Lost Flyght – Chapter 27

“Vivian?”

“Hmm?”

I blink my way back to the present and the scene around the galley table. In my head, I was reliving my childhood, listening to Tomu whine to my parents and be a spoiled brat while I dug further into my schoolwork. He was such a prima donna. We should’ve known he would turn on us.

My network sits and waits for me to respond. Gus is slowly flipping a can of fish over and over on the table, a leftover from lunch. Ken is pouring coffee for everyone. Jinzo has his eyes trained on me.

“You with us?” he asks. I’m afraid I’ve thrown him for a loop the past few hours. Though I’ve often said I would kill my brother if I ever found him, I don’t think he realized just how deep my feelings ran. I’ve been cold and distant, unfeeling, and I refuse to talk to Tomu. Jinzo has asked me several times in the last six hours if he should untie my brother, and I have refused.

“I’m here.” I draw away from the table an arm’s length and take the coffee offered by Ken. “So, we have some decisions to make.”

“That we do.” Jinzo draws himself up.

“You’re probably wondering what we do with Tomu now that we found him.” I raise my eyes from the table to look at them all. “And I honestly don’t know.” I sip my coffee and contemplate my options. “After looking over things with Marcelo, we figured out that Tomu’s wanted by the law now on felony fraud and embezzlement charges. Felonies are remanded to the military courts, so we all know what that means.”

“We become a military target,” Ken says, leaning forward to put more cream in my coffee.

“For fuck’s sake.” Jinzo sighs. I glance at Gus, who is eerily quiet.

“But forgetting the military for one moment, he stole my life, stole my inheritance. What did he do with it?” I snap my hand out. “He mortgaged us into the ground and then took the money and did what with it?”

“He won’t say.” Jinzo’s jaw is tight.

“No, he won’t say. He’ll never tell me. If we’re going to find out, we’ll have to trace it on our own. And I don’t even know if that’s something we can do. It was hard enough finding him in the first place.”

The guys are quiet for a moment, contemplating decisions.

“I don’t know,” Ken says. “Maybe you should consider it a loss. That money is gone, lost to the universe. You can’t get it back now.”

But I want to get it back. I want to prove to my brother that he can’t get away with this shit. That me, or the law, or his enemies, will always come for him.

“I agree that the money’s gone,” Gus points out, finally speaking. “He’s either stashed it away or spent it. You did find him, though, after deciding not to go after him. And now it’s time to deal with him.”

The fire in Gus’s eyes is unexpected. He is a man of medicine, sworn to save and heal. He’s not one for revenge or a blood debt.

At least, I thought he was.

I’m still learning.

“I’ve been giving it some thought, and I feel that there are two possible roads ahead of us.”

A collective holding of breath freezes the room. These men hang on my every word, wondering which side of sanity I’m going to fall on.

“We can either return to Ossun and hand him over to the authorities there, which will not go well for us, or we can return to Palo Alto and hand him over to Athens Industries.” I clear my throat at the obvious sighs of relief. “I know you were all expecting me to space him.”

“I wouldn’t blame you,” Gus mutters.

“Neither would I,” Ken adds.

“I don’t want you to go there, Vivi. To murder. You may never come back.” Jinzo continues to surprise me by being the most sensitive one of the bunch.

“I’m pretty fucking resilient.” My voice is too hard for Jinzo, so I soften it. “If you haven’t noticed.”

“I’ve noticed.” His voice is equally soft now as he stares down at the table.

“Don’t get me wrong.” I drive my index finger into the table. “If he tries to escape or pull any kind of shit, I will eject him from the airlock posthaste. He’s already dead to me.”

And that’s the purest thing I’ve ever said. He’s not beloved. He’s not family. He’s some stranger posing as my brother. He was reprogrammed and taken advantage of because of his petty jealousy. If I ever find another Reformer, I will kick him in his weak and hairy balls. We’ve come too far as a society to let these people drag us back to the Stone Age.

“What do you want to do?” Ken presents one hand. “I’m thinking you’re leaning towards Athens.”

I’m not ready to make my decision yet. I take my mug and sit back. “I want to hear options, arguments on both sides. I shouldn’t make this decision in a vacuum.”

And yet, they sit in silence. Gus continues to flip the can of fish from one end to the other, Ken sips his coffee, and Jinzo stares into space.

I wait. And wait.

Gus is the first to speak.

“You’re leaving out important information, Vivian.” When I don’t say anything, he continues, “Your conversation with India Dellis.”

All three pairs of eyes turn to me, and I swallow.

Well, I’m sorry. In the panic of catching Tomu, of figuring out why the ship was failing, I forgot about India’s offer.

“You spoke to India Dellis? When?” Ken sets down his mug and sits forward. He is not happy with me.

“At the wedding.” I rub my face. “That feels like ages ago.”

“Probably because you haven’t been sleeping,” Gus points out.

“Yeah,” I agree. “India cornered me at the bar when I was alone. She and Renata know we have the seeds.”

Ken’s face pales. I’m afraid to look at Jinzo.

“And Athens’ contract with the military is over. They’re going head-to-head now. We’ve got something they both want. The military wants our seeds, so they don’t have to search for them, and Athens wants a leg up on the military. If we give the seeds or Tomu to the military, they will destroy us, and Athens can destroy us but promises not to.” My laugh crackles and dies away. “There are no good outcomes. We are basically screwed no matter what we do.”

Jinzo’s hand reaches across the table and settles over mine, warm and strong. I imagine trying to handle these decisions without these guys. How I would spin and doubt myself, then make the wrong choice. I’ve had to make hard choices before but never anything like this.

Gus crosses his arms over his chest and leans back. “Vivian is right. The military takes what they want, and they destroy everything in their path. I’ve watched it happen over and over within my own family. Cosmas is the same thing. Athens is only marginally better.”

“We’re stuck with no good choices. Not even a decent choice.” I pull my hand from Jinzo’s, fold my arms on the table, and lean forward to rest my head on them. “Tomu will save his own skin by selling me up the river. He’ll blab about the seeds and everything I’ve been doing to whomever we give him to. He’s been in the auxiliary cargo bay for weeks watching us grow everything.”

The room is silent as everyone processes this news. Tomu is just as dangerous caught as he was as the invisible saboteur. At least now, the Amagi has a fighting chance of flying again. If we can just fix everything he damaged, we’ll be able to fly again in a few days, a week at most.

A steady hand meets my shoulders and then travels down my back. “Come on,” Ken says, leaning over to kiss the top of my head. “Time for some rest.”

Did he say rest? I know exactly what he wants, and it has nothing to do with resting.

I inhale sharply as I sit up. “Rest? Are you joking?”

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “I promise to do all the work.”

Jinzo laughs and exchanges a look with Gus. Gus smirks.

“No decisions today,” Jinzo says, rising and grabbing the empty cups. “Go sleep it off. We have repairs to do.”

I don’t like leaving decisions like this unmade. But Ken’s hand is tugging mine, and there’s only so much I can do. I let him take me away.