The Gender Fall (The Gender Game #5)

The stadium was seven stories in total, with the ground floor entrances leading directly into the stands, and the middle stories of the building widening out from the fight ring. Concentric hallways around the outer sides of the building contained the many things needed to run the show behind the scenes: the changing rooms, bathrooms, concessions stands… and, somewhere, a projector room. I’d never been there in my many times in this building.

Jeff, Cad, and I followed Cruz, as the two women and former fighter turned manager continued to chat about me. I tried to focus on the conversation again, to be present and leave the strange feeling behind me. And promptly felt my face turning into a permanent grimace when the women’s stories grew even more risqué than the previous two. All the same, I couldn’t help but admire the way Ms. Dale and Amber seemed to play off each other, inventing tales and adding details with ease. No matter that it was at my own personal expense—as long as it kept us moving, it was all good.

The stadium was dimly lit, but that was normal. We headed up the handful of steps leading up to the wide hall that encircled the outside of the stadium. I could see the posters from past fights had been torn off the walls, which were now covered with announcements of when the news could be viewed, and instructions on how to proceed. My gaze narrowed in on signs announcing the restrictions on where one could go—namely the second floor and above.

“Is that going to be a problem?” I asked, cutting through Ms. Dale and Amber’s banal chatter and pointing at the sign.

Cruz gave it a smug glance, and then smiled. “Not at all. I’m sure your brother has told you I am the facilitator of the stadium now.”

“Does that mean you tell the guards what to do?”

His eyes considered me thoughtfully, but he shook his head. “Not exactly. But I was a popular figure, which helped attract crowds, initially. Because of that, I am afforded certain… luxuries.”

“Pardon me, Mr. Cruz,” said Cad. “But you said initially? Forgive us, we live out in the country. We have no idea how things have been happening in the city.”

“Ah, well, when they were first trying to get the news out, it was most difficult for them to attract anyone to the stadiums. People were scared, you see. So they hired celebrities to coax in crowds and spread the news, even made us responsible for it. But now that they’ve devised a method of displaying it on the screens, I’m mostly here in case the equipment fails.”

There was no more time to interrogate him after that, as we rounded the corner and saw our first glimpse of a checkpoint, past which the stairs to the second floor could be reached. Sandbags were stacked up, making a barrier across the wide hallway tall enough to come up to the top of my thigh, while guards held their positions at various areas inside. I felt tension straighten my spine as one woman leaned on the sandbags, her gaze calculating as she took us in.

Cruz smiled as he drew closer. “Good evening, Ms. Capote,” he greeted warmly, but I could see the tension in his jaw as he flashed his teeth at the woman. Her insignia marked her as a lieutenant.

“Mr. Cruz,” she said, her voice clipped as she took in our group. I could see her frowning at the dresses Ms. Dale and Amber were wearing, but the expression quickly disappeared. I wondered if she was concerned about hidden weapons, or if she was just assuming the typical Matronising disdain for Patrian women’s garb. “What’s all this?”

“Ah, yes. These are my guests. I’m taking them on a tour of the stadium. They’re allowing me to relive my glory days.”

Ms. Capote’s eyes took us in, a slow graceful arch developing in one eyebrow. “I see.” She checked her watch and frowned. “It’s only twenty minutes until we transmit. Will that be enough time…”

“It will, it will,” Cruz smoothly cut in, flashing her a brilliant smile.

She gave us all a considering look, and then nodded. “I can’t see what the harm is. I’ll need you to log them in here. I’ll radio the checkpoints to alert them of your coming. You’ll need to be fast, though—I don’t want them near the control box when the presentation is about to begin.”

Cruz laid a hand against his heart and bowed slightly, a smile on his face. “Thank you, madam.”

She gave him a droll look, seemingly immune to his considerable charm, and accepted a clipboard from another guard, holding it out to him. One by one we wrote names down. Looking at it, she gave a satisfied nod, and then pointed us onward.

My heart was still thudding hard against my ribs, even after we had passed through the checkpoint. I couldn’t believe this was all it had taken—she hadn’t even asked for any identification papers. If she had, we might have been toast. Thomas had recreated forgeries, but the coding had all been identical. If they had taken the time to actually scan them, it would have been game over. Still, maybe Elena’s arrogance was to blame for this oversight. After all, she did control the borders of the city; maybe she felt that was enough? Or, maybe she had too many things going on at once? It was either that, or we were walking into a trap. It wouldn’t have been the first time Elena and Desmond had outmaneuvered us.

I kept my eyes peeled, searching for any indication that would spell our impending doom. But as we walked down the silent halls, empty and hollow without the bustle of fighters, managers, and press I had been used to when I’d patrolled here, I saw nothing to indicate any form of a trap. No cameras, no posted guards between checkpoints, no nothing.

“Now, because of the Matrian queen’s new way of showing the news, I no longer get to make the announcements like I used to,” Cruz droned as we came around the landing to the next series of steps. “But I still know this stadium better than anyone else. Or at least, anyone still alive. A great number of the fighters in the PFL were caught in the fires that decimated the docks, valiantly trying to quench the hungry flames that threatened to consume the city.”

“Were you there, Mr. Cruz?” Amber asked, her eyes wide.