the
missing money. Nova hadn't really expected them to; Cracos had
already had his own security staff scour over every second of
recorded video from the casino's extensive security system.
"Another dead end," Nova said, slapping the
control panel. Tabryn was proving even more horrid than she had
originally thought.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
A vice-like grip clenched Nova's heart as
she slouched down the all-too-familiar street. The pavement was
cracked with the occasional weed pushing its pathetic way towards
the sun. Dull grey buildings, decorated with graffiti, pressed in
on her. Slogans pronounced various gang allegiances and down an
alley a painted monkey smoked on a cigar. Mixed amongst the names
and gangs were cries for help. No Way Back was a common tag in this
area of the city, one of the bleakest areas of Outer Tabryn: the
urchin district.
This was where Nova had grown up. Here, she
had spilled her first blood, and here she had learned to fight.
There wasn't much about her childhood that she liked to remember.
Looking up at windows still broken from her youth, reminded her of
how little the universe changed. She felt like she'd been running
her whole life from that grim reality and yet here she was; her
feet stepping down the same dirty pavement, breathing in the same
smoggy air, and passing the same broken hovels.
What the hell was she doing back here?
But of course if something big was happening
in Tabryn, like a major steal from the planet's biggest casino,
then Roxanne would know. Roxanne. Nova's memories of her were
clouded, usually by cigarette smoke. She ran a brothel and an
orphanage. In a place like Tabryn, A always led to B.
Nova didn't remember arriving at Roxanne's
door. Maybe she'd been born right there on one of the dirty beds?
Nobody knew, and Roxanne had seen so many children come and go she
wouldn't have been able to tell her. In Nova's memory, Roxanne was
always wearing a deep red silk dress. It had a puffy underskirt
which ballooned out in a bell. Apparently, they were all the rage
in old-century Earth and Roxanne was determined to see them make a
come-back.
Roxanne's hair was always made up to
perfection; a bun with tantalising wisps of auburn hair framing her
face. She had jewels aplenty which glittered in the buzzing
electric bulbs of the broken-down house. She had been stern,
unyielding, and determined to survive in a world where everyone
else was dying. That was Roxanne.
Nova took a deep breath as she turned the
last corner into the street she'd grown up on. Why did everything
have to look the same? The tumbledown buildings, even individual
bricks, lay exactly as she remembered. A broken toy lay abandoned
on the sidewalk. Maybe it had been one of hers? Once upon a
time.
The evening was setting fast, but she
couldn't have come any earlier. Anyone who knew anything, would
have told her that Roxanne's didn't open until dark. Everyone would
be asleep while the sun was up.
The street glowed with dying orange and
purple shades, all was quiet, except for one house.
In this region of Tabryn there weren't many
houses, having been replaced with big apartment blocks, but Roxanne
loved old things. She had insisted, and through sheer force of
will, had managed to keep the old house.
Light poured out of the windows and music
flooded out onto the street. It was a charming attempt at happiness
in the bleak and dreary neighbourhood.
Unlike the rest of the city, Roxanne's house
had changed since Nova had last been there. Bits of it had fallen
down and been replaced. There was even a new room tacked onto the
side. Two doors led into the building, the one on the left was
coloured red with a silhouette of a woman painted on its front, and
it led into the warm room filled with music. The blue door on the
right hung from rusted hinges and the dim light behind was
accompanied by silence instead of music.
Nova took a deep breath. She could barely
remember the last time she'd been here. Before she left
missing money. Nova hadn't really expected them to; Cracos had
already had his own security staff scour over every second of
recorded video from the casino's extensive security system.
"Another dead end," Nova said, slapping the
control panel. Tabryn was proving even more horrid than she had
originally thought.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
A vice-like grip clenched Nova's heart as
she slouched down the all-too-familiar street. The pavement was
cracked with the occasional weed pushing its pathetic way towards
the sun. Dull grey buildings, decorated with graffiti, pressed in
on her. Slogans pronounced various gang allegiances and down an
alley a painted monkey smoked on a cigar. Mixed amongst the names
and gangs were cries for help. No Way Back was a common tag in this
area of the city, one of the bleakest areas of Outer Tabryn: the
urchin district.
This was where Nova had grown up. Here, she
had spilled her first blood, and here she had learned to fight.
There wasn't much about her childhood that she liked to remember.
Looking up at windows still broken from her youth, reminded her of
how little the universe changed. She felt like she'd been running
her whole life from that grim reality and yet here she was; her
feet stepping down the same dirty pavement, breathing in the same
smoggy air, and passing the same broken hovels.
What the hell was she doing back here?
But of course if something big was happening
in Tabryn, like a major steal from the planet's biggest casino,
then Roxanne would know. Roxanne. Nova's memories of her were
clouded, usually by cigarette smoke. She ran a brothel and an
orphanage. In a place like Tabryn, A always led to B.
Nova didn't remember arriving at Roxanne's
door. Maybe she'd been born right there on one of the dirty beds?
Nobody knew, and Roxanne had seen so many children come and go she
wouldn't have been able to tell her. In Nova's memory, Roxanne was
always wearing a deep red silk dress. It had a puffy underskirt
which ballooned out in a bell. Apparently, they were all the rage
in old-century Earth and Roxanne was determined to see them make a
come-back.
Roxanne's hair was always made up to
perfection; a bun with tantalising wisps of auburn hair framing her
face. She had jewels aplenty which glittered in the buzzing
electric bulbs of the broken-down house. She had been stern,
unyielding, and determined to survive in a world where everyone
else was dying. That was Roxanne.
Nova took a deep breath as she turned the
last corner into the street she'd grown up on. Why did everything
have to look the same? The tumbledown buildings, even individual
bricks, lay exactly as she remembered. A broken toy lay abandoned
on the sidewalk. Maybe it had been one of hers? Once upon a
time.
The evening was setting fast, but she
couldn't have come any earlier. Anyone who knew anything, would
have told her that Roxanne's didn't open until dark. Everyone would
be asleep while the sun was up.
The street glowed with dying orange and
purple shades, all was quiet, except for one house.
In this region of Tabryn there weren't many
houses, having been replaced with big apartment blocks, but Roxanne
loved old things. She had insisted, and through sheer force of
will, had managed to keep the old house.
Light poured out of the windows and music
flooded out onto the street. It was a charming attempt at happiness
in the bleak and dreary neighbourhood.
Unlike the rest of the city, Roxanne's house
had changed since Nova had last been there. Bits of it had fallen
down and been replaced. There was even a new room tacked onto the
side. Two doors led into the building, the one on the left was
coloured red with a silhouette of a woman painted on its front, and
it led into the warm room filled with music. The blue door on the
right hung from rusted hinges and the dim light behind was
accompanied by silence instead of music.
Nova took a deep breath. She could barely
remember the last time she'd been here. Before she left
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