Chapter 15
Trust
"Floor." It was the first word Spike had learned in the Syndicate. Mao had taught it to him. Floor was in between running and dying. The Syndicate didn't want runners, but it didn't want dead men either. You stayed and fought so long as it was possible, but you escaped the blows.
Corso hadn't been here long enough to learn Syndicate priorities, but he was already under the table and had sighted the gunner. Shin and Lin were down too. Corso squinted slightly and shot. The gunner, a tall black woman, dodged. Corso shot again and she fell. "There's more," he said.
"Black Adders," said Shin. Spike nodded. This was the first strike in what would come to be known as the Syndicate Wars. Spike surveyed the room, looking for more Black Adders. Of course he wouldn't find them. You couldn't see an adder before it struck. He was surprised they'd sent one of the family out after them. Spike mentally cursed Vicious. Sure, syndicate life was fun, challenging in its own way, but with syndicate duties and inter-syndicate war, it was impossible. He wondered how Vicious hoped to preserve the Red Dragons under the stress. But then, he probably didn't plan to preserve them at all.
"Door," he said. You ran when there was nothing to fight over, when you were just fighting over yourself as a commodity. Spike, Shin, and Lin were no lackeys. They were skilled and distinctive members of the Red Dragons. It was probably why they were targets. Spike had a feeling the days of drinking at Harry's were over. Spike led the line to the back exit, weaving around the crowd. A shot rang out, and a woman he was brushing past fell. He looked back, knowing she was dead. Her eye was a bloody socket. As Corso passed her, he grabbed her and kept her at his side, glancing in the direction of the shot and firing. A human shield. The mark of a soldier. Spike turned back towards the exit and bulldozed through it, and turned back at the last moment when he realized someone was probably at all possible exits. A shot glanced off the metal door and he shot towards the direction of the gunner without looking. When he'd found the gunner he saw he was shot in the shoulder. He shot again and the gunner was down. Shin made a shot towards the roof. He'd already picked out the fourth. The third, Spike figured, would be behind the dumpster. He fired at the dumpster, knowing the gunner would probably wait until they were in a more vulnerable position. Provoked, his fire was returned. He dove for the ground almost before he heard the shot. He tumbled so he had the space between the dumpster and the wall at an angle. He could make out flesh, a glint of metal, and he shot at it. The glint fell slowly as a star across the horizon. He ran to the dumpster, saw a retreating movement, and shot three times. Shin, Lin, and Corso were already heading out. Spike could see another gunner in the frame of the exit. He followed the others, running erratically to avoid anticipated bullets. That was the third rule. When you run, do it well. Avoid patterns.
Shin turned down an alley a block down and the others followed. Spike felt the buzz of his communicator and switched it on. He wasn't surprised to see Vicious's face. It was impassive as usual.
"I got word of the situation," Vicious said. "I'm sending Julia to pick you at the Caetano district, at 4th and Julius."
"Did a little bird tell you?" Spike asked.
"A hacker found an old communication. There are two other attacks in progress."
"What are you doing about it?" Spike asked.
"Mao can handle it," Vicious replied. "He's the boss, not me."
Spike cursed under his breath and Vicious's image faded from the communicator. He increased his pace and pulled to the front of the group, turning down an alley. "We're headed to the Caetano district!" he shouted behind him. He ran up a fire escape, hearing shots as he disappeared through a window into an old maid's apartment. A cat meowed loudly at him, and he ran past it to the door. He looked back to see Shin, Lin, and Corso behind him. Spike exited the apartment, heading toward the elevator. Most Martian tenements had the same structure. He hoped this elevator let off at the roof. Corso shot the paneling above the elevator and Spike turned to him.
"So they won't see what floor we get off at," he said by way of explanation, and Spike nodded tersely. The elevator opened and the three got in. It was a tiny elevator with a fence that had to be entirely closed before the elevator would move. Shin was the last in, and Lin had to close the gate because Shin couldn't turn around to do so. The four looked at each other as the whirring of the elevator indicated its ascent. As the adrenaline flow slowed down, the colors became bright with the effects of liquor. Corso started to giggle. Shin looked at him for a moment before he started to laugh. Then Lin started. By the time they reached the roof, the four were in hysterics. The elevator made a brusque stop and the four spilled out of it gracelessly, into the nighttime Martian air.
"What do we do now?" Shin asked Spike, who was still chuckling.
"Over here!" Spike turned to see Vicious standing five rooftops away. He saw Vicious speak into his communicator, presumably to Julia. Spike ran to the edge of the building and made a leap onto the next building, a storey down. The others followed. Spike made his way across three more rooftops when he saw a Black Adder make his ascent beside Vicious. Spike got the target in sight and Vicious, thinking Spike was aiming for him, started to run at him with his sword. Before he'd halved the distance between them, Spike shot the Adder. Vicious turned to the direction of the shot, saw the downed Adder, and turned back to Spike sheepishly.
"You've really got some trust issues to work out," Spike told Vicious.
There was another shot. Spike turned, saw an Adder disappear, and saw Lin go down. Corso softened his fall, ran to the edge of the roof, and started firing. Spike went to his side. There were three gunners. Two were down, and one had found shelter. Spike tried to aim at an opening. There was a sudden silver glimmer to his left, and Spike saw Vicious leap five stories down, sword first. The sword pierced the metal siding the gunner was using as a shelter. When Vicious withdrew it, the sword was stained with blood. Vicious vaulted up the fire escape up to the roof. "I think we're safe," he said. "But Julia's already headed this way." At the sentence, Spike heard the distinctive sound of Julia's convertible. The group headed down the fire escape, Corso slinging Lin over his shoulder. He was the last down. He settled into the car, propping Lin's head up.
"You okay?" he asked. Julia looked back at the two impassively.
Lin nodded. "They only got my shoulder. But it was my shooting hand."
"That's why you should learn to shoot from both sides," Vicious lectured.
"One will always be better," Lin replied.
Corso grinned like a boy. "So is it always like this?"
"Well," said Spike, looking pointedly at Vicious, "We've never had any inter-Syndicate trouble before."
"Man, this is even better than when I used to go to the matches to see my mom fight."
"Your mom was a fighter?" Julia asked. If Spike didn't know her better it would have sounded like an idle question.
"The best in Aurora Borealis. This one time she shattered a guy's chest with one punch."
Spike wondered if Vicious noticed the flicker in Julia's eye at the statement, or if he noticed how closely Corso's hair corresponded to her own. Vicious's face was unreadable. The car surged forward, and they speeded forward into the night.
Trust
"Floor." It was the first word Spike had learned in the Syndicate. Mao had taught it to him. Floor was in between running and dying. The Syndicate didn't want runners, but it didn't want dead men either. You stayed and fought so long as it was possible, but you escaped the blows.
Corso hadn't been here long enough to learn Syndicate priorities, but he was already under the table and had sighted the gunner. Shin and Lin were down too. Corso squinted slightly and shot. The gunner, a tall black woman, dodged. Corso shot again and she fell. "There's more," he said.
"Black Adders," said Shin. Spike nodded. This was the first strike in what would come to be known as the Syndicate Wars. Spike surveyed the room, looking for more Black Adders. Of course he wouldn't find them. You couldn't see an adder before it struck. He was surprised they'd sent one of the family out after them. Spike mentally cursed Vicious. Sure, syndicate life was fun, challenging in its own way, but with syndicate duties and inter-syndicate war, it was impossible. He wondered how Vicious hoped to preserve the Red Dragons under the stress. But then, he probably didn't plan to preserve them at all.
"Door," he said. You ran when there was nothing to fight over, when you were just fighting over yourself as a commodity. Spike, Shin, and Lin were no lackeys. They were skilled and distinctive members of the Red Dragons. It was probably why they were targets. Spike had a feeling the days of drinking at Harry's were over. Spike led the line to the back exit, weaving around the crowd. A shot rang out, and a woman he was brushing past fell. He looked back, knowing she was dead. Her eye was a bloody socket. As Corso passed her, he grabbed her and kept her at his side, glancing in the direction of the shot and firing. A human shield. The mark of a soldier. Spike turned back towards the exit and bulldozed through it, and turned back at the last moment when he realized someone was probably at all possible exits. A shot glanced off the metal door and he shot towards the direction of the gunner without looking. When he'd found the gunner he saw he was shot in the shoulder. He shot again and the gunner was down. Shin made a shot towards the roof. He'd already picked out the fourth. The third, Spike figured, would be behind the dumpster. He fired at the dumpster, knowing the gunner would probably wait until they were in a more vulnerable position. Provoked, his fire was returned. He dove for the ground almost before he heard the shot. He tumbled so he had the space between the dumpster and the wall at an angle. He could make out flesh, a glint of metal, and he shot at it. The glint fell slowly as a star across the horizon. He ran to the dumpster, saw a retreating movement, and shot three times. Shin, Lin, and Corso were already heading out. Spike could see another gunner in the frame of the exit. He followed the others, running erratically to avoid anticipated bullets. That was the third rule. When you run, do it well. Avoid patterns.
Shin turned down an alley a block down and the others followed. Spike felt the buzz of his communicator and switched it on. He wasn't surprised to see Vicious's face. It was impassive as usual.
"I got word of the situation," Vicious said. "I'm sending Julia to pick you at the Caetano district, at 4th and Julius."
"Did a little bird tell you?" Spike asked.
"A hacker found an old communication. There are two other attacks in progress."
"What are you doing about it?" Spike asked.
"Mao can handle it," Vicious replied. "He's the boss, not me."
Spike cursed under his breath and Vicious's image faded from the communicator. He increased his pace and pulled to the front of the group, turning down an alley. "We're headed to the Caetano district!" he shouted behind him. He ran up a fire escape, hearing shots as he disappeared through a window into an old maid's apartment. A cat meowed loudly at him, and he ran past it to the door. He looked back to see Shin, Lin, and Corso behind him. Spike exited the apartment, heading toward the elevator. Most Martian tenements had the same structure. He hoped this elevator let off at the roof. Corso shot the paneling above the elevator and Spike turned to him.
"So they won't see what floor we get off at," he said by way of explanation, and Spike nodded tersely. The elevator opened and the three got in. It was a tiny elevator with a fence that had to be entirely closed before the elevator would move. Shin was the last in, and Lin had to close the gate because Shin couldn't turn around to do so. The four looked at each other as the whirring of the elevator indicated its ascent. As the adrenaline flow slowed down, the colors became bright with the effects of liquor. Corso started to giggle. Shin looked at him for a moment before he started to laugh. Then Lin started. By the time they reached the roof, the four were in hysterics. The elevator made a brusque stop and the four spilled out of it gracelessly, into the nighttime Martian air.
"What do we do now?" Shin asked Spike, who was still chuckling.
"Over here!" Spike turned to see Vicious standing five rooftops away. He saw Vicious speak into his communicator, presumably to Julia. Spike ran to the edge of the building and made a leap onto the next building, a storey down. The others followed. Spike made his way across three more rooftops when he saw a Black Adder make his ascent beside Vicious. Spike got the target in sight and Vicious, thinking Spike was aiming for him, started to run at him with his sword. Before he'd halved the distance between them, Spike shot the Adder. Vicious turned to the direction of the shot, saw the downed Adder, and turned back to Spike sheepishly.
"You've really got some trust issues to work out," Spike told Vicious.
There was another shot. Spike turned, saw an Adder disappear, and saw Lin go down. Corso softened his fall, ran to the edge of the roof, and started firing. Spike went to his side. There were three gunners. Two were down, and one had found shelter. Spike tried to aim at an opening. There was a sudden silver glimmer to his left, and Spike saw Vicious leap five stories down, sword first. The sword pierced the metal siding the gunner was using as a shelter. When Vicious withdrew it, the sword was stained with blood. Vicious vaulted up the fire escape up to the roof. "I think we're safe," he said. "But Julia's already headed this way." At the sentence, Spike heard the distinctive sound of Julia's convertible. The group headed down the fire escape, Corso slinging Lin over his shoulder. He was the last down. He settled into the car, propping Lin's head up.
"You okay?" he asked. Julia looked back at the two impassively.
Lin nodded. "They only got my shoulder. But it was my shooting hand."
"That's why you should learn to shoot from both sides," Vicious lectured.
"One will always be better," Lin replied.
Corso grinned like a boy. "So is it always like this?"
"Well," said Spike, looking pointedly at Vicious, "We've never had any inter-Syndicate trouble before."
"Man, this is even better than when I used to go to the matches to see my mom fight."
"Your mom was a fighter?" Julia asked. If Spike didn't know her better it would have sounded like an idle question.
"The best in Aurora Borealis. This one time she shattered a guy's chest with one punch."
Spike wondered if Vicious noticed the flicker in Julia's eye at the statement, or if he noticed how closely Corso's hair corresponded to her own. Vicious's face was unreadable. The car surged forward, and they speeded forward into the night.