Broken Flyght – Chapter 8

“We need to get out of here immediately.”

I stride towards the docks ahead of Jinzo, keeping my eyes peeled for anyone out of the ordinary. Anyone who even glances in my direction becomes suspect. My skin crawls with paranoia. They could be on the ship, tracking us, hunting us. Or I could be blowing this way out of proportion.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Vivian,” Jinzo says from behind me. “Athens sends out guys like this all the time to call in debts or even just to check if your ship is registered properly. It’s probably nothing.”

Oh, it’s definitely something.

I scan my wristlet at the airlock to the Amagi and wait an extra second before the locks click open. Right. Carlos mentioned there would be encryption delays now.

“Sky! We gotta go! Now!” I call out, ushering Jinzo through the airlock and dogging the connections behind us until all the lights blink green.

Skylar and Lia are in the galley’s common area, their shoes off and feet up, lounging around in the big, fluffy cushions. Chickens roam freely. Lia is reading on a datapad, and Skylar has a device in her lap she’s taken apart.

“What’s that?” I point to the remains of the tech on her lap.

“Ah, nothing. Just an old hard drive Carlos wants repaired.” Skylar looks up and tilts her head at Jinzo. “You’re new.”

“Hi,” Jinzo replies. “I’m your new engineer… well, maybe.”

Skylar purses her lips while Lia sets down her datapad and assesses Jinzo. To his good credit, he smiles.

“Three women on one ship? How did I get so lucky?”

I bark out a short laugh and roll my eyes. Lia smirks.

“What about the other one?” Skylar jerks her head in the direction of the engine room. “He’s already recalibrated the engines and done work in there that’s been waiting months for repair.”

I shrug my shoulders, my only response. Jinzo’s already aware of the arrangement, so I don’t need to explain.

“Our biggest problem now is getting the hell out of here.” I turn to Jinzo. “You’re okay with traveling for the next two weeks? I know we said it would be a provisional two-week contract before we made any decisions but —”

“I’m fine.” He raises his hand. “I’m all yours.” His eyes widen for a moment before he coughs and covers his mouth. “Contractually speaking, that is. My contract at OS expired two days ago. I can get another one at any time… if this doesn’t work out.”

He’s thought of everything, then. When we went to his sparse apartment, he grabbed a full backpack, a military-issue, black bag, and another laundry bag. He left very little behind, and he took out the trash.

“Okay then. Let’s shove off from here. Skylar, you prep us to go. Lia, take care of the animals and ready the cargo bay for more clients.”

Both women stand up.

“I’ll get right on it.” Skylar heads for the bridge. “This place is giving me the creeps, anyway.”

“New clients, Captain?” Lia’s face lights up. “What are we taking on?”

“Not sure yet. But I’ll get on it right away.”

I turn to Jinzo. “Welcome aboard the Amagi. I hope you’ll like it here. I’ve assigned you Cabin Fourteen, and hopefully, it suits your needs. You should go introduce yourself to Sean. Let him know you’re here to work on the engines and anything else we need you for.”

“So, is he my… competition?” Jinzo shoves a hand in his pocket while shouldering one of his bags.

Be honest, Captain Vivian.

Is he in competition for my heart? Or just for the job of engineer? Or both?

Looking at this new man who I only met a few hours ago, I can’t be sure. He seems like a good one, but then where did these stalkers come from? If we jet away from here, and we’re still followed, can I point to him and say it’s his fault?

“You could say that… as the ship’s engineer.” I turn to leave him to stew on that.

“Vivian,” he calls out before I’m through the door. I hesitate to look back at him. “Don’t forget to take care of your fingers.”

I glance down at the tips of my right index and middle fingers, red and painful now that I’m paying attention to them.

“Thanks. I’ll do that.”

In the den of tech, Carlos and Yan are staring at the monitors, their mouths set in identical grim lines.

“Any progress? Or do I not want to know?”

Yan stands up, making more room, while Carlos pauses what he was looking at.

“Well, it’s a good thing we’re heading to Rio because that’s where Tomu went from here.” Carlos points at the monitor. My brother is speaking to a man in hawker central, not far from where Jinzo and I just had lunch. “He hired a ship, off the books. The captain of this piece of junk showed up at Belem Orbital Station four days after this. It’s only a guess, but I bet Tomu is on Rio.”

“And what about the guys following him?” My heart is beating up in my throat again. It’s threatening to choke me.

“I recognize them. They work for Athens,” Yan says.

I sigh and deflate. Athens Industries. Whatever Tomu had, they want it… or want it back.

“We think we can trace Tomu, Captain,” Carlos says, butting in.

Yan shrugs. “I have access to the Brazilianos Orbital Stations security feeds, but they’re all local. I can trace him when we get there if you like.”

Why is he being so nice? My eyes narrow. Suspicious Vivian is on call, night or day.

“Free of charge,” he says, raising his hands and laughing. “I’m just as curious as you are. Usually, my days are not so full of drama.”

“You mean you usually end up drinking beers and going home to watch dramas and fall asleep alone,” Carlos says.

“Hey now. Don’t judge,” Yan counters. But these two must be good friends because Carlos laughs, and they continue. “Once he’s on Rio, though, you’re on your own. He could be on any of the ten cities.” Yan shrugs.

“That’s okay. I think I know where to start if he made it to Rio.”

—-

Back in my room, I dig out the three clues I got from Tomu’s apartment. The perfume, the stack of business cards, and the redeem card for the Rio casino. I flop myself on the bed and hold the redeem card in my left hand. My right hand is burnt and needs attending to, but I’m of one mind right now, and that’s finding Tomu.

Carnaval Atlantico Casino is located on Oitavo, the eighth city of Rio. In all of my time living on Rio, I had never been there. This is one of the cities that floats mostly over water and boasts more money than God. The elite love Oitavo. My family may have been wealthy by Ossun standards, but elite? Not even close.

On the back of the redeem card, Tomu’s name is etched in with “VIP” right next to it. Anger heats my face as I picture him gambling away the family fortune. Very important person? We’ll see about that.

I’m a little miffed that Oitavo is so far from where I lived on Rio. I miss my poor college neighborhood, the food, the music, and the smiles from people on the street. When I was in school, I lived in Quatro, the fourth city, but I’ve been to Segundo, Sexto, and Decimo. Ken always loved to travel, so we took long weekends away when we could.

Ken. Should I call him directly? Or should I use the Flyght portal to obtain a new client?

I leave the card on the bed and head into the bathroom for the first aid kit. Cooling spray for burns is a commonly used medication on spaceships. There’s always something hot to singe yourself on. I spray my fingers and sigh in relief as they calm down from throbbing level to mild itch. As I count to ten, the pink skin loses a few degrees of redness. Ahhhh, antiseptic and nanites. Thank goodness for modern medicine.

I turn the can over and read the back — Cosmas, Incorporated, Athens Industries’ only competitor nowadays. They control eighty percent of the medical and pharmaceutical market, plus seventy percent of all hospitals in the Duo Systems. The other thirty percent are private or run by Athens. Maybe I should consider them as potential buyers for my seeds if things go south? They’re the type of company that stays out of the spotlight. They do their thing and not much else.

My wristlet buzzes with an incoming call as I’m pulling a bandage out of the kit and closing it up.

It’s Marcelo. His incoming call is preceded by a message indicating the transmission is encrypted. Thanks, Carlos.

“What’s this I hear that you’re heading out of Orbital Station early?”

“We’re getting out of here as soon as possible.” I rip open the bandages with my teeth and tape up my two fingers.

“I got a package from Carlos two hours ago with a temporary wristlet in it, and now I see everything is different on our systems. What’s going on?”

Even Marcelo’s calm demeanor seems to be wearing thin.

“I’m being followed. Someone tracked me all over Orbital Station. You’ll want to inspect your shuttle before we meet up again.”

My chin shakes as I take in Marcelo’s grim stare.

“I wish you were here.”

My confession is probably too familiar for someone I yelled at a few days ago. Marcelo’s increasing alarm cements the heartache camping out in my chest. Like it or not, I need him and his guidance, and right now, he’s one of only a few people I can trust.

“Ms. Vivian, you’re worrying me.”

I rub my face with both hands, trying to chase away the fear.

“I’m worried too. I don’t know who to trust here besides you and the crew. I know little to nothing about Sean or Jinzo beyond the files you gave me. And now…”

I break off, thinking about what’s to come.

“We need to get to Rio, and I need business there. It’s the last place Tomu traveled to.”

Marcelo takes a deep breath as his eyes scan information on his side of the call.

“Okay, this is what you do. Get to Rio as fast as you can. Call into Mr. Mata, let him know what’s going on, and then ask for a new assignment on Rio from Flyght. Something easy that’ll make good cover while you keep your followers off your tail and find Tomu.”

“I wasn’t going to bother Ken personally with this—”

Marcelo’s face becomes stern. “If you intend to go forward in an honest manner with your consorts, then you will call Mr. Mata and inform him of your situation.”

“But what can he do from so far away?”

“Trust me. He’ll be upset if you don’t involve him.”

I do trust Marcelo, but he doesn’t know Ken like I do. We’ve only just rekindled this relationship. Putting this on his plate now would burden him.

I need to think before I leap.

I change the subject.

“I need you to do something for me.” I pause as I contemplate this task. It’s a massive invasion of privacy and not the way I want to start out a relationship.

“I’m having trouble with both Sean and Jinzo. First, Sean is doing everything he can to avoid me. He hides out in the engine room and refuses to do basic tasks. He doesn’t want to be here, and I need to know why.”

Marcelo sighs. “I feel horrible about this. I’ve never had a client act like that.”

“It’s not your fault, but I need more information.”

“And Jinzo? How did the first meeting go?”

I tilt my head side to side. “All right. He’s kind, easy to talk to, made me laugh a few times. He’s shorter than me though.” I grimace. “I didn’t truly realize that I found taller men attractive.”

“Hmmm.”

“Anyway, he was the one who helped me get away from someone chasing after us. And he recognized the men as Athens Industries employees.”

“No!”

I shake my head. “It all seemed too convenient, and I keep getting the nagging feeling that he set me up. Still, though, he’s here, and it seems like he wants to help. He actually speaks to me, which is more than I can say about Sean. He’s gotta have skeletons in his closet.”

Jinzo’s keen smile pops into my head, and I regret suspecting him of causing me harm.

“He has an old relationship he’s been out of for a while, but Athens? I don’t think so.”

Old relationship? I didn’t know about this. Wait. Did I see something in his file?

I think maybe my lack of sleep is playing havoc with my memory retention.

“I’ll get on this immediately, Ms. Vivian, and I’ll start with Sean. Don’t worry. I always find out people’s secrets. Always.”

That I’m quite sure of.

“And I’ll meet you on Rio soon. I promise I’ll fly there fast.”

My stomach sinks as I consider doing this thing without him.

“Is there anything I can get you while I’m still here on Ossun? Anything you’re missing?”

I marvel at the way he can change the subject and put me at ease.

“Chocolate? I haven’t had my own stash of chocolate in months.” I can buy a piece of chocolate cake or even a chocolate bar here and there. But my own little box or stash of it? I’m always forgetting to go to a store and get some.

“I know the perfect chocolatier. I’ll be with you in a few days.”

“I’ll see you soon,” I say, the words catching in my throat.

“As soon as possible.”