>>19915799Nikki sits backstage, watching intently on a monitor as Spirit wrestles Steeli. The consequences if she were to lose… no. Nikki wills herself not to even think about it. Losing Spirit once took her over the edge of a cliff. She couldn’t go through that again. Spirit would win, keep her lantern and unmask Steeli, and having defeated The Queen, Nikki would go to The Kingdom and use her newly earned access to the Royal Archives to learn of her family’s origins.
But then Steeli gets a grip on Spirit’s neck. Nikki bites a lip. That doesn’t look good. But Jen will fight out of it any moment now. Any moment now… Jen?
The tap comes, and Nikki’s eyes widen in horror as Steeli claims the win, and her prize - Jen’s lantern. “What the fuck! NO!” Nikki screams in anger and punches a wall.
>Calm down! We can just jump her before she leaves and take the lantern!Nikki relaxes slightly as Coco’s voice echoes in her head. That was a possible solution. Priscilla ought to be around somewhere. And Colby. They’d all feel the same way. They could jump Steeli before she leaves the arena, and take Jen’s lantern from her. But that was risky. What if Steeli destroyed it before they could take it from her?
Meanwhile on the monitor, Steeli has a microphone and begins to speak, threatening to do exactly that. But the black market? She intends to sell it? Nikki grins. Fine. She’d play by Steeli’s rules. With Cassie out of town, Nikki and Spirit managed to take control of Club Xtacy’s operations, legal and illegal, during their last visit. Now was the time to use that advantage.
She grabs her phone, and makes a call. “Hey, Lonergan, I’ve got orders for you and you’re gonna follow them if you wanna keep your balls. Am I clear? Good. I want all the black market thingies monitored. A lantern is going to go on sale soon, and I need it by any means necessary. Notify me when it’s available. No, I don’t care how much of Cassie’s drug money we need to use. Understood? Good.”
