Mortal Lock (41 page)

ACE

Right. No ego. That’s another thing I noticed. Some of the Handlers acted as if they
liked
their Traxyls. I could never be sure, because you can’t touch one or anything, but it looked that way. I saw one Handler crying when his Traxyl died. I figured he was probably upset because he lost so much money. But I couldn’t be sure … so, whenever I see a Handler like that, I never bet.

CANDY

You don’t trust emotions.

ACE

I had a lot of reasons not to. Just like you.

THE CLOSED HEARTS STAND APART
BUT YOUR FUN IS ALMOST DONE
THE TIME WILL COME
WHEN THE CHILDREN OF THE SECRET
REJOICE IN THEIR CHOICE
THERE WILL BE NO PLACE WHERE YOU ARE SAFE

ACE

(holding both Candy’s hands)

I never would have … stepped across the line. It was like a … shield I put around me. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d still be …

CANDY

(crying softly through her smile)

I’m no Gambler, either, Ace. I played only once. And when I did, I put everything I had on the line.

ACE

Any problems?

CANDY

With Umal? He hardly even looked up. I don’t know why you thought he’d—

ACE

(lamely)

I guess I thought … I don’t know, maybe you were good for business or something. So maybe he’d kick up a fuss if you wanted to—

CANDY

(deliberately bumping ACE with her hip)

Good for business? In
that
place? It’s like a Zoner-pipe den in there. The Gamblers come in, get their fix, and just stare into space. I could walk around nude; it wouldn’t make any difference to them.

ACE

Is that right? Then how come you always bring home so much tip money?

CANDY

Hey! You know how it works: when a Gambler’s flush, everybody gets a tip. Umal can get someone to replace me in ten minutes.
You’re
the one who kicked up a fuss, remember? There was no reason for me to quit. Now that I’m not going to be working, it feels … I don’t know. Like I’m not pulling my weight or something.

ACE

(lightly smacking CANDY’s bottom)

All this weight?

CANDY

You think I don’t know my own man, you big dope? I know how you slip around things that scare you. I did what you wanted, now it’s your turn.

ACE

To do what? I already said I’d—

CANDY

If the next sentence that comes out of your mouth has the word “credits” in it, you’re in serious trouble, mister. I quit my job out of faith. Not faith that you’d pay my bills, faith that I’d be
part
of you. If you don’t understand that, then you can just—

ACE

(very serious)

Oh, now it’s
your
turn, huh? You think I don’t know you? You didn’t find me, Candy. And I didn’t find you. It was like we bumped into each other in the dark. We went in blind. Who does that in Underground? Suckers. Chumps. Fools. Idiots. That’s not either of us. So
you
explain it. Go ahead!

ACE

(when she doesn’t reply)

Yeah. I thought so. Why did I bring you back to my place?
(pause)
And don’t give me one of your smart cracks, miss; I’m not in the mood.

CANDY

I wasn’t trying to make you mad, honey.

ACE

I know.
(He touches her breast—exactly where she touched herself the first time she told Ace he was afraid of what’s in there.)
You’re just scared.

CANDY

Me?

ACE

You, little girl. You don’t want to say it out loud, because you’re afraid you’ll be wrong. But you’re not. I never brought
anyone
to my place.
Ever
. I was raised on the same rules you were. Not the ones the Rulers made; the ones that you have to learn for yourself or … Always keep your back to the wall, right? When I brought you to my place, you knew what that meant. My place isn’t just a cave; it’s me. I brought you in there. Plenty of things in Underground can kill you. Plenty of them will. Some for credits; some for fun; some for … who knows? When I was a kid, people hurt me. Like they hurt you.

CANDY

Plenty of—

ACE

Right. That doesn’t make us special. It doesn’t make us anything. But when I say they hurt me, I don’t mean like with a whip, or an electrode. Hurt me
in
me. And I fixed that the same way you did.

CANDY

Built a shell.

ACE

Uh-huh. And I built a beauty, didn’t I? So when I opened it up to you, that made you special.

CANDY

Because you love me for real?

ACE

(sadly)

I do love you for real, Candy. But what makes you special is that I made you the only person in Underground who can hurt me. Now you think you can shut up until we get home, or do I have to explain how you’re going to pull your weight right here?

CANDY

You don’t have to explain anything to me, Ace. Not now, not—

ACE

(smacks her bottom again, but, this time, hard enough for the
crack!
to resound through the tunnel)

You never know when to be quiet, do you?

ACE

Okay, now? You get it? I didn’t want you to quit because I was jealous
(catching a glimpse of Candy’s legs as she paces past)
. Okay, maybe I was, a little … but I knew that was stupid.

ACE

Will you
stop
? What I meant was, it’d be stupid because you … opened yourself, too. You’re not my … girlfriend or something; you’re my … 
(searches for the right word)
 … you’re my partner. Not like a business partner, part of me. Like I’m part of you.

CANDY

You don’t have to calm me down, like I’m going to explode or something.

ACE

(sarcastically)

No?

CANDY

No! Who’s always giving who a smack?

ACE

(angry at the false allegation)

Yeah, that’s me, the big mate-beater, huh? Did I ever throw a dish at
you
? Or bust up the furniture? Or punch you in the chest? Or even
yell
at you? Oh, that’s right … that’s what
you
do.

ACE

(grabs her wrist, pulls her onto his lap)

Smacking your fat ass shouldn’t even count—that’s like whipping a rock with a pillow.

CANDY

(trying to suppress a giggle)

You’re nothing but a bully.

ACE

That’s me, all right.

CANDY

(triumphantly)

At least you admit it.
(Buries her face in Ace’s neck for a second, pulls back, gives him a quick kiss, stands up, and steps back.)

ACE

Being a bully?
You’re
the one who’s always—

CANDY

Oh, don’t be such an idiot. You said it yourself, didn’t you? Mate-beater.

CANDY

Come here, honey. Remember that pattern I told you about? My hypothesis? I think it’s almost ready. Take a look.

ACE

(walking over, putting his hand on the back of her neck)

It
does
look good, girl. But it doesn’t matter, not anymore.

ACE

It had to happen. You could see it coming a few cycles ago. The Info-Board said Traxyl-fighting had been upgraded to a Major Rule infraction. That means a year on the HydroFarm if you’re caught. Nobody understood it at first, but then the Book Boys set us straight:

NOT JUST THE HANDLERS
THEY COUNT THE GAMBLERS, TOO
AND THEY’RE COUNTING YOU

ACE

The Rulers don’t know what a Gambler is, but they know what a Gambler
does
. All the new Rule meant was that going to a Traxyl fight to bet
was
a bet … a bet that you wouldn’t get caught. If the Rulers knew anything about Gamblers, they wouldn’t have bothered changing the Rules.

But then the whisper-stream started really throbbing, saying the people in the Uncharted Zone were going to stop the Traxyl-fighting by themselves. That sounded crazy, like a rumor inside another rumor. Nobody even knows if there
are
people in the Uncharted Zone.

But it’s been eighteen cycles, and not one single Trapper has come back. Even when the price for a Traxyl went up to fifty thousand credits, there were no takers. Like it wasn’t a gamble anymore; it was a mortal lock: if a Trapper goes in,
he’s
the one who gets trapped.

When they realized nobody was going to trap any more Traxyls, they tried to breed them. They never did that before, because it was so risky: if you put two of them together to have sex, they might kill each other, and you wouldn’t make a single credit off
that
. But they found out that Traxyls won’t mate after they’re captured. I don’t even know how you tell males from females, but the ones in cages never have babies. Or eggs.

I’ve been doing this so long, I guess I never figured on doing anything else. But the word just got passed. They’re going to put every Traxyl they have left into one last fight. It’s going to run for as long as it takes—maybe a whole cycle. When it’s over, there’ll only be one Traxyl left.

I know that’s true, too.

DEATH WIND WALKING

ACE

The last fight is going to be way out in the tunnels. It’s right next to the Uncharted Zone, but there’s no other place to hold a fight this size. There’s over three hundred Traxyls left, and there has to be room for people to stay—a full cycle is a long time. Traders are already out there, setting it up. It’ll be a huge score for them; out on the border, you can charge whatever you want.

It’s hard to keep something this big quiet, and that makes me nervous, sure. But it’s our last chance, little girl. We’ve got almost three hundred thousand credits saved, but, after this, there’ll be no way for us to earn any more. What we have can’t last forever, not if we want to stay here.

CANDY

We don’t have to stay here. We just have to stay together.

ACE

Underground’s no place to be old, honey. It costs credits to be safe. Protection, the Medical Tunnels … you know. We don’t have enough to go the distance.

CANDY

(sensing what’s coming)

Ace …

ACE

I’m going to the fights, girl. I’ll take two-fifty with me. If I come back, I’ll have enough for us to go all the way. If I don’t, you can get seventy-five for this place, easy. Plus the fifty, you should be okay for a real long time, until you find another way to—

CANDY

(immovable)

No.

ACE

We don’t have any choice, baby.

ACE

I’m sorry, Candy. But
you
don’t have any choice, either. I’m going.

CANDY

I know you’re going, you stupid man. But you’re not going with two hundred and fifty thousand credits—