Silent Flyght – Chapter 28

Hot water sluices over my skin, forming branching rivers that diverge and meander down my body to the stone floor of Ken’s shower. I could stay here forever, just me and an unending supply of clean, piping hot water. No worries. No cares. I sigh and lean against the tile wall. Unfortunately, I have plenty of things to worry about. Wishing them away won’t help anyone.

In Ken’s bedroom, I sort through the clothes he purchased for me while I was at Gus’s bedside. The underwear he bought is, as always, too elegant for someone like me, but I’m dying to put something on. Commando is not my thing. I pull on a pair of soft black pants and an oversized pink shirt. A blast of air gives me a chill, and I wish for the sweatshirt Gus gave me. Tears pool in my eyes, knowing I may never see it again.

Everything I had left in the universe is in the Amagi — my Bomba-Faria shoes, my meager selection of clothes, all the little knickknacks I saved from the house auction. Oh God, the brand-new bracelet Mat gave me! I sink onto the bed and stare down at my hands. The military took it all.

I try not to focus on anything as I wring my hands, but I can’t help but notice how thin my wrists and arms are. I am wasting away. And what for? Nothing good is coming of this life I’m leading. Nothing.

“Vivi?”

I jump as my heart leaps into my chest. I didn’t hear Jinzo come in.

I sniff up and try to clear my tears, but he’s too astute to miss that I’m upset. He circles around the bed and sits next to me, taking my hands in his. We both stare out the window at the nearby buildings of Concord City. Everything is bathed in electric light, the sun having set while I was in the shower.

“I have no idea what time it is,” I say, trying to be normal.

“It’s time to eat.” Jinzo lifts my hands to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Ken got us a spread.”

“I don’t know.” I tear my eyes from Jinzo’s. “I’m not sure I can eat.”

“It’s Chinese.” He says it in a sing-song voice meant to make me smile. It works. “Dumplings and peanut noodles and all your favorites. Come on.”

He stands up, but I hold on to his hand where I am. “What did you do with Skylar, Carlos, and Lia?”

His face softens. “They’re in a hotel a few blocks away. I’m going to stay here with you and Ken. Once Gus is released, we’ll find out what he wants to do.”

I nod and allow him to pull me to my feet and out into the dining area. On Ken’s table, he’s laid out a large assortment of dishes for us to choose from. There’s enough here to feed us twice over, but that’s the way Ken does everything — over the top.

He sees me and comes around the table to hug and kiss me. I love the attention and need it, but I struggle to feel like I deserve it.

“Let’s eat,” Ken says, gesturing to the table. “Then we’ll head to bed.”

He gives me an empty plate, and I pluck a few of my favorites from the open containers. Pork dumplings and spicy noodles will be how I start off this evening. We’ll see if I eat anything more.

The guys dig in with gusto, and I sit quietly while they talk about their favorite Chinese restaurants on every planet they’ve ever been to. I had no idea one could have so many amazing experiences in Chinese restaurants, but they both have stories to tell about the food and the people who dined around them.

I love them both for keeping the conversation going, but I know this is to fill the empty space. Their banter gives me time to believe everything will be okay. That we can return to normal, whatever that is.

Doing my duty, I eat one dumpling and a few mouthfuls of noodles before I give up and stare into the city outside.

Ken’s datapad buzzes on the table. “Excuse me,” he says, reaching for it. His face falls into a frown as he gestures through whatever came to him. His eyebrows furrow, and he sighs before turning on the wallscreen opposite the couch.

I lose the last of my appetite as Cenobia Senna Snow’s face appears, sitting at her desk at OEN.

“… Just this morning, an anonymous source sent us a data packet of text and a shocking video featuring Tomu Kawabata, runaway brother of Vivian Kawabata, who mortgaged the Kawabata Holdings family farm and business into oblivion.” She shakes her head in mock disbelief. “What we’re about to show you is not for the faint of heart. It is actual proof that Vivian Kawabata was holding her brother hostage and that he died while in her custody. We have had to blur out her body because, for some reason, she was naked at the time of the incident.”

The video cuts in late in the altercation. It is literally fifteen seconds of me standing in front of the door, holding up my middle finger, and telling Tomu to rot in hell. It doesn’t include any of the events prior to this like when I called for help, or when he held me hostage and locked himself in the airlock.

My whole body heats to an inferno. If I had access to Ai and my ship, I would release all the footage. I’d show everyone how he treated me, how he hated women, how he confessed to mortgaging the land just to spite me. There’s so much I could show them, but I can’t even defend myself. I have no idea where my ship is.

How did OEN get this video, anyway? This is a mystery Carlos will need to work on as soon as possible. I must shut down every avenue Tomu had of getting to me. Burn that shit to the ground. He shouldn’t be able to continue to harass me from his airless grave.

I glance over at Jinzo, and he has a smile on his face. “They really know how to show only the incriminating parts. You were a badass, flipping him off right at the end.” He laughs. “And while naked, too. Hot damn. We picked the perfect woman, Ken.”

Cenobia picks up with her commentary. “Despite the damning evidence seen here, the military will not be pressing charges against Vivian Kawabata at this or any time in the future.”

A man’s face pops up on the screen, with the title of a sergeant. “We believe Tomu Kawabata killed himself and tried to frame his sister for it while he was on the run. We have impounded Captain Kawabata’s ship while we search for further evidence. Still, we do not believe her to be guilty of murder. Should new information come to light, we may amend our charges.”

When Cenobia’s face pops back on screen, I lose any desire to continue on. “Turn it off.”

Ken doesn’t argue. He silences the wallscreen, shifting it into a view of the city at daytime.

I drum my fingers on the table and look at my uneaten plate of food.

“This is insane. I can’t continue to live like this.”

“Vivi,” Jinzo starts, but I raise my hand to stop him.

“Just… Stop. Let me talk, okay? I have held every bit of doubt and anger inside for the last few weeks because I didn’t want to scare you off. No one has ever liked me talking. For some reason, everyone prefers when I listen and nod and do what I’m told. And I’m fucking sick of it.”

I cross my arms over my chest because if I don’t, I’ll slam my hands on the table.

“Renata Dellis came to me today.” Jinzo and Ken stare at each other with wide eyes. Ken sits up in his seat. “She has a proposal for me to consider, and I have considered it. She will put the full weight of Athens and their lawyers behind me. We can get the Amagi back and clear me of all charges in Tomu’s death. Plus, she’ll provide me a salary that’ll cover the last of the debt on Kawabata Holdings, if… If…”

I pause to raise my finger and laugh.

“If we can figure out why the military wants the seeds so badly, and I work for her for the foreseeable future.”

Jinzo and Ken are silent, waiting for me.

“I’m going to say yes.”

Ken shakes his head. “You don’t need to say yes. I have the Flyght lawyers already on this case. The military impounded a Flyght ship!” His face hardens with anger. “No one impounds my ships, much less Diamond Level. I don’t give that license out to just anyone, you know.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“Vivian, why would you even consider this offer from Renata Dellis, after everything you’ve been through? We can handle this on our own.”

I touch the chopsticks on my plate, straightening them into two parallel lines.

“Renata is interested in me and what I offer as a scientist. She doesn’t want me romantically.” I smile and raise my hands. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

Jinzo softens back into his seat.

“She wants my brain, my ambition. She spoke with my professors at Ossun Ag, and she read my theoretical papers on heirloom Earth seeds. She wants me on her staff because that’s the job I’m supposed to do. I have struggled for years with my role as the family-farm savior. Sure, I want the farm, and I figured I would find some way to do the research I wanted to do once I had the farm in my name. But this? Having all of Athens’s resources behind me to figure out how to make xeno-agriculture work long-term? On other planets?” I blow out a long breath. “That’s not something I can pass up.”

Ken’s smile builds to a wide grin. “Vivi, we talked about this back when you were doing your economics degree, and I always wondered where you would go with it. You wrote papers on it?”

I nod as I look away from him. “It was nothing, really. Just some thoughts and ideas I had.” I shrug. “I wasn’t going to do anything with it. I enjoyed the research, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to take it far.”

We’re quiet for a moment.

“So, I want to take her offer, but only if you back me up. We’re a team now, and I can’t say yes or no without hearing from you guys.”

“What about Gus?” Jinzo asks.

Ken leans forward. “I believe he’ll say yes to this after the way he was just betrayed by his mother and the military.”

“I’ll include him, but I also believe he’ll say yes.”

Jinzo thinks for a moment. I can’t go forward on this without him.

“What about Mat?” he asks.

I shake my head. “He’s not a part of our network yet, and after this, he may pull back. We’ll have to see.”

Jinzo hums his approval. “Yeah, we’ll have to see. Remember when we ran from someone you believed to be working for Athens? You were so worried they were out to kill you because of the seeds.”

I was terrified, for sure.

“Now, they want to work with you.” He huffs a laugh. “My, how times change.”

“It’s insane, right?”

We smile at each other over the food on the table. My eyes catch the package of kung pao protein and the rice, and my stomach grumbles. I stand up, grab my plate, and pile it with a helping of food. The guys take this opportunity to eat more too.

“So, this is what I’m thinking,” I say, sitting down with my serving of food. “We work our connections to find out where the military is bringing their Rio seeds. We do some investigative work and bring back anything we discover to Athens. Then once we’ve held up our end of the deal, Renata’s lawyers and Ken’s lawyers will get the Amagi back, and we’ll fly home to Ossun to secure the farm.”

I make it sound easy. Like A will lead to B, which will lead to C. No detours and no obstacles.

“Just like that.” Jinzo snaps his finger. “It’ll be a cinch.”

Ken laughs.

“One thing’s for sure,” I say, loading up my chopsticks with food, “we have a lot of work to do. And I’m getting this done, if it’s the last thing I do.”

Bitch Vivian approves, but Business Vivian is dubious.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Vivian.