Released – Chapter 22

In Helena’s hospital room, introductions are made, doctors are in and out, and she sleeps peacefully through everything. I sit in a chair next to the bed, just wanting to be with her for a little bit until someone can come and talk to me about her condition. She’s missing her usual rosy glow, her face so pale with her blonde curly hair spread out around her head. Her hand in mine is soft and warm but limp and lifeless, not the same hands I’m used to seeing gesture while she chatters away.

Helena, I don’t know what to do. You always gave me great advice. You talked me off the ledge when I first found out about my heritage. You told me to go after Jiro. I wish I could talk to you about this too.

The door opens, and Usagi and Kentaro enter. Usagi’s face is just as pale and lifeless as Helena.

“Akio, I told you to get more sleep,” Mrs. Tambor, Helena’s mother, says.

“I couldn’t, Jess. I just couldn’t.”

Hearing Usagi and Helena’s mother so familiar with each other drives a knife into my heart. I’d bet my sword Usagi was days away from proposing to her, and the pain of his loss is so palpable, everyone in the room can feel it.

Usagi comes over to me, I stand, and transfer Helena’s hand from mine to his. The doctors enter the room along with Sakai and Lucy, Mariko, Beni, Jiro, Kentaro, Oyama, Usagi, Helena’s father, and everyone waits for the news.

The prognosis is not good.

“The poison did a lot of damage to Helena’s nervous system,” the hospital’s poison specialist says, standing next to his team of doctors. “If we were to take her out of the coma right now, she would most likely be unable to talk or walk or function in any normal capacity. But, if she hadn’t been rushed to the hospital when she was, the poison would’ve completely shorted out her brain, and she wouldn’t have made it.”

A heavy silence falls over the room, and we all stare into space. How can they even fix this? I doubt they can.

I guess getting poisoned is a common occurrence. I wonder if this doctor was involved with taking care of our old Chief of Colonization, Kenji Yamada. It was only earlier this year that Yamada hung on to his life by a thread and then died the day Jiro and I had our first date.

“This is Dr. Paige Volkova.” He nods to the young woman next to him and she smiles at us. “She works with a team of people on new medical therapies.”

“Yes, we go beyond drugs and use technologies instead to help heal the human body. Before the wars and the Decline, we had made a lot of medical breakthroughs using nanotechnology, but those technologies were turned around and used as weapons. We have since reclaimed them and are putting them to better use healing. We think Helena would make a good candidate for this therapy.”

My legs itch with the need to pace. I love technology. I believe in technology, and I want technology to heal people. But Helena? Do I trust it to heal my best friend?

The door opens and Miko and Yoichi enter. The room is completely full now, but Dr. Volkova continues, her voice stronger and a hint of a Russian accent floating along the harder consonants.

“We’ve used this therapy hundreds of times to rebuild nerves, but Helena’s damage is extensive. We believe the nanos will work and work well, but it will take a long time. The slower the nanos go, the easier the body has of adapting.”

“Hibernation,” I blurt out and then cover my mouth in a moment of shame for interrupting. Dr. Volkova nods at me to continue. “Put her in hibernation now for the trip. Can they work while she sleeps?”

Dr. Volkova smiles and gestures at me. “They can, and yes, that was the very next thing I was going say. Hibernation is not different from a medically induced coma. The only thing that’s different are the drugs used to slow down the body’s functions and aging. The nanos can still work under these conditions, and we would have six to eight years for them to work in which is more than enough. The majority of Helena’s healing process would be on the other side of the trip. She would have to relearn to walk and most likely need a lot of physical therapy. Hopefully she will still be able to talk, but we won’t know much until she wakes up.”

Helena’s mother and Usagi nod. A ray of hope shines here! I didn’t expect this at all. But poor Helena. Her last memory of Nishikyō will be Usagi and I hovering over her in her apartment right before she passed out. I honestly hope she doesn’t remember that at all.

“You have a few days to think about this while we prepare the nanos. If you decide not to do this therapy, we’ll completely understand. Otherwise, we can put her in hibernation tonight, move her to spacedock immediately, and begin the treatment there.”

She smiles at each of us. Dr. Volkova seems to be confident about this, but I’m even sadder knowing Helena will be gone from Nishikyō before I fall asleep tonight.

Sakai and Mrs. Tambor look at each other, and Mrs. Tambor nods. “Akio? What do you think?”

“I want what’s best for Helena. She wanted to go to Yūsei. I think we should give her every opportunity to make it there.”

Miko edges through us all, and I move out of the way so she can hold Helena’s hand. “I agree. She talked about Yūsei all the time. I know that if she could talk to us now, that’s what she would want.”

Sakai turns to Mr. and Mrs. Tambor. “Are you sure?”

“I’m confident about leaving Helena in all of your capable hands,” Mrs. Tambor says, holding her husband’s hand. “I wish we could go with you on the first wave but our jobs are counting on us too, and we can’t leave until third wave. Hopefully we’ll only be separated by less than five years.”

Families will be split-up by colonization. I wish we could all pick up and go together.

“It’s a good decision,” Lucy says, her authoritative stare sweeping the room and everyone gathered around Helena’s bed. “It’s definitely the best thing for Helena… and the family.”

—-

Each person in the room takes a private moment to say goodbye to Helena before filing out of the hospital. It’s only lunchtime, but I’m completely beat and sore all over.

Kentaro waits outside, so I stroll up to him.

“Sanaa, can we talk? Usagi came to me last night, to tell me what happened with Helena.” Kentaro frowns and folds his arms across his chest. “This Risa is Risa Yamamoto, right? She lived in the same apartment with Beni for a long time?”

“Yes, she’s a cousin on the Sakai side of the family,” Jiro says, rubbing his face with his free hand. “Risa’s mother, Nobu, is Mark’s cousin. Beni recently moved in with my mother, and I think Risa has the apartment to herself now.”

Kentaro nods, his gaze directed way off down the hall, thinking. “I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. Our families used to be so close, and now my father is pushing away anyone who doesn’t agree with him, including me.” He turns to me, his mouth turned down and eyebrows stretched straight across his forehead. “I need someone I can trust, and I trust you.”

I nod to him. “I trust you, too, Kentaro. I actually like you a whole lot more than I thought I would.” I smile warmly at him and reach out to squeeze his hand.

“Helena is a good, sweet, kind person, and Usagi loves her a lot. I want to help out if I can.” Kentaro squares up his shoulders, steeling himself like he does in the dōjō before I’m about to attack him. “I went home two days ago to talk to my father. Emiko Matsuda was discussing business with him and a few other people. I heard Risa’s name come up in conversation. If you’re looking for leads, you should start with my father.”

I swallow hard, my throat dry with fatigue. “When I asked you to join us, Kentaro, I used the title of ‘advisor’ in front of your father but had no idea how we would work together, relations being what they were in the beginning. I hope you’ll agree things are better now.”

“I’ve made a decision for the good of my family. I’m going to help you. I’m upset about Helena, and I have a feeling my family is involved somehow. It’s just a feeling, but it can’t be a coincidence that you and Jiro got engaged, my father started showing his disapproval, and then Helena was poisoned. I can’t prove it, though.”

Wow, Kentaro really does trust me.

“We know Risa was involved,” Jiro says, “and I think she must be meeting with the people who poisoned Helena. We obtained video of the café where Helena got her coffee yesterday, and the whole attack was all perpetrated by a man and woman, a team.”

“A team? Really? Did you see what they looked like?” He leans in, eager for the information.

“No,” I say, filling in. “They kept their faces turned from the cameras, and what little of them we identified wasn’t enough for the facial recognition software.”

Kentaro hums and thinks. “I have an idea, but I’ll need a little more evidence before coming to any solid conclusions. How about I follow Risa?” He laughs and rubs his hands together gleefully. “It’s been ages since I last spied on anyone.”

“You’d do that?” Jiro is surprised but pleased. “You don’t have to. We have access to surveillance videos and can set up jobs to watch her.”

“I would imagine you’re already watching plenty of people.” Kentaro raises his eyebrows. He reads situations well. Though I’ve never told him about my time with the GDB and video feeds, he accurately guesses I have a lot of access. “I’ll follow her and report in regularly. If something major happens, I’ll take note of nearby surveillance, and we’ll watch it together. Deal?”

Jiro nods at me happily. He has his friend back, and I have a much better ally in Kentaro than I do in his father.

“Deal.”

Her jerks his head at the door. “I’ll go in and pay my respects.”

Standing outside in the heat of early July, I lose the ability to remain upright and step to Jiro, letting him wrap his arms around me. All of the activity from the last two days has me beat.

“What should we do? Back to Ku 1 and the theater? We could follow Minamoto, Emiko, Risa, her parents…” I sigh, defeated. “It’s a lot of people, and we still need to figure Maeda out.”

“Let’s not worry about Maeda yet, Sanaa. He’s maintaining the status quo, on nobody’s side but his own.” He pulls back from me and takes in my wild hair, the dark circles under my eyes, and my frown. “Let’s take the day off. There’s a Bogart double feature in Ku 3 today. We should go and be irresponsible for once. Eat popcorn, sit in the dark, make out when the lights go low…” His mischievous smile is back. “And then I’ll take you out for dinner.”

“What about Oyama?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll ask him to meet us. I know a place.”

“Of course you do. Okay, but back to work tomorrow?”

Jiro bobs his head back and forth. “Tomorrow is Tanabata. Work and play.”

I like this idea though I feel like we should be tracking down Helena’s attackers immediately. But I’m so tired I’m sure I’d fall asleep in the Ku 1 theater. I might as well fall asleep watching an old film with my head on Jiro’s shoulder. So without getting permission from anyone, we take the afternoon off.