Slipping the Grid

Unfortunately there is no gratification in submission (although there might be some themes suitable for a good imagination). If you happen to like this and haven't read the first chapter, I'd suggest you read the first. (Thank you to Lit for story tags, I always go blank when I submit.) Also I hope everyone had a great new year!

--

"Why?!"

Lexa squared her shoulders. She had set herself up for some resistance, but she hadn't quite expected Sterling's reaction.

"It's just time for me to move on." She gritted her teeth. Telling him while they were walking outside now, seemed like a mistake. She should have told him somewhere quiet, or private.

She looked at Sterling who had stopped. His square jaw was set and he looked angry. Lexa sighed and looked up at the brickwork on the building, before turning her attention back to him. "Look, I should've said something before Max accepted the new task, but don't worry I will stay until the task is completed."

"Yeah, I guess so. Eight hundred is a lot to walk away from." Sterling sneered.

Lexa frowned, it was so unlike him. In the six months he'd always been the sturdy, dependable one, keeping the group together. Occasionally he lost his temper, but in this situation, who didn't? This was different though.

Lexa straightened suddenly feeling offended. "Yes, you're right, it is a lot to walk away from; however, I knew nothing about the next task and if you want—you know what—take my cut. I'm happy to walk away now, but I only wanted to stay because we all trust each other." She wasn't bluffing. "Look, you are all good, better than most. You could easily do it without me."

Sterling's shoulders slumped. "We accepted the task as a group of five. I appreciate that you're willing to stay onboard, you know how hard it is to find a replacement to trust so quickly and for a job this big... I thought..."

"You thought what?"

"I don't know. I just don't know..." The tiredness was there again, at the edge of his voice.

"Look..." Lexa walked towards him.

For a tall solid man, he suddenly seemed a lot smaller. The lines at the edge of his eyes were deep as though he hadn't slept for weeks. He hadn't cut his hair in awhile and now the sandy blond strands licked past the nape of his neck.

She took a deep breath and exhaled noisily. She wanted to tell him that she enjoyed working with the group, that six months was a record, but she couldn't afford to be emotionally involved and she didn't want to give Sterling any hope that she'd stay on after this. There were things she needed to do.

"It's okay. Just... just don't tell the rest of the group. I don't want them distracted." He sounded defeated.

She wanted to reason with him. How could they be distracted? It wasn't as though she'd done anything, she was just moving on. Instead she nodded and he began to walk again, falling in step beside her. They were quiet until they reached their next meeting place near the industrial area under a bridge.

Winton and Tanner were already waiting in a car and Max was walking up from the opposite direction. The bridge ran over the river and sounds of traffic echoed above them. Lexa looked around. The concrete pillars were covered in graffiti. There were a few rusted out car bodies nearby, she didn't like this place any more than the old bar they'd met at.

Max was puffing as arrived.

"How did it go?" Sterling asked.

Max shook his head. "You're not going to believe this but an accident apparently took out the electricity for a few blocks on the same morning. There's no footage."

"That's convenient." Sterling frowned. "What about you two?"

Winton shrugged. "Don't know. The limo driver doesn't seem to be working at the moment. Nothing unusual appears to have happened."

"Shit." Sterling spat on the ground. "Should have known it was too good to be true. No task with a payout that big was ever going to be easy."

"Did you get anything?" The voice came from inside the car and they turned to see Tanner looking from behind Winton's head.

Sterling shook his head. "No go there. My fault probably, we didn't prepare well enough. Fairchild's offices are located at the top of their building. Eightieth floor and upwards. All the employees know that he's gone. All his meetings have been cancelled, for how long, we're not sure. There wasn't much to see or read from the place. That's the only strange part, that everyone seems to know that he's gone. They haven't gone to any lengths to hide it from the office, yet they don't want it to get out."

He sighed noisily. "Stick with the limo driver, he was the last one, so he has to know something."

He turned to Max. "See if you can find out whether the limo was lojacked. I want to know his movements for the last few months, further back if you can get it and we'll go over and see if there are any discrepancies in the routes. We don't really want to start working the grid, do we boys?"

* * *

Famous last words. It was a good thing the job was paying well, but that was only provided they found him. After a long heated discussion the group agreed on pooling the payout from the last task.

Lexa was sullen, almost disbelieving what she'd just agreed to. It was bad enough she hadn't moved on from the group quickly enough, and that she'd allowed Sterling to talk her into going to the Fairchild offices, now she'd allowed them to talk her into working on the grid. It was like being on jury duty, going over the facts of the task, and one by one conceding that there appeared to be no other way. Lexa was staunch in her opposition as they argued, but in the end she had no alternative to offer.

The anger was a rock in a pit of her stomach, being with this group had made her weak. Tanner was the only one who hadn't appeared to get caught up in the heat of the arguments. He offered his opinion when asked and despite his cool mask, Lexa could sense a hint of amusement as he watched the rest of the group thrash it out, even more so with each of Lexa's objections. It made her want to punch him in the mouth, and she wished that for a moment he would actually look smug enough for her to do it, even though it meant that he'd have sliced straight up her belly before her fist even connected with his face. On the trail end of that image, Tanner's pale blue eyes flashed to her as if he'd heard her thought, any inkling of amusement she'd detected was now non-existent. He held her eyes for several moments as Sterling, Max and Winton discussed some options and he suddenly smiled at her uncharacteristically, but it was no smile. It was a look that made Lexa feel as though he was imagining the pleasure of filleting her with a knife.

Lexa interrupted the discussion. "Max, who gave you the task?"

The three of the turned to her.

"The usual distributor, why?"

Lexa paused for a moment. "There's something off about it. In my experience there hasn't been that many tasks that I've come across with so little information."

Everyone was silent, mentally processing the tasks they done the past.

The distributor was the middleman, a person who sat precariously between the grid and the underground. A good distributor knew which tasks were suitable for which group. A good distributor also ensured that those who requested the tasks provided as much information as possible before submission.

There were two major things that put a mark against a group. One was failure to finish a task and two was a rule that no one really thought about because it wasn't just mark, it was a mark of death against a group by way of being selected for future tasks, and that was going back and requesting more information. If a group accepted a task, then it was up to their skills to fill in the gaps, otherwise it like advertising the group was incapable. Considering the competition, it was unheard of to turn down a task, but a lot of that had to do with the distributor. While failure was not really an option, it did happen and in that case a distributor's reputation was more important that a group's.

"I don't know." Max shook his head, still thinking about the task. "The distributor is actually an old friend of mine, we used to be in another group in the early days."

"I was a group that failed once." Winton, flicked his silver hair out of his face and looked at everyone, as if he were gauging their reactions. "Well... I'm not sure if being ambushed by another group is still considered a failure." His comment hung in the air as they continued to sit in silence, regarding the possibilities of what the task might uncover.

Max shrugged. "I can talk to Duke, I don't think he would mind."

Lexa shook her head. "Don't do that, you know the rules. You don't want to cast doubt on the group, even if you are old friends."

Sterling cracked his knuckles. "What are we missing?"

"I don't think we are being setup. I can't imagine the motivation for it and no one here has any connections to the Fairchilds?" Max looked around the table as everyone shook their heads.

Lexa looked down at her lap.

"If by some remote chance we were, that's a very expensive game."

The group murmured. You'd have to be insanely rich and bored and even then, that was a stretch. Or was it?

"It could be possible that we're thinking too much into this. I hardly think Duke would give us the task if he didn't think we were up to it." Max scratched his head.

Lexa would've liked that to be the case, but she didn't trust anyone. Allegiances as well as people could be bought and sold. She'd seen it enough times. Almost everyone had a price.

"So good that we can operate on nothing?" Lexa frowned.

"I don't know." Max sighed. "I guess something must have compelled him to take a task with such limited information."

Sterling rubbed his eye. "That'd be called the distributor fee. It must have been one hell of a fee for him to risk his reputation if we don't pull through."

It seemed as though they were nowhere. The meeting was supposed to focus on their strategy and all they'd accomplished was raising more questions.

* * *

The task had unsettled Lexa. She'd finally fallen asleep after tossing and turning for several hours.

It was hot and dusty. Lexa swallowed but couldn't get rid of the dry lump in the her throat. Her lips felt tight and cracked as she tried to lift herself from the ground. Everything ached as she moved her head slowly and looked up.

Someone one was being carried away? She squinted under the harsh sunlight, recognising the head that lolled lifelessly as it moved out of sight. With a surge of adrenalin Lexa forced herself to her feet, running and automatically reaching for her gun, but there was nothing there. She cried out in desperation, the pain in her body causing her to grimace. Suddenly there was an excruciating blow to her abdomen and Lexa fell foward...

Lexa's head snapped up painfully as her face lifted from the pillow. She groaned and rolled onto her back, kicking off the covers with her feet. Her torso ached and she switched the lamp on, dragging herself out of bed. She noticed her body was slick with perspiration as she walked to the wardrobe mirror, her black tank top stained with sweat and her black panties not fairing much better. Pulling up the tank top, she looked at the faint scar on her abdomen. Dropping it back down she went into the bathroom, the white tiles gleaming under the halogen light, and splashed cold water on her face, looking in the mirror again. Her ebony hair was tied up in a ponytail and she turned her head to the side. The two men in the bar were right, she was looking gaunt. She touched her chin as she looked at the hollows of her cheeks, which seemed to further accentuate her already pronounced cheekbones. Another faint scar ran under her eye and Lexa trailed her finger along it, her eyes following her movement. Her irises were so dark, sometimes it was difficult to distinguish them from her pupils.

Lexa dried her face on the towel and rubbed her temple. Sometimes there'd be peace, but it didn't last long. A few days without dreams felt like paradise, but they always ended up returning. It was like going on holiday and coming home, after awhile, you felt as though you'd never really left in the first place.

* * *

"They would've cost a lot more..." Max held out another set of wristbands and every took them, except for Lexa. She nodded and just let him place it in front of her, realising she didn't just trust them, she hated them and the thought of sliding it on, made her skin crawl, more so than any mutilated body she'd seen.

"I guess we're lucky that the supplier was feeling generous. I'll admit, this is first time that I've truly been grateful to have Tanner in our group, apart from the obvious."

Everyone murmured their thanks, and Ava just stared at the wretched wristband and then looked at Tanner, feeling him watching her. She swallowed. She knew she was going to have to put it on sooner or later, but for her, the longer it was off, the better.

"What have we got?" Sterling fiddled with the wristband.

"These ones are different. They can sit higher, around the bicep if need be, just in case." Max looked around the table. "Right. Winton, you are on holiday, long service leave. By the way, you're going to have to cut and dye your hair... Brown."

Winton looked stony-faced for a moment before nodding.

"Sterling..." A grin quirked Max's mouth. "You work for Sleehnam Enterprises as a discarded goods courier."

"What?" Sterling grumbled. "Asshole... I'm a waste collector, aren't I?"

The group couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry Sterling, but it was honestly the best cover I could get you. Each of us, well except for me, stand out like dogs balls. We need to blend in and with your height and build, no one will look at you twice." He looked apologetic. "Tanner will be at the Mason's Gym. That was one was interesting. It operates legally, but it has a lot of drifters. I have a feeling that they cater to a lot of people off the grid, but no one cares about an old run down gym."

Max was suddenly tentative and Lexa's stomach twinged. "Lexa... ah..." He breathed out noisily. "How are your administration skills?"

The table was silent and Lexa felt the rush as she curled her fists. She looked at Max and he leaned back in his seat as if he wanted to distance himself from her.

"Administration? What type of administration?" Lexa asked carefully, punctuating each word.

"Typing, filing that sort of thing. I have a placement with a temping agency, Thorne & Neal."

Computers? The thought of almost sent Lexa into a fit. The feeling to destroy something was overwhelming. Her eyes darted to the door, as Lexa thought about leaving before she done something that showed the group she was out of her mind.

"...the bonus is that you'll be moving around a bit. Assignments vary Lexa but you can choose the short ones if you like." Max's voice cut into her thoughts. He'd picked a cover for her that would allow her to move around and not stay in the once place too long.

The fight drained out of her. What Max had done was thoughtful and she realised that he did it for her, even though she'd barely shared anything over the last six months, except her distrust in almost everything.

"Thanks Max, I appreciate it."

He nodded, visibly relieved. Lexa was mindful not to show her sudden embarrassment at the realisation that everyone was aware that she was uptight. She thought back to when she first joined the group, and searched her mind for any interactions she'd had with any of the men in the group and what she had given away. She drew a blank realising that she'd never revealed anything, which explained Max's reaction. No one knew how she was going to react. The group spent a lot time together during tasks but not in a social capacity. It was better that way, not only to avoid forming attachments, but the less you knew, the better, should you ever be compromised.

Still, she'd fought them on very particular things. The realisation made her cringe inwardly, she was unwittingly being stripped as a result of circumstance. She should have left.

* * *

The next couple of weeks was uneventful. They decided not to meet until they were all settled into their roles. Max stayed off the grid as the center of operations. He had to. If one of them ran into trouble, he needed to be available to bail them out.

Lexa was now Sarah Johnson, just another one in the sea of common names. She took a lease in a mixed neighbourhood about twenty minutes out from the heart of the city. An old brownstone building with a landlord who didn't care to know, as long as the rent was paid on time and the apartment was maintained. Living with less security than she was used to set her on edge. All her weapons had been left at Nony and she wouldn't be returning unless absolutely necessary or they had finished the task. Her meeting with Neal and Thorne and initial placement was like pulling teeth. She was now one of them and the feeling of her skin crawling wouldn't go away. Her face hurt from her practiced smile, willing the warmth into her eyes which didn't exist. Lexa would've rather been running, creeping through places that'd make the hair stand up on the back most people's necks and be shot at than doing this. The incessant chatter gave her a headache, being a subordinate made her want to put a bullet between everyone's eyes, including her own, but as a matter of pride and loyalty she pushed it all down.

Just short of two weeks, she realised that Mason's Gym wasn't far from her place. One night after almost climbing the walls, she carefully snuck out the apartment by climbing through the window and edging out onto the fire escape. She climbed a few backyard fences, grateful to have not come across any dogs and made her way down the street, her slim figure covered by baggy pants and an oversized hooded sweatshirt.

The building was set halfway down the end of the semi-deserted street. There were a few derelict buildings, and from the front, the gym was nothing to look at, but then again, that part had never changed. A lot of boxing gyms had looked like that for as long as she could remember. It stated 'no bullshit', just by looking at it. You didn't go to gyms like that to look pretty, you came to train and hurt.

She waited till a couple of men left the gym doorway before she quickly walked across the road and entered. There was no reception, the doorway simply opened up right into the gym: two boxing rings, a row of kicking and punching bags, a weights area and an area with a mirrored wall. It seemed as if the last people who trained were the ones who just left the building.

"We'll be closing soon."

Lexa's mouth almost dropped open in shock and she turned slowly.

Tanner's voice was low and warm, the type of voice you'd expect to hear from a friendly guy with a matching smile.

She pulled her hood slowly from her head. "What time do you think you'll be closing?"

Tanner didn't seem surprised to see her, which she expected. Anyone else but him would've been surprised.

"Half an hour, maybe forty, by the time I clean up."

He walked to the door and locked it behind her.

"May I?"

He nodded, his icy eyes trained on her, and she begrudgingly admitted as she held his stare, that it was one of the things she admired about him. He never gave anything away.

"Go ahead."

Lexa started off with skipping, her heart pounding as the sweat poured down her back. She was out of condition, as she whipped her toes a couple of times, grimacing as the pain sliced through. After some stretching she took to the kick bag, lightly repeating a series of kicks and very light punches, well aware that she didn't have wraps on and it wouldn't do to turn up to work with skin torn from her knuckles.