The Neo-Spartans: Altered World (22 page)

              Quinn had seen this look before. Grisner. Her limbs turned numb with fear. She looked at the bench—one more fight and she’d be up. Maybe she could get out of it in some clever way. She was about to slink away when the crowd jumped to its feet and cheered. Despite herself, Quinn stopped to watch. One fighter was passed out on the ground while the other reveled in his brief moment of glory. He bowed to the applauding audience and to the ultimate patrons of this event: Julius and Grisner. Grisner leaned in and whispered something to Julius, who raised his hand and beckoned the victor. Quinn watched the fighter as he joined Grisner and Julius in their box. He preened like a peacock as he exchanged fight talk with the bigwigs. Quinn’s brain churned as it tried to process this new information. Her instinct wanted her to flee. Her shrewdness told her to get into that box and meet the very man she was so anxious to run away from. She dashed off the bench and into the holding area. A disguise, that’s what would do the trick. If she could change her appearance, hide her face, she’d be able to fight and see Grisner without jeopardizing everything. Quinn feverishly rummaged through the fight paraphernalia that was scattered over the benches. There wasn’t much to work with. The Vaqueros, just like the other gangs that participated in the games, liked adding personal touches to their fight gear, some even used costumes. But the key element was to expose flesh, not hide it, and so far Quinn was striking out in finding a disguise. She spotted a discarded charcoal piece and an idea lit up her face. A beat up fringe leather vest caught her attention and Quinn descended upon it like a vulture. She ripped off the strips and started tying them across her forehead, then crisscrossed the remaining under her eyes and chin. The space on her face that wasn’t covered became her canvas. She picked up the charcoal and went to town.

              A few minutes later, Quinn checked herself in the fading mirror; her skin was covered with a primitive tribal tattoo that made her unrecognizable and ferocious. She liked what she saw—half woman, half beast. Strangely enough, her new face made her walk taller and feel unbeatable.

              When she appeared on the bench again, Nico was already fuming. She was late. Her opponent had stepped into the center of the arena. A low rumble spread over the crowd as patience wore thin. Nico did a double take and his face twisted in a grimace. Her disguise must have triggered shock, displeasure or maybe even a bizarre attraction, she didn’t have time to figure out which one, but it was a sure sign she was on the right track with her plan.

              Quinn vaulted off the bench and strutted into the arena. The crowd booed her delay, but a hush fell over them like a wave as they noticed her unusual appearance. She walked around taunting them, giving them a good glimpse of the mysterious, sexy beast she had become. The effect was almost instant. She could feel the excitement zap across the arena. The allure of the unknown danger grabbed the audience by the throat—they all wanted to either be her or fight her. They didn’t know it yet, but in their minds she had already won the fight. All she had to do now was give them the satisfaction of having chosen the right one to root for.

              Meaning business, Quinn faced her opponent. He was bigger than she was but nothing like Thor or any of the other steroid-grown giants. It was a relief. She could win the match fair and square without resorting to attacking toxin points. She just needed to exhaust the guy and his Eugenic body would do the rest of the job. The guy was already half undone. A female opponent was an insult to his ego and put his confidence on shaky ground. The fact that she had electrified the crowd didn’t help much either. So without further delay, Quinn launched herself at him like a speed demon and bombarded him with a barrage of quick hits that stunned him and inflicted pain in so many parts of his body that his brain was at a loss as to what to deal with first. The crowd exploded with cheers. It drove him nuts. He ignored the pain and threw himself into an attack determined to destroy this girl. Blind to her posture and intent, he charged like a freight train and fell instant prey to his emotional state. Quinn had relied on his rage; it made his technique sloppy and his tactics predictable. She stood her ground when he came at her, twisted her hips to an impossible degree like a cork screw, and jammed her elbow into his ribs at the same time. She spun back, untwisting herself, and hammered him in the sternum with all the speed and power that the move provided her. The blow rendered her opponent breathless and dizzy. He went down gasping. The crowd roared. Quinn was delivering first-class entertainment. Her attention darted for a fraction of a second toward Grisner. He was definitely entertained. She looked back at the fighter who was trying to steady himself and stay in the fight. Something inside her revolted violently. The skills that made her a criminal and an outlaw were glorified here by the same people who would otherwise throw her in jail or neuro-blast her into a vegetative state. The sick hypocritical bastards were toying with them for entertainment. She met the eyes of her opponent and saw the rage and hatred in them. For what? For not winning a meaningless fight? For not getting the few minutes of glory? For losing to a girl? It all seemed stupid…

              Her rebellious voice was silenced when the guy got up and rammed her in the midriff with all he had. Quinn folded in two. She fell to the ground with a thud and was suddenly shaken awake. This wasn’t the time for pride and justice. She had to win the fight and get close to Grisner. She focused on her foe, who was about to slam his foot into her. Quinn rolled to the side, simultaneously trapping the leg he was standing on with her own feet. She swiped him off and knocked him on the ground. As he fell down, she sprang to her feet and flung herself on top of him. The impact of her body weight dazed him enough and Quinn finished him with a blow to the jaw. She prayed he wasn’t one of those that were too proud to admit defeat. Resorting to brutality was not something she enjoyed. The crowd was in a pure frenzy. He rolled his eyes and passed out happily. Quinn stood up and accepted the cheers the crowd showered her with. It didn’t feel good. It didn’t feel like victory. Her heart was beating fast, full of apprehension of what was to follow. Grisner and Julius rose, and Quinn knew she had to face them and bask in the glory of their high honors. She raised her head but tried not to look at them directly. It felt like an eternity, but finally Julius motioned her to join them in the box. Like a soldier on a mission, she marched herself out of the arena and up the steps to where they were sitting. This was the real fight—staying calm in Grisner’s presence, keeping who she really was a secret.

              Two guards the size of brick houses let her in the box. Grisner and Julius ogled her lean sweaty body with appreciation. She shivered in disgust and was glad the mask was covering her expression.

              “Quite an amazon,” said Grisner. “I must say, it was refreshing to see you in the arena. Julius, my hat’s off to you! Very creative. Girls in the arena… you’re getting the finer points of entertainment.”

              Julius’s jowly face moved in something of a self-contented grin. He liked finding the soft spots in his major sponsor. Quinn watched the exchange and her stomach churned. What she wouldn’t give for a chance to rip them to shreds. Grisner gave her the once over again and his cold eyes settled on her face.

              “Nice touch. We all fear the unknown, yet we desire it. Did you come up with this or did your trainer?

              “I did.” Quinn tried to steady her voice as much as possible.

              “Smart girl. Now, what’s your name?”

              Quinn opened her mouth then closed it. She had no idea why she didn’t think she might be asked this question, and now that she was put on the spot she couldn’t come up with anything. She panicked. Luckily, Grisner misinterpreted her flustered state.

              “What’s the matter, I made you forget your name?” He let out a throaty, suggestive laugh and puffed out his chest. Quinn fought hard not to roll her eyes. Pompous peacock!

              “Take the mask off; let me see your face. I bet it’s a pretty one too.”

              It was as if Grisner had turned on the sleaze spigot and there was no shutting it off. But that was good. It made Quinn shake off the panic and timidity and brought back her anger and reckless bravado.

              “No.” The refusal was so firm and determined that both Grisner and Julius straightened stiff and whipped their heads in her direction.

              “The man said take the mask off,” barked Julius.

              Quinn folded her arms across her chest and smiled. “I will not.”

              Julius’s eyes flicked toward the guards. Quinn noticed it and chirped in with her sweetest voice.

              “Forgive me, gentlemen, this is far from disobeying you. I wouldn’t think of doing that, especially, after the high honor of being invited here into your box. But this mask is my fighting persona. It is what makes me interesting. I am a servant to my audience. They like this unknown feral fighter, I can’t disappoint them. Each one of them, including you, sees whatever he wants to behind this mask. There are thousands of spectators out there. That makes thousands of fantasies. The chance of my ordinary face fulfilling those fantasies is almost nil. I take it off, I ruin the illusion. For all of you.”

              Quinn fixed her eyes on Grisner and held his gaze, praying her little psychological trick would work for her. Grisner stared back for what seemed like forever. She could tell he was fighting the urge to satisfy his curiosity right then and there. But his eyes drifted away, beyond what they were staring at, and Quinn knew he was placing his own fantasy face behind her mask. As brief as a blink, a glimmer appeared in his eyes that made him human, even melancholic, and Quinn wondered whether indeed he had once upon a time been a decent man who deserved her father’s friendship. The fleeting moment was gone and Grisner refocused back to reality and granted her one of his expressionless smiles.

              “Alright, keep it on, mystery amazon. I like your dedication to the craft.”

              He turned away from her and instantly forgot her presence as the next pair of fighters appeared in the arena. That was it. She had had her few moments of glory, she had tickled the curiosity of the high and mighty and then she had ceased to exist. What now? Was she supposed to leave on her own, or was she to wait to be dismissed?

              As she was debating what to do, Grisner leaned closer to Julius in an attempt to make himself heard over the shouting of the crowd.

              “Good job, man. I like where you’re headed with this fight entertainment. It’s gonna bring in some good money and keep your beastly population happy. But we got a glitch on our other front, and I can’t say I’m happy about it.”

              Julius’s meaty forehead furrowed with displeasure. “What exactly are you implying?”

              “One of the deliveries turned out all poxy faced. He looked like he was ridden with everything in the medical encyclopedia. Kinda put the whole transplant operation on hold. The old man’s hourglass is running outta sand and we gotta get these organs in him pronto.”

              Grisner’s words zapped Quinn. Her heart started racing, making her ears buzz with the rush of blood. Her mind bounced back and forth, between the brief joy that Gabriel was near and being himself, and the ultimate horror of what was really going on with the kidnapped Neo-Spartan boys. Maybe she misheard or misinterpreted.

              “My responsibility was to secure the targets and deliver them. Nobody said nothin’ about giving them a physical before shoving ’em in the van,” Julius tried to shrug any blame off his back.

              “I’m not pointing any fingers, I’m pointing out a problem that needs to be solved,” Grisner was quick to cut him off.

              “I understand, but they are not exactly lining up in front of the Sanctuary walls offering kidneys, livers and hearts for Mr. Hughes. So what exactly are you suggesting?”

              “I’m suggesting you do what’s necessary, and do it quickly before we become responsible for his unfortunate end. A lot of important people’s hopes and money are riding on the success of this operation. You don’t want to lose the elite as clients, especially when they’re knocking on your door.”

              The new bits of information bombarded Quinn before she could grasp the full scope of what these two were talking about. She was struggling to put the pieces together when one of the guards grabbed her arm and motioned her to leave the box. Quinn didn’t budge. She had to stay a few moments more. He started pulling her out but she yanked herself free and dropped down to her knee pretending she was lacing her shoe. From below she could hear Grisner even more clearly.

              “Take whatever risk is necessary and bring me a replacement,” growled Grisner.

              “Got it. I’ll send a dispatch tonight.” The words had to force their way out of Julius’s tight jaw as he fixed his attention on the brutal fight in the arena.

              “And hurry up on the last one,” added Grisner.

              “That’s a mighty tight schedule.”

              “Just look at it this way: we get the old man functioning again and in couple of months that potential for longevity is going to be yours too.”

              Quinn had frozen in her knelt-down position. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. There was no blood serum experiment, as Celeste had told her. The boys were not taken to be studied; they were taken to be opened up and harvested for organs. And her brother was among those who were going to be sacrificed so the man responsible for all this could live. It didn’t stop there; if that proved successful the entire Neo-Spartan community would be targeted, so those with money and power could live longer. The thought made her sick with fear and disgust. The tiny straw of hope she grabbed onto was the fact that Gabriel was still alive and eager to stay that way. He had used his gift to temporarily derail this heinous plan. The gift she had cursed so many times had saved his life, or at least stalled his death. Her churning thoughts were interrupted by the massive paw of the guard who grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her out of the box. She stumbled down the steps, still dizzy with the knowledge she had gained, and carved her way through the screaming crowd. Julius was going to send a dispatch tonight.