Gambler (11 page)

Nova nodded once. She hadn't come down here
for this, but she couldn't let Tate just walk away. She owed him
one and she'd be damned if she was going to let the opportunity fly
by.

"So… When do I get that tenner?" Honey said,
wiggling her eyebrows.

"Here," Nova said, tossing a handful of
coins in Honey's direction. The older woman caught them and stuffed
them into her deep pockets.

"You better know that I'm putting them all
on you to win. So you'd better win, dammit."

"Oh if I don't, you have permission to bury
me and steal my ship," Nova said.

Honey nodded and sauntered out of the
changing room. For the moment Nova was left alone with her
thoughts. It had turned out to be a very peculiar night. But still,
revenge was a dish best served now.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Cal tightened the last strap on Nova's arm
and hovered around to check her helmet. His tiny metal arms dinged
against the bigger metal monstrosity that covered Nova from head to
foot. Only her face was visible and that would soon be covered by
the retractable shield. She winked at Cal as he hovered in front of
her face.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea," Cal
said.

"It'll be fine. Besides, it's money that we
need."

"Yeah," Cal said, noncommittal. "You're
ready to go."

"Alright. Let's do this."

She punched her fist into the green button
at her shoulder and the shield slid up over her head to cover her
face. Her vision wasn't affected by the shield but to the external
observer it was an opaque silver-green.

She stomped down the long corridor towards
The Pit. The yells of the crowd got louder as she approached even
though the sound was muffled by her helmet. They thought she was
some new-comer and were probably ready for blood. A few of the
locals who had been attending The Pits for years might recognise
her suit, but that was unlikely.

Her boots clunked on the gravel floor and
already she could feel the heat inside the metal casing. It was
like wearing a second, unbreathable piece of skin. The only air
came through a grate near her mouth and it filled with smoke and
haze. Nova's eyes watered and sweat dribbled down her face.
Memories flooded back. It had been a long time since her last mech
fight and damn how she had missed it!

Cal hovered in front of her. Once he was
inside the square arena, he moved to the corner. Nova followed him
and stood with her back to the crowd. Her eyes locked on the
opposing hallway and the approaching figure. He was backlit, with
only his silhouette visible. It was a great hulking thing that
reflected the lights of the arena. The black suit hid everything,
including his face, but there was no mistaking his arrogance, or
the pretentious suit. It had to be Tate.

The gates to the changing rooms slammed shut
and the clanging of metal rang around the stadium. It quietened the
crowd as they waited for the fight to begin. A smaller side gate
opened and a scantily clad woman strode out, holding up a piece of
metal with the number one painted on it. She walked an entire lap
of the arena.

Nova tensed. The fight would begin as soon
as the girl walked out and the gate closed behind her. She'd be
damned if she let herself be taken by surprise by Tate.

The girl paused halfway around the arena and
held up her sign to the lit box where the commentator sat. She
smiled and winked at the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do I have a surprise
for you." The voice echoing from the speakers wasn't the usual
commentator. Nova recognised Silver immediately. He'd once been a
commentator in the legitimate mech fighting circuits. After seeing
how overly taxed and poorly managed they were he decided to start
his own. Thus The Pits were born. His voice carried out over the
crowd and had every person on the edge of their seats, holding
their breath to hear the surprise.

"You all know Tanker Tate."

Some of the crowd got to their feet and
cheered, others booed. The majority remained silent, waiting to
hear what was coming.

"But tonight he will not be fighting New-guy
Nathan."

The crowd muttered amongst themselves. Tate
glanced between Nova and the commentator's box. Nova couldn't see
his face, but she grinned as she imagined his confused
expression.

"Tonight I am very pleased to welcome back
an old favourite. A girl who many of you know and love. For those
of you who haven't seen her before, get ready for a real, mech
fighting treat. Old friends will know her real name but for tonight
please welcome back, Smasher Sam!" Silver's voice echoed around the
stadium.

As he said the name a section of the crowd
went wild. Smasher Sam was the pseudonym Nova had used when she
used to fight in The Pits years ago. Clearly there were still many
who remembered her. They jumped to their feet, cheering her name.
Some of them jeered at Tate and a few others ran to the ticket
boxes to place last minute bets. Many booed and hissed at her,
throwing cans at the fence surrounding the arena.

Nova lifted her hand to the crowd, her
signature salute, but her eyes didn't leave Tate. At her name his
head whipped up and looked straight at her, and he'd taken an
involuntary step backwards. Nova grinned; she had him scared. She'd
waited a long time to kick the crap out of him. He knew it was her,
which was the best thing. He recognised her fighter name and knew
exactly what it meant.

The scantily clad woman resumed her walk
around the arena and lifted the metal sign up to each section of
the crowd.

"Look who came crawling back," Tate jeered,
his voice muffled by his helmet.

"Only so I can watch you fall."

"Aww, c'mon, don't be like that. Hey, why
don't you play nice? I'd sure like to see you on your back for
me."

Nova clenched her teeth and resisted the
urge to lash out. If she struck before the round started she'd be
disqualified. "Over my dead body."

"Perhaps," Tate said.

"You first."

The woman with the sign made it full circle
and stepped out of the arena. The wire gate snapped shut behind her
and the fight was on.

As Nova predicted, Tate ran straight for
her. He sprinted across the arena, careening like a boulder across
the dirt floor. He tucked his head low as if he meant to head-butt
her to the fence and he growled as he approached.

Nova held her ground for as long as she
could. She pulled back her fist, as if aiming a punch, and at the
last minute stepped to the side. Tate's weight carried him forward.
As he shot past, Nova turned and slammed her elbow down into his
back. Their metal suits clanged against one another. The force sent
a jolt up Nova's arm that made it tingle. She'd forgotten what it
was like to be encased in a metal suit; she was protected but so
was he.

Tate whirled to face her and without warning
he rained fists down on her head. He beat at her with all of his
strength, smashing left and right.

Nova held up her metal arms and his blows
bounced back. Each hit sent another shock vibrating through Nova's
arms until she was sure they were going to fall right off. A
tightness formed in her stomach; she couldn't remember the last
time she'd checked the connections in her suit, and a cold sweat
broke out at the thought that it could all fall apart.

She shook her head, she couldn't think about
that now. She turned her focus back to the fight. At the moment,
she wasn't doing anything but defending as Tate hit her again and
again. No fight was ever won just by blocking. Nova let three more
punches land before she leant backwards and swung her right foot
through the air in a roundhouse kick.

Her leg smashed into Tate's side and sent
him stumbling. The metal suits weren't made for moving sideways,
the vision was limited and the balance wrong. Tate faltered until
finally regaining his balance. By then Nova was on him.

She rained down punches of her own. Instead
of letting him block the hits, she changed her angles, aiming for
his head, then his stomach, his crutch, then back to his head
again. The onslaught had Tate peddling backwards. He tried to get
around, to lash out with his own arms, but it did no good. Nova was
too quick. She blocked every blow and still had time left to attack
him.

Tate's back slammed into the fence and it
rattled. The crowd behind him went wild. Some threw bottles at the
arena, and they shattered, sending pieces of glass in all
directions. The bright specks caught the arena lights and cast
rainbows on the violent scene.

With Tate backed into a corner, Nova had the
advantage. She slammed her knees up into his ribcage. The metal
suits would protect him from some of the force but the constant
hits would hurt him bad, possibly break a few of his ribs if she
aimed them right.

Nova had victory in her grasp. There was no
way Tate could get himself out of the corner. Mech fighting had
come back as easily as walking to Nova. She slipped straight in and
overpowered her opponent as easily as she had when she was fighting
every day. Inside her suit she grinned; Tate was finally getting
what he deserved.

Pain stabbed up Nova's side. She grunted and
her forward attack failed. She reached down to the source of pain
but her metal hands stopped her from reaching it. She looked down,
trying to see over her own armour to her side. Pain shot up into
her chest.

While she was looking away, Tate lifted his
right fist and slammed it into the side of Nova's head. The blow
sent her flying across the gravel arena. Her head snapped to the
side and her body crashed to the ground. She wanted to get up but
the pain in her side made her cringe; she could barely move. The
best she could do was curl into a small ball, hoping to minimise
Tate's attack.

She groaned. Tate ran straight for her. His
foot lifted off the ground, swung down and smashed into her
stomach. Nova's organs clenched and vomit rose to the back of her
throat. Pain surged through every inch of her body. Her side boiled
with agony and yet she had no idea why.

This was it.

Tate prepared to smash her face in. He
wouldn't show any mercy, and she'd be dragged out of The Pits in a
body bag. She wouldn't be the first one, and the only way to avoid
it was to get to her feet, to stand. She tried with all her might
to push herself up but her muscles refused to respond. Every ounce
of energy she had was consumed by just staying conscious through
the haze of pain.

"End Round One," Silver's voice boomed over
the speakers.

"Lucky you got friends up top," Tate said,
nodding to the commentator's box.

From her position on the floor, Tate looked
huge. He towered over her and his massive helmet blocked out most
of her vision.

"Look at that. You did roll onto your back
for me," he said. "If I were you, I'd bow out now. You won't
survive round two."

He stomped away from Nova to his own corner
of the arena.

Nova was instantly surrounded by people. Cal
hovered near her head, talking, but she couldn't understand a word
he said. Her vision and hearing were cloudy, foggy and unreadable.
Silver ran into the arena and stood in front of her. At first he
looked mad and was yelling. Nova couldn't make out his words. After
a few moments his face fell and he pointed at Nova's side.

She tried to look down, see what he was
pointing at and what was causing her such agony but the helmet made
it impossible. At Silver's gestures the crowd around Nova changed,
their mood darkened and the voices became quieter. Jonas was there.
He was so old he was practically ancient. Apparently he'd once been
a vet in the inner galaxies. No one knew why he wasn't still there
but it was qualification enough to be a medic in The Pits.

A flicker of Nova's consciousness wondered
what Jonas was doing by her side. He should be worrying about Tate;
he was the one that was going down.

She continued these delusions, until she
dropped into unconsciousness and the world went black.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

"Nova? Nova? Come back to me girl," Jonas
said.

Nova's eyes flickered open at the sound of
his voice. Her back rested against the arena fence and a bright
light burned over her head. Her abdomen ached like death itself.
Jonas stood next to her; his beard rough and his clothes dirty,
just as she remembered.

"Hey, Jonas, what's up?" she whispered
through the pain.

Her mind sifted through her memories. What
had happened? She'd visited Roxanne, then she'd come here to ask
questions. She'd met Honey and then…… Then she'd been in the arena
against Tate! She was winning, but something had happened. There
was something she was supposed to remember. Something
important.

"He stabbed me!" Nova shouted. She tried to
sit up, but the pain in her stomach forced her to wince and lean
back.

"You see? Now we have proof," Lucas said,
stepping into Nova's field of view.

"Lucas, you know I can't do anything on the
word of some pain-addled fighter," Silver replied.

"She's not just some pain-addled fighter.
This is Nova. She was going to kick the crap out of him and he
turned cheat, just like he always does."

Nova listened to the exchange. She wanted to
yell out, to tell them that Lucas was right, that Tate was a cheat,
and a liar, and not fit to fight in these circles. But she
couldn't. Every breath was agony as the skin around her stab wound
stretched and pulled. She tentatively reached her hand down and
patted her side. Just under her ribs was a layer of bandages.

She winced at a new surge of pain and
squeezed her eyes shut.

"We've never been able to catch him before
and it's the same now. No matter how hard we search him, the
weapons never show up. I can't kick him out without a good reason,"
Silver said.