My mobile link started buzzing, and I picked it up from the coffee table.
“Hello?” I said, resisting the urge to answer with my surname, like I used to do with my old work phone.
It was Crash. “Hey, you ready to go?”
“On my way down now. Meet you on level seven.”
“Roger. Out.”
I laughed and hung up. Veraa watched me from the couch, looking a little sad. As I stood by the door, I shrugged into my backpack and tightened the straps, then clipped my gun belt around my waist. “What’s up, Veraa?”
She sighed. “Wish you didn’t have to go.”
“Well, think about it like this: when I get back, we can go on date number three.”
I clipped the holster’s retaining straps around my right thigh, giving the whole thing a shake to make sure it was stable. Satisfied, I pulled out my sidearm, checked it, loaded a mag, and shoved it back into the holster. It was good to be suiting up, like old times, even if it was just a backpack and holster. “Locked and loaded.”
Veraa got up and walked over to me. Before I could react, she had thrown her arms around my shoulders and planted her lips firmly on mine. After a moment, she pulled away. “You stay safe, Sam, you hear me?”
I smiled. “Yes, ma’am. Anyway, I thought you might come down to the dock to see me off.”
She looked like she hadn’t thought of that. “Oh. Yeah! Okay, let me change clothes quickly.”
She dashed off to her room. I pulled out my link and sent Crash a message that simply said ‘delayed five’ to let her know I was running late.
Five minutes later, we were in the lift and on our way from thirty-three down to seven. The doors pinged and slid open, and Veraa and I walked hand in hand. Crash joined us a moment later, falling into step beside me, and Veraa suddenly let go. I laughed.
“G’day, Crash.”
“Hey. Who’s this?”
“Veraa, friend of mine. Veraa, this is Ashleigh Potter. Former Second Lieutenant, Confederate Marines.”
Crash winked at her. “G’day. Call me Crash.”
“Hi. You’re Australian too?”
“Yeah, known him since we were kids.”
All three of us jumped as there was a shout behind us. “Potter!”
We all spun. A tall, bald, giant of a man was barrelling toward us, shoving people aside as he ran.
“Bugger,” said Crash calmly, before sprinting along the corridor. I grabbed Veraa by the wrist and pulled her along as we ran.
“Who is that?” she yelled.
“Dunno, but Crash said she and her boyfriend are in some trouble with a couple of guys they knew. Must be one of them.”
We ran like mad, with Crash in the lead. Three turns out from the Raven, I gave Veraa a push. “Go. Go with Crash.”
“What about you?”
“Honey, I’ve got a gun! Just go.”
She nodded. “Stay safe.”
I slowed down some. “Hey, Crash!”
Crash looked back as she ran on. I pointed to Veraa.
“Take the girl. I’ll hold him off.”
Crash reversed, seemingly in mid-stride, grabbed Veraa by the arm and they ran. I spun around in the middle of the corridor and waited.
Life on the Fringes 