by Lucy Smoke
“It really doesn’t matter to me,” I tell her. “I love you because you’re you. Do I like the guys? Yeah. They’re my friends and you once told me that I needed to expand myself more. I didn’t really understand how much I relied on you until you weren’t here anymore. I think…maybe if you’re okay with it…I think I’d like to join their team.”
“You want to work for Vincent?”
I sigh, rubbing my hands down my face. “I think I do,” I say. “You taught me so much, and I’ll never forget it. I’ll always appreciate the skills you gave me to take care of myself, but this is something I think is more important. There are things that I—that we learned—when we were searching for you and I don’t think I’ll be able to stop looking into it even if Vincent won’t let me join the guys.”
“You spoke with Arch,” Kida says.
“Yeah.”
“Vincent already knows about it,” she continues. “If you really want to look into it, we can work as a team—you and me—if you want.”
I smile. “I think I’d love that, but…I don’t know…” I bite my lip, some of the things Levi and Thayer said to me before slipping through my head. “Do you think…” I start. “Do you think that… maybe… we’re too dependent on each other?”
Her head tilts to the side, dark caramel hair sliding over her shoulders. “We’re close,” she replies anxiously. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I… maybe I did before, but… I think it’s better having others to rely on too.” At her expression, I quickly rush to explain. “Not that we can’t rely on each other, but when you were gone, and I really needed someone, I didn’t have anyone. I think it’s better if we both have people to rely on and I think the guys can be those people.”
“Maybe.” Kida stares at me before leaning forward and taking my hand. “I just don’t want to lose you and I feel like I am.”
I grimace, remembering the kiss between Levi and me. It’s not just him either. A part of me wants to blurt out the truth and tell her about it but seeing the insecurity in the depths of her golden eyes keeps the words from spilling forth. Even though I didn’t kiss Levi first, it feels like a betrayal nonethe-less and I don’t want to add to the fear I can already see growing on her face.
Instead of voicing my thoughts, I lean forward and brush my lips against hers. She angles her head and deepens the kiss, opening her mouth and catching the back of my head with her free hand. Her lips brush against me, her tongue twining with mine. I suck in a breath as she bites down on my bottom lip. Not hard, but it still sends tingles surging through me. My legs rub against each other in anticipation.
“Baby,” she whispers, pulling back, “it seems impossible to love you the way that I do, but you’re my world.”
“And you’re mine,” I say, panting, our breaths mingling. “But maybe it’s better that we don’t revolve around each other so much.”
“You’re my sun, Cassie. I’ll always revolve around you. Now you just have other planets as well.”
As I’m trying to think of some way to explain that it’s not that the guys are new planets to my sun, but that they’re the new branches of a family I desperately need, someone knocks on the door.
Noaz steps in, wearing a formal suit and carrying a couple of bags from expensive retailers that don’t deliver to just anyone. I frown at his serious expression as he closes the door behind him and Kida breaks away from me, standing up. He hands her the first bag before setting the second at the end of my bed.
“Vincent is giving a press conference in an hour. He has asked that the both of you be present and that you wear these gifts,” Noaz states.
“Is he telling people about what Archie said?” I ask.
Noaz shakes his head. “He’s only informing the public about the Tanks disbanding.”
“He wants to keep what Arch said quiet as long as possible,” Kida explains, turning her head. “He wants more time to look into it. Plus, we have to hunt for who the Tanks’ mysterious ‘Benefactor’ could be.”
“I suggest you get ready now,” Noaz says. “We’ll be waiting downstairs.”
Noaz leaves and Kida helps me out of the bed and into the adjoining bathroom. She helps me wash up as quickly and as gently as she can. It takes twice as long as normal going down the stairs and by the time we’re in the medical center’s lobby, everyone else is waiting.
Noaz, Aaron, Haze, Thayer, and Levi are all dressed in similar formal attire with buttoned up suit shirts sans jackets and slacks. Thayer has pulled his wild curls back into a short ponytail at the back of his head and Haze, too, has slicked back his hair. I smile at them as Kida and I approach. Levi stares openly at mine and Kida’s clasped hands.
“Where is the press conference?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Vincent didn’t want you going too far from the medical center since you and Kida are still healing, so he’s holding the press conference right outside. In a few minutes, we’ll join him out there and stand to the side as he makes his announcements,” Noaz answers, looking down at a scanner attached to his wrist to check the time.
“Is Penelope coming?” I ask.
“Vincent doesn’t like Penny coming out in public while she’s so vulnerable,” Kida replies.
“Oh.”
Several minutes of silence go by and then an official looking enforcer opens the front doors to the strangely quiet lobby and motions for us to follow him. Outside, a massive crowd of people, including photographers and journalists for the few sleazy news sites stationed on Tartarus, collect around a hastily erected dais and podium. We all trudge towards the center of the stage and then wait along the back.
Kida stands on one side of me while Thayer stands on the other. Commander Tilde shows up not long after and stops by Noaz. They talk quietly for a moment before Tilde stops by Kida and me, nodding to me before she ruffles Kida’s hair.
“Good to see you back, Kid,” she teases. Kida growls at the woman and bats her hand away, causing the Commander to laugh and move to the podium at the center of the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she calls, raising her voice and leaning into the microphone positioned there. “Governor Diamond has called this press conference to announce that the street gang known as the Tanks have, in fact, been disbanded.”
Several hands go up as reporters cry out questions, shoving their recorders and cameras forward. Commander Tilde raises her hands in a calming gesture. “I am Commander Tilde Devereaux of Tartarus’ Enforcement Department and will be available after the conference for further questions. In a few moments, Governor Diamond will be here to provide you with more information.”
The doors to the medical center open and as Vincent Diamond makes his entrance, clothed in a striking pinstriped suit and a blood red tie, looking like sin and danger, I realize this is exactly the kind of man who was born to govern a place as impossibly lawless as Tartarus. He ascends the stage, and the rumbling crowd goes silent as he nods to Commander Tilde, and she steps aside. He doesn’t even look back at the rest of us.
“Good afternoon,” he begins in a strong, but clear voice. “Thank you for coming at my late request.” As Victor speaks the crowd begins to quiet, listening intently as he continues. “Two days ago, Commander Tilde and a private team infiltrated a Tank pod complex believing to house a kidnapping victim. We determined that they did, indeed, have possession of this kidnapped victim and as such, we exercised the rights of the people to retrieve this person and return them to their loved ones.”
I peak over at Kida only to see the stiffness with which she holds herself. Her face is a mask of stony indifference as if she’s trying to separate herself from what happened to her. Gently, I reach over and touch the back of her hand with my fingers. Her face doesn’t betray her emotions, but she opens her fist and lets me take her hand in mine.
“…will be contained until trial, but I can assure the public that this behavior will not be tolerated. No more will Tartarus claim home to th
e worst criminals of our time. I can assure you that the Tanks in custody will be dealt with severely and with righteous justice,” Vincent states as camera lights flash and reporters shove themselves closer to the front. He has such a commanding presence, it’s astounding. He holds the audience captivated with his passion, his speech, and his mere presence.
I turn my head and all the guys are watching with rapt attention. Kida’s hand slips from mine startling me from my thoughts and I turn as she dives forward, a crack sounding in the distance as she shoves her godfather from his position at the podium. I take a step towards her. Thayer’s hand touches my arm when Kida’s head is thrown backwards and a rain of blood slaps my cheek.
Mouth gaping open, I don’t compute the screams of the audience or Vincent being yanked away by several of Commander Tilde’s enforcers. On the ground, in front of me, Kida looks up at the sky, her golden eyes dull and wide. She’s looking, but she can’t see. A bright red hole in the upper section of her forehead stares back at me.
I drop to my knees and touch her face. I slap her cheek, wanting to wake her. Thayer’s hand on my arm becomes firm as he tries to pull me away. I shrug him off and pull her head onto my lap, not caring if the blood ruins the expensive dress. I blink, my body hot, but no tears fall.
“Kida?” I choke out.
“Cass, she’s gone,” Thayer says by my ear. I ignore him, tapping her cheek again. “Cass, the shooter is still out there,” he warns. I don’t care. Kida needs to wake up.
“Vincent was the intended target,” I hear Haze say. “Tilde got him inside before there was time for a second shot. The shooter is likely long gone by now.”
“How did she even see it coming?” someone asks.
I blink down at Kida’s face and a lean fingered hand appears in front of it, gently closing her eyes. The moment Kida’s golden gaze is gone, I burst into sobs. Huge wracking sobs. I sob, but no tears fall as I hunch over her, gasping for breath, slapping her face harder. She has to wake up.
“She’s gone, Cassie,” Levi says quietly at my side. “I’m sorry. She’s gone.”
“No,” I whisper brokenly, looking up at him. “She… can’t… I love her.”
Unshed tears glisten in his gaze and he closes his eyes to keep them from falling. He speaks to me with those eyes shut. “And she loved you, Troublemaker.”
Loved, past tense. I sob harder, the gasps in my chest making my wound ache. Levi manages to pry me away from Kida’s body and hands me to Thayer and Aaron who urge me into the medical building. I’m shaking, my whole body trembling as Kida’s blood slides down my face, dripping from my clothes. Inside, the world is in chaos. Vincent is practically foaming at the mouth as he tries to fight his way free of several enforcers. Tilde is on her communicator, her lips pinched and her cheeks pale. It all stops when Vincent sees me.
“No…” He stares hard at me, eyes taking in the mess coating the front bodice of the dress, and in the lap of the skirts. “Not… no…”
I can barely walk. Tears finally break free, sliding over my cheeks mixing into the drying blood.
“NO!” Vincent’s pain-filled roar rattles the windows of the medical center. Inside, it leaves me empty.
Epilogue Part 1: Noaz
I press a button to end the communicator call. It’s official, Archibald Billford, known by official documents as Arthur Lancaster, is dead. The night before, his pod complex was infiltrated, and he was injected with a lethal dose of medical grade anesthetic. The Architect had, indeed, had good reason for his paranoia. We, too, should have heeded him.
I glance over my shoulder at Cassandra as she sits between Aaron and Thayer on one of the fold out chairs the medical center employees have brought out. There are so many injuries from the shooting, not from the shooter himself, but from the stampede following, and the lobby is filled with moaning and crying reporters and audience members.
Cassandra isn’t crying anymore, but the evidence of recent tears still remains in the clean tracks they have made through the blood on her face. I grimace. Why hasn’t anyone cleaned the blood off her yet?
I pull out a handkerchief from my pocket and make my way across the room. Crouching down in front of her, I gently wipe her cheek, startling her. Big, blue eyes blink at me, coming back into focus from her faraway look.
“Noaz…” she croaks. I wipe down the side of her face and blanch when I realize the blood has already dried to her skin. “Noaz…” she says again. I quickly hand the handkerchief to Levi and ask him to wet it in the bathroom and bring it back. He nods without complaint and disappears.
“Yes, Sweetheart?” I ask, returning my attention to Cassandra.
She opens her mouth and there are hundreds of questions in her eyes, but I suppose she doesn’t know how to voice them because a moment later her lips pinch shut once more and then her eyes. More tears leak out and it cuts me to my core. Levi returns and hands me the handkerchief. I take it and finish wiping the blood from her face.
“It’s going to be okay, Cassandra,” I say. “You’re not alone.” I take her hand and hold it in both of mine. “You’re not alone,” I repeat.
I don’t know if she hears me or if she even really cares at this moment, but I do know that I mean it. I can see in both Aaron and Levi’s faces that they would rather face containment or exile from Tartarus than leave her side. I could see it on Thayer’s when he realized what was happening.
I stand slowly, releasing her hands to her lap, and look at my team members. “You’ll watch her,” I say. I know, though, that they would have done so whether I had said anything or not. They both nod and I turn to make my way across the room to a shattered Vincent.
He leans against the wall, dark skin paler than I’ve ever seen. His eyes shrouded by ghosts. When he sees me, he doesn’t even bother to sit up, to give the illusion that he’s still very much the governor in charge of Tartarus, the city of criminals. I sit next to him, my back against the wall, and sigh.
“Well, old friend,” I say, feeling decades older than my twenty-five years. “This is a royal fucking mess we’ve got ourselves into.”
“She’s gone, Z.” Vincent’s soft and broken voice grates across my mind. I hate having to do this to him, but it’s imperative that he understands just how much danger he is in, how much danger Penelope and his child are in.
I look straight at him, his dark eyes unfocused and filled with pain I’m all too aware of. “Kida is gone, but you live on,” I say. He flinches, reeling from the blow. “You have people you need to think of now. Your wife, your unborn son, your people.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I reach over and grasp his shoulder, shaking him slightly. “I know it hurts, V,” I say. “It hurts like the motherfucking devil.” I don’t curse as much as I once did, but I find that in situations like this, it’s freeing to let a few slip through. “And you will let it hurt, she deserved that much. But you can’t let it consume you.”
“Cassandra…” Vincent finally says. “How is she?”
I sigh with relief. “She’s the same as you, I suppose. Probably worse since they were…” I trail off, unsure if I should reveal the exact nature of the relationship between Kida Washington and Cassandra Walker.
“Since they were together, you mean,” Vincent finishes for me. He even manages to crack a small smile. “In the biblical sense.” I nod fractionally. Vincent heaves a great breath before holding his hand out to me. “Think you could help an old man up, friend?” he asks.
“It would be my honor, sir,” I say, grasping his hand and pulling him to his feet.
Vincent takes a moment to regain himself, sucking in a breath that brings him back to his full height. He stares out over the crowded medical center lobby and takes one shaky breath. Two years ago, when I met him, I saw the kind of man he would become. Eight months ago, I knew he would do anything to save the woman he loved. And now… now, I see everything good that could ever happen for the human race when I look at him.
I see it
, too, in Cassandra. And I hope like hell they will be able to heal from this loss in time to deal with what’s coming. If they don’t, I don’t know if anyone will survive.
Epilogue Part 2: Cassandra
It rains on the day we send Kida’s body back to Earth in an inferno that consumes her flesh and bones. With no place to bury the dead, we send them in a hovering pyre built to withstand heat up to hundreds of degrees back to the human race’s home planet. The machine that lowers her body from the docks back to our society’s homeland will eventually return, but my best friend never will.
Even Vincent Diamond has chanced the raw anger of the gangs of Tartarus along with his wife Penelope to be here for Kida’s funeral. The majority of the Tanks are in containment, or well on their way to exile, or death themselves. The rest of the gangs have sent their highest members to pay respects to Vincent’s goddaughter, Kida Yukino Washington.
He’s lost a member of his family. It’s only respectful. I’ve lost what feels like the only person to ever love me for who I am—an eternal fuck up, a thief, a liar, a criminal born among criminals.
My eyes are red and swollen from all the tears I’ve shed. Somehow, though, on the day that we lay Kida to rest, I can’t muster up a single one. It seems as if they have all been shed and the only thing left inside of me is seething rage and an empty cavern where my heart once beat for someone else.
Penelope told me that once, far before the technology that increased the pollution and toxicity to Earth, certain cultures wore white to funerals instead of black. Listening to her story, I understood why. White is a symbol of purity and there’s nothing so purifying as death. I had never been to a funeral before, and upon arrival I understood why she had told me the story. The attendees, people there out of respect, people who had never even known Kida, much less the way I had known her, were dressed in black shawls, dress shirts, and slacks. Penelope, Vincent, and I had arrived with Noaz, Haze, Aaron, Thayer, and Levi not far behind and we were all dressed in white.
