Broken Flyght – Chapter 22

Rested, showered, and in much better spirits, I stand in the sunshine on the airdock to greet Lady and Lord Correa at nine in the morning.

“We hope there haven’t been any problems since we saw you yesterday,” Lady Correa says, glancing over my shoulder towards the cargo bay beyond. I step to the side and usher them in.

“Nothing that had anything to do with your cargo, fortunately,” I respond with a polite smile. “A few of us were up late last night, and the extra sleep was needed. Sorry for the delay.”

The lady and lord guide their luggage inside, and Lia is there to meet them.

“I spent the night right here with your collection, and besides the captain coming home at two in the morning, there wasn’t a peep.” Lia coughs gently into her hand.

“I guess you weren’t exaggerating about the no sleep part.” Lady Correa winks at me. Little does she know about the two hours of sex after.

That’s my secret… and Jinzo’s, of course. He was a big part of that.

I need to thank Ai for pushing me to turn around my lack of a sex life. I do feel a lot better this morning. The sun shines brighter. The air feels crisp. I have faith that things will get better. My shoulders are less tight, and my smiles come easier.

I’m still wholly sleep-deprived and tired to my bones though.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction.

“We have a buffet breakfast set up in the galley and common area. Please come in and make yourself at home. Lia and I will see your luggage is brought to your quarters. You requested only one room, so you and Lord Correa are in quarters number four. Up the stairs and it’s the second room on the right.”

While the lady and lord walk off with Lia, I’m reminded that I still haven’t returned Ken’s call from the other day. I also haven’t seen Sean in a while either. I have a lot of business to take care of, but all of it will have to wait until after breakfast because I’m starving.

Jinzo was true to his word even though he got less sleep than I did. He stayed up until past dawn to read over the database then slept for an hour before getting us both up. The smoky-sweet scent of bacon and waffles is calling to me from the galley.

“Excuse me, Captain,” Ai pipes in as I’m about to follow my nose to the food. “Sonia Kopack is at the port airlock door requesting entrance.”

I stop and rewind my step. “What did you say?”

“Sonia Kopack is requesting entrance to the Amagi. This is the woman you chased all over Oitavo yesterday, in case you’ve forgotten her name.”

Nope. Pretty sure her name is now burned into my brain forever.

“Ai, please alert both Marcelo and Jinzo to meet me down here at once.”

I turn and face the airlock door I just came from.

She’s here. How did she get here? How did she find me?

Jinzo arrives from the galley, toweling off his hands from whatever he was doing for breakfast, and Marcelo trots down the stairs from his shuttle.

“Marcelo,” Jinzo says, nodding.

“Jinzo.” Marcelo grins back. “Nice to see you settling into ship life.”

Jinzo looks straight at me, in that way that sees right through me down to my very core. “I have no complaints.”

“Excellent,” Marcelo replies. I can practically see the wheels in his head turning. If Jinzo worked out, who could be next?

“Gentlemen.” I urge them to me with wild waves of my hands. “Guys, Sonia is here.” I jerk my head at the airlock door. “I’m going to let her in. You” — I point my finger at them both — “back me up if she tries anything, please.”

I take a deep breath before I unlatch the airlock and pull the door inwards.

Sonia waits for me, her hands in the pockets of a long khaki trench coat. Underneath, she’s wearing her casino business attire.

“Hi,” she says, making brief eye contact and then dropping her gaze.

“Come on in.” I step to the side, and she hesitates for a moment before crossing the threshold into the ship. “I see you weren’t fired from your job after what happened yesterday.”

She hesitates again when she comes across Marcelo and Jinzo standing in the cargo bay waiting for her. Movement catches my eye, and I find Skylar watching us from the stairs to the crew quarters and the bridge.

Sonia pushes her hair behind her ears. “Yeah, well, I told them you were a jealous girlfriend come to pick a fight with me, and it wouldn’t happen again. It won’t, will it?”

She raises her shoulders in defiance of me.

“Are you shitting me right now?” I ask, stepping closer. I’m taller and larger than her in every way. If she hadn’t gotten the lead on me, I would’ve caught her based on leg length alone.

“Viv,” Jinzo whispers, and his voice breaks through the anger scratching at my calm.

“Tell me what’s going on and why you’re here.” I get right to the heart of the matter. I’m not interested in posturing with her.

Her guard drops a bit, just a bit. “Your brother cut me off, and that’s why I’m here.” She folds her arms across her chest and leans back against the bulkhead, annoyance in her eyes. “We had been dating for two years. I was working at the casino when we met, and I thought he was my first real prospect for a good family match and income stream. I have a small townhouse here in Oitavo that I purchased for me, and my network, and he… well, he was convincing.” She snorts and shakes her head. “He told me he was going to inherit the farm and the land.”

I draw in a long breath. That bastard.

“He also said that you were nothing but a spoiled bitch and your parents understood he was the true heir.”

That fucking bastard.

“I, uh, saw the OEN news story about you, and I spent some time doing research. It didn’t take me long to realize I was the one being played.”

“Wow. He actually told you he was going to inherit the farm?”

She holds up her hands. “I’m not stupid. I know land on Ossun only goes to women, much like here. I… I didn’t want to question how he would get it. I loved him, and he totally betrayed me.” Her voice is angry, and her eyes are dry but tired and red. I guess she didn’t sleep last night. “He dumped me in a fucking vidmessage, six fucking hours after I sent him three thousand credits. Most of my rainy day savings.”

A chill washes over me. I suddenly believe Tomu was on the verge of killing me off to get the family farm. He was desperate enough to screw pretty much everyone over, so I’m sure disposing of me was next on the list. He would’ve made it look like an accident. My brush with death last night appears to have not been my first.

Marcelo and Jinzo are as concerned as I am. My life may not be in danger now from Tomu, since he’s on the run, but I’m still not in the clear.

“I’m sorry,” I say, and I truly am. “My brother has always been a liar and a thief. I didn’t realize how badly he would lie or steal until recently.”

“Yeah, well, I guess he’s not my problem anymore.”

My conscience taps on my heart. “I’ll see what I can do about getting you your credits back, okay? I don’t have that kind of money now, but…”

“Don’t worry about it.” She sniffs and reaches into her coat pocket. I think she’s about to grab a tissue, but she pulls out a piece of paper instead. “Here.”

I take the paper and note the novelty of putting anything on paper anymore. I can barely write, and I gave up calligraphy when I was a kid. It was something my mother wanted me to do, write prayers in ink on paper. Calligraphy was for people with time, as far as I was concerned, and slowing down to write wasn’t something I was capable of.

The paper unfolds with a crisp swish. It’s a map.

“Where is this?” I turn to Jinzo, and he steps forward to look over my shoulder. “Wait.” I bring the map closer to my face. Two roads cross, and then an X marks the spot in the upper left quadrant. There are some small written directions too. “I recognize these road names.”

“Tomu buried something on your property on Ossun. I’m not sure what it is. I actually tried to find it a few days ago, but I timed my trip wrong, and some security guards almost caught me. I ran for it, and I didn’t go back.” She shrugs. “I can’t even say for sure it’s still there. He may have already retrieved it.”

Well, Tatiana Álvares’s message makes sense now. She thought I had snuck back onto the property, but it was Sonia.

“Whatever it is, I want no part of it. When I took the map, I thought I would steal it and get him back for what he did to me, but now? He can rot in hell.”

Despite what she did to me last night, I want to hug her. She’s been slighted, just like me. Rotting in hell sounds too good for Tomu though.

“So, are we good here?” Sonia asks, snapping me out of my fantasies of Tomu dying a slow and painful death. “You won’t run after me through the streets or chase me down on a bike?”

Pain coats her voice. I don’t want to keep her any longer.

“No. I’m not going to chase you anywhere. Just, wait. Wait here.” I dash away, straight to my room, and throw open the wardrobe. Oh good. I didn’t bury Tomu’s things.

I return as quickly as possible and hand over her perfume bottle.

“Here. I found it in Tomu’s apartment on Ossun. I know you still wear it.”

I smelled it on her at the casino.

Her lips twitch as I transfer the heavy glass bottle of perfume to her hand. “Thanks. It’s expensive.” She slips the bottle into her jacket pocket. “You should find out what’s on that map. If anyone deserves to get their life back, I think it’s you.” She nods and turns to go, but stops. “Sorry about the whole squid thing. I saw you on the news this morning. It looked really harrowing.”

I blink for a moment. The squid and I are on the news?

“Bye,” she says, bowing.

I bow back and stay bowed until she’s gone.

The door clicks shut, and I breathe a long sigh of relief.

“That went better than I expected it to,” Marcelo says. “You didn’t even need us.”

“I just needed you to stand there and look strong.” I stare at the map in my hand. I know this spot. It’s on a part of the family property far from the main house. Goodness knows why Tomu chose this place to hide something.

Hmmm. I wonder what’s there.

I also wonder what’s being said about me on the duonet.

Jinzo’s hand covers mine. “I have a feeling I know what you’re thinking. Before you go searching for the news, you should eat. I made a feast, and I set aside a plate for you. Waffles? Bacon? Eat first.”

I crack a small smile. “Are you telling me what to do?”

“I believe that’s why I’m here.” He winks. “To keep you in line.”