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Conii let out an enraged scream before trying to run off.
A squad of other soldiers from the casino made to follow her, but Ryrik stayed back with me.
“Shouldn’t you go after her?”
He shook his head. “I trust our team. Even if she uses her little hidey holes, we’ve got this place surrounded.” He reached for my hand. “Our first priority is Isa right now.”
The knot in my chest loosened, just a bit. He was right. Today was Conii’s last day of power, but Isa still needed help.
RYRIK
“She’s this way!” Amber yelled through the haze.
“How do you know?” I asked, unsure if she was right. We didn’t have time for hunches, guesses, or anything in between. With Conii still on the move, time ticked to close the door on the trouble she created.
“The door!”
I blinked. Had Amber read my thoughts? I realized she pointed to a heavy gray permisteel door, set back into a shadowed corner of the hallway.
“I saw one just like it on the monitor,” she said. “It didn't click before, but one of the security monitors kept showing a plain door with the number 43 on it. They wouldn't monitor it for no reason.”
“This doesn’t have a number,” I answered. “So…”
Amber shook her head. “Nowhere else in the compound has a door like this. If there’s a secret area where Conii keeps captives, wouldn’t she use the same strong door for the entire area? It’s got to be down this way, right?”
I shrugged. Good enough for me. And we didn’t have any other leads.
“Then let’s move,” I said, grabbing a plasma pistol from one of Conii’s deceased followers and blasting the lock open.
Amber grabbed a pistol for herself and checked to see if it was energized and ready for use. I would’ve loved to kiss the girl then and there, but Conii was under my skin and it was time to pluck her like the thorn she was.
I meant to end her once and for all, but Amber was right. We had a person to rescue. It was one of those moments I had to hope Celestia was looking out for us. A decision made in the ordinary way of things was a trade-off. One life for another.
That wasn’t going to work. It was time to put a stop to Conii once and for all. But neither of us were willing to trade anything to do it. Certainly not a life.
No, Conii had to go. Would other rival gangs pop up in her place? Sure. They always did. That was the nature of the game and the rules of the life dedicated terms not everyone could live by. But looking over at the now orange-red head of the woman who stole my heart, I thought I had finally found someone who could handle those terms.
She was hot on the trail, leading me down to the bottom of the staircase where a keypad stood between us and answers. I shot the door with expert marksmanship, hitting the keypad with perfect diligence and causing the door to swing wide open for us.
“After you,” I said with a gentlemanly flair. I couldn't help myself. There was a boylike playfulness in hunting down the mark. My blood pumped with a rush of excitement, my nerves were cool with anticipation of how we might end this rival once and for all.
After a bit of a hike, Amber found the door. Number 43. She looked back at me before she banged on it. “Is anyone in there?”
“My God. Amber? Please tell me it’s you.” A weak voice came from the other side. Isa.
“It’s me, Isa. We’ve come to get you out. Stand back and cover your ears.” Amber locked eyes with me, dictating my mark on the door pad in question. I felt a pull deep within my groin with the way she trusted me to nail the mark without hurting her friend.
“Oh, Isa, are you hurt?” Amber softened into a perfect mother in the half-second that followed, soothing her friend and checking her cuts and bruises.
“It’s just a bruise here and there,” Isa said, gripping her wrists where the handcuffs used to be. “They mostly tortured me with shitty food.”
Amber embraced her again, apparently happy that the ordeal didn't break her friend's spirit. I would have loved to have given them more time. But we didn’t have that option.
“We need to move,” I warned them, breaking them apart with my words. I saw my Amber darken with the order again. Something in her came to life. Like spirits I had only read about in ancient Vinduthi texts, she acted from somewhere deep, somewhere primal.
“We need to go further in,” she said, pulling the side arm back from her hip. “This place is a maze. Conii will dive into this dump like the rat she is.”
I’m no romantic, but she had me at the word ‘rat.’ I swept her into my arms and planted a kiss on her that sent her back. Those three little words beckoned me from within. I had to withstand it. This victory would’ve been a short one if I let anything distract me from the task at hand.
