Beneath the Fallen City (The Omni Towers, #1)

Chapter 2-1

Chapter Two

The coordinate navigation system flashed on Kayla’s bike monitor to indicate they were nearing their destination. She let Veridian know of their approach through her headset and slowed down.

Carl’s facility was substantially larger than the largest ruin rat camp. It was also a permanent fixture, built with specially treated building materials designed to withstand the climate’s effects. More than half a dozen bikes were parked at the front overhang. Kayla had a moment of speeder-envy, eyeing the bike closest to her. Both its wheels had the new bionic skin to automatically adapt its traction based on the traveling surface. Even the mounted solar cells were shiny, polished to a gleam and sparkling in the sunlight.

She wrinkled her nose and patted her bike affectionately. Sure, the other speeders were more than a little pretty, but they probably couldn’t keep up with her retrofitted transport. Hell, who was she kidding? She was tempted to steal those tires on her way out the door. With a sigh, Kayla disengaged her engine and climbed off, careful not to damage any of the scavenged items stored in her backpack.

Veridian pulled up beside her, hesitating before dismounting. He’d been upset about this visit, even going so far as to suggest they consider canceling. It had taken her a while to bring him around, but he still wasn’t fully on board. Hoping to lighten the mood, she gestured to the size of the base.

“Think he’s compensating for something?”

Veridian groaned and shook his head. “Kayla, that’s awful.”

Pleased she had cut through some of his nervousness, she grinned and stepped through the UV guard at the front entry. The sight of Carl and Cruncher waiting made it obvious Carl’s crew had been tracking them since they approached the facility. Unsurprised, Kayla pulled off her helmet and jacket and hung them on the rack by the entry. Veridian followed her lead.

“Glad you decided to join us,” Carl said, extending his hand in greeting.

“Yeah, yeah,” Veridian muttered but took the proffered hand.

Kayla stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips. “Let’s get this moving. I’m a busy girl. Business first, or the tour?”

Carl’s mouth curved into a slight smile. “And that’s one of the many things I like about you. You get right to it. Let’s go to my office. You can show me what you’ve brought to sell.”

“Suit yourself,” she replied and followed Carl down a long hallway. She noticed Cruncher followed a few steps behind her and Veridian, careful to make sure they didn’t stray. She’d have to find an opportune moment to distract them so Veridian could plant the bug. The other bug rested in her pocket. Although it was smaller than her fingernail, her awareness of it made it feel more like a large speeder.

Electronic dividers with the capability of blocking out light and sound surrounded Carl’s office. The costly technology gave the occupants a large measure of privacy. Despite herself, Kayla was impressed with the extravagance and interested to see what other gadgets they had in their camp.

Carl stepped over to his desk and waited while she opened her backpack. She spread out the jewelry and carving on the desk.

Cruncher let out a low whistle. “Holy s**t, girl. Did you smuggle all of that out of Sector Twelve yesterday?”

She sat on the corner of the desk and feigned innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cruncher. These trinkets have been in my family for generations. I told you I was just taking in the sights yesterday.”

Carl gave Kayla a hard look before turning to assess the merchandise. He studied each piece carefully before moving on to the next one.

“I may have underestimated you,” Carl admitted. He pointed to the collection. “I’ll give you twenty-five hundred for the lot. That’s a final offer. There’s no negotiation on this one.”

“Done.” Kayla smiled sweetly. “I wouldn’t dream of trying to take advantage of your generosity.”

“Hmm.” Carl turned on his commlink and initiated the instructions to wire the credits to her camp’s account. When the transaction was complete, he scooped up the jewelry and put it in a lockbox behind his desk.

Kayla verified the transaction was final and hopped off the desk. At least something positive had come out of this trip. “Are we still on for the tour? Or have I worn out my welcome?”

Carl’s mouth twitched as though he were suppressing a smile. “You’re not getting out of here so easily. You just cost me a few thousand credits, and I intend to make sure you hold up your end of the deal.”

He pressed his hand against the small of her back to lead her out of the office. She stiffened slightly at the gesture but allowed the contact. Veridian frowned at her but remained silent when she shook her head. There was a fine line to walk when dealing with a trader. So far, Carl had kept his word. She’d give him some leeway, at least to a point. Besides, there were far worse things than having a gorgeous man’s hands on her.

As they exited the room, Kayla caught a glimpse of Cruncher still trailing behind them. Planting the bugs was going to be more than a little challenging if they kept watching this closely. Carl escorted them into a large, open room they used as a common area. A dozen chairs surrounded an elongated, conference-style table. Cabinets covered most of one wall with an expansive countertop. A state-of-the-art food preparation and storage machine sat in the corner.

Two people turned toward them when they entered. She recognized Elyot from yesterday, but the young woman was unfamiliar.

“Kayla and Veridian,” Carl began, introducing them to the new people. “This is Elyot and Lisia. He’s one of our scavengers, and Lisia’s one of our crew techs.”

Elyot smiled warmly. “Nice to see you guys again. I’ve heard quite a few stories about you, Kayla. You’ve impressed the hell out of some of us.”

Lisia, a tall, thin girl with a mass of blond curls on top of her head, looked at Carl and Kayla with open hostility. “I’ve got stuff to do,” she announced, pushing away from the table. “I’ll catch you later, Elyot.”

Without another glance, she headed out of the room. Surprised by the rude departure, Kayla peeked up at Carl for an explanation. His jaw was set, and he stared at the door where the young woman had disappeared. Elyot cleared his throat and offered weakly, “Uh, Lisia’s somewhat temperamental. Ignore her.”

“She’s a good tech, but Elyot’s right,” Carl elaborated on an exhale, rubbing the back of his neck. “She’ll warm up once you get to know her.”

Kayla shrugged. She wasn’t there to make friends or get caught up in camp drama. Leo’s camp had more than enough to keep her busy. Carl continued the tour by saying, “Through here we have the crew’s quarters and the tech room.”

The crew’s quarters consisted of a large room separated into individual personal areas with modular constructs. Each personal area had a cot, a small desk, and a storage locker. It was different than the setup at Leo’s camp, where the bunks were sandwiched together in an open room.

Kayla ran her fingers along the wall, admiring the privacy dividers installed in this area. They were reinforced to block out sounds and light from the outside, although someone could always leave the door open if they weren’t in the mood for privacy. She wondered what it would be like to have a place of her own, where she could shut out the world. The only place she ever felt a few moments of peace was down in the ruins. If nothing else, she had to give Carl credit for providing his people with some rather expensive comforts.

They moved to the tech room next. Carl paused outside the door, an expectant look on his face. “I think you’ll enjoy this room.”

Puzzled, Kayla moved past him and stepped inside. Realization dawned, and her eyes grew wide in excitement as she stared at the equipment Carl had recently acquired from OmniLab.

“No f*****g way.” Forgetting her plan to act nonchalant, she moved across the room to pick up one of the underground sensors designed to identify rare metals. She ran her fingers across it with reverence, recalling what she’d read about it. Not only was it one of the prototypes unavailable to ruin rats but it was also capable of locating specific rare metals housed within other metals. It had the potential to detect artifacts hidden miles below the surface.

She looked up at Carl in disbelief. A knowing smile flitted across his face. “I picked it up a few days ago. There are some other prototypes in there too. OmniLab developed a new chemical monitoring kit and some other UV-protective gear. We were asked to test it out.”

“Oh man. I read about these, but to actually see them…” Her voice trailed off as she rifled through some of the other equipment, incredulous at the playground of toys around her. Veridian crossed the room to study some monitors mapping the topography of the area.

“This is amazing.” He gestured to the monitors. “You’re able to track all of this from here?”

Carl nodded and pointed to one of the screens. “That’s the IM-XL system. It uses our current geographical location to generate some basic topographic maps of the underground ruins. It uses the old-world maps as a basis for comparison and updates to provide new potential high-artifact ruin locations.”

Veridian whistled in appreciation and watched the screen. Kayla barely spared them a glance, clutching the sensor in one hand and digging through some of the other boxes with the other. It’d be interesting to find out how difficult it would be to smuggle the sensor out of Carl’s camp.

Carl cleared his throat to get Kayla’s attention. “If you can manage to put the sensor down, we picked up some new lock-cracking tools too. I’ve got Zane trying them out in the testing lab. I’ve heard you have an interest in locks. You’re welcome to take a look.”

Kayla jerked her head up, trying to decide if the man was serious or toying with her emotions. It would be an evil prank if it were the latter. “Really?”

Carl chuckled and nodded. It broke her heart a little, but she carefully replaced the sensor. Trailing her fingers over it in farewell, she gave it one last, longing look. “You’ve definitely got some cool toys in here.”

There was no mistaking the pleased look on his face at the compliment. Motioning for them to follow, Carl led them past what appeared to be the communications room and into the testing lab. Remembering their purpose, Kayla shot a meaningful look at Veridian. He returned a barely discernible nod.

The testing lab was only slightly smaller than the tech room and had a wide variety of different locking mechanisms set up like an obstacle course. Kayla recognized most of them from her scavenging expeditions.

There were two men in the room. One had rich caramel-colored skin with short, dark hair and eyes. He lounged against the wall and flashed a smile when they entered. Kayla had met him several months earlier when he’d helped Cruncher make a delivery to Leo’s camp.

Kayla didn’t know the other man sitting on the floor working with one of the locks. He possessed an average build and fair skin. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and he seemed to work the locks with an intimate familiarity Kayla recognized.

Carl cleared his throat, and the man on the floor looked up expectantly. “Xantham and Zane, I’d like you to meet Kayla and Veridian. Xantham is in communications, and Zane is another one of our scavengers and master locksmith.”

Kayla narrowed her eyes at Xantham. If he was a communications expert, he was likely the one responsible for planting the sniffer on their system.

As though guessing her thoughts, Xantham winked at her. “We’ve already met, Carl. Besides, I feel like we’re already intimately acquainted, given how often you’ve asked me to intercept her communications.”

Kayla crossed her arms and gave Carl a dark look. He offered her a sly smile in response. “I protect my interests, Kayla. You’ve caused a significant dent in my revenue over the past year.”