“Yeah,” she says. “That’s her.”
The man looks Vi up and down, then snorts. “Doesn’t look like much.”
“She’s bound to three,” the woman with them adds. Older, hard-faced. “That makes her worth something.”
The girl’s smile widens. “Or makes her a target.”
I take a step forward. “You have five seconds to leave.”
The girl laughs. “Or what? You’ll fight all of us? Four against three?”
“Four against four,” Sting corrects, nodding toward Vi.
The woman’s gaze flicks to Vi, then back to me. “She can barely walk. You really think she’s going to help?”
“I think,” I say slowly, “that you’re about to find out what happens when you threaten what’s ours.”
The scarred man shifts his grip on the pipe. “Big talk.”
Rogue’s voice cuts in, quiet, amused. “Want to test it?”
For a moment, no one moves. Then the girl nods.
The man lunges.
60
ARMEN
Everything happens fast.
Sting moves first, intercepting the man, grabbing the pipe mid-swing and twisting hard. There’s a sharp crack, bone breaking, and the man screams. Sting drives his knee into the man’s gut, then shoves him back into the wall. He crumples.
The woman with the chain swings at Rogue. He ducks, grabs the chain mid-swing, and yanks her forward. She stumbles. He drives his elbow into her face. Blood sprays. She drops.
The second man comes at me, knife out, quick and low. I sidestep, grab his wrist, and twist until the knife clatters to the floor. Then I slam my fist into his jaw. Once. Twice. He goes down hard.
The girl doesn’t move. Just watches. Calculating.
Then she looks at Vi. And pulls a knife from her belt.
“Vi!” I shout.
But Vi’s already moving.
She grabs a length of pipe from the ground, one of the weapons the others dropped, and swings hard. The woman dodges, but not fast enough. The pipe catches her shoulder. She hisses, stumbles back.
Vi swings again. This time, the girl blocks with her knife. Metal hits metal with a sharp clang.
They’re face-to-face now, breathing hard.
“You think you’re special?” the girl spits. “You’re just another Runt who got lucky.”
“And you’re just a useless bitch who doesn’t know when to stop.”
Vi shoves her back, hard, and swings the pipe again. This time, it connects with ribs. There’s a sickening crack.
The girls screams, drops her knife, and falls to her knees.
