Vi stands over her, pipe still raised, chest heaving.
For a moment, I think she’s going to hit her again. But she doesn’t. She just lowers the pipe slowly and steps back.
I move to her side, hand on her shoulder. “You done?”
Vi nods once, breathing hard.
I turn to the woman. She’s still on her knees, clutching her ribs, blood dripping from her mouth.
I crouch down in front of her. “You’re done in this hub. Done in this section. If I see you near her again, if I even hear you said her name, I won’t stop next time. Understood?”
The girl spits blood at my feet. “Fuck you.”
I stand. Look at Sting and Rogue. “Get her out of here.”
They move without hesitation, grabbing her by the arms and hauling her to her feet. She struggles, weak, ineffective, but they drag her toward the corridor mouth.
“Wait,” the girl gasps, looking back at Vi. “This isn’t over?—”
Sting slams her against the wall. “Yes. It is.”
Then they’re gone.
The tunnel falls silent except for the drip of water and Vi’s ragged breathing.
I turn to her. “You hurt?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Good.” I take the pipe from her hands, set it aside. “You did well.”
She stares at the blood on the floor where the girl fell. “I wanted to keep hitting her.”
“I know.”
“But I didn’t.”
“I know,” I repeat. “That’s why you did well.”
She looks up at me, eyes still blazing with adrenaline. “What happens now?”
“Now,” I say, “we go back.”
61
ARMEN
We don’t go backto the hub.
Instead, I lead her up. Through the service stairwell, past the locked door, into the Skylight Room.
The space is quiet, familiar. Starlight filters through the clouded glass, casting silver across the concrete. The lantern burns low on the crate. Blankets still layered in the center from last time.
Vi stops in the middle of the room, staring up at the glass. “Would you have killed her?”
“If we had to.”
She swallows. “And you wouldn’t feel bad about it.”
