Read Online Winterbay by J. Barton Mitchell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: J. Barton Mitchell
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reached for the artifacts on the bench and started clipping them to the straps, trying not to let her shaking hands show.
“You know, the reward for you is higher than any bounty I’ve ever seen,” Armitage said casually.
Mira looked up at him warily, but Armitage stared back with an almost insulted look. “May be lucrative for a bounty hunter, but it’s spare change to me, girl. I’m a lot more interested in our arrangement. Makes me curious, though. What’d you do to earn that kind of attention from the Gray Devils?”
Mira looked down. This wasn’t her favorite subject. “I used to be one of them,” she said. Armitage raised an eyebrow in interest. “I … made something I shouldn’t have. Something they wanted.”
“Wanted pretty bad, looks like,” Armitage replied. “Artifact combination, I’d guess.”
Mira just kept gearing up, clipping the artifacts she’d made to the straps. “Could be.”
Armitage smiled. “Like I said, only thing I’m interested in is our arrangement.”
“And I still don’t know what that arrangement really is. You still haven’t told me what this Machine’s protecting.” Mira tried to look nonchalant as she moved toward her pack in the corner where she’d thrown it.
“Are you sure you really wanna know?” Armitage asked from behind. “Odds are you won’t like the answer.”
“I think I’d like to know what I’m risking my life for, yeah,” Mira said. She slowly knelt down to her pack, and as she did, she pulled the triangular combination she’d made a moment ago out of her pocket.
“But you do know.” Mira heard Armitage pat the black case. “You’re risking your life for this. Only one risking anything for the Machine is me. ”
“What are you risking, exactly?”
“Lots of things.” Armitage looked at Reiko. “A valuable associate. Respect topside. All these artifacts I’ve collected over the years. You’re a Freebooter, you know better than most that risk comes with the game.”
In a smooth motion she hoped was blocked by her back, Mira set the combination upright in the corner, making sure to face the business end toward the center of the room. No one behind her seemed to notice. “Are you gonna tell me or not?”
Armitage paused. “An idea. ”
Mira grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder, looking at Armitage dubiously as she did. “The Machine is guarding … an idea?”
“Told you you wouldn’t like it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Armitage studied her a moment. “Might not guess it now, but I grew up in a pretty unintimidating environment; nice, cushy, cardboard cutout neighborhood in Jersey. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t scary. All places have their scary parts, and mine was school. I didn’t fit in real well, and when people don’t fit in they usually end up adopting the same strategy: keep a low profile, stay off the radar. There was one kid, though, name was Max. Big brute of a kid, looked about ten years older than he was, and he was a tyrant. Sent more than one kid to the hospital, did a stint in juvenile, the usual, and it seemed no matter how low I tried to keep, he always spotted me. I took four beatings by Max before I finally got tired of it.”
Mira reached the workbench again and leaned against it, trying to keep herself in between Armitage, Reiko, and the combination she’d left in the corner. Everything depended on them not seeing it sitting there.
“I had this real nice bike my dad got me,” he kept on. “It was a Schwinn racer, red and silver, I still remember it. Everyone at school dug that bike, including Max. He told me lots of times he was going to take it, take it and hurt me real bad. So every day after school for a week I deflated my front tire and got my air pump out. I waited for Max, kept my back to the yard, let him see me, alone, with the bike. One day, eventually, he took the bait.”
Armitage’s gaze lost its softness, and he stared into Mira in a
“You know, the reward for you is higher than any bounty I’ve ever seen,” Armitage said casually.
Mira looked up at him warily, but Armitage stared back with an almost insulted look. “May be lucrative for a bounty hunter, but it’s spare change to me, girl. I’m a lot more interested in our arrangement. Makes me curious, though. What’d you do to earn that kind of attention from the Gray Devils?”
Mira looked down. This wasn’t her favorite subject. “I used to be one of them,” she said. Armitage raised an eyebrow in interest. “I … made something I shouldn’t have. Something they wanted.”
“Wanted pretty bad, looks like,” Armitage replied. “Artifact combination, I’d guess.”
Mira just kept gearing up, clipping the artifacts she’d made to the straps. “Could be.”
Armitage smiled. “Like I said, only thing I’m interested in is our arrangement.”
“And I still don’t know what that arrangement really is. You still haven’t told me what this Machine’s protecting.” Mira tried to look nonchalant as she moved toward her pack in the corner where she’d thrown it.
“Are you sure you really wanna know?” Armitage asked from behind. “Odds are you won’t like the answer.”
“I think I’d like to know what I’m risking my life for, yeah,” Mira said. She slowly knelt down to her pack, and as she did, she pulled the triangular combination she’d made a moment ago out of her pocket.
“But you do know.” Mira heard Armitage pat the black case. “You’re risking your life for this. Only one risking anything for the Machine is me. ”
“What are you risking, exactly?”
“Lots of things.” Armitage looked at Reiko. “A valuable associate. Respect topside. All these artifacts I’ve collected over the years. You’re a Freebooter, you know better than most that risk comes with the game.”
In a smooth motion she hoped was blocked by her back, Mira set the combination upright in the corner, making sure to face the business end toward the center of the room. No one behind her seemed to notice. “Are you gonna tell me or not?”
Armitage paused. “An idea. ”
Mira grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder, looking at Armitage dubiously as she did. “The Machine is guarding … an idea?”
“Told you you wouldn’t like it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Armitage studied her a moment. “Might not guess it now, but I grew up in a pretty unintimidating environment; nice, cushy, cardboard cutout neighborhood in Jersey. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t scary. All places have their scary parts, and mine was school. I didn’t fit in real well, and when people don’t fit in they usually end up adopting the same strategy: keep a low profile, stay off the radar. There was one kid, though, name was Max. Big brute of a kid, looked about ten years older than he was, and he was a tyrant. Sent more than one kid to the hospital, did a stint in juvenile, the usual, and it seemed no matter how low I tried to keep, he always spotted me. I took four beatings by Max before I finally got tired of it.”
Mira reached the workbench again and leaned against it, trying to keep herself in between Armitage, Reiko, and the combination she’d left in the corner. Everything depended on them not seeing it sitting there.
“I had this real nice bike my dad got me,” he kept on. “It was a Schwinn racer, red and silver, I still remember it. Everyone at school dug that bike, including Max. He told me lots of times he was going to take it, take it and hurt me real bad. So every day after school for a week I deflated my front tire and got my air pump out. I waited for Max, kept my back to the yard, let him see me, alone, with the bike. One day, eventually, he took the bait.”
Armitage’s gaze lost its softness, and he stared into Mira in a
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