"You sure it's okay, Mr. Jackson?" Stephanie asked. Don't you even think, she said to him mentally, about saying no.

"Yeah, I don't care," he replied with a shrug. "You want to go down and hang out in the dressing room with the gladiators, that's fine. Just meet me like you did last time, and don't be late."

"Thank you," she said. Turning and moving away quickly--she did not want to give him time to change his mind, although she suspected that if he did, he'd send for her--she hurried down the halls to the dressing room, where she was admitted without question.

She found Mindy naked, in almost exactly the same position she was in the last time she'd come down here, two weeks before. She had, Stephanie noticed immediately, been right about the skill of the doctors; only a small red line, already faint, showed where Elaine had pierced her with her trident.

She rose as Stephanie came in and gave the other woman a quick hug. "Thank you for coming," she said. "I really do want you here."

Stephanie fought with her emotions. "I am trying," she said, "not to take that prediction of yours seriously. Raoul seems like a nice guy but I don't care about that, you're my friend now and I want you alive after tonight."

"Stephanie..."

"No. Listen to me. You go out there believing you're going to lose, and you are sure to lose. These feelings of yours, they're self-fulfilling. You've got to go out there thinking you'll win!"

Mindy nodded. "Maybe you're right. Okay. I sure do want to do my best. I don't want to kill Raoul but it won't tear me up like killing Elaine did." She put her hands on Stephanie's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "But if I do lose, you keep in touch with Fran. Okay? There's something that you're supposed to do with her. I don't know what. But something. Promise me, okay?"

"I promise, Mindy."

She rose from the bench, and, while Stephanie watched, slightly confused, she kneeled on the floor. "If I do lose," the ex-tennis player said, "I want a pretty death, a memorable death." She spread her arms out to the sides. "I told Raoul that if he won, if I was down, I'd get in this position." Her knees close together, she leaned back. "Raoul is very strong. I told him to drive his sword right straight down through the center of my chest, right through the bone, and drive it as deep as he can. That would tear my heart to bits and kill me instantly. The point would be way down in my belly. You think that would be a pretty death, Stephanie?"

"To me," Stephanie said, "it would be horrible."

"Okay. Do you think your boss would like to see me die like that?"

"He'd love it."

"Good. That's the best I can do."

The time slipped by; at times the women talked, at times they sat silently. It wasn't long before the prelims for the day were over, and Jenna, after throwing Mindy and Stephanie a hard-eyed look, ran out through the tunnel to meet her opponent. The fight went on for quite a long time; apparently both fighters were acquitting themselves well. Neither of them watched, they just listened to the roars from the crowd while Mindy put on her sandals, her G-string, and her dagger, and carefully edged her sword.

More than thirty minutes passed before they finally heard a huge roar, followed by the three tones that signaled the end of a match. Without saying anything, both women looked up toward the tunnel.

But Jenna did not come back.

"Looks like Jenna was right," Mindy said. "The fix wasn't in for her this time." She shook her head. "I can't be sorry. She might have been a threat to you. There may be others like her in the future, though, girls who want to use your boss to get a fight fixed. Be careful."

"I will," Stephanie assured her. She fought back tears and managed to succeed. The women hugged again--and then the bell sounded, calling Mindy to the arena.

Stephanie went with her, running even though the high-heels she was wearing made that hard. She stopped at the entrance; Mindy ran on, and near the center she met Raoul, who'd come trotting out of the opposite tunnel. They saluted each other, saluted the cheering crowd, and retreated to opposite corners.

And the bell sounded again, indicating that the match was on. Both gladiators came out cautiously, circling and looking for an opening.

Mindy made the first move. She darted in with surprising speed, her sword up as if she was going to swing at Raoul's head or upper chest. He started to raise his shield, and when he did Mindy shifted her attack to point first, aiming at his belly. Taking a step back, Raoul dropped the shield lower and Mindy, in response, turned her attack into a slash at his legs. He barely reacted fast enough to catch her sword with his own. Mindy danced back, not giving him time to try a counterattack. Stephanie, chewing her lip, could not restrain a tiny smile. Mindy had almost, she told herself, taken him with that first assault. She was going to win, Stephanie was sure of it.

That of course meant she'd have to behead Raoul, but as far as Stephanie was concerned this was the lesser of the two evils. Out on the arena floor, Mindy was launching another attack; Raoul succeeded in turning this one, as well, but again, just barely. A third followed and this time Mindy got in a light slicing hit on his upper left thigh, drawing a small amount of blood.

Raoul understood that he was losing; all he had done so far was turn away Mindy's fierce and speedy attacks, he'd not yet been able to get in a counterattack. He changed his strategy; he rushed toward her, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Stephanie could hear it singing in the air. She knew full well that Mindy could not take one of those powerful blows on her shield, it would be torn from her hand at best and at worse, she'd be knocked down.

But, obviously, she knew that too. Relying on her reflexes and speed instead, she darted around behind Raoul. Stephanie watched, wide-eyed. He could not possibly turn in time; she had a completely free hit from behind.

And, to Stephanie's amazement, she used it to smack his bare buttocks with the flat of her blade. He grunted and jumped forward; Mindy laughed and saluted him as he turned back to face her. The crowd went wild.

"God damn it Mindy, I understand but that could end up costing you your life!" Stephanie cried, her fists clenched.

"Sure could," the usually silent guard sitting near her said. "Good sportsmanship, though. Don't see too much of that around here."

And we have to see it from a person I've come to care about, Stephanie thought. Please Mindy, please, just end this...

Raoul continued his tactic. To Stephanie, it really didn't look like he was excessively drugged; Mindy was just much faster, and he had yet to land a single blow on either her shield or sword. His power was frightening, though. It might, Stephanie thought, take only one.

Mindy seemed determined not to let him, though, She darted around to his left, ducking his heavy swings, and for a moment it looked like she'd come up behind him again. This time, however, he turned quicker and forced her to retreat. As she went she slashed backwards with her sword, struck his upper left arm, and laid open a long gash in it. He ignored the streaming blood and turned on, leveling a massive downward blow at her--but by then she was six feet away. At this point they were close to Stephanie's position, and she could see desperation in Raoul's eyes. He was losing and he knew it. He rushed toward her, launched another violent swing, missed again. Then, as if to confuse her, he thrust the weapon forward sharply.

It didn't really seem to take her by surprise. This time she caught his blade with her shield, and, since it was a thrust and not one of his fearful swings, she was able to turn it. It seemed, though, that she had misjudged the force of that thrust; it turned, but she could not stop it. She sidestepped neatly, keeping her shield against the blade.

But she didn't sidestep quite enough; she was just a millimeter slow. She was, it seemed to Stephanie, focused on counterattacking with a swing to his shoulder while his body was extended, a blow that might well have ended the fight in her favor. So distracted she did not quite finish her evasive move.

And, before she could launch her attack, the tip of Raoul's sword grazed by her hip. It did not, as would later be seen clearly, even touch her skin. But, purely by chance, it snagged the fabric of her g-string and cut it in half.

The thin piece of cloth fell, and as it did the intact side caught on the hilt of her thigh-mounted dagger, leaving that side draped around her thigh and knee. Mindy was either unaware of it or was ignoring it, but the free end fell on down, draping on the ground.

And she stepped on it. Her legs momentarily tangled, she lost her balance, and she went down, sprawled on the sand. Stephanie gasped.

Raoul did not fail to take advantage of this turn of events. With a single quick bound he was standing over her. As she rolled onto her back, she found his sword aimed down at the center of her bare belly, the point only an inch from her skin. He could thrust it right into her at any moment, and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop him.

There was a frozen moment. Raoul didn't move; Mindy stared up at him. Stephanie held her breath.

"Fuck," Mindy murmured, loud enough for Stephanie to hear it. "I knew it." She opened her hands, releasing her sword and shield--surrendering to Raoul, even though she was, at the moment, totally unhurt.

Raoul kicked first her sword, and then her shield, far away across the arena. He pointed his sword at her dagger; she drew it from its sheath and threw it far. Then he stepped back. She stripped off the torn g-string, and, naked, got to her feet.

"No," Stephanie breathed. "No..."

But out in the arena, Mindy was nodding to Raoul and he was saluting her with his sword. The crowd was cheering, but it was a bit muted compared to some of wild cacophony Stephanie had heard before from the stands. Naked, Mindy knelt down; her knees close together, she spread her arms and leaned back, adopting exactly the pose she had shown Stephanie earlier, in the locker room. Raoul raised his sword and looked up at the viewscreen. The animated thumb was still horizontal, but Stephanie could already see lots of thumbs-down being signaled by the crowd.

"No, god damn it!" she screamed. She jumped up, and, giving the guard no chance to say anything, ran out to the posed couple in the arena. "No!" she shrieked at the crowd. "Didn't you see how well she fought? Can't you see her courage? Her sportsmanship?" She waved a hand in the air, her own thumb up. "She deserves a thumbs-up!"

Mindy and Raoul stared at her. "Stephanie, what the fuck are you doing?" Mindy asked. "Go back to the tunnel, let Raoul finish this."

"No!" She turned in a circle, both arms up, showing her own uplifted thumbs to the crowd. "She deserves it! She deserves it!" From one of the press booths, a shotgun microphone crept out, pointing at her. She noticed it and began yelling into it, and her own voice boomed out from the stadium sound system.

On the screen, the animated thumb remained horizontal.

Stephanie, undeterred, kept yelling. Cameras focused on her and her face appeared on some of the side-screens. In the crowd, she started seeing a few upturned thumbs, then more. She kept screaming even though her voice was beginning to give out.

And then, suddenly, the huge animated thumb on the center screen turned up. And the crowd erupted.

"Well, I will be god damned," Mindy murmured. Raoul--still the winner--shook his head, grinned broadly, helped Mindy to her feet, then gave the crowd a salute that resulted in another roar. Mindy bowed to all four sections of the stands in turn, and she was cheered as well. Stephanie simply stood watching, tears streaming down her face.

The three tones, indicating that the match was over, sounded. Mindy took Stephanie's hand, and to another roar from the crowd, led her back to the tunnel. Mindy was amazingly calm, but it took quite a while before Stephanie could get herself under control.

When she did, she had to leave her friend abruptly. Mindy's fight was the last of the evening. Stephanie was going to be at least a little late, and Jackson was not going to be pleased.