The Hive

6

"Notes." Wally quietly handed them over. Coach had allowed her to come to the game simply because she was helpful, it wasn't for her enjoyment it was for her services. She was glad to see them play either way.

Half time came once again and Coach breifed the team as Wally watched Alina wave her over. She followed her only to be pushed against the wall around the corner, "I want you back on that rink." She mumbled, Wally nodded, letting Alina kiss her before she pulled away again. The bruise forming around her eye from a brawl was dark on her pale face, "If it makes you feel any better, Sasha is getting better at finally blocking the fucking shots." Wally smiled, glad to finally be praised.

Sasha wasn't a terrible player by any means. Natalia had picked her for a reason. She wasn't as good as the girls of course, but she was a able to predict the angle a ball was coming and move accordingly. She wasn't good at blocking fast ones, there wasn't enough time for her to see where it was going. That's what they were working on.

Coach called the team back to the rink. "Love you," Alina said quietly, kissing her forehead before she left and Wally was called back to Coach's side. "Wait in here." She snapped as she tried to return to the bench. She quickly nodded and retreated back into the away locker room.

She was allowed to return to practices at the end of the month. But, she still had to train Sasha, though at least one of the girls usually joined them. Mostly just to watch, but occasionally they'd join.

"What did I say about covering the goal? Fix your fucking stance Bykov!" She adjusted her position and Wally gave her a nod as Joan latched the door. Alina and Natalia stood beside her, racquets in hand and ready to show Sasha up. A month in a half of training was showing results, but not anything that over a decade of practice could show up.

Alina threw the ball up and Natalia and Wally skated to the opposite side of the rink on either side of the goal. Alina launches it to Natalia. Sasha turned to block the shot but she passed it to Wally who slammed into the goal. Sasha cursed.

After fifteen missed shots, two blocked ones, and a lot of frustration, Sasha threw her racquet down. Wally sighed and tossed hers to Natalia who caught it with ease as the smaller girl quietly skated into the goal. She took Sasha's face in her hands as she knocked on her helmet. "Hey. Look at me." She looked at her with effort and spat out a, "I know, I'm shit. Let's just get this over with."

Wally shook her head, "You're doing fine. Just don't focus on who has the ball or what we're saying, focus on where it's going. Three more goals and you're done." She took a shuddery breath and nodded, watching Wally skate away. "What'd you say?" Alina asked in Latin, "Nothing important." She nodded and threw the ball into the air once more.

-

The next game, an A-class team, put up a fight. Hornets weren't only fighters but they had numbers. The Titans had thirteen players, the Hornets just over twenty. While the Titans tired after the Hornets took out two players via "accidents" and tired out others by making them chase them up and down the court, they were exhausted. The Hornets still had subs.

They won by a five point pull, lined up and shook hands and then the Titans quickly left along with the months of September. The semi-finals would start in November and when the Hornets won they'd secure their spot in the finals and then the winter banquet would be in early December to send off all the teams that didn't make it.

For now she was looking for Sasha. She was late for night practice and Wally had gotten all the girls to join in tonight and they were growing impatient. So she searched the locker room for her and came up. She moved toward the showers. Then panic rose in her chest. She'd come in with them. And she wasn't the type to leave especially when she knew Wally would drag her back out.

Something slammed into the closet door. Wally took out both knives, slamming it open to find Freddie, one of their older players mid-kick. Sasha lay on the ground, sniffling with a gag in her mouth as her nose bled.

Freddie smiled, "Mind your business kid." Freddie didn't know Wally. Not well. And she definitely didn't know about the work she did for the Hart family, but she could see the little five foot two, fully armored in Seek gear shooter with two knives in hand. She was not impressed.

"Get off her. Now." Freddie laughed and kicked her again, Wally stabbed her in the chest. She hadn't meant to make it a kill shot but she'd stabbed her in the lung. She pushed her back, pulling Sasha up. She kicked the door closed on Freddie and pulled Sasha's shirt up, feeling her stomach and her ribs. Nothing was broken. It'd just hurt like hell. She pulled the gag out of her mouth, "What was that about?" "You know that betting pool-" Wally shoved her against the lockers, "I just killed one of our teammates over a gambling debt?" "I didn't ask you to do that." "Shut the fuck up. I have things to take care of. She looked at the blood splattered on Sasha's clothes and then checked her own.

"Give me your clothes." Sasha looked at her a moment before Wally groaned, prying off her jersey and handing it to Sasha before turning around. The shirt landed in front of her a few moments later. She turned back around, checking Sasha's pants before she looked back at the closet.

She worked well into the night cleaning up the blood after she carried her body in a duffel to the furnace where she tossed it inside along with Sasha's shirt and then scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed the closet walls to get the blood out of the cracks. Coach was already going to kill her. She'd make her suffer if she not only killed her but made sloppy work of it.

"Have you done that before?" Wally jumped, hitting her head on the wall before she turned to see Sasha behind her. "No." She lied. Sasha nodded, inspecting the scene.

"So you can afford luxury things at eighteen, going to online school, without a job for some other reason?"
"You ask questions that'll get you killed."
"So I'm right?"
"That's not what I said."
"Self defense if they catch us. That's what kept me out of jail."

Wally looked up again, "What?" Sasha laughed, "Interested now are we? I supposed I've already learned your dirty little secret so," she shrugged, "I killed a woman in my church. She brought me down to the basement and well, you know how kids in church basements go. So I stabbed her with a piece of glass, right..." she leaned forward almost robotically, tapping the side of Wally's throat. "...there." "And? That was self defense." "Ah, not quite."

Sasha told her about how she'd preyed on her sister and so she set out for revenge. She lured her to the basement and keeping her away from her sister. Permanently.

"We can't talk about tonight. Ever. You know that right?"
" 'Course."
"Good. Then let's go."