Threader (14 page)

In town, we follow the crowd of happily chatting cadets through the streets of the quiet town. It's getting dark and street lights buzz to life overhead, chasing away the shadows. Compared to the clogged streets back home, cars here move freely and overhead there's the whine of an air-car, its fusion exhaust glowing softly against the backdrop of emerging stars.

The inside of the Pizza Palace has a vintage feel to it, with rickety wooden furniture, old movie posters on the walls, and well-preserved timber beams with iron brackets. I follow Cora to a red vinyl booth at the back, admiring an antique film poster, featuring Dracula and Frankenstein doing battle. Half the patrons of the restaurant are Helios cadets and one or two give Cora a nod of recognition. Instead of an interface menu at our table, there are real, live people waiting tables, and Cora beckons a waitress over to place our order, informing me that we'll share. I wonder if she knows I'm nearly broke. Maybe not broke enough to not be able to afford a pizza, but enough to watch what I buy. I briefly wonder what kind of opportunities there might be for an enterprising girl to make some quick cash, but dismiss the idea quick enough. No way do I want to get thrown out, just for some extra credit to play with. Helios is paying for my education, board and food, and that will have to be enough until I graduate. I can celebrate when I have a fancy job and credit to spare. Until then, I'll live simple.

Cora looks around the busy restaurant. ‘Darsh is joining us. He should be here soon.'

‘Is there something going on between you two?' I ask her.

‘With Darsh?' Cora laughs. ‘No, we're just friends. We got partnered up in Systems Analysis and Design and started hanging out. He's a real sweetie.'

‘Okay.' I wonder if Darsh thinks of Cora as just a friend as well. ‘He does seem like a pretty cool guy.'

‘He's a madman with a computer.' Cora pauses when the waitress brings us our drinks. ‘He can migrate into almost any system he wants to, you know, and slip under security systems like nobody's business.'

‘Speak of the devil.' I spy Darsh entering the restaurant and wave him over. When he sees us, his face breaks out into a broad grin and he sits down next to Cora. We just stare at him a moment, both ogling the black eye he's got.

‘How did combat go this morning?' Cora asks.

Darsh looks at my bruised nose. ‘I'd say about as well as Josie's class.'

‘So, you got your butt handed to you?' Cora confirms. ‘Who did it this time?'

Darsh sighs. ‘Can we talk about something else? Josie's brawl with Jasmine is all I've been hearing about for the last half hour.'

‘I don't understand,' I say. ‘What are people talking about?'

‘That you two had a cat fight over Aaron Galloway,' Darsh says.

I snort. ‘Hardly.'

The pizza is delivered to our table and the rich, cheesy smell makes my mouth water and my toes curl in anticipation.

‘This is no big deal.' Darsh indicates his eye, then selects two pieces of pizza. ‘The bruising will be gone by morning. I'll swing by medical after here. They've got a bio-repair cream that works miracles on all manner of bruising.' He motions to my swollen nose. ‘You should try some of it. Trust me, it'll work miracles.'

A thought occurs to me as I take a slice and begin picking the anchovy pieces off.

‘Darsh. I hear you're pretty awesome with computers,' I say.

He nods, devouring a single slice in seconds. ‘You might say that … and you'd be right.'

‘Could you do me a favour?'

‘What kind of favour?' His eyes turn wary. ‘Big or small?'

‘Let's shoot for small,' I tell him. ‘I just want some information. My parents used to work for the academy. Alice and James Ryder.'

Darsh stops chewing. ‘You're second generation Helios?'

‘I guess, but I never knew it until I got here. I want to find out what they did and why they left. I've read a few general articles, but they don't tell me much.'

‘You can't ask them now?' Darsh asks.

‘They died when I was little.' The words are still bitter in my mouth, even after all these years.

‘Sorry,' Darsh says awkwardly, then quickly recovers. ‘I'll take a quick look around. Though on the Darsh favour scale, this would qualify as a big one. But if you're second generation Helios, that's kind of cool. So, happy to help.'

‘I'd appreciate it.'

‘Don't look now, but Tina Hather just walked in,' Cora says through a mouthful of pizza. ‘Wonder if Olivia Galloway is with her, slumming it for dinner.'

I look over to see a blonde girl striding towards us with a determined look on her face, her heels clicking against the timber floors.

She stops in front of us. ‘Hello, losers. Nice to see some of us don't have to worry about keeping trim.'

My eyes drop to the greasy slice of pizza in my hand, before I take a defiant bite. Cora keeps eating without skipping a beat, while Darsh nearly shovels another whole piece into his mouth, then smiles in a wide open grin.

‘If that's how you try to impress girls, Darsh, then it's little wonder you're single,' Tina snips.

‘
Mhufughj
.' Darsh accidentally spits out a piece of pepperoni, then starts choking and concentrates on swallowing his mouthful.

Tina's eyes cut to me. ‘I'm supposed to deliver this to you.' She pulls out an envelope from her handbag and passes it to me. The paper feels expensive and silky underneath my fingers and, to my horror, I realise I've already left a grease smudge on the corner.

‘Consider it your golden ticket,' Tina says cryptically, then walks off.

‘What does it say? What does it say?' Cora looks about ready to jump out of her skin, so I hand her the envelope while I wipe my hands on a napkin.

She rips it open and pulls out a letter, scanning it. ‘It's an invitation to one of the Executive Committee fundraising dinners at Eckhart's country residence.'

Darsh whoops. ‘Someone hit the big time. Maybe soon you'll be doing favours for me.'

I take the letter and see that not only am I invited, but a car will be sent for me. ‘Why would I be invited?'

‘Who cares?' Cora throws her hands up. ‘This is your chance to impress the Executive Board, let them know you're something special. Do you have a dress?'

‘No.' I bite my lip. ‘Do you have one I could borrow?'

‘Are you kidding?' Cora laughs. ‘I'm a full-figured girl and you're kind of scrawny. We'll have to go shopping.'

‘Are you sure?' Now I'm worried, because I don't have near enough money for something like a fancy dress.

‘You'll have to count me out for shopping activity, ladies,' Darsh says.

‘Ohhh, come on, Darsh, it'll be fun,' Cora pleads.

Darsh takes another bite. ‘I think I'd rather face down a rabid primal, thanks.'

I don't sleep well that night, fending off dreams that are a tumbled mess. At one point, I'm back in the combat room, but instead of fighting Jasmine, I'm grappling with Blake. Just like Jasmine, Blake grabs me in a chokehold and I angle my hip for a throw. He goes easy and I know he's letting me win. As his weight rolls over my shoulder, he brings me with him and I land on top, breathing hard. Feeling mortified and very, very aware of the hard lines of his body, I try to shift off him. But his hands wrap around my waist and our eyes lock. The room grows dark, shadows crawling towards us. Fear grips me. Fear of the darkness and where it leads. Fear of the man who stares up at me like I'm something special. The fear heightens the arousal that's taking over my body and my skin itches, wanting to press against his. Darkness falls and the moment builds, tightening me inside—

I wake, heart thumping. It takes me a moment to orientate myself and remember where I am. Being careful not to bang my head on the top bunk, I sit up and swing my legs to the floor. Around me, I hear soft breathing and the occasional snore. My skin prickles and I realise I'm covered in sweat, now cooling in the night air. I flex my hands, finding they still ache a little. The stark image of me straddling Blake floods my mind and I slap a hand over my mouth, clamping down on a groan.

I remember Eckhart's warning about signs that I might have locked my talents with Blake. The realisation it might be true horrifies me. Helios is offering me the keys to my destiny and there's no way I'm going to flush it away because of something as ridiculous as a lock. I'll do whatever it takes to break it.

Lying back down with a sigh, I try to relax. There's nothing I can do about it now, in the middle of the night. But sleep evades me and I just lie there for hours, staring at the bottom of the top bunk and feeling desperately homesick.

By the time morning breaks, I've dozed off a few times, but not nearly enough to feel refreshed. A shower helps and I stay in a little longer, washing my hair with more vigour than normal. When I'm done, I braid my hair back and dress in my Helios uniform before heading to the canteen. I'm early, so the place is quiet. I grab a coffee and find a deserted courtyard outside, where I pull my Helios slate out and call Bobby, calculating it would be around mid-afternoon back home.

‘How you doing, kiddo?' His face fills the screen and a lurch of homesickness sweeps over me. ‘You shouldn't waste time talking to me. Don't you have classes to get to?'

‘Soon, but I've got a moment,' I say, talking around the lump in my throat. ‘How are you doing?'

‘Things are just fine,' Bobby tells me. ‘Shop's doing well. If I think I can't handle things here, I'll hire someone to help out. Don't you worry about a thing. You need some money?'

‘No, no.' I lie automatically, knowing Bobby doesn't have the funds to send me anything. ‘I'm fine.' I debate whether to tell him about the invitation to the Executive Committee's fundraiser and ask why he thinks I was invited, but decide against it. I'm not sure I can even go at this point, unless Cora can lend me an outfit. We chat for a bit longer, then say our goodbyes and wish each other luck for the day. There's no ‘I love you'. That's not Bobby's style, or mine. But I know he does, and that's enough.

The rest of the day drags and when I see Cora between classes, she tells me we're hitting the stores tonight to search for a dress. When I try to fob her off, she steamrolls my objections and I relent, figuring I'll just think of a reason not to buy anything when we're there. My second-last class is combat, then I have a free period, while Cora has a slider tutorial. She arranges for me to meet her after.

I nearly fall asleep in meditation and by the time combat comes around, my feet are dragging. Fortunately, Velasco doesn't seem too interested in having Jasmine beat me up again and we spend the session running and doing basic defence exercises. Velasco loses his temper when I fail to finish twenty push-ups.

‘Not good enough.' He crouches down beside me as I lie on the ground, panting, arms burning. ‘You'd better improve and real fast, cadet.'

At the end of the class, I'm shattered. We shower and change, then Cora heads off to her slider class while I limp back to the dorm.

I've got at least an hour to rest and I collapse on my bed, trying to relax. I know I need to tell someone about the dream with Blake, but the intimate nature of it stops me from saying anything yet. Wendell is the only person who I think I can confess to. But I can't face the conversation. Not yet.

When I get to Cora's classroom, I hear shouting from behind the closed door. I hesitate, wondering what to do, but when I hear a loud sob, I barrel into the room. Inside, Blake is yelling at Cora. Tears stream down her cheeks, which only seems to frustrate Blake even more. I can't help but notice he's wearing a singlet, showing off the ink on his well-cut arms, every inch covered in swirls of dark sapphire water and burnt orange koi fish.

‘—lack of focus is lack of discipline,' he shouts. ‘You risk more than your own life if you fall off a lightpath. People would come to retrieve you and then you put
their
life at risk. Do you understand?'

‘Hey!' I hurry over, then hesitate when Blake's narrowed eyes swing to me. Remembering the rule about not using your talent on others at the academy, I clamp down on mine, which are already rattling the lid of the puzzle-chest. But to my shock, the lid flies open and my TP shoots out, bounding towards Blake like a happy puppy. I bite down hard on my lip and the pain gives me enough focus to leash it.

‘It's okay, Josie.' Cora's voice wobbles. ‘I made a mistake. It's my fault. I could have really hurt someone.'

‘Uh … well.' I suddenly realise how stupid it is for a newbie cadet to try and swing her weight around. My eyes bounce around the room as I try to get my bearings, taking in the racks of mounted brown nanosuits and a wall lined with closed doors, dark keypads sitting beside each one. Looking back at Blake, I struggle to think of a way to explain why I'd barged in.

He gives Cora a disgusted look. ‘Get out of my sight. Just go.'

We both turn to leave, but Blake says to me, ‘Josie, you stay. I want to talk to you.'

‘She's not involved in this.' Cora's bottom lip quivers.

‘I told you to go, Cora.' Blake isn't yelling, but there's steel in his voice that makes her wince.

‘You can't get mad at Josie,' she whispers. ‘She didn't do anything.'

‘That's right. I didn't do anything wrong,' I say.

Blake's eyes shadow as he levels a flat gaze my way. ‘I told you to stay.'

There's something heated in his look and it sends all the wrong kinds of messages to my lady bits and a delicious anticipation curls through me like wood smoke. Eckhart's little chat is still very clear in my memory, and I'm suddenly very worried about being left alone with Blake. I grab Cora's hand. ‘Forget it.'