High Flyght – Chapter 21

Anger and fear slowly burn a hole in my gut as I walk through the early morning streets of Concord City with a boy’s hand in each of mine. I still have no idea what their names are. They clammed up completely after our initial questioning. If they broke away from me now and started running, I’d be screwed, so I keep up a steady stream of chatter.

“This is where my family always used to go for dinner.”

“Japantown is down this way. My family has strong Japanese ties by way of Brazil and Japan back on Old Earth. My last name means ‘riverbank.’”

“It’s sweltering today. I wonder if it’ll rain.”

The short-haired boy keeps his eyes straight ahead, one hand on the oversized pants Ken bought for him this morning. The other boy looks up and smiles at me. He appears to be the more open of the two. Not that I should be comparing them. I don’t think they’re related, just thrown into this situation together and making the best out of it they can.

We approach Gai Reis’s office, and the little old man I talked to last time I was here is still outside sweeping. Man, he’s up early. Most of the city is still asleep, and this guy is cleaning the sidewalk like it’s the only job he’s ever had. His eyes burrow into me as I walk past, and this time I don’t acknowledge him.

“Okay, we’re here now. Just a second.” I release one boy’s hand and access the door panel, letting it ring.

It rings and rings and rings, and each time I hear the damned tone, my temper rises and rises and rises.

I step away from the door and lift my head to look at the half-open window.

“Gai Reis! I know you’re in there! My AI tracked you all night, and I have some sweet, young kids who want to talk to you!”

The door lock clicks after a breath. I shove it open and usher both kids inside.

“What the hell are you doing?” Gai Reis hisses as he runs down his stairs. He slithers around us to the window, opens the blinds, and peeks out. “Someone will see you and report me.”

“And what, pray tell, would they be reporting you for? Huh?” I gesture to the two boys.

“What are they doing out of the cryocontainer?” His face is as red as a cooked beet.

“Good question. You see, I didn’t even know they were in the cryocontainer until we got notice that we were going to face a random Customs inspection in orbit.”

The redness calms, and he begins to sweat. “Did Customs open the box?”

“No, I did. And then I destroyed eighteen of my own fish to cover up for you. It was a good thing too since they did open the box during their inspection.”

I turn and head straight for the stairs.

“Wait! Where are you going? You can’t be here! They’ll see you!”

I ignore him as he’s scrambling up the stairs behind me. Even if he caught me now, he wouldn’t dare touch me or prevent me from going anywhere I please. I hold his life in my hands.

I barrel through his interior garden, past his office desk, and into the room I heard noises from the last time I was here.

The door flies open, and little bodies shoot in every direction, but they’re not fast enough.

“Aw, shit.” I throw my hands up in the air. Gai Reis comes skidding into the room a moment later. “How many?”

“How many what?” He feigns ignorance.

I step up and get right into his face. The boiling anger in my belly is plain on my face, and his face slacks with terror.

“I’ll start with a simpler question,” I grind out from my locked jaw. “Where do all these boys go?”

“I-I-I don’t know.” I jerk a little closer, and he raises his hands. “I really don’t know! I’m just a way station. I hold them until the next part of their journey. That’s it.”

“That’s it?” My voice climbs. “You are ferrying little boys off to some unknown place for money. That’s fucking human trafficking, you piece of dirt.”

He sinks under the weight of my stare. “Oh, come on. It’s not that bad.”

I look for a weapon, grab a glass vase sitting on a table, and pick it up.

“I am going to fuck you up if you don’t take that back right now.”

A switch is flipped, and Vigilante Vivian is on the case.

Gai Reis turns to liquid jelly and his legs buckle under him. “Please don’t hurt me. I swear I was only doing what they told me to do.” His eyes water; I raise the vase even higher. “Oh, God. I violated my contract with my wife, and she sold my business off to Athens. I’ve been a pawn for years.” He collapses at my feet and sobs. “These boys are expendable. Their families don’t want them. Please don’t think it’s evil. It’s a good thing. They’ll go on to have a life now.”

He grabs at my feet, but I shake him off.

Gross. What a coward.

I try to calm my raging breath as I look around the room. There are six other little boys here, ranging in age from four to about nine years old is my guess. They peek out from behind couches and from under cots, and all of them have the same wide-eyed stare. I must be the most exciting thing they’ve seen lately. They don’t appear to have anything in common on the surface, except for their ill-fitting clothes. Some have dark skin, and some have light. Some are tall, and some are short. One sucks on his thumb. My heart breaks even as rage gathers in my chest anew.

Now, I know for sure Athens Industries is behind this. It’s not just a guess; it’s a fact. And there’s no way they aren’t coming after me.

I sigh as I back away from Gai Reis. What can I do about these boys? I can’t just walk them out of here and try to find them new homes or find the homes they belong to. I can only imagine what their mothers and fathers would say if I returned them to their families.

As much as I hate it, I don’t think this is something I can stop alone. If Skylar truly wants to take up this task, though, I need to gather more information for her.

“How many more way stations are there?” I nudge Gai with my toe.

“I don’t know,” he stresses, pulling himself off the floor. “I only know that I’m not the only one doing this. They get hundreds of new recruits every year.”

I throw my head back, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.

“All I wanted was to earn money and buy back my farm. That’s it. Was that too much to ask?” I mumble at the ceiling.

I’m losing sight of my objective by being here. My job is not to save the world or these kids. My job is simple. Buy back the family farm.

But even as I stand here, I can’t shake the stares of these little boys. I’m an adult to them, and adults are in charge. Here I am yelling at the man who took them in, who defrosted them out of cold sleep and told them they were going to have a better life. They have no other version of their story to look forward to. They have no life to return to.

All I’ve done is come in here and confused everything.

“I’m under surveillance,” Gai whispers at the floor. “They have cameras everywhere.”

“Do you think I would’ve come here if I hadn’t already taken care of your surveillance? My tech guy is one of the best in the Duo Systems.” I lift my chin, proud of Carlos and his work. He’s smart and reliable, and so what if he can only ever father boys? He’s a worthy young man.

“You didn’t take care of my neighbor across the street. You need to go now before they come.” He keeps his head bowed.

Fuck. I knew that guy was suspicious.

This is it. The end of my anonymity. Athens Industries knows I know something. There’s no going back. We were just a ship doing regular business in the Duo Systems. Now, we’re a target for one of the biggest corporations in the universe.

The situation is not my fault, but here we are anyway.

And unlike this coward on the floor, I will not let Athens rule over me.

I’m going to build my relationship network, I’m going to fly for Flyght, I will earn back all my money, and I will buy my farm. I’m going to return to my life if it’s the last thing I do.

I squat down next to him and grab a fistful of his shirt. “This is not over. I will be doing something about this. You tell Athens I came here because of what I found in the cryocontainer —”

“O-O-Okay.”

“Listen!” I jerk him, and he falls silent. “Tell them they better stay the hell away from me. I’ll keep quiet if they leave me the fuck alone.”

Athens Industries doesn’t know I have what Tomu stole, and I’d like to leave it that way for a while. Once they know, they’ll really be after me.

I almost let him go but yank him back up. “You owe me not only for this shipment but also for covering your ass. Another 2000 credits. Hear me?”

Gai nods, so I push him to the floor and go to the window. Looking out on the street from behind the curtain, I spot two lumbering men waddling up the street.

Hello, Mr. Tattoo and Mr. Sumo.

I thought I would see them again someday, but not this soon, and not in this kind of situation.

The massive men are not very fast, so I need to move quicker than them.

I hustle through the building to the back. Gai Reis and the little boys follow.

This side of the building has a fire escape, so I squeeze myself out the window and lower the ladder.

“Are you leaving?” A little boy asks, coming to the window ledge. “I want you to stay.”

What? A bark of a laugh bolts from my mouth. “Goodness, why? Haven’t I scared you enough?”

The ladder hits the ground, and I cringe. Too much noise.

“You kick ass,” an older boy says, his voice full of wonder.

Well, shit. I kick ass. Studious and Disciplinarian Vivian kicks ass.

My good mood quickly collapses as a dozen pairs of eyes watch me run from the scene of the crime. I drop my head and clench my teeth. I can’t just leave these boys here.

“I’m sorry I can’t take you with me,” I say, grabbing the handrail. “I’m sorry I can’t kick enough ass to break you out of here.”

One boy shrugs. “I want to go to the academy.”

Of course, you do.

I hurry down the ladder and slide along the rear of the building until I reach the street. When I look back down Gai’s side street, the door to his place is ajar. I’m sure Mr. Tattoo and Mr. Sumo are in there.

A lucky break on my part.

But Athens is on to me, and I’m a step behind. I need to get back to the ship before the big guys because I’m sure they’re right on my heels.