by K. A Knight
There are women loitering outside in skimpy clothing, luring men and women into the casino. I spot one woman heading into an alley followed by a hurried looking man and I smirk. Some things never change. They can rebrand it, but everyone in this world is the same. We all deal in blood and flesh.
Two men block the glass doors to the casino, so I throw back my hood. “We are here to speak to Vert,” I say strongly.
They exchanged glances, the one on the left in nothing but a waistcoat and trousers, with a machete strapped to his leg. The man on the right is only wearing trousers, leaving his tattooed, barrel chest on display. “Who’s asking?” the one on the left demands with a thick accent.
“A friend, a friend who is about to offer him a sweet deal, so I suggest you stop pulling my dick and let me in,” I snap, growing bored of this. Each lost moment is like a countdown clock in my head, reminding me that we are wasting time. I’m so close to getting them back and no one will stand in my way.
They look at each other again but shrug. “I’ll take her in. If the boss don’t wanna see her, we can kick them out,” the one on the left mutters, rubbing at his bald head. He throws me another look. “Follow me,” he orders, and then pushes through the door, not holding it for me.
I follow after him with Dray on my heels. The fucking fools didn’t even pat us down for weapons. The noise hits me straight away, as does the cool air…is that air con? Sands below, I want to strip down and race through this place to feel that cold air on my skin, but I don’t. The sound of wheels turning, music, laughter, and screaming all blends together. The smell of booze, unwashed bodies, and…food hits me. It’s a lot to absorb. The lights are bright and I stumble to a stop for a moment just taking it all in.
Tables with roulette wheels, pool tables, and other types of gambling line the bottom floor with slot machines at the back. This place is busy as hell as well. I spot a bar to the left filled to the brim and what looks like a buffet to the right. The bottom floor is huge with a metal barrier with people leaning on it up top. Two big, winding staircases lead up to it from the middle of the floor. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and I just blink around before following after the guard, not wanting to be caught gawking.
He leads us through the glitz and glamour, and to an open door to the side, which leads into a bar unlike any I’ve ever been in. The lights are dimmed with candles spread around, and two seater tables are spread around the red carpeted room, with a bar to the right and a man in a hat serving spirits from the shelves, which reach to the ceiling with a ladder leaning against them. A stage is set at the front with red velvet curtains, and a woman in a short black dress sings in a low, purring voice. It looks like something from a fifties sitcom or mobster movie, and there is only one man in here, sitting in the middle of the room, sipping from a tumbler, as he watches the woman. We are forced to wait until she finishes and he claps before we are led over to who I am guessing is Vert.
We are brought to his table and before we can be introduced, I pull out the chair and sit opposite him. His guard grunts, going to grab me as Vert’s eyebrow rises as he takes me in, and he waves off his guard. “Well, hello there.” He grins, showing perfectly straight white teeth. He’s traditionally handsome with bright blue eyes that have a piercing quality. Stubble covers his chin and cheeks, and he has short brown hair. Overall, he’s well put together for the Wastes and it all screams power, but I can see the imperfections. His skin is burned from the sun and his clothes are worse for wear. He craves power and riches, but he can’t quite reach them yet. He has goals and I’m betting the Cities are keeping them down.
“What can I do for you?” he asks, crossing his legs and regarding me.
If there is one thing I know, it’s people and what they want. I can see it in him and in this place. He wants power and followers. I’m betting on that because I am going to have to trust him with information that could get my men killed.
“It’s more what we can do for each other.” I grin and his eyes light up. Bingo.
“Call me intrigued…” He trails off, looking me over. “I’m Vert, but my friends call me Strand, and you are?”
“Your new best friend.” I grin. “Worth.”
He tilts his head slightly. “Worth, that name sounds familiar.” He is obviously digging for information. He doesn’t like not being in the know.
“You might know me as the Champion, I’m not from around here though,” I hint and he grins.
“I can see that, so, Worth, what is the deal that will blow me away?” he questions, holding his hand up, and two drinks are brought over and placed in front of me.
“First of all, do the people of the outers listen to you?” I inquire, needing to know. I’ve heard my own rumours, but I want to see how honest he is with me.
“Yes, or they are scared of me. I help these people. I might not look like it, but I protect them as much as I can.” I can tell it grates on him how little he can protect them.
“And you don’t like the current leadership,” I surmise.
His eyes narrow. “Perceptive, not smart to point out though,” he adds.
“It is for what I have planned. I don’t give a fuck about their rules or wrath, they have never met someone like me before.” I take a sip of my drink as he considers me.
“I can see that. The government plays political games, but you don’t, do you?” he asks, seeming pleased with that.
“I prefer a more…physical approach.” I nod.
“And will that approach be soon?” he probes, both of us talking in riddles.
“Yes, let’s cut the shit, Strand. I’m here for two reasons—I can’t do this without you, and you can’t do this without me. You have been waiting to make your move and now is the time. I will be heading into the inners and forcing them to confront me while I retrieve something, then I will be leading them outside the city limits where I will kill them.”
His eyes go wide and I continue, “To ensure this happens, you need to cause distractions here. I’m betting there are a lot of angry workers, rile them up, do what you need to. Use the fact the inners are ‘cleansing’ them to get them involved. I brought some toys for you to play with, and when I kill them, the Cities will be yours to take. We attack them on two fronts, confuse them, and spread their masses.” I wait for his response as he seems to think it through.
“How do I know you will kill them? If you fail and lots of others have, I will be executed with anyone who helped me,” he points out, and I let my face go cold.
“I don’t fail, I’m not just anyone,” I reply coldly, deadly. “Plus, I have three armies waiting in the North for them,” I inform him and he whistles, impressed.
“Shit, what did they do to you?” he asks.
“Took what is mine,” I answer and he laughs.
“Remind me not to piss you off. Okay, let’s plan. We had a plan in motion anyway, but this is better if we can agree on terms of course. I will order us a bottle.” He grins and I smirk, knowing I have him.
The bottle is almost empty when we shake hands. I hand over the bag of goodies and he smiles when he spots what is inside. “Oh, this will work.” He hands the bag over to his guard. “I will make preparations tonight. Do you need a place to spend the night?” he asks.
“No, we are heading back out before they catch us. Be ready tomorrow night,” I instruct him as I stand.
He stands as well and grins at me. “Can’t say I expected this when you walked in.” He laughs and I smirk as I pull my hood back up.
“No one ever expects me until it’s too late. The next time we see each other, you will be in charge.” I nod and turn to leave as he starts issuing commands. Dray follows after me as we weave through the casino and back outside into the Cities.
I spot some guards patrolling, but they give the place a wide berth and we turn, pretending to talk as we wait for them to pass, and then we quickly head back to the tunnel. Once there, I give the outers another look, noting the hard faced men
and women here. Hopefully I can free them. This has become more than just freeing my men, and is now about freeing a city. What is it with me and toppling empires? Maybe I should be called King-killer not queen, I muse as I slip into the dark tunnel and shut the door behind me.
Dray lights up the torch and we share a look, wordlessly communicating before we head back through the dirty water to get ready to knock on the front gates tomorrow morning. We are more confident on the way back, sure in our steps, and soon we reach the metal grate.
I wait for a moment, listening in case anyone is passing by, but it’s silent so I slip the grate away and head into the dark with Dray following. I watch his back as he moves the gate into place like we were never here. We head back over the sand to where we left our bikes and set up camp beyond a dune, with no fire or tent tonight, and one of us awake at all times to be safe. Dray takes first watch and I curl up with my jacket under my head, my eyes closing and seeing my other men waiting there for me.
One day, I tell myself, that’s all there is until I see them again, but I fear what state I will find them in. Fear will get me nowhere, so I force it away and go to sleep. Who knows when I will sleep again, and with a war coming, I need to be as rested as possible, because we will win.
When Dray wakes me for his turn to sleep, I quickly find myself bored. His snores are quiet and the only noise around, and I wish something would happen, even though it’s a good sign nothing has, but all this silence, this empty time, only lets me linger on my men and how much I miss them. Thoughts plague me of what could be happening to them right now as I sit outside these walls. Grabbing my swords, I decide to clean all of my weapons to occupy my mind. The rhythmic and familiar feel helps, and I find myself going into a trance between keeping watch and cleaning, wishing the time away until I can see them again.
I want Maxen’s arms, Thorn’s smile, and Drax’s teasing. I want my Jax’s dark eyes telling me he trusts me. I want them all.
When the sun starts to rise, I have cleaned and sheathed all my weapons, and I am already on my feet ready to move. I wake Dray and he stretches, awake instantly, and nods at me. “Come here, soulmate.” He opens his arms and I slip into his waiting grasp.
“Stay strong, remember who you are,” he whispers, and then tilts my chin up and kisses me hard, having me gasping into his mouth in no time, but I reluctantly step back, my focus split between him and getting the Cities. “Let’s go. The sooner this is done, the sooner I can slaughter them all for you,” he offers, and I laugh like he knew I would. We decided Dray would head back today and help the outers. We doubted they would let us both through the front gate and I need to show them I don’t fear them. He didn’t like the plan, but agreed to it eventually.
We climb on our bikes and I head straight to the Cities’ gates, not hiding now that we want them to know we are coming. Dray breaks off to go back through the tunnel and my heart slams at seeing him go, but this is my plan after all. If it gets us all killed, only I am to blame, but it’s too late to turn back now. I just hope I’m right and that we all make it through this.
The sand batters me from both sides as I ride up. There is no protection from buildings out here, the walls towering into the sky like a mecca for those lost and damned in the Wastes. For me, it represents a challenge, and I always did love a challenge.
As expected, there are guards waiting for me there when I stop and climb off, and they don’t look happy. Like the ones we met before, they have guns strapped across their chests and they don’t hesitate to aim them at me now. More are aimed my way from the top of the walls. All in all, there are about twenty rifles pointed my way.
What a welcoming party.
Holding my hands up in surrender, I smirk at them. “Hello, boys. You have something of mine and I want it back.”
Show No Fear
I wait patiently at gunpoint at the front gate as they radio in. One of the guards drops his gun, eyeing me worriedly, and snatches a black radio clipped to his shoulder while holding the button down as he speaks. “Boss, we have a woman at the gate.” A beep sounds and we wait for the response.
“So? Kill her,” comes the crackled response. The guards all move closer then, but I don’t react apart from letting my smile disappear.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You see I’m the queen of the fucking North and you came into my lands, took my people, and left yours behind. I have them, of course, but there are a lot of angry people there waiting. So unless you want to start a war you can’t win, I suggest you let me in.” I shrug, smiling and nodding as they gape at me. “Did you get all that, or would you like me to repeat it?” I taunt when they just stand there staring at me.
The same guard grabs his radio again, swallowing as sweat dampens his temple. “Erm, boss, I think you are going to want to see her. She said she’s the…erm, queen of the North and that we took her men and she will declare war? Is that right?” The guard looks at me and I nod.
“Good boy,” I mock, and he narrows his eyes. “Oh, and I’m not a patient woman, so don’t fuck me around or I will get my armies just to be a spiteful bitch,” I warn with glee.
He relays the message and I pretend to look around as I wait for the response. “Nice walls. Bet they won’t withstand bombs though, or rocket launchers,” I point out idly, and they just gape at me again, clearly having no idea what to say.
The radio crackles to life and he juggles it in his hand. “Bring her in,” the voice commands, and I lower my hands.
“There, that wasn’t so hard, now was it? Lead the way,” I offer.
The two guards out front bang on the gate house to the side. “Open her up!” he yells, and the gate starts to crank open, revealing the city beyond. I step up behind them and wait, standing uncomfortably close just to annoy them. I know they sense me, because their shoulders tighten and their grips on their guns get harder. “Don’t do that boys, wouldn’t want to start a war because you had premature shooting problems, would you?” I tease, then move around them and stride into the inner city like I own the joint. I spot the cameras on me instantly, and know the guards we captured were right, they are tracking my every move. I wave at one then blow them a kiss, waiting for the guards who are supposed to escort me to catch up.
The buildings here are bigger, shinier, and looked after. Smaller apartment style buildings line the main road with bigger ones towering behind them. There are shops, even a shopping center, to the left, and a fucking supermarket with trolleys outside. All are open and filled with people. The road leads to the huge skyscrapers you can see from beyond the wall. I’m guessing that’s where the government stays in the center in the richest part.
I spot people walking the sidewalk in dresses and suits, one even has a dog on a leash. It looks like a before advert for pre-scorch, whereas I look like the after picture. People stop and stare as we pass, some even gasp so I make sure to play it up, flashing weapons at them and grinning at their shocked and disgusted faces. I’m marched down the center of the city into a giant square. In the middle stands what I can only guess is an art piece of two men on a bridge, surrounded by gardens on either side with people eating lunch or just relaxing. Skyscrapers box in each side, looking down on you, putting you on display. Trying to intimidate you of course. I’m not given a tour or even spoken to, merely led to the biggest building, the one with a spire on top and glass windows looking down on everything.
The doors are even glass and rotate as we enter into a lobby with a guard stationed behind the desk and a turnstile. It looks like an old office building that they have converted. The lobby has those low settees and chairs, but there is no one there waiting, and I am led straight to the turnstiles and the man lingering there.
“They are expecting her,” is all the guard says, then throws me a dirty look before they step back, obviously going back to their gate duty.
“Nice to meet you, boys,” I tease, and turn back as the gate is opened, and I am ushered through it to an elevator that work
s. Fuck, these bastards must have unlimited power. How did they get it? Or are they simply showing off? It would make sense they would send all the power to their building and not spread it everywhere, especially considering what I have learned from them.
The doors open to reveal another guard, and now I know they are doing it on purpose in an attempt to intimidate me—all this show of force against one woman. But I’ve been in worse situations, so I just smile and get on board, again standing close to the guard to unnerve him. The other man climbs on and I am bracketed between them, so I lean back against the wall and let my cape fully open, and then drop it to the floor since it’s no longer needed. I know they see my weapons in the shiny, silver reflections before them when they stiffen. Did they really think I would come unprotected?
The ride is filled with strained silence, their bodies wound tight, expecting me to attack at any minute. Music fills the space as we rise quickly, only adding to the tension until the screen above the doors finally announces “12” and a mechanic voice informs us the doors are opening.
When we reach the twelfth floor the doors open, and they step out to show, yep, you guessed it, more guards. This time the big man turns to me. “We need your weapons.”
I expected this, so I hand all the visible ones over, expecting they wouldn’t think I would hide any with the arsenal I was carrying. As the pile at his feet grows, I feel them getting tenser and tenser. “That’s it, boys. Oh, and lose any of that and I will kill you. They were gifts.” I wink then and big guys points at me.
“I need to pat you down,” he snaps.
“Do it, but don’t let my men find out, they are the jealous sort.” I shrug, holding out my arms. He falters at my words and quickly pats me down, not finding any of the weapons I have hidden. What an idiot. As usual, they are underestimating me because I’m a woman and alone. I’m guided down the hallway to what looks like a conference room. A big, silver table with glasses of water wait there. Windows on one side look out onto the Cities, and glass separates it from the rest of the hallway. I’m gestured inside, and then they shut the door and press their backs to the glass and wait.