Beneath the Fallen City, Jamie A. Waters [ebook reader .TXT] 📗

A loud beep at the door interrupted them. Carl cursed and pressed the button to open the door.

Veridian entered the room, panic on his face when he saw Kayla and Carl together. He looked anxiously back and forth between them. “I came as fast as I could. Are you okay?”

Carl raised an eyebrow. “She’s fine. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Veridian shook his head. “Not her. You. Leo called me and told me Kayla was pissed off and headed here. I was worried she was going to come over here and try to kick your ass.”

“One punch is hardly an ass kicking,” Carl admitted.

Veridian’s eyes flew open. Whirling around to face Kayla, he threw up his hands in exasperation. “Are you crazy, Kayla? You hit him? You hit a trader?”

Kayla gave a small shrug. “I didn’t get to finish a full ass kicking. Give me a few more minutes and I’ll see what I can do.”

Cruncher stuck his head through the open door. “Sorry to interrupt, Boss. Ramiro and Vex just pulled up. You want me to bring them in here?”

Kayla jerked her head up to look at Carl. “Uh, would that be Trader Ramiro and his trusty sidekick?”

Surprise crossed Carl’s face. “You’ve met them?”

“Oh, shit,” Veridian swore, running his hands through his hair in agitation.

“What is it?”

Kayla shifted uncomfortably, not liking the turn of events. “Yeah, Ramiro and I go way back, and not in a good way. So, if you’ve got a back door, it might be a good idea to show us to it.”

“Oh?” Carl leaned against the desk, waiting for an explanation.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Veridian paced the floor. He spun around and pointed at Kayla. “Dammit, Kayla, this is what happens when we get involved with traders.”

Kayla gave Veridian an annoyed look and then turned to Carl. “Ramiro and I had a misunderstanding about a year ago.”

Veridian shook his head. “It was a lot more than a misunderstanding.”

“Keep them in the entrance for a minute, Cruncher,” Carl instructed. The moment Cruncher disappeared, he turned back to Kayla, “You’d better tell me fast.”

Kayla crossed her arms over her chest. “It was his own damn fault. I found that data cube. That pig-headed sack of shit stole it from me, so I stole it back.”

Veridian nodded, his shoulders slumping. “Not to mention she slapped him down in front of his crew when he made a pass at her. By the time he realized it was missing, she had already sold it to Warig.”

Carl gaped at Kayla. “The Aurelia Data Cube? That was you?”

“Well, you don’t see anyone else claiming credit for it,” she retorted, annoyed that he seemed surprised. “Besides, don’t you traders talk to each other?”

Carl took a deep breath. “Yes, but Ramiro was pretty tight-lipped about that one. Cruncher heard about it from some of Ramiro’s crew. It’s a low blow to a trader when an artifact like that disappears. They lose a lot of respect. He tried to keep it quiet as best he could.”

Carl’s commlink beeped, and he glanced at it. “Cruncher just met them at the entrance.” He pointed to Kayla. “Stay here. You’re a potential recruit, and I’m going to resolve this one way or another.”

Veridian gaped at Carl. “You’re crazy if you think Ramiro’s going to listen to anything you say when it comes to her.”

“He’s right. I tend to piss Ramiro off simply by existing. I appreciate the gesture, but you might want to show us a back door.”

Carl headed for the door, ending the discussion. “Forget it. You’re staying here. I’ll take care of this.”

Kayla grimaced and leaned against the corner of the desk, trying to mentally prepare for the inevitable showdown. She caught Veridian’s worried look and tried to give him a reassuring smile. There wasn’t much she could do to extricate the two of them from the situation. They’d have to roll with it.

She heard the voices in the hall and recognized Ramiro and his right-hand man, Vex. In Kayla’s opinion, they were both creeps.

The door slid open, and Carl and Ramiro entered, followed by Cruncher and Vex. A look of confusion crossed Ramiro’s face when he saw Kayla standing in Carl’s office.

Ramiro stood a few inches shorter than Carl but was considerably wider. He wasn’t overweight, but simply massive. His dark hair was cropped extremely close to his head, and his arms were covered with intricate tattoos. He reminded her of some pictures she’d seen of tanks from the pre-war era, both in stature and personality.

Vex was a bit taller and thinner than Ramiro, but his brown hair was slicked back away from his face, rather than cut short. His dark eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw Kayla. Neither one of them had much love for her.

“Heya, Ramiro,” she said cheerfully, giving him a little finger wave. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“You little whore,” Ramiro sneered, his face twisted in rage.

Before anyone could react, he leapt across the room, grabbed Kayla’s arm, and yanked her off the desk.

“Get your slimy, ass-grabbing hands off me!” she shrieked and kicked him. He backhanded her across the face.

Pain lanced through her cheek as she stumbled backward, falling to the ground. Carl and Veridian both tackled Ramiro and wrestled with him. Cruncher grabbed Vex and held him back.

Kayla scrambled to her feet and rubbed her throbbing cheek. Veridian and Carl both managed to subdue a raging Ramiro. He glared at her with venomous hatred. She considered blowing him a kiss to piss him off more but then decided that might be akin to suicide.

Carl gripped Ramiro’s arm and said, “We’ll let you go if you can keep your hands off her.”

Ramiro pulled away from Carl and Veridian. “Why are you protecting this little bitch, Carl? If you think you can trust her, you’re a fool.”

“She’s a potential recruit.”

“Bullshit,” Ramiro declared. “She’s screwing with you.”

Carl pulled up her contract on his monitor and pushed it toward Ramiro. “I’ve already made her an offer. See for yourself.”

Ramiro stared at the screen and his eyes narrowed. “She hasn’t accepted, and this doesn’t change anything. She owes me. I intend to collect.”

“I don’t owe you a thing. The Aurelia Data Cube was mine!”

“You stole it from my sector,” he snarled.

“Your crew cleared those tunnels!” she shouted, clenching her fists. “If they can’t figure out their asses are on fire with a flashlight and three-way mirror, that’s not my problem.”

“Wait a second,” Carl interrupted. “You cleared the tunnels, Ramiro?”

Ramiro crossed his arms. “You’re a trader, Carl. You understand how things work. Maybe my crew had already finished in that sector, but that was my sector. I offered her a generous finder’s fee for the data cube. She refused and then walked into my base and stole it.”

“You lying sack of shit,” Kayla spat. “Your ‘generous offer’ was five hundred credits and me flat on my back while you tried to figure out how to pilot my speeder.”

Carl’s eyes narrowed. “Is that true, Ramiro? If you said those tunnels were clear, you know she was damn well within her rights. As painful as it may have been, the data cube was hers.”

Ramiro turned to Carl in disgust. “You would take her side over another trader? She’s nothing but a piece of ass.”

Carl’s face hardened. Understanding crossed Ramiro’s face.

“Ahh, I see now,” he sneered. “You’re hoping to get a piece of her. So how much are you offering to pay her?”

Carl’s fist shot out, and he punched the man square in the face. There was an audible crunch, and blood gushed from Ramiro’s nose.

“You bastard! You’ll pay for that!” Ramiro yelled, grasping at his nose.

“Get the hell out of my camp,” Carl growled.

Cruncher pushed Vex toward the door and yelled for Xantham and Zane, who appeared a moment later. Along with Veridian, the four men forcibly escorted Ramiro and Vex out of the camp.

As soon as they were gone, Carl turned to look at Kayla. She gaped at him, incredulous that he had defended her against another trader. The side of her face was beginning to swell, but it was insignificant compared to the emotions coursing through her. She swallowed, deciding it might be best to make light of the situation.

“Well, shit, Carl.”

“What?”

“I wanted to be the one to hit him.”

Carl stared at her for a moment. He shook his head in disbelief and laughed. “Are you okay? It looked like he hit you pretty hard.”

“He hits like a girl,” she replied, gesturing to her swollen cheek.

“As I recall from earlier, some girls can hit pretty hard.”

Kayla considered that for a minute and then admitted, “Well, I guess he hits like a pissed-off girl, then.”

He chuckled and reached out to touch her cheek. Although his touch was gentle, she winced. “You need an ice pack on that cheek. Come with me and we’ll get you fixed up.”

“Do I get more of that scotch?”

“Against my better judgment, but sure,” he agreed, grabbing the bottle from the drawer. He took her hand and led her out to the common room. Plopping herself down in one of the seats, she poured herself a glass of the liquor while Carl put together