Stolen Flyght – Chapter 29

“Breathe, Vivian.”

I inhale through my nose and let it all out through my mouth. The white porcelain of the bathroom sink is cold under my fingers, and the hum of the air recycler is steady in my ears.

Skylar’s hand lies solidly on my back. “Breathe again,” she instructs and waits while I calm myself. “I met with Sanches yesterday, and he’s confident we’re going to get the Amagi back.” She rubs my back in circles. “He’s not going to call you to testify, and the military doesn’t plan to either.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

This is just another hurdle to jump over, just one more issue to solve until I can get to the auction and repurchase my farm. I breathe in and out again, turn on the tap, and run my hands under the water.

“In fact,” Skylar continues, “Sanches said that, in these types of proceedings, hardly anyone testifies. The judge may ask you some questions, but that’s about it.” She stops and looks at herself in the mirror. Humming and tilting her head, she rubs her lips together and fluffs her hair. “We only have one possible witness to call. Sanches looked pleased with himself this morning when I asked about it.”

Ken’s lawyer, Declan Sanches, is one of the best on Palo Alto, and he’s a big deal across both systems. He’s dealt with the Brazilianos military in several cases he’s won. I have a lot of confidence in him. This is not a criminal trial. We’re only trying to get our property back.

“Right,” I say, drying off my hands on a towel. “He said as much this morning. I just don’t want to fuck this up, Sky. The Amagi means everything to you. It was going to be the ship to start your career.”

“Hey.” She shushes me from the tears I want to shed by taking my upper arms in her hands. “Don’t worry about it. Really, Viv.” She smiles at me. “You chose all the right people to be friends with. You chose the right men too. Jinzo told me this morning that if we don’t get the Amagi back, he’ll work something out with his mom for one of their ships.”

She raises her eyebrows at me when my mouth drops open.

“So don’t worry. I want the Amagi, and I want the military to pay for their mistake of taking it. But if it doesn’t work out, we have a backup plan. Okay?”

I nod. “Okay.”

She pulls me into a hug. “We’ll get through this.”

It’s the Kawabata way.

Skylar opens the bathroom door for me, and I smile at her as I exit into the hall…

And straight into Sergeant Willis, the lawyer for the military. Our previous meeting flashes through my head. He grilled me for hours in Ken’s Palo Alto apartment on the seeds, Tomu, and what Athens Industries knew about the seeds Tomu was harvesting for them.

His smile is tight, and his body language freezes me in place. He’s been waiting for me here, waiting to pounce.

“Ms. Kawabata, it’s a surprise to run into you here.”

Sure it is. I believe that. My stare is icy.

He leans towards me. “Just so you know, I won’t be returning the Amagi.”

I didn’t know my stare could be any colder, but it is.

“I have plenty of surveillance footage from the search ships on Neve that show you running to your rescue ship.”

Fuck. I knew this would bite me in the butt.

“And I can draw a logical conclusion to you being in the destroyed base as well, given you were with Commander Correa.” When I say nothing, he smiles. “I told you to stay out of this, to lie low. You should have listened.”

I raise my chin. “You can draw any conclusion you want. I just want my ship back. You had no right to take it.”

His face loses all of his manufactured cheer. “We take what we want, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”

He turns and leaves, walking down the hall to the courtroom like he owns the place. And he does. He has the home team advantage here.

“What an asshole,” Skylar whispers. “I bet he has a small dick.”

I huff a curt laugh. “Yeah. I’m sure that’s the least of his worries.”

The courtroom is teeming with reporters when we get there. They try to stick their microphones in my face, but I smile and skirt past them. They’re not getting a statement from me, not before and not after. I notice a reporter from OEN, and it takes every gram of strength I have to not jump over everyone else and punch the guy in the face.

“You okay?” Ken asks, as I sit next to him at our table.

“Yeah. Fine.”

He leans over and kisses my cheek. “Don’t worry. Things changed overnight. We have the advantage now.”

After my run-in with Willis, though, I don’t believe that. Not one bit.

Jinzo, Gus, and Mat are sitting together, down the row past Marcelo and Skylar. They try to smile or encourage me with a nod. Jinzo says, “You’ve got this.” I want to fall into their arms, sleep, and never wake up. Instead, I nod back and sit next to Ken at our table facing the judge’s bench.

I do nothing but sit with my eyes closed, remembering Nina’s exit from the shuttle. She was so confident as she pulled on the EVA suit and secured her helmet in place. I couldn’t help but admire her at that moment, so sure and secure she was doing the right thing for everyone. She turned at the airlock door, looked straight at Gus, and said, “I’m sorry.”

I’m sorry.

Two words I thought I’d never hear from the woman after all we had been through.

I stayed at the airlock window and watched her float across the expanse between the two ships until she made it to the other’s airlock.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I open my eyes and squeeze Ken’s hand. Marcelo reaches forward from the row behind me and sets his hand on my shoulder, leaning in to whisper.

“Everything will be fine. We have more than enough evidence to get the Amagi back.”

“That’s not why I’m nervous.”

My knee bounces, and this time I’m not going to stop it.

My first worry has nothing to do with this courtroom. My inbox is filled with messages from women I don’t know. I almost had an anxiety attack just looking at the number of unread messages when I was finally back on the network.

“We’ll be there.”

“We’ve received your message, and we’re on your side.”

The message was repeated over and over, and I’m worried Alipha and Malina went a bit too far. What did they say to these women? What did they promise? Am I going to be in social debt up to my eyeballs once this auction is over? I don’t know how I could owe favors to any of the women who sent these messages. Most of all, I’m worried about too many people attending the auction and outbidding me. When they say they’ll ‘be there,’ what does that mean? I don’t want anyone to witness the auction. What if I don’t win? Having my disappointed face plastered all over the media would be the death of me. Ugh. I just want to buy my farm and live out my remaining years free of drama.

That’s probably too much to ask.

My second worry is Renata Dellis. She said she’d help out with everything after I got her the information about what was in the Neve military base. I sent off a packet of material to her, a complete rundown of all I saw, and I haven’t heard from her. Where is she? Is she okay? I checked the news archives for the last week, and there was nothing to suggest that she was missing or too busy to respond. But I doubt I’m high on her priority list.

I’m just another number to her, like any part-time employee.

A chime sounds, and chatter in the courtroom dies out, all eyes turning to the front judge’s bench. A woman appears through a door and approaches the bench while a man to the right gets to his feet.

“All rise,” he calls out, and we stand, “for the Honorable Judge Amelia Novo.”

He waits while we stand for a moment, and the judge seats herself.

“You may be seated.” Once everyone is back in their seats, he begins again. “Case number, 5237890. Flyght Incorporated is petitioning the court for the release of a pleasure cruiser, Ama-ji.”

I wince as he mispronounces the name of my ship. It’s AmaGi, asshole. Hard G. Like the uniform worn in karate. Well, it’s been less than five minutes, and I’m already annoyed.

Judge Novo bounces in her seat and smiles out at us.

“Thank you, everyone. Looks like my first case of the day is a doozy.”

She’s chipper, and not what I expected from a military judge.

“As usual, I like for my civil cases to remain polite, short, and to the point. I have ten cases to hear today, so let’s get moving. We’ll hear from the Flyght Incorporated lawyers first.” She smiles as she folds her hands, one over the other. “Mr. Mata, I have used your company’s services on several occasions. You run a fine outfit.”

Ken’s eyes widen. “Thank you, Your Honor.”

“I’m putting that out there because when this case hit the judge’s pool, there wasn’t one of us who hadn’t used Flyght at some point. So, if someone is going to accuse us of being impartial, there’s no one else to turn to. Understood?” She looks at Sergeant Willis, the military’s lawyer, and he nods. “Good. Now onward.”

Ken’s head lawyer, Declan Sanches, stands up.

“Your Honor, this is an open and shut case. Our client’s ship, the Amagi” — I’m pleased he corrects the pronunciation — “was wrongly commandeered by the BSMC Millennium and Commander Nina Correa during the pursuit of Tomu Kawabata. Military Law Section one-hundred-twenty-three states that the seizing of vessels in Brazilianos space is only warranted after a case in which the defendant is convicted of a crime or the property was involved in a criminal activity. First, our defendant, the captain of the Amagi, Vivian Kawabata, has not been brought up on charges nor convicted of a crime. Second, the Amagi was ambushed in Californikos space between Sonoma and Palo Alto, where it is illegal for the Brazilianos military to operate without express permission from the Californikos Government Collective. And third, it is Ms. Kawabata’s testimony that she was returning to Palo Alto to turn in Tomu Kawabata at the Concord City military outpost base. Therefore, he was not a fugitive at the time, but instead, he was under arrest by the captain of the vehicle in question. The Amagi was seized without cause, and we wish to have it returned to us posthaste.”

I sit up in my seat at the mention of my name. I didn’t want to be a captain, but I’m proud of my ship, even if it’s an empty husk on the surface of Neve.

Sanches is about to sit down when he returns to standing. “Also, Your Honor. It has come to our attention that, while the military has been in possession of the Amagi, the military stripped it for parts, and it is no longer functional. We request the Amagi is returned to proper working order, and all property that’s been removed from the ship is reinstated.”

Damn straight. Give back everything you stole from me.

My chest heaves with hot, angry breaths. Of course, my whole life was stolen from me, just like my ship. They can’t give that back, so the least they can do is give me the Amagi.

The judge flips through something on her datapad, makes a few notes, and then turns her eyes on the military’s lawyer, Sergeant Willis.

“Sergeant Willis, I will let you have your say, but I have a report here that states you cleared Ms. Kawabata of all charges only a week ago.”

My insides cool as I watch Sergeant Willis get to his feet. He glances over at me, and… damn. He’s ready to sink me. I can see it in his eyes. He grilled me for hours about my brother, the seeds, everything, and then he told me how he was keeping the Amagi to look for evidence I harbored Tomu, that I aided and abetted him. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I held him prisoner.

I lean forward to get a good look at Willis and make eye contact.

I’m not afraid. I was there on Neve, and it was probably illegal. Come at me.

His military uniform is smart and crisp, and his medals and commendations hang off his chest. He’s here to get results. He’s angry I didn’t lie low, angry I got in his way. He wants revenge.

A rising wave of murmurs catches my attention, and I turn around in my seat to see what the commotion is. The door to the courtroom is closing behind Renata Dellis.

Goosebumps rise on my arms as she smiles and walks forward down the aisle to sit next to Marcelo, directly behind me. What? Why is Renata Dellis here? How did she even know about this? It was so last minute. I turn in my seat to greet her.

“Ms. Dellis, I didn’t know you’d be here today.” I pull a smile out of nowhere.

“I thought you could use some support, Ms. Kawabata,” she says, reaching forward to lay her hand on my arm and squeeze. The murmuring from the media crowd reaches a crescendo, and they all stand in their spots to get a better look at us. “I’m sorry I’m late. I hoped to be here before you started.”

“You didn’t have to come,” I whisper to her. This is my mess, one-hundred percent.

“I promised I’d help you get your ship back. And I have done just that.”

Judge Novo raises her hand, and the courtroom chimes, once, twice, three times. The crowd noise dissipates. When I turn around in my seat, I glance at Willis, hoping to apologize for disrupting the proceedings, but he’s whispering frantically to his co-counsel next to him. They both flip through information on their datapads until Willis swears under his breath and turns his eyes forward. His jaw is tight, and his chest rises and falls rapidly.

“Good morning, Ms. Dellis,” Marcelo whispers to Renata.

“Morning, Mr. Silva. I hope you don’t mind me sitting next to you.”

“Not at all.” Marcelo’s voice is filled with mirth, and I twist my lips to stop a smile.

“Excuse me, Ms. Dellis.” Judge Novo raises her voice from her bench. “I didn’t realize you’d be attending the proceedings here today.”

Renata stands up in her spot. “Sorry to disrupt the courtroom, Your Honor. My shuttle was later than I expected it to be. I don’t travel to Ossun as much as I should.”

Judge Novo’s eyebrows wrinkle. “Well, I must admit I’m surprised to see you here.”

Sanches raises his hand for a moment. “Your Honor, we added Renata Dellis to the list of witnesses last night. You should have had an updated list sent to you.”

The judge raises her eyebrows as she flips through her datapad. “Ah, yes. I see her listed here. Well, I suppose we’ll hear from you later.”

Willis closes his eyes for a brief moment and blows a quick breath through his nose. Uh oh. He looks ready to explode.

“Sergeant Willis, you may proceed.”

Willis gathers himself, stands up, and clears his throat. He hesitates for a moment, seemingly unsure of his footing. “Your Honor, we did clear Ms. Kawabata of charges only a week ago, and we don’t intend to revive that investigation. We held the Amagi at our facilities on Neve in order to query the ship’s databases for security videos and logs. We planned on returning the vehicle once we’d done a thorough sweep of their systems.”

Judge Novo widens her eyes and opens her hands, palms up. “What happened? Why is her ship in pieces on Neve?”

I hold my breath and look straight ahead. Here’s where he nails me to the wall.

This is where it all falls apart.

I am moments away from my doom.

“Uh, it appears the Amagi was tagged incorrectly. It was delivered to Neve when it was supposed to be brought to the shipyards at Itajaí. We admit the mistake was grievous.”

Silence sinks over the courtroom as the cameras roll, and the judge stares down Willis. We’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. What else is he going to say?

But he just stands there.

Why? I want to jump up and get him moving to the part where the military knows I broke into their facility, set fire to it, and left. Surely, that’s coming, right?

My upper lip sweats, and my stomach gurgles loud enough for Ken to hear it and glance over at me.

Judge Novo sighs. “Sergeant Willis, why are we here today? Huh? Why did I take time out of my busy schedule to hear this case?”

Willis takes a deep breath, puffing out his chest. “Your Honor, I’m asking myself the very same question right now.”

The judge continues. “According to your brief, we were going to question Ms. Kawabata about” — she looks down at her datapad — “possible illegal activities on Neve?”

Come on! Out with it!

My knee bounces at double speed. What the hell is going on here?

Willis glances over his shoulder at me… Wait.

Not at me. At Renata behind me.

“I’m sorry, Your Honor, but I no longer wish to include that in my arguments.”

The judge stares at Willis while the media pool murmurs to each other.

What is she going to do?

“Okay,” Judge Novo says, drawing out the two syllables into ten or more, “back to the case at hand, then. What did you find when you swept the ship’s systems?”

“Nothing, Your Honor. The ship’s AI did a complete dump and rewrite. Ms. Kawabata’s tech engineer was incredibly thorough. We did a forensic sweep of everything, and” — he clears his throat — “we came up empty-handed.”

She sits back in her seat and gestures to Willis. “Are you done with your opening statement? Because we have a list of people here to call to testify, and I’m not even convinced we have any right to hold this hearing at this point.”

Willis’s forehead beads with sweat. “I have nothing more to say for my opening statement.” He clears his throat again. “Forgive me, but we would like to withdraw this case and settle now before any witnesses are called.”

No witnesses? But Renata flew across two systems to be here and help. I’m about to protest and lean into Sanches when he raises his hand to stop me.

Judge Novo swipes through her datapad more and raises her eyebrows again.

“Withdraw the case?” She sighs. “I’m disappointed in you, Sergeant Willis. You’re usually well prepared for court and never caught off guard like this. This is a disgrace. Security spent hours vetting everyone in the media pool.” She points to the crowd. “We could have all slept in today and been spared the hubbub.”

I look from Willis to the judge to Renata Dellis. I’ve seen enough of Renata lately to understand she’s happy. She’s holding back glee. Actual fucking glee.

“Mr. Sanches, what can we do to settle this case now?”

Sanches stands up. I’m surprised he’s able to contain himself. “Your Honor, if the military will return the Amagi and any parts removed from the vehicle, we will consider the matter closed.”

Judge Novo turns her stare on Willis. “Is that an acceptable agreement, Sergeant Willis? Will you be able to return this ship to its rightful owner in an expedient manner?”

Willis’s jaw grinds loud enough for me to hear his teeth scrape against one another. It sends a shiver down my back.

“Yes. We will have the ship and its parts towed wherever they want.”

Sanches leans over, and Ken whispers in his ear.

“We wish to have the ship towed to Lee Shipyards,” Sanches says.

“Of course you do,” Willis whispers under his breath. He lifts his chin. “We’ll have it done within forty-eight hours.”

“Great. We’re done here then.” The judge nods to her clerk, and the room chimes again.

“All rise,” the clerk calls out.

We stand, and Judge Novo grabs her datapad and leaves the room through the back door.

—-

Every reporter in the room talks at once.

Oh, my fucking God. How did that even happen?

I’m afraid to smile — afraid to celebrate — even as Marcelo and Skylar hug and the rest of our party smiles and claps. The room is full of good cheer, but I only feel dread. Ken grasps my hand and squeezes, but I’m in too much shock to acknowledge his gesture.

No. Something else is bound to happen. The door is going to open, and the judge will step back in. She’s going to tell me I’m headed to prison for the rest of my life. Willis will cry, “Just kidding!” and slap me with a whole new lawsuit.

I close my eyes and try not to cry. I don’t believe it. This is a trick. I am so close to rotting in jail for the rest of my life. The phantom bars shut me in even as my friends and family celebrate.

I pry my eyes open and look over at Sergeant Willis. His posture is more relaxed now that the judge has left the room, and his jaw is no longer so tight it could break his teeth. He catches me looking at him, picks up his datapad, and approaches our table.

“You got very lucky today, Ms. Kawabata. Don’t expect the luck to last.”

I open my mouth to tell him I’m not lucky. This is a mistake.

But he sweeps past us, plows through the hoard of reporters, and exits the courtroom without speaking to anyone.

Lucky? Since when have I been lucky?

Since never, and I don’t expect it to last, that’s for sure.

“What just happened?” I whisper to Ken.

Sanches leans over to answer. “Renata Dellis happened.” He smiles as he glances at Renata, speaking with both Skylar and Marcelo. “She told me she had damning evidence of military corruption that led to the seizure of your ship. She was going to come here and lay it all out for the media to witness.” He shrugs as he picks up his datapad and slips it into his bag. “It’s the kind of killer poker hand every lawyer hopes for. Makes my job a lot easier.” His smile is bright, and his eyes sparkle as he peers over at Skylar. “I’m going to go congratulate the owner.”

Ken and I watch him go. He approaches Skylar, she smiles at him, and he gives her a congratulatory hug. Her cheeks color, and when she pulls away, she shies away from Sanches.

I raise my eyebrows at Ken.

“Yeah, he may have a little crush on Sky.”

A little? He’s beaming, and she’s happy for once, though I suspect she’s happier about getting her ship back than she is with his attention. I don’t know. Maybe? My anxiety eases looking at the two of them. There’s something normal and everyday about a crush, and I like that. Normal and everyday — two things I have experienced little of in the past few months.

Ken and I cross the divider into the crowd. Jinzo, Gus, and Mat meet us for a five-way group hug with me in the middle. I soak in their warmth and good cheer. Mat leans in to kiss my forehead. It’s nice to be surrounded by the people who care for me, but the moment doesn’t last long.

“Ms. Kawabata, are you happy to get your ship back?” a reporter shouts at me.

Then the rest start…

“Vivian, what will you do next? Your farm’s auction is only a day away.”

“Are you and Matias Aravena dating? Is he a new member of your network?”

The questions come relentlessly, one after another, but I’m too tired to answer any of them. And I feel like I need to set a precedent. I don’t talk to the media, ever. They can ask a million questions, and I will not answer them. It’s none of their business. Someone has to hold up the Kawabata name to scrutiny, and I can make us look powerful.

“I’m ready to go,” I say to the guys. “Why don’t we return to our suite at the hotel? Order in dinner?” I smile at Jinzo.

“Whatever you want,” he says, placing his hand on my waist in anticipation of us getting through this crowd.

Mat signs, “I brought a case of wine,” and I’m about to translate when Gus does instead. Looks like someone has been studying USL.

“Nice,” he says, fist-bumping with Mat.

“Come on,” Ken insists, jerking his head at the door. “I’ll go first. Jin, you guard Vivi. And Gus and Mat will bring up the rear.”

We make it through the crowd of reporters, keeping our heads down and our feet moving forward. Getting out of the courtroom and into a sunny day on Ossun is the best feeling ever. With the sun on my face and fresh air in my lungs, anything is possible.

We head to our hotel room suite for the day to eat, drink, and sleep. At least there’s sleep for the guys.

Me? I spend the time moving money around, ignoring my inbox, and obsessively thinking about the auction the next day. How will I bid? Will I be able to outbid everyone else? Who will be there?

Please, please, please let me win this auction.

I wear a path in the carpet in the bedroom all night while Jinzo sleeps.

I need this win more than anything else.

Please.