Broken Flyght – Chapter 7

Another blind date.

Have I mentioned that I hate blind dates? I met Ken in class at school, and we hit it off right away. Before Sean, I’d had only two blind dates my whole life, one in secondary school, and one after Ken that my mother set up. I feel nauseous just remembering that one. Let’s not get into it.

And now, I’m suspicious too. This guy, I don’t know enough about him besides what Marcelo told me. What if he’s working for someone who aims to do me harm?

My stomach is both hungry for lunch and wants to get up and leave. Not a good combination.

The plan is to meet at the Founders Statue in Station Square. It’s a well-known spot, and everyone can find it. Heck, no one can miss the gigantic statue of a man in a spacesuit tromping on the dirt of a new world. Luckily, I’ve chosen a time in the late morning when most people are at work, and the lunch rush hasn’t begun yet, so the area around the statue is not too crowded.

This better work out.

I really hope it works out.

This better not be some stalker dude out to collect on my brother’s debt because I’ve got nothing.

I see him coming down the hall before he sees me. Knowing I’m being followed, I’ve kept my eyes peeled for the guy I saw earlier, but I haven’t seen him again. Instead, I’m getting my eyes on my date before he arrives.

Jinzo Lee is an interesting man. He comes from two distinct branches of Duo Systems families that inter-married not long after the jump rings were established. His ancestors on his mother’s side of the family are all from the Southern California branches by way of United Korea and possibly China. His father’s side of the family traces back through Brazil to Japan, much like my family.

I’m drawn in by his dark eyes checking out every food stall he walks past and his boots. Let’s not forget about the shoes, one of my main requirements. His worn, black boots look like they’ve seen wars, or possibly a thousand different engine rooms. They’re boots that mean business. I’m okay with that.

I didn’t realize his hair was so short though. It’s buzzed close to his head, and it was longer in the photos I saw.

Hmmm, I don’t know. I’m ambivalent. If I passed him in a crowd, I’d probably keep going. He’s entirely unassuming and generic.

He looks away from the food stall he was checking out and catches me watching him. I’m suddenly conscious of how I look, and it’s a marked difference from meeting Sean in a kimono and makeup. Today, I’m dressed down in comfortable pants and a tank top because I knew the station would be hot. It always is with so many bodies in a controlled environment.

I’m tempted to smooth out my hair and futz with my appearance, but I stay cool, smiling just a little at his tilted head and subtle grin.

He approaches me and disappointment covers me from head to toe.

He’s shorter than me, by about three or four centimeters. Damn.

“I think you’re Vivian Kawabata,” he says, holding out his hand to shake mine. I pull on my Polite Vivian persona like a shroud. No one even knows she’s there.

“Hi. You must be Jinzo,” I say, shaking his hand.

I judge people by their handshakes. Yes, I do. His hand is warm and dry, clean but calloused, in ways Ken’s hands were never and could never be. We shake hands firmly for a moment, and then he swipes his thumb over the back of my knuckles before he lets go. He watches my hand fall to my side. Is something wrong with it? I stuff it in my pocket.

“The one and only.”

I’m not sure what to say. I’m not sure about anything, and it ties up my tongue. I try to smile, but it hits my lips lukewarm and ambivalent. Shit. I can’t hide that I’m not immediately attracted to this guy.

Since I’ve stuffed my hand into my pocket, he does the same and rocks back on his heels. “Soooooo…”

I close my eyes and inwardly groan at the awkwardness of our meeting. Why am I so bad at this? Dear God, I suck at first meetings, even when I’m prepared for them.

“Hey,” Jinzo’s voice breaks into my heavenly plea for help. My eyes fly open as he touches my arm. “Wanna get lunch? Sit down and talk? Do we have to be back to the ship right away or…?”

“No. No.” I glance at his hand on my arm, and he pulls it back to run his fingers over the top of his head and look away. Regret squats in my chest. Except for the barest touch from Ken a few days ago and Carlos this morning (which doesn’t count), I haven’t been touched by a man in ages. I forced myself on Sean, and he couldn’t wait to pry his fingers from my grasp. This man has touched me voluntarily. It’s an effort to ease my apprehension, but it’s a kind gesture, nonetheless.

“No, we don’t have to be back at the ship right away, and yes, we should get lunch.” I recover quickly, trying to remember, if anything, my manners. My mother used to say, “If you keep anything in this life, it should be your manners.”

“Great,” he says, his smile returning. He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you come here often? I eat here all the time since my apartment is in the next spire over.”

I avert my eyes to the floor for a moment as I step to his side. I’m afraid he would see how grateful I am to him for being, just, normal.

“I actually do come here plenty. I know these stalls pretty well.”

“Any favorites?”

I point forward and to the left as we approach hawker central. The smell of food overpowers my belly, and it writhes in annoyance. It’s empty, a state it does not like.

“The Mi Goreng noodles. Up on the left there. I dream about them at least twice a month.”

Jinzo’s mouth twists, trying to conceal a smile. “Good dreams, I’m gonna guess. I know Paulo. The man is a master of noodles. People come from everywhere just to get a bowl.” He gestures to an empty table near the wall, away from the crowds descending on the stalls. “Why don’t you sit here and I’ll get us bowls? What are your favorite toppings?”

Wait. That’s not how dates are supposed to go.

My manners are fighting an all-out war in my head. Part of me wants to beg him to sit down, and I’ll get it. Mom and Dad always stressed the importance of pulling my own weight. I’m supposed to do the work in the relationship, buy the food, run the family business, and keep everyone in the household in line. But the other half of me sees Jinzo’s eager eyes and thinks I should let him do it.

“A fried egg and pork,” I blurt out. My stomach won that battle.

“Hot sauce?”

I laugh, and the sound is both relieved and a little manic.

“Yes, please. I think my parents put hot sauce in my baby bottles.”

He throws his head back in a laugh. “I’m going to like them, I’m sure. Be right back.”

While Jinzo waits in line at the noodle stall, he talks to the people around him, smiling, laughing, and gesturing with his hands. Already he’s a hundred times more expressive than Sean. He seems to know a lot of people here, a Mister Popularity. Wouldn’t he be the perfect person to spy on me for whoever is after my brother? Maybe. I’m really not sure.

Is he even remotely attractive? I rest my chin on my hand and suck on my bottom lip as I consider it. Have I ever gone for a guy with little to no hair? Have I ever lusted over someone shorter than me? Have I ever given more than two glances to someone wearing the most generic of clothes? The black shirt, dark baggy jeans, and boots don’t really do it for me. Though the boots look like they could do some damage if called to task. I can respect that.

Should my decision come down to first impressions though? That’s the real question here. My parents asked me to make smart choices about whom to bring into my network. I’m supposed to consider things like family and influence, more than sexual attraction. Jinzo’s family is the kind of influential I need. He has family members in the police force on Rio, on a judge’s bench on Palo Alto, and his mother owns a used spaceship business. It’s big money. If he had been the eldest child, he might have been learning that instead of maintenance.

Tearing my thoughts from his background, I focus on the noodle stall again. Jinzo orders our lunches and gestures my way, talking animatedly. The old man that runs the booth leans out and sees me. I raise my hand in a brief hello because I’m pretty sure he knows who I am. The two smile at me, and when they turn away, a man slips into my line of sight, right at my table.

“You look lonely,” he says, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m just sitting here, minding my own business. I tip my head back lazily to look at him. He’s no one familiar, not the man who was following me earlier, no one I know. About three meters away, a group of men stand in a huddle and glance over their shoulders at this interloper, whispering amongst themselves.

Wanna bet this is a dare? Go talk to the little lady and maybe get a date? Get laid?

“Ah, no. I’m not lonely.” I brush at the air between us. “You can move along now.”

Not taking the hint, he pulls out Jinzo’s chair and sits in it.

“Looks to me like you just got a lunch date.”

I sit back and cross my arms for a moment while I consider my options. This has happened a few times in my life, mostly because I’ve been alone for so long. It’s like I give off a scent or something, and men can smell it from kilometers away. A blinking neon light above my head says, “She’s lonely! Come try your chances!”

“I have a lunch date already, and you’re in his seat. If you don’t leave, I’ll have to speak to your boss about your poor behavior,” I tell him. “You can go.”

“You’re in my chair, Zenno.” Jinzo arrives right on schedule, sliding the tray with two bowls of fried noodles and drinks straight onto the table.

“Your chair?” Zenno asks, not paying attention to Jinzo. His eyes are one-hundred percent on me. “I don’t think so.”

With a swift kick of his boot, Jinzo hooks his foot on the chair’s leg and swipes the chair right out from under Zenno. I blink and Zenno is on the floor and Jinzo is sitting across from me, sliding the bottle of hot sauce he scored out of his pocket.

“Here you go, Vivian. As promised. I hope you’re hungry.”

My mouth is stuck open. I expect Zenno to jump up and retaliate, but he crab walks backwards a few paces before getting up and walking away. Jinzo doesn’t even acknowledge Zenno’s existence.

“It appears I’ve chosen a highly enticing woman to have lunch with.”

He raises his eyebrows at me as he pulls a set of chopsticks from the table’s supplies. An amused grin teases at my lips. Okay, that’s a check in the ‘desirable’ column. He still could be a spy, but now he’s a more attractive one.

“Paulo assures me this is an excellent batch of noodles. Eat up. They taste best hot.”

I snap a pair of chopsticks from the supply and dig in, laughing under my breath.

“Now, tell me all about your ship and your mission. I’m dying to know what this is all about.”

I fill him in on everything that happened with my brother and my family since I assume this is what Marcelo has done, anyway. He’s my matchmaker, and it’s his job to get me the best matches in the Duo Systems, and that can’t be done if we start things out on a lie.

Jinzo listens carefully, only interrupting me to clarify certain points. There’s a quiet and analytical nature about him that I like. Not like Sean quiet where he won’t talk to me, doesn’t want to be around me. Jinzo is interested in what I have to say.

Another check in the ‘desirable’ column.

This is nice. I’ve met someone who will let me talk. What a rarity.

“So, I need a ship’s engineer. I need someone who knows engines, will keep the ship running, and can help me with my ‘space greenhouse.’”

He doesn’t know what I’m growing, but he doesn’t need to. Not now.

“Space greenhouse,” he says with a chuckle. “Okay. I can help with all of that.” He sits back in his chair and takes a generous gulp of his bottle of water. The hawker central has increased in customers over the last hour, and the station’s close quarters echo the sound everywhere. I hope no one’s been listening in, but it’s not like I’ve said anything more than what’s already been on OEN, except for what I want from a ship’s engineer. If he’s spying on me, then he’s not doing the best job of it.

“And just so we’re clear” — Jinzo takes a deep breath and focuses on me — “this position may also include a place in your relationship network?”

If he had asked me this question an hour ago, before we had talked, I might’ve told him no.

But something in my gut tells me to give him a chance. Sitting across from him, seeing how other people nod at him as they walk past or avoid him altogether, I know I’ve met someone powerful. Combine that with the few checks in the ‘desirable’ column, and he’s looking better by the minute.

“Anything’s possible,” I say, my grin widening and my cheeks heating. “Why don’t you tell me a little more about you? I’ve been doing all the talking for the last hour.”

“I have a better idea,” he says, standing up. He grabs both of our empty bowls and places them on the tray. “Why don’t we walk and talk? We’ll stop by my place so I can pick up my things, and we’ll make our way back to your ship.”

This is good. I wasn’t sure if he’d still want to come back to the ship if I didn’t give him a definite answer. But he’s game.

And now, I want to see his apartment. There’s a lot one can tell about people by the way they live.

Jinzo takes care of the bowls and pauses to talk to men on our way out of the eating area. He’s careful not to take too much time but still give people a nod or a wave.

“How long have you been living here?” I ask as we enter the flow of people through the longer walkways.

“Living here, three years, but I’ve been working on and off this station for the past eight.”

“And you’re twenty-nine?”

“Relatively speaking, yes.” He smiles. “Isn’t age strange? On Ossun, I’m thirty-one. On Rio, I’m twenty-nine. On Palo Alto, I’m thirty.” He circles his index finger in the air indicating the rotation of planets. “I was born on Rio, so I use that, but it’s all close enough.”

He turns and walks backwards next to me for a moment.

“This place is more my home than any place else. Even when I was commuting here for week-long shifts and sleeping in the dorms, OS was the place I always looked forward to coming back to.”

He reaches out for my hand, and I let him take it. Maybe I should put Polite Vivian away. She’s a lot more forgiving than Bitch Vivian. I can hardly believe he’s made physical contact with me.

“I’d love to show you everything from the observation lounges to the depths of the station,” he says, his eyes shining with excitement.

My body tingles as he pulls me close and brings his lips to my ear.

“You seem to be awfully popular. Did you know someone is following you?”

The thrill of being close to him, so familiar so fast, vanishes into the thick air of the station.

Jinzo pulls away, coming back to my side, but doesn’t let go of my hand.

Turns out I need Calm Vivian because panic grabs ahold of my legs and shakes them like an earthquake.

“We’re going to turn right at the next hallway, and then I want you to run with me and we’ll turn left and then right again. Okay?”

I nod, and nerves stand up in my belly. Do I trust Jinzo? I glance over at him and his confident manner. Like this is no big deal. What if he’s playing along because he’s in on the whole situation? What if these people who want to find my brother are using Jinzo to get to me? What if I’m being played?

Paranoid Vivian, I don’t like you one bit.

Jinzo squeezes my hand once. “Ready?”

We turn right and run. Jinzo’s boots pound on the floor, and I keep my legs pumping to match his strides. For being shorter than me, he’s a fast runner with a long stride.

We zip past a few people who jump to get out of our way. My heart rate zooms, not used to this kind of exercise on so little sleep.

“Left here,” Jinzo says, and my feet obey without much thought. The doors in this section blur by, but with fewer pedestrians, I believe we’ve hit the residential areas of the station.

“Right then left.”

Why are we running again? I want to lay down and die now. I don’t exercise.

We dodge right, then left again at the next corridor. Jinzo comes to a screeching halt at a door labeled ‘Maintenance.’ I overshoot, and my leg muscles scream as I try to gain my footing and come back. He scans his wristlet, and the door pops open.

Edging into the room, I see nothing but pipes and steam for several meters. Jinzo shuts the door behind him.

“Lights off,” he says, and the room plunges into darkness.

“Hey, I can’t —”

“Shhh.” He pulls me closer to him, but my heart is pounding in my ears, and my breath is ragged and labored. I’m not sure I could be quiet, even if I wanted to.

My balance is off, and his tug is just a little too much. I crash into him and snap out my hand to stop from falling over. My fingers hit something behind him and pain lances up through my hand.

My skin actually sizzles before I jerk my hand back.

“Ow!” I scream into his shoulder. Every last bit of strength I had left dissolves through my whimper.

I sag against Jinzo. He wraps one arm around me to keep me up.

“Oh shit. Are you okay?” His lips are at my ear.

“No.”

“Hold on.”

I keep my face buried in his shoulder, wishing I had a cold tap of water to dip my fingers in. Fuck, I hate being burned.

I’m jostled around for a bit, waiting on Jinzo, when he finally says, “Lights up.”

The room fades up into focus, and I pull my face from his shoulder. No wonder I burned my fingers. There’s a big sign that reads ‘CAUTION: HOT!’ right there.

“I’m accessing public feeds for these corridors, and I don’t see them anymore.” He’s reading information from a small datapad, and when he’s done, he sighs and slips it into his pocket. He reaches for my hand, and I’m too broken up to resist. “Oh no. You singed two fingers.” He blows on them gently, and I huff a slight laugh. My dad used to do that for all my boo-boos.

“Let me bring you back to my place, grab my bags, and get back to your ship before those guys show up again.”

I nod through my tears of pain. Yes, please. I want to go back to the Amagi and sleep for years. I need to talk to Marcelo and find out more about Jinzo before I spend any more personal time with him. Before I begin to trust him. Did he just save my life or did he plan that all along?

He shakes his head. “Such a shame to be injured on the first date. But I guess we can only go up from here. So, you want to tell me why you have Athens Industries goons on your tail?”

I catch my breath and sway. Jinzo tightens his grip on me by grabbing for my waist.

“What? They work for Athens Industries?”

This changes everything.

Have they already figured out what I have on the ship?

“Hmmm.” Jinzo tips his head to the side. “Looks like we’ll have lots to talk about in the coming days.” He double-checks his datapad. “The coast is clear, and my place is three corridors over.” He opens the door, and I take a deep breath before stepping through. “After you, Ms. Vivian.”