Lost Flyght – Chapter 21

We’re packing up at the villa later in the day when my wristlet buzzes with an incoming message. It’s Marcelo.

“Do you have time for a vidcall? I know you must be getting ready to depart,” he writes.

“Marcelo wants to talk,” I inform Jinzo, who’s sitting on the balcony, reading on his datapad.

I slip the encrypted key into the desk again and call up Marcelo. His smiling face appears on the screen, perfectly at home in his shuttle. I didn’t realize until this moment how much I missed him.

“Hi.” I melt into the chair at the desk and sigh with relief. I’m not that long from getting back to the new life I relied on for comfort and familiarity. The Amagi is my home until I can return to the family land.

“You look good, Ms. Vivian! Rested, even. Though maybe you could use some more rest.”

I press my hand to my cheek and lament the circles under my eyes. “My only good night of sleep was last night, but I’ve been getting plenty of sun and fresh air.”

“I suppose that will have to be enough. Hello, Jinzo. Good to see you made it in one piece.”

“Hey, Marcelo. Yep. The shuttles run on time and frequently to Laguna. It’s one reason my mom bought this villa.”

“She has excellent taste and just the right amount of practicality. I’ve always admired her.” He clears his throat and sits back. “Speaking of which, I just had lunch with her, and we were both surprised by the news circulating the duonet. Have you seen the latest from Ms. Briar-Stevenson?”

My stomach drops. Oh no. Have we been betrayed? What is this now?

“I can tell by your expression, you have not. Let me pipe it in.”

Marcelo makes a few gestures on his end, and the feed changes to an interview. I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand. Wow. Cressida looks like shit, absolute shit. Her hair is pulled back, and her face is pale without makeup. She’s wearing a dark green blouse and no jewelry. I’ve never seen her like this.

“Thank you for being with us today, Ms. Briar-Stevenson,” Cenobia Senna Snow simpers at her.

“Please call me Cressida.”

I raise my eyebrows at her familiarity and hoarse voice. She sounds ten years older than she really is.

“And I’m glad to be here today. Thanks for meeting with me.” She does not look glad. Not one bit.

“Well, first, let me address why we’re here today. You’d like to make a statement?”

“Yes, I would. You see, I’ve had a moment of clarity, I believe it’s called. A chance to look at myself and my network and realize that I’ve been on the wrong path.”

“The wrong path? How so?” Cenobia leans in, ready for this juicy gossip.

“Fame? Fortune? They’re all worthless,” Cressida says, turning straight to the camera. “Celebrity gossip and sniping at your ‘enemies’ will get you nowhere when the chips are down.”

The camera switches to Cenobia, squirming in her seat. OEN’s currency is gossip, and this goes against the company’s manifesto.

“I’m here today to set the record straight. I stole my best friend’s consort. She loved me, and we were close, and I was a bitch and stole him away.”

“Oh. My. God.” I am in such shock that this feels unreal. I glance up at Jinzo standing next to me, and his eyebrows are attempting to launch from his face.

“Well, maybe —” Cenobia starts, but Cressida holds up her hand and bulldozes ahead.

“There is no excuse for what I did. It ruined my friendships and ruined my relationships with all my other consorts. That’s why Jinzo Lee left me. That’s why he’s with a better human being now, instead of with me. Hear that? Vivian Kawabata didn’t steal Jinzo. I drove him away.”

I turn to Jinzo with wide eyes and grasp his arm. “I promise you, I did not ask her to do any of this.”

Jinzo shakes out of his shock. “Oh, I believe you. This is a scorched earth campaign if ever I saw one. I can guarantee her own admins are shitting in their pants right now.”

“And now I’m starting over. Completely.” Cressida throws her hands up, spooking Cenobia enough to make her back away. “I’ve cashed in my family earnings, and I’m going to live a quiet life, helping other people. My sister, Ada, will take over the family business.” She tilts her head to the side and fakes a pout. “Too bad for you, she’s not much of a celebrity.”

Cressida gets up from her chair and walks out of the studio. The video ends.

Marcelo’s face is before me now, and he nods solemnly. “That’s exactly how Ms. Lee and I looked after viewing the same video. The duonet is now crawling with theories. They’re saying Ms. Cressida was on drugs, that it wasn’t really her in the interview, that she’s lost her mind, et cetera. But then there are the heartfelt reactions, too, telling Ms. Cressida that she did the right thing. So, it looks like we’re off the hook. That’s one less thing to worry about.”

I remove my hand from my mouth. “I figured she’d do an interview, but I didn’t think she’d torpedo her whole life.”

Marcelo shrugs. “Sometimes, people want to start over. She’s young. She’ll weather this and build a new life.”

“I suppose so.” I can’t help but feel guilty, though, for being the person who pushed her over the edge.

Jinzo’s hand rests on my shoulder, and I feel a slight relief at knowing he’s on my side.

“With Ms. Cressida out of the way, we now have to deal with Ms. India Dellis. She’s released a statement after that interview saying, and I quote, ‘Ms. Briar-Stevenson may have given Vivian Kawabata a victory, but the Kawabata Holdings are set to go to auction soon, and her brother is still at-large. I will continue to focus my efforts on purchasing her land at auction to bring some justice to the downfall of my friend. The Dellis family does not back down from a fight.’” Marcelo sighs. “I don’t know what she hopes to gain with this except to put added pressure on you.”

“That’s the picture of the situation, actually.” I can’t think of why she’s so dead-set against me either.

“Well, you’ll have a chance to work things out since she’ll be at the Correa wedding.”

I double over like I’ve been kicked in the stomach.

“Really? What connection does she have to Gus’s family?”

He looks off to the side. “My research tells me one of Ms. India’s husbands is a cousin of the Correa family.”

I bang my head on the desk over and over. Why didn’t Gus tell me this?

“Ms. Vivian, please. You’re going to give yourself a headache.”

“Listen to Marcelo, Viv,” Jinzo says, and I sigh, resting my chin on my propped hand.

“She was a late addition to the guest list. Added only this week. I have secured a suite at the hotel just up the road from the Correa estate for the wedding. A place for you to come and go from. I will have someone there for hair and makeup the day of.”

Marcelo thinks of everything, and I want to do nothing. I don’t even want to go to this wedding now that India will be there.

But I’m going for Gus. For Gus.

“Now, we need to re-double our efforts at getting you at least one more wealthy suitor for your network, and I have good news on that front.”

I sit up a little straighter.

“My prospective client on Sonoma has contacted me and wants to go through with the first meeting. As you know, men can own land on Sonoma, and men own at least fifty percent of the land there. This particular man owns a vineyard and winery. He’s a bit older but still a bachelor, and he’s eager to meet you.” Marcelo sips on some tea. “I’m actually surprised he reached out to me. Last time we spoke, he was hesitant about the idea and told me he was sure he was fine just as he was. Looks like something has changed.”

This gives me pause. I’m not sure I want to jump through more hoops to prove myself to another suitor. I’m already weary from trying to keep my network together. Thank goodness Ken is fine and socked away doing work on Palo Alto. I’m sure he’ll miss me after a few days and be back, but at least I don’t have to worry about him. Jinzo is another story. He needs to be held close after this week. Gus? What do I even do about him? He’s quiet. He’s sweet. He’s into me, but he keeps pushing me away. And he’s not wealthy. I only want him because he is who he is. I’m letting my heart get in the way of business.

Still, if Marcelo tells me this is what I need to do, then this is what I need to do. I can’t quit now. I need to work harder, not fall to pieces.

Determined Vivian surfaces and raises her shoulders. She shoves Tired Vivian aside and smiles.

“I can’t wait to meet him. Do I get a name or anything ahead of time?”

Marcelo’s smile is wry. “I’m keeping this one close to the chest as I do my research. I’m going to make doubly sure there are no skeletons in his closet before you meet him.”

“Okay. I trust you, Marcelo. Please let me know if you need anything from me.”

“This is why I love working with you, Ms. Vivian.”

My system pings, and a new call from Carlos blinks in the upper left corner of the screen.

“I’m going to go take this call from Carlos. We’ll talk later?”

“Of course. I think you’ll want to be prepared for this one. It’s actually not Carlos calling.” He winks as his vidcall disconnects.

Really?

I answer the call, and it’s voice-only.

“Why, Captain! You are looking gorgeous and rested. I have obviously missed so much being out of commission.”

“Ai!” I grab Jinzo’s hand. “Oh my god, go get Skylar.”

“Sure,” he says, chuckling. “It’s good to hear your voice, Ai.”

“Looking sexy as always, Jinzo.” She purrs as he walks out, laughing.

“What are you doing? How are you even talking to me now?” I pull my legs up and squeeze them, then grimace at the ache in my knee and hip. I stretch back out.

“Carlos and Yan have worked tirelessly to bring me back to a — let us say — handicapped state. I’m on a datapad with limited duonet access, mostly with Carlos’s help. No access to my auxiliary databanks, either. So all of my stalking data is locked away. All of my ship data, too. Everything I had been watching for you. Carlos is working on it. But my basic personality files and most of my memories are intact.”

“Ai?” Skylar’s mouth is open in surprise as she glides into the room.

“It is Ai.”

I snort a laugh. Carlos must have left her humor protocols intact as well.

“Wow. Are you fixed?”

“Alas, no. Even if you put me in a sexbot, I would fail during foreplay. Carlos has assured me, though, that I will be a fine and serviceable concierge once he’s done with me. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best he can do.”

Skylar’s face falls. I’m sure she hoped that Ai would be fixed, and we wouldn’t have to worry about getting a new AI. Looks like we’ll be calling in that favor from Malina after all.

“Well, believe it or not, we missed you,” Skylar says. “I kept wanting to call on you for help, and you weren’t there.”

“Oh, sweetie, that makes my day. I’m so pleased to hear that I was missed.”

She sounds choked up, which should be strange, but I’m used to it now.

“I’ve enjoyed talking to you, but now I must hand off the communication to Carlos. Please let me know if there’s anything you need from me. I can handle basic tasks until I’m up and running.”

Carlos’s face pops up on the screen. “Good to see you all, though I think I’ll be seeing you in the flesh within a day.”

I expect a smile, but his face is the picture of concern.

“I’m running through the logs from Ai, and there’s some troubling data here. Strange readings from auxiliary systems. Shorts in the electrical circuitry. Fuel, air, and water consumption are off. I think… I think something is wrong with the Amagi.”

Skylar leans past me at the desk, planting both hands and gripping the edge. “What do you mean?”

He shakes his head. “I’m really not sure. It’s like…” He thinks, his eyes drifting upwards. “It’s like the sensors are acting up or the data is corrupt or… I just don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this before. And I’m no forensic engineer. I code for a living.” He takes a deep breath. “We may have to do a complete overhaul. I’m not sure she’s even safe to fly at this point.”

Skylar drops her head and closes her eyes. My chest constricts, and my throat tightens.

“No. I can’t do what I’m doing without the Amagi.” My voice rises, edging on panic. “Without a ship, I’m done for.”

Jinzo slides into view from the side, holding out his hands. “Don’t panic. There has to be an explanation for all of this. It’s probably something simple we haven’t yet considered.” He brings both his hands to his chest. “I’ve had my hands on all the most vital components of the Amagi in the last few weeks. Nothing looks wrong from the outside. Whatever happens, we’ll be okay.”

“But —”

“No,” he insists. “We’ll be okay. If not this ship, then another one. You’ve seen the family shipyards. In an emergency, we can make things work. I promise.”

And though I trust him with my heart and my future, something about the whole situation nags at me. Almost like I’m being hunted, like someone is having the last laugh at my expense. In order for me to fail, everything has to fail with no backups in place, and each backup is being knocked over, one by one.

Which one will fail next?