Stolen Flyght – Chapter 2

I never thought I’d be entering the Athens Industries building again. Maybe I expected to be dragged in by my hair kicking and screaming? That was a possibility in the not-so-distant past. But as the doors sweep aside, and the cool, conditioned air flows over me in a wave, I’m sure this is where I’m supposed to be.

“Ready?” Jinzo asks, turning to me before we approach security. I reach for his hand to steady my nerves, and he smiles as he takes my fingers in his. “I think we’re actually on time.”

“We can still say no,” Ken reminds me. He reaches over and takes my other hand, sure to make eye contact with me. I flash back to the first time Ken boarded the Amagi. We sat in the auxiliary cargo bay and talked about whether it was smart to do anything against Athens. He warned me then that Athens was unforgiving, a killer. He still feels this way.

My heart squeezes, though, not at the memory of Ken, but at the image of the Amagi in my head. Stolen right out from underneath me.

Stolen.

I’m tired of people stealing from me.

“We can leave now and not be indebted to them.” Ken’s eyes are bright with warning. “We’ll use the Flyght lawyers and hire more of our own to get the Amagi out and…”

I place my hand on his chest. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

His mouth drops open as Jinzo chuckles.

“Vivi, I’ve had enough adventure in the last few weeks to last a lifetime.”

I glance between the two men and shrug off the feeling like I’m missing something. I am. Gus is resting at the hotel, and I miss having his quiet counsel with me. I asked him to come, and his returning message said to go without him.

I take a deep breath and release their hands to grasp the upper arms of both guys. “This is all a means to an end. Sure, we could gather up the last of the money we need in the next few days, and maybe we’d make it to the auction and be the only bidder.” Jinzo’s lips pull to the side. “But we all know that’s not going to happen. We’re just not powerful enough on our own. We need the big guns to make this plan work.”

Jinzo and Ken slowly nod as their eyes meet, and I drop my hands. They’ve taken on so much responsibility these past few weeks. I often wonder if they’d be happier sitting on a beach with someone else. But they would be the first to say that’s not true. Something tells me they enjoy the challenge of this life I’m giving them. They’re gluttons for punishment, just like me.

They’ve said they’re on my side, and it’s taken a few weeks, but I believe them. They want to be by my side. They believe in my mission, just as much as I do. I’m not sure how that happened, but I’m glad that’s where we are.

“We need to be careful, but I agree with Vivian,” Jinzo says, inclining his head to move us along to the security desk. “Let’s remember that our network is our top priority. We should never put our relationship at risk because of something Renata Dellis wants.”

Jinzo is quiet as he leads us along. I can’t read his mind, but I suspect he’s thinking about his previous relationship with Cressida. She never cared about the men in her network, and that’s why it all fell apart.

We skate through security and ride the elevator up to Renata Dellis’s office. My stomach is alive with butterflies the closer we get to the room where I thought I would die the first time. My scalp prickles and my underarms sweat, remembering the sheer terror that coursed through my veins. It’s so vivid, still.

This time, when the elevator doors open, we’re greeted with warm smiles and an invitation to come to the conference room, not Renata’s office.

“Nice spread.” Ken nods in approval at the food and drinks on the conference room table when we walk in. “I’m always hungry.”

I circle the table to greet Renata as Ken and Jinzo descend on the sandwiches and fries like a horde of locusts. You would think I’ve never fed them!

“Ms. Kawabata, it’s so good to see you.” Renata holds out her hand, and I slide my fingers into hers for a warm shake. “I was pleased to get your message about my offer.”

“Please call me Vivian,” I say, keeping my voice steady. Her face is bright and cheerful, like she finally got a good night’s sleep for the first time in ten years. I wouldn’t know that feeling. I’ve been lying in bed, staring at Ken’s ceiling for days now, thinking about jail and losing the farm, replaying Gus’s mom’s betrayal in my head, over and over. I’m sure he’s doing the same in his hotel room. “I’m glad we could come to an amicable deal.”

Renata shrugs, a slight smile gracing her lips. “You didn’t ask for much.”

Only that you back off outbidding me at the auction. I smile, anyway. “And you’re far too generous.”

I said the right thing. Renata’s shoulders lift as she gestures me to the table.

“Please call me Renata. Let’s sit and eat before my Head of Security arrives to brief us.” She turns over her wristlet, checking something in her optical implant. “He should be here in about fifteen minutes.”

I grab a sandwich — meat and vegetables on crusty slices of bread — and a glass of water and sit down next to Renata. Jinzo, displeased with my choice of food, pushes a plate of fries across the table to me. Renata smiles at the gesture.

“The guys think I don’t eat enough.” My cheeks twitch in an involuntary smile. “They’re probably right.”

“Be sure to have dessert too,” Ken says, around a mouthful of food. He jerks his head at a plate of brownies, and I sigh. Dessert? I haven’t had dessert since I had cinnamon rolls with Mat.

Mat. I miss him. We’ve been corresponding by message the last few days while I’ve waited here in Concord City for plans to come into motion. He was shocked to hear about everything that happened to us, and I wished, once again, we had spoken (well, signed) over a vidcall instead. I don’t know him well enough to read between the lines of text. I need to see his hands and his face to know for sure.

Renata eyes me as I take quiet bites of my food.

“You know,” she says, setting down her sandwich and wiping off her fingers, “I did a staggering amount of research on you before I approached you.”

I raise my eyebrows while I take another bite.

“And everything I read and watched belied the fact that you’re a quiet and contemplative young woman.”

I wonder if she would think the same if she had seen me in person these last few weeks.

Both Jinzo and Ken frown at their sandwiches.

I set down my sandwich and lean back in my chair. “I have learned the hard way these last few weeks that I’m better off keeping my thoughts to myself. Of course, if you want to discuss business or the work I’m contracted to do for you now, I would be happy to discuss those things. Otherwise, I will defer to people who know better than me. My opinions are not for everyone.”

Renata sets her sandwich down and sips her water. “You only turn to your network for counsel?”

I don’t answer. My mouth and my opinions have already gotten every single member of my network in trouble. Now, I sit and listen as much as possible. I’ve come full circle, right back to where I started, always being the shoulder everyone else cried on. I’ve barely spoken ten words of a personal nature since we landed on Palo Alto.

Clearing my throat, I lean to the side to look down the hallway.

“I don’t want to keep you from your work. Did you say your security staff would join us?”

Renata’s not dumb. She can tell I’m deflecting, and I don’t care. She thinks for a moment as she chews and then turns her wrist. “Please send in Mr. Ayala and his team.”

I stand up to clear off the table when Renata’s personal assistant rushes forward with his arms out. “Please, Ms. Kawabata. Let me take care of those.”

I hand him the few plates I’ve already picked up and try to act normal. Not a simple task anymore. I have no idea what normal is.

Mr. Sumo walks through the door with several other men and one woman. Ah, so Mr. Sumo has a name…

“Hello,” I say, tilting my head to look up at him. “Mr. Ayala?”

He displays what my father would call a ‘shit-eating grin.’

“I always knew you would come around.” He holds out his hand to shake mine. My entire body tingles with the instinct to run. Don’t give this man your hand!

But we’re supposed to be partners now.

I steel myself and hold out my hand. I’m grateful he shakes it in a business-like manner. If he had been creepy about it at all, I would’ve run for the hills.

“Hmm, well, my brother didn’t leave me a lot of choices.”

“No, he didn’t. And you get a few points in my book for doing what’s right even though we backed you into a corner.”

My neck hurts looking up at this guy, and I’m tall as it is. We both assess each other for a moment when a wiry man behind him breaks the spell.

“Boss, we have a lot to cover in this meeting.”

Mr. Sumo… Ayala nods and turns to me. “Ms. Kawabata, this is the man I’ve appointed to be your Athens team leader, Simon Garza.”

We shake hands, and I introduce Ken and Jinzo to Ayala and Simon.

“Everyone, please take a seat,” Ayala says, waving at the table.

The lights dim, and a 3D projection of a snowy planet pops up where the sandwiches were just minutes ago.

Neve, the last habitable planet of the Brazilianos System, fills the space between my consorts and me. Jinzo and I lock eyes through the projection. He raises his eyebrows, and I smile, my cheeks burning. He’s the adventurous type, and this is the sort of thing he signed up for when we first met. Hell, we ran for our lives on our first date.

Ken, on the other hand, sits back in his chair and crosses his arms. His thinking pose engaged, he’s ready to consider logistics.

“As Ms. Dellis already informed you, we believe you can help us solve the mystery of what the military is hiding on Neve. We’ve done a lot of preliminary work and research, and we have a plan to get us started. Neve has three military bases and one civilian settlement — all within the upper plains and desert regions,” Simon says, pacing the room. The globe spins and highlights four separate areas, not all that far from each other, when you consider the size of the planet.

“The upper plains and desert regions of Neve are rocky areas with sparse long, brown grasses that get a minimal amount of snowfall during Neve’s long orbit around the Brazilianos sun. Minimal, but not none. Snow and glaciers many kilometers thick cover most of the planet. But because Neve has a warm, molten core, liquid water does exist there, mainly in hot springs. But people are not out on the tundra enjoying it. The average daily temperature is negative five degrees. Average. And the air is thin on oxygen. All the settlements are under domes.”

Simon zooms into one particular dome.

“Which makes it hard to spy on them from orbit,” Ken fills in.

“Correct.” Simon swipes his hand, and the dome comes off to reveal the base underneath.

“We obtained these schematics from a trusted source. He was on the team that helped renovate several of the buildings inside the base about five years ago.”

“How long has this base been there?” I ask. Everyone’s heads turn to me, and I’m immediately embarrassed by the attention. The woman on the security team scoffs and rolls her eyes, and my face heats.

“No, Gloria.” Simon halts the woman with an outstretched hand. “It’s not common knowledge these places even exist, much less how long they’ve been on the planet. It’s a fair question.”

I want to dissolve into my chair.

“Twelve years,” he says, turning to me. “This is the second oldest one. The oldest base here” — a spot highlights on the globe — “is twenty years old, but it’s shuttered due to poor construction. The newest one here is still under construction, and only forward personnel are there on a daily basis. The civilian colony is about fifteen years old.”

Almost no one at home ever talks about Neve. It’s a place for people who have lost their good sense, not a hot vacation spot. In the Planetary Science units in school, we always got a short overview of the ecology and some information about the metals and minerals that are mined there, but that’s about it.

“This base, though, is where we believe the military is doing its main research.”

“Are you sure Neve is our target? That this is where the military is testing… something that will prove a threat to Athens? What about Penha and its moons?”

Gloria steps forward and addresses Renata. “Excuse me, Ms. Dellis, but I am the foremost expert on military engagements, and this is solid information. We are wasting time here talking to an unschooled civilian about this. We’re here to brief and then engage. Not debate.”

Holy shit. I ask two questions, and this woman is already jumping all over me, straight to my new boss. Wasn’t I just saying I should go back to being a quiet listener? Everyone feels they can steamroll right over me.

“Besides,” Gloria says, sweeping her hand out at me, “this woman should be in jail for harboring and then spacing her brother. Having her here, even just being in this room, is a liability to my entire team.”

I’m shocked into silence, and all I can do is stare at Renata patiently listening to this woman. Didn’t they see the same news I saw last night? I didn’t space Tomu. He killed himself!

Out of the corner of my eye, Jinzo stands up. Next to him, Ken’s face is a block of stone.

“Great,” Jinzo begins, rounding the table. “Now that we know where you stand, we’ll be on our way. We can get by without Athens Industries.”

Renata holds up her hands. “Wait,” she says, flustered. This is not a state of being I thought she was ever in. “Ms. Kawabata is not at fault for her brother’s death. She’s an integral part of this plan, and you will answer her questions because that’s what I’ve hired you to do.”

“Ms. Dellis —”

“Don’t make me fire you, Ms. October. You don’t want that on your record.”

The room becomes icy cold. I can almost see my breath in the frosty air.

I squirm in my seat. Shit. This is not how I wanted our mission to start.

Simon clears his throat. “We took a look at the military bases on Penha’s moons, but none of them have the signs we’re looking for that Neve does.”

I turn to Simon, ignoring Gloria’s glowering.

“Fresh recruits end up going through Neve, not Penha. More supplies go to Neve than Penha. And then there’s this…”

He gestures to the 3D globe again. This time the map glows in rainbow colors like an energy or heat topography map. The military base shines like it’s been set on fire.

“Huh.” I lean back and take it all in. This new map includes all four bases, but the second oldest military base glows ten times brighter than anything else. “That’s interesting. Is this a heat map?”

“Radiation.”

“No.” Jinzo puts his hands on the table and stands up. “There’s no way we’re going into a radiation hot hole. Vivian still wants to have children.”

Simon raises his hands. “Our data shows that this level of radiation will only be a problem if we’re there for an extended time.”

Renata comes forward. “I wouldn’t ask you to go in there if I thought it would permanently damage you.”

“Dying could permanently damage me,” I point out. “And I’m certain that if the military catches me snooping around their base, I’m going to be taking a dirt nap.” I look at the globe again. “Actually, more like a snow nap.”

But I’m intrigued by this plan and a little excited. Just a little. I hate Sergeant Willis for holding the return of my ship over my head. I want to defy him, get in trouble.

I also want to live.

“Perfect.” Gloria crosses her arms over her chest and smiles. “She can stay at home, and we can do our job.”

“We can’t do our job without Vivian and her crew,” Simon says, dismissing the map and signaling for the lights to come up.

“What do they have that we could possibly need?” Gloria stares down Simon.

“Good question,” I say, joining Gloria in staring down Simon. “What could I contribute to this mission that no one else here can?”

Simon’s grin chills me inside out. “Your crew member, Carlos, is one of the best hackers in the business… And we need a ride, a way to get in without being detected.”

Oh no. What have I gotten Carlos into?

I shrug. “The military has my ship.”

Simon leans forward, placing his hand on the table. “We need Matias Aravena and the cover of his micro-computing business. And you’re going to get him for us.”