Saben nodded once.
Dade exhaled in relief. Good. At least that had gone well. He loved when a plan worked out.
Two new boxers stepped into the ring. Those in the crowd went wild calling out their bets. Hands were held in the air so that scanners could move over wrist sensors, collecting their money.
“Do you miss boxing?” Dade asked. He could see how the adrenaline could become addicting. Though he didn’t think he’d particularly enjoy the broken bones.
Saben shrugged. “That was a long time ago.”
Dade pointed to the score leader. He was a big guy, heavily muscled, and wearing a pair of synth-silk gym shorts. The man’s hair dripped with sweat. He batted it to the side as he taunted his opponent. “Do you think you could take him?”
“Of course.” There wasn’t any arrogance in Saben’s response, just simple truth. He smiled, showing his teeth. That they were still in his mouth spoke to how successful he’d been in the ring despite the scars littering his skin.
Dade laughed.
“Why are you so interested in fighting?” Saben asked. “Planning an alternate career?”
“No.” Dade snickered. He watched the match for another few minutes before he asked, “Do you think what we do makes a difference?”
“You’re doing the best you can in an impossible situation.” Saben shrugged. “Besides, you’re the only one willing to try. That counts for something.”
“It’s not enough.”
Dade let the last few seconds of the bout draw his attention. The opponent was clearly tired. He made a valiant effort, but the leader took him out with his next punch, an uppercut to the jaw.
When it was over, the loser’s body lay on the floor.
CHAPTER FOUR
Arden followed Colin to the back of Lasair’s meeting room. There wasn’t much free space available in Undercity to acquire by either legitimate or illegitimate means, so the room wasn’t that big and always seemed to be overcrowded with people.
Since this was only the biweekly Lasair meeting where they got their new assignments, it wasn’t too bad. These meets tended to include only the higher echelon, who would then delegate the tasks later to other members. Arden didn’t manage a group, but she worked directly with Niall, so it was mandatory for her to be here.
She hated this room. It wasn’t comfortable and had a musky odor of decay from the furniture they’d rescued from the dump. The Lasair gang was wealthy enough to buy new things. It just chose to spend its profit on tactical gear and new phasers. Comfort wasn’t deemed important. Arden had hoped for at least one couch that hadn’t been taped to keep its insides from spilling out when Niall had taken over. Yet nothing had changed in the year he’d been in charge. Niall was too focused on world domination and not enough on the gang’s well-being.
Uri was already in their usual spot, saving seats and smirking when he saw them. He reached up to brush at the dyed black hair that constantly flopped into his eyes. “You barely made it. Niall is pissed you weren’t here an hour ago.”
Colin slid into the empty seat next to Uri. “Not my fault. The princess was doing princess things.”
Arden grunted as she flopped down next to Colin. She fist-bumped Uri and then slouched into her chair, stretching her legs out and folding her arms.
At the front of the room, Niall called the meeting to order. He looked more like her twin than her older brother. He was attractive, or would have been if his extensive drug use hadn’t started to show. The light-caramel color of his hair that he wore long and knotted to his head now had a dull shine. Purple bruises lined his eyes and the area under his nose. The tacky white of his skin had started to turn a shade of yellowish green.
She hadn’t spoken with him in days. He looked even worse than the last time she’d seen him. She wondered if he’d been on a bender and if that was how she’d successfully avoided him. Honestly, she didn’t want to talk to him, but she knew he’d corner her today. Especially with that pointed look he sent her.
Niall stood behind a podium. Behind him, several maps of the Levels above were displayed in 3-D. Green dots indicated where they thought current shipments of VitD were most likely to be vulnerable. Various escape routes were sketched out. “Shut up,” he shouted when they didn’t quiet fast enough.
Low coughing trickled through the room, punctuated by a few throats clearing before it fell silent.
“First order of business.” Niall looked into the audience much like a prince surveying his kingdom. “We need to deal with the douchebag who keeps ganking our runs.”
It was ironic that the gang claimed ownership of the very items they planned to steal. They used the stolen VitD to make the street drug called Shine. Arden huffed under her breath, knowing that no one else shared her amusement. Still, she understood the concern. This person was causing all sorts of problems. Going through the dangers of a run only to get there and not find any product was problematic and risky.
“Kimber has the latest intel, so I’ll turn the discussion over to her,” Niall said, waving Kimber toward the podium.
Arden had a visceral reaction to Kimber. She couldn’t stop her lip from curling. Colin shoved an elbow into her side to remind her that showing her true feelings in public wasn’t a good idea. She sat a little straighter and wiped the disgust from her face.
Niall and Kimber were sleeping together. The entire gang knew because it was a badly kept secret. Not that Kimber and Niall were actually a couple. It made Kimber’s crazy worse every time he denied their relationship. Kimber was possessive and not in a normal way, more like in a crazy-obsessive way. Like keeping tabs on her not-boyfriend by hiding a tracker on him. Niall hadn’t noticed.
Kimber clicked on the halo, the digital screen that projected vid-feeds. Her curly black hair had been pulled into a tight ponytail, and thick glasses dwarfed her small face, highlighting her perpetual frown. “We know very little of this person, nicknamed the Ghost.” She scanned through a series of photos taken at planned heists that were thwarted, including a shot of the sun-star symbol, sprayed with dripping red paint in each case.
Arden found the Ghost’s use of the sun-star hilarious. She wished she had thought about repurposing the symbol. It was brilliant marketing, designed to tick off a whole lot of people while making a political statement.
“In the last week, he’s hit three of our projected heist locations only minutes before we got there. Our sources say he’s giving the merchandise away like some sort of modern-day Robin Hood,” she said with a sneer.
Kimber clicked off the screen, turning to face the audience again. “His thefts cut into our trade. We have no idea how he gathers his intel, but it’s a source we’d like to exploit. Right now, the goal is to find the Ghost and use him. Lure him to our side if possible. If not, he’ll be dealt with.”