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The follow on to Sweet Dreams. A gang war erupts with new intensity when Lex uses someone else's name on a job. Sharks want revenge but the Kyr i Vikati have different ideas. Lex gets a system shock as she learns the brutal reality that accompanies living in Night City.
(August 13th, 2016) 'Kyr i Vikati' Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
THUD!
The sound echoed around the room, a sense of finality in that single sound. Another battle lost, another bruise to her pride and her body. But still she tried, getting up time after time, determination making her grit her teeth and ignore her body screaming at her to stop. She couldn't deny that every time she went down, it was that bit harder to get up but she couldn't, wouldn't give up.
Alexa took her stance again, her face a mask of hate as she tried to focus on the hands and body of her attacker. Looking him directly in the eye, she waits for his next move. Before she realises it, he is moving. A fist is flying towards her solar plexus. She blocks the fist, moving out of the way. He follows up with punch after punch, trying to land a strike on any part of her body that he could. Time slowed for her as she watched herself dodge attack after attack. But something was wrong. The scene was changing too fast. A nerve at the back of her ankle screamed and she was no longer looking at her opponent. She saw the wall change into ceiling as she went down yet another time. She had failed again, and it had been going to well. She landed hard again, breath knocked out of her body. Her muscles burned as lactic acid flared. She was tired, drained. Panting, she stayed down this time, closing her eyes, mentally banishing the pain. When she opened them, Rage was standing above her, offering her a hand.
"Not bad."
She took his hand, all the time examining his face for traces of a lie. It had become standard for her to do it and to be honest she kind of regretted the fact that she now did it almost subconsciously. At least this time there was nothing but sincerity in Rage's face. She smiled, her chest heaving a little too much to force out the words to thank him. Taking Rage's hand he helped her to her feet, making sure she was okay before beckoning for the next sparring partner.
She passed Kern as she made her way to the bench. Sitting down, she watched Kern limber up, swinging his shoulders, twisting this way and that before cracking his neck. Rage watched with an amused expression on his face.
"You know that's not going to help, little brother!"
"You won't be laughing when I knock you on your ass, big brother!"
The testosterone could have been cut with a knife. She looked over to Hope, to see her rolling her eyes at the male bonding and macho attitudes of the two guys. Both guys were circling each other, watching for who was going to make the first move. Rage feinted, but Kern didn't rise to the bait. A quick shot was deftly parried and the circling continued. Alexa just wanted to shout at them to start the match already. Kern feinted, but unknowingly left himself open for an attack. Rage took the opportunity and went for the kidney shot. Kern realised at the last second and dodged, barely. Punch after punch, strike after strike was parried, blocked or dodged. They were evenly matched, or so it seemed. She suspected that Rage was holding back, letting his little brother think that he was better than he was. Rage tried to sweep Kern's foot out from under him but Kern jumped out of the way, using the opportunity to use a roundhouse kick against his opponent. Rage saw it coming and ducked, grabbing the foot and driving a punch into the nerve cluster of Kern's thigh. Rage pushed Kern using the captured foot. Kern lost his balance and skidded across the wooden floor on his ass. Spinning he back flipped up to his feet again, or tried to. The leg that Rage had hit went down leaving Kern on one knee. Pushing up, Kern gets to his feet, one leg slightly off the ground and rubbing the sore spot. Rage takes advantage of the momentary distraction and launches an attack. Kern had been counting on that and dropped ducking under the flying kick that Rage had been planning and coming up with lightening speed behind Rage. He got in two quick kidney strikes and was going for a throat strike as soon as Rage turned. Rage spun around so fast, one leg extended slightly and hooked Kern's leg. Kern hit the ground before he realised that he was falling. Rage grabbed one of Kern's arms and put it in a lock while simultaneously placing a foot on his chest. Kern was beaten and he knew it. Alexa saw his face and the look of intense disappointment that was written clearly on it. Rage was good, very good. She wondered if Kern would ever beat his brother. After all, Rage was a soldier, trained and tested in the fires of the SouthAm war, whereas Kern had grown up on the streets of Night City picking his fights carefully. Rage helped Kern to his feet, slapping him on the back, telling him that it had been a good fight and that he had almost gotten him with the final move. Kern seemed to forget all the hurt feelings and wounded pride and took the compliment for what it was.
He was limping slightly as he walked over to the bench where Alexa was sitting. Alexa gave him a comforting hug as he sat down beside her. Kern wrapped his arm around her and gave her a quick kiss. It had surprised Alexa when she realised that she had fallen in love with Kern without noticing. Ever since she had come to this Godforsaken city, he had been there, always close in case she needed him. At first she thought that it was because she was alone and in need of a friend but when she thought about it, she was feeling much the same range of feelings that she had felt when she started going out with Luka, except it was stronger with Kern. It had been a natural progression from friend to lovers for the pair and neither were looking back. It was hard to find someone you could rely on in Night City, let alone someone who wouldn't throw in the towel when the shit hit the fan. She knew she was lucky and she wasn't going to let him get away.
She sat leaning against him, thinking, as Hope got to her feet. Alexa was looking forward to this fight. While Kern could only be classed as a Street-Samurai, a militarily untrained street fighter, Hope was a soldier, just like Rage. What Rage made up in strength, Hope made up in agility. The winner in these fights was never clear until one was on the ground and forced to concede.
Hope was stripping off her jogging pants and sweatshirt, leaving her only in black spandex training gear. She was stretching slightly she turned to her audience and smiled. She walked, catlike, out to the training area. Without warning, she leaped at Rage. Rage was knocked him to the ground. Hoped landed on him, but rolled off quickly. She spun to face him. She saw that he had moved. She kicked out at him. Nothing but air. Rage lashed out. He was ready to hit her but she dodged. She was moving closer and locking his arm before he realised it. She elbowed him in the throat, forcing him backwards. She lashed out at his knee and hit him just below it.
Rage was going down. Hope watched. She was moving even before he fell face first to the ground. As the floor came closer and closer, Rage spun, breaking his fall.
Without looking, he struck out with a foot. Hope back flipped away. She landed in a perfect fighting stance. Rage spun, rolling to protect anything that may be vulnerable while taking stock of the situation. Hope was out of range. He flipped to his feet, taking a mirrored fighting stance. Both combatants were smiling ferally, waiting for the other to make a move.
Then, as if some agreed upon signal had been sounded, they both launched themselves at each other. Punches! Strikes! Blocks! Parries! Each move was made with lightning speed. They put everything they had into the fight.
They may have been married, but that never stopped them during practice. The speed of the attacks was incredible. The movements barely started before they were blocked.
Then, suddenly, instead of blocking, Hope ducked. She swept Rage's leg. Rage overbalanced. He had not expected the move. Hope caught him. Throwing him, he went sailing over her head to land on the ground. Hope back flipped. She landing with a foot on his throat. Rage caught her foot, pushing it away. Hope toppled.
The only landing spot available was on top of Rage. Both of them lay there for a second, panting hard, Hope lying on top of Rage. Rage moved to caress her but she caught the arm and locked it so he couldn't move. The other arm whipped around Rage's throat. Rage struggled but she used her weight to keep him down and immobilized until he hit her arm twice in submission, to be released from her hold. She placed a kiss on the tip of his nose before getting up, releasing her opponent.
She helped Rage to his feet, pulling him into a steamy embrace once he was standing. Alexa could tell that their adrenalin levels were still high and guessed how they were going to solve the problem. She also knew that if she and Kern didn't leave now, they would more than likely be treated to a show that she didn't particularly want to see. Nudging Kern she nodded towards the door and silently they made their exit, leaving the over-sexed pair to whatever they were going to do.
"Did you see how she took him down, that was magnificent. I could never get away with that, he'd see it coming a mile off, but she did it."
Kern kept talking about the fight, revelling in the fact that his brother got taken down by Hope in a move that Rage himself often uses. Alexa knew that Kern wanted to be as hard, as tough as his brother but there was 8 years in age and 2 years hard combat experience in the difference, which Kern knew, but didn't accept fully. She knew it wouldn't do Kern any good to dwell on it. She knew he stood in his brothers shadow, but she was afraid that he would do something one day to get out of it, something dangerous that would get him killed. Planning her action carefully, she pushed him back against the wall and distracted him with a kiss. Just as she suspected, it worked. Turning she walked down the corridor. Like a tame puppy, Kern followed hoping for more. Hope is a great teacher, Alexa reflected, entering the apartment she shared with Kern. Almost before the door closed, passion and adrenalin took over, painting the world with a rosy tint.
(August 13th, 2016) 'Kyr i Vikati' Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
Alexa lay in bed, the warm arm of her lover wrapped around her, his warm body at her back. She listened to the sound of his regular breathing. Nothing else stirred in the small apartment. Voices occasionally travelled in from the street but she could not make out what they were saying. She often lay awake long after Kern had fallen asleep, using the time to think, reflect. A whirlwind of thoughts spun in her mind, hopes, dreams, memories all cluttered together, mingling into one another until they were impossible to untangle. She couldn't help but think back over the past few months and reflect on what had brought her to this place, to this moment in time.
She had wanted to make things easier on her parents and decided to go to the big city to stay with her big sister, Ana, but things had turned nasty when Dusk, her sister's boyfriend decided that having one submissive sister was not enough. She had fought him but was losing until someone had distracted Dusk allowing her to strike a final blow that knocked him out before fainting herself. She had awoken in the apartment of the gang leader and his wife. She confronted her sister about her boyfriend but Ana ran rather than face up to it. Alexa had offered her a chance to get out of it and Rage, the leader of Kyr i Vikati, a Russian gang had backed her up, but in the end, she had opted to go with Dusk, turning her back on her sister. So with no friends, no family and no where to go, she took the one offer of help that was extended to her. Kern, little brother of Rage, offered her a place to sleep for the night. She had been miserable for the next few days, focusing only on how Ana had turned her back on her but Kern stayed beside her. She had felt guilty that she hadn't noticed Kern during her confrontation with Dusk, even though he had been standing beside Rage, or when she woke up after the fight. The first time that she had noticed him was when he put himself between Dusk and herself when Dusk came to demand what he thought was rightfully his. He had been knocked out when Dusk pushed him aside. She felt terrible about that. She had determined that night to make it up to him, but had found herself sinking into depression as she thought more about her predicament. It had been Kern again who saved her, distracting her from her life, showing her around Night City. He showed her all the sights, Corp Plaza where the money lived, Shopping Malls the like of which she had never seen, the seedier underbelly of Night City that kept the shinier public side working, local hotspots, clubs, everything. It was a totally different world than what she had been expecting but it was fascinating. As time went on, she thought less about Ana only thinking about it when she saw her on the street, or when Dusk had business with Rage.
She thought back to the first trip that Kern had taken her on.
(July 1st, 2016) Unknown, Combat Zone, Night City, California
It was an underworld bring and buy sale of everything the other side of legal and the place to go if you were looking for something. She remembered him dragging her down an unending maze of streets, turning this way and that down streets that looked the same, occasionally backtracking when he made a wrong turn. Eventually they turned out into the ruins of an abandoned shopping mall. Looking around, Alexa made out some old brand labels still advertising products long gone off the market. Half the mall was collapsed in on itself, leaving some half standing rooms filled with rubble. Some kids had gotten in and spray-painted the sides of the building, long lines of tags running along the crumbling concrete structure in purples, golds and blues. Names and gang tags decorated the inside of the defunct shopping mall as well as the outside, Alexa noticed as Kern led her into the building. As they walked down the entry corridor, she noticed a lot of people standing around watching everyone that was going by. Kern had nodded to one of the big guys propped against the wall and walked forward. They had only just left the corridor when they had heard noises behind them. Turning she had seen a small, ratty looking man being thrown out of the building. Kern had not registered any surprise at their actions so Alexa masked her feelings with an impassive face. Showing anything was a sign of weakness in this city. Kern touched her arm and she followed him into the building, watching him nod or swap polite small talk to the people here.
Alexa was so busy looking around her that she had not noticed that she was about to walk into someone until it was too late. She came to a sudden stop, stumbling back a few steps to regain her balance. Shivers ran down her spine as she looked at the woman standing in front of her. She had been a few inches taller than Alexa's own 6 foot. Long, black hair flowed down her back, whipping around as she turned to look at Alexa. The woman was wearing a PVC cat suit that covered her from her neck to her feet, melding into six-inch stiletto boots seamlessly. Although it covered everything, the suit left little to the imagination. Looking up, Alexa stared into her face. The coldest smile she had ever seen sat on that face, as the woman sized her up. Alexa felt like she was being weighed up like spice in a market. Kern wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her a little comfort.
"Nikki, nice to see you again!" Kern said, making Nikki break her eye contact with Alexa.
"Kern ... Nice girl you got there," she said smiling. "I'll give you EB500 for her, I got a client into that country girl look!"
Kern seemed to consider this before saying, "Nah, I think I'll keep this one. I kinda like her!"
"Well, you know where to come if you change your mind, honey!"
With that, she turned and walked away flawlessly on what Alexa considered impossibly high shoes. Eyes blazing, she turned to face Kern and have a talk to him about considering to sell her.
"She liked you!" Kern said, watching Nikki leave.
"What? And how could you think of selling me to that ... that ..."
"Pleasure Slave trader?!" Kern filled in the blank. "You know she usually doesn't pay for her girls. She must have really liked you, or me, but more likely you."
Kern was rambling on a little as he started off again, bringing Alexa with him. Alexa was speechless. She had realised what the woman probably was, but it was another thing actually finding out that she was right. Questions tripped over each other in a rush to get asked but would not form an orderly queue. She put them off until later, still shocked at what had happened. They walked deeper into the Bizarre until they found one of the stalls that they were looking for. Kern had spend the whole time pointing out people and telling Alexa who they were, showing her who to avoid and who could be useful if the need arose. They had entered another wing of the building, passing some security guards on the way and were now surrounded on all sides by guns, knives and exotic looking weapons. Kern seemed to be looking for someone in particular and once he spotted him, he walked slowly over, pretending that he didn't want to see him. To Alexa and probably anyone else watching, he was totally transparent. She hung back, checking out a nearby stand and listening in on the conversation.
"Heya Mike!" He started off cordially.
"Do I know you kid?" The guy, Mike, seemed unimpressed.
"No, but if you play your cards right, this could be a very profitable day for you."
Mike looked around, laughing, "See all these people? This is already a profitable day for me! Shove off, kid, I got work to do?"
"I'm looking for some Militech Ronin's." Kern persisted, picking up one of the guns from the stand.
Mike turned to face Kern, sizing him up, "I can't sell you them, kid, you'd probably blow your foot off."
"I could beat you in a gun fight any day!"
"Who taught you how to fire a gun, son." Mike asked, not quite sure of what to make of the smart assed kid.
"The USMC, down in SouthAm."
Alexa sighed, thinking 'Why the hell did he say something like that. Back away from it Kern, drop it now, while you still can.'
"You, in SouthAm? What did you do, lie about your age when you were 10?" Mike couldn't stop laughing at the idea.
Kern could not let this drop. "Yeah, I was in the front of the battle for Casa del Rei Ridge."
Mike stopped laughing abruptly, "I had friends that died in that battle. Fuck off before I show you what these guns can really do!"
"But ..."
Mike took out a bit of paper and wrote on it, handing it over to Kern. Smiling he added, "Here ya go kid, they will sell you the guns."
Kern looked at it, "Go to hell!"
He crumpled up the paper and threw it back at the guy.
He stormed out past the security guards, cursing loudly. Alexa waited for a minute and then followed him. When she found him, he was trying to kick his way through a concrete block, cursing his own stupidity. Alexa sat down, nearby and waits for him to stop. It took a few minutes but finally he stopped calling himself an idiot and sat down beside her.
"What the hell am I gonna do now, Lex? I said I would get the guns!" Kern looked miserable.
"Give me the money and five minutes to set up and I'll see what I can do?"
Kern handed over the money and wondered what she was going to do as he watched her wander off in the opposite direction. Alexa sneaked past him on the way back. Her hair was now different as was her makeup. She wore different clothes, a mixture of greys and oranges bought for a few dollars at a different stall. She walked slowly and deliberately around the stalls, before finally walking back over to Mike. She listened for a few minutes, pretending to check out the merchandise.
"I don't care about the reliability rating, the blasted thing blew up in my hand!" The guy with Bon-Jovi style hair and a bandaged hand was ranting at Mike.
"Look, mate, this is a COLT AMT, these do not blow up! But I'll tell you what, John, how about I give you another one?" Mike was trying to appease the irate customer.
"Okay, I guess that would be okay!"
When he was done, Alexa moved closer to Mike, getting his attention and whispered in his ear, with a thick Spanish accent, that she needed to obtain some guns for her gang. Mike nodded, looking her up and down as she pretended not to notice the pig-like eyes running over her body.
"So what will you be needing?"
"I heard a guy in here earlier was looking for Ronins. He is really for a rival gang and if they are buying them, we want them too."
"Okay, seems fair enough! You wanna inspect the merchandise?"
"Si, that would be good!"
Mike brought her to the back of the stall and opened various boxes, closing them again, until he found the right one. He lifted out the rifle and handed it to her. Thanks to the bit of training that Kern had given her, she made it look like she knew what she was doing. She ran her eyes over its hard black curves, checking out every inch. Suddenly, she started screaming in Spanish, cursing Mike for his treachery. He looked taken aback but a crowd was gathering. Alexa played to the audience.
"This bastard wants to trick me into buying guns with the serial number still attached!" She shared with the crowd and showing them the gun so they could examine it with their own eyes.
"Their must have been some mistake ..." Mike started to splutter out excuses. "I didn't ..."
"As soon as I handed over the money, he probably would have the pigs following me and take me in. They would probably pay him a reward too ... Bastard is getting paid twice and he probably gets them back to sell them again." Alexa spat in his general direction.
Under her breath, she whispered, "How much for the guns?"
Mike looked shocked but managed to stammer out, "EB300 each".
"You can do better than that!" Alexa muttered before raising her voice to denounce his motives again.
"Okay, EB150 each! Just make this go away!"
"EB125 and you got a deal!"
"Fine, but make it go away!"
Alexa nodded and smiled. "I say we examine the rest of his stuff and see what else is coded!"
A few members of the crowd came forward and looked in some of the boxes looking for more with serial numbers. They came up empty.
Turning to the crowd, she said, "Maybe I was too quick to judge, but when it comes to family one can't be too careful."
Nods and ascents came from the crowd. She walked over to him and publically apologised asking his forgiveness for such a harsh statement, leaving him in a position that he could do nothing else. The crowd slowly started to disappate as Alexa handed over the money and dragged the case of guns after her.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mike!" she said, still in a Spanish accent.
"What's your name girl?" Mike asked, he was trying for casual but failed miserably.
"Theresa Miguel, of the Sharks!"
Alexa turned quickly hiding a smile as she walked out of the crowded collection of stalls, with money still in her pocket. She passed the last of the security guards and saw Kern sitting on the bench where he had been. He took no notice of her until she is standing right in front of him. Suddenly, he realized that it was Alexa standing in front of him.
"Wait here!" she said, leaving him with the box of guns, rushing off.
A few minutes later, she had returned and was wearing what she had come in with. She looked a totally different person to the woman he had seen a few minutes ago.
"How? Why? Huh?!" Kern looked confused.
"I'll tell you later. Here's the money thats left over," she said handing back a cred chip.
Kern continued to be confused for a second until she started off again. He noticed that her manner had changed, it was becoming more confident, more at ease with this place. He wondered how she had managed to get the guns, but on another level he didn't care really. They had them and that was the important thing. He mentally checked them off his list before deciding where to go next. Grabbing Alexa's hand, he led her to the next stall. They had to get some tech stuff for the guys at home. Kern had no idea what the stuff was but, he figured that while they were here, he might as well pick it up. Spotting someone he knew, he wandered over.
Alexa looked around, still excited about her dealings a few minutes ago. She had been good. She was glad that she had remembered a trick that her father used long ago. She had slipped the product registration barcode stickers into her pocket before she had left this morning, just in case they had been stopped on the way home so that they could pretend that they were simply couriers transporting legal guns. But when she had examined the gun, she slipped one onto it in the right place and kicked up a storm. She was almost high on her success, but forced herself to calm down and watch how Kern was handling the negotiations for spare parts. She recognized some of them from the warehouse, but he seemed to be dealing with it okay. She looked around, taking in everything. Something unusual caught her attention. She blinked, trying to figure out if she really saw what she thought she saw. A black tail whipped angrily from side to side of the feline. This would not have been unusual except if you consider that this feline was over six feet tall and standing on two feet. She was dressed in little more than straps covering the essentials. Beside her was a huge guy, from the look of him, a techie. They were arguing with a guy. She listened in. They were talking about payment.
"Come on, I did that job fair and square, now pay up!" The man smiled, even though she was sure that he didn't feel like smiling.
"Well, you see, after you left we found a problem with it. The whole thing came crashing down."
"Bullshit!"
Alexa tuned the conversation out. Her eye caught a flicker of purple movement. Turning she saw a small child wandering among stalls. She thought it very strange that a child would be in such a place. The child picked up one or two pieces from a stall, before settling down under the table. She took a few tools out from the pockets of her clothing and started working on something. Alexa watched her work, oblivious to everything around her. The child looked carefully at each part of the device she created and seemingly happy, pulled a battery out of her pocket and slotted it into place. The device started to glow with a small purple light, twinkling in various patterns. She started to place it back on the table. The stall owner reached out to take the piece from her but she dropped it before he came near, cowering away from the contact. She wandered on again.
Alexa heard rather than saw a commotion where the large cat had been. Both the cat and the guy with her, were searching for something. The techie seemed to be going frantic calling for someone at the top of his lungs. The cat, on the other hand, was silent. Alexa saw her stalking through the crowd, as if hunting.
"SANSYGH!"
The kid turned around as if looking for the voice in the crowd. Alexa watched a figure come up behind the kid and snatch her up, looking around. The man looked arabic in his appearance. Alexa elbowed Kern and pointed to where the Arab was backing away from the crowd.
"We gotta stop him!" Alexa said.
"Shit!" Kern spat out the curse, his face betraying the fact that he recognized the child.
Kern ran towards the Arab and his captured prize, changing course at the last minute. He was going to end up behind the kidnapper. Alexa ran, playing a hunch. She ran to the cat and pointed towards the direction the man was taking the child.
"She's over there!"
The feline nodded and stalked off in the direction that Alexa had sent her. When Alexa looked back, the would-be kidnapper was on the ground and Kern was cradling his hand. The child was curled up on the floor. Alexa watched as the concerned techie scooped her up and turned her so she wasn't looking at her kidnapper any more. He was quietly soothing her, walking away from the scene. As soon as the Arab was on his feet, the cat aimed a savage kick at his throat. Alexa hadn't noticed before but the heels of her boots actually had knives embedded in them. The guys throat was ripped open and blood sprayed the wall behind him. Not a drop touched the cat. She dropped, taking in the whole scene before getting up and walking over to her partner and the recovered child.
"I'll take her home now, finish up here. If he won't pay up, give me a call and I will finish the negotiations."
With that the cat took the small girl from the techie and walked off towards the exit. The techie turned and looked over at Kern and Alexa, now standing side by side and nodded his thanks before going back to conclude his business dealings.
“Who are they?” Alexa asked, looking at the dead Arabian kidnapper being pulled away by two other men in a similar style of dress, his friends she assumed, as they did not look like Bizarre security.
“Dunno,” answered Kern, “But they picked on the wrong people.”
Alexa nodded as her eyes rested on the streak of blood leading off to a hidden section of the shopping mall. She still could not understand why they had brought a child to the Bizarre, a place where they had to know that the scum of the earth visited on a regular basis. But adopting the Night City mentality, she thought to herself, 'None of my business!' and continued picking up items needed by the gang, filing the whole encounter away as yet another dark reminder of how brutal and deadly this city of living nightmares could be.
(July 1st, 2016) Unknown, Combat Zone, Night City, California
Alexa turned in the bed, facing Kern's sleeping face and kissed him gently on the lips before closing her eyes and letting sleep capture her and the cluttered web of dreams, showing what should have been, take her away from the harsh realm of reality. As Night City released them from its tight grip, their bodies moved closer echoing the closeness that they felt for each other.
(August 13th, 2016) 'Kyr i Vikati' Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
A crack traced its way across the ceiling. Its jagged path following an erratic route through the unpainted plaster and eventually hiding itself in a darkened corner of the room. Stray shafts of light cast interesting patterns on the walls as it sneaked its way thru the threadbare blanket that served as curtains covering the ancient spider webbed glass. As she looked up, Alexa’s eyes played over the patches of light and dark, finding hidden images in the shadow shapes. It was a too familiar scene on those nights when sleep deserted her.
Alexa turned to lie on her side. She faced Kern, watching as a lock of his brown hair fell to cover one of his eyes. She brushed it back with the tip of her finger, tracing his hairline until she reached his ear. He looked so angelic when he slept. Innocence rested on his face in a way that was never possible during the day. She remembered the day that she first gave into her feelings.
(July 24th, 2016) Trader’s Bastion, Combat Zone, Night City, California
Kern had taken Lex out to a meeting in a local bar, the Trader’s Bastion. Lex had waited at the bar while Kern wrapped up his dealings, watching his body language closely as she sipped on a flavored vodka drink. He was obviously in control of the proceedings. Lex turned back to the bar and ordered another drink. She looked around the bar, watching the patrons. One of them caught her eye.
The man sat in the shadows, avoiding the light. He seemed nervous, eyes constantly shifting around the room. Lex watched him in the mirror behind the bar, hoping not to attract the attention of the unknown man. She watched as his hand dropped below the table, before reappearing, as if checking something. He seemed to get even more nervous. Lex wondered what he was up to. Something about him made her very uneasy.
She beckoned to the bartender. The bartender, an oldish guy with a clunky, soviet cyber arm, walked over and stopped in front of her.
"What can I get ya, darlin'?" He asked, leering at her.
She ignored his lecherous question and beckoned him closer. She didn't miss the look he took down the front of her blouse.
"You see the guy over there? The one with the brown trench coat?" She asked.
"Yeah, I see him!" The bartender answered her, barely casting a glance in the direction of the guy.
"Just thought you would like to know that he keeps checking something in his pocket." Lex said, playing a hunch.
"You know what he's got in there, girl?" The bartender changed, slightly more professional.
"No, but I'm guessing it ain't a birthday present."
The barman nodded and put a drink in front of Lex, mumbling his thanks. She watched as the bartender had a word to another man at the end of the bar, a bouncer she assumed, and he approached the unknown man's table. The bouncer said a few words to the trench-coated man. The man didn't answer for a few seconds, sitting there, staring straight ahead.
Suddenly a flurry of movement erupted from the table. The table in front of the trench-coated man was flipped up, toppling it. His hand dipped into his pocket. When it re-emerged, he had a small silver ball in his hand. A quick movement and he held something else in his other hand. Lex's eyes opened wide when she realized what it was. It was a grenade pin.
Looking around she found Kern. He was still oblivious to the occurrence.
"GRENADE!"
The shout came from the bouncer. Lex ran to the table where Kern was and grabbed him by the arm.
"Move!"
Kern took a quick look around and took in the situation. Lex ran towards the door, Kern in tow. They were being carried along on a wave of people, all escaping the chaos.
Lex heard the trench coated man start to shout loudly in some strange, guttural language. Just as she made it outside the door, she thought that she hear a metallic bounce. She felt Kern's arms wrap around her as she was lifted off her feet, a deafening noise filled her ears. The momentum and the blast twisted them in midair. Kern landed first, pulling Lex down with him. She landed on top of him, winding him slightly. She looked down at him. She was so close. Their noses were almost touching. Lex could not stop wondering what it would be like to kiss him, how his lips would feel on hers.
She gave into temptation and lowered herself closer, bending her head slightly. Her eyes closed as their lips met. She felt the velvety smoothness of his lips against hers. She felt his lips part as his tongue licked at her lips. Lex parted her lips and let his tongue enter her mouth. She massaged his tongue with her own. Passion took over as the kiss deepened. The commotion outside the blazing bar was forgotten as Lex and Kern finally passed the 'just good friends' stage of their relationship.
A polite cough interrupted their kiss before things got out of hand. The kiss broke as Lex looked up to see the bartender standing above them. Both Lex and Kern blushed.
"Thanks for the warning, darlin'... For all the good it did!" The last part of the sentence was tinged with regret.
Nodding at the couple on the ground, the bartender wandered off, muttering to himself. Lex looked down at Kern.
"Hi!" She didn't exactly know what to say to him.
"Hi!"
"You okay?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah. I suppose we should ..."
"Yeah..."
Lex rolled off Kern and got to her feet. Kern did the same. There was an awkward silence between them. Taking a deep breath, Lex took Kern's hand in hers and smiled up at him. He smiled back.
"Wanna head home?" Kern asked, his voice betraying his nervousness.
"Sure!"
Lex and Kern headed off, walking home hand in hand. The burning bar forgotten behind them.
(August 13th, 2016) 'Kyr i Vikati' Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
She twisted and turned, trying to find a comfortable spot on her side of the bed but to no avail. Finally giving up, she realized that simply lying there and letting her mind cast itself back to the world of memories, both good and bad, was doing no good. She tossed back the sheet covering her and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sitting there for a minute. Kern moaned gently in his sleep, shifting to spread out, taking advantage of the extra space. His hand caressed the pillow where her head had been before gently drawing it to his sculpted chest. His lips moved as he mumbled words of love into the pillow’s non-existent ear. She smiled down as she watched, knowing that they were meant for her and not his fiber filled companion. Standing, she turned to look at him again. Warm feelings filled her as she watched his peaceful, smiling face. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his temple. He murmured again, shifting a final time before settling down.
She moved to a dilapidated chest of drawers and opened the top drawer. She carefully took out the contents, letting her hands run over the smooth material of the clothing, which was fast becoming the only thing she wore when she left the run-down apartment block. Hope had taken her shopping a few days after she had arrived in the city and bought the clothing as a kind of “Welcome to the family” present. Alexa stepped into the trousers. She slowly pulled the black leather trousers up her legs, savoring the cold, tight feeling against her skin. She took a black leather top from the drawer, pushing it closed with her elbow as she examined the top. Slipping her arms into the sleeveless bodice, she snaps the three closures, locking them in place. Alexa catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror at the corner of the room. Alexa looks at her reflection. It is not the same face that looked back at her three months ago. She looked harder, tougher than she had then. She couldn’t think of herself as Alexa when she saw the woman looking back from the glass. This woman with long, brown hair and an impassive face was Lex, a tougher version of herself, designed for dealing with the street scum that she dealt with on a daily basis. This woman, Lex, was a street-smart bitch who took shit from no one. Lex kept Alexa sane, allowing Alexa to forget what happened to her during the day. Lex allowed Alexa to relax and enjoy Kern’s love without examining it for ulterior motives. Leaving Alexa behind her, Lex walked out of the apartment and made her way towards the street.
Lex walked out the door of the apartment block, squinting as a reflected ray of light hitting a window opposite the building blinded her. Adjusting to the brightness of the day, she checked her watch. It had just past three in the afternoon. It would be hours before anyone else would be on the streets. It would just be her and the bums lying in piles of their own filth on the street. Lex looked around the street. Something seemed off. She couldn’t put her finger on it but something just didn’t seem right.
The streets were mostly silent, just some sounds of the city carrying through the air to the deserted streets of the Russian gang’s turf. The buzzing of traffic still carried from the more affluent parts of the city, diesel fumes adding to the dark clouds hanging over the city, adding its own aroma to the distinctive smell that identified Night City. The odd echoes of turf war gun fights rang through the streets, but went unnoticed in the grand scheme of things. It was simply keeping down the vermin. Muttering voices sometimes carried into the air but not today, not yet. Later there would be whooping and howling from the street gangs as they woke up and started their nightly celebrations but for now, Lex enjoyed the relative peace of the street as she walked.
Lex headed down the street. A walk would clear her head and maybe allow her to catch another hour or two later. With each step she tried to clear her mind, letting the relative silence of the streets wash the thoughts from her mind. Then it hit her. There was no one on the streets. The almost inaudible moans and rustling from the street bums trying to catch a few hours of sleep in empty doorways were conspicuously absent. Lex, idly, wondered where they were and why they were not in their usual spots that they fought to keep. Maybe there was something going on that she just didn’t know about. She mentally added it to a list to ask someone about later. Lex wandered down streets, turning at random but knowing instinctively where she was at all times.
She had just turned down a street about ten minutes away from the building that she lived in when she caught sight of a flash of color in the corner of her eye. She turned to check it out but it had disappeared around a corner. Carefully she slid along the wall, keeping as silent as possible. She could hear the murmurs of quiet conversation from around the corner. The voices were speaking Spanish. She could only pick up an occasional word that they said. She heard footsteps approaching and frantically looked around for somewhere to hide. A rusty dumpster was the only cover she could see. She made her way to the other side she ducked, sliding under it as much as possible. She pulled some cardboard over herself just in time to see eight people walk by dressed in a mixture of dark grey and orange.
“Sharks,” she whispered to herself.
She could not recognize any of the people from the back of their heads when they walked passed but one of them sounded remarkably like Theresa Miguel, the sister of the Sharks leader. As soon as they were around the corner, Lex slid back out. She carefully followed them to the edge of the lane and looked around the corner. They were walking down the street as if they owned it. And worse, they were walking directly into Kyr I Vikati territory. She didn’t know what they were doing, but three of them were carrying heavy backpacks. Lex doubted it was a social call.
As soon as they were around the next corner, Lex rushed to a dataterm. She dialed in the number from memory and pressed send. After four rings, a familiar face appeared on the vidscreen. Hope appeared, clutching a bed sheet to her chest.
“This better be good.” Hope answered.
“We got trouble.”
“What?” Hope started. “Give me a minute.”
Hope disappeared for about a minute, leaving Lex standing impatiently looking around in case the Sharks decided to come back. Hope came back on screen, pulling up the zip on the front of her leather cat-suit.
“So what we got?” She asked again, tying up her hair as she asked.
“Sharks and they look like they are heading into our backyard.”
“We have some company? I’ll get the girls. Let’s party!” Hope had an evil smile on her face.
“I’ll call your cell when I know more.”
“Sure thing, Lex.” Hope finished, hanging up the call.
Lex started out again, going in the direction that they had disappeared. She looked for all those telltale signs that let someone know that someone has passed that way recently. She found a couple of footprints through some rubbish and some puddles. As she got closer, she heard the hushed voices echo through the empty streets. Lex carefully made her way to corners, looking when she thought it was safe. Finally, they stopped walking. They seemed to be rummaging around in the backpacks. Lex took the opportunity to make her way to the nearest dataterm. She dialed Hope’s cell.
“Corner beside Charley’s.” Lex said before hanging up and going back to watch the Sharks.
She watched them take some small packages out of the ruck sack and place them carefully around the bases of a few buildings. It was not hard to figure out what they were planning. A rustle behind her caught her attention and she turned, fearing that it was another Shark that she had not seen. She sighed with relief when she saw the familiar faces of Hope and the rest of the girls from Hopes training class. She could not help but cast her mind back to one of the first classes she had attended.
(June 30th, 2016) 'Kyr i Vikati' Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
Hope stood in front of the girls. She had decided to give the girls a couple of classes in dirty fighting tactics. The bastards that they would find on the streets wouldn't always play by the rules. She was just about to start when Lex and Kern rushed through the door. Lex apologized and joined the other girls. Kern was just about to leave, having escorted his girlfriend to Hope's class. She was still trying to find her way around the gang's turf.
"Kern, would you mind helping me?" Hope asked, taking advantage of his presence.
He nodded his ascent and stepped forward. Hope and Kern worked through some simple moves, slowly getting more advanced. She and Kern moved around the girls, giving them each a chance to practice the moves that they had just shown them. Hope watched them, taking note of how quickly they picked up the rhythm of the movements. She broke up the practice to show them another new move. She positioned Kern in front of her.
"Ok, girls, remember that the best place to hit a male attacker is right ..."
Hope moved, striking out at Kern. Kern's eyes opened wide as he realized what she was about to do, but it was too late to do anything about it. Hope's heel made contact and all that Kern could do was groan.
“... Here."
Kern crumpled. His eyes opened wide, glazing over. His knees buckled and he went down. His hands automatically went to cradle his crotch. Not a sound left his lips as he lay there in absolute agony on the floor.
Lex rushed to his side, falling to her knees beside him, checking on her boyfriend.
"You were supposed to pull the kick, Hope!" Lex reminded her, running her hand thru Kern's hair in a comforting way.
"Whoops!" Hope looked slightly embarrassed for a second before regaining her usual casual demeanor. "He'll be fine in a minute."
"He had better be or else ...” Lex left it hanging, trying to think of a suitable punishment.
"Or else what?" Hope was grinning.
"Or else, I tell Rage where you hide the keys!" Lex replied easily.
Hope looked shocked. Obviously, Lex had hit a nerve. She smiled as Hope blushed slightly. The class tried to hold back a snigger. They all knew about Hope and Rage's extracurricular activities, but none had the courage to try what Lex had just done.
"Okay, fine! I'll try it again ... Except this time on someone without testicles."
Lex helped Kern limp to the side. She kissed him quickly, smoothing back his hair before re-joining the class.
(August 13th, 2016) 'Kyr i Vikati' Turf, Combat Zone, Night City, California
Hope's classes had been a good compliment to Rage's martial arts classes, both teaching discipline. However, while Rage followed a set of personal rules, Hope had no such set of rules and looked to exploit every opening. It took some time but everyone in the class had turned into a competent fighter and Lex was no exception. They worked together well and that was part of the reason that they were there now. Hope took every opportunity to take her team, her pet project, into the field, even to the point of taking jobs that she thought they would do well. Lex guessed that Hope figured that this was one of those jobs, another chance to prove that they were as good as the Kyr I Vikati men.
Hope looked around the corner, sizing up the opposition. Hope did not seem worried. She came up with a plan. The team split up, all knowing what they had to do. Hope stayed with Lex watching the Sharks as they continued to pull little packages out of their bags. Another thirty seconds passed and Lex looked back at Hope. She nodded her ascent and Lex took a deep breath.
The plan was simple. The girls would attack from several different directions, adding an element to the surprise. Lex would distract them as the girls appeared from their hiding places and Hope would back her up.
Lex turned the corner and started walking towards the group. She was very aware of the knife she kept in an ankle holster, wondering if she could draw it in time if something went wrong. She hoped that she would not have to find out. Opening lines ran around her head, each discarded as soon as it was considered. She decided to keep it simple.
“You look lost. Can I give you directions?”
She took them by surprise. One of the grey blocks that they had just pulled from the bag fell to the ground, deforming into a shapeless blob as it hit the street. One of the Sharks turned to face Lex. She had long brown hair, much the same length as Lex’s own hair. She was quite pretty, or would have been if not for a long, vicious looking scar running from just beside her left eye all the way down to her chin, catching her lip on the way. Her mouth caught in a permanent sneer.
“Theresa, a little out of your turf aren’t you?”
“Lex, always a pleasure.” Theresa bit off her words, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
“Well, is it field trip day for the Sharks? Or you just leaving a trail of crumbs to guide you home?” Lex asked, pointing at the little grey blocks at the base of a nearby building.
“I’m not going to explain myself to you, Lex!” Theresa locked her eyes on Lex, neither moving.
“Wrong, Theresa. Our turf! Our rules!” Lex wasn’t budging on the issue.
“Okay fine, call it payback! Call it expansion! Call it whatever the fuck you want, just get the fuck outta our way!”
“Can’t do that, I’m afraid.”
“You think that you and Hope there can stop us. Look around, Lex; you can’t talk your way out of this one! You’re outnumbered! Why don’t you run along?”
“Look again!” Lex said, amusement creeping into her voice.
Theresa didn’t break eye contact with Lex, just kept staring her in the eye. She was getting nervous. Lex could tell by the wrinkles at the corner of her eye. In her peripheral vision, she could see the rest of the Sharks looking around, a cue for the rest of Hope’s team to step out. They were starting to get very twitchy. Theresa shouted something in Spanish and two of the guys started to move forward towards Lex and Hope.
Lex watched Hope step forward, sashaying her hips as she walked. Lex watched as Hope walked to the closer of the two men. Hope stopped a few steps from the ganger and smiled sweetly. He stopped about two steps away from her, looking down at her from his six foot eight stature. A few seconds later, the second ganger backed him up. The two Sharks blocked Hope’s path, stopping her from advancing. Hope, visibly, looked the pair up and down.
The taller of the two had a shaved head and a stereotypical Hispanic complexion. He was dressed in a white shirt, opened to the waist to show is chiseled features. His black jeans hugged his figure, showing off his perfect body. Wrapped around his wrist was an orange and chrome-grey pattered bandana, his gang colors. The second was shorter, about a foot shorter. A black t-shirt with uv-light patterns did nothing to hide the bulges of his slightly rotund physique. His jeans looked about three sizes too big for him, hanging loose around the crotch. A ring pierced his nose and a long chain hung between it and another ring through the ganger’s ear. He wore his colors tied around his head, as a band to hold back his non-existent hair.
Hope took a step closer to the taller of the gangers and ran a hand over his muscled bicep, tracing the muscles with a single dark-purple nail. She smiled up at him.
“Wow! You’re cute! Have you been working out?” Hopes voice filled with that air-head mall-plexer tone that usually drove her nuts.
The tall ganger looked confused. He had not been expecting this sort of approach. He smiled back. Lex could see him wondering whether the rumors were really true, if Hope was really a cold-blooded killer like so many made her out to be. Hope continued tracing his muscles for a few more seconds. Her left hand slipped back to rest on her hip. Lex watched as a muscle twitch released a blade from its hiding place up her sleeve.
Looking around, Lex checked on what everyone else was doing. The Sharks were watching the unusual showdown with Hope. The rest of her team was slowly inching closer, using the distraction to get close for when the shit hit the fan, as if they knew it would.
Hope turned away from the Hispanic Adonis. She locked eyes with Lex; a colder, harder smile replaced the sweet one that had been on her face. With a sudden, savage movement, she swung. Her arm flung out and the knife caught Adonis’ arm, slicing it deeply. The momentum carried it on through the muscles of his chest, ruining his shirt. Her other hand flew up, taking advantage of the moment of shock his friend was experiencing. He grabbed the chain between the shorter ganger’s nose and ear and yanked it hard, ripping it out. Blood flew from the torn flesh before making twin trails down his face and neck.
A moment of silence descended on the two groups.
Lex watched as Adonis reached up to touch the red stain spreading across his chest and shirt.
“Bitch.”
Adonis spat at Hope, catching her cheek.
Before the liquid had a chance to trace a way down her cheek, she attacked. She slashed out at Adonis again. This time she caught him across the cheek. Lifting her leg, she aimed it at his knee. Solidly striking out, she caught it with all the force she could muster. A sickening crack rang out in the silence punctuated only by the fight. Adonis’ knee bent backwards at an unnatural angle and he fell. He hit the ground hard.
This was enough to break the Sharks from their inaction. Turning to face the oncoming foes, they found that they were surrounded by their enemies. This did not stop them for a second and pitched hand to hand battles erupted as Lex’s friends and team-mates took on their gang’s enemies. Punches, kicks, strikes, counters, blood and bruising.
Lex’s eyes locked on Theresa’s again. An almost, invisible nod and the gauntlet was thrown down. Lex started walking towards her as she moved closer to Lex. Lex passed by Hope as she broke Adonis’s friends already bleeding nose with a savage head butt. Theresa pushed one of her own team out of the way when he blocked her path. Finally, they stood face to face.
Tracing the ugly scar on her face with a finger, Theresa said, “I owe you for this!”
Lex nodded. “Let’s get this over, I don’t have all day!”
Lex’s casual dismissal infuriated Theresa and she struck out, aiming a punch at Lex’s jaw. Lex leaned back as she watched the punch sail by. She straightened. She struck out while Theresa was still moving. A quick jab to Theresa’s unprotected kidneys and Theresa could not help but bend back slightly. The momentum from her punch and the force against her kidneys, left her off balance slightly. It was all that Lex needed. She hooked the back of Theresa’s ankle and pulled. Theresa’s leg was no longer there to support her. She toppled backwards. Theresa hit the ground hard. Lex kicked out at her prone figure, hoping to catch her in the kidneys again or the ribs. Just before her kick connected, Theresa grabbed it and flung her leg away. Lex’s balance disappeared. She struggled to right herself without going down. She recovered to find that Theresa had rolled away and was getting back up. Lex ran towards her and kicked out again. This kick connected, catching Theresa just under the chin. Theresa was flung backwards, landing on the ground again.
Blood ran from Theresa’s now split lip. She licked at it while getting up again and spat it out. With a scream, she launched herself at Lex. Lex blocked each of her angry punches easily. Anger was taking over Theresa. Lex let Theresa attack her, hoping that the Hispanic girl would tire herself out a little.
Soon enough, the punches contained a little less strength, a little less passion. Lex smiled cruelly, changing from the defensive style she had been using to a more aggressive style.
She hit out at Theresa, not going for punches but the precision strikes that Rage had been teaching her. Solar plexus. Kidney. Throat. Knee. Kidney. With each strike Theresa was forced back a step. Lex had worked into a pattern and had forced Theresa to repeat the same blocks time and time again until she was barely thinking about it. She broke the pattern and hooked Theresa’s leg. She pulled it away and Theresa went down again. Lex was on her almost before she hit the ground and grabbed an arm. She twisted Theresa’s arm, putting it into a lock. She managed to turn Theresa over so that she was looking at the ground. Theresa was shrieking in Spanish. Lex knelt at the back of her neck, holding her in place.
Breathing hard, Lex surveyed the scene. Hope was standing over the two Sharks that she had started with. They were both moaning in pain but trying to get to their feet while shuffling away from Hope. The rest of the gang was in a similar state. Lex looked around her friends and while a few had some cuts and bruises, there were no serious injuries.
The Sharks slowly formed back into a group, some propping up the other members. Adonis was being supported by two other Sharks as he dragged a leg behind him. They were glaring at Lex, still keeping Theresa down. Lex simply stepped away from Theresa. Theresa got to her feet slowly. Once she was on her feet, she turned towards Lex. Both she and Lex were between the two gangs. Only Hope stood alone.
"Get the fuck outta my face and outta our territory. You fought! You lost! Isn't it about time you faced up to the fact that Blood and Tears will always be harder, stronger, better than your miserable excuse for a gang? Now leave! Get back to that excuse of a hovel you call home before we decide to actually teach you a lesson!"
Lex turned her back and started to walk away, her face a hard mask of hatred. She watched her team mates faces to see what was happening behind her, knowing that she could not just look back or her words would be pointless. She saw small smirks pull at the corners of her friends' mouths. She guessed that the insults had hit home just like she intended. Lex closed her eyes taking a deep breath to try to get control of her heart beat. When she opened her eyes, instead of seeing the barely concealed smiles she expected she saw a mixture of puzzlement and confusion was turning to disbelief.
Time slowed as Lex turned. A drawn out scream filled her ears as she watched Theresa run at her a long thin blade in her hand. Lex didn't know what type of blade it was or where she had got it but had no misconceptions about the damage it would do. Defense strategies ran through her mind as she fell into the practiced martial arts stance. Time slowed further until she could almost imagine that she was seeing it frame by frame. Black crept into the frame as she watched, not registering it's source. Lex concentrated totally on her attacker. Lex hardly realized that something was blocking Theresa from her view. At least until she could no longer see her.
Time snapped back to its regular tempo as the moment was broken. For the first time, Lex noticed Hope in front of her. Theresa seemed to collide with Hope, knocking her back a little. The two women locked eyes and for what seemed like an eternity, neither moved. Finally, Hope stepped back. Theresa stood there for a second, a hand pressed to her chest. A bloom of red started to spread out underneath her hand, staining her clothes. Theresa brought the hand up, staring at her own blood. She seemed confused by what had happened. Her body gave way, dropping her to her knees on the street. She looked around, as if seeking an explanation. No one moved. A half formed word died on her lips as she finally toppled over. She lay still on the ground. Everyone stared, frozen in place.
Hope was the first to move, leaning down to turn Theresa over. She offered no resistance. Kneeling down, Hope pressed two fingers to the side of Theresa’s throat. Her expression spoke volumes. Theresa was dead. Hope wrapped a piece of Theresa’s clothing around the knife and started wiping it.
Lex broke the silence. "Get outta here and bring your rubbish with you."
Contempt dripped from Lex's voice as she watched the Sharks looking at Hope cleaning Theresa's blood from the knife using the dead girls clothing.
"Harder, stronger, better!" Lex whispered to herself, keeping her emotions in check.
One of the Sharks bent down and picked up Theresa’s body, carefully cradling it. Standing again, he looked between Hope and Lex before turning away.
In a venom filled voice, Adonis spoke, “This isn’t over!”
“Yes, it is!” Lex answered, carefully trying to keep her voice level, keeping the shock out of her voice.
Turning, the Shark started off towards their home, the others falling into step behind him forming a procession. Lex watched them go until they turned a corner, obscuring them from view. She watched the spot where they disappeared from view until one of the girls tapped her on the shoulder, telling her it was time to go. She heard Hope praise her on her choice of words but she wasn’t really listening. She was remembering the look in Theresa’s eyes as she realized she was dying, the shock on her face as her body betrayed her, the lifeless thump as she hit the ground. She walked back, guided by her friends.
Before she knew it and with no memories of the intervening minutes, she noticed that she was standing outside her own door. She slipped the key in the lock and opened it, stepping inside. Still slightly in a daze, she slipped off her leathers and sat at the edge of the bed. A hand reached out to touch her back.
“’Lexa, you okay?” Kern’s voice filled with concern.
Alexa looked around at him. She saw the concern reflected in his eyes. She forced a smile.
“Hold me?” she asked.
Kern sat up and enfolded her in his arms. She buried her face against his chest, his body heat warm and reassuring. She felt safe in his arms. She closed her eyes and let Kern rock her gently, reassuring her with his calm voice. She left the recent memories fade out and replaced them with the love that Kern was radiating, truly glad that he was hers.