Chương 76: 2.17 Sleepless Night

When her bed shook, vibrating as something impossibly loud rattled the house, Lemon's eyes flew open and she stared into the dark room, confused by the big, open emptiness of it. Where were the clothes racks crowding her? Where were the walls that hugged her sleeping cubby? Then the pieces of sleep-scattered memories fell into place, and she released her death-grip on her sheets; she was in the rental house, all the way out in the middle of nowhere. The vibrations faded, as did the roar of the massive vehicle.

She lay in the resultant silence, waiting for her racing heart to calm down and listening to Kit's breathing. He slept on an air mattress in the same room, and she couldn't believe the noise hadn't woken him. Focusing on his steady breaths, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep again. Unfortunately, her mind was too alert for sleep, and she noticed a distant siren. Lemon was well-acquainted with sirens; they were almost a constant part of the background noise in Helio, but this one was different.

It wasn't like the sound on a PK's rig or even that of a trauma shuttle. It was a long, rising wail that climbed from low to high before repeating. The siren sounded big, even though it was far away. Lemon threw her blanket off and climbed out of bed, glancing at Kit once more to ensure he was still asleep. His breaths were deep and forceful.

"Lucky," Lemon muttered sleepily, hoping he was having pleasant dreams. She pulled on some warm, stretchy pants, wearing them under her long sleeping T-shirt, then she shuffled out of the bedroom and out into the kitchen. A shadowy figure stood by the door, peering out through the glass. She knew it was Demon; Orin was a foot taller than the lean fighter.

"What's going on?" she asked softly. He didn't look at her, but answered, "Something at the base." An icy stab of fear touched Lemon's heart.

"Can't be Hector, right?"

"Not due back for two days." Lemon nodded.

"Right." She shuffled over to the coffee machine, put a cup under the nozzle and selected cream once, sugar twice, and vanilla. Then she pushed start. As the machine burbled to life, she tried to imagine what could be going on at the rift-raider compound that would result in a siren going off.

"Some kind of drill, maybe?" She wasn't looking at him, but she got the feeling Demon shrugged.

"Could be."

"I haven't noticed anything like that going on at the compound before, have you?"

"It's not at the compound. The base, further out—the rift." Lemon's heart-rate quickened.

"The rift?"

"That's right." Demon never spoke loudly, and he rarely said enough to get a feel for his tone, but Lemon thought he sounded a little stressed.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure—watched more than a few transports fly out that way. Didn't you hear them?" The coffee machine stopped dribbling, and she picked up her cup. Dread was spreading through her chest like a cold, constricting blanket. Of course she didn't want anything bad to happen to Hector, and it was fine, as far as she was concerned, to worry about him, but that wasn't exactly what she was feeling.

She was feeling a lot like she had when she was a kid and her mom would take her out on the job, setting her loose at a swap market while she… did her work. The day would always start out fun, with lots of sights, sounds, and smells to explore. As the morning stretched into afternoon, though, she'd invariably start to wonder if her mom was coming back. She'd wonder if this would be the time something happened to her. She'd wonder what she'd do. Where would she go? Who would buy her food?

Who would put the flower-printed barrettes in her hair so it wouldn't hang in her eyes? Lemon didn't like that feeling— dependence —and she didn't like that it was a mysterious near-stranger who was evoking it in her. She'd gotten too comfortable, too used to the idea of not going back on the job. Making appointments, arranging utilities and deliveries, staying in touch with Grando—that wasn't work.

Her time away from Helio had felt like a vacation—a holiday she'd saved up for—especially when you considered she was spending more time with her little brother than she had in years. She moved closer to Demon.

"Why would they be running a siren at the rift?" Demon's response was less than helpful: "Something happened." Trying not to sigh with exasperation, she prodded, "Such as?" This time she saw his shrug.

"Never been to a rift—maybe a break?" Lemon thought about it; a rift break was something you read about happening in faraway places—something you saw in vid serials about action heroes.

"Do you think we should be worried?" Rather than wait for him to shrug and say something annoying like, " Maybe…", she added, "We should wake up Orin."

"He's up—already went out to see what's going on."" What?" Lemon would have shoved Demon or grabbed his shoulder if he weren't so strange, and if she weren't a little afraid of him.

"You could have said so!" He turned to look at her, his dark eyes glossy in the streetlight shining through the window.

"Yeah, sorry—distracted. Where's Sass, anyway? Haven't seen her since morning. Yesterday, I mean." Lemon nodded.

"Had to go handle some business in the city." He stared for another moment, long enough that Lemon felt herself getting nervous about the attention. Then he turned back to the window.

"Gotta keep sharp; I'm the only security here right now." Lemon lifted her cup, but before she sipped, she asked, "Want coffee?"

"Had some, thanks." While they waited for word from Orin, Lemon wiled away the time—minutes and then hours—by cleaning the kitchen and then organizing her suitcase. When that was done, she turned to Kit's things, making sure his gaming visor, an ill-advised gift from his surrogate big sister, Sass, was charged, and his extra clothes were folded and tucked into his backpack. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

She didn't know what exactly was going to happen, but she wanted to be ready for anything. Maybe it was overkill, but it soothed that nervous part of her mind that didn't enjoy feeling helpless. She'd spent a fair amount of bits on AI therapy sessions, and she knew her quirks were mostly coping mechanisms for how she'd been raised, but that didn't make them any harder to turn off.

When she heard the front door open and close and then the low tones of men talking, the sun was already coming up and she was really starting to feel her lack of sleep. Another glance at Kit's smooth, worry-free expression as he slumbered helped her to remain composed as she walked out to the living area. She was relieved to see Orin, but she didn't like the sober expression on his face, nor the way he pitched his voice to make it hard to hear.

"What's going on?" Orin looked at her, and Demon stepped outside without another word. When the door clicked closed, the enforcer asked, "Where's Sass?"

"She's not here. Just tell me."

"It's like someone kicked up an ant's nest over there. Place is swarming with the crew of that Royal lander, and they've got the whole IG installation on high alert—drones swarming, armored vehicles patrolling, the whole deal." Lemon moved closer, licking dry lips.

"But what happened?"

"I'm getting there, doll." He sighed raggedly.

"Can you start me a coffee while I talk?" She nodded, hurrying over to the machine. Following her, he continued, "Well, here's the thing: they aren't saying anything official. They turned me away at the gate, and the soldiers I spoke to told me to get lost. I was thinking I was gonna strike out. Was even walking back to my cab, but then I saw this fancy-ass ride parked close by. When I looked at it, one of the rear windows went down and this little prissy—" He caught himself, cleared his throat, and started over.

"This, uh, corporate lady, young-like, called me over."

"Yeah?" Lemon asked, arching an eyebrow as the coffee machine hissed and sputtered.

"Yeah. She said she recognized me; said she knew Hector, and that I was one of his guys." Lemon just stared, waiting for more, and he continued, "Told me her sources said someone attacked the rift—a stealth drone that flew right through the perimeter sensors. I asked her how the hell someone attacks a rift, and she said it wasn't easy. She said it was Imperial tech—high-end and not cheap." Lemon felt her earlier panic returning, escalating to new heights.

There was a rushing, drumming sound in her ears as she asked, "What does it all mean? What's going on with the rift? What about Hector?"

"I asked her that, and she acted like she wasn't sure. She asked me if I knew how rifts worked, and I laughed at her. Then she said, if something big and fast goes through, it makes ripples."" Ripples?" Orin shrugged.

"Don't ask me. The lady—um, Iris, was her name—told me that ripples can make the rift close early or move—not this end, but the other end."

"So, Hector…"

"Is probably screwed." Lemon shook her head, grasping for some shred of hope." Probably?"

"I don't really understand it all, doll, but I guess if the rift closes, the people over there gotta wait for the next cycle, and ain't that, like, thirty days? I'm pretty sure people don't do that." Again, Lemon reached for something to cling to.

"But they could, right? What did this corpo lady say?" He took his coffee off the machine and sniffed it, shaking his big, dumb head slowly.

"She said we'd probably be investigated. I guess there was a Royal in there with Hector. Did you know that?"

"No…"

"Grando wants us to get lost. I—" Lemon grabbed his wrist, and he had to lurch forward to keep from sloshing his coffee.

"You told him no, right?" Orin carefully extracted his wrist, pulling his coffee away.

"Well, you don't really tell Grando squat. You know that." He shrugged.

"I mentioned what Hector told me, though."

"Which was?" Orin took his time answering, sipping his coffee twice while Lemon stared. Finally, he said, "He told me some shit might happen, and that I was to keep you and the kid safe. Something about people watching him, and that he could feel some trouble brewing. Honestly, doll, I respect the hell out of him, but I think we might be smart to make tracks."

"Not me." Lemon shook her head.

"You go if you want, Orin, but you can tell Grando I'm waiting for Hector. He told me not to believe everything I hear if something went wrong. I don't know how he knew—" Lemon's eyes got wide, and she grabbed Orin again.

"You don't think he had something to do with…" She couldn't even finish the question, too afraid they were already being watched. Orin chuckled, though, shaking his head.

"Nah, he's not nuts enough to get himself trapped in there. He's cunning, though, that one. I wouldn't be surprised to hear he'd imagined this happening. Something tells me he's always thinking about worst-case scenarios." Lemon poured herself a glass of water, her mind racing. Orin was right; Hector wouldn't do something that would result in him getting trapped on the other side of a rift.

"Besides," she said, finishing her thought aloud, "there's no way he has access to that kind of drone, right?"

"Hell no. That lady said it was high-end stealth tech—stuff only the Empire has. Well, legally, anyway."

"So, they won't think we had anything to do with—" Orin held up a hand, interrupting her.

"Depends on if they're looking for someone to pin this shit on. Depends on how convincing they can make it look. I, uh, like I said, I respect the guy, but—""But you want to get lost. I understand, Orin." The big guy stared at her for a few seconds.

"I could make you leave with me, you know." Lemon put her glass down, returning the stare.

"You're not like that. Besides, if you're wrong, and Hector hears—""Easy, doll. Don't start threatening me. Anyway, I gotta think about this. Let me go talk to Demon some more." With that, he turned and walked out, leaving Lemon standing there feeling more confused than before. What exactly was going on? Why had some corpo lady been watching Hector? What was her game? Lemon knew there was no way she didn't have an angle. A thought occurred to her, and she walked to the door, pushing it open.

"Did that lady tell you to run, Orin?" The big man, standing at the foot of the stoop talking to Demon, turned to face her.

"Hmm? The corpo? Nah, she actually told me it wouldn't be smart." Lemon nodded.

"That's good. I was afraid she was trying to make you look guilty. That's what'll happen. You realize that, right? If you take off—""Yeah, yeah." Orin waved his hand.

"Demon was just saying the same thing. Anyway, like I said, I need a minute." His voice got deeper and a little louder.

"Let me think." Lemon had seen Orin administer Grando's brand of justice enough times to understand she needed to back off. She went inside and closed the door, suddenly wishing Sass were there. She'd spent more time than anyone with Hector over the last couple of weeks—what would she say? For that matter, where exactly was she? What kind of errand was she running? She thought about messaging the girl, maybe even calling her, but before she could pursue the matter, Kit woke up and took up her attention.

She got him dressed, made him breakfast, and by then Orin was back inside. He nodded toward Kit's pancakes.

"Got any more of those?"

"Um, sure." Lemon turned the burner back on, then stirred up the remainder of the batter.

"Enough for a couple, at least."

"I talked to Grando again." Lemon tried not to act desperate for information, waiting until she'd scooped the batter onto the griddle to ask, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, we're gonna stay put for a few days at least. See what the rumors are, what kind of trouble comes our way. He's out a shitload of money if…" He hesitated, and when Lemon glanced at him, he was looking at Kit.

"Eh, you get the idea," he muttered. She nodded, still staring at the pancakes.

"Yeah. Probably smart to wait and see; people at the base are going to talk. Pretty soon it'll be all over town."

"What about you, kid?" Orin rumbled, changing the subject.

"You got big plans for the day?" Kit smiled, responding around a mouthful of syrupy pancake.

"The park!" Lemon snorted, shaking her head. The park by the university was like nothing he'd ever seen—nothing she'd had access to, either, if she were being honest.

"Lush grass, swings, tall trees—what more could we want, right, kiddo?"

"Right!" Orin chuckled.

"You know if anyone could—" He cut himself off, then added more quietly, "If anyone could make it through… I'd put my money on Hector." Lemon smiled, turning to meet his gaze. Despite his scars, his crooked nose, and his perpetual frown, Orin had kind eyes—if you looked deep enough. He didn't quite smile back at her, but his lips lifted into a more neutral position. Lemon nodded.

"I hope you're right," she said, turning back to the griddle; it was time to flip the pancakes.