Carl glanced down at the coordinates that flashed on his onboard screen. “Is that Sector 12?”
“Affirmative.”
Carl swore angrily and turned his bike north toward Sector 12. They were at least twenty minutes away, which was twenty more than they could afford. He pushed the speeder into a higher gear, determined to cut down the time as much as possible. When they arrived, two bikes were parked above the entrance to the ruins. He recognized Kayla’s bike as one of them.
“Shit,” Carl muttered and yanked off his helmet. “They’re both down in the ruins. Let’s get the cables set up. Cruncher, I’m going to need you to go down with me. Veridian, can you handle monitoring from here?”
Both men agreed immediately. Cruncher began setting up the equipment with Carl while Veridian crouched down near Kayla’s equipment.
“Something isn’t right,” Veridian announced. “Kayla doesn’t set up her equipment like this.”
Carl looked up to see Veridian raise the cable. Almost immediately, the cable came to the surface. “The end of the cable’s been cut. He either dropped her or didn’t want her to be able to get out.”
Carl pushed aside his growing concern. He needed to focus on facts. Crouching down, he examined the frayed end. Whoever had cut the cable wanted it to appear an accident.
“Xantham, connect me to Kayla,” Carl instructed over his headset.
“You’re patched through. Go ahead, Boss.”
“Kayla? You there?”
There was only silence on the other end. Ignoring the dread in the pit of his stomach, Carl grabbed the harness from Cruncher and strapped himself in. Cruncher did the same and they began the long descent.
As they moved slowly downward through the levels, Carl peered around with his flashlight looking for any sign of Kayla. He finally saw her when he reached the fourth level. She was lying on the ground, not moving. The rest of the cable had fallen around her. From the amount, he estimated she'd fallen at least two or three levels.
Fear gripped him as he said over his headset, “I found her.”
He stopped the cable’s descent and climbed out of the harness. Another figure was facedown a few feet from her.
“Cruncher, check him out,” he instructed and went directly to Kayla. He dropped to his knees next to her, calling out her name. She didn’t respond.
Her helmet had been tossed aside and her dark hair covered her face. He moved to unzip her jacket and realized her harness was missing. There was no way she could have fallen. Ramiro must have been trying to recreate Pretz's accident.
Hoping they weren't too late, he felt for a pulse. She was alive, but barely. He brushed her hair back from her face and his hand came away wet. It was covered in blood. Her lip was cut and there was a deep gash near her temple. Dark bruises were forming around her throat where it appeared someone had choked her.
“Shit,” he said into his headset. “She’s alive but unconscious. She didn’t fall. She was practically beaten to death. Call Zane and Corsin. Tell them to get out here now. We’re going to need a lift to bring her up. I don’t want to move her any more than necessary. Drop a med kit down to me and tell Jinx to get the med room ready.”
Cruncher moved over to the large man lying near Kayla and rolled him over. Vex’s fixed gaze stared back at them. There was a deep cut across his neck and he was covered in blood. Cruncher shook his head at the brutality. “He’s dead, Boss. It looks like she hit an artery. What the hell happened down here?”
Carl didn’t bother to respond. He pulled off his jacket and shirt to rip them into makeshift bandages. Pressing firmly against Kayla’s head, he tried to slow the bleeding. Her skin felt cool and clammy and her pulse seemed to be weakening. He cursed himself for letting this happen to her.
The moment the med kit was lowered, Cruncher grabbed it. He pulled out two monitors and handed one of them to Carl. “These are the new vital sign monitors. Attach one of the monitors to the inside of her wrist and one near her heart. It’ll give us a more accurate reading.”
Following Cruncher's instructions, Carl pressed one of the monitors on the inside of her wrist. He lifted her shirt to place the other monitor and faltered at the sight of the dark colored bruises around her rib area. Cruncher shook his head, shaken by the sight. “Oh shit. What the hell did he do to her?”
Carl’s jaw clenched, but he kept his hands gentle as he pressed the other monitor to her chest just below her breast. If Vex wasn't already dead, he'd be tempted to kill him again. When he was confident the device was in place, he nodded to Cruncher to begin to activate the monitor inside the med kit.
“We’re picking up her vitals now, Boss, but they’re faint.”
Carl leaned over her. “Kayla, can you hear me? We’re going to be bringing you back up soon. You’ve got a nasty bump on your head and some bruises but you’re going to be okay.”
Saying a silent prayer, he hoped his words weren't superfluous. The alternative was unthinkable.
He glanced up as Cruncher moved away and picked up a knife off the ground. Examining the blade, Cruncher asked over the headset, “Veridian, does Kayla usually carry a knife?”
Veridian hesitated before answering. “Yeah. Ever since the incident with Ramiro and Pretz, she’s kept one on her. It’s embedded into her belt and isn’t noticeable unless you know it’s there.”
Carl exchanged a look with Cruncher. Ruin rats typically didn't carry weapons. Any violence against a trader could immediately be punishable either by blacklisting their camp or death. There were stories of other traders punishing ruin rats simply for having a weapon. Possession, they claimed, could be construed as an intent to do harm. Given Kayla's history, he found himself thankful for her rebellion. “There’s no doubt how this would have turned out if she didn’t have that with her.”
Cruncher made a small noise of agreement and packed the knife away in the medical kit. Carl turned back to Kayla, knowing Cruncher would probably return it to her at some point. The two of them had developed a relationship of mutual respect and even affection.
Although Cruncher had been working in the trader camp for years, even before Carl had taken over the camp, the older man had grown up as a ruin rat. He didn't speak much about his origins, but Carl had learned to value his opinions when dealing with the surface-dwellers. Cruncher had proven to be an excellent judge of character and Carl was thankful for his guidance.
It was Cruncher who had first brought Kayla to his attention. He'd initially been skeptical when he heard about her abrasive nature, but once he met her he became fascinated. It was more than her skill as a scavenger. He'd been inexplicably drawn to her since the moment they met.
She constantly challenged him, forcing him to stay one step ahead of her. Her brilliance and passion inspired him to look deeper within himself. It was so easy to get caught up in the politics of the tower and planning his future, but she reminded him of the importance of focusing on the present.
She was wild and impulsive but in the rare moments he'd been able to lower her defenses, he'd glimpsed a fragile softness within her. He wanted to draw it out and see it blossom.
His throat tightened at the thought of losing her now.
Xantham’s voice came over the headset, interrupting his thoughts. “Zane and Corsin are a few minutes out. They’ve got the lift and the extended bike to bring her back. Jinx is setting up the med room now. She wants to know if you want her to contact OmniLab to get any additional equipment.”
“Not yet. It looks like she’s got a few bruised or cracked ribs, but I can’t tell beyond that. The head injury is the worst. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
“She's tough. She'll make it,” Cruncher said in a low voice. Carl gave a weak nod and continued pressing the makeshift compress against her head. Time seemed to move in slow motion while they waited. When Zane and Corsin finally dropped down, Carl breathed a sigh of relief. Kayla’s pulse had grown even weaker.
Both men were equally shocked when they witnessed the violent scene, but quickly worked together to transfer Kayla to the lift. The mood was subdued as they lifted her out of the ruins. Veridian nearly lost it when he saw Kayla’s still figure covered with blood. Cruncher put his hand on Veridian’s shoulder. “Keep it together. You won’t do her any good if you fall apart right now. We’ve got to get her back to camp.”
Veridian squared his shoulders and bent down to help reattach the lifting board to the extended bike. His hands trembled and Carl stepped forward to take over. He motioned for Veridian to climb up next to Kayla. “She needs you.”
Veridian's head jerked up, his expression one of surprise, but quickly changing to one of gratitude. Carl offered him a reassuring nod before directing the rest of his men back to camp.
* * * *
Jinx was already in the medical room when Carl entered with Kayla in his arms. The moment he laid her on the examination table, activity erupted around him. Jinx bent down and cut off her jacket while Zane grabbed the IV and inserted the needle into Kayla’s arm. Jinx glanced at the monitor readings with a frown. “Her blood pressure is dropping.”
Carl grabbed a pouch of synthetic blood and handed it to Zane, who immediately hooked it up to the IV along with the saline solution. Jinx jerked open one of the drawers and pulled out a needle. She slid the needle into the IV and pushed a clear liquid through the line.
“What are you giving her?” Veridian asked in concern.
“Just something to help boost her blood pressure,” Jinx explained without looking away from the monitor. As soon as Kayla’s blood pressure stabilized and her vital signs moved into a more acceptable range, Jinx gave her another injection. “This is a metabolic booster. It’ll speed up her healing rate.”
Carl adjusted the scanner hanging on the wall. “Everyone step back for a minute.”
Zane and Jinx moved away from Kayla while Carl activated the scanner. A thin beam of light moved over her form and then beeped loudly. Carl studied the images that flashed on the screen.
“She’s got a severe concussion. Her left wrist is fractured and it looks like she has two cracked ribs. With the head wound too… This was way too close.”
Carl gripped the edge of the counter and took a deep breath. It was his fault this happened. He'd known Ramiro was unbalanced since he witnessed his reaction to her in his office. He could have pushed OmniLab harder to step in immediately. Instead, he wasted time playing games trying to get her to open up to him.
Jinx put her hand on Carl’s arm. “It could have been worse. We can fix those. She’ll be okay, Carl. You got to her in time.”
A chair squeaked across the floor. Carl turned to see Veridian sit beside her. The younger man stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, whispering reassuring words in her ear.
Carl felt a pang of jealousy at the display of tenderness. He longed to be the one next to her but he hadn't earned that right. He might not be able to erase what happened, but he could make sure Ramiro never hurt anyone again.
Determination in his gaze, he declared, “It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.” He pressed the button on his comlink. “Xantham, what have you learned?”
“Just a second, Boss. I’ll be right there.”
A minute later, Xantham appeared. When he saw Kayla, his eyes widened in shock. “Holy shit. What the hell did he do to her?”
“From the looks of it, he smacked her around and tried to strangle her,” Zane said in a dry voice and crossed his arms over his chest. “But it looked like Kayla was able to drop the bastard before he could finish the job.”
“Oh, man.”
Carl turned to him and asked, “What did you find out?”
Xantham tore his eyes away from Kayla. “Ramiro didn’t want to get his hands dirty so he sent Vex. Vex had been camping right outside the range of our perimeter. They locked onto her bike signal as soon as she left. Ramiro told him to make it look like an accident.”
Carl’s eyes hardened. “Did he say anything else?”
Xantham looked uncomfortable. “Vex…uh, laughed, and said that the little whore was going to meet the same end as her boyfriend. Ramiro’s been freaking out for the past hour since Vex stopped transmitting.”
“Tell me you have it recorded.”
“Yeah, but Boss, I don’t think OmniLab will be real happy if they find out I hacked into Ramiro’s coms.”
“I don’t care,” Carl dismissed his concerns. Playing by the straight and narrow hadn't prevented two people from dying and another from being seriously injured. “You acted on my orders. I’m sending the recording to OmniLab. He’s not getting away with this.”
Xantham nodded. Jinx waved her hands, motioning everyone toward the door. “Everyone out except Veridian. I need to put on the bone molds and get her cleaned up.”
“I’m staying,” Carl said firmly.
Jinx frowned. As the crew trickled out, Jinx said, “Fine. But you don’t need to watch. She deserves some privacy after what she’s been through.”
Carl obediently averted his eyes while Veridian and Jinx undressed Kayla and cleaned her wounds. After Jinx wrapped her ribs with the bone molds, Veridian pulled a blanket over Kayla. “Okay, Carl. We’re done.”
Carl turned back around. Kayla’s dark hair fell around her face and was still damp from where Jinx had washed the blood out of it. Her eyes were closed and she looked extraordinarily pale. The bruises around her neck were darkening and Carl could see the outline of where Vex's fingers had gripped her.
“Carl, would you mind putting the bone mold on her wrist?” Jinx asked.
He nodded and gently lifted Kayla’s hand to wrap her wrist in the mold. Jinx adjusted the IV. “It’ll take a few hours for the bone molds to finish regenerating her bones. She’ll need at least one more bag of synthetic blood, but at least her vitals are stable now. With that concussion, she’ll probably be confused when she wakes up. I don’t want to give her a painkiller until then. Right now, being unconscious is the best thing for her.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Carl offered.
“In that case, I’m going to go get rid of these clothes. We’re going to need to get her some more UV gear. These are trashed.”