| |
––––––––
ABE LANDED HIS JET IN A field of snow next to a tiny town. Maybe the city of Noorvik was big by Alaskan standards, but it was miniscule to him who had lived all his life in Alexandria and Cairo. Siluk appeared, waving his arms.
When Abe got out of the jet, the cold air accosted him. Even with the coat he brought, the chill pierced through his skin and drove straight to his bones.
Siluk laughed and handed him a much thicker coat along with a hat and some other cold weather gear. “Now do you see why Egypt is ridiculously hot for me?” he asked.
Abe’s teeth chattered as he tried to nod. “I’m getting it.” He zipped the coat up before attempting to adjust his temperature controlled underclothes. Those would help warm him, but only the coat could shield him against the biting wind.
Siluk laughed again and pointed toward two hover mobiles. After quickly explaining how they worked, Siluk started his engine and set off for Abe to follow. It took a few moments for Abe to figure out the controls. It took another three minutes to drive it without jerking to the side every few seconds.
When he finally got the hang of it, he nodded at Siluk. “Piece of cake,” he said.
Siluk nodded back. And then he tilted his head to the side. “So, Imara broke up with you, huh?”
“No.”
The look on Siluk’s face almost made the lie worth it.
Siluk narrowed his eyes, but finally shrugged. “I know she did, but if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s cool. We’ll be there in a couple minutes.”
Abe nodded and kept his mouth shut. He considered Siluk a friend, but that didn’t mean he wanted to bear his soul to him. Besides, they had work to do. With everyone busy in Egypt, he didn’t like thinking about the trouble they’d be getting into without him. The sooner they got back on the jet, the better.
The landscape was so full of snow, Abe wasn’t sure how Siluk knew which way to go. But Siluk forged ahead with a look of confidence. The look only pounded a fist into the knot twisting in his gut.
Soon enough, a lone hut appeared on the landscape of snow. Two minutes later, they had parked and headed for the door.
Siluk knocked, and they didn’t wait long before someone answered. His shoulders were hunched over and his face looked windburned. There was a droop to his eyes that must have taken years to be developed. The man saw Siluk and immediately said, “Are you here with my fish? If you have any extra, I’ll...”
His voice trailed off when he noticed Abe standing there. His eyes paused at Abe’s face as he seemed to take in the skin color and obvious Egyptian descent. The man’s face fell, and his shoulders visibly dropped down further.
“Marco Santini?” Abe asked.
The man sighed and rubbed his forehead. “If you’re here to bring me to Takara, could you please just kill me first?”
“Considering what she’s planning to do to you,” Abe said. “That’s a pretty good suggestion. But no, I’m not here to take you to her. I’m actually here to save your life.”
* * *
IMARA JOGGED BACK TO headquarters with Husani. Maybe it was stupid to expend so much energy this early on, but her anxiety couldn’t take the walking anymore. With two blocks to go, her ring started buzzing with a phone call.
A flurry of electricity went through her when she saw Abe’s picture. She tried to settle her face into a neutral expression before she tapped his photo to answer the call. As soon as the screen came up, Husani had jumped to her side.
“Hey,” Abe said. And then he stopped. Stopped and stared while their eyes met and thousands of unspoken words drifted between them. Was it always going to be like this? Every conversation so awkward she could scream?
No, she reminded herself. It wouldn’t always be like this because she was leaving and wouldn’t see him anymore. That thought didn’t feel any better than the last.
“We saw Rajesh,” Husani piped in from beside her.
Abe’s nose twitched, and his eyes darkened with a visible rage. His head tilted to the side ever so slightly as he spoke through his teeth. “Did you strangle him?” he asked.
“Nah, Imara wouldn’t let me,” Husani replied.
Imara let out a tsk and pushed Husani away. “Forget Rajesh. We have more important things to worry about at the moment. Did you find him?”
A man leaned into view for half a second, then quickly pulled away. She didn’t expect him to look as familiar as he did. It wasn’t his facial features as much as his eyes. They looked exactly like Professor Santini’s. Seeing them set her stomach into an explosion of remorse.
She took a deep breath. “Keiko said she can stop the drones. We’ll contact Takara soon and give her Marco’s location. Don’t forget to send a picture for proof. And, can you drop a location tag before you leave?”
Abe didn’t make eye contact as he moved his fingers to his screen. He nodded absently and said, “Sending it now.”
She continued. “Keiko said we’ll have to go to Takara’s mansion to turn off the drones.”
Saying the words out loud put a shiver through. It hadn’t seem so bad in her head, but now the thought of going back to her place of torture seemed more than a little frightening.
“What?” Abe said, moving his face forward. His eyebrows furrowed until a crease appeared between them. “Husani.” He waited until the boy made eye contact with him. Then, he pointed in her direction and said, “You keep an eye on her.”
She put both hands on her hips and scoffed. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
“I know that,” Abe said. “You can also rescue yourself, as you’ve proved multiple times. But this is Takara we’re talking about, and you have a tendency to risk your safety for the sake of others.”
“Like you’re one to talk,” Imara said under her breath.
“I want an extra pair of eyes on you, that’s all,” Abe said.
She let out an exasperated sigh. “We’ll be fine,” she said, and ended the call before anyone else could speak.
Why did Abe have to go be all gallant and worried about her safety like that? That’s what boyfriends were supposed to do, not ex-boyfriends.
She stomped forward and didn’t speak the entire rest of the way to headquarters. When they arrived, she still didn’t want to speak. Not with Edrice. Not with anyone.
Luckily, the moment they opened the door, Keiko directed her back out of it. “Edrice is going to stay here and guide us through the city. Let’s go stop those drones.”
