Gambler (10 page)

The lift bumped to a stop and the rickety
door flew open. Nova followed her fellow lift travellers out into
the bigger throng. The lift landed at the back of an upper level,
but it wouldn't take long for her to get to the front. The rows of
seats sloped forwards, hundreds and hundreds of them. People either
stood or sat on their chairs, cheering and looking down into the
arena far below.

From this far away the fighters were small
toys. The nuances and subtle battle stances were lost, replaced by
the bold-faced attacks. The sudden punch to the jaw or the kick to
the abdomen was what this crowd craved. Their shouts and cries
rocked over the stadium as they bellowed for blood.

Nova shut her ears to the yelling and pushed
her way through the crowd. The press of bodies got thicker as she
moved closer to the front. She thrust her elbows into the sides of
those she was trying to pass and they moved away. A few curses
followed her progress, but before anyone could respond she was
already gone, moving on.

She fought all the way to the front of the
upper level. The two fighters were in their third round. The one in
blue was in bad shape, stumbling on the sand and barely keeping his
fists up at his chest. The other one, with orange tinted armour,
was ten times more ready for the fight.

Nova had to grin; she'd recognise that
armour anywhere. It had to be Honey. She was a middle-aged woman
who made her entire living on the fights. When she and Nova had
first met, Honey had looked at Nova with scorn. A week later when
Nova proved her worth, Honey became her staunchest ally. Honey took
Nova under her wing and protected her from the worst of the mean
streets. Here she was, still kicking arse.

The blue fighter stumbled forward and lifted
his right fist in a feeble attempt at punching Honey's cheek. The
figure in orange didn't wait. She blocked the slow arm and tapped
it to the side, swinging her own fist with full force at her
opponent's face. The blue fighter's armour crunched under the blow
and he flew across the arena to land in a crumpled heap. He would
not be making it to round four.

In the break between fights Nova took the
opportunity to push down into the lower level and then fight her
way to the changing room. This front area wasn't as packed as the
top section. The people who sat here wanted to see every single
drop of blood as it flew from the fighters' faces. These were the
people who secretly hoped that a brawl like the 2154 championship
would break out and they'd be showered with intestines.

"Whoa, I think that's far enough for you,
little miss," said a deep voice. A thick hand landed on Nova's
arm.

She glanced at the hand and then up at the
person it belonged to, ready to tear their face from their
head.

"Nova? Nova Tabryn? Is that actually
you?"

The thick hand slid away and Nova was left
looking at a square-headed man with his mouth hanging open. He wore
black just like the security men upstairs and stood blocking the
small tunnel that led to Honey's dressing room.

"Lucas! Surprise!" Nova said.

Lucas took a few seconds to regain his
composure. When sense finally returned, he grabbed Nova in a
massive bear hug and pulled her close to his chest. He smelled of
the cigarettes he was always smoking, and sweat from the hot
underground bunker.

"I can't believe you're back. What the hell
are you doing here?" Lucas asked, grinning.

Nova didn't want to get into details. "Just
catching up with old friends."

"Well then come here, friend," Lucas said,
pulling her in for another hug. "And I suppose you'll be wanting to
see Honey?"

"You bet."

"Well then, be my guest," Lucas said,
stepping back and holding out his hand to welcome Nova down the
corridor. "I bet she'll be even happier to see you than I am. Just
wait until Silver hears about this!"

Nova smiled at him and sauntered down the
corridor. She'd made this walk countless times, although usually
strapped into her fighting gear. The high ceiling and wide walls
were built for the large fighting mechs. She shook her head at all
the memories. The first time she'd been to the Tabryn Battledrome,
or The Pits as it was more commonly known, she was still a child.
She'd followed one of Roxanne's clients after he left the
house.

The client had walked through the
backstreets of Tabryn before eventually reaching the non-descript
door. He'd done the secret knock and disappeared inside. Without
knowing what she'd find, Nova had done the same thing. The two
security guards barely raised an eyebrow at the young girl finding
her way into their midst.

It had been George who'd discovered her. She
was hiding behind a chair, watching the people drink and swear. It
was just like being back at home really. He'd seen her sneaking
around and assumed she was a thief out to fleece his customers. His
hands had clamped around the collar of her shirt and she'd lost all
the blood from her face.

"What do you think you're doing you little
thief?" George demanded.

"I'm not a thief! I was just watching."

"Ha! If I had a credit for every time
someone said that I'd be a very rich man."

"Get off me, you stinky barman! I'm telling
the truth. I came here accidentally. I live with Roxanne."

George had taken her words completely the
wrong way. "You work for Roxanne? That's just sick. I thought she
had a better sense of decency than that!"

George's face flushed red and his nostrils
flared. He stormed to the communicator set into the far wall. He
gripped Nova's collar and dragged her through the bar with him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"N-Nova," she said, arms flailing.

"Right," George said, still gripping her
shirt. He held the communicator up to his ear. "Roxanne? Yeah. Are
you missing a runt?"

George listened for a few moments.

"Says her name's Nova. Yep. Yep. You bet."
George dropped the communicator. "Well, it sounds like you're going
to be in a world of trouble when you get back home. I would suggest
you go straight there quick as you can. Roxanne's got a temper and
I'm sure you're about to hear all about it."

George released his hold on her and Nova
bobbed her head. She waited only a second before turning and
running for the door. She sprinted all the way home and straight
into Roxanne's punishment. A flurry of slaps put Nova straight,
although not enough to stop her visiting The Pits whenever she
could.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

"Well I'll be damned if it isn't Knock 'em
Dead Nova," Honey said as Nova pushed through the metal doors into
the changing room.

Honey looked older than Nova remembered.
Deep lines now gouged her face and her hair was speckled with grey.
Sweat poured down her red face as she pulled off the hunks of metal
covering her arms. Her helmet sat on the bench beside her. The
sparse room held just a few lockers and the bench; no room for
luxuries in a place like this.

"Wow, haven't heard that in a long time,"
Nova remarked with a grin.

"I've been wondering when you'd crawl back
to the circuit," Honey said, slipping her foot out of the metal
casing.

Honey's nose bent to the right where it had
been badly broken years before, and scars ran across most of her
skin. A fresh bruise turned her left temple purple.

"I see you're still street fighting?" Nova
said, nodding at the bruise.

"What can I say? The pay's good and they're
a bunch of wimps. But who cares about that. Let's talk about the
real news: you coming back into the ring." Honey grinned at Nova,
ignoring the beads of sweat that rolled down her face.

"Oh no, I'm not returning to the circuit.
I'm just here to say hello."

"Ha! Ten credits say you fight tonight,"
Honey said. She slapped her hand down on the bench beside her.

"You're on," Nova said. She swiped her hand
across her forehead, she'd forgotten how warm the changing room
could get.

"Good, that'll buy my victory beer because I
already hear Silver coming down the corridor and there is no way
he'll let you leave without putting your suit on."

"He can't make me—" Nova paused. Now she
could hear it too; excited voices approaching down the corridor.
They got louder until the door burst open and three familiar faces
rushed in.

"Nova! I'm so glad to have you back! You
just tell me where your suit is and I'll have the boys bring it
down," Silver said.

His stomach hung over the top of his pants
and he wore a leather jacket which Nova knew from experience had
many hidden pockets. His eyes were wide as he looked at her and a
grin split his face. Two younger men, Hank and Pete, stood on
either side of Silver. They had been children the last time Nova
was here. They had filled out a lot since then, but they couldn't
hide their boyish grins.

"Hold your horses, Silver; I'm not here to
fight. I'm just saying hello to some old friends."

"I don't understand," Silver said, his face
falling. He held his hands out in front of him, the very image of
disappointment.

"I don't do that anymore," she said.

"That's two shocks in one day," Honey said,
shaking her head. "Never thought I'd hear the day when the
undefeatable Nova wouldn't give it a shot."

"You're right Honey, I think she's gone soft
living up there with the rich folks," Silver said with a smirk.

"Rich folks? I live with bounty hunters.
They're worse off than you are," Nova said with a chuckle.

"Still though, you've changed. What happened
to hitting 'em where it hurts just for the fun of it?"

Nova held up her hands. "I haven't fought in
ages. I have no idea what condition my suit is in, and I didn't
come down here prepared."

"Excuses, excuses. It looks like I'm going
to have to find someone else to be a kickass role model for the
kids; can't have them going soft. Isn't that right, Hank?" Silver
said, glancing over his shoulder at the younger boy.

Hank grinned and looked up at Nova. He used
to help her with her armour. She taught him a thing or two about
mech fighting, but he was under Silver's pay now. "You're right,
even just listening to her I think I'm about ready to quit The Pits
and start dress-making."

"Oh, I see how things are," Nova said. "You
can try all you like, but I'm not going into The Pits. Not
today."

"Really? Even if I offered you two hundred
credits?" Silver said. "There are a lot of locals here tonight who
would bet big on the home favourite."

"Two hundred credits isn't even one percent
of what you'd make from those bets," Nova said.

"More than I'm getting paid," Honey said as
she pulled the last of her armour off and added it to the pile at
her feet.

"I'm already on a job," Nova said. "And it
pays more than two hundred credits."

Silver smiled and looked up at Nova out of
the corner of his eye. "Would it change your mind if I told you the
next fighter is Tate?"

"Tate?" Nova's eyes widened and she whipped
her head around to stare at Silver.

"Yep," he replied, still smiling.

"What the hell is he still doing here?
Shouldn't he have died by now?"

"Probably," Silver said with a shrug, "But
he hasn't. He's still here and still kicking some serious
mech-arse."

"He's a cheat!" Nova said, her mouth hanging
open. "You know as well as I do that he wins half his fights by
playing dirty."

"What do you want me to do?" Silver said.
"The Pits aren't exactly legal themselves. Should I call the local
law enforcements down to arrest him?"

Nova frowned. Tate was a dirty fighter. He
packed his mech suits full of contraband weapons; poisonous gas
canisters and the like. They went against the very nature of The
Pits, but no one had ever proved it and so he kept on winning.

One year, Nova had prepared to beat him down
and reveal his hidden weapons, but he snuck into her house the
night before and tampered with her suit. The next day when she
stepped into the arena, a massive electrical shock rocked through
her body and she was sent to the medics. It took weeks for her to
recover from that and by then, Tate had moved on to other
arenas.

Now he was back.

"Ah I see you haven't forgotten him," Silver
said, watching her closely.

"Damn straight."

"Well, he's about to go up against one of
the back-listers, a new guy. There's a lot of money riding on Tate.
Let's say the new guy hurt his leg and you stepped in. That could
be very profitable for certain people," Silver said.

"Certain people like you?" she asked.

"And you, I'm willing to offer three hundred
credits."

"I'd put money on that fight," Honey
said.

"Five hundred," Nova said.

"That's outrageous!" Silver cried.

"You said yourself there's a lot of money
riding on Tate. If I win you'll make a fortune. You can spare five
hundred. And I'm allowed to place a bet."

"You know I don't let fighters bet against
themselves," Silver said.

"Oh no. I want to place it on me."

"Of course!" he said. "How about five
hundred credits?"

"Perfect," Nova said with a grin. "My suit
is up in my ship, usual parking spot."

Silver nodded to Hank who turned and hurried
out of the changing rooms, back into the stadium.

"Welcome back," Silver said with a grin, his
hands held wide.

"Just make sure Tate doesn't know it's me
until he steps into that arena," Nova said.

"Of course. I think you were the only one he
was ever scared of. I'm looking forward to watching him crap
himself."

Silver turned and walked away from the
changing room. He rubbed his hands together, a wide smile plastered
over his face.