by Tigris Eden
The Towers were strongholds. Mini-communities. Each governed by an Archial. Each Archial made up the Magellan Council. The Quarry was his kingdom. His safe haven. He had a lot of luxuries most of the other Towers did not benefit from, and because of that, many people from the surrounding Towers and beyond came to experience all that the Quarry had to offer. Sex, alcohol laced with Pure Wave, and the only place one could secure an organ in order to continue their miserable way of life. He also housed the recruits for his Mugenix program, men and woman who volunteered to be a part of his elite military force. It was something Phyr headed up and worked closely with Gryphon on.
Anything that pertained to the making of fabric came out of Empyre. Stich and Worm ran their Tower in shifts. Worm specialized in finer threads, he’d get orders from the Mainlanders, as well as those who lived on the safer side of town by Eden’s Den and could afford to trade in goods and services. Stitch designed practical clothing. Things that were needed for survival and combat. They housed their assembly workers, and their families, for their payment, Stitch provided them with decent, drinkable Wave, and quarterly rotations to the Quarry, where they could blow off some steam. Diamond didn’t allow the assembly workers his top-quality items, but he gave them good viable product, and a warm body to lay with, if they asked for it.
Parygon was a warehouse filled with old tech, as well as hard to come by items. Gearheads would come and work on a six-month rotation. Those that didn’t dwell inside the Tower were in Gearhead Alley—a block just outside the Quarry littered with abandoned vehicles that they lived in. He knew they did it to piss him off. He couldn’t complain too much, most people thought twice before going through Gearhead Alley. Inside Parygon, Onyx and his cousin Till took care of the Grid and C-Tech, while their scouts traveled outside the walls and past the Outer Rim to the Wastelands to find anything that would assist in their way of life. The Grid gave them all their basic necessities and more. It also kept Diamond’s harvesting and transplant business viable. Ace was the Archial of Parygon, and the mastermind behind the trading routes. He traded with the inner-city gangs and helped keep the peace, he was also a master tinkerer. His parents were both Gearheads.
Eightball was their resident surgeon, and had the foremost information on splicing, and the harvesting of organs and transplanting said organs into others. He made sure the organs donated were of use, and he helped keep track of all the slaughterhouses in and around the city. There were three successful harvesting facilities, and the Blacke Tower housed not only candidates for harvesting, but served as a recovery center for those receiving organs. It also doubled as a recycling center for humans.
Gryphon oversaw the genetics in Genysis Tower, and until recently, all had been going smoothly. He’d helped Diamond with the Mugenix gene that was injected into those who volunteered for his program. The Tower housed test subjects, a species of humans who had somehow adapted to their new world. Their bodies acted as filters. Turning harmful products introduced into something pure. From their blood alone, Diamond had been able to produce a sort of filtration system. It was why his Wave was almost pure. But the blood only lasted for a handful of months. They’d been working on a way to prolong its usage, but so far, they were unsuccessful. He’d wanted to approach the council with his findings, but was unable, especially now that Gryphon had stopped showing to the meetings.
The Magellan Council was comprised of those that ran the Towers, Diamond being one of them. He sat at the head of the council as the city’s Sovereign, and had final say if they couldn’t all amicably agree. There weren’t any written laws, but there were plenty of spoken ones. For the last month, it had felt like the tight leash he held on the city was slowly being yanked. His team was responding to more incidents than usual. Things had to be sacrificed, and constant power was one of them. They had to conserve their resources. The council disagreed with him, however. They wanted the power on at all times. It wasn’t going to happen. There was a saying he remembered one of the old-timers saying once, “People in hell want ice water, but it doesn’t mean they’ll get it.” He wasn’t about to bend on his stance when it came to power, and if the council didn’t like it, they could step down.
“You headed out?” Diamond asked Emerald, who was looking outside the window again. His friend was an optimist; he, on the other hand, was a realist. The other male looked back and grinned.
“Nope. I want to see how this all plays out.”
“What do you mean plays out? There is nothing to play.”
“Sure, there isn’t. I’d like to stay a couple of days just the same. Unless you want me to leave?”
“You can stay as long as you like. Pussy, as usual, is on the house, but I still want Nadya scanned.”
Marina, who’d been quiet the entire time, spoke up then. “We can scan her here. I can grab the items you need, Emerald.” Marina’s voice was whisper-soft, but still held deep, throaty notes. Her words vibrated against Diamond’s ears in a pleasing way.
Emerald nodded in her direction with a slight tilt to his lips. “Much appreciated. Have one of Diamond’s guards take you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How long do you think it will take Lins to get ahold of Amethyst?”
“Shouldn’t take too long.”
Diamond’s brow furrowed at the mention of Lindy. She was slacking. That someone was able to get past her and through his guards checking bodies at the door only showed her lack of thoroughness. It also painted her in a non-trusting light. Someone inside his house was trying to take him out. He needed to be careful, and now with Nadya staying at the Quarry, news would be spreading about her status. The people around here had a hard time keeping their mouths shut. Lip wasn’t called Lip for nothing. Goddamn. A fucking virgin. He hadn’t had a virgin up for auction in at least two years. She was going to bring in more than enough resources and pure Wave to see him through until the next Solar Summer. Maybe even work it out to where he had regular access to the mountain itself. The lights from the Mainland were a constant reminder of what he didn’t have. But there were things the pompous pricks wanted from him. They didn’t have a choice but to deal with him. His methods may be savage, but they yielded the best results.
If they only knew just how much they needed him, they wouldn’t be so quick to judge. But everything would reveal itself in due time. They were still testing subjects, and once the trials were complete, he could move forward. Until then, he’d do what he did best. Sell pussy and peddle organs.
V
Nadya was being cleaned. Again. She’d allowed the ink on her body for the sole purpose of fitting in. It had taken all of twenty minutes to complete. She’d stood completely still as one of Diamond’s Bionics inked her. The design started from underneath her left arm and ran down her rib cage, outlining her hipbone. It swept across her lower stomach to her right hip and down her thigh, stopping just at her knee. The ink wasn’t one connected piece, but rather a series of curved lines with half-circles. Each one separate and unique. She knew it meant something, labeled her as property. Something for sale.
Nadya was being subjected to some sort of bathing ritual now. The water was warm and they rubbed white, silky mud all over her body. She had two attendants, but neither of them spoke as they went about washing her. At present, she was on the eighth floor. She’d counted on her way down from Diamond’s private quarters. There were large broken mirror pieces hanging loosely against the worn rust-colored walls. The ceiling appeared caved in and supported by thick metal beams.
“Step out,” a woman with bright pink hair said. She wore white, gauzy material that only covered her private areas. Her right arm had pink floral patterns curving around her wrist to shoulder. Her eyes were a warm brown that stood out against her cream-colored skin.
Nadya stepped out of the bath, her feet slapping against the chilled floor as she stood still. Both women in the room eyed her from head to toe. The woman with the brown eyes threw a towel at her and told her she could only pat
herself dry. Some sort of sealant had been applied to her skin in order to make the ink permanent. The towel managed to remove more dead skin. It would only work to her advantage. Diamond did say he wanted her clean. A memory of a porcelain tub filled with hot soapy water played out in her mind. She had been twelve, and trying to explain to a woman who may have been her mother that she was dying because the bath was taking her skin off. Nadya shook the memory away. She became frustrated when her mind would remember the littlest things. It was the bigger things she needed to remember. But couldn’t. Like who she was, where she came from. Not some memory of when she was small and worried about dead skin.
“What’s going on?”
“You’re being prepared,” was the woman’s answer.
“Do you know what I’m being prepared for?”
“For Diamond, of course.” Short and to the point. Nadya found she was getting more and more irritated by the second. Somewhere out in the city she now called home, Anna and Dominika were suffering. Waiting on her to come through for them. They’d been so trusting, so sure she’d do what she promised. But what if she couldn’t?
The muscles in her body tightened with anger. Her skin’s temperature rose to an uncomfortable level and she knew it was evident in her cheeks. Why would Diamond want her prepared for him? The deal was that he’d find her a patron, someone to sponsor her and her family? He should have already asked her for the location of Anna and Dominika and sent out his guards to go and retrieve them.
“Turn around, I need to see what size clothing to put you in,” the other girl said. She had bright purple braids and a scar underneath her left eye. Around her neck were several metal rings. You could barely see her flesh between the rings, and her neck looked longer than the average person’s.
Nadya turned around in a complete circle at her request.
“He doesn’t want clothing.”
“Collared, then?”
The girl with the pink hair nodded thoughtfully before walking out of the room and leaving Nadya with the other female.
“Is there a reason that I don’t get to wear clothes?” Nadya inquired.
“We don’t question Diamond. I’ve been here for a long time, and the last virgin he trained fell in love with him. Things didn’t work out so great for her.”
Well, she wasn’t like the last girl, and she definitely wasn’t interested in Lavarious Diamond. Not in that way. He was a means to an end. She’d do what she needed to do in order to secure a patron for Anna and her daughter. Diamond saw her as his possession. A thing to get whatever it was he wanted. She was to be used for profit. He’d made his desires very clear, and if he thought for even a moment she’d fall for him, he was wrong.
“That won’t be a problem. What kind of training.”
“Depends.”
The door swung open and Diamond walked in with Emerald and Lindy.
“Change of plans,” he snapped. “The girl needs street clothes, and I want her to have at least a knife. We’re going out.”
“Out? Why are we going out?” Nadya questioned. Why did they need to leave the Quarry? Something must have gone wrong. The hair on her arms stood on end. It was a clear sign bad things were about to happen.
“Amethyst is busy at the moment. Lindy wasn’t able to catch up with her, so we’re heading out to Inwood to retrieve your mother and your sister. But if they hold no value to me, I don’t care if you have a hundred patrons lined up and ready to sponsor your pussy and your family. They will not have the protection of the Quarry, and you will not only owe me, you will be permanently employed with no chance of release.”
There were words she wanted to say but couldn’t because her mind had gone completely blank. Diamond believed he would own her. She could see it in the way his eyes tracked her movements. Who the fuck did he think he was? She was so having that heart to heart with him. Soon. It wouldn’t happen yet, she had to stick to her plan—get Anna and Dominika a patron. But after, she could go about her business of systematically taking down the Towers one building at a time, saving the Quarry for last. It was the only lasting memory she had. A directive. Take out the Towers. She didn’t know why, but it kept her moving forward.
“I didn’t agree to those terms.”
The air in the room changed temperature with his attitude. Diamond’s eyes narrowed. Nadya was aware she had nothing to protect herself with. She wasn’t weak by any stretch of the imagination, but Diamond didn’t know that. He didn’t need to know that. But if she had to defend herself, she’d take his ass out now and deal with the repercussions after.
“Never asked you to agree to anything. You came to me, not the other way around. I already explained this once, and only because you’re new, I’ll explain it one more time. I get what I want, or you can turn your ass around and beat feet back to Inwood. My job is to turn a profit, not run a family institution complete with pick-up service. Any other girl that came in here with that sad sob story would have been out on their ass faster than you could say, ‘I remember when corn tasted like sunshine.’”
Corn tastes like sunshine? Huh?
Diamond’s eyes traveled the length of her body. Slow at first. If she didn’t know better, she would have assumed it was lust she saw in the depths. It wasn’t. Diamond was exploring his investment, making plans for her body. His eyes roamed from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Nadya realized she was only wearing a towel. It barely covered her chest and the thatch of hair between her thighs. The lower portion of her new ink was on full display. His eyes lingered there the most. Something warm slivered around her waist and squeezed. She didn’t know what the feeling was, but she didn’t like it. It was foreign and awakened her nerve endings with a jolt of electricity.
“Nordas, get her some street clothes.”
“Right. She’s petite but muscular. I think we have something to fit her.”
“I want her in boots too, no heel.”
“Got it.”
Nordas, who was the girl with the pink hair, nodded and left to find Nadya some clothes that matched Diamond’s description. All they needed to do was give her back what she’d come in with and she’d be fine.
“What about what I wore here?”
“Burned. It was infested, I’m surprised you’re not diseased-looking under all that dirt. You have a few scars and bruising, but that seems to be it. What do the symbols on your hips mean?”
Nadya didn’t have an answer for him. Not one he’d want to hear. Instead of the truth, she lied.
“Just some ink I had done a few years back.”
“That’s not like any ink I’ve ever seen before. Looks like part of your skin, and it shimmers like gold.”
It did? She’d never noticed.
“Got it in Tribeca from some Bionic. He said it was all the rage.”
Nadya changed the subject. He knew she was lying, but he didn’t call her on it.
“What about weapons?”
“What about them?”
“We’ll need some if we’re going out there. I know around here you think everything is safe and secure. Out there, well, it’s a completely different ballgame.”
“Lady, do you know who the fuck I am?” He waited a beat before continuing his man-speech, and Nadya would have napped if she could. She knew full well who he was, but she didn’t think he understood what was really out there. He hadn’t surveyed his self-proclaimed kingdom in some months. Shit was bad. Ragers roamed the night. Not in full attack mode, sure, but they were organized now, tactful. Attia’s people were out there searching for her. Nadya knew they were, and hoped like hell they hadn’t gotten ahold of Anna and Dominika. There were Gearheads, and people on the verge of going Rage. If you added in the inner-city gangs, Diamond’s city had long ago skipped the out-of-control stage, diving headfirst into chaos. There wasn’t a guarantee any of them would come back alive. Not if they weren’t prepared, and especially if she wasn’t properly armed with weapons. “I’m Lavarious Diamond, we’re going a
rmed up. Not even an hour ago, a bitch tried to blow my ass up. I’d be a fool to think I can go out there and shit not happen.”
Well, at least he was smart. She hoped.
“I’ll need a weapon, as well.”
“You’ll only get a knife. A small one at that. I’m your weapon. Lip and Lindy will be my weapon, and so help me, woman, you even think about running off or trying to play who’s the better fighter while we’re out there, I’ll take your pinky finger. Get me?”
That’s it? A pinky?
“Why the pinky? Why not the whole damn hand?”
Emerald choked on his laughter, trying to hold it in. Nadya decided right then that she liked the large male.
Diamond’s eyes narrowed into slits. He may have even been trying to hide a smile. She could see the laughter in his eyes, but he refused the emotion. Diamond was like an android, life-like in many ways, but when it came to emotions, mechanical and forced. Maybe he didn’t want people to think he had a sense of humor. Or, she was reading way too much into his persona. She was kind of hoping it wasn’t the latter, because if it were, it meant he was dead serious. He’d cut off her pinky if she tried anything he felt was in direct violation of what he ordered.
“Shut up and get dressed.”
Emerald winked at her before leaving.
Lindy smirked but otherwise kept her mouth shut. And then she left, too.
After one last look, Diamond left as well, leaving her with Nordas and the girl with the purple braids.
“Love it when he goes all dark and moody,” Nordas said while handing Nadya some clothes.
“Why is that?” Nadya asked.
“Because, if you’re lucky—which you’re not, at least not right now—he’ll fuck you until you can’t walk. That’s how he works the aggression out of his system. Takes one of us and gives it to us so good and so dirty, we’re literally able to take two days to ourselves. Two whole days of just rest and relaxation from all things.”
