Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3) (31 page)

They strolled out into the main walkway bordering the cylindrical interior of the building. Ahead, a square robot with electric blue plating about Tia’s height stood in front of a sheet of red tape covering the elevator they had destroyed earlier.
 

“I am sorry for the inconvenience,” the robot crackled. “Please use another elevator.”

Tia’s eyes widened. “Wonder what happened?” she asked, placing her bright fingers over her mouth. She glanced at him and winked.
 

She pulled Austin into the elevator next door and pinched his rear. Austin flinched, taking a step away from her.
 

“What are you doing?” he asked, blood rushing to his face.
 

“You are my date,” she said with a smile. “Act like it.”

He took a deep breath and allowed Tia to press the elevator button. She entwined her arm with his, pulling herself closer to him. The doors slid shut, and the elevator descended to the lobby.
 

“How did you get mixed up in this?” Austin whispered.
 

“What? You and me?” Tia pinched him again and pointed at the doors.
 

Austin understood, suddenly feeling stupid. The elevator was bugged.

“Ah, yeah,” he said. “You and me.”

 
Tia led him through the lobby, her arm still attached to his, and she skipped into the garden. The day had long set, but the Clarian spaceport filled the night sky and blocked most of the stars above the street. Holograms projected from the buildings, flashing designs and strange images of women’s eyes, flowers and snarling dogs. A hundred voices boomed from the commercial holograms. Austin couldn’t decipher the cacophony bombarding his ears.

He felt … alien. And alone.
 

“Come on!” Tia said, weaving her way through the mass of people on the sidewalk. She turned back and looked at him playfully. “Still wanna know?”

“Know what?”

“Why I’m doing this, silly.”

Austin shrugged. “Yes.”

She pulled him closer, speaking so softly in the crowd Austin could barely hear. “I’m from a formerly anchored world. Mimi and Papa were killed during the Zahlian invasion. I fought in the underground for a while but wanted to do more. That was when different men found me, men with your Legion.”

Austin stared at her, the personality of this young woman transforming before his eyes. “Your planet was conquered?”

Tia blinked. “Everyone’s is eventually.”

“Then why fight?”

She exhaled, staring off into the crowd. “Just because you lose against the powerful, does that mean you shouldn’t try?”

Austin opened his mouth, but his response died on his lips. He didn’t know what to say.
 

They reached a busy intersection, vehicles on wheels mixed with those hovering. Fifty feet above the road, a stream of shuttle traffic shot by and sent a gust of the wind across the sidewalk. Tia paused at the corner and pulled Austin to the wall. Grabbing his collar, she brought him closer and whispered in his ear.
 

“Cameras,” she whispered. “Kiss me.”

“Huh?”

“Do it.”

Austin licked his lips, staring down at her purple mouth and her neon green eyes. Their lips met. She tasted like sweet candies. They parted, and she kissed his cheek, making her way to his ear.
 

“Can you fly it?” she whispered.

Austin froze. She knew—knew much more than he first realized.
 

She pulled back and looked at him, her eyes like radiant saucers. She stared at him with anticipation, her lips slightly parting as if she awaited tangible hope for the first time.
 

He nodded, his chest swelling. “I can fly it.”

Her eyebrows lowered. She nodded, and Austin thought he saw her eyes brimming with tears. She grabbed his hand tightly. “Our destination is across the street.”

Austin followed her gaze. The dazzling building illuminated by bold sapphire lasers was impossible to miss. A holographic crimson dragon with a golden pipe hanging out of his mouth hovered over the three-story building. Music boomed from the establishment, spilling loud rhythms out onto the street. Zahlian symbols hovered over the sidewalk.
 

The traffic stopped. With Austin’s hand firmly in her own, Tia sprinted across the street. She spun around through the stopped traffic and let his hand go. Hurrying toward their destination, she skipped as if she didn’t have a care in the world. She halted under the symbols, turning around to face him with a flirtatious look on her face.
 

“Kiss me again,” she said, her flashing fingernails touching her chin. “For real.”

Austin sighed, moving toward her. As their lips were about to meet, she yanked him down and forced her mouth to his ear.
 

“I’ve never kissed one of the good ones before,” she said softly. “Go inside. Sit at the round table at the back. She is waiting on you.”

Before Austin could respond, Tia pushed his chest away.
 

“How dare you!” she screamed, smacking him hard across the face. “I’m leaving!”

Austin rubbed his cheek, watching Tia as she ran away crying. She disappeared into the crowd, and Austin idly wondered if he’d ever see her again. Behind a tall bouncer looming with his massive arms crossed over his chest, a dozen people lingered outside the nightclub, some laughing at his misfortune. He shrugged, trying to play it cool as he rubbed his face.
 

“Sir?” the bouncer asked, his voice sounding like a bass guitar. “Are you okay?”

Austin raised his eyebrows and pointed at his own chest.
 

“Yeah. Sorry about your girl there.” The bouncer gestured toward the club. “You coming in?”

Austin shrugged, knowing he couldn’t speak the language. He tried to act thankful, frowning and holding his hands out in front of him as he made his way into the nightclub.

*****

The music blared into his ears, causing him to wince when he first entered. The translator tried to keep up with the chaotic conversations around him, but he only understood pieces of what people said. It didn’t make any sense. At the center of the room, a mass of patrons danced close enough to touch. A bar the color of Earth’s sky on a clear fall day ran along the side of the dance floor. Dancers lined up to purchase drinks.
 

Slate blue laser beams shot over the heads of the dancers, who swayed as the music launched into a percussion solo laced with bass. He flinched each time the bass hit. A chorus joined in with the music, a synthesizer producing a rolling sound synchronized with the laser beams. The bass hit twice, and the blue lights went dark, replaced by an emerald green hue pulsating through the club as the song morphed into another.
 

Austin threaded through the crowd, a dozen hands touching his shoulders and back. He squinted, trying to act like he was having fun. A blonde woman wearing what looked like a black trash bag, grabbed his shoulders and started dancing with him. He spun around, allowing her to lead as he surveyed the back of the club. She blinked vertically, pulling him close. Her pupils were black slits extended from the top of her eyeball to the bottom, making her look like a snake.
 

Behind her, tables lined the wall opposite the bar. Austin gently passed his dance partner to the left and moved through the crowd, bobbing and ducking like a boxer. He whirled around, trying to look like he was dancing as he made his way off the dance floor. A waitress stepped in front of him, a collection of pink drinks on her serving table. Austin shook his head. The waitress winked at him and moved off.
 

He surveyed the scene. The dancers packed the room so tight he couldn’t see the floor. Wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, he looked at the series of tables. At the back of the area where Tia had told him to search, he saw a circular table in the back corner. He moved smoothly toward it, avoiding the dancers as they spilled into the table area.
 

He walked in front of the circular table and stopped.
 

A woman with skin the color of mocha sat at the table. Her black hair fell onto her shoulders. She gazed at him with brown eyes. Austin smiled, surprised how happy it made him to see a woman with normal eyes.
 

She said something, but Austin couldn’t hear. He leaned down.
 

“Hi honey,” she said, her voice soothing.
 

Austin stood up straight, unsure if he should speak. “What?”

“Sit down.” She nodded toward the seat across from her.

Keeping his eyes on the woman, he slid into the table as if it would swallow him. She wore a classy black dress that wouldn’t have been out of place on Earth. He stared at her for a long moment, the green lasers flashing and illuminating the room like jade lightning. The music shifted, playing something smoother and slower. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. Her skin felt soft. Their eyes met, and she looked knowingly at him.
 

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, exhaling. She nodded at the waitress, who placed a drink with pink liquid in front of him. “I’m so glad you made it.”

Austin pulled his hands away and leaned on his elbows. “What is going on?”

“What’s going on?” she asked, glancing toward the dancers and around the room before turning back toward him. “My husband has come home—that’s what’s going on.”

Austin listened as if the words fell over him one at a time.
Husband
.
 

This was his contact, the one Vakar and Tia had said would be waiting for him at the club. But … husband?
 

The woman placed her finger over her full red lips. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said loudly. “You’re thinking, ‘why did Val want to meet me here?’”

Austin took in a slow breath and released it. “Yes, Val,” he said, “why did you want to meet me here?”

She reached out for his hand and squeezed it, running her thumbs along the top.
 

“It has been a long time.” She nodded to the strange drink. “Finish that, and we’ll go home.”

*****

They boarded a royal blue train. Once inside, Austin noticed the train’s floor was transparent. Holding Austin’s hand, Val led him to a bench near the back and sat close to him. Austin stared past his feet and watched the ground as the train moved. He sat in silence, watching the city lights play across the car.
 

He took a deep breath for the first time, considering what had happened to him since he awoke on Ravi’s ship. From the spaceport to the apartment complex fight with the agent and Tia’s strange escort to the night club, the weight of the events fell over him for the first time. If one thing had gone wrong, if one event had played out differently, he would be dead. He probably should be dead. His eyes grew heavy, the rocking of the train lulling him into a trance.
 

Val grabbed his hand tightly. For the first time, Austin felt her hands shaking.
 

He looked around the car but saw nothing.
 

“Okay,” she breathed, her lips quivering.
 

He squeezed the hand of this stranger, trying to offer a sense of confidence. His mind raced as well, but he tried to offer her support he didn’t feel. In fact, he didn’t even know if he could trust her.
 

But there was something about her, something familiar. He cast a sideways glance at her. Out of the corner of his eye, she looked like Ryker. Perhaps he saw Ryker everywhere now or maybe it was just a coincidence. The blue lights played across Val’s face, reminding Austin of the night on Oma when Ryker took him to the Glistening Orb. He gazed out the window, replaying the events of that night in his mind. Everything had changed for him that night. Nothing had been same.
 

The train slowed. Val squeezed his hand again and stood. They exited the train with a dozen passengers. Compared to the bustling district they had just left, the block outside the train station seemed quaint, boring even. Dimly lit black buildings lined the street. Two cars moved in opposite directions.
 

She led him down the stairs in silence. They walked together on the empty sidewalk, their footsteps echoing in the silence.
 

Val stopped in front of a plain black building with a white door and pressed her hand on a panel to the right. The door opened, revealing a sparsely furnished room.
 

“Welcome home,” Val said quietly.