Gambler (12 page)

"Yes, you damn can! It's your place," Lucas
replied angrily.

"'I'd lose half my customers doing that.
They like him because he's a sure win. I can't kick him out without
evidence."

"That's bullshit," Lucas said.

"I agree with that," George said from
outside of Nova's vision.

"Could you fit her suit Honey?" Silver
asked.

"I don't think so boss, she's too short,"
Honey replied.

Nova's brows drew together. She tried to put
the pieces back together. Tate had stabbed her, but there was no
way to prove it. And then, Honey… Honey was going to…

"No!" Nova said. This time she did manage to
sit up although she swayed. Jonas placed a hand on her shoulder to
keep her steady.

They crowded around her, blocking her view
of the far corner where Tate was sure to be.

"Glad to see you're awake girl," said
George, his mouth lifting.

"She can't go out there," Nova said
sluggishly.

"Neither can you," Silver said. "And I've
got at least three more rounds to fill if I'm going to stop a full
riot."

"I can do it," Nova said.

Cal hovered over to her and his internal
systems scanned her eyes and then the rest of her body. His
processors beeped, but he didn't say anything.

"I don't think so," Jonas said, putting more
pressure on her shoulder in an attempt to make her lie down. "You
nearly died on me back there. You've lost way too much blood for
this nonsense."

"So get me some synthetic," Nova said. "I
know you've got stacks of it down here."

"Nova, I'm sorry I pushed you into a fight,
but you really shouldn't do this. Tate's not going to go easy just
because you're hurt. He'll try to kill you," Silver said, rubbing
his forehead.

"You're forgetting that I also have a bet on
this match," Nova said. The effort of staying upright and talking
was making her head swim. She took three deep breaths to settle
herself.

"Screw it; you can still have your five
hundred," Silver said. "Just promise not to sue me for damages over
this." He gestured to her stomach with a weak smile.

"I have to take him down," Nova said. "If I
can just prove that he's cheating, then everything will be
fixed."

"It's not as easy as that," Silver said.
"I've been trying to pin him for years."

"Yes, but you didn't have me."

"Look, my girl. You don't have anything to
prove. We know you're a bad arse and you would have won that fight
if that bastard hadn't cheated," said George. "Don't hurt yourself
more just for an ego boost."

"It's not just my ego. He has to learn and
it's my lesson to teach," Nova said stubbornly.

"Nova—"

At that second Nova caught sight of Tate
through the press of bodies surrounding her. His visor was up and
he sneered at her across the arena. An icy cold settled over her
racing heart and a sudden calm spread through her. She clenched her
teeth.

"Patch it up," she said.

"You can't be serious," Jonas said.

"I said, patch it."

Jonas glanced at Silver who sighed and threw
his hands into the air. "Do it."

Jonas pulled a canister from his medical kit
and sprayed it through the gaping hole in Nova's mech suit. The
sudden pressure sent a new wave of agony through her and stars
danced across her vision. She blinked hard and locked her gaze on
Tate. So long as he was sneering, she'd stand and fight.

"Here," George said after Jonas had
finished. He held a metal panel over Nova's damaged side.

Cal hovered closer and extended the welder
from his central panel. With great care he attached the spare panel
over Nova's wound.

"Is it sewn up tight Doc?" Nova asked,
wrenching her eyes away from Tate.

"Good as I could get it," he said.

"Good," she said. "Get me a bag of blood, A
neg. How long have I got before it's a forfeit?"

"The crew still have to come out for a
dance, you've got time," said Silver.

Nova nodded. She breathed in shallow gasps
to reduce the pain.

"Here," Cal said, holding out a square of
Parapem. Nova took it with a nod.

Jonas ran off to find the blood and Nova
stayed sitting, trying to collect herself.

"Damn your stubbornness," George said.

Nova shrugged and smiled. "I learnt from
some of the best."

"Let her go, George. If she wants to throw
her life away then let her, we've all got to go some time," Honey
said.

"Oh, I'm not worried about her. I was
speaking on behalf of Tate. He's a dead man walking, you know,"
George said with a smile.

"That bastard did a number on your suit,
Nova," Honey said.

"Ten credits say he's going to go for that
place again."

"I'd agree with you there."

"Here we are," said Jonas holding up a bag
of synthetic blood as he walked back into the arena. He went to
Nova and inserted a needle into her arm. He attached the drip and
held the bag up high.

Nova grimaced as the needle sunk in and
looked away. The sting persisted up her arm, joining the rest of
the pain that coursed through her body.

It took a while, but eventually the blood
bag was empty and Nova felt much better. Jonas pulled out the
needle and Nova stood. Bright lights flashed in front of her vision
and she wobbled, arms spinning for support.

Honey grabbed hold of her shoulders and held
her steady while Nova leant forward, resting her hands on her
knees. Her crunched side burst with new pain, but she couldn't risk
passing out, so she waited until the stars cleared.

"One last time. Are you sure you want to do
this?" George asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You bet," Nova replied.

"Okay. Give 'em hell, girl."

Nova nodded at each of her friends and
pushed down the green button on her collar. The helmet slid into
place and the others hurried out of the arena.

The dance crew was out in full force. They
were very attractive men and women who had had multiple
modifications, their bodies carved and shaped to exactly match the
perception of beauty for this month. When the fashions changed next
month they would no doubt go and get new mods and upgrades to keep
up.

The crew jumped over each other and spun
through the air, performing summersaults and backflips in quick
succession. They danced to an upbeat song which was almost
contagious. Even Nova in her near-dead state and encased in metal,
felt the need to move her head in time to the music.

The song came to its end and the crew jumped
up over one another to create a towering human pyramid. The crowd
went wild, cheering and stomping their feet. The crew smiled and
layer by layer came down from the pyramid and left the arena. Nova
nodded at them as they walked past, whether they had bided time for
her of their own accord or because of Silver's instructions, she
didn't care, they'd done her a favour.

"Give it up again for The Pit's Crew!"
Silver said from the speakers. The crowd cheered, but a lot of
their attention was now focused on the two fighters.

"I apologise for some technical difficulties
but these have been resolved and we can return to the main
attraction. Here they are, ready for round two: Tanker Tate and
Smasher Sam."

The crowd erupted. Nova stepped into the
arena. Tate did the same on the other side. As before the scantily
clad woman stepped into the ring and walked around the edge,
holding a metal plate with the number two printed on it.

"How's your side?" Tate asked.

"You know blades are forbidden in this arena
right?" Nova said.

"Wasn't my blade girl. I guess your
cheap-arse armour must have broken or something."

"That's a good story, you should stick to
it." Nova spared a glance for the girl; she was halfway around,
still some time. "Rest assured, you are a dead man."

"Hmm, I don't feel very dead," Tate replied,
his tone mocking.

Nova didn't respond. The gate clanged shut
and she lunged, catching Tate by surprise. Her metal body slammed
into his and they both fell to the ground.

She didn't stop for breath, pounding into
Tate with all of her force. It only took three hits before she was
exhausted. Her muscles ached, her vision was hazy, and the world
started closing in on her.

Tate pushed her off and they both struggled
to their feet. She couldn't let up now. Ignoring the stars in her
vision she rushed forward, arms swinging, until he was against the
fence. She refused to show any weakness, even when her whole vision
blacked out.

"Oh girly, didn't you learn from last
time?"

Nova smiled inside of her helmet.

Tate swung his right arm up and a blade shot
out of a slot on his forearm. It shone red with blood and bits of
flesh dangled from the serrated edge. As Tate swung his blade up
towards her ribs, she turned to her side so that her back was
against the fence next to his.

The blade sailed up through the air, missing
her entirely. She was ready for it and lashed out, slamming her
fist into the thin blade so that it snapped clean off.

The crowd watched as it sailed through the
air and clattered to the gravel arena. Everything went silent. Many
in The Pits knew that Tate cheated, but to have actual proof was
something else entirely. The knife slid a few feet across the
ground and came to rest.

Unlike the rest of the arena, Tate and Nova
didn't stop. As soon as the blade snapped, Tate smashed a button on
his other arm and revealed a second knife. He slashed at Nova,
aiming for her injured side and forcing her to move and twist. The
motions pulled the stitches in her wound and she felt her skin pull
apart. Blood seeped out between the gaps.

She watched the knife wave in front of her
face and then stomped forward. The sudden movement put her inside
Tate's reach but the knife was on the wrong side. He tried to turn
it around to stab Nova's back, but she was too fast. She slammed
her open palm up into his head. Her metal casing smashed into his
green face shield and a crack ripped up the centre.

With her other hand, Nova lashed out at
Tate's shoulder. She aimed straight at his pressure point and with
the force of her blow his arm went limp. Nova lifted up her right
leg and kicked out with full force. Her foot collided into Tate's
stomach and he flew backwards, crumpling to the ground near his
broken blade.

Nova smiled, even though her abdomen hurt
more than anything she could imagine and she felt as if she was
going to pass out at any moment. Tate was down and they had proof
of his cheating. She grinned and waved up at the crowd, her breath
coming hard and fast. Her ears were filled with the sound of
cheering.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we have
a winner. And what a win it was too! The champion is Smasher Sam.
Make sure you show her your appreciation, she's an off-world
visitor and we want her to come back," Silver said.

The crowd cheered.

"On a more serious note, I think it's safe
to say that after tonight Tanker Tate will not be fighting in The
Pits again. We may evade the law ladies and gentlemen, but we have
our own honour code and I think it's pretty clear that Tate's been
spitting in the face of that for quite some time."

Most of the crowd cheered. There were a few
boos and hisses, but they were drowned out by the rest. Some of
Tate's staunchest supporters slunk out of the stadium. Nova grinned
at their retreating backs. Let them cower.

She stood in the centre of the arena, while
workers dragged Tate's body off to the side. They pulled him and
his metal suit from the arena through the gravel, leaving a trail
of blood in his wake. He was still conscious, but only barely.
Nova's kick had been a good one, and he'd landed with a deep thud.
Probably his head had smashed against his helmet. He wouldn't be
the first one to be felled by his own suit.

Nova nodded up at the crowd for a few more
moments and then disappeared up the corridor to her own changing
room. She managed to walk upright until she was inside the tunnel
at which point she crumpled to the floor with a groan.

She tried to breath, but it was too painful,
each gasp cutting into her side like a hot iron. She rolled her
head to the side and saw her friends running at her down the
tunnel, silhouetted by the bright lights of the arena.

She sunk in and out of consciousness, barely
aware of her surroundings. Her friend's faces came and went, but
Cal hovered above her throughout. She tried to talk, but her words
died in her throat with new waves of agony.

It felt like days before she stabilised
enough to stay conscious, although according to Cal it was only a
few hours.

"You've used up six of my blood bags!"
Silver said with mock horror. "Do you know how much that costs
me?"

Nova smiled and tried to sit up higher on
the make-shift bed. "I'm sure you made it back on the fight," she
said, her voice rough.

"Lucky for you."

"So, will you be coming back to join us?"
Honey asked, smiling.

Nova snorted. "Believe it or not, this isn't
exactly appealing." She gestured to her side.

Bandages wrapped around her midsection,
hiding the wound.

Despite the agony, she was glad she'd come
back to The Pits, and even gladder that they'd convinced her to
fight. Defeating Tate was almost worth coming to Tabryn in the
first place. Even if the casino job didn't work out, she'd won a
tidy profit here which made up for having to come back to the
hell-hole which was Tabryn.

"You're mostly patched up," Jonas said. "You
can stay here or we can take you back to your ship."

"As charming as this changing room is," Nova
said, glancing at the dull walls. "I think I'd rather go back. Cal
can look after me from here."

"It was good to see you, Nova," said George,
echoed by the others.