The two hover at my back as I descend into the basement. The place is packed wall to wall. "Human," someone hisses at me, but I ignore them, heading straight to the cage where the two fighters face each other.
Declan and Laurie help me push through the thick bodies but I reach the chain link fence just in time for Parker to finish announcing the start of the fight.
I'm too late.
~.~
Sam
THE CROWD'S cries fade to a dull roar as Nash and I circle each other.
Nash's eyes are always bright with the lion. Up close, no one would mistake him for a sane shifter.
"You shouldn't be here," he tells me.
"You're right." I put up my fists. He blinks but automatically balances his weight, readying himself for the fight.
"We're the same, you and I," I say, ducking his first punch. I may not have much weight behind me, but it makes me fast in a fight.
"Do I know you?"
"No. But you should. We have the same mission." I take a half-hearted swipe at him, because the crowd is yelling at us to get on with it.
His brow furrows as that sinks in. "You're special forces?"
"No. I'm taking down Data-X."
Something flashes through his eyes and then it's gone. "I don't know what you're talking about."
For a second I believe him. It's possible he suffered so much trauma that he doesn't remember.
"I was there the night you escaped. Another wolf shifter let you out. Remember?"
Nash doesn't say anything but his lips curl up in a snarl. If he doesn't remember the Alpha Project, his lion does. He comes after me, punching.
"It's gone." I retreat, ducking and slipping behind him. The crowd mocks me.
"What?" Nash's voice is mostly a growl.
"The Data-X compound. Well, that one. The cell where they kept you and every piece of equipment. It's gone. Wiped off the face of the earth." I manage to land a punch in his side before he hits my jaw with a right hook that sends me flying back up against the cage.
"How do you know?" He lunges for me, fist cocked.
I duck and roll, pop up behind him. "I'm the one who set the bombs."
For a second Nash just stares at me. I get that reaction a lot, when I admit to blowing things up.
"You're not lying," he murmurs.
"I stole their data too. Research files, everything-wiped from their system."
He shakes his head. "Kid… you're crazy."
"Smash him," someone shrieks in the crowd. They're here for a fight. They want more blood.
Nash seems to remember where he is. He shifts his weight between the balls of his feet. Something in his eyes alerts me a second before his fist snaps out.
I dodge it but just barely. I can't stop my smile. If Nash really wanted to hit me, he'd hit me. This is all for show.
I jab at him, dancing out of the way when he comes after me. For a few seconds, we spar. A couple punches land, but nothing serious.
"Is this why you challenged me? To tell me all this?"
"And ask you to help me. I'm going to take them down. I need your help to fight them."
Nash sucks in a breath. The light in his eyes flares bright, then dies. "I can't. My lion won't let me."
"No, your lion wants to. You're holding him back." I jab my fists at him, and twist out of reach. When I come back, I'm not facing Nash.
I'm facing the lion.
~.~
Layne
THE CROWD MURMURS AROUND US. Something is wrong. Nash and Sam move around the cage, almost mock fighting. They're talking, but I can't hear what they're saying.
Then, it all changes.
Nash's fist flies out, catching Sam's jaw. I wince as Sam goes flying and crashes into the opposite wall.
The Pit shakes with the crowd's gleeful roar.
"Feck," Declan mutters.
I fight forward until I'm gripping the chain links of the cage. Sam is back on his feet, dodging and weaving as Nash pounds on him. Blood spurts from his broken nose after a massive punch.
"We have to stop this," I cry.
"Too late, lass. Just pray when Sam goes down, he stays down."
~.~
Sam
VISION BLURRING, I swipe sweat from my eyes. My jaw throbs, body aching. Shifters regenerate pretty quickly, but pain is pain. Punches still hurt.
And if Nash lands enough of them in a row, I'll eventually fall. My skin will knit together, but recovering from a blow to the head can take time.
I need Nash to look at the footage and tell me what he knows. I'm out of leads on Data-X. He's my one shot to get Smyth.
I've gotta win this.
Nash slams another punch to my head. I move in time for it to hit, but not knock me out. I get in a few jabs of my own-feeble punches compared to Nash's crippling haymaker.
But I've got one more card to play.
"I saw her," I pant when Nash and I have gone back to circling each other, staying close to the corners. "The lioness they put in the cell with you."
"One of many." Behind his blank expression, his eyes are sad.
I shake my head. "Not this one. This one was special. Her name was Denali."
Nash blinks, going still. He drops his fighter's stance as his eyes flare bright. He remembers.
"That's right," I say softly. "You remember her, don't you? Even if you don't, your lion does."
"They made me." His breath comes rapidly. "They put females in the cell and they made me-"
"She was more than that to you." I press on, even though Nash's shoulders hunch, his body reacting to protect him from the memory. "That's why you remember her. Denali."
"No," he growls. "Don't say her name."