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going to retaliate by giving him a hug or maybe a kiss just to throw him off balance.
    Glancing around, she half hoped someone else would appear so he could yell at them instead. When no one else magically appeared, she resigned herself to her fate. Better to get it over with and get on with my day.
    “I’m going back to Section 12 if I can find my damn spotter. My piece of shit comlink got shut off and I’m running late. I doubt Carl will be expecting us back there so soon after they caught us.” She leaned closer to him and lowered her voice. “I’ve got a feeling about that sector, Leo. I’m never wrong about this. There’s something big there. I’m going back.”
    His eyes lit up greedily, but then he shook his head.
    “No. You’re above ground for the next several days until you fully heal from that fall. You’re not to go into the ruins until I give the word.”
    Kayla stared at him blankly and then laughed at his outrageous demand. That's a new one. With one of his scavengers injured and another ruin rat camp in close proximity to their territory, there was no way he would keep her out of the ruins. They were barely able to make ends meet and keep the camp functioning.
    She pulled her helmet off the rack. “Right, Leo. That’s cute. Now leave me alone and let me do my damn job.”
    Leo grabbed the helmet out of her hands and said more forcefully, “Dammit, girl. I said no. Veridian’s been temporarily assigned to another scavenger until you heal up. You’re above ground until I say so.”
    Kayla’s eyes widened and then narrowed. V was hers. How dare he reassign him and threaten to take away the one constant in her life? When everything seemed to crumble around her, Veridian had been the person to help keep everything together. She couldn't lose him.
    Her nails dug into her palms, the pain a reminder that fear was a weakness, an exploitable emotion. She forced herself to push aside her panic and focus on her anger, unwilling to show Leo how much the thought of losing Veridian scared her. Instead, she reached for an emotion she could wield and lashed out, going on the offensive.
    “Where the hell do you get off breaking up my team? Veridian is my damn partner. I’m perfectly fine to go underground. I’ve taken worse falls before and you’ve never given me shit about it. I’m not some precious artifact that can’t handle a few scrapes and bumps.”
    “It’s your own damn fault, Kayla. You had to get involved in Carl’s business and now he’s paying me to keep you above ground. He says you were hurt the other day and if I don’t keep you off schedule until he says so, he’s threatened to increase his cut in future trades. You stay up here for a week and I collect a thousand credits. You go below ground, I lose much more than that.”
    Kayla froze as his words registered. She shuddered at the onslaught of memories and pushed it aside. She refused to think about the past. The idea of a trader trying to control her was anathema to her. Fury made her reckless and she slammed her hand against the wall in frustration.
    “If brains were explosive, yours couldn’t make a ripple in a teaspoon full of piss,” Kayla spat. “He’s playing you, you idiot. He’s trying to control your operation and push me into accepting his offer. That’s what these traders do. Tell him you kept me above ground if you want. Collect your damn credits. But I’m going down.”
    Leo’s face turned red at her words. Kayla knew she had overstepped herself, but she was too angry to care about the consequences.
    “If you go, you’re out,” he shouted. “Don’t you dare drag Veridian down with you either. Just two days ago, Carl had our com system bugged. He’s got the resources to find out if you drop below. I screw with him and we’re out of the game, Kayla. You’ve already screwed up two trade relationships for me. As good as you are, even you aren’t worth this. I’ve got a dozen other people that need to