems he can't decide if he's confused or shocked because his eyebrows are raised for a moment or two before they lower and his lips pinch down.
Aaron shakes his head. "Not now. Let's get off this fucking building first."
I agree wholeheartedly and throw myself into measuring my steps down. It's just like climbing a ladder. A big ladder that is attached to a building with a panicking mob on the inside and enforcers crawling up our asses, but a ladder nonetheless, and a ladder I can handle.
Deep breaths in and out. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. And then I start all over again. In almost no time, the three of us reach the rooftop and I almost cry out in joy as we stop with our feet on the edge of the building. Somehow both Aaron and I caught up with Levi. But we aren’t done yet and the next part is the hardest.
"They're in the building," Aaron says.
"We need to get out of sight," Levi replies.
Taking a hand from the bars, I wipe it against my pants and then repeat the same action to the other. The building doesn't have any sort of balconies that could make the next part so much easier. I glance over my shoulder and note that even without the balconies each window, set just a half a foot or so into the building, has a little ledge and the ledge runs the length of the face of the building under each line of windows; a slightly curved metal lip protruding from the rest of the structure and the key to the rest of our climb.
Slowly, I lower down onto my haunches and press my face against one of the metal bars feeling the coolness of the surface on my cheek as it rubs my skin. My boots squeak in protest and I'm overcome with the worst feeling that they aren't good enough—they don't have enough tread to keep me from slipping.