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

brought two of his lackeys with him, Cruncher and Elyot. Cruncher was a short, stocky character with a knack for electronics. Kayla had admired his skill on more than one occasion when he’d dropped off deliveries to their camp. He was a former ruin rat himself, which was why she’d thought Carl had been the same. She never believed a trader would sully himself enough to visit a ruin rat camp.

Elyot was fairly new to Carl’s crew, and she didn’t know much about him. He had sandy-blond hair and a wiry build, leading her to believe he was one of Carl’s scavengers. It didn’t matter. She didn’t have much interest in traders or their crews. They were a necessary evil. Nothing more.

Kayla wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Nothing better to do than listen in on other people’s conversations?”

Carl smiled. “I have to protect my interests, don’t I? You two are scavenging in a claimed sector.”

“You must be mistaken. We came here to tour some ruins and see the sights.”

“I see.”

He gestured to Cruncher, and the large man picked up Kayla’s discarded pack. He pulled out her frequency detector and other tools, giving them a cursory glance before putting them aside. Cruncher shook his head to indicate it was empty. “It’s only her equipment, Boss.”

“Like I said,” Kayla said sweetly, “we were touring the ruins.”

Carl raised an eyebrow. “With a frequency detector and hand drill? Take off the jacket, Kayla.”

Veridian, normally serene in comparison to Kayla’s more fiery nature, stood up. His long, light-brown hair fell in disarray around his face. He stood a foot taller than Kayla but met Carl’s eyes evenly.

Kayla often thought Veridian had been born during the wrong century. He seemed to lack the ruthlessness and cunning necessary for survival during these harsh times. But there was no questioning his loyalty or the sense of protectiveness he felt for Kayla. They’d been raised together, and Kayla would do almost anything for him. As far as she was concerned, she could be manipulative and deceitful enough for both of them.

“That’s not necessary, Carl,” Veridian said, jumping to her defense. “We’ll get out of your sector. Just leave her alone.”

“Stay out of this, V,” Kayla warned. Veridian frowned at her but didn’t raise any further objections. She didn’t want him getting involved in any altercation with Carl. Confident she’d receive more leeway if she played him right, Kayla shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it to Cruncher.

He grabbed it with one hand and began searching her pockets. She turned back to Carl, who was gazing at her with new appreciation.

Her short red tank top left her midsection bare. Dark, UV-protective pants hung low on her waist and clung to her curves.

“Jacket’s clean, Boss,” Cruncher informed him.

Kayla put her hands on her hips. “Are we done now?”

Carl grinned slyly and walked over to her. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. Kayla gasped in surprise.

Veridian made a lunge for Carl, but Cruncher grabbed him and held him back.

Carl leaned down and whispered into Kayla’s ear, “You can either hand over what you’ve taken, or I can go searching for it. The second would suit me fine.”

With a look of disgust, she pushed against his chest. He grinned and took a step back as she reached into her shirt to pull out the necklace. She tossed it to him. “Take it. It’s not worth having your hands on me.”

Carl caught the necklace and held it up to admire it. “I’m impressed, Kayla. You were down there for how long? Twenty minutes?”

“Twelve,” she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

He lowered the necklace and rubbed his chin in thought. “I have a proposition.”

“Forget it,” Veridian interrupted. “We’re not interested in anything you have to offer.”

Carl ignored Veridian and kept his focus solely on Kayla. He held out the necklace to her. “You gave this up way too easily. I doubt this was all you took. But I’ll allow you to keep this and whatever else you smuggled out today as a gesture of goodwill. In exchange, I want a small favor.”

Kayla considered him. Between the necklace, the rest of the jewelry, and the carving, she estimated Leo could probably bring in around two thousand credits. That amount would pay the camp expenses for at least a week and she’d have enough left over to finish fixing their auxiliary cooling system. It was tempting, but her past experiences with traders had taught her to be wary. “What favor?”

“I want a few hours of your time, Kayla. Nothing more. Come to my base tomorrow.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Because your talents are wasted on Leo,” Carl said. “He doesn’t have the resources or connections we do. Why waste your time as a ruin rat when there are other possibilities? Let me show you our operation. You can meet some of the crew.”

“So she can scavenge for you, Carl?” Veridian asked coolly. “You traders are all the same. You’ll screw over anyone and everything so long as it benefits your bottom line. Kayla’s part of our family. She can’t be bought.”

Carl spared the briefest glance at Veridian. “I appreciate the fact that your friend is trying to look out for you. Feel free to bring him along if it makes you more comfortable. It’s just a few hours of your time, and who knows? We might surprise you. I’m not asking for a commitment, only a chance to show you what we’re about.”

Kayla weighed her limited options. They were outnumbered and outgunned. If she refused and Carl found the jewelry, there was no telling how he’d react. It would be far too easy for her and Veridian to take an “accidental” dive into the ruins without a harness. The other alternative would be to give up the items and walk away empty-handed.

It was a possibility, but she’d already burned up a lot of Leo’s remaining goodwill. If she returned to camp without anything to sell, it wasn’t just her and Veridian who would suffer. The camp only had another two or three days of food supplies left. She had no choice. Leaning forward, she took the offered necklace. “Done. I’ll stop by tomorrow. Send the coordinates to my commlink.”

Veridian’s mouth formed a thin line, but he remained silent. Kayla didn’t miss the disapproving look on his face before he turned away to finish packing up their equipment. She quelled her initial impulse to reassure him she knew what she was doing. Instead, she focused on keeping her head in the game as long as Carl and his crew were still around. Traders would pounce on any sign of weakness.

Cruncher winked at Kayla as he handed her jacket back to her. “Notorious ruin rat considering going legit?”

She gave him a smug smile as she slipped her jacket on and stuffed the necklace into her pocket. “Hardly. But I’ve never been one to turn a blind eye to a profitable deal. A few hours of my time to get the grand tour and I keep my loot. It’s not my problem if your boss has a brain that fits in a gnat’s ass and still has room to rattle.”

Carl raised his eyebrows while Cruncher let out a loud laugh. “How much are you walking away with, Kayla?”

Kayla smiled cryptically. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I believe we might have some items we need to get prices on. I’ll see about bringing them with me tomorrow. Oh, and stay off our channels, Carl,” she warned as she recalled his earlier mention of intercepting their transmission. “Or you may end up hearing things you don’t like. I’d hate for your delicate trader ears to be forever scarred.”

Carl chuckled. “I doubt there’s much you could say that I haven’t heard before.”

“You might be surprised,” Kayla muttered. She picked up her helmet and walked over to her speeder. The other men followed her example and mounted their bikes.

Veridian hit the button to disengage the UV guard attached to his bike. A loud beep signaled the one-minute warning. Kayla put on her helmet and activated her bike.

Carl and his crew waited on their speeders, making it clear they didn’t trust her and Veridian to leave the scavenge site without their presence. She couldn’t help but smile at their lack of trust. It went both ways. Veridian held up his hand to let her know he was ready.

With a nod, she threw the bike into gear and took off over the desolate landscape. The war that had occurred over one hundred and fifty years ago had left much of the world a wasteland. Ruined buildings crumbled over onto themselves. Once lush areas had become barren.

Biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons had taken their toll, and a large portion of the planet was rendered uninhabitable. People lived differently in some places, either in areas less hard-hit or locked up in shelters that had been outfitted in preparation for the attacks.

Twin white towers stood in the distance, a constant reminder of the changes. A company called OmniLab had built them before the war. Kayla wasn’t sure how they’d managed to stay intact when much of the surrounding area was a wasteland. All she knew was based on what little information they’d found over the years and stories told by other ruin rats. Even the traders were tight-lipped when it came to the towers. Supposedly, entry into the fully self-sustaining towers had been permitted to several thousand individuals who met specific criteria, but if the rumors were true, the price tag for entry had been steep.

But even those self-sustaining towers had their weaknesses. The inhabitants craved the lost memorabilia that had once been commonplace in their society. These relics were considered luxury items, and people like Carl were appointed by OmniLab to obtain artifacts from the ruins. In exchange for the items, traders provided necessary equipment, food, and other supplies critical for survival outside of the towers. If it weren’t for this bartering system, Kayla wasn’t sure how long her camp could