The Two Towers by Jamie A. Waters Page A

her?”
    Carl’s fist shot out and he punched the man square in the face. Kayla heard an audible crunch and blood gushed from Ramiro’s nose. “You bastard! You’re going to pay for that!” Ramiro yelled.
    Carl growled, “Get the hell out of my camp.”
    Cruncher pushed Vex toward the door and yelled for Xantham and Zane who appeared a moment later. Along with Veridian, the four men forcibly escorted Ramiro and Vex out of the camp.
    As soon as they were gone, Carl turned to look at Kayla. She gaped at him, incredulous that he had defended her against another trader. She could feel the side of her face beginning to swell, but it was insignificant compared to the emotions coursing through her. She swallowed, and decided it might be best to make light of the situation.
    “Well, shit, Carl.”
    “What?”
    “I wanted to be the one to hit him.”
    Carl stared at her for a moment. He shook his head in disbelief and laughed. “Are you okay? It looked like he hit you pretty hard.”
    “He hits like a girl,” she replied and touched her swollen cheek.
    “As I recall from earlier, some girls can hit pretty hard.”
    Kayla considered that for a minute and then admitted, “Well, I guess he hits like a pissed off girl, then.”
    He chuckled and reached out to touch her cheek. Although his touch was gentle, she winced.
    “You need an ice pack on that cheek. Come with me and we’ll get you fixed up.”
    “Do I get more of that scotch?” she asked with interest.
    “Against my better judgment, but sure,” he agreed, and grabbed the bottle from the drawer. He took her hand and led her out to the common room. Plopping herself down in one of the seats, she poured herself a glass of the liquor while Carl put together an ice pack for her.
    Corsin came into the room followed by a tall, fair-skinned, willowy redhead with hazel eyes. The girl asked, “We heard the commotion. What’s going on?”
    Carl handed Kayla the ice pack and introduced her to Jinx, a former ruin rat. “We had an incident with Ramiro.”
    Jinx sat down next to Kayla, studying her cheek. “Wow, the bastard hit you? I knew I never liked that guy.” Kayla pressed the ice against her cheek and winced. That made two of them.
    Kayla looked up at the sound of excited voices to see Xantham, Cruncher, Zane, and Veridian enter the room.
    “Holy shit balls,” Xantham exclaimed. “What the hell happened?”
    Cruncher shook his head and stared at Kayla in amazement. “Unbelievable. You were the one who stole the Aurelia Data Cube?”
    Xantham’s eyes grew huge. “No freaking way! That was you?”
    Kayla looked around in exasperation, lowering the ice pack from her cheek. “I don’t know why everyone seems to have a hard time believing that. And it’s not entirely accurate. I stole it back. That pustulant zit on the ass of humanity stole it from me in the first place.”
    Xantham climbed over the chair and sat down. “I’ve gotta’ hear this story. You better start talking, girl.”
    Carl nodded. “I’m curious too.”
    The crew gathered around while Kayla pressed the ice pack against her face and took a sip of her drink. She didn't usually subscribe to the practice of swapping personal tales with trader crews, but she figured she owed them an explanation. They hadn't thrown her out on her butt and Carl had actually stood up for her against another trader. She gave him a long look, contemplating once again the sincerity of his earlier words.
    He leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest like some sort of ancient warrior standing sentinel over his troops. His gaze, along with the rest of the crew, focused on her and she resisted the urge to squirm under the scrutiny of an entire trader camp. She spared a quick glance at Veridian and he gave her a nod of encouragement. Somewhat reassured by his presence, she took a deep, steadying breath and began.
    “Veridian and I were scavenging in a sector Ramiro’s crew cleared the week before. I didn't