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“Naw, Ricky,” Mr. Harold finally released him and motioned for his men to go. “Think about it, Dean. For your friend’s sake.” He smiled at me. “See you tomorrow.”

I didn’t bother saying anything, since there really wasn’t much to say. I knew if he discovered who I was, things wouldn’t end well. My plan had always been to move on if I was recognized. Now because I had saved Stacy, I’d ruined everything.

“Sorry—sorry,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “I’ll figure this out. I’ll pay him back double. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Too many drugs have warped his imagination. I mean, come on. You, a famous fighter? Even the mid-listers get paid tons of credits and can have any woman they want. They live in penthouses, not work in the yard or become mechanics.”

I chose to stay silent on the matter as we walked the rest of the way home. Ricky might have been my closest friend—hell, he was probably my only friend—but there were things from my past that I wasn’t willing to share with anyone.

“I’ll get it all sorted,” Ricky reassured me as we stopped at the entrance to my apartment. “Don’t lose any sleep over it tonight. I’ll talk to Mr. Harold. He’s a reasonable man.”

“Yeah, he strikes me as the reasonable type,” I said sarcastically.

“Good, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow at work, Dean,” Ricky said, too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay any attention to my remark.

“See you tomorrow,” I answered, unlocking the outside gate to my complex and looking up at the peeling paint and bars over the windows. I let out a long sigh as I stepped inside, then shut the gate behind me.

Making my way to the fourth floor, I passed kids playing in the hall, barking dogs, and open doors to other apartments where spouses argued about what to eat for dinner.

My apartment wasn’t much of anything. I didn’t really need it to be. It was a one-bedroom with a kitchen that opened on the far side to a bathroom. A regular old shithole if ever there was one.

For a guy that tried to keep his head down, I was failing at it rather miserably. In a single day, I had stuck my neck out twice for someone else, only for the day to end with a job offer from a crime lord.

My body ached from the exertion of the day, so I decided to turn in early.  On my back in the dark room, my hand strayed to the medallion on my neck. I let it run through my fingers as memories washed over me again. Memories of my ex-wife. Memories of a better life.

And I fell asleep like that, with the necklace still between my fingers, praying to forget.

A familiar dream came to me, although it had been a while since the last time.

The stadium was designed to look like a coliseum. The packed stands were full of attendees who roared and clapped their approval at what was about to happen.

The media had come in droves, and cameras broadcasted the event live for the entire world to see.

The staff was all around me, preparing me for the fight as I strapped my hands in the locker room, slamming my fists together. My coach gave me last-minute instructions, while a team worked on keeping me loose.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying. There was no noise, just a faint white buzzing. I was lost in my own head, visualizing the moves, while at the same time preparing myself mentally for what was about to come next. The fight of my life, I kept thinking, even as the dream began to fade. The fight of my life and I’m going to win it. I’m going to take the whole damn thing.

6

I could already tell something was up when I saw the activity at the yard from a few blocks away. The local suits had to number in the hundreds. Not only were there the normal officers, but there were also suits in black armor with pulse rifles in nearly every hand.

A pair of intimidating vehicles that looked like tanks blocked the entrance to the yard. They divided a throng of people into two groups. The group on the left appeared to be ordinary men, women, and children. The much smaller line on the right were workers. I didn’t recognize all their faces, but I’d seen some before.

Stacy’s familiar dark eyes found mine. I shrugged deeper into my coat to fight off the morning cold. She waved me over.

“Do I even want to know?” I asked her, joining the line to get into the yard. “I probably don’t.”

“You might be right,” Stacy said with an arched eyebrow. “They’ve moved up the timetable on the launch. We’re hauling all our sections out of here today and they’re launching tomorrow. Boss says the ship is already in transit to a closer station near Earth’s orbit.”

“Excuse me?” I looked at her, not quite believing what she was saying. “Sorry, I must have had my ears damaged yesterday. It sounded like you said they’re launching tomorrow.”

“That’s right.” Stacy pointed past the gate to one of the local docks. Several people were loading into shuttles, all of them marked with the program’s insignia. “Word is the Eternals don’t want to risk another Disciple attack, not when we’re this close to finishing. They say they can have their automated drone system complete everything once the parts are off-world.”

My mind swam with the implications of her words as we moved forward in the line. Up ahead, Boss Creed was with a group of suits. He was visually checking his mechanics before they were allowed into the yard.

“But the seed ship isn’t ready yet,” I said out loud. “Am I wrong? I know for a fact the hydroponics system is still in review.”

“Beats me,” Stacy said with a shrug. “I told you what I know. We’ll have to ask Boss Creed for the