Stolen Flyght – Chapter 7

Handing the leash over to the man at the dog daycare and boarding center on the Lee home ship, my heart squeezes. Frogger looks up at me with his big, brown eyes, and I regret all of my decisions as of late. I should be more concerned about providing a stable home for my poor puppy, not heading out on risky missions.

I squat down with Frogger and smooth out his copper-colored fur from his neck to his back haunches. He licks my face and scoots forward into my arms.

“Aw, buddy,” I whisper into his floppy ears. “I promise I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Kawabata. We’ll take good care of him here. He’ll be waiting for you when you return.” The perky and smiling dog care employee strokes Frogger’s head and gives him a treat. My dog showers the guy with affection, and who can blame him? Treats are everything.

“Traitorous dog,” I mumble, stepping aside to let them be on their way. “You would think I didn’t raise him from a tiny puppy.”

Skylar steps up next to me and threads her arm through mine. “Frogger loves you. You’re doing the right thing by leaving him here until this mess is over. Hell, he gets treats and plays with other dogs and sniffs butts all day long. Sounds like a fucking fabulous holiday.”

Frogger’s wiggly dog butt disappears through a door, and I sigh. I miss him already.

“I can’t wait to bring him back to the farm where he can run free and chase chickens and sheep all day. He always loved being on the farm.” I reluctantly tear my eyes from the daycare and stroll with Skylar.

“Remember when he brought home a mouse and left it in the middle of the kitchen?” Skylar snorts. “One of my better sleepovers at your house. Your mom was horrified.”

“Yeah, well, hopefully we can continue the sleepovers soon enough.”

Skylar smiles at me. “It’s good to hear you use positive language when it comes to the farm.” She steps out of the way of a teacher herding a class of young students down the hall. “I’ve heard you say it more than once, that you’ll get back the farm. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear it.”

I lift my chin. “I will get back the farm.” I don’t add ‘if it’s the last thing I do’ because no one realizes just how much this means to me now. It’s do-or-die time. I either get it back or my life is done, ruined. Sure. I could convince Ken or Jinzo to buy us all a home on Palo Alto or wherever, and I return to school or go to work for Athens. But the very thought drives me straight to despair. It’s not what I was meant to do, not what I’ve dreamed about for most of my life. Sure, I had a passion for something that got pushed aside, but that’s because it wasn’t my calling. It was fun, and I enjoyed my research into exo-agriculture, but it didn’t hold the same meaning to me as my family farm did… does.

Yes, the farm still means everything to me.

I square my shoulders as we walk, making our way to the bridge.

Mat asked me the same question as we laid in bed the other night. “Do you still want to fight for the farm?” And I answered yes without hesitation. He was testing me, making sure I was committed before he got involved.

Despite everything that’s happened, getting the farm back is still my destiny. No one knows the place like I do. Anyone else will just run it into the ground. It seems haughty to think so, but only I can run the farm like it’s supposed to be managed.

“That’s good to hear, Viv,” Skylar says, following me down a hallway towards a lift. “Because I’m not sure how our family would succeed without it.”

I eye her from the side as we stop at the lift and wait for it to arrive.

“Not to put any pressure on you, but I spoke with Mom last night, and things are really tight with the entire family. Mom’s not getting enough contracts to make up for the loss of family work, and there’s no way we’ll be able to replace the Amagi without the family farm income.” She sighs, and my gut clenches in guilt. “It’s a right mess.”

Not to put any pressure on me? This is nothing but pressure. Thanks, Skylar. But she’s right. This is my problem to fix, and everyone is depending on me.

The lift doors open, and we get in.

“I want to thank you, for always keeping me on task, and not letting me slip into depression and a giant well of despair.”

“I…” She stops and thinks for a moment, her teeth grabbing her bottom lip. “I feel bad for always being that voice that says you should be doing more, when clearly, you are struggling every day. And I think it’s great that your guys assure you everything will be okay even if you don’t win the auction for the farm.”

I nod, keeping my eyes forward.

“But this goes so much further than just you. The farm’s income kept the entire family afloat… the family, and so much more. Just look at Malina Tsing. Even people we barely know are counting on us.”

She’s right. Everything will fall apart if we don’t do this right.

I try to change the subject. “I’m going to do everything I can to get the Amagi back.”

The doors open on the floor to the anterior of the main bridge.

“We’re working every angle, and with such a large team of skilled lawyers hounding the military day in and day out, I think we’ll succeed.”

Skylar narrows her eyes. “I don’t like it when you deflect. The problem here isn’t the Amagi, it’s our whole damned ecosystem being reliant on one major cash flow.”

“Let’s examine that for a moment,” I say, bitterness leaking into my voice. I stop before the bridge doors. “When we get the farm back” — Skylar crosses her arms over her chest — “when,” I say, stressing the word, “I’ll be rearranging things so this can never happen again. There will be redundancies and partnerships and investments, and I will only put people I trust in positions of power. I will never be caught off-guard again.”

I turn to stalk off onto the bridge, but Skylar grabs my arm and stops me.

“I don’t blame you for anything that’s happened. Do you hear me?” She looks into my face, and it takes a breath for me to look her in the eyes. “None of this is your fault. None of it.”

She throws her arms around my neck, and I soften into her embrace.

“I can’t wait to go back to slumber parties and face masks and talk of boys,” she whispers in my ear. I squeeze her a little tighter. “I know it won’t be the same, but it’ll be better than nothing.”

I pull away and smile at her. “Hopefully soon we’ll be talking about the men that Marcelo brings to you.” I sigh. “It’ll be nice to live someone else’s drama instead of my own.”

She laughs, throwing back her head. “Drama indeed. You just know I won’t make that easy on him.”

Through the doors to the bridge, I collect myself into the calm and determined daughter-in-law Hera Lee knows. It’s time, once again, to call on one of my distinct Vivian personalities because this Vivian I’m wearing now is a little frayed and beaten up. Calm Vivian is one I haven’t pulled out in a while. She’s a bit dusty, and her joints need oiling, but she’ll do.

“Vivian!” Asteria calls out, her hand in the air. She almost breaks into a run but ends up skipping to slow herself down. She attacks me with a generous hug, and I smile in surprise. I wasn’t expecting such a warm greeting.

“Ah, thank God you’re all right.” She takes my hands in hers for a moment, squeezes, and lets go. “Jin said you were fine, but I didn’t believe him, of course.”

“Of course,” I say with a chuckle.

She and Skylar hug, and when I look over Asteria’s shoulder, I spot Hera Lee approaching.

“When we heard what happened to the Amagi, we feared the worse.” Hera opens her arms and brings me in for a hug too. I close my eyes and relish this, especially since I believed she would hate me from the beginning. When I open my eyes and pull away, I notice a few crew members on the bridge watching us with warm smiles. I think they’re happy for us, for Hera.

I find the thought of this to be surreal. Most of the people here have seen the video footage. They’ve seen what went on with my brother and me. If I were some stranger and saw what transpired, I wouldn’t want to know me. Too much drama.

“They had no salvage rights.” Hera’s face settles into a rigid frown. “I am angry on your behalf.” She gestures for us to follow along with her to the dining room I already know well. “I have added a lawyer to your contingent, and she has been filing motions with the court for the last two days.”

“Thank you. That’s really generous of you.” I blink away grateful tears and find a smile from somewhere deep down.

With all of these people working hard to get the Amagi back, how could we not win?

Confidence lifts my spirit as we approach the dining room.

“Think nothing of it. I’ve been speaking with Jin, Ken, Gus, and Mat for the last hour. We’re making plans for your upcoming operation.”

She places her hand on my arm. “Vivian, might I have a private word with you before we go in?”

“Of course,” I say, surprised. The last time we had a private word was our first lunch. Once she had sized me up, we became friends.

Skylar and Asteria eye me as they slide past and into the dining room. Hera leads me down a separate hall, away from the dining room, and outside a door marked ‘Captain’s Office.’ Hera doesn’t open the door, though. We stand outside it.

“I’ve given a lot of thought to your predicament over the last few days.” She touches her lips with her fingers, considering her words before she continues. “And though I’m well-known for always being fair and impartial and not above the law, I am angry at the powers-that-be because your current situation is abhorrent.”

I hug myself. It’s one thing to believe someone has wronged me, to know I’ve been wronged, and it’s another to hear it from an authority figure like Hera Lee.

“The bank screwed up with your land, period.” Anger fills her voice. “There should have been multiple safeguards in place to prevent your brother from looting the estate. Cressida should have backed off Jin years ago, and the military had no right to take your ship. You weren’t harboring a criminal; you were protecting yourself!”

She huffs, her anger scorching hot.

“So, when I heard from Carlos about what you needed from me, I only hesitated a moment before deciding it was better to hand this guy over to you, rather than the military.”

Awareness prickles along my arms and a chill creeps up my back. I told Carlos not to ask this of Hera Lee, and he did it anyway.

For fuck’s sake, is no one trustworthy anymore?

Hera opens her office door, and sitting inside across from her desk is a man I hadn’t wanted to see ever again.

Eamon.