Chapter 60
ARMEN
Everything happens fast.
Sting moves first, intercepting the man, grabbing the pipe mid-swing and twisting hard. There’s a sharp crack, bone breaking, and the man screams. Sting drives his knee into the man’s gut, then shoves him back into the wall. He crumples.
The woman with the chain swings at Rogue. He ducks, grabs the chain mid-swing, and yanks her forward. She stumbles. He drives his elbow into her face. Blood sprays. She drops.
The second man comes at me, knife out, quick and low. I sidestep, grab his wrist, and twist until the knife clatters to the floor. Then I slam my fist into his jaw. Once. Twice. He goes down hard.
The girl doesn’t move. Just watches. Calculating.
Then she looks at Vi. And pulls a knife from her belt.
“Vi!” I shout.
But Vi’s already moving.
She grabs a length of pipe from the ground, one of the weapons the others dropped, and swings hard. The woman dodges, but not fast enough. The pipe catches her shoulder. She hisses, stumbles back.
Vi swings again. This time, the girl blocks with her knife. Metal hits metal with a sharp clang.
They’re face-to-face now, breathing hard.
“You think you’re special?” the girl spits. “You’re just another Runt who got lucky.”
“And you’re just a useless bitch who doesn’t know when to stop.”
Vi shoves her back, hard, and swings the pipe again. This time, it connects with ribs. There’s a sickening crack.
The girls screams, drops her knife, and falls to her knees.
Vi stands over her, pipe still raised, chest heaving.
For a moment, I think she’s going to hit her again. But she doesn’t. She just lowers the pipe slowly and steps back.
I move to her side, hand on her shoulder. “You done?”
Vi nods once, breathing hard.
I turn to the woman. She’s still on her knees, clutching her ribs, blood dripping from her mouth.
I crouch down in front of her. “You’re done in this hub. Done in this section. If I see you near her again, if I even hear you said her name, I won’t stop next time. Understood?”
The girl spits blood at my feet. “Fuck you.”
I stand. Look at Sting and Rogue. “Get her out of here.”
They move without hesitation, grabbing her by the arms and hauling her to her feet. She struggles, weak, ineffective, but they drag her toward the corridor mouth.
“Wait,” the girl gasps, looking back at Vi. “This isn’t over—”
Sting slams her against the wall. “Yes. It is.”
Then they’re gone.
The tunnel falls silent except for the drip of water and Vi’s ragged breathing.
I turn to her. “You hurt?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Good.” I take the pipe from her hands, set it aside. “You did well.”
She stares at the blood on the floor where the girl fell. “I wanted to keep hitting her.”
“I know.”
“But I didn’t.”
“I know,” I repeat. “That’s why you did well.”
She looks up at me, eyes still blazing with adrenaline. “What happens now?”
“Now,” I say, “we go back.”