Alex threw a left-right-left combination at the bag, making as much noise as possible when his gloves smacked the leather bag, startling Nathan and rocking him backward a bit as he struggled to hold it in place.
“The Hegemony, I know. That’s a stupid name, by the way.” Alex shuffled his feet, trying to change stances the way he’d seen Michael do it yesterday. It didn’t work. “I thought the cartels were forbidden to conduct business at the Academy?”
“We are here in an unofficial capacity, of course!” Frederick shrieked, his brow shining with perspiration. Alex was guessing, but he didn’t think the moderately rotund German saw the inside of a gym too often. Not that Alex had ever made a habit of it before he’d come to the Academy, himself. But Michael and the machines in his blood had conspired to make some serious changes in him over the last several weeks.
“Right, and?” Alex said, trying a couple more straight right hands, more for the way the noise made them jump than anything.
“Well, we wish to discuss,” Nathan said, and then frowned, and leaned close to whisper conspiratorially. “We wish to discuss your plans for your future.”
Alex laughed, and Nathan paused, looking indignant.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said cheerfully. “But, I have to know — what exactly is it you want me to do? I mean, which cartel do you want me to join? Yours,” he said, pointing at Nathan with his gloved hand, “or his?”
He nodded amiably in the direction of Frederick, who continued to watch in open-mouthed dismay.
“Well, that is to say that I — ”
“You brought him for moral support, right, Nathan? I get that. It’s always easier to face rejection if you’ve got more people to spread it around. That makes sense. But, if I understand all of this correctly,” Alex said, sitting down on the mat in a heap, dripping in sweat and not in the mood, “then your boss won’t be too happy with you unless I sign on with your outfit. I mean, it’s not like I can just join the Hegemony, you know? Did they even tell you anything about me at all?”
“What’s that?” Nathan looked panicked, but Frederick looked positively green.
“Your cartel didn’t send you, did they?” Alex laughed, and then shook his head. “You aren’t the first to approach me on your own, you know. I guess a bunch of the half-bright but all-the-way ambitious types thought that might be a good idea. But you are the first to bring a wingman along, my friend.”
“Can I ask a question?”
Alex looked over at the girl who’d walked into the gym, and his good mood evaporated instantly.
“Yes,” Alex said reluctantly.
“Were all those ambitious types who approached you so far from the Hegemony?”
“Yes.”
Anastasia put her hand to her mouth in parody of shock.
“Oh my. Well, then I guess that makes it my turn, doesn’t it?”
Alex tried not to stare across the mat at Anastasia, focusing instead on stretching his calves. He’d never seen her in anything that didn’t fit her Gothic Lolita aesthetics, usually corseted dresses in black, with elaborate bows and ribbons and lace. On a couple of different occasions, he’d even seen her carrying a parasol on sunny days. Her shoes were always shiny leather with precarious heels, and her black hair was always elaborately coiffed.
But the girl stretching on the worn gym mat across from him was dressed casually, in a t-shirt and yoga pants that cut off at the knee, her hair in two tight braids that poked out on either side of her neck. She looked like any girl that you might see in the facility. But she was Anastasia, and the little Alex knew about Anastasia made this whole situation run contrary to Alex’s expectations.
“Are you sure about this?”
He eyed her warily, trying to gauge exactly how bad the situation he found himself in was.
“You have been doing this for how long, now? A few weeks?”
“More than a month,” Alex said defensively.
“Right,” Anastasia said, smirking. “I’ve only been doing ju-jitsu since I was five. You truly do not stand a chance.”
Alex looked at Anastasia doubtfully. It wasn’t that she was a girl; even if he’d had notions about that sort of thing, Collette, one of the student instructors in his ju-jitsu class had disabused him of any such thoughts by throwing him around like a ragdoll. And that didn’t even factor in the damage that Margot had done to him. Rather, it was that Anastasia was at least a foot shorter than him, and built like a girl who might be in junior high.
It didn’t help that this particular girl was apparently the future head of what was reputed to be the most terrifying cartel of all, and he had a feeling that if he managed to hurt her, that the consequences would be grim. When she’d gone to change into her gym outfit in the locker room, Edward had appeared from somewhere, given Alex a polite nod, and then cleared out Nathan and Frederick, who were too petrified by Anastasia’s arrival to even protest. Edward had taken up a position at the gym door, his arms folded, seemingly staring off into space. Alex didn’t see him sending people away, but no one came into the heavily-used gym during the entire time Anastasia was there. Later, he would come to realize that things always worked like that, whenever Anastasia was involved.
“Let me make sure you are clear,” Anastasia said, standing up and twisting from side to side, “I throw you three times, and you listen to whatever I have to say, for as long as it takes me to say it. But we are only doing tachi-waza. I don’t feel like rolling around on the ground with you. Yes?”
“Standing only, I get it. And I only have to throw you once to get you to go away?” Alex asked doubtfully. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Nothing is ever fair, not if I have any say in it.”
“Whatever,” Alex said, shrugging and taking his position. “When you’re ready.”
Anastasia grabbed Alex’s shoulder and behind his neck, and he adopted a similar grip on her. When they were this close, he was very aware of how much bigger he was than her and he felt reluctance. Then she smiled at him, and the casual contempt in the face she made erased that reluctance. Cautiously, he attempted to exert force on her shoulder, trying to shift her balance on to her back foot, where he would have all the leverage. For a moment, he even thought he was succeeding, before he felt a tug and his center of gravity shifted, out of his control. He struggled to right himself, to redistribute his weight and counter the momentum, but he knew it was already hopeless. She shifted direction effortlessly, moving along with his momentum, executing a perfect shoulder throw, flipping him over her back and then planting him solidly on the mat, shoulder first, with an impact that drove the air from his lungs.
“Ippon!” Anastasia said, smiling down at him and offering her hand. “Two more?”
Alex ignored the hand, sitting up and rubbing his shoulder. He attempted to look nonplussed, and then abandoned the effort. He was fairly certain he looked as embarrassed as he felt.
“Actually, I think you made your point,” Alex panted, looking pained. It wasn’t that Anastasia was stronger than him, he thought, but the difference in their skills was so great that any further attempt would only yield him more humiliation. “Why don’t we skip to the talking part?”
“You big baby,” Anastasia scolded. “And after I warmed up, too.” She sat down cross-legged a few feet away from him on the mat. “It seems to me that you have been a popular boy, since you arrived at the Academy.”
“I guess so,” Alex said, giving up on massaging out the kink is his shoulder. “It’s mostly been stuff like this afternoon. Some idiot approaches me and tries to get me to have a private talk, which always ends up being a half-assed recruitment speech.”
“And your suitors. Are they always from the Hegemony?”
“I told you already. Always. Why is that, anyway?”
“I would be upset, were it was any other way,” Anastasia said. “The Black Sun has a centralized leadership structure. When we make a recruitment approach, we do it as an organization. Whereas th
e Hegemony is at best a loose affiliation, and any cartel that gets the idea will try and approach you, independently. But, don’t think too badly of them, as it is primarily an issue of timing. With Eckhart and Tuesday out on Field Study until winter session, there is a leadership void for the Hegemony at the Academy. After the New Year, I am certain they will make a formal attempt.”
“And that doesn’t bother you? I thought that they were your enemies.”
“I don’t give the Hegemony enough credit to let them worry me,” Anastasia sniffed. “And the Black Sun has no enemies. At worst, there are other cartels that we have philosophical disagreements with.”
“You sure about that? Because they seemed to be very afraid of you.”
Anastasia smiled at him. It wasn’t a pretty thing, severe and a little malicious, but at least it made her seem a touch more human.
“As they should be,” she said, sounding satisfied. “Would you like to know what makes me different from everyone else who has approached you thus far?”
Alex nodded wearily.
“I am the only one who doesn’t need you, Alex.” Anastasia leaned forward, and spoke with sincerity, her manner composed and serious. “Neither I, nor the Black Sun, need you in order to fulfill our ambitions and goals. My cartel’s dominance and my own position within it are assured. We would hardly turn you away, should you desire a further association with the Black Sun — to the contrary, we would welcome you, as you have the potential to become quite useful. But, wanting and needing is not the same thing. Do you see the distinction?”
“Yes,” Alex replied sullenly. “Very flattering. Are you really so confident in the Black Sun?”
“Of course,” Anastasia said, blinking and looking a touch surprised at the question. “You needn’t take it from me, though. Ask Emily what she thinks the next time she tries to take you home — oh, she may couch the language a bit more, but I promise you that she sees what I see.”
“Which is?”
“The Black Sun Cartel is roughly the same size as the entirety of the Hegemony. With our affiliate cartels, we are somewhat larger. And we have no internal divisions or disputes; unlike the Hegemony, we do not waste our energy fighting each other.” Anastasia glanced briefly up at the clock on the wall, and then back to Alex. “If you factor in the Academy, there are an average of nearly two students affiliated with Black Sun for every one affiliated with Hegemony. Time and circumstances are on our side, Alex, and we are patient. We have been waiting for generations for the time to be right, and we won’t move until it is. And everyone can see the tide changing.”
“That all sounds great. I’m happy for you, really. But, if you don’t need me, then why are we having this conversation?”
Anastasia gave him another, more predatory smile, and he liked this one even less.
“We are, of course, not overlooking your considerable potential.” Anastasia paused and cocked her head to the side. “And then, there is the fact that I cannot simply allow you to join the Hegemony.”
“Oh?” Alex said, grimacing. “And how would you stop me, assuming I even wanted to do that?”
“I won’t try and persuade you the way Emily would, if that’s what you are thinking,” Anastasia laughed. “No offense. I was going to try reason, actually. I don’t think you would want to join the losing side in a fight if you had other options. The more you learn about the Hegemony, the less, I think, that you will find yourself sympathetic toward them. Don’t think that because Emily is a nice person that the Hegemony itself is benign.”
“And if reason doesn’t work? What’s after that? Vaguely worded threats, maybe?”
“No,” Anastasia said emphatically. “I don’t make threats. I have never seen the point. The next step would be bribery, to be frank. If you have no interest in doing the right thing, then perhaps you would be interested in doing right by yourself. So, if a number were to pop into that busy head of yours, well, you come speak to me directly, and I will be happy to make it happen.”
“You mean, like, money?” Alex asked, wide-eyed.
“Yes, Alex.” Anastasia said, amused. “I mean money. In virtually any amount that you care to name. Or, any other kind of material possession. Cars, houses, those blinking black boxes that boys love so much, whatever you like.”
“Wow,” Alex said faintly, his head swimming. “I have to at least give you points for honesty and forwardness, if nothing else.”
“Go ahead,” Anastasia said encouragingly, “pick a number. Surprise me.”
“Not right now,” Alex said, then caught Anastasia’s superior look and hurriedly added, “maybe never.”
“In my experience, the only things in this world that don’t have a price are those without value. And despite all appearances, you certainly do have value. Let us assume,” Anastasia said reasonably, “that I am simply offering to pay you with the wrong currency. Shall we talk for a moment about your little friend Emily? She’s certainly found a receptive audience in you.”
“What?”
“Surely you have noticed that, lovely though she is, Emily is hardly the only girl on campus, yes?” Anastasia’s eyes were full of laughter, her face a bit cruel. “I mentioned that the majority of the students are destined for the Black Sun, after graduation, which means they are going to find themselves under my jurisdiction, eventually. I am certain that I could make any introductions that you might need. Similarly, I can assure you that they any advances you make will be well-received.”
Alex looked at her with obvious shock and distaste.
“That’s going a bit too far.”
“Would you prefer that I invite you home? Make moon eyes at you during class?” Anastasia said mockingly. “I am trying to make a point, Alex. I don’t want you on my side as much as you want to be on my side. I can make things very easy for you.”
“And I’m guessing,” Alex said warily, “that on the flip side, you could make it very hard for me, right?”
Anastasia appeared to consider a moment before responding, and in the interval, Alex noticed her eyes dart back up to the clock. If she had someplace else to be, he wondered irritably, why didn’t she just go?
“I suppose I could,” Anastasia allowed, looking displeased. “But I don’t care much for that sort of thing. I am not here to try and make you do anything. Particularly not something that I have the utmost confidence that you will do of your own free will, eventually.”
“How can you be so sure?” Alex wondered aloud. He found Anastasia’s tremendous confidence unnerving — her demeanor was so self-assured and authoritative that he had to stop himself from nodding along in agreement as she spoke. He’d underestimated Anastasia, in more ways than one, he realized. “Are you one of those people who can see the future or something?”
“No one that I’m aware of can ‘see the future’. If you are referring to precognition, then no, I am not a precognitive.” She smiled almost wistfully, much to Alex’s surprise. “It would be much more convenient if I were, though. Have you ever read a report written by a group of precognitives, who are collectively trying to out-think other groups of competing precognitives?” Anastasia clucked disapprovingly. “It borders on utter gibberish, let me tell you.”
“Fascinating,” Alex muttered.
“Oh, don’t be sullen,” Anastasia scolded. “I offered all the money, power and girls that you could desire. How can that possibly be such a bad thing? Or, is it that you prefer Emily’s recruitment tactics?”
“You seriously need to stop bringing that up,” Alex said petulantly. “I barely even know her. And, no one is recruiting me into anything.”
“Certainly. I assume that it is normal for you, then, arriving at a new school, to have the prettiest girl in class fascinated by you from day one, yes? Does that sort of thing happen to you often, Alex?”
Alex looked concerned for a moment, and then his gaze hardened.
“Wait,” he said slowly. “Are you threatening Emily?”
“H
onestly!” Anastasia scoffed, looking scandalized. “How often do I have to say it? I don’t make threats, Alex, and I am certainly not threatening poor Emily. Even if you want to see her, what is it to me? You won’t necessarily fall in love. And even if you were to get married, that still wouldn’t change a thing.”
“What?” Alex said, putting his head in his hands, frustrated. “I thought — I mean, Michael said that she was part of the Hegemony, and…”
“Michael is a great teacher, but he lacks political savvy,” Anastasia said with conviction. “If you feel like taking Emily up on her rather obvious offer, then go right ahead. I have heard good things. It isn’t as if you automatically join the Hegemony, because the girl you are dating happens to be a member. Anyway, do you plan on spending the rest of your life with the first girl who is willing to sleep with you? And, who is to say that she will remain in the Raleigh Cartel, for that matter?”
Alex wanted to smack his hands down on the mat, to push her away from him, to stand up and yell until he was hoarse. Alex did none of these things, because he was not stupid, and this was not the first time this had happened to him.
He couldn’t even remember the guy’s name. Nothing in the faculty, which was a sort of cross between a mental institution and a prison, had seemed to happen without the deeply tanned Mexican’s hands getting involved. Alex had the bad fortune to meet the man in person, something that rarely happened to anonymous white convicts, but the whole ‘killing your entire family’ thing seemed to resonate with him on a level that Alex found profoundly disturbing. He did not want to talk to him about that, didn’t like the man’s warm smile and dead eyes, and in any other situation, Alex would have simply left. He’d taken a number of beatings for doing exactly that, and he was not afraid of another.
But he was afraid of that man. Not because of anything he did or said, in fact, he’d been cordial. He had not threatened Alex or even spoken to him harshly, even when Alex admitted that he remembered little about his life up until the point of the fire, and virtually nothing of the actual event. The Mexican had been polite on the two occasions following that they had encountered each other, and Alex had passed his time peacefully in that particular institution.
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