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Bk 3 Ch 31 - Round One

Bk 3 Ch 31 - Round One

“Hey, troublemaker. How’s shopping?”

“Wipe that grin off your face.”

“How do you know I’m grinning?”

“Adan, I can hear you grinning over the connection.”

“Are you back at the ship yet?”

“No. Jane would’ve made an amazing soldier. She’d survive any death march.”

“I take it you don’t like shopping?”

“The only good thing about high heels is that I could probably kill you with a stiletto. And Jane says they make my butt look good.”

“Hmmm. I look forward to seeing it.”

“You mean right before you die?”

“It’d be worth it.”

“Sorry, love. We wound up getting flats. My back.”

“It’s all right. Your butt looks fantastic anyway.”

“How’s everything with you? Need a rescue yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then why the call?”

“I wanted to check in with you. It looks like guys-night-out is going to take longer than I thought. You and Jane should stop somewhere and get dinner.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Gid’s arena just opened up.”

“What?”

“We’re going to a robot fight.”

There was a pause.

“Wanna trade places?” Reyer asked.

“Not really, no.”

“You coward! I think you’d look good in heels.”

“I’d break my ankle in under a minute.”

“Don’t worry, I have a cane you can borrow.”

Adan laughed. “I adore you, Alix, but the answer is still no.”

“Fine. Is Ciro having any luck?”

Vas checked the hall. A few patrons were walking by, but no one was paying any attention to him. “We know it’s the right building, but it’s pretty wild in here—in a nerdy, tech kind of way. He wants to spend some more time looking around.”

“Is that why you’re going to a robot fight?”

“They take hours. It’s a ranked tournament based on the builder’s skill points. A new bot starts at the bottom and tries to fight his way to the champion.”

“Single elimination?”

“You could say that. It’d be pretty hard for them to go into a second round after they’ve been torn limb from limb.”

“That sounds exciting.”

“I know. The things I do for the cause.”

“All right. Have fun, Adan. If you need me or Lynx, call.”

“I will. You have fun too, mi vida. But remember, no smiling.”

Vas thought he could almost hear her roll her eyes.

“Goodbye, Adan.” She cut the call.

He looked down at the phone in his hand and smiled. When he heard Tennama call his name, he pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning on.

“You got the tickets?” Adan asked.

Tennama held up three metal tics.

“How much did they cost?”

“Almost nothing,” Tennama said.

“Nothing?”

“Almost nothing. Five each.”

They walked toward the door where Ciro was waiting. There was a deep rumble of noise that made it hard for Vas to hear what Anthony was saying.

“I think the idea is to get as many people inside as possible and pull in the big money with betting and drinks.”

Ciro took his tic from Tennama and opened both doors wide.

The noise of the crowd poured over Vas like the wash of a bomb.

“That’s a lot of nerds,” he muttered.

Adan had spoken mostly to himself, but Ciro caught part of it.

“No way, bro.” Ciro pointed to the ring. “That’s where the nerds will be. All these peasants have only come to worship at the altar.”

An usher checked in their tics and pointed to a row of purple lights on the floor for them to follow. Purple section. Row 16. They made it to their seats.

“You couldn’t get anything closer?” Vas yelled over the noise of the crowd.

“I was lucky to get anything at all!” Tennama yelled back.

“No worries, Anthony!” Ciro gave his brother a look. “The view’s good enough for what we need.”

The lights dimmed, and the noise of the crowd dulled to a murmur. After a second, a deep voice leaked out of the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen—”

The audience took over. From every corner of the arena, thousands of voices were raised. It felt like a howl, but there was a short melody hidden in it. Two massive drum beats shook the speakers in their cases, and the primal song turned into a roar of cheers.

The energy of the crowd was enough to leave a person breathless, but the already deafening noise reached a new level when two humans walked up the stairs on opposite corners of the platform. Two bots appeared and joined their masters. The announcer read out their details, but since you could barely hear him over the commotion the audience was making, the house also posted the information on the screens that ran along the top of the arena.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

As the two masters did one last inspection, Vas heard a flurry of beeping. The crowd was entering their wagers by scanning their tics with the readers built into the arms of their chairs. This might have been the only purpose to having a chair, since most people seemed to prefer standing.

Tennama, like Vas, had been looking around to figure out what was going on. When their eyes inadvertently met, the xeno asked, “Are you a betting man, Adan?”

“No. The odds are always stacked. The only safe bet is on the house.”

Anthony nodded once, then said, “Ciro?”

“Not a chance,” Ciro said. “Did you hear the specs? We don’t know the masters, but their hardware is an even match.”

There were two more drum beats. The bots left their corners and met in the center of the ring. The high bell rang, and they tore into each other.

Slowly, Vas was drawn into the battle. He didn’t notice how riveted he’d become until Ciro yanked down on his jacket sleeve to get his attention.

“Take this,” Ciro shouted. He pressed a micro-headset into Adan’s palm. “Leave it on. I’ll call you if I need you.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Ciro punched his arm. “I don’t need you. This place is public, and we’ve already paid the entry fee. Enjoy the show.”

With some reluctance, Vas watched his brother go. As he hooked the headset into his ear, the crowd let out a collective gasp, and his attention was reclaimed by the ring.

Three fights later, the newcomer finally lost. The director chose to focus the live-feed cameras on the victorious master, rather than the robot. The panoramic screens all showed the man’s forbidding face as he waited for the announcement. When it came, he jerked his fist in triumph.

The crowd went wild with glee.

“What’s going on?”

Tennama had shouted his question to Vas. He had to if he hoped to be heard. The woman in the row in front of them had good hearing.

She turned and yelled, “First time?”

Vas and Tennama both crouched down so they could hear her.

“That’s Dionysus,” she said. “He’s a house favorite. He’s been in the ring for months, but this is only his third chance to go after the champion.”

“Why only his third chance?” Tennama asked.

“You have to beat the newcomer before you can assume their place and fight up the ranks. Dionysus needed the money to keep building, so he joined the house, but everyone knows he wants to take down the champion.”

“Do you think he can?”

The woman laughed. “On only his third model? Not a chance. You fight to get the information, then you come back stronger. Even then, I’ve never seen anyone beat Vanguard.”

“That’s the champion?” Vas asked.

“For five years. Same model, minor changes. His master calls himself Brennus.”

“So when the fight comes, bet on him?”

She shook her head. “You’re not allowed. The only bet the house accepts is the long shot on his opponent.”

Tennama smirked. “I’ll bet there aren’t many takers.”

“You wait. People get stupid. I’ve been stupid. You watch this hunk of metal rip apart almost a dozen machines and you start to think it can do anything.”

Vas was closer to her, so he was the one that got the back-hand slap to the chest.

“Here he comes!” she said.

Along with most of the audience, she started shouting “Khan!” but whether that referred to the bot or its master, Vas couldn’t tell.

After one last warning about wasting their money, she turned back to the ring. Vas and Tennama stood up to watch.

Dionysus and his bot held out. Five fights in, Vas found himself secretly rooting for him. There was something about the man’s face; he looked like the underdog who knew he was going to die and fought anyway. The idea that he was willing to do that so he could come back stronger appealed to the captain in a personal way. When Dionysus’s bot ripped out his opponent’s power source with enough force to send it smashing against the allum-glass guard, Vas lunged forward with everyone else to roar his approval.

He realized Tennama was right there with him—the same shout coming from his throat.

They saw each other and smiled.

Four fights after that, Ciro returned. He called Adan’s name several times, but his brother was too wrapped up in the battle to notice.

Ciro grabbed his shoulder and shouted in his ear, “I have pliers and you have nostrils. Look at me, or I’ll make you look at me!”

When Vas turned, Ciro picked the headset out of his brother’s ear and shut it off. “You didn’t hear me paging you.”

“Ciro—”

“Don’t worry, bro. Nothing bad happened. And it’s hard to hear anything in this place.”

Tennama leaned over. “Did you find something?”

“I found the machine.”

“The exact one?”

“Yes.”

“Was it one of their rentals?” Vas asked.

Ciro shook his head. “It was in a private employees-only office.”

Vas stared at the concrete floor under his feet so he wouldn’t be distracted. It helped, but there was nothing he could do about the tide of noise. “If Bobbin works here, that means he’s more likely to come back.”

“If he still works here,” Tennama said. “If he ever worked here. The man’s got a bounty on his head. Wouldn’t it be smarter to stay away from technology?”

“It’s hard to stay away from what you’re good at,” Ciro said. “He probably thinks he’s safe. All he has to do is drop his tag and he’s anonymous.” Ciro looked down at the ring as he spoke, and his troubled expression switched to one of interest. “Who’s that?”

Tennama smiled at the captain, “It’s starting.”

Vas put his arm around his brother and pointed to the tall gray robot moving to the center of the ring. “That’s Vanguard. Five-year reigning champion. His doomed opponent is a bot called Three. We’re about to watch the noble slaughter.”

Ciro didn’t need more incentive to be caught up in the match. The whole arena adopted a respectful silence.

The bell rang. There was a crash as the robots’ wrists slammed together. Each tried to rip the other’s arm off. The voice of the crowd roared to life.

Vas occasionally glanced at Ciro, hoping to see the moment his brother’s soul caught fire. What he failed to realize was that Ciro’s enthusiasm, especially for something like this, was always smoldering. The younger Vas didn’t shout like the others. He watched, eyes wide, with a hand resting over his mouth.

Adan’s eyes happened to be on Ciro when his brother winced. The audience let out a massive groan.

“That’s the fight,” Ciro said.

“What happened?” Adan asked.

Down in the ring, the two robots moved back to their corners.

“Brennus called for a timeout,” Tennama said.

“Three got his hand inside Vanguard’s neck.” Ciro put his fingertips to his own throat to demonstrate. “There’s a good chance the pulling damaged something.”

“Isn’t his master fixing it?” Adan asked.

“He’s allowed to fix the connections, but he’s not allowed to replace any parts during a match. If the connection points are damaged, Vanguard’s reaction time will be slow.”

Vas became aware of the beeps, pattering around him like the sound of raindrops falling on a metal roof. Some of the crowd must have agreed with Ciro.

Excitement broiled up in Adan’s chest. “We get to be here for the upset?”

“I think so.”

Ciro grinned when he saw his brother’s half smile.

Vas turned his attention to the match. He wanted to see every glorious moment, so he missed the slow transformation of Ciro’s grin into a frown.

“Something’s wrong,” Ciro said.

“What?” Vas said.

“Something’s wrong with Three. His reaction time is down, and he’s not hitting with the same power.”

“Is Dionysus throwing the fight?”

Tennama pulled Vas around and pointed to the edge of the ring. “Look at him.”

Adan saw what Anthony meant. There was no way that man was throwing the fight. His grief and frustration were real. When Vanguard tore off Three’s arm, Dionysus ripped the headset from his ear and threw it to the ground. He turned away, covering his eyes with one hand, while Vanguard finished dismembering his work.

The crowd didn’t know its mind. There were groans scattered in with cheers. It was as if everyone could keenly feel both the win and the loss.

So close.

The audience began to disperse. Vas could hear moaning from a few ill-advised betters, but on the whole, most accepted their loss with only minor self-reproach.

The captain turned toward the aisle, but Ciro was between him and the exit. The look on his brother’s face stopped him.

“He’s here.” Ciro turned to Vas. “Bobbin is here.”

Tennama and Vas immediately started scanning the crowd.

“How do you know?” Vas said, his eyes still searching for anything out of place.

“What does he look like?” Tennama asked.

“I don’t know! Look for someone with a tablet or a phone.”

Adan broke off his inspection and turned to his brother. “Everyone’s got a phone on this planet. We’ve got a phone.”

“And a smug face?”

“How do you know he’s here?”

“Three was hacked. Someone went in, slowed him down, and inched back the power in his actuators. It was so subtle! There were a lot of long-shot bets riding on that fight. If Bobbin works for the house—you know how the house hates to lose.”

“If these fights were being hacked, someone would’ve noticed.”

“Adan, I know what I’m talking about! Most of these people aren’t experts, and even the experts don’t think it’s possible.”

“But you do?”

“I spent a year trying to figure out how to hack a bot. I wouldn’t have even thought of it tonight if I hadn’t seen Dionysus throw down his earpiece. That must be the connection he’s using.”

Tennama gave up the search. “It’s no good. The crowd’s too thick, and we don’t know who we’re looking—”

The xeno stopped when Vas put up his hand.

Staring hard at his brother, Adan said, “Ciro, how do you know it’s Bobbin?”

Ciro said, “Because only a god-like hacker could do it.”