Daughter of Mars #84 | (Tempting Fate Part 3)
Risa couldn’t tell where his eyes aimed behind his sunglasses. Exposed fiberoptics in the wall tinted his pure white suit a phantasmal luminous blue.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered, covering invisible breasts with an invisible arm.
“I happened to be in the area and was worried about you.” He set a disposable cup on the ground by her right knee. “You look cold. I brought you some coffee.”
“This is not a good time,” she whispered.
“Because you’re out naked in public or because you’re up to something of questionable legality?” He gazed up and left.
Warmth spread over her cheeks. The first time she’d needed to use CamNano in the field, she’d been close to paralyzed with embarrassment. Eventually, blending into the surroundings felt like wearing body paint or skimpy clothes. She still couldn’t claim to be comfortable with it, much less like it. Her thoughts wandered to Kali. That one got a kick out of it in some twisted way. Hearing her go on about how much more of a thrill she got out of killing while she could feel her victim’s hot blood on her bare skin triggered a shiver. She had to be messing with me. She can’t be that nuts. Risa tucked the transmitter end of the fiber tap behind the pipe to hide it, and ran the lead to the bundle of optical wire. A little fiddling blended it in enough to where a casual glance, even from a tech, would more than likely miss it. The fragrance of hazelnut and chocolate wafting up from beside her traded places in the air with the foulness to her left.
“Please move that coffee.”
“So what are you doing in there?” Shiro stooped to pick the drink up. “I thought you liked coffee.”
Like a mad knitter, Risa used a pair of fine metal rods to peel apart the bundle and attach refractive sensors to each individual strand. “I do, but all I can smell right now is puke.”
“You can relax. No one is close or headed this way.” Shiro sipped his drink. “I’m shocked they sent you alone. A job like this really calls for a four person team.”
“Oh?” she clipped a tiny translucent clamp over a wire and paused to breathe.
“One to do what you’re doing. One to stand where I’m standing, and two working overwatch at opposite corners. You don’t exactly have the best vantage point.”
No, but you’ve got a great view. “Stop distracting me.”
“Alright.”
Three clamps later, she glanced up at him. “Just happened to be in the area? I don’t buy it.”
Shiro chuckled. “Guilty. I noticed your shuttle flight. Tracked your NetMini here.”
“Stalk much?” She got to work on the next pickup. “That’s only a little creepy.”
“Well, you did come to my city. I’d hoped you’d reconsidered my offer. When you didn’t show up at my door, I assumed you were here on business. You, eh, were not in the best state of mind when last we met.”
As if I’d be running right to his door. “Yeah. I’m sorry I ran off. There’s a lot on my mind right now.”
“Back in the fold, I see. Doing Maris’s bidding?”
“He’s going to help.” Another clamp closed. Sixteen more.
Shiro glanced down at her. “Help?”
“I’m going to find the people who killed Pavo, and make them regret it.” Her tool slipped, almost severing the strand. Shit. She bit her lip, trembling with anger and worry.
“Have you thought more about my offer?”
She sighed and hung her head. “I can’t change my mind.”
“What of your daughter?”
Risa cringed. “She’s not my daughter. She’s…” A child I almost killed. “She deserves better than me.”
“You are too critical of yourself.” He sipped coffee.
“It’s not just me. It’s this war. Mars. The MLF. Everything. She’s going to get hurt.” Twelve to go. Come on. I have to get out of here. Shaking hands slowed her down.
“I had a feeling you might feel that way. You know I have some pull back on Earth. If you want, I can arrange for the girl to be bumped to the top of the adoption queue. Excellent families with plenty to offer her in terms of safety and security.”
A tear gathered in the corner of her eye, clung for a second, and ran down her cheek. Weight settled on her heart. She’d be better off. Keeping her is selfish. “I…”
“You’ve grown attached.” Shiro smiled. “My other offer is still on the table. You’re only a risk to her if you remain on Mars.”
She stared at the pale blue light, wondering if she could ever let go of Pavo. The more she considered taking Kree and going to Earth, the more ashamed she felt. Pavo deserves revenge. Kree―
“Risa?” The image of General Maris appeared in a virtual holo-panel, courtesy of her implanted communicator.
“Almost done.” Her thoughts became voice over the wire.
General Maris nodded. “Good. So far, my contacts have been unable to find any information about the team who abducted Pavo. We’re drawing a blank with C-Branch, with Corporate, and with Syndicate intel. Whoever did it is dug in deep.”
Risa’s heart sank. She glanced up at Shiro. “Maybe…”
“There is a high priority target we’ve recently become aware of.” General Maris’s bust shrank to make room for a map. “I realize you’ve been having a crisis of conscience in regards to explosives, however this target is free of any risk of human casualty. We need to disable a trans-canyon pipeline deep in ACC territory. No one else is brave enough to attempt this one.”
You mean suicidal. Risa set the last clip in place and let her arms drop to her lap. “Sounds dangerous.”
Maris looked down. “You’re the only one we have with a chance of pulling this off.”
“You can get Kree to Earth, make sure she’s safe?” Risa asked, aloud.
“I can.” Shiro looked at her, pulling his sunglasses down from his eyes. “I don’t like that tone in your voice.”
She locked eyes with Maris’s hologram. If his people can’t find any information, what could I possibly do? I guess they win. “Okay. I’ll do it.” She ignored the warm splatter of tears on her thighs. “Maybe I’ll find Pavo on the other side.”
“Risa…” Maris widened his eyes. “I am not sending you there to die. If you go in with that mindset, you won’t come back.”
“I guess I’ll have to play it by ear.” Risa lifted the panel cover back in place, squeezing it into the rubber seal. “Tap should be active now.”
General Maris waved at someone to the side. “We are getting a signal. Excellent work. I’ll discuss the particulars when you return.”
Risa kept quiet as she rushed through replacing the twenty-seven screws. Every third or fourth one, she paused to wipe tears off her cheeks. I’m going to die sooner or later. Kree doesn’t need to suffer that.
“I got a thing. Promise me you’ll send Kree to Earth if I don’t come back.” I bet he’s only being nice to her to get to me.
Shiro’s head whipped around to face her. He set her untouched coffee atop a relay box mounted to the wall. “Come back from what?”
“Maris wants me to do something else.” She tried to force the daydream image of Pavo holding Kree out of her mind. “Good chance I won’t make it.”
“No.” Shiro grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. “I can’t let you do it.”
Her skin blurred as if she were made of gleaming blue plastisteel; she appeared separate from the background as a nude outline for three seconds until the CamNano compensated for the rapid motion. Risa gawked at the hand clamped around her right bicep, and the frightened, possessive look in Shiro’s eyes.
“Let me?” She pulled on her arm. “Ow, you’re hurting me. You’re also risking my mission.”
“Come with me to Earth. Leave this behind.” He grasped her other arm and relaxed the tightness of his grip on both. “Bring your child. Allow yourself to live.”
The way he held her forced her on tiptoe. She wriggled, trying to back up. Stepping on a screw made her bite back a yelp.
“You don’t understand. This is about more than just―”
Shiro swung her to the side, putting her back against the cold metal wall. He embraced her, burying his face in the crook of her neck and whispering, “Turn your camo off. Quick. Trust me.”
With no time to consider, she went with his instinct. Millions of nanobots neutralized the dyes in her skin cells, leaving her milky white and quite exposed in public. Shiro ran his hands up and down her back, kissing the side of her neck. Three seconds after the change completed, a pair of MDF officers emerged from the alley where she’d stashed her purse and stopped short at the sight of them. Risa let off a soft moan as she writhed in his arms.
“Hey, you two…” said a woman’s voice. “Knock it off. This is a public space.”
Shiro twisted to look at them, still pressed tight against her. “Sorry. We were on the way back to our hotel and things got a little out of hand.” He shrugged off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her.
“Let’s see some ID.” The other officer raised his forearm, glancing at a small terminal pane.
“Of course.” Shiro faced them, produced his NetMini, and held it out.
The police exchanged glances when his information popped up. “Our apologies Mr. Murasame. Please take it out of the public eye.”
“Of course. Thank you for your discretion.” Shiro bowed at them.
Risa gathered his coat to her chest, trying to push herself against the wall hard enough to go through it. She stared at the pair of figures in MDF armor until they got out of earshot. “What was that?”
“This may be the UCF, but being an executive has its perks.” He winked.
Risa counted the little metal bits in front of her toes. “Four screws left. I gotta put them back, or it’ll get noticed.”
“Be quick. You have about forty seconds before someone looks.”
She dropped to her knees, grabbed the tiny, motorized driver, and replaced the last of the screws with no regard for subtlety. After stuffing the tools back in the nylon pouch, she rolled it up and grabbed the empty cube. How the hell did the MDF not notice this? She blushed. The guy was staring at my tits, the woman was ogling Shiro. He grasped her by the arm, snagged her cup, and dragged her to the alley. Risa’s heart pounded in her head when he led her straight back to the spot where she’d stashed her purse.
“Get dressed.”
She glared at him with a mixture of indignation and confusion. “If you think ordering me around is going to get you anywhere, you don’t know me as much as you think you do.”
Shiro held his hands up. “Fine. Stay naked. Next thing you know you’ll want cat ears and a tail. You’ve already got the claws.”
“Reverse psychology now?” She whirled away to hide her blush, and stooped to grab her stuff from under the trash unit. “You must’ve confused me with some helpless little girl that’s in desperate need of a father figure to make all the hard decisions she’s incapable of.” Maybe ten years ago.
“I do not think you are helpless, just foolish.” He stood with his back to her, a human barrier at the end of the gap between trash compressors.
Risa couldn’t decide if she felt trapped or protected as she pulled the grey shift on as fast as she could without falling over. After smoothing it flat, she stepped into her shoes. “Look, I don’t need a protector. I can take care of myself.”
He moved away from the gap and handed her the coffee. “Who is going to protect you from your own bad choices? You’re letting his death get to you.”
She walked past him. “You couldn’t understand.”
“Understand what? That you’re being reckless taking a suicide mission because you’re emotional over a man you only knew for a few months?”
“What?” She gasped and spun on him. “You think what Pavo and I had meant less because it didn’t take years?”
“You’re jumping to the worst case scenario again.” He peered over his sunglasses at her. “You are both in high-stress lives where death is a few steps behind you. It’s common among military personnel in combat zones. Tell me you didn’t have an ‘I have to tell him how I feel before one of us dies’ moment?”
Risa recoiled, glaring at the ground. She had to concentrate to keep her voice even. “Stop.”
“War forges strong ties among soldiers.” He drew close behind her. “All I’m suggesting is that you might have rushed into a relationship with him without realizing what motivated it. I’m asking you not to do anything reckless until you’ve had time to grieve.”
No. I love Pavo. It wasn’t like that at all. He made me want to get away from all of this. “It’s not that simple. It wasn’t… When I first saw him, I couldn’t stand him.”
“Well, that makes me feel better about my chances.” Shiro’s hand encircled her left wrist. “I want to show you something.”
Risa frowned at his grip for a few seconds, and shot him a dirty look.
“Now that is a ‘let go or lose your hand’ face if I’ve ever seen one.” He held on. “If you are that afraid of what I want you to see, go right ahead.”
Claws sprang out. She splayed her fingers, keeping her glare on his eyes.
“You’re bluffing. Guilt and curiosity won’t let you.” He took a step, tugging on her arm. “Please, indulge me.”
“Even my own father didn’t drag me around by the wrist.” He knows I feel bad he spent all that money on me. She retracted her claws and fell in step at his side.
Shiro raised his eyebrows. “Perhaps he should have.”
Related posts:
Daughter of Mars #82 | (Tempting Fate Part 1)Daughter of Mars #83 | (Tempting Fate Part 2)Daughter of Mars #78 | (Breaking Eggs Part 2)
