Shadow of the Coalition

by Jamie A. Waters

  The direction of his words was clear, and she scowled, but he wasn’t finished yet.

  “Seems to me you need to start rethinking your choices. Getting involved with traders and their camps never ends well. If you don’t want to shit where you eat, fine. There are plenty of other ruin rat camps around. But you should think about sticking with your own kind.”

  She let out a harsh laugh. If he only knew the truth. She didn’t know who her own kind were anymore. Did she belong here? In Carl’s camp? Or back in the towers with Alec? Dropping her head into her hands, Kayla rubbed her temples, trying to ward off the impending headache.

  “Aw, shit. Come on. Get up and come with me.”

  She looked up to see Mack frowning at her. He held out a hand and pulled Kayla to her feet.

  “You look like you’re about to turn on the waterworks any minute. Personally, I’d like to kick the bastard’s ass for you. But since he’s not here at the moment, you’ve got two options. You can either come try your hand at wrestling me to get out your frustrations, or I’m taking you down into the ruins to let you screw over the trader by stealing under his nose. Take your pick. Although, if you try to take me on, you’ll end up crying anyway. You don’t have a chance in hell at beating me.”

  Kayla snorted, but his words had their desired effect. “I took you down once, I can do it again.”

  “You’re welcome to try,” he challenged and smacked her butt. “Go get changed and I’ll meet you in the workroom.”

  Kayla jumped at the contact and cursed him under her breath. He just chuckled and jerked his head toward the door. She made a face at his back before heading toward the crew quarters. As she walked into the room with the bunks, Kayla noticed Mack had tossed her bag on the bed next to his.

  She pulled on a tank top and a pair of shorts and headed back down the hall toward the workroom. Mack had cleared the area and looked up as she entered, raising an eyebrow at her attire. “You’re almost too damn sexy to toss around.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “You’re not too big to hit the floor.”

  Mack grinned and pulled off his shirt. He tossed it aside, and Kayla noticed a new tattoo on his chest. She leaned in closer to get a better look. It was in the shape of some sort of bird in flight. “Kris gave you some new ink?”

  He rubbed his hand over the tattoo as though he’d forgotten it was there. A muscle in his neck worked, and he nodded. “Yeah. A couple weeks ago. Speaking of which, I’m still waiting for you to let me give you a tattoo.”

  Kayla crossed her arms. “You’re not tattooing your handprint on my ass.”

  “I can be flexible. We can put it somewhere else.” His eyes roamed over her body as though he were considering his options

  “Why don’t you come a little closer and try saying that to me?”

  With a grin, he lunged for her, but she quickly sidestepped him. Bouncing on her toes as the adrenaline rush kicked in, she nodded and gestured at him. “Okay, this is gonna be fun. Bring it on, big boy.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kayla grabbed one of the hydrating packs from Tharin and took a long drink. She was hot and sweaty, but true to his word, the workout with Mack had left her feeling much better. She wiped her brow and smiled up at him. Mack drank his own pack down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “For a little thing, you’ve got some damn nice moves.”

  She grinned and bumped him with her shoulder. “You’re not so bad yourself, big man.”

  Tharin shook his head and leaned against the wall. “I’m tired and all I did was just watch you two.”

  Leo interrupted their teasing by poking his head through the door. The camp leader quickly took in their appearance and scowled. “Lars and Sergei are about five minutes out. Quit jerking around and get to the entrance if you want in on this.”

  Mack nodded and grabbed his shirt. After he pulled it over his head, Kayla asked, “Are those the guys you were telling me about?”

  “Yep,” he replied. “You coming?”

  “Hell yeah. I wanna meet them.”

  Leo frowned and warned, “No pissing them off, Kayla. These guys are our current meal ticket.”

  She fluttered her eyes innocently. “Me?”

  “You see any other mouthy shrew around?” Leo retorted and headed out of the room. Mack grabbed another hydrating pack from the rationed supply and drank it as he headed to the entrance with Tharin. Kayla followed them.

  A few minutes later, two men appeared in the entrance area. Kayla stood back and took the opportunity to study them as they pulled off their helmets. The first man was tall and solidly built with fair skin and nearly white-blond hair pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck. The other man was slightly less fair and had short, dark-blond hair and blue eyes. He was almost the same height as the first man but not as heavily muscled. The moment the second man glimpsed Kayla, he paused and did a double take. Then, his expression shuttered, and he turned back toward Leo. Kayla cocked her head, curious about the strange behavior. He seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him.

  “Sergei and Lars,” Leo greeted each of them respectively. “Welcome back.”

  Tharin took their helmets and hung them up. Sergei spoke with a strange accent as he said, “We are pleased to return.”

  “Let’s talk in my office.” Leo led them down the hall toward his office. Lars took the offered seat while Sergei remained standing. Kayla wandered over to Leo’s desk and sat on the edge of it. Mack took a somewhat protective stance next to her while Tharin leaned against the wall.

  “You remember Mack and Tharin from your last visit. This is Kayla, another one of our scavengers,” Leo introduced them.

  Lars didn’t say a word and instead offered Kayla a brief nod in greeting. A strange tingling sensation filled the surrounding air, and she absently rubbed her arms at the sudden chill. Kayla looked into the newcomer’s eyes and had a strange sense of déjà vu. Something about this stranger reminded her vaguely of Alec. His eyes were almost the same brilliant blue, and they shone with intelligence. But unlike Alec, his had a dangerous glint.

  Sergei stepped forward, eyes wandering over her figure, and gave her a charming smile. “Where have you been hiding this beauty, Leo?”

  “She’s been working at a different camp for the past few weeks and just got back this morning.”

  Kayla studied the fair man. “You have an interesting accent. Where are you from?”

  “Our home is far away,” Sergei replied with a vague wave. He leaned close to her. “But I could be persuaded to tell you more about it. Perhaps after our business is concluded?”

  Kayla looked up into his steely-gray eyes. She wasn’t particularly interested in flirting with him, but it would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to find out more about these guys. She offered him a smile. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

  Sergei gave her another appraising look before turning back to Leo and focusing on business. “You have information for us?”

  Leo reached into a drawer to pull out a small data cube. “Got it right here. We finished mapping the district yesterday.”

  Lars stood up to accept it and then connected it to a tablet computer. A few moments later, he nodded. “Very good. The information appears complete. Sergei, the crew can start bringing in the supplies.”

  Kayla’s eyes widened in surprise. Unlike Sergei, Lars spoke clearly without any trace of an accent. Sergei pulled out an unusual-looking commlink device and in a strange language began issuing instructions. He snapped the unit shut before turning back to Lars. “They go to unload equipment now.”

  Leo motioned for Tharin to go assist them. “Put everything in the workroom for now. We’ll sort it later.”

  When Tharin left, Lars said, “We’ve been impressed with your work so far. If you’re interested, we’d like to have another district mapped. Unfortunately, time is something of the essence. This needs to be completed within the next couple days.”

  L
eo’s eyes lit up. “Which district would that be?”

  “The one directly to the east of this camp.”

  Kayla frowned uneasily. They were talking about mapping Carl’s district. Before she could comment, Leo said, “We can probably get it done in about four days.”

  Lars shook his head. “It needs to be completed before then.”

  “That’s going to be difficult. Not only is it one of the larger districts, but that trader’s got some pretty hefty security around his camp. The outlying areas could be done sooner, but it’s going to be damn near impossible to get close to his camp in that timeframe.”

  Mack piped up and suggested, “If Kayla makes the run with us, we can get it done in closer to two days. She knows the layout, routines, and can work through any security. We can pull Johnny in, too, if necessary.”

  Kayla glared at Mack, not appreciating being volunteered for duty when she didn’t know the game or the players. She especially didn’t like the idea of doing anything that put Carl’s camp in jeopardy.

  Lars studied Kayla. “How well do you know the camp?”

  She shrugged, not willing to divulge too much information. “I’m familiar with it.”

  “We’re prepared to compensate you generously for timely results.”

  “I might be interested,” Kayla replied and leaned back on the desk. Time to dangle the metaphorical carrot and see if they want to take a bite. “But I’d like to know why you guys are interested in mapping these districts.”

  Lars’s expression hardened. “Our reasons are our own. We’re willing to compensate you for your efforts. That should be enough.”

  “Kayla,” Leo warned.

  Sergei asked Lars a question in the strange language, and Lars nodded in response. Sergei flashed a smile and took a step toward Kayla. His voice was warm as he said, “We are new here. You cannot blame us for wanting to learn more about this fascinating place and people.”

  Kayla glanced back and forth between the strangers with suspicion, wondering what Sergei had asked him. She was still uncomfortable under Lars’s gaze, but Sergei seemed manageable. He was obviously interested in her, and it might be possible to use that to her advantage.

  “Mapping areas seems a little forward when you’re getting to know someone, don’t you think?” she asked with a teasing smile. “Saying hello is usually where people first start.”

  Sergei chuckled, and his eyes danced with amusement. He lifted her hand, bowing over it, and gently kissed the top of it. “Hello, Kayla.” Without taking his eyes off her, he added, “I will take this charming woman to see equipment while you finish here.”

  “Very well,” Lars replied, but Kayla could feel the weight of his gaze on them as Sergei led her out into the hall. They headed back toward the workroom where Tharin and another unfamiliar man were putting boxes on the floor. Sergei spoke to the other man in his language. The man offered him a strange salute before heading out of the room.

  “What language is that?” Kayla asked curiously, determined to find out as much about him as possible.

  Sergei gave her a slow smile. “Russian. My people speak many languages though.”

  “Interesting. Most people around here only speak English.”

  “Perhaps I could teach you,” he mused. “I would enjoy hearing my language from your lips.”

  Wow, this guy is pretty cocky. Figuring she’d get more information if she played along, she gave him an encouraging smile. “I wouldn’t mind.”

  Tharin raised an eyebrow at Kayla. “Playing with the foreigners, eh?”

  Kayla grinned and gave a half-hearted shrug. “We’re just getting to know each other, Tharin.”

  Sergei leaned close to her. “I would enjoy getting to know you much better, Milaya. Perhaps I will bring over a bottle of vodka to share with you?”

  “Sure. I’ve never tried that before.”

  He nodded, pleased by her answer. “I will see that it happens.”

  Kayla went over to one of the boxes on the floor. Keeping her voice casual, she asked, “So you’re planning on staying around here for a while?”

  “Mmhmm,” he murmured. “For now, yes.”

  “Good to know,” Kayla said and bent over to open the box, unable to hide her excitement at the sight of the equipment. It was definitely not manufactured by OmniLab. There were several communication devices, computer terminals, spare parts, and other miscellaneous pieces of equipment which seemed to be extremely well designed. “Holy shit! Did you check this out, Tharin?”

  He snorted. “I’ve been too busy bringing all the shit in here.”

  She started digging through the box, eager to investigate each of the new devices. A strange-looking square piece of equipment caught her eye. Pulling it out, she tried to decide if it could be some sort of imaging device. “Okay, I’m impressed. You’ve got some neat little gizmos in here.”

  Kayla flipped over the unit and ran her hand along the back side of it. Sergei bent down next to her and made a point to brush his fingers down her arm before opening the access panel to reveal the display. “If there is some equipment you would like to get your hands on, we could come to our own arrangement.”

  She forced herself to keep her expression neutral. Kayla wasn’t a fan of being touched by someone she didn’t know, but it would be foolish to distance herself prematurely. There was too much she didn’t know about these strangers. “Is that so?”

  “Everything is negotiable.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Kayla glanced down at the piece of equipment in her hands. “So is this an imaging device? It looks similar to others I’ve seen, except it’s a little big.”

  “Yes, but not your typical imaging device. I will show you.”

  Sergei connected the unit to his commlink. “It detects specific compounds through walls, floors, solids, or liquids.”

  Kayla leaned over to study his commlink, intrigued to learn anything she could about new technology. The user interface was fairly simplistic but well designed. “Can it scan for multiple compounds or just one at a time?”

  “One for now. We are working on improving design.”

  Fascinated by the implications of such a device, she looked up at Sergei. “Mind if I take a look?”

  “Not at all.” He handed over the unit and watched with open curiosity as she pulled up the source code for the device. She began scanning through it to familiarize herself with the programming.

  Leo, Lars, and Mack finished with their business and came into the room. Leo started swearing at the sight of Kayla looking through the code. “Mack, Tharin, check the inventory before she starts taking shit apart and rebuilding it.”

  Mack and Tharin nodded and went over to the open box. Leo looked at the piece of equipment Kayla was using and scowled. “What are you doing with that?”

  Without looking up from the screen, Kayla replied, “It’s a compound scanner, but it’s currently configured to search and identify only one compound at a time.”

  Sergei turned to Leo. “We will have improved design within weeks. Our experts work on modifying code to scan for multiple compounds.”

  Mack glanced up from inventorying the items and chuckled. “Twenty credits says she’ll have it doing that within the hour.”

  “No bet,” Tharin replied with a grin.

  Kayla ignored them as she continued to study the screen on Sergei’s communication unit. After several minutes, she glanced up. “I need another screen to compare the code. Tharin, would you mind setting up another terminal for me in here?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, Kayla. The other one’s been broken for two weeks and we haven’t configured these yet.”

  “I fixed it before the movie,” she replied absently and went back to studying the screen.

  Tharin snickered. “I should have known. I’ll be right back.”

  He returned a few minutes later and hooked up the terminal for her. Kayla connected it to the commlink and scanned through the code in more detail
. When she finally found what she was looking for, she grinned. With a few quick commands, she modified the code so additional requests could be added and then linked them to the existing databases.

  “Okay, Sergei,” Kayla said to the man next to her, “grab the unit and try running a scan for multiple compounds.”

  Sergei looked skeptical but picked up the unit. He aimed it toward the wall and used his commlink to enter several different common compounds. The lights on the device flashed, and a moment later, the results displayed on the screen of his communication device.

  “Remarkable,” Sergei murmured, clearly impressed. “Our engineers spend many weeks to work out problem you solve in thirty minutes.”

  “It just needed a woman’s touch,” she said sweetly.

  Lars walked over to Sergei’s commlink and glanced down at the display. He raised an eyebrow and said to Kayla, “You’re quite talented. Where did you learn to do this?”

  Mack chuckled. “She’s been doing that shit since she was a kid.”

  “Beautiful, intelligent, and skilled,” Sergei observed admiringly and closed the commlink. “I cannot help but wonder what other talents you possess.”

  “I’ve got a few others. But if you’ll excuse me, boys, I think it’s time for me to head to the showers. I’ll see you around.”

  Kayla smiled to herself as she headed out of the room, confident they’d be giving her an opportunity to find out more about them. She glanced back to find Leo shaking his head in exasperation while Sergei and Lars both stared after her with fascinated curiosity. Yep. She’d dangled the carrot beautifully.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kayla climbed out of the shower and sighed, already missing the showers at the towers and even Carl’s camp. She dried herself off and pulled on another pair of shorts and tank top before brushing out her dark hair. On her way out of the bathroom, she grabbed her dirty clothes and dumped them into the sanitation machine.

  Mack was waiting for her in the hallway, leaning against the wall. He looked her up and down. “Not bad, but there’s something to be said for the hot and sweaty look too.”