Caught in the Aftermath

by Jami Gray

  A shift in the light or air, brought Math’s head up. ‘Oh shit!’ Without taking his gaze from what was heading towards them, he raised his voice, ‘Vex, incoming!’

  Busy dodging a swipe, Vex kept dancing with the whipcord scarecrow determined to slash her to pieces. ‘A little busy here, hot shot!’

  ‘Drop him, dammit!’ Keeping his eye on the figures pouring from the surrounding foliage, he dodged the still groaning (albeit weakly) backstabber and with a brutal jab to the base of a skull, managed to send one of Vex’s opponents back to the ground in a boneless heap. ‘We need to move!’

  He twisted to check their company’s approach and suddenly found himself eating dirt when a weight slammed into his back, the impact sending his blade skittering across the forest’s floor. Something tangled in his hair and pulled, forcing his head back. Flattening his hands against the ground, Math’s muscles tensed to move only to freeze at the cool kiss of metal against his throat.

  ‘I wouldn’t, pretty boy.’ The sibilant threat coiled around his ear and sent chills down his wrenched neck.

  His muscles quivered with the need to move, but since he wasn’t keen on acquiring a ruby necklace, Math stilled and gritted his teeth.

  A nasty chuckle sounded. ‘Smart.’ The fingers in his hair tightened and pulled, forcing Math’s neck back further. The edge of the blade pressed closer, opening a stinging line in warning. ‘Call your bitch off.’

  From his prone position, Math was forced to watch as five men moved to surround the clearing. A couple levelled crossbows at what Math figured was Vex since the dangerous points were aimed behind him. The undeniable threat triggered a bitter, metallic taste. He ignored the flash of fear for Vex and embraced the icy fury at being caught in such a position. Motherfucking son of a bitch! Outnumbered and outgunned. He went along. For now.

  ‘Ease up,’ he squeezed out. The pressure eased, not enough to consider making a move, but enough he could talk without cutting his own throat. ‘Vex!’ When the sounds of a struggle continued unabated behind him, he throttled back a frustrated growl and snapped, ‘Vex!’

  A pain-filled yip sounded, then an endless moment later came a clearly furious and feminine snarl. ‘What?’

  ‘You done?’ Okay, not what the ass threatening to fillet him meant, but …

  A very put-upon sigh sounded, followed by a whimper, both echoing through the strangely tense quiet. ‘Maybe. You okay?’

  Depended on your definition of okay. Before he could answer, a man separated from the others and sank to crouch in front of Math. He didn’t say a word as he used the tip of his bowie knife to tilt Math’s chin back even further. From his forced angle, Math took in the shit brown hair hanging in a tangle of knots and braids around a narrow face pitted with scars. Brown eyes stared into his with a depth of coldness Math recognised—from one killer to another. The unspoken message came through loud and clear.

  Without much of a choice, Math held the merciless stare and finally answered her. ‘As long as your boy keeps breathing. So be gentle?’

  Chapter 12

  With her back protected by a thick tree trunk, Vex tightened her grip on the stiff scarecrow she held. For a shield, his long limbs left her wishing for more substance, say like the moron laid out by Math. But beggars couldn’t be choosy. Using the combination of her hold and her knife, she shifted him, making sure any attempt to get to her required going through him. With the adjusted position, she could watch the roly-poly gnome perched on Math’s back. Not to mention keep an eye on the long blade he held to Math’s throat. Then there was the ugly, silent bastard with a viciously thick blade crouched in Math’s face. Based on the size of their weapons, she assumed they were compensating for size in other areas.

  It was tempting to offer her snarky insight or tighten her metal-tipped hand on the vulnerable throat in her grip, but then things would get messy. Not good considering the shift in odds. Even though she could taste her pulse in her mouth, she kept her voice cool and casual. ‘So long as they don’t damage your pretty face, hot shot, I’ll be as careful as a whore in church.’

  Somewhere close by a snicker was cut off by the dull sound of a fist sinking into soft flesh. It wasn’t the only reaction to her comment. The ugly fucker in charge turned his head slowly and flicked a glance to the man in her arms. Not for a second did she think he had missed her knife poised at the unfortunate fool’s kidney or the lethal claws at his throat.

  When he turned his soulless gaze to hers, she took the hit without a flinch, even as a chill settled in her gut. ‘There’s more where that came from, so why shouldn’t I have mine slice and dice yours?’

  The man she held trembled and she caught the soft whimper he couldn’t stifle. She couldn’t blame him, boss man’s voice was creepy, like slimy cobwebs. Definitely one badass mofo. Almost Reaper-esque. But almost didn’t count. So despite the frantic warnings of common sense begging her to shut the hell up, she couldn’t do it. ‘You do that, and guaran-fucking-teed mine will come in and leave nothing but ashes and bones in their wake.’

  Ugly boss dropped his knife from Math’s chin and pointed it at her. ‘Even if that’s true, you’d still be dead.’

  Edging her head a bit around her human shield, she made sure her manic grin couldn’t be missed. ‘But I’ll be laughing my ass off in hell when Reaper sends you boys down to join me.’ Her grin went vicious. ‘Last I heard, Reaper’s patience with Trip was just about done. Can’t say I blame him.’ When the gnome jerked Math’s head again, she shifted her attention and lost her grin. Pinning the little shit with a stare, her voice went arctic. ‘Do that again and I’ll put your boy down, and make sure you’re right on his heels.’

  Ugly flicked his hand, and Gnome loosened his hold.

  Vex acknowledged the move with a chin lift. ‘Now, I’ll be happy to return your boy for mine. And just for the record, we didn’t start this.’

  Never taking his attention from her, Ugly rose to his feet and pointedly looked at the bodies on the ground. ‘Didn’t you?’

  ‘Can’t blame us because your boys lack simple manners. Anyone ever tell them it’s impolite to take things that don’t belong to them?’ She didn’t wait for a response, not that she expected one. ‘Besides, people tend to be a little possessive about their things. Some of us more than others.’ She deliberately noted the dead between them. ‘I’m not so good with sharing.’

  ‘Is that so?’ It was hard to tell with that face, but it could have been amusement piercing his emotionless mask before it settled back into place. ‘You’ll have to excuse their rudeness, we don’t get much company. And the company we get is normally invited.’ He cocked his head, a dangerous light coming to life in his dark gaze. ‘Don’t remember sending an invite to Fate’s Vultures.’

  Okay so maybe the normal fear associated with the Vultures didn’t apply here. Didn’t mean she couldn’t brazen her way through this cluster. ‘You didn’t, but I got a delivery for Trip from Gus. Figured that was invitation enough. Was I wrong?’ She paused for effect. ‘Think we should ask him?’

  ‘Depends.’ He tucked his bowie back into its battered sheath strapped to his thigh and the tension in the clearing went down a notch. ‘Delivery boy is a bit below the Vultures’ norm.’

  Despite her position—and the ache in her side pressuring her to change it up quick—she managed a creditable shrug. ‘Usually, but my bike needed Gus’s touch and a walk in the woods seemed like an even trade.’ She lifted her blade and motioned at Ugly’s band of thugs and their current standoff. ‘Kind of rethinking that now.’

  ‘Can see why.’ He scratched at his chest, but his attention didn’t waver. ‘What kind of delivery?’

  Considering this was Trip’s man, she figured he’d know all about it, so she didn’t bother lying. ‘The kind that goes boom.’

  There was no missing the exchange of glances among Ugly’s misfits, but the whisper of excitement was cut short when Ugly shot them a single look. Order restored, he signalled t
he gnome, who let go of Math and sprung back with surprising grace.

  Math took his time getting to his feet, and reclaiming his blades, before wiping a hand over the thin trail of blood on his neck.

  ‘Your turn.’

  Since Math was armed and on his feet, Vex figured Ugly had a point. But she wasn’t keen on rocking the boat, she put her lips to Scarecrow’s ear. ‘Don’t be stupid.’

  Slowly, she peeled her fingers from his throat and before he could even consider ignoring her, sent him stumbling forward with a not so nice shove. She watched the tangle of arms and legs move to stand beside a bigger man armed with a crossbow. When her newly freed captive shot her a shaky sneer from his new position she almost snapped her teeth. Instead she eyed the steely-eyed archer. ‘Be careful where you point that thing.’

  He didn’t react until Ugly simply said, ‘Win.’ The crossbow dropped.

  With the threat of imminent impalement delayed, she turned away. Looking unconcerned about being outnumbered, Math walked over and did a quick head to toe exam. ‘You good?’

  She returned the favour, noting the smears of blood decorating his skin and clothes. Nothing serious, just the expected results from a knife fight. ‘Yeah, you?’

  ‘I’ll live.’

  ‘Good to know.’

  Around them the men began to move, Ugly, Gnome and Win closing in. Others stuck to the shadows, gathering the injured and dead. Math shifted until he stood at Vex’s side, both of them watching the others approach. ‘Think we’re about to get an escort.’

  ‘Sure looks like it.’ Vex didn’t put her blade away, but kept it in hand, playing it through her fingers. ‘Screws our plans for our shadows.’ She kept her voice low.

  ‘Maybe not,’ Math murmured back. ‘If these guys are busy with us, makes it easier for them to slip through.’

  Maybe, or maybe Trip’s men would just remove them altogether. If the soldiers did make it through and found their way into the Hole, there was still a chance they’d have that talk. Better still, the Hole was the perfect spot for disposing of whatever remained once their Q&A session concluded. Hell, if they got that lucky, they could pin the soldiers’ disappearance on Trip, redirecting the resulting heat. That realisation left her smiling, even as Ugly took point and Gnome motioned for her and Math to follow.

  ***

  Afternoon was slipping into evening by the time Ugly led Vex and Math through the streets guarded by shattered buildings. Vex didn’t need the skittering sense of being watched to know their progress was being monitored. Maybe it should have concerned her, but drumming up the energy to worry was too much work. If experience taught her anything, it was that worrying was a fucking waste of time. Shit happened, and there wasn’t much you could do but roll with it. Right now, though, her roll was a bit slow. It hit her, on the hike in that it had turned into a very long day. Right now, she just wanted to make sure she didn’t humiliate herself by tripping over her feet and kissing dirt. It didn’t help that her adrenaline levels took a nosedive, while various aches and pains rose to replace it, clamouring for attention.

  Suck it up, buttercup! The pitiless reminder sounded suspiciously like Reaper, but it worked. Slapping her out of her funk and refocusing her attention on her surroundings. Luckily, Ugly and friends hadn’t trussed her or Math up. Maybe because if they were stupid enough to try taking on their motley escorts, they’d be skewered before they could blink. The crew resembled metallic porcupines with the armoury they sported. In fact, she had her eye on a particularly intriguing blade Scarecrow kept playing with, in between giving her the hairy eyeball.

  They wound their way around where the river snuck in. It seeped around heaps of rusted, overturned cars and pooled into nooks and crannies until navigating the Hole became a watery game of hopscotch. Buildings rose into the purpling sky like skeletal fingers while a vegetative scarf wrapped around the crumbling edges. Craning her neck back, she could see sunlight glinting off a few remaining windows, the last glass survivors gamely holding on.

  A curse cut through the quiet as Math’s foot slid off some half-submerged object and he stumbled into her. She kept him upright, wrapping her arm around his waist and getting her shoulder under his. The white lines around his mouth reminded her that his previous injuries had little time to heal. Her hold shifted to ease the pressure on his ribs. ‘How bad?’ It wasn’t easy keeping the question between them, not with the eerie silence that earmarked abandoned places.

  Instead of the expected denial, he gave her the truth. ‘Bad, but I’ve survived worse.’ He flicked his gaze to Ugly’s back. ‘I’m surprised he didn’t just gut us and take the damn boomer.’ He shifted his arm so it was less like he was leaning on her, more like holding her.

  She wondered if he realised he was stroking her arm, but since she liked it—maybe too much—she didn’t say a word, just adjusted her gait and hold to mimic his. ‘Whether he wants to admit it or not, he’s not stupid enough to go up against the Vultures. What I said earlier about Reaper salting the earth, wasn’t bullshit.’

  Wry humour eased some of the strain on his face. ‘Yeah, age hasn’t mellowed Reaper’s need to exact retribution.’

  The unexpected opening begged her to barge in and root around for more information on his relationship with Reaper. Before she could follow through their unwanted guide stopped and raised his hand in a silent signal for everyone else to do the same.

  Math dropped his arm, his stance going from exhausted to primed. He withdrew one of the blades, holding it with a deceptive casualness as his head did a careful swivel of their surroundings, his focus high. Vex put some space between them so she had room and did the same, keeping her attention closer to the ground.

  Catching movement in the dim recesses, she made a soft clicking sound to get Math’s attention. His head came around and together they watched as figures emerged from the ruins and took up positions around the group. Recognising the approach, Vex knew they were about to meet one of the many street gangs that called the Hole home. Hopefully they were on friendly terms with Trip otherwise … ‘I’ve got four on this side.’

  ‘Five on mine,’ came Math’s reply.

  Well and truly surrounded. A rush of air preceded a loud crash as a whipcord figure landed in a crouch on a rusted out car roof. As it meant to, the dramatic entrance of who Vex suspected was the leader, caught everyone’s attention. Working his entrance, he slowly straightened and skipped down the car until his booted heels hit the street. Then as two of his group fell in behind him, he swaggered to Ugly, stopping just out of arm’s reach. ‘What’s going, Ori?’

  Between the flashy entrance and the cocky attitude, Vex clocked him as a kid, probably mid to late teens. Hard to tell under the mix of paint and dirt obscuring his face or the jumble of mismatched clothes draping his frame. Not that age made him less of a threat.

  ‘Heading in.’ With his legs spread and his arms folded over his chest, Ugly, aka Ori, matched attitude with ice. ‘Why the interference, Bon?’

  Instead of answering the kid asked a question of his own. ‘Going straight to Trip?’

  Ori nodded.

  Bon’s smirk turned feral and he turned to motion to one of his crew. ‘Got something he might want.’

  A mix of grunts, curses, and dull thunks preceded the appearance of two of Bon’s crew dragging a third, bound and gagged, between them. They dumped him at Ori’s feet. As soon as the two stepped back, their whimpering gift tried to scramble back. He didn’t get far as Bon came in and crouched behind him. He grabbed a handful of stringy black hair and yanked the captive’s head back. Bruised and bloody features came into view and Vex gave them credit for creativity when she clocked the ball gag stuffed in his mouth. ‘Say hello, Milt.’

  The eye not swollen shut pinwheeled and the sounds behind the gag picked up as Ori dropped into a crouch so they were at eye level. ‘Who’s this?’

  ‘This is Milt.’ Using his grip on Milt’s hair, Bon added a bit more pressure. Milt’s high-pit
ched whine escaped around his gag. ‘Milt sold Lily to our tourist.’

  Vex froze as something ugly raised its head at Bon’s answer. Sold? Did he say sold? When Math slid her a puzzled glance, she forced her fists to unclench and her shoulders to loosen, shoving her reaction down. Wrong time, wrong fucking place.

  ‘Is that right?’ While Ori’s expression didn’t change, there was an unsettling menace to his question.

  ‘Yep, Milt here has been a bad, bad boy.’ Bon yanked his hand free of Milt’s hair, then pushed up, brushing his hands over his thighs.

  Milt’s head came up, and froze as his gaze hit Ori’s.

  Ori held the snivelling male’s attention, letting the tension stretch. Finally, he straightened, motioned to his men who came and dragged Milt off to the side. He turned to Bon who had moved back with his crew. ‘You get anything from him?’

  Feet braced, arms crossed over his chest, Bon shrugged. ‘Fucking useless excuses.’ He shot another ugly look to Milt. ‘If Trip didn’t want him, he’d be nothing but a smear in an alley.’

  Ori grunted, then did a scan of the watching faces before landing back on Bon. ‘Anything else I should know?’

  ‘Got more nosey bitches sniffing around.’ Bon rocked to his toes and back.

  Ori cocked his head. ‘Where?’

  ‘Here.’ Bon waved an arm indicating the direction Vex’s group came from, then began walking backwards. ‘There.’ Another sweep of an arm followed. ‘Every-fucking-where. Don’t like Trip puttin’ a ban on our play.’ He sauntered over to Vex and Math. ‘Don’t like being reined in, Ori.’ He danced closer. ‘Too many snoopers means they’re looking for something.’ With an unexpected abruptness he stepped between Vex and Math, throwing his arms over their shoulders with a manic cheer. His fingers dug into Vex’s upper arm as he squeezed. ‘Or someone, see?’ His attention went back to Ori. ‘Since we can’t play, me and mine are in need of a little flash for our pockets. How about we ease your burden?’