The Light-Field (29 page)

Bitch,
Kalayna thought, as she pulled her ugly work overalls on over her beach wear.

‘Are you planning on going into pod-link?' BA asked, appearing a little concerned, as he shut off the motor and pulled into dock.

‘It's cool,' She forced a smile, as he jumped onto the wharf and tied off the boat. ‘Jadik and co have the day off too. Dad arrives in a few hours, so I thought I'd meet him, and do dinner before we go home.'

‘I could wait with you?' he suggested, jumping back on board.

‘What is it with you men, that you feel you have to hold my hand every second? I'm not twelve.' Kalayna rolled her eyes, not wanting company right at the moment. ‘I'll be fine, really.' That sounded so weak she wanted to kick herself.

‘Did you and Kale have a falling out?' BA picked up on her mood — and she wasn't surprised.

‘Why is he so hung up on some chick he's not even going to see for five years?' Kalayna figured if BA was going to stick his nose into their business, she may as well pump him for information. Still, he appeared lost for words. ‘So what's so great about her?' She helped him out.

‘You don't want to know that, surely?'

‘How can I compete with a woman I know nothing about?' Kalayna asked.

‘Oh, I see.' Mythric forced a grin, and appeared to have a headache.

‘Well, do you think I stand a chance at least?' she appealed.

BA just looked like a scared animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming craft. ‘Um … if it were me, I'd say
definitely
yes. But Kale?' BA shrugged, scrunching up his face as if in pain or indecision, ‘he and Aurora —'

‘Is that her name?' Kalayna jumped in.

‘Did I say that?' He winced.

‘What's the big secret?'

BA frowned, appearing very uncomfortable. ‘We just don't mention her name very often. You have to understand, my son and this girl have quite a history, which has created a bond between them that, I fear, might be wrong to try to break.'

‘Oh.' Kalayna had felt that BA held her in high regard, but perhaps not? ‘So, you like her too, huh?'

BA shrugged and nodded, frowning in apology the whole while. ‘If my son loves her, then I love her … but that doesn't mean we love you any less.'

Kalayna sucked up her disappointment — she'd rather been hoping for BA's support in her campaign, but now she felt more inclined to just give it up. ‘Thanks for bringing me back.' She zipped up her bag and chucked it onto the wharf.

‘Look, I mean what I say.' BA stopped her getting off in a huff. ‘We love having you stay with us, and you know Kale doesn't stand a chance of completing his degree without you?'

‘I know.' She nodded, gave him a quick squeeze and got off the boat.
He doesn't want me, he doesn't love me, but he needs me and likes me a lot. I feel so fulfilled …
She cast off the rope for BA and waved goodbye
… not.

 

Pod-link was a very large institution, and rather than taking the route that the passengers took to the public arrivals lounge, Kalayna decided to use her pass and cut through the campus to the space port. She would wait in the staff arrivals and departures lounge, as her father would come through there before heading out into the main port.

After going through security and entering the main campus, Kalayna had the most eerie feeling that something wasn't right, and she put it down to the fact that she was used to seeing these halls filled with people. On a free day like this, most escaped into the real world, but the place was still open for students to access the facilities and study hall.

‘Hello, cupcake.'

The sound of Jadik's voice sent a shiver down her spine, and she glanced back to see him and several of his friends emerging from one of the classrooms behind her.

‘What a piece of luck, you dropping by,' he called after her.

With fear pumping through her veins, Kalayna sped up her walk and collided straight into the arms of Jadik's best mate.

‘Where's your boyfriend?' he asked, casting an eye about for Kale.

Kalayna was so low from her misadventure with Kale this morning, that she barely had any fight in her. ‘He's not my boyfriend,' she felt
compelled to say, as she attempted to wriggle free. ‘And if you don't let me go you can kiss your degree goodbye.'

‘Is that right?' He emphasised his lack of fear as he grabbed hold of her hair and began dragging her back toward Jadik. ‘Well, if you don't start being a little nicer to us, we might just have to screw with one of your father's pods, eh? How long do you think you'll last here, without Daddy?'

Kalayna had no comeback; she had no fight. ‘You bastards.' Her tears burst forth and her body collapsed for fear of taking another step toward the leering men.

‘Aw, don't cry.' Jadik came forward to grip her shoulders and hold her up. ‘It'll be fun,' he assured her, as he muffled her attempt to scream and the group of men dragged her into the vacant classroom they'd just emerged from.

The group, who were focused entirely upon ripping the overalls from Kalayna's body, got rather a rude shock when they heard someone clear their throat across the room. All eyes turned to Kale, just sitting in a chair observing the proceedings.

‘What do you want, smart boy?' asked Jadik, and Kalayna was so relieved when the onslaught halted, she was in tears and shaking from the shock.

Kale merely shrugged in response to Jadik's query.

‘Have you come to protect your girlfriend?' Jadik sounded rather delighted about that premise.

Again Kale shrugged. ‘She's not my girlfriend, but she is my friend.'

‘Well.' Jadik didn't know what to make of him, and he was getting impatient. ‘What are you going to do about it? Fight all of us?' He laughed that off, as Kale was the shortest guy in the room. ‘What are you, crazy?'

‘No, no, no …' Kale laughed along with them. ‘That wouldn't serve me at all. No, I'm just the witness.' He smiled broadly in conclusion, whereupon Kalayna's attackers all let her go and turned their full attention to Kale.

‘Is that a threat?' It seemed Jadik wanted a fight even more than he wanted sex.

‘Abso-fucking-lutely.' Kale grinned. ‘Whatever it takes to get your arses kicked off this campus, I'm all for that.' He held out his hands to welcome their attack.

Jadik was absolutely fuming, but, looking to the rest of his friends, he noted they were wavering. ‘What are we waiting for?'

‘They know that at beyond this point, they'll have to commit murder, twice over, to have any hope of not being expelled and persecuted to the full extent of the law,' Kale informed him, as Kalayna silently crept out of the room, hoping to reach security before they caught up to her.

‘He's going to report us anyway.'

Kalayna heard Jadik opting for the murder option. Someone threw a punch and an onslaught of fighting sounds immediately ensued.
Hold on Kale
, she thought as she ran barefoot through the halls to the security gate as fast as she was able.

By the time Kalayna got back to the classroom with a security guard, he had to pull a weapon and fire it at the ceiling to stop the frenzy — they had beaten Kale to a pulp.

‘He started it!' Jadik pointed to the bloodied guy writhing on the floor, as the guard called for backup and medics.

‘You fucking bastards!' Kalayna collapsed on the floor beside her friend, too afraid to touch him for fear of causing him more pain. ‘Kale?' She wept, feeling this was all her fault. ‘I should have stayed, like you said.'

‘No, it's okay, I'm good.' He forced a smile and spat out a bloodied tooth. ‘Call BA …' he mumbled before passing out.

‘No, Kale.' Kalayna clapped her hands in front of his face to try to keep him conscious, but there was no reaction at all. She was so relieved when the medics arrived to take him to hospital.

 

Once she'd reached the hospital, Kalayna's mental and emotional state really took a dive. Police and pod-link officials questioned her about the incident, but all she really wanted to know was how Kale was doing; no one would tell her anything because she wasn't family.

BA and her father were a sight for sore eyes.

‘Back off, all of you,' BA insisted, as Trayan moved in to comfort his daughter. He hugged her close and could feel her trembling.

‘Your time will be better spent questioning the men who attacked my daughter and put another employee in a hospital bed.' Trayan looked to the company representative, who was one of the bigwig carpet walkers at pod-link.

‘How is Kale?' Kalayna asked BA.

‘I haven't seen him yet, but they tell me that he's in a stable condition,' BA assured her. ‘How are you, is more the question?'

‘I'm fine, thanks to him.' She dissolved into tears. ‘If Kale hadn't shown up …' She didn't even want to imagine what state she would be in by now.

‘We'll come back,' the local policewoman suggested, and left them to talk.

‘Here's the thing,' said the pod-link rep. ‘One of the boys involved in this incident is the son of one of pod-link's major investors, who obviously doesn't want this incident to become public. He would like to cut a deal to prevent charges being pressed, but once charges are laid, the damage is done, so …'

‘The damage is already done!' Trayan stood enraged. ‘That
boy
just tried to
rape
my daughter!'

‘Yes, I understand you are upset.' The rep backed off, remaining calm.

‘Upset is an understatement!' Trayan imposed his disgust on the representative.

‘Dad, wait.' Kalayna stood to confront the pod-link rep. ‘What kind of settlement are we talking here?'

‘A tidy seven-figure sum,' he advised with a smile, obviously feeling that she would jump at the deal. ‘But you would be required to resign from pod-link —'

‘What?' Kalayna snapped, angry. ‘How about this instead? Half that sum, expel the boys involved and then replace them with local people, with a preference to girls needing a scholarship?'

The fellow from pod-link was appearing very frazzled. ‘I'm really not authorised —'

‘And,' she added as an afterthought, ‘tell your associate and his son that should any fatal accident befall myself, my father or Kale during our time at pod-link, this incident and full details of this deal will be made public
immediately
!'

‘I'm sure that is not necessary,' the representative was taken aback. ‘And as I said, I really don't —'

‘Look.' Kalayna found her fighting spirit. ‘That's the only deal I will agree to. Your associate has two hours to make up his mind. I want this agreement on paper and signed by them, or Jadik and his buddies are all going to jail, which is exactly where they belong. I will, however, be taking out restraining orders against all of them, despite any deal we make — so it will be impossible for them to work in the same building as me — got that?'

The fellow did not look at all pleased, but he nodded. ‘I'll get back to you.'

‘You do that.' Trayan took his daughter under arm and gave her a squeeze as the pod-link rep left.

‘Can we see Kale now?' Kalayna looked to BA, who nodded and tipped his head to invite them to follow him.

 

When they entered the room, Kale was laid out, bandaged and cleant up. It was a nice surprise to find him conscious, but as he was bruised from head to toe, he lay perfectly motionless.

‘Can I go home now?' he mumbled, due to his fractured jaw.

‘I don't think so.' BA approached the bed, a little teary eyed at the state he found his son in.

‘How's Kalayna?'

‘I'm here.' She came around the other side of his bed to speak with him. ‘I'm absolutely fine.' Kalayna gently took hold of his hand, smiling through the tears of sympathy and appreciation that would not stop rolling down her face. ‘Why didn't you fight them?' she asked, having seen him train. ‘I know you could have kicked all their arses!'

He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. ‘Then we would have been booted out and not them,' he said, and the selflessness of his act only made her cry harder. ‘They are getting expelled, right?'

Kalayna only nodded, unable to speak.

‘We're working on it,' Trayan assured him, on her behalf, as he assisted Kalayna up to leave. ‘How about we get a coffee, and leave these guys to talk?' he suggested and she nodded, but kissed Kale's cheek in leaving.

‘I don't know how you got to me so fast,' she whispered, ‘but thank you for being there.'

‘Welcome.' Kale attempted a smile, but aborted it due to the pain.

‘You're my new personal hero, son,' Trayan confirmed. ‘Words cannot express the gratitude —'

Kale raised a hand to stop all the fuss. ‘The pussies didn't even break anything, I'll be right as rain as soon as all the bruising is gone. Kalayna is my friend so … enough said, eh?'

Trayan nodded, admiring Kale's attitude, as BA showed them to the door. ‘That's one amazing son you have there,' Trayan told Kale's father and the sentiment BA felt for Kale was all over his face, as he nodded to concur.

‘He does me proud.'

 

Mythric closed the door and turned back to face Zeven, who was looking chuffed with himself. ‘Now don't let all this praise go to your head ego-maestro … but you did do good today.'

‘I know.' Zeven was grinning despite the pain in his face.

‘A bit too good, on second thought.' Mythric frowned as he wondered out loud, ‘How did you get to Kalayna so quick?'

‘I have a little secret.' Zeven pointed to the glass on his bedside table and it rose up off the table, turned upside down without spilling a drop of water and then landed right side up on the table once more.