by A. W. Cross
She pulled back. He was glaring over her shoulder, and as James came to stand beside them, an unwelcome sight sauntered into view.
Todd and Tabby, the former with the stump of his arm in a sling and the latter with her eyes under cover and a long sensor-stick in front of her, approached them, three policemen and a heavy force-droid in their wake.
The warmth Pine had been feeling condensed and froze. What was happening? Was this a good thing? Had they been arrested for what they’d done to her?
James swore. “Now what? I hoped we’d seen the last of those two.”
So, no, not a good thing, then.
Joseph frowned. “Let me handle this.” He stepped in front of James and Pine, his small figure stiff with dignity. “Can we help you?” he asked when the entourage was within earshot.
“That’s her.” Todd pointed, his crooked finger trembling. “That’s the woman who stole our property.”
James’s face paled, and when he grabbed Pine’s fingers, his grip was too tight. Why was he acting like that? Surely they didn’t believe the old crook?
“Her?” the lead officer asked, his dubious gaze taking Pine in.
Or maybe they did.
She dipped her head, trying to look as harmless as possible.
“Yes,” Tabby said, her voice quivering. “It was awful. She snatched it right from my shoulder. I begged her to stop, but she—”
“Yes, she brutally forced it from you. You’ve said. Several times,” the officer replied.
“Then poor Todd tried to retrieve it for me and, she—she broke his arm.” She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “These synadroids, Officer, they’re out of control.”
“That’s not what happened!” Pine forgot to be diffident, stepping toward the officer before James yanked her back. “They’re lying! I—”
“Pine. I’ll handle this.” Joseph’s voice could’ve shifted the tectonic plates. “Officers, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I believe these two are well-known to you and—”
“Yes, they are. Unfortunately, they seem to be on the side of the law this time.”
“What? How is that possible?” Joseph was palpably surprised. So was Pine. They had blatantly tried to rob her; nothing could prove otherwise.
“Show them the video,” Tabby all but shrieked, triumph in her shrill voice.
“Video?” Joseph asked. “I don’t know—”
The officer held up his transcomm. “This was captured at the Portfade Central Market a couple of days ago.”
Joseph, Pine, and James crowded around the tiny screen. On it, a miniature Pine could be seen tackling a twisted-limbed Todd, knocking him to the ground and grabbing the oxblood satchel.
“That’s not what happened.” The indignation bit deep. How could they possibly think she was the attacker, despite what was on the video? Surely their common sense told them this wasn’t the full truth?
“Oh no?” The officer was amused. “People always say that.”
“No, I mean, it did happen, but—” How could she explain?
“So you admit to assaulting this man and woman?”
“Pine, don’t say another word,” James whispered furiously.
Joseph spoke again, his voice calm. “That bag held some equipment of mine. Pine was merely bringing it to me as I’d asked.”
“And what was this equipment?” The officer glanced at Joseph, his finger hovering over a new screen.
“Ah, not much really,” Joseph explained, his voice casual. “Just some replacement parts for Pine, in case she breaks down. I’m sure they’ll be deservedly disappointed with it.” He smiled at the other officers. “You know how frail these older versions can be.” Joseph’s nonchalance was impressive. Pine never would’ve guessed he was such a consummate fibber. She could learn a thing or two from him.
“That’s not true!” Tabby exclaimed. “It was—” She stopped and pressed her lips together.
That sparked Pine’s curiosity. What were the components?
“My eyes. It was a visor,” the woman finished lamely.
“Mm.” The officer didn’t look fooled. “And where is this tech now?” He arched an eyebrow at Pine.
Joseph radiated tension. Whatever had been in that bag had been important. Pine gazed directly into the officer’s face, her eyes wide and guileless. “They took it from me.” She pointed at the mangy pair. “They must have it.”
“That’s what I thought. I told you, Barbara,” he said over one shoulder. “Drinks are on you tonight.”
“She’s lying!” Tabby’s snatched the cover off her eyes and lunged at Pine, her hands raised in claws as though she would scratch her eyes out.
“Synadroids can’t lie,” the officer said, bored now. He gestured in turn to Todd and Tabby. “Now get out of here. If you come to us with this nonsense again, I’ll arrest you. ”
“You stupid little—” Tabby’s teeth pierced her tongue as Todd snatched her by the arm and hauled her away. She threw her sensor stick over his shoulder at Pine, but it fell far short of its mark. Her curses carried back on the air even after they disappeared from sight.
“Right, let’s go,” the officer said to Pine. “I’m not going to have to cuff you, am I?”
Shock crackled up her spine. They were arresting her? For what?
James seemed as surprised as she was. As the officer put his hand on Pine’s shoulder, James tried to push between them. “What are you doing? She didn’t do anything wrong. Joseph’s already told you—”
“Oh, we believe Mr. Polendina. Those two are very familiar to us. And,” he lowered his voice and gave Pine a crooked smile, “well done on wrecking that parasite’s filching hand. But,” he raised his voice for the benefit of his colleagues, “you did assault two members of the public. Two human members. And that, I’m afraid, is a punishable offense.”
James was relentless. “But they attacked her. She was trying to get away from them and keep Joseph’s property. That video you showed us is only part of what happened.”
“Please calm down, sir,” one of the other officers said. “Or we’ll arrest you too.”
“Relax, Jensen. He’s not going to do anything. Are you?” The officer gave James a pointed look. “We know what happened. We saw the entire video—including you getting a few good hits in before you were blindsided. But, at the end of the day, she is a synadroid. As gross as it may be, she’s not protected by the law—and those two pieces of trash are. As such, I have no choice but to arrest her.”
Joseph raised his hands in supplication. “I understand, but—”
“I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that if you object, your rights to ownership can be reviewed.”
Fear curled around her ribcage at the officer’s threat, a dread that chilled her heart. Even when she’d ridden in the car with Antonio on the day he’d brought her to Joseph, her fear had been tempered by other emotions—anger, resentment. This fright was pure and glacial, like one of the ice floes that moved like heavy ships across the northernmost reaches of the Ghostlight.
There was nothing they could do to stop this. Joseph had put his faith in her and now she was going to jail. And it was all her fault. Regret burned in her throat like a mouthful of swallowed seawater.
Joseph swayed where he stood and nearly fell, his legs unsteady. “Father!” Forgetting her fear, the officers and their threats, Pine rushed to his side, slipping his arm over her shoulder.
He let her support him as he implored the policemen. “But what will happen to her? She—”
“She’ll be jailed. Probably as soon as tonight.”
“What? No trial?” He seemed shocked. Human likely always got a trial.
The officer shrugged. “What for? We have her on video. We know she committed the crime.”
“How long will she be in for?” It was Joseph’s turn to support Pine.
This is actually happening. They’re going to take me away.
The officer tapped his chin as he mulle
d it over. “Well, it’s her second run-in with the law—yes, that incident with the magician was logged—and the people she ‘assaulted’ were injured, although we know they were lying about the property…so, she’s probably looking at about…oh, four months hard labor.”
“Four months?” James was incredulous. Was that good or bad?
“That’s the minimum sentence required by law. She’s lucky the arm she broke was metal and so counted as property. We’re also aware of the extenuating circumstances.” That decided, the officer turned to Joseph. “Do you want to make a claim on the property they stole? I mean, you’ll probably never get it back, but it’s up to you.”
His arm tightened around Pine’s shoulder “No, I don’t care about those damned components, I just want—”
“Fine. Okay…Pine, was it? Let’s go. I’m assuming you’ll come willingly? Otherwise,” he pointed to Joseph, “we’ll have to take him in as well.”
What choice did she have? She could run. But where would she go? Besides, she’d already given James and Joseph enough grief. No. This wasn’t Joseph’s responsibility. She would do this, and then, when she returned to them, things would be different. She would be different. “I’ll come.”
The officer seemed relieved. “Good. Bones here will escort you.” He rapped on the metal chest of the police droid. Its armored head turned toward Pine, and she gazed into its shielded eyes, trying to find a sympathetic sentience. There was none.
She stared over her shoulder at James and Joseph as Bones led her away, burning the sight of them into her memory to keep herself company over the next four months. She’d been so desperate to leave them and now…now that it was happening, all she wanted to do was get back to them.
Both of them.
She was still astonished at herself when the door of her cell locked behind her.
James paced outside the Portfade Central Police Station at nearly the very spot he’d left her. He’d received word late last night that this was where she’d be released, and he’d arrived early, determined not to miss her. He checked the time again. Any minute now, she would be a free woman. Well, as free as she could be.
He replayed the last hours between them, over and over, just as he’d done for the past four months. The softness of her hand in his, her concern for him even as she lay there at the mercy of strangers, her own body broken.
You trust me, don’t you?
Yes, I do.
But where the hell was she? Had there been a mistake? It was bad enough that Joseph—
The front door of the police station slid open, and there she was. She looked exactly the same as the last time he’d seen her, her long hair tied neatly back, her loose linen jumpsuit the one she’d been wearing.
And why would she look different? He caught himself with a chuckle.
The sun was behind James, and at first, she didn’t see him, giving him time to wipe his clammy palms on his jeans. Now that the moment had come, he didn’t know what to do. Did she regret coming home? Would she be angry with him? At Joseph, because they hadn’t been able to help her? All he’d thought about for the last four months was the unexpected hollowness she left behind.
“You’re here.” She stood in front of him, and every conscious thought was swept away by the sight of her strange eyes, gazing at him with—
“Of course I am. I—”
“Move along, you two.” An officer stood in the entrance, hands on his hips. “This isn’t a café.”
James sighed. “Let’s go.”
They walked side-by-side down the sidewalk, separated by an unfamiliar shyness as their feet carried them toward the cemetery.
“How are—”
“How is—”
James chuckled. Why were they so clumsy? Was it just the time apart? “You first.” He could compose himself while she talked.
“Thank you, James, for coming to get me.” She paused. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but where’s Joseph? I thought— I thought he would be here to meet me as well. Is he…is he okay?”
The unspoken questions in her voice were loud and clear. Did he give up on me? Is he getting rid of me after all?
“He wanted to Pine, truly,” James assured her, “but there were some complications with your release.” That was putting it mildly. Poor Joseph might never forgive himself.
“Complications?”
“Yesterday, we were told that you would be released out on Bowglass Island, where you’d done your time, so Joseph left me to hold down the fort and rushed out five minutes later, determined to be there the minute you were free. He even forgot his transcomm.” James’s mouth quirked. Joseph had been so flustered in his excitement, tripping over his own feet as he’d darted about, getting together any paperwork he might need. “But about four hours after he left, I got the call that you were, in fact, being released here.” They turned up the paved stone path into the secluded graveyard. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with him.”
“Bowglass? I wasn’t there. I went straight back to the algae farm I used to work at off the coast. Except they consider it ‘hard labor’ now.” She scoffed.
“I know. He’s going to be so disappointed.” James paused by a headstone near the path to replace a fallen bouquet. “But at least you’re here with me now, and Joseph will be home soon. Wait until you see all the gifts he bought you. He’s single-handedly supporting the downtown boutiques—and that’s almost as good, right?”
Pines gazed up at him, her expression uncertain. “James, about—” Then her eyes widened and she gasped. James twisted around. What now? He didn’t want anything to interrupt their reunion.
A tall, brand-new hematite tombstone had been placed back from the path, in line with the others. The inscription which had caught Pine’s attention read:
Here Lies
The Blue-Haired Child
Who Died of Sorrow
On Being Deserted by Her
Little Sister
Pine
Pine pressed the back of her hand to her mouth in horror. “James! It…it can’t be true, can it? She’s dead?”
James frowned at the tombstone, trying to see through the riddle. The last time he’d seen The Blue Fairy was the day after Pine was arrested. She’d shown up at Joseph’s door, the scuffed oxblood satchel in her hands. After thanking her yet again for everything she’d done, James, despondent, had bent back over his work and hadn’t bothered to listen to the hushed conversation—Blue and Joseph often huddled together like that, Blue playing white noise on a nanocomm to cover their voices as they discussed barely legal technological developments, exchanged orders, and pondered the slowly moving personhood machine for sentient robots.
Had there been any urgency in her demeanor? If so, James hadn’t noticed.
But then, he hadn’t really noticed anything since they took Pine away except the ripples of her absence. So often he’d caught himself thinking of her, of things she’d said, or the ways she’d looked at him.
Or the ways you looked at her.
It was more bitter than sweet, much more, but he forced himself to dwell on every painstaking detail, promising himself it would be different when he saw her again. That he would be different. The sight of her hanging from that tree, and then the aftermath, had brought home what he’d suspected deep down, the source of his uneasiness ever since he’d met her: that despite everything he’d believed to the contrary, she wasn’t the enemy.
And he wasn’t hers.
Although, that left the question of what exactly they were.
He shook himself and dragged his attention back to the question at hand—where the hell was Blue?
“I don’t think so, Pine. I think it’s a message, although what it means, I’m not sure. Blue’s imagination was always more complex than mine.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he considered Blue’s motives. The tombstone was supposed to mean something , but what? “I wonder if she’s disappeared again. She has to, every so often, to keep one s
tep ahead of the authorities.” He laid his hand on the hematite. “She was very entertained by having her newest headquarters right next to a police station.” He shrugged. “But maybe you getting arrested here was too close to home.” It was the most plausible reason he could think of.
Pine sank to her knees in front of the tombstone and traced the inscription with her fingers. “I’ve caused everyone so much trouble. First you and Joseph, and now Blue.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “Pine, it’s okay. She likely wouldn’t have been here for much longer anyway.”
“I wanted to thank her.” Pine’s time away seemed to have softened her. James couldn’t imagine the old Pine worrying about such a thing.
“Both Joseph and I thanked her. Repeatedly. And Pine, she helped you because she wanted to. She’s very interested in your…freedom. I don’t think you’ve seen the last of her.” In fact, he knew it; he’d never seen the enigmatic woman so invested in anything that didn’t directly affect her. He helped Pine to her feet. “Come on, let’s go home.”
***
Once they were in James’s car, he waited before giving the vehicle its instructions. She’d been away for a long time, longer than she’d lived at Joseph’s. He wanted her to be ready.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not yet.” She leaned back in her seat and turned to look out the window. That wasn’t the reaction he’d been hoping for.
But then, what had he been expecting? For her to chatter excitedly away? To gush about how much she’d missed them?
Well, yes. A little.
He instructed the car to take them back to Joseph’s house. As it pulled away from the curb, Pine pressed her forehead to the window. But still she didn’t speak. What had happened to her during those four months? Did she regret waving goodbye to the place she’d spent most of her life for a second time? Was she dreading returning to the house she’d once been so eager to leave?
They pulled up to Joseph’s house less than half an hour later. She stood with one hand on the car, gazing up at the tall house. Made from bricks of rich, gray marine clay, its classic, weathered façade reminded James of the older man.
