After a few rounds had passed, Talon was yelling in excitement with the rest of the group around the table. Even with all the lost bets, she was up. Gambling, as it turned out, was a blast. It was a high-stakes, fast-paced, and endorphin-releasing diversion that gave her brain a much needed release. She didn’t know if it was the game’s excitement or the third drink, but soon she no longer cared that her body-hugging dress insisted on exposing a little more thigh or that her thick tendrils were escaping their fastening. She felt as free and uninhibited as she did when catching a wave.
After cashing in her chips Talon found Bockie at the casino’s restaurant bar. She was surrounded by well-dressed professionals who were all laughing and cheering like they didn’t have a care in the universe. The sorority girls had looked that way on the moon. Maybe she was too serious, but how could she not be? She had to sacrifice blithe and carry the burden of keeping her loved ones safe so that they could look like that. As much as she enjoyed what it felt like to be carefree, it wasn’t possible for her. Not everyone had a psychotic killer for a dad.
“What were you like when you were my age?” Talon asked Bockie.
The old woman smiled sweetly and put an arm around her granddaughter, which made Talon a little nervous since she hadn’t changed out of the shoulder-spiked dress. “I was a lot like you.”
“Really? You were stiff?” Talon jested
“I was finishing up my surfing career, pretty independent, and I didn’t like people that much.”
“I like people,” she protested.
“Could have fooled me.”
“Weren’t you hospitality manager at some hotel in Charleston?”
Bockie smiled in reverie. “I never went to college. When I stopped surfing I found it hard to find a job with no education. I started off cleaning rooms. That’s the only reason I met Mantys. I was…I don’t know…thirty-four or something when he came to stay at the hotel for a few months. After we fell in love, and our love-making sealed us together forever, I changed.”
“Changed? What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain, dear. You will find out what I mean when you and Levi unite…finally. I just felt whole. Not just me, but the whole world came together and made sense.”
Talon had never heard Bockie being so serious or unjaded. “So your personality changed?”
“It’s not that my personality changed. More like…I was more myself. I could see what was important and I stopped caring about the things or the people that hurt me.” For a second she seemed to be daydreaming, but snapped back with a shrug. “Then the bastard abandoned me. By that time I already had the manager position and people were too scared to fire me.”
Talon laughed and raised her glass. “To laughing more, drinking often, and,” she couldn’t believe she was actually going to say it, “…banging regularly.”
“Here here!” Bockie raised her glass and they both took a swig. “Now you can mark two of them off the list,” she winked.
“Bockie I can’t do…that and be distracted from finishing this thing.” Wouldn’t she at least understand?
Her grandmother hummed and gulped the rest of the liquid in her glass. “I can understand your dilemma, but from my experience, nothing will make you see clearer than giving in to love. It’s like the feeling you get when you’re gambling, but all the time.”
If that were the case Talon would be jumping on Levi right now. “I miss him.”
“Imagine having to wait sixty years.”
It was an enigma that Bockie was so comforting, but Talon decided not to overthink it.
“Hey Bock!” a suited man approached them wearing bright red from head to toe. He was of equal height to Bockie, and seeing them standing next to each other in their outrageously bright outfits almost sobered her. “How was the man’s horse that you saw today? I looked it up. What a marvelous creature.”
Instead of explaining the meaning of the idiom, Bockie decided to change the subject. “Zi, I would like you to meet my future granddaughter-in-law, Talon Terry.”
She shook the man’s clammy hand. “Speaking of animals, what does a kordor look like?”
The man scratched his head. “Kind of like a horse actually, but a kordor doesn’t poop in the streets like your horses…it murders and eats any lone children.
Bockie laughed until she realized Zi wasn’t joking about the eating habits of their native beast. After the awkward silence had passed, the twosome, who Talon assumed were business partners, talked for several minutes before he left to attend to a call.
“I think a kordor is my spirit animal,” Bockie jabbed.
“I’ll be sure to keep my children away from you.”
Bockie’s eyes lit up. “Well, let’s help you save the world so you and Levi can get started on that. What’s next?”
Talon reluctantly concluded that she needed to speak with Aberdeen. Drake was covered in tattoos, and she was hoping the officer had inked on the piece Heath described. Talon knew she couldn’t work the case alone without help. Aberdeen, however, was still on the moon. In the meantime, before she continued her crusade, she needed to make things right with Levi.
“I want to go to Earth and see Levi, actually. Maybe spend a few days with him.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Zi came back wide-eyed. “Earth is about to be blasted by a solar storm. It looks bad. They’ve cancelled all departures to Earth’s solar system until the storm passes.
“What?!” Talon yelled. “What’s going to happen there?”
“We’re helping them prepare for it. Nothing to worry about. You just get to hang out here for another couple of days,” he effused.
Anxiety shot through Talon’s chest and spread out through her limbs like lightening. Her ‘vacation’ would turn into a stress bath of worry. There was nothing to fear more than fear itself.
12 ROAD TRIP
Luckily, people had stopped trying to steal the van after they realized their cars just shorted and needed to be reset. Levi knew if they were going to have to obtain a temporary passport, they needed to have a copy of a police statement, but the problem was, the police were incredibly busy trying to maintain order. Unfortunately for the boys, petty theft in a five-star hotel wasn’t high on their priority list. The boys ended up having to corner an officer in the street and beg him, with a crisp Benjamin, for a few minutes of his time. With the statement safely on Levi’s person, they could finally drive to New Mexico.
The gang planned to take interstate 77 to 44 to 40, sending them through Pittsburg, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Oklahoma City, before finally reaching Albuquerque. As they drove out of the city, Levi could feel the uneasiness permeating the air. The solar event had been unprecedented and, as much as scientists and the government had been prepared, Earth’s inhabitants were completely caught off guard and in a state of shock. He had faith a couple of days would be the only thing needed to return things to a functioning normal.
Hours into the drive Levi glanced at Fletch, who was looking rather somber as he read on the tablet Levi bought the group to keep them technologically covered. The internet looked to be back up, and with it, all the horrible news from around the globe.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m just reading about India. The university my parents worked at has been burnt down…well, most of it.”
“What? Why would someone do that?” Levi empathized.
“People are addicted to chaos,” Sherman said shaking a head. “Just look at what losing technology for a couple damn hours will do to the fabric of society.” He swerved to miss a dog that had wandered out onto the highway. “See! Even the dogs are running rabid.”
Levi clearly remembered the first time he met Fletch in his Extension at the spaceport in Mexico. His best friend had been interning for the Career in the Cosmos class as a spaceport host, escorting people around the massive place so they wouldn’t miss their flights. Looking back, Levi was embarrassed by thinking Fletch was merely an a
rtificial robot. Then, to showcase his ignorance further, Levi assumed he was going to be brown Indian…of the genus Homo. His country origins were definitely showcased more when Levi met him in person, his sharp teeth had been flashing in a brilliant and welcoming smile and he had just stared back in shock. Fletch was an whitish-gray Indian Ryley.
Fletch’s parents were linguists, and after the Great Rescue they jumped on the opportunity to move to Earth and teach Katawil to humans as university professors at Cornell. Ridna and Prorus became obsessed with many great authors in their studies, especially Ernest Hemingway. Like many midaki, they gave themselves English names in addition to their original one, and chose Hemingway as their earthly surname. Four years after being on the ground, Ridna became pregnant and they moved to take faculty positions at the University of Dehli. Fletch Tagore Hemingway grew up as a minority. His accent was a unique mix of Indian and Katawil.
When Fletch turned twelve he began attending Londeek Middle Prep School on Ohmani by extension and then moved to Ohmani when he became old enough to attend the Academy. Levi and Fletch were an odd couple – his best friend was incredibly well-spoken, worldly, and driven. Although he had exceeded in the education system that failed Levi, his academic parents had seeded in him the importance of learning and Fletch continued to study many topics outside his chosen profession. Ultimately, Levi’s acclimation to a bomb and murder-ridden asteroid had been thanks to Fletch’s nerdiness, hospitality, and openness. Levi knew that, conversely, Fletch had been drawn to a guy who could get him out socializing and adventuring while seeming connected to the world he grew up on.
“Parents not there, right?” Peanut asked in concern.
“No, they just moved back to Dedrake actually. I bet they are devastated though.”
“Did anything happen in Fort Bragg?” Levi honestly hadn’t given his hometown much thought. The ocean would always persevere.
“Schools are closed, but I don’t see anything else. Wow,” Fletch was strolling through the news, “I have to put this away.
“I wonder when they are going to open the skyway back up,” Levi wondered.
“I hope soon…these people forgot how to drive!” Sherman swerved around a car. “Where do you all want to sleep tonight?”
“I don’t know, let’s just stop when we get tired,” Levi suggested. “I want to get back to Ohmani as soon as possible.” They were all in agreement.
The land was lulling Sherman to sleep nine hours later, and the group began fearing for their life when he began driving on the shoulder more than the actual road. They had just crossed over the Ohio line into Indiana when he pulled the van into a motel parking lot. It wasn’t the greatest looking establishment, but Sherman insisted on thin walls and easy access to the van in case someone else tried to steal it. The tour manager’s hypervigilance in keeping the van safe could not be lessened even as Fletch explained that people’s cars were back and running after just needing to be reset. Apparently, most of the new vehicles had an emergency switch-off that had been activated under the unusually intense electromagnetic surge from the storm.
“What’s on your mind?” Fletch asked Levi. He had been staring at the wall once they settled into their room.
“Just thinking about Talon.” Nothing like a disaster to make you forget the pettiness of an argument. “I can’t call her.”
“I have an idea.”
“Yeah…,” Levi scratched his forehead in frustration.
“Why don’t you just extend there? We have all the equipment. Between me and Peanut we can get you hooked up.”
Apparently, Levi must have lit up like a kid on Christmas morning because Fletch just laughed and walked out of the room to get Peanut. The Hamza was next door sharing a room with Sherman. An hour later the mimetic mat took up their floor and Peanut was putting in the coordinates to an Extension that Levi kept in his apartment.
Levi couldn’t tell if it was working yet. The storage room he kept the Extension in was as black as the void and just as quiet. He didn’t want Talon to think there was an intruder in the house and so he made his presence known right away. “Talon? Talon it’s me!” he yelled into the darkness.
Levi reached for the door handle and found the hallway leading from the foyer to the living area just as dark. She must be sleeping. She tended to sleep in underwear and a t-shirt, and Levi felt his body reacting to the fantasy of touching her silky skin. As he strode to their bedroom he couldn’t help but have the perverted thought of making love to Talon in the special malleable Extension. After all, it would solve their Sacred Union problem. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of the idea before.
“Baby, it’s me, Levi,” he said softly as he opened the bedroom door. His heart sunk when he realized his betrothed wasn’t there. But where could she be in the middle of the night, he thought?
Talon had been suffering from insomnia lately and it wasn’t unlike her to sneak down to the condominium’s gym. He turned on the light and noticed several articles of clothing laying out on the bed, which was very unlike his ultra-tidy fiancé. She had been packing, but where would she have gone in such a hurry? Levi tried to call Talon from their TV but her phone kept going to voicemail. Unlike him, she was more responsible in keeping hers charged. Somehow Levi had gone from excited, to horny, to disappointed, to worried in a few minutes. Only Talon could have that much pull over his emotions. He called Bale making sure the hologram feature was turned off.
“We’ve been worried about you,” Bale’s voice cracked from the late night call.
“I’m actually still on the ground in Indiana. Long story but we are on our way back to the spaceport. I’m using our gear to extend. Do you know where Talon is? I was going to surprise her and she isn’t in our apartment.”
Bale’s silence was disconcerting. “No I don’t, but the agency called us today. They are worried about her.”
“Why would they be worried? Is she missing? What do her contacts say?” he sounded like a wailing child but he didn’t much care. Did her agency receive that signal from her contacts that something had happened to her?
“No, Talon is physically fine, I didn’t mean to worry you. She wasn’t allowed to join the intelligence division because they were concerned about how public her life is. They sent her to the moon as a state investigator on an assignment and something happened…I’m not sure what. They put her on probation and she took personal leave.”
“She did what!?” he shouted. Levi found himself getting angry for some reason. He was angry at her employer, he was angry at Talon, and he was angry at himself. She had worked so hard. “It was that stupid hat! It started everything!”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you know all this?”
“She sent Bockie an email.”
“Why would she do…she’s on Dedrake right now, isn’t she?” Levi sighed heavily. “She’s never been there before. Why would she go without me?”
“Don’t worry, she’s with family. Talon didn’t know there was going to be a catastrophic CME here before she left.”
“Yeah,” Levi conceded. She would have if she had read the news. “Thanks, Bale.”
“Go see your mother. She’s been worried sick.”
There was no way to contact Talon now. Communication out of the solar system was extremely limited. He didn’t quite understand it, but apparently creating a wormhole was not only expensive and energy consuming, but they didn’t last very long and would eventually collapse in on themselves. If, for example, he wanted to get in touch with Bockie, he would have to send an email through a server that stored the message in an outgoing mail queue. Every time a ship created a wormhole for travel these messages could be transmitted. The problem was, that was only a couple times a day. It was the snail mail of his time. This access dilemma was also the reason why extension was only possible within the same planetary system. It’s also the reason all members involved in The Great Rescue Treaty summit five years ago had to be on Ohmani, even
after extension was required because of the bomb threats.
Levi felt a hand gently touch his shoulder and so he activated the sound that would allow him to hear Fletch through his helmet. “She’s not here. Apparently in the week we’ve been on the ground she’s gone to the moon and back, been demoted, and is now traveling to Dedrake by herself.” The synopsis sounded even more ridiculous out loud.
“Whoa. We can’t reach her on Dedrake, Vi.”
“Yeah, I know. Do you mind if I visit with my mom? She’s probably worried sick and I’d at least like to surprise someone.” Levi’s body would of course still be in the hotel room, but he didn’t want to keep Fletch awake.
“No, I don’t mind at all. I brought my ear plugs.”
Levi set the alarm clock next to his bed to go off in three hours. He climbed into their double-wide king and tried to smell her pillow. Nothing. All the other senses could be translated between the Extension and his body but scent, and right now, it was the only one he wanted. He reached for a magazine spread open on the dresser and studied the pictures depicting their engagement. Did he ruin her chances of working in the division she had dreamed about and worked so hard for? Was he responsible for ruining her career? In a twinge of guilt he welcomed the thought of Talon not having the resources to hunt down her father. Levi fell asleep convincing himself that Talon was simply going to visit the land of her ancestors for the first time as a much needed vacation. Perhaps she needed some introspection and root-searching in order to feel a little closure…or maybe she just needed Bockie to make her laugh.
When the alarm went off at seven in the morning, Levi was hit with hunger pains and a full bladder. It took him a second to remember that his body was not of the world he was seeing.
“LEVI!” his mother shrieked after processing the blue man at the front door as her only child.
“Hi, Mom.”
“You’re cold.”
It wasn’t the words he was expecting after she threw her arms around him. “Yeah, Mom, it’s an Extension.”
An Eagle's Revenge (Across the Infinite Void Book 2) Page 15
