Seeming to sense his wheels turning, she says, “You’re worrying over nothing. I just work there. I haven’t decided how I feel about our current batch of errors yet. I’ll have to think about how we can use this to our advantage.” Her presumptuous words and calculating grin make his stomach twist.
“Ouradvantage?” he asks, equally intrigued and terrified.
She shrugs as she holds a little medical device up to his banged-up face. His face heats under the light it emits, and he has the urge to jerk away, but he holds still.
“Yes,our.Unless the several articles I skimmed about you incorrectly depicted your capacity?” She raises a brow, smirking in challenge.
His pride makes it impossible to resist defending himself. “They weren’t wrong.”
“Good. I only do this once a week for the Blackmarks. I should be running my department, at minimum,” she grumbles. “At least untilI can invent something.” Then she narrows her eyes at him. “You’re here for the same reason, are you not?” When he doesn’t disagree, she continues. “It’s easy enough to surmise. You’ll soon discover that the payout for the fighters doesn’t go as far as you’re probably imagining.”
She hands him a mirror, letting him survey his nearly unblemished face. “Those bruises will fade in a day or two. Otherwise you should be good as new. Next time, avoid the Lizard Man. He never loses.”
“I’ll try,” he says, as if he’ll have a choice who they pair him against.
There’s a knock at the door. His signal that his time with the physician is up.
“If I come up with any ideas of how we can capitalize on our unique opportunity,” she says, waving a hand at his general person, “I’ll message you.”
James paces to the door, feeling a little untethered by this strange, somewhat cold woman. “But you don’t have my contact information.”
They size each other up while his hand rests upon the doorknob. He senses they share a common trait: drive. But he has no idea what her motivations are besides running her department at GROW. Even if she is a threat, there really isn’t anything he can do about it now. She knows that he’s been, in a way, reincarnated. But if they are similar—even a little—then maybe there’s an opportunity, like she suggested. In that case, he’ll think about it too. And try not to get a crick in his neck from looking over his shoulder.
There’s a catlike cunning about her as she says, “I’ll have your contact information before you know it. See you next week.”
“You’re kind of terrifying,” he says.
Her grin widens. “I’ve been told that before.”
23– The Thing About Luck
K8
October 28, 2390, Day 60.
K8 glances up from another long day at her workstation and notices James has sent her a message:Headed out. Be back in a bit. He has spent an inordinate amount of time at the boxing club over the last week. At least it gives him something to do so she can work. Having him sit there on his device, becoming increasingly frustrated, isn’t fun for either of them. His antsy energy alone is enough of a distraction. It seems, in his past life, he was a man of action.
K8 debates for a moment before deciding to include him in her dinner plans. She sends a message to his new off-market device:Going out in an hour to meet everyone for our weekly dinner and drinks. Lessa has BIG NEWS toshare. You coming?
Out of nothing but her inherent kindness, she’s about to tell him that there’s a chance to get Lessa to buy him REAL Steak, when his response comes through.Yes. I’ll be back to collect you shortly.
K8 can’t help but let out an undignified snort. This man. Honestly.
Half an hour later, he breezes into the room.Is that blood?“James!” she cries. She’s on her feet before him in an instant. Her heart is thundering, and she’s becoming lightheaded. “What happened?”
His hand catches her hip, steering her out of his way. “I’m assuming you aren’t asking for the play-by-play?” He pauses long enough for her to scowl at him. “I won the first two rounds before I had to fight the Lizard Man—again. If he hadn’t distracted me by flicking out that freaky tongue, I’d have had him, but I can’t figure out how to beat that guy.”
“You’re fighting?!” she hears herself shriek.
He points to the slight misalignment of his nose. “Remember, this came from boxing.”
“Yes, I remember,” she says, sighing. “But I thought you were going because you enjoyed watching. I didn’t know you were taking part.” She tries and fails to tamp down the panic. “It’s illegal!”
“My very existence is illegal, K8. How else am I going to build a surplus of funds? I have no skills that transfer to typical jobs now, and it’s not like I can get an NHOS-approved job anyway. I’m certainly not dressing up as Holiday fish.”
When it doesn’t seem to placate her, he rubs his hands up her bare arms. “It’s going to be fine. My BLACKOUT account isn’t traceable to either of our identities.”
Well, that’s a relief. Though she knew Oro1 dabbled on BLACKOUT for his side projects, she’s never been on the illegal network herself. She isn’t only thinking about the legal ramifications. She reaches up and traces the blooming bruise on his jaw with trembling fingers.
