A Surprise Favor – Chapter 9

Takemo reaches out and places a hand on my back. “Are you okay?”

“No. Not really.” I close my eyes and tip my face up. “But I knew it was coming.”

Saif steps up next to me. “What do you want to do?”

I flip the envelope over. “I need a moment. I’m going to take this to the library.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” Takemo asks.

I shake my head. “No, I need to be alone.”

Taking a moment to collect myself, I bypass them all and head to the library. The room feels different from last night. The windows are open and light streams in from outside. Did Takemo and I really get it on in here?

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Yeah, we did. I heft the envelope in my hand. And it’s this kind of drama that will push them all away from me.

The envelope is weighty in my fingers, like it holds truths that will change everything. I have to open it, but I don’t want to. I really don’t want to. Once I see what’s in here, I can’t go back.

I stare out the window for several minutes before I’m ready to open the envelope, and even then, my hands shake as I slide my finger under the flap. The first sheet is an order from the Central Sakata City Court. Two days ago, my mother, Fusako Kawabata filed a dispute against me, and the court is compelling me to provide them with a response.

I let my eyes scan down the document.

Summons and Complaint

To: Skylar Kawabata

You are hereby notified that a civil action has been filed against you by Fusako Kawabata in the District Court of Sakata City, Northern Continent, Ossun, Brazilianos System. The complaint, a copy of which is attached, alleges that you are in possession of the Amagi, a ship that was loaned to you by Fusako Kawabata when you were an employee with Kawabata Shipping, Inc. Fusako Kawabata is seeking the return of the Amagi and any earnings you obtained while piloting the ship.

You are required to file a written answer to the complaint with the Clerk of the Court and to serve a copy of your answer on the Plaintiff’s attorney, within 21 days after the service of this summons on you. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.

The Amagi and my earnings? Is she out of her mind?

Clerk of the Court

Complaint

Plaintiff, Fusako Kawabata, by and through her attorney, files this complaint against Defendant, Skylar Kawabata, and alleges as follows:

Fusako Kawabata is the rightful owner of the Amagi, a ship that was loaned to Defendant, Skylar Kawabata, when she was an employee of Plaintiff.

Defendant has failed to return the Amagi to Plaintiff and has been using the ship for her own gain.

Defendant has earned money while piloting the Amagi and Plaintiff is entitled to a portion of these earnings.

Plaintiff demands that the Amagi be returned to her immediately and that Defendant pay Plaintiff any earnings obtained while piloting the Amagi.

Plaintiff also demands that Defendant be ordered to pay Plaintiff’s costs and attorney’s fees incurred in connection with this action.

Wherefore, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendant as follows:

A. An order for the return of the Amagi to Plaintiff.

B. An order for Defendant to pay Plaintiff any earnings obtained while piloting the Amagi.

C. An order for Defendant to pay Plaintiff’s costs and attorney’s fees incurred in connection with this action.

D. Any other relief that the Court may deem just and proper.

Fusako Kawabata.

Dated two days ago. Fuck. My stomach churns and tears leap to my eyes.

How could I have been so careless with my life? I knew this was coming, and yet I still went after Saif, Kalvin, and now Takemo, too, like they wouldn’t be a part of this awful situation. The thought of Mom going after my ship and earnings is too much, but I can see why she did it. She went from a small cadre of ships and a steady income to almost nothing in the span of a few years. If I weren’t so pissed at her, I’d feel sorry for her.

I can’t feel sorry for someone who is trying to destroy me.

My breath comes in short bursts, and my heart pounds in my chest. Panic sets in, and I pace around the library, desperate to calm down before I break down into tears. I can’t break down into tears now, not when I have to solve this.

How am I going to find a way out of this situation? I have no idea, not even one. Fuck. I fucked this up. Big time.

My chest is getting tighter with each passing moment.

Breathe, Skylar. Breathe!

I moan as I run for the couch, sit down, and put my head between my legs. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

It’s going to be okay.

No, it’s not.

Yes, it is.

This is so far from okay, it might as well be in another dimension.

I need help.

How can I even ask for help? Who would help me?

Help me.

I take a few deep breaths and allow myself to accept the facts before me. The lawsuit is going to happen, and now I need to figure out how to deal with it, get ahead of it, before I’m buried up to my eyeballs in shit.

Yeah. Accept. I can accept.

Hell, I accepted a lot of the shit people have thrown me over the years. This? This is nothing. Right, Skylar.

I inhale and sit up. Okay, I’m going to go out there and face the guys. I’ll show them the letter, and then we’ll work it out from there. No big deal.

Swinging open the door, I stride out into the kitchen, and Kalvin, Saif, Takemo, and Marcelo are all standing and waiting for me. I hold up the letter. Their faces swim before me, plastered with regret and concern, and my vision darkens on the edges. I’m not breathing.

Where did the sun go?

The room turns black.

—-

“Skylar? Skylar, wake up!” I hear someone shouting.

I blink my eyes open to see the four men standing over me, looking worried with a mix of emotions — concern, fear, and confusion. I’m on the couch. How did I get here?

Saif kneels down beside me and lays a hand on my forehead. “Are you all right? Do we need to call a doctor? I think you hit your head.” He moves his fingers around to the back of my head. “Does anything hurt?”

I groan. “No. No doctor. I just…” I wave to Takemo, reading the summons and complaint.

Kalvin looks relieved as he takes a step back and exhales. “You hit the floor like a sack of bricks. Are you sure you’re okay? Is she okay?” he asks Saif. “We can get a doctor here quickly.”

Takemo’s face is pale as he flips over the papers and nods. “She’s really going for the jugular, as if I didn’t just give them three million in severance.”

“What?” I push out through numb lips.

He shrugs. “You told me to pay them a severance from the sale of the Mikasa.”

Three million credits and she can still fly for others, but she’s coming after me instead?

Marcelo puts his hand on my shoulder gently and says, “It’s all right, Ms. Skylar. Let us help you out in whatever way we can.”

I take a deep breath and try to pull myself together before nodding weakly in response. This is such a mistake. All of it.

I try to push myself to sit up, but Saif keeps his hand on my shoulder. “Stay still for a little bit. I want to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself when you fell.”

“I’m fine.”

He shoots me a withering look, so I stay put. Methodically working his way up from my feet to my ankles, legs, hips, and hands, he nods as he assesses each part of my body. When he gets to my left wrist, though, it smarts with pain. “Ach.” I hiss as he moves my hand each way.

He nods. “Yeah, you hurt your wrist when you fell on it. Let’s get her some pain relievers and call a medic to come do a scan.” He gently places my hand on my belly. “You need your hands to fly.”

My eyes fill with tears and I hate it. I so rarely cry, and I hate other people witnessing my weaknesses. But the fainting brought down a wall I had been patching the cracks in for years. “I’m sorry.”

All three guys and Marcelo look at me with such pity, anger grows in my chest. I don’t need their pity. I don’t want their pity. I just want to be alone.

Lia, Carlos, and Nisrine appear in the room, and my anger grows by leaps and bounds. Lia’s eyes are wide.

“What happened?” she asks, and Takemo hands her the legal letter. Her eyes scan down the page, and they crinkle with anger. “We have to let Vivian know. Now.”

“No. I want to sit down.” I haul myself up, the guys step back, and I make my way to the couch. There, that’s better.

“If I may be so bold as to cut into the room speakers,” Ai says, her voice booming down on us. Everyone looks up and around at the air. Carlos mutters something under his breath. “Oh, Carlos. Of course, you could use some sex. If you like, I can look up the local sexbot hotels, and —”

“Ai!” we all yell at the same time.

“Yes, darlings. I will put that task on the back burner for now. I am monitoring an increased rate of mentions of Skylar and the Kawabata name on the duonet. There is an OEN program airing right now that I have in the buffer and can display it on the wallscreen if you’re interested.”

“No,” I breathe out, trying to stand up. Oh God, no.

“Sit back down, Ms. Skylar,” Marcelo insists.

“Ai, put whatever it is up on the wallscreen, and we’ll deal with it,” Saif says. I’m too dumbfounded to stop him.

Cenobia Senna Snow’s hateful face fills the screen, and the picture-in-picture is of Saif and me at the charity event on Palo Alto, our first date. After everything Cenobia said about Vivian, I hate her and want her dead.

“We have news again for you today, fresh from the court records of Sakata City that shows Skylar Kawabata, first daughter to the once influential Kawabata Shipping family, is being sued by her own mother for the return of her ship, the Amaji, and an undisclosed amount of money.”

“It’s Ama-GI, you cunty bitch!” I scream at the wallscreen.

“As you’re all well aware, three years ago, the Kawabatas were at the center of another scandal which saw Skylar’s cousin, Vivian Kawabata, being tarnished and the entire family shamed and shut off from society until she was able to purchase the Kawabata family farm from the bank. This new lawsuit paints an even darker picture for them as a legal fight between mother and daughter is bound to bring more humiliation upon the Kawabata name and the extended family.”

I groan and drop my head into my hands.

“The exact details have not been disclosed yet, but it is clear they will fight this case tooth and nail as both sides have lawyers waiting in line outside the court house already.”

Kalvin’s jaw drops. “Where do they come up with this stuff?”

“Straight out of their asses,” Takemo says.

“Our requests for a comment have been rebuffed, and Skylar has kept tight lipped about this issue. But reports coming out suggest she is ashamed over what happened as she was once quite the high-flying and privileged icon during her teenage years before fading away from public view after the scandal three years ago.”

I look up in time to see Cenobia’s smug smile.

“We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as our reporters work night and day to follow up on this brewing scandal. Reports of Skylar Kawabata on Laguna in the Californikos System have been confirmed, and we will try to get a comment as soon as possible.”

“Fuck me.” I access my wristlet. OEN messaged me twenty minutes ago for a comment on this whole debacle. Twenty fucking minutes and they rushed the rest of the story to air as quickly as they could. I point at the screen. “That bitch has to go.”

The wallscreen turns off and everyone is quiet.

“I’m going to turn on the anti-drone perimeter fence,” Marcelo says, backing away from us and heading to the security station. On his way, the doorbell rings.

“Here we go,” I mutter. I stand up and sway. Saif clutches my arms and tries to pull me to his chest. “No.” I wiggle away and disconnect myself from everyone. “I don’t want to be touched.”

Saif holds his hands up and takes a step back.

“Vacation is over. This is over. It’s all over.” I turn to Carlos. “We get the backups and we get the hell out of here. Hole up in the Amagi until it’s court time. I’ll hire someone to represent me on Ossun.”

“About that…” Carlos starts, but Marcelo is back in the room, his face slack with shock.

“You need to come to the door, Ms. Skylar.”

Anger erupts and I snap. “I’m not talking to any of those fucking vultures.”

“That’s not who’s here.”

“What?” I stalk past him, approach the door and swing it open, prepared to tell whomever it is they need to get lost. I’m fucking busy until, like, the end of time.

Nina Correa, who I last saw on Rio in the military barracks, stands on the front porch. I’m used to seeing her in military camouflage or a uniform. She’s wearing khaki pants, a light button-down shirt, and her hair is wrapped in a bright flowered silk scarf.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asks, pulling off her sunglasses.

Shit.

I forgot.

I hate forgetting.