21 – Pyroshi

Addie yawned and stretched, blinking away the bleariness of heavy sleep. Her AUI told her it was nearly noon, but that didn’t surprise her; she and Tony hadn’t gotten in until three in the morning. Thinking of Tony made her sit up, her heart racing. She’d meant to check on him during the night, but apparently her exhausted body hadn’t agreed to that plan. She slid out of bed, tugged on a pair of semi-clean, baggy gym shorts, and hurried out of her room.

She’d tried to get Tony to sleep in her room with her, but even in his wounded, drug-addled state, he’d resisted. She’d promised to keep her hands to herself, but he’d just mumbled half-formed objections and collapsed on her dad’s fold-out couch bed—it had already been out because her dad had taken his bedding over to the new place.

She looked at Tony there, sprawled out and tangled in the sheet she’d struggled to get under him, rolling him from side to side to tug it through. Whatever Doc Peters gave him had really done a number on him—maybe because he'd needed four bags of synth-blood.

The sheet was wound around and between his legs, the blanket she’d put over him was on the floor with the pillow, and Tony’s hair, mussed and wild, made her smile. She could see his chest rising and falling regularly, and his face seemed remarkably serene. It made her want to go over and sneak another kiss, but she didn’t want to wake him. He’d had not one, but four bullets in him when they reached the clinic. Peters said that if he hadn’t had high-end nanites, he would have died from blood loss in minutes. Addie didn’t like that one bit.

The idea that he’d taken time to strip the bangers who’d jumped them before hurrying for help was mind-boggling to her. The idea that he’d had a stand-up shootout with four other people just so he didn’t leave her without cover was just as hard for her to understand. Tony was a mercenary; he had instincts that were efficient and brutal. She’d seen him act, making split-second decisions that resulted in people dying. He had an ingrained survival instinct, and the fact that he’d switched that off to keep her safe was both infuriating and so damn romantic that it made her flush as she stood there watching him sleep.

She padded over to the kitchen—a colossal mess thanks to their mid-move status—and began searching for something she could make them both for breakfast. She found some sausage patties and instant oatmeal cups and got to work preparing them. Meanwhile, she tried to think of a plan—some way that Tony wouldn’t have to sacrifice his safety to keep her from getting squashed like a bug at the first sign of violence.

Her biggest frustration—and shame—was the way she’d frozen. Sure, everything had happened in split seconds, but Tony had killed three of the bangers and been shot dozens of times before she’d managed to do something. How could that be fixed? It wasn’t like Tony was using a speed boost; he had one, but he didn’t have the Dust to power it. Was it just a matter of training, or were some people just faster than others?

Addie didn’t want to believe she couldn’t improve, but they’d done drill after drill in that old abandoned building. Even when she’d started moving, she hadn’t fallen into that training—she’d channeled Dust! What was that about? It wasn’t like she’d spent hours and hours training to electrocute people! Why hadn’t she reached for her needler instead of blowing all her Dust in a practical lightning bolt?

Despite her frustration, she smiled as she stirred the oatmeal cups. She couldn’t deny—the lightning had been pretty damn shiny. “I wonder if there are Dust abilities to improve speed,” she mused as she pulled the sausage patties out of the Mr. Cooker. Thinking about Dust reminded her of Torque’s promise to find her a spark she could “interview,” and she looked at the blinking message icon in the corner of her AUI.

“JJ, who are my messages from?”

“One from your father, one from the bulletin board on your news page, and one from Torque for Ember. None are marked high-priority.”

“Seriously?” She was surprised to have a message from Torque already, but the idea that he might have already set up a meet was exciting. While she poured some orange-flavored vitamin water into a pair of glasses, she had JJ play it.

Torque’s face appeared on her AUI, wearing his usual smug, self-satisfied smile. “Ember, what’s good? Hopefully everything! I’ve got good news for you on the spark front: my contact agreed to meet with you, and said I could forward his contact deets. They’re attached to this message. Remember: you owe me one!” With that, the message window went black and closed.

“Short but sweet. You got the contact info, JJ?”

“Yes, Addie. The contact is named Pyroshi.”

“Weird name—handle, I guess.” Addie picked up Tony’s plate and glass and walked back to the couch, wondering if he’d be irritated if she woke him to eat. Doc Peters had given strict instructions, though—he needed to eat in order to build back his reserves of actual human blood. She put the food on an end table and sat beside him on the edge of the pullout mattress. “Hey,” she said softly, barely more than a whisper, jostling his bare shoulder, careful not to touch him near any of the gray mesh-weave bandages.

His chrome eye flickered to life, the amber LED shining into the dim, curtained space. “Ads?” he rasped before reaching up to cover his mouth as he cleared his throat.

“Sorry to wake you, Tony, but I think you should eat and drink—”

“I’m starving.” He grunted, struggling to extricate himself from the wound-up sheet. “Damn, I was sleeping hard, wasn’t I?”

Addie smiled, standing so she could gather the couch pillows and pile them behind him. “Come on. Sit up here, and I’ll give you something to eat. When you’re done, you can go back to sleep.” She watched him do so, struggling not to fixate on his bare chest or the way his muscles shifted and rippled as he repositioned himself. “Are you sore?”

“A little. I feel lightheaded. My nanites are reporting that most of my tissue has been repaired.” He reached a hand to his forehead, squeezing his eye shut as he kneaded the side of his skull with his thumb. “Headache.”

“Here.” Addie handed him the cup of oatmeal and watched as he took a bite. It was still warm enough to steam, and he blew on it before putting it into his mouth. A second later, he swallowed, grunting as he dug in and began shoveling one spoonful after another into his mouth. “Good, huh?” She put the little plate with his sausage patties on his lap, then went into the kitchen to get her own food.

“Thanks, Ads!” he called after her.

When she returned, she sat beside him again, nudging his legs over to make more room. “Do you remember much about last night?”

“Um, yeah. I think so? Doc Peters gave me some blood and made sure I was done leaking, and then you got me home.” He squinted around the apartment. “Well, to your home.”

Addie grinned mischievously. “Don’t you remember crawling into my bed a while later?”

Tony’s eyes flew wide. “What?” She just smiled and ate another bite of oatmeal. Tony scoffed and stuffed a sausage into his mouth. “You’re full of it.”

“Well, it could have happened.” She put her food on a side table and crawled further into the bed, lying beside him, stealing one of his pillows to prop her head up.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He chuckled, draining his orange drink. When he set the glass down, he started peeling one of the bandages off his chest. “Maybe it could have, but probably not. I was dead to the world.”

“Do you think you’re going to sleep all day?”

“Something I need to do?” Before she could answer, he groaned and said, “Shit. We’re supposed to start moving your dad’s inventory.”

“Yeah, but we’ll put it off until tomorrow. I’ll message him, okay? I promise you, he’ll be glad to rest for a day. I could tell his back was really bothering him.”

Tony nodded, slapping the bandage back down, then sliding down so he lay beside her. Addie didn’t need any more invitation than that, snuggling up beside him so her cheek rested on his chest, right beside one of his bandages. “That’d be cool if I could just chill today.” Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he started to sit up. “The van!”

Addie threw her arm over him. “Relax. It’s Saturday, remember? It’s fine out front.”

“Oh… right.” He relaxed back into the pillow.

Addie’s right arm was resting on his chest, and she reached up to gently scratch her nails through his hair, just behind his ear, and down toward his neck. “Just go back to sleep. I want to have a little snuggle with you, then I’m going to run some errands.”

He didn’t argue, and Addie felt his breathing get deep and regular almost immediately. It was like someone had turned a switch off. She lay there for a long while, not tired, but not wanting to move. She soaked up the warmth of him, the smell of him, and the rhythm of his heart and breathing. After a while, she knew she had to get moving. Her dad was, no doubt, waiting to hear from them, and she wanted to contact the spark.

Reluctantly, torturously, she extracted herself from Tony’s warmth and slipped off the side of the couch. She padded back to her room, brushed her teeth, and cleaned up. She paused long enough to stand in front of her mirror and roll her shoulder, pressing at the dark purple bruise there. She really had gotten shot! Shaking her head—part disbelief and part lingering shame— she got dressed, then slipped out of the apartment and went down to the shop. “JJ, play my dad’s message.”

“It’s only text. He sent it at 0600. It reads, ‘Addie, my back’s really out. I ordered an adjustment, but I don’t think I’ll be able to help move today.’ Do you want to reply?”

“Oh wow! It must be hurting him if he called in the chiro.” Her father was not one to ask for help when it came to his personal ailments. “Yes, JJ, send the following: I’m so sorry your back is bothering you, Daddy. Tony isn’t feeling great today, so we’ll put off moving until tomorrow. Do you need anything? We might just stay at the apartment today since you’re at the warehouse.” She felt like a little girl calling him “Daddy,” but she knew it would make him feel better. He’d never say so, but she could see how his eyes lit up when she called him that.

“Sending…”

“Okay, JJ, now record a message to send to Pyroshi. Add video to it.”

“Ready, Addie.”

“Hello, Pyroshi. My name is Ember, and I believe Torque told you I’d be reaching out. I would love to sit down with you over a cup of coffee or something to talk about… Well, to talk about things related to Dust. Obviously, you can determine how much you want to say, but I think that, after we get to know each other a little, you might find that our friendship could be mutually beneficial. Looking forward to meeting you. Oh, um, right, just let me know when you’re available. Okay, thanks.”

Addie shook her head, feeling the heat of embarrassment at her usual awkwardness when leaving a video message. JJ took her silence to mean she was done and asked, “Shall I send it?”

“Oh, why not? It’s not like I’ll do better with a second take.” She walked over to the windows, peering out to ensure she was right and that the van was okay. The street didn’t have much parking, and it was generally impossible to find a spot during the day, but weekends were different in their neighborhood. Not only were more spots available, but RedTag didn’t enforce permits on Saturday or Sunday. “There she is,” she said, eyeing the big vehicle with its blotchy white and gray paint. Tony had sprayed primer over most of one side, covering up the old signage.

“I think we should paint it something cute—olive green maybe.”

“Addie, you’ve received a message from Pyroshi.”

“Oh? That was fast! Play it, JJ.”

A window opened on her AUI, and a vid began to play, featuring a middle-aged man with long, almost curly steel-gray hair. He had kind, dark-brown eyes and smiled as he spoke in a gravelly, but rhythmic voice, “Hello, Ember. Yes, Mr. Torque let me know that I should expect you to reach out. I am happy to sit down with you today. In fact, it’s the only chance you’ll get unless you want to wait a week; I must travel for business and will be leaving in the morning. I’ll be at Aurora Park at two. Let me know if you can join me there. A pleasure to meet you.”

Addie looked at her clock: 12:49. “JJ, send a confirmation.”

“Done.”

Addie had time, so she went upstairs and cleaned up the dishes, trying to make as little noise as possible. Then she went to her room and finished filling the two moving boxes she’d already started, taping them up and stacking them near the wall. That done, she checked on Tony, found him still zonked out, and prepared a little care package for when he woke up: two pouches of juice, a bag of BBQ-flavored chips, a chocolate bar, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

After she’d stuffed her needler in its holster into her waistband and put on her bomber jacket, she went back downstairs. “Okay, JJ, send a low-priority message to Tony. Tell him I’m going to meet with the spark at Aurora Park and that I’ll keep my location sharing on. Tell him you’re checking in every thirty minutes with Nora. I guess that means you should tell Nora to wake him up if she doesn’t hear from you. Got all that?”

“Yes. I’ve messaged Tony’s PAI, and she’s agreed to attempt to wake Tony if my check-ins are interrupted.”

“Good!” Addie slipped outside, locked up the shop, then stuffed her hands into her pockets. The air was cold, and she could see her breath as she walked over to the van. She climbed into the driver’s seat, wrinkling her nose at the lingering, coppery scent of blood. She glanced over her shoulder into the cargo area, frowning at the large smears of dried blood and the two, ogre-sized cybernetic arms with the bloody remnants of Malik’s flesh still attached to their extensive mounting prongs—the ones Tony hadn’t cut through with the vibroblade.

She knew she should clean up the mess, but she’d wasted too much time in the apartment. She only had twenty minutes to get to the park. “Have to do it afterwards, I guess.” She sighed and told the van’s AI where to go—she did not like driving manually, unlike Tony. The drive took longer than usual due to congestion around the Royal Breeze neighborhood, and Addie could see why: Echelon Labs were tearing down a pair of neighboring stacks, and they had half a dozen streets closed off.

She’d already read the news about Echelon buying a lot more of the neighborhood than Royal Breeze. They were snapping up buildings left and right, and, apparently, this demolition was to make room for new corporate offices and labs. “Big changes are in store for District Seventeen,” she said softly, contemplating the part she’d played. It was surely better for the populace to have things out in the open, right? For one thing, people were being offered fair relocation deals instead of being bullied out by banger crews.

Nothing would ever be completely fair, but there was bad and then there was bad, and she wanted to believe that she and Tony had helped the district avoid the worst-case scenario. She didn’t really know, though—only time would tell. Those thoughts fell away as she finally came through the traffic jam to the park.

Finding a place to park proved to be nearly impossible. “Saturday. Should’ve thought of that,” she said with a sigh, sliding out of the van. The batts were at sixty percent, so she just told the AI to circle the park until it found a spot or until she called it to pick her up.

Boxer corpo-sec would fine her if they knew she was doing that—it added to the congestion—but it was tough to prove, and she was too close to being late to care. With her collar zipped high against the cold, she hurried into the park, aiming for the memorial. “JJ, let Pyroshi know we’re here.”

The park was crowded, despite the chill, with kids running around, people strolling down the lanes, and even some kite-flying enthusiasts out on the grass. Addie watched the neon, holographic dragons and other fantastical creatures flickering through the sky and sighed happily, wishing Tony were walking beside her.

“Pyroshi sent me a location.” Addie’s mini-map expanded slightly, showing her location and a dotted line leading to a blinking yellow dot. The ETA next to the walking route said one minute. She followed the path, walking past the memorial, down a walking trail, over a little footbridge, and straight toward a pair of tall, Japanese maples, genetically engineered to keep their crimson leaves year-round.

A pair of benches sat at the base of the trees, and Addie immediately saw Pyroshi. He wore a gray peacoat and held an actual paper book in his hands, staring at the pages with a look of deep concentration. Even so, when she approached, he looked up and smiled, squinting his dark eyes against the glare of the sun behind her. “Hello,” she said, waving briefly. “I’m Ember.”

He stared for several awkward seconds, then jumped to his feet, bowing hastily. “I’m so sorry! You caught me off guard. Mr. Torque said I’d be meeting a young woman interested in Dust adepts, but he didn’t tell me…” He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s no matter—let’s just say your appearance surprised me. Hello, Ember, I am Pyroshi, and I’m very pleased to meet you.” He held out a hand, and Addie took it, smiling as he shook her hand firmly and then let go. He gestured to the bench. “Please. I have some time. Let’s chat.”