Gambler (17 page)

Nova held her breath. He couldn't get it. He
just couldn't.

Sweat dribbled down Gus's face as he studied
the table. He took a deep breath, bent over, and shot.

It was wide. The white ball went way off
course, barely touching his own ball, let alone moving Nova's.

"Grishnak!" he yelled, swinging the stick at
the table. He managed to pull himself short before he snapped the
cue in half.

"Alright," Nova said, taking the cue.

This was it. With Gus's failed shot, hers
was lined up. It would be as easy as one-two-three. She bent over
the table and lined up both balls. They made a straight path for
the middle pocket. It wouldn't take much. She just had to watch her
power.

She took three deep breaths, pulled back,
and let fly.

The white ball went straight, set to smack
her ball and then collide with Gus's. It was inches from Nova's
ball when a dirty hand smacked through the air and grabbed hold of
it.

Nova's mouth dropped open. Who would dare
take a ball off the table mid-shot?

Everyone near the table went silent. Simple
bar-room etiquette had been broken, and that never ended well.

Both Nova and Gus turned to face the man
responsible. He sneered at them, revealing green teeth that went
well with his twice-broken nose. He tossed the ball into the air
and caught it.

"What the hell?" Aart said, jumping to his
feet.

The rest of the Hunters looked furious.

The man had a crew of his own. At least five
people stood behind him, ready for a fight. They scoffed at Nova
and the other Hunters.

"Hunters are ya?" the man at the front said,
still throwing the ball into the air.

His tossing of the ball was infuriating.
Nova couldn't stop her eyes from watching it rise up through the
air and then fall again.

"What's it to you?" Gus said. He stepped
around the table, fists clenched.

"Well, you see," said the man. "I don't much
care for Hunters."

"And I don't much care for backwater,
in-bred, imbeciles," Aart said, stepping forward to stand next to
Gus.

"What the hell are you doing, Shane?" the
bartender yelled. He glared at them over the top of his bar. The
other patrons stopped and turned at the sound of his voice.

"I was just saying I don't much care for
Hunters," Shane said.

"I've told you a hundred times not to cause
trouble in my bar," the barkeeper warned.

"Then maybe you should stop letting
riff-raff in."

Nova bristled. The bounty hunters weren't
welcomed in all corners of human society but on somewhere like
Tabryn she hadn't expected this.

"I mean it, Shane. Shut up or get out."

"Don't think so," he said. "Make these turds
leave. This is our place."

"It's my place," said the barkeep. "And I
will ban you for life."

Shane turned and scowled at the bartended.
"You wouldn't dare. I bring you good business."

"It's not worth the trouble."

"We'll see," said Shane.

With no further warning he pulled back his
arm and hurled the solid pool-ball at Gus. It smacked him in the
head and he crumpled to the floor, unmoving. Blood poured out of
his forehead.

CHAPTER
TWENTY

The Hunters leaped to the attack. The
drunken haze dropped like a veil and they jumped into full fighting
mode. Nova considered pulling her pistol, but decided against it as
that would mean that things would get really ugly. She'd save it in
case things got really bad. She wasn't above killing Shane or his
goons if he threatened one of her friends.

Shane's cronies jumped forward as soon as he
threw the ball. They swung their beefy fists at the Hunters. Their
faces twisted with malice and a thirst for blood.

Aart was at the front. Two men jumped at him
at once, but he ducked out of the way and spun around. His fists
flew at his attackers. He lashed out with his left leg and caught
the first attacker on his knee. An audible crack went through the
bar-room.

The thug collapsed with a wail.

Nova didn't have time to watch any more. A
man with a gold tooth was on her. He grinned and spread his arms
wide as if meaning to take her in a bear-hug.

Nova kicked, ignoring the pain that shot up
her side and burst through her shoulder. Her heel caught him in the
groin and he winced, stumbling back. She brought the pool stick
down over her shoulders and slammed it into the man's head. The
stick cracked with the force of impact. Splinters flew in all
directions.

Her attacker fell to his knees as blood
dribbled out of a split in his head. His eyes glazed over and he
looked like he was going to fall forward onto his face.

Nova ignored him and moved to the next
attacker. She wielded the pool cue like a deadly weapon. She
smacked the closest thug on the arm, leaving wooden splinters
bristling out of his flesh. He turned and growled at her. She
whipped the stick back and bashed his legs. He lost his balance and
fell to the floor.

Meanwhile, the bar-room was in an uproar.
The other patrons joined the fight, some with the Hunters and some
against. Others started fights of their own. Glasses shattered
against the walls and alcohol pooled on the floor.

The bartender bellowed at the top of his
lungs, but no one paid him any attention. It wasn't until two men
tried to climb over the bar that he really got involved. They went
for the expensive alcohol and the bartender leaped at them,
slamming the first man's head into the bar. He collapsed
instantly.

The second man stopped with one leg already
on the bar.

"I wouldn't, sonny," said the bartender.

The man glanced longingly at the alcohol but
took his leg off the bar and returned to the fight. He picked up a
barstool and slammed it into the woman next to him. She roared in
response and smacked him with a bottle of bourbon. His teeth flew
out of his mouth and he crumpled to the floorboards.

Tanguin was holding her own, but not for
long. She rarely spent time in the field and her combat skills were
minimal. She had almost no muscles to speak of and weighed less
than some children. She ducked and weaved around Shane's goon; he
was getting tired, but so was she.

Tyra banged the heads of two men together
like coconuts. They both looked unconscious but that didn't stop
her giving them another few slams just to be sure.

For the moment, Nova was free. Shane looked
less sure of himself, but he was still smiling. She wanted to beat
his face in. She could do it too, she knew it. On the other hand,
Tanguin looked like she was in trouble.

Nova darted around the pool table and
smacked her stick onto the shoulder of the man that was targeting
Tanguin. He grunted in pain and turned around. Nova smiled at him
and swung the stick with full force.

He held out his forearm, blocking the blow,
although the force of it made him wince. He didn't stop to look at
his wound, instead going on the offensive. He grabbed hold of the
pool stick and yanked it out of Nova's hands, tossing it over his
shoulder where it clattered to the floor.

He lunged forward with his calloused hands
outstretched. His nails were caked with mud and blood.

Nova ducked and rolled. She came to her feet
out of his reach and cast around for a weapon, but there was
nothing close by. She ran at the man, swinging her fist in a wide
arc aimed straight at his forehead.

He was faster than he looked. He ducked out
of the way and brought his fist up. He caught her in the chin and
she reeled. The force of it made stars burst in her vision. She
tried to blink them away but was too slow; he was on her with his
hands wrapped around her throat.

"Pity I'll have to kill ya," he said. "Could
have had some fun with a girl like you."

"Glad I'm dying then," Nova said through
gasping breaths.

He grinned down at her with chipped and
yellow teeth. Red veins stood out around his eyes. He had all the
symptoms of a Zine addict.

His breath on her face smelt like rotting
flesh and it made her gag. The warmth of it stuck to her face, like
a wet rag.

Blood surged through Nova's veins. Her ears
rang and dark splotches bounced across her vision. She drew in a
ragged breath but the oxygen couldn't get past the man's clenched
hands. She couldn't feel her legs and her thoughts were getting
slower. Her focus thinned down to a narrow tunnel; she lost track
of the bar-room and the fighting. There was just her and the man in
a circle of darkness.

She used the last of her strength to
struggle against him, but it was no good.

"Take this!"

Something smashed into the man's head and he
fell to the side. Blood surged into Nova's head and her vision
cleared. She spluttered for air. It flowed into her lungs and
brought a soothing sensation.

Tanguin stood over her holding a chair. She
looked scared, but triumphant at the same time. The man lay
unconscious on the floor beside Nova, his eyes rolled back in his
head.

"Is he dead?" Tanguin asked, her face
dropping.

Nova glanced at his moving chest.
"Unfortunately not."

Tanguin helped her to her feet. Battles
raged around the bar-room, but the action around the Hunters was
almost over. The prone bodies of the fallen thugs surrounded them.
Orion smacked out with a deadly right hook and knocked out the last
of their attackers. Only Shane remained.

His smug smile was gone. He stepped away
from the Hunters, glancing around. None of his cronies were left
and the Hunters stood between him and the exit.

"You bastard," Gus grunted. He used the pool
table to get to his feet. A massive purple lump sprouted from his
forehead. He looked around at the destruction. "And I've missed
most of the damn fight!"

He turned towards Shane and his lips drew
back from his teeth. "You," he said, pointing at Shane's chest.

"Just leave and there won't be any trouble,"
Shane said. His fat face was frozen but his shaky voice betrayed
him.

"You're wrong, sunshine. There's going to be
a whole world of trouble."

"I'm warning you," said Shane. He tapped
around behind his back. All he found was a half-burnt
cigarette.

"Too late for warnings," said Gus. He pushed
his sleeves higher up his arms to reveal bulging muscles. The other
Hunters formed a line behind him.

Their eyes flashed with anger and they made
a formidable force.

Nova filled with pride and fury in equal
measure. She wanted to see Shane torn into tiny pieces, for every
spec of him to be blown apart. He was obviously a trouble maker;
she'd be doing the world a favour if she just got rid of him.

She'd let Gus decide what to do with him.
She kept half of her mind on the rest of the bar. A few brawls were
still going on, but none of them were nearby. Most of the patrons
were either passed out on the floor or stumbling back to their
chairs; their eyes fixed on Shane and the Hunters.

"My friends and I were just here for a
drink," Gus said. "Now you've put me in a very bad mood."

"I'm not afraid of you Hunter," said Shane,
his legs shaking.

"You should be," said Gus, stomping towards
Shane with fists clenched and teeth bared.

"I'll buy you a drink!" Shane said. His
façade finally broke and he held out his hands.

"I'm not thirsty."

Gus pulled back his fist and slammed it
through the air. It cracked into Shane's temple and he sprawled to
the floor.

He scrambled across the floor away from Gus
like a worm, his shirt soaking up the spilled drinks and blood.

"Typical Hunter. Hit like a wimp," Shane
called over his shoulder, his voice cracking.

Gus gripped hold of the back of Shane's
shirt and hauled him to his feet. He spun the other man around and
pounded his fist into Shane's stomach.

Shane bent over double and spat blood onto
Gus's shoe.

"Is that all you've got? You ugly bastard,"
Shane panted.

Gus slammed his knee up and caught Shane in
the face. His nose poured blood. Shane swung a limp punch, but Gus
easily dodged and slammed his knee into Shane's groin.

Gus didn't stop until Shane lay unconscious
on the floor, bleeding from multiple wounds. Three of his teeth
adorned the floor some distance away, surrounded by a pool of
blood.

"There," Gus said, turning around.

He wiped his hands on his pants and nodded
at the other Hunters.

"So, Nova. A rematch?"

The Hunters leant back against tables and
chairs, poised for another attack.

"I'm afraid I was forced to break the cue,"
she said.

"We'll call it a tie then," Gus said,
shrugging his hefty shoulders.

Nova nodded. Normally, she'd be furious that
her sure victory was ruined. As it was, she figured the giant welt
on Gus's forehead was payment enough.

The silence of the bar-room was replaced
with whispered conversation. The other patrons stopped staring,
drawn back into their own conversations.

"Some fight," the barkeeper said, coming to
stand beside Gus.

He folded his arms over his chest as he
looked down at Shane.

"Sorry for the damage," Aart said. "But as
you know, we didn't start it."

"I know you didn't," said the barman. "Still
though. I'll give you each a drink on the house, then I'm going to
have to ask you to leave."

"What!" roared Gus. "We didn't do a damned
thing!"

The bartender held up his hands. "I know how
it started. But you're all obviously fighters. You're making the
rest of my customers uncomfortable."

"This is crap!" said Aart, throwing his
hands in the air.

"One drink. Then you leave."

"We'll take it," Nova said. "Thank you."

The bartender nodded and walked away.