by C. A. Wilke
She glanced around the room without moving her head. There were plenty of potential weapons. Using the plasma pistol in her back waistband was her last resort.
When Euro spoke, his Russian accent was thick. “You are Dax Lewis?”
Dax’s mouth opened. Scarlett stepped forward, stopping him short. She put herself between the man’s gun and Dax. “I’m sorry. This is a private event. Uninvited guests are not welcome.”
Euro shoved Janson away with his weapon then leveled it at Scarlett’s smiling face. “Who the fuck are you?”
She didn’t move. A voice in her head urged her to strike first. Still, she didn’t move. “My name is Scarlett, how about you, big boy?”
“I work for Mr. Zinchenko.”
Scarlett’s smile disappeared. “Dax? What did you do?”
Dax’s voice came from behind, weak and shaky. “I... uh... I borrowed some money from Mr. Z.”
She kept her eyes on the thug in front of her. “Now, when you say borrowed...”
“Borrowed without permission. But I meant to pay it back. Really! I just had to pay off a few debts.”
When she spoke again, her voice was flat and an octave lower. “Get Mr. Zinchenko.”
“I do not take orders from pretty little angels. Mr. Lewis comes with us now.”
“Neil Smithson.”
The thug’s face tweaked and hand dipped a little. “What did you say?”
“Tell Mr. Zinchenko that I’m a friend of Neil Smithson’s. I’m sure he would not be pleased at me being treated this way.”
He laughed.
Scarlett looked up at the man’s face contorted in laughter. Here we go.
“Little angel, you should be careful when throwing around other people’s names.” Euro stepped closer.
“Fine.” Scarlett closed the distance to Euro. Her left hand flew up and hit the thug’s wrist, wrenching the gun from his grasp. Scarlett’s other hand shot across her body and knocked the gun from the other thug’s hand. She continued in one fluid motion, sending a single powerful punch into Euro’s armpit. Her knuckles felt the pop of the man’s shoulder dislocating.
She spun around and swept the man’s legs out from under him. He crashed to the ground and groaned. By the time the other man could move, Scarlett was on one knee with Euro’s own gun at his throat.
“Now, you tell your friend here, to go get Mr. Zinchenko.”
The man grunted. “He’s not here.”
“Bullshit. Zinchenko always rides along. In fact, I’m willing to bet he’s sitting in his car right outside that door. He probably even has his personal bodyguard, Yuri, with him.”
Scarlett saw the man’s face sag; he knew he was beaten. She stood and backed up.
He mumbled a few words in Russian and the other man ran out the door. The remaining thug slowly climbed to his feet, avoiding putting any weight on his dislocated arm. When he stood, his left side drooped and he cradled his arm.
A moment later, the bell jingled again. Through the door strolled a man in an expensive grey suit with a red tie. His hair was a lighter shade of the same color as his suit.
“Vadim, what is this? You were defeated by a little girl? And how did you put it Daniil?” His accent was high Russian.
The second thug followed behind and nodded.
Scarlett lowered her gun and stepped forward. “Hello Mr. Zinchenko.”
The silver-haired man turned to look at her. He looked her up and down, then back at Vadim holding his arm. “This? This is what sent you to the floor? Bah.” He waved the other man away.
Vadim disappeared outside.
Zinchenko mumbled under his breath. “I need better men, it seems.” He turned to Scarlett again and held his hand out. “So, you are an associate of Mr. Smithson. What is your name?”
“Scarlett Angel, and let’s just say he was a mentor.” She shook his hand.
“I was not aware he took protégées, Ms. Angel.”
“I was a special case.”
“I see that.” Zinchenko looked past Scarlett at the men behind her. “Ah, Dax. I have been looking for you. It is time for you to pay your debt to me.”
Scarlett stepped to the side, putting herself between Zinchenko and Dax. “How much did he take? A few thousand credits? Ten? Twenty?”
The older man’s gaze locked onto hers. “One hundred thousand.”
Scarlett choked. She closed her eyes, shook her head and turned around. Her eyes opened and focused on Dax. “You sooo better be worth every credit.”
Dax’s eyebrows arched and his mouth twisted. “Huh?”
She turned back around. Zinchenko had quietly stepped back to the door.
“Fine, I’ll take care of it. Right here and now.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. You see, I have a reputation. I think many people know he take from Zinchenko. They must know that people who steal from Zinchenko do not live long.”
Scarlett’s eyes narrowed. “Dax belongs to me. He’s off limits.”
“To you?” Zinchenko laughed and wagged a finger. “I think not. Even Mr. Smithson understands the importance of reputation. No. Mr. Lewis belongs to me.”
Daniil opened the door. A cool breeze pushed through the opening just before it was cut off by a massive form stepping through the entryway.
Scarlett had never actually seen Yuri, Zinchenko’s bodyguard. She’d only heard his description from Neil. Neil’s description was woefully inadequate.
The giant of a man crouched through the door and stepped inside. When he stood up straight, he was easily close to eight feet tall. What bothered Scarlett more was his width. Each of the man’s arms was as big around as her chest.
“Yuri, I presume?”
Zinchenko smiled. “Da.”
Chapter 29
The Giant
You know that old adage... the bigger they are the harder they fall? Yeah... sometimes it’s bullshit.
* * *
Neil had described Mr. Zinchenko’s bodyguard, Yuri, as big and augmented with implant stims. Scarlett stared Yuri’s bulging arms. Her mentor had not been clear on exactly which kinds of implants Yuri had, only that he was a beast. A bear is a beast. Yuri was a Russian Godzilla. Neil should have used the term “fucking huge.”
Mr. Zinchenko walked alongside his bodyguard until they were just a few feet from Scarlett. “Mr. Lewis, please come with me. I would hate for Yuri to make a mess of your friends.”
Scarlett raised her arm. “Dax, you might want to get behind the table.”
Yuri growled.
“Ms. Angel, you may be fast and strong. You may even have been trained by Mr. Smithson. But Yuri will crush your skull with one hand.”
“We’ll see.”
Scarlett ducked down and to the side. Knees are good. She brought her fist down hard into the side of Yuri’s knee. Instead of dislocating his knee, her fist stopped dead. Her hand crumpled under the impact.
“Ow, sonofa...”
The back of Yuri’s hand slammed into her side, tossing her across the room like a sack of oranges. She bounced off the worktable.
When she climbed up onto her hands and knees, pain ripped through her chest. She reached up and felt at where her side hit the table and grimaced. Damn, cracked a fucking rib.
Scarlett shook off the pain. She rose to her feet just in time to dodge a jab from Yuri’s massive fist. More swings followed. Each time she avoided a punch, his fist got closer.
Scarlett kicked off the giant’s chest with one foot and cartwheeled backwards. She came to a stop between two metal shelving units stacked high with electric motors, pipes, and other junk.
She snatched up a metal pipe just as Yuri charged. Scarlett blocked one of Yuri’s arms with the pipe and brought her right fist up into his jaw. The giant stumbled back a step.
Scarlett’s left hand was numb from blocking Yuri’s arm with the pipe. She dropped the weapon and rubbed her palm.
Yuri regained his balance and snarled. He leaned for
ward and charged again, swinging.
Scarlett dodged the first swing. She ducked down just as Yuri’s fist slammed into some of the stuff on the shelf to her left. Sensing the wall just a few feet behind her, she rolled onto a lower shelf. Parts and trash tumbled out into the next aisle over. Scarlett fell to the floor and bounded back up. She jumped into the air and climbed the shelving rack. Yuri reached out for her, swiping each shelf clear of stuff as he went.
Scarlett reached the top and felt the shelf shake. She gripped the top rack, wrapping her legs around the metal structure. Below, Yuri had grabbed one of the shelves started yanking it back and forth.
She smiled. Scarlett shifted her weight in time with Yuri’s pushes and pulls. The shelf rocked back and forth gaining momentum. With one final lunge, she brought the shelf and remaining equipment down onto Yuri.
Scarlett watched the ground rush up toward her and jumped. She slammed into the next shelf over. More equipment spilled from the shelf as her new perch teetered on the edge of tumbling over as well. Scarlett yanked back to counterbalance, but pulled too hard.
The metal shelf creaked as it tipped. Oh shit.
She reached up and pulled herself to the next level. Scarlett felt the shelving rack tip past the point of no return and kicked off. She sailed through the air, clearing the pile of debris on top of Yuri and slammed into the ground. Her momentum slid her over the concrete floor and she collided with another shelf, knocking the wind out of her.
Pain ripped through Scarlett’s side. She lifted herself up by one arm to look around. Yuri was buried somewhere beneath the two shelving units and the junk they once held.
Then the pile of rubble moved.
A low, angry growl came from beneath the collapsed shelves and equipment.
Scarlett felt a trickle of fear poke at her confidence and shoved it away. She gasped for air. “Fucker.”
On her feet, she climbed over the broken bits of scrap. Scarlett stepped around behind Yuri. “Alright. Sleepytime, asshole.”
Yuri’s head poked out from the mess. Scarlett wrapped one arm around, under his chin. She locked it in place with her other hand.
The giant’s head snapped up as she pulled, cutting off the blood flow through one of his carotid arteries and his jugular. Debris flew across the room as he reached up, slamming his hand into her back. Thick fingers dug into her skin and muscles.
Scarlett grunted with effort and pain. Threads snapped and fabric tore as Yuri seized her shirt. He pulled for just a moment before his hands and arms went slack.
The giant was unconscious.
Scarlett’s chest heaved. Her head sagged with relief. She heard movement from near the entrance and her eyes shot open.
She stood and spun to face Zinchenko, her plasma pistol appearing in her hand. Zinchenko’s remaining thug reached for his own gun but froze with his hand in his coat.
The crime-boss’s face was relaxed. “Are you going to kill me now?”
Scarlett kept the weapon leveled at his head and stepped around the table toward him. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Dax.” With her free hand, Scarlett pulled her eCash card from her pocket.
The older man’s eyes narrowed. “Very well.”
She put her gun back into her waistband. Scarlett tapped the surface of the eCash card and it lit up. She typed in the cash amount and held the device up for Zinchenko. The older man reached for the card but she pulled it away at the last second.
“Let me just make this crystal, Mr. Zinchenko. Dax is mine, free and clear. And be sure to tell all your crime-boss friends that he’s off limits as well.”
Zinchenko’s face was emotionless, but his eyes burned with anger. “And how am I supposed to do that?”
“At your next Friday night poker game, when you meet for coffee, or at your fucking knitting circle. I don’t give a shit. Just make sure the message is received. If any one of them comes for him, I’ll come for you first.”
Zinchenko snatched the card from her hand. He pressed his thumb to lock it to his own print.
Rubble shifted behind Scarlett. She turned to see Yuri climb out from under the pile of equipment and broken shelving.
The giant rose up and wobbled. He reached out to steady himself and sent another shelf tumbling over.
Zinchenko whistled and pointed his thumb at the door. Yuri and the other thugs headed for the door.
When his men had left, the crime boss turned and spoke over his shoulder. “You really should be careful who you threaten, Ms. Angel.”
“Consider it more of a warning, Mr. Zinchenko.”
The bell dinged as the door closed behind the older man. Scarlett closed her eyes and sighed. Her shoulders sagged and she let her head droop for a moment.
She walked back over to the table. Janson, Mickey, and Dax stood on the far side. They stared at her with their mouths hanging wide open.
Scarlett’s brow furrowed. “What?”
Chapter 30
Dax
It’s funny how readily we open up to the people from our past when we need someone to talk to, even if the original relationship was not particularly close.
* * *
Dax was the first to speak. “What the fuck was that?”
Mickey and Janson slowly nodded their heads. Something clanged as it fell from one of the shelves into the pile of debris.
Scarlett grabbed a stool and sat at the worktable. “Um, that was me saving your ass.” She reached over and grabbed a piece of pepperoni pizza from a box she hadn’t noticed before. Her other hand reflexively moved to her cracked ribs. She took a bite of the room-temperature slice and continued. “Mm... God, it’s been so long since I’ve had a slice. So, I guess it’s a good thing you won that little competition, huh?”
Dax pulled up a stool and sat next to Scarlett. “What the fuck was that? I’ll tell you what that was... That was the hottest— sexiest— most insane thing I’ve ever seen!”
Scarlett smiled for a moment then furrowed her brow. She held out her slice of pizza and pointed it at Dax. “I didn’t do it for your amusement.”
“I think I’m in love.” Mickey’s voice was barely a whisper.
She turned and inclined her head at the debris. “Sorry about the mess, Janson. Let me know what’s broken and I’ll replace it.”
Janson’s lips moved but no words came.
Dax tilted his head to the side. “So, what the hell is going on? Last I knew you were this timid, albeit hot, research student named Jillian. Now you’re this kick-ass, even hotter, ass-kickin’ ninja-woman.”
She let out a deep breath and set the pizza down. Jules had been the only person who knew any of her past since Neil disappeared. Even she didn’t know the whole truth, though.
“You mentioned that you heard I died.”
Dax nodded.
“Well, I did. Technically a couple of times. My heart stopped while I was in a coma, twice. Somewhere in there, I lost my memory. I lost everything... who I was, everyone I ever knew, what my job was... even my own name. The short end of it is that I started a new life as Scarlett.”
Dax’s eyes were wide. “Now you’re some kind of black belt or some shit?”
The corner of Scarlett’s mouth twitched up in the start of a smile but she forced it away. “Something like that. It’s only been recently that I’ve begun getting my memories back. You’re actually one of the first from my past I’ve talked to.”
“Am I supposed to feel special, then?”
“Not because of that. Look, Dax, you’re the best hacker I’ve ever known. What I’ve seen you do in twenty lines of code, most can’t do in five hundred.”
Janson smirked. “Keep strokin’ his ego and his head’s gonna es’plode.”
She smiled. “It’s true. And I need your help.”
Scarlett looked around then turned to Janson and Mickey. “Guys, I hate to ask, but can I get a second with Dax? Alone?”
The
shop owner nodded. He turned to head to the front of the shop but stopped. Mickey sat with his mouth agape. Janson reached back, grabbed the other man’s shirt and pulled him away.
“Hey! Easy, Jan!”
Janson shoved Mickey forward. “Shut it. Give them a sec t’ talk business.”
Scarlett grimaced as another deep breath sent a jab of pain through her. She waited until the two men were out of earshot. “Your friends are... interesting.”
Dax watched her through narrowed eyes. “What happened to you?”
“I was gonna do this tomorrow, but... Everything I said is true. But to protect the people I care about, I’ve gone underground, you might say. What I told Zinchenko about the man named Neil Smithson is also true.”
“Who’s he?”
Scarlett conjured up a few memories of Neil. She remembered his touch and his voice. She also remembered how cruel he could be. “Neil is a very dangerous man. He trained me personally to help get rid of the people who are after me... the people after Jillian.”
“Why would someone want to kill you, I mean Jillian?”
Scarlett lied. “I don’t know. And it’s irrelevant at the moment. Right now, I’m under contract for a job and I need a good code monkey.”
“Well, I guess I do kinda owe you one.”
Scarlett arched one eyebrow. “Kinda?” She chuckled, sending waves of pain through her sides. She gingerly touched her side and forced herself to stop laughing.
“So... who’s the target and what are we looking for?”
“Universal Dynamic and its proprietary research data.”
Dax pulled his computer over and started typing. “What kind of research?”
“Communications.”
He paused. Dax turned to Scarlett with a scrunched face. “All this for some cell tech?”
“It’s a little more complicated than cellular or wireless data technology. I really just want you to find the data. Once I know where it is, I can go get it.”
Dax laughed. “You think it’s that simple? You do understand that the kind of data you’re talking about is probably on a remote server somewhere with layers upon layers of firewalls, proxies and a whole slew of defense code that even I’ve never seen before, right?”
