Chapter Five

She was with Umther when his mother came to get him. Shisha sold real estate and was good at her job. She was on her way to a fancy car and a better office. She dressed for the part, which was where Drin’s money was currently going. She made sure that Shisha got the exclusive listings, so she had to dress the part.

Shisha hugged her hello, and then, she whispered, “I need some money.”

Drin slumped. “I don’t have any. I have been suspended from the BDC and don’t get paid until next week.”

Shisha blinked. “Can they do that?”

“They did it. How much do you need?”

“Three hundred. I have a showing and have to get snacks.”

“I have two hundred. Will that be enough?”

Shisha stared. “What will you live on? You need that money.”

“Is this showing important?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, I will just have to take some side jobs to feed myself. I have supplies at home to last a few days.” She inhaled. “I can manage.”

Shisha nodded. “If you are sure.”

Drin sprinted up to her department and got her purse and the cash. She left enough for dinner and jogged back downstairs, where Vaken was explaining his day.

She saw them downstairs and headed back to her office. She still had a day’s work to get through, and she would stay all night if she had to. Litha had a demonstration coming up, and all the data had to be organized and understandable. That was Drin’s job.

After midnight, she rubbed her eyes and headed down to the lobby. She couldn’t afford parking in the parkade, so she hiked the three blocks to her vehicle and noticed a lot of parked cars on the street. The moment she put her car in drive, lights flared all around her with sirens whooping. She put her car in park, turned off the engine, and watched the peacekeepers approach. Captain Varun stood where she could see him as she was cuffed and shoved into a transport.

No one got near his family.

She was booked in after being charged for disregarding the restraining order. She had been seen at the restaurant and picking up Vaken. Or rather, they had been seen.

She sat quietly when they asked her if she wanted to make a call. Who could she call? She couldn’t pit son against father.

She closed her eyes, leaned against the concrete wall, and waited to face the judge in the morning.

* * * *

Vikor arrived at Z-Tech early. He frowned when Arcady came down to meet him with a knowing smile. “Where’s Drin?”

Arcady’s features snapped into worried lines. “I thought you two spent the night together, and you tuckered her out.”

“No, I left at four and filed my documentation. You don’t know where she is?”

“She called into the float pool and sent an assistant to Litha, but the message came in at two in the morning.”

“You thought she was with me.” His voice was flat.

“I did. You two were so adorable yesterday.”

He nodded absently and had a few words with the security guard, who showed Drin heading out after midnight with no coat or purse. “Do you know where she is going?”

“Her vehicle is parked in a free spot a few blocks over. She laughs and says she’s too broke to pay for parking.” The guard sighed.

Vikor tried to call her, and the com went to a blocked message. That settled it. His pet had been arrested.

He called a friend at the courthouse and then nodded. He had thirty minutes to make a ten-minute drive.

* * * *

The interview with the psychic was to be expected. When she sat quietly and let the questions wash through her, he caught all of her answers and gathered them up. He held her hand throughout, stroking her palm with his thumb.

She saw the clock tick closer to the hearing. “Thank you, Psychic Techor.”

“For what?”

“For not hurting me.” She gave him a sincere look. “I know that it’s an option during a scan.”

He squeezed her hand. “You have been hurt enough for a lifetime.”

He smiled and stroked her cheek, then left to walk down the hall, presumably to make his report to the court office.

The peacekeepers brought her in and slammed her onto one of the hard wooden benches. Then, they waited their turn.

She remained still as Varun glared at her from the other side of the room. Her case was called, and she was uncuffed and stood behind a podium.

“Does the accused have any representation?” the judge asked.

“Yes, your honour. Whether she wants it or not.”

The peacekeepers in the area froze as Vikor walked up to her and kissed her temple. The judge chuckled. “I wondered when you would show up. For a devil, she thinks of you as her knight in crimson armour.”

Vikor’s body tensed. “Does she now, Judge Techor?”

She stared at the judge, and he smiled slightly at her. “Don’t look so shocked, Miss Drinella. Most judges are psychics to one degree or another. I just prefer to ask the questions, so I know the answers. Don’t worry, I spoke with Captain Varun as well.”

Varun looked unsettled. “You read me, Judge?”

“Only as it pertained to the case. You know it’s procedure.”

The judge settled back and said, “The matter before us is the breaking of a six-year-old restraining order that was activated by Captain Varun, agent liaison to the peacekeepers. He has ordered Miss Drinella to remain two hundred feet from any member of his family.”

The judge looked at her with a quirked brow. “Well, Miss?”

“Yes, sir. I broke that order yesterday.”

Vikor frowned and said, “That was my fault. I was doing an inspection at her place of work, and seeing her again set all kinds of things off.”

Drin raised her hand. The judge smiled. “Yes, Miss?”

“I ran into him the night before. I didn’t know he ran the nightclub where my soon-to-be sister-in-law was having her hen night. I was the designated singer, so I sang a duet, and then my partner started getting handsy, and Vikor walked through the crowd just as I... discouraged my singing partner.”

The judge chuckled. “Right. You don”t have to if he doesn’t press charges for the assault.”

Captain Varun muttered, “See? She’s dangerous.”

The judge looked over at him. “The male in question grabbed her and held her against her will while engaging in unwanted contact. She defended herself. She was not the aggressor but used sufficient force to get the job done. Just as she did when she grew uncomfortable with Vikor’s advances. She defended herself with enough force to knock him back but not enough to injure him, and then, she got away. That is not dangerous. That is precision.”

Drin looked down.

“Captain Varun, what was the purpose of the restraining order?”

“After my son died, my wife was upset. Vaka’s girlfriend tried to speak with us, but we knew her kind. She was just after money. This one. It hurt my wife to even see her. She and Vaka were so close that we always thought they would be a couple. When they weren’t, my wife was heartbroken, but she accepted Drin’s place as his friend. When he died, she couldn’t see Drin without thinking of Vaka. I don’t know why she kept coming to speak with me, but it was enough. I had the order drawn up under the fallen hero act.”

The judge paused. “Drin, why did you keep going to speak with the good captain?”

She opened her mouth. “Sir?”

“Tell him. It’s fine. The parties in question were notified this morning before the proceedings began.”

She swallowed. “I was trying to tell you that Shisha was carrying Vaka’s child, and she needed help. Her family kicked her out, and she had nothing and no one.” She turned to look at the captain. “He’s five and a half and the spitting image of Vaka.”

The captain thudded into the barrier behind him. “A grandson.”

She saw what was growing in his mind and grabbed Vikor, whispering furiously. He nodded, and she slumped in relief.

“Your Honour, we would like to impose a restraining order against Captain Varun and his wife, Niseth. They are to have supervised visitation only in the presence of either the mother or the adopted aunt of the child and a court officer.”

The captain stood up in outrage. “What? I demand to see him!”

The judge looked at him. “And after denying them the chance to tell you that he existed, you expect a visit? Maybe a weekend? Forget it. You will be introduced to the little man in slow and measurable increments. When he is comfortable with you, and you have gone to the effort to adapt your lives to his, the matter of visitation will be considered again.”

The captain paused, and then, he nodded. “That is... reasonable. Does he need anything? Money? They must need funds.”

The judge looked at him and laughed. “The time for funds was six years ago. This little creature that you have had arrested has worked herself nearly to death, done things that would turn your hair white, starved and impoverished herself to get your grandson a paid-off home, his mother’s education and a good job, and your grandson is now enrolled in the same school his father went to, but if I hear of you visiting the school casually, I will have you in front of me on contempt charges so fast your head will spin.”

Drin raised her hand, and the judge smiled. “Yes, Drin?”

“Um, sir, if he has regular business with the school, as I believe his position occasionally requires him to be, he can go. He just can’t contact Vaken. Nor can he look him up, cyber stalk him or his mother.”

Vikor whispered in her ear.

“Or me. I don’t really care. I don’t have anything to lose anymore, but until I am released, he should probably not poke around.”

The judge looked at her and cocked his head. “Are you under the impression that you are going to jail today?”

She nodded earnestly. “Yes, Your Honour. I broke the order, intentionally or not.”

“You are a very black-and-white thing. Good or evil, legal or illegal.”

She frowned. “Yes, Your Honour.”

“Do you like the complications of your life, Miss Drin?”

“Not well, Your Honour.”

He laughed.

Vikor held up a tablet. “If it pleases the court, there is one additional matter to be discussed.”

The judge looked at his terminal, and he nodded. “Captain Varun, your charges are dismissed as your bloodline sought her out at all times and in all situations. You will also forward to her the entirety of the trust created from Vaka’s insurance, which was entrusted to you to send to her. Vaka knew she would take care of Shisha, and he was sure you wouldn’t. Your son knew you well. I want those funds transferred to her by the end of the week.”

Captain Varun’s cheeks stained with shame. “Yes, Your Honour.”

“The existing order is resolved, the new order is being drafted, but Miss Drin, would you give Captain Varun an image of his grandson?”

She nodded and forwarded the image to Vikor. He sent it on. The captain was crying.

Vikor put his arm around her, and she slumped against him. “Can we get pancakes somewhere? Or coffee with a lot of cream?”

“Didn’t they feed you?”

She shook her head. “Fat girls don’t need breakfast. Good thing that Klauz has such attention to detail.”

She heard his outrage as he yelled at his father. “You didn’t feed her? She’s a metabolic active. That is torture.”

She gripped Vikor’s suit coat. “It’s fine. I just expended a lot of energy keeping warm last night, and it is starting to show.”

He looked down at her and gasped. Her suit was getting loose, so he knew what that meant. She looked like all the deadly sins and horsemen of the apocalypse in a week as she gained and lost.

He caught her and lifted her up. The judge looked unsettled. “What’s wrong? Does she need a hospital?”

“She needs food. Where is the nearest milkshake place?”

“End of the block. I can call in an order.”

“Order six. That should be enough to get her to a place that serves proper food.”

“Case dismissed.” The judge announced, and Vikor walked past his father. Drin saw her hand getting thinner and thinner and wondered what in the hell had caused her to start dropping weight so violently. Where was the power going?

Once they got to the diner, he held her and poured the first milkshake into her. The calorie jolt had gotten her body functioning, and she sat up. They were drawing a crowd, but it didn’t seem like Vikor cared.

She managed to eat the second milkshake with a spoon, and she could use a straw by the third. She looked up at him, and there were gasps from the watchers. “Thanks for thinking of milkshakes. I don’t know why I am losing energy so fast. This hasn’t happened before.”

He smiled. “I think if we try hard, we can find a cure or, at least, a more reliable treatment. What happened to your parents?”

“Mom got sick three years ago, then Dad just followed her a few months later.”

“No inheritance?”

“Not for me. My brother got the house and funds. He’s human. He can’t find freaky jobs that pay a ton like I can.”

Vikor chucked. “Like what?”

“I am a licensed plumber and electrician.”

He blinked as if that was not what he expected her to say. “That is... interesting.”

She laughed. “I went to a trade school. I got my apprenticeships out of the way and then got my tickets. I did that until Shisha wanted to get back to work, and the house was paid off enough that I could swing tuition for her. I put in extra hours, got a grant, and got office skills. After that, I started to work a lot of temp jobs and did the trade stuff at night. When Z-Tech was being built, I did the wiring with the contracted electricians. They needed more hands. Then, I applied for a job at the float pool, and I was assigned to Litha. She decided to keep me. After six months, I was invited to apply to the BDC, and then, I started seeing clients, paid Shisha’s mortgage off, got the trust going for Vaken’s school, and I could breathe a bit. Until this week. The date I cancelled was supposed to pay for a car that didn’t have apnea. I fucked it all at the finish line.” She finished the fourth and reached for the fifth.

“What else was it supposed to pay for?”

She grimaced. “Food?” She realized something. “Ohmygod. I need a shower. I am gross.”

She tried to get away from him, but he kept his arm around her waist and pulled her back onto his lap. He whispered in her ear, “You are fine.”

She shook her head. “I’m all sticky from yesterday. I’m a mess.”

He growled low in her ear, and she gasped as her body tensed, her nipples scratched at the inside of her bra, and her clit twitched. She rolled her head back against his shoulder. “How did you do that?”

He looked at her innocently. “What?”

“That one growl was worth ten minutes of foreplay.”

He grinned. “Drink your milkshake. Only one and a half to go. Then we can go to Klauz, and he can feed you.”

She shook her head. “I can’t go there again. I don’t have anything to wear, and this outfit smells like the cells. I just want to crawl into bed and pass out after a shower.”

He nodded. “That can be done as well.”

She looked at him. “I don’t think you would fit at my place.”

“No, but you will definitely look right at my place. I am only a few blocks away.”

She finished the last milkshake and paled. “I don’t have my wallet.”

He grinned. “The judge paid for it. I believe he has a fondness for you.”

She grunted. “That just shows bad judgment on his part, so to speak. Do I look any better than when we came in?”

He stroked her cheek and grinned. “You sparkle, pet.”

He got up but kept her held against him. There were flirty murmurs as they walked out, and a substantial tip had been left for the waitress who had delivered the shakes and left them alone. He carried her for a few blocks, then nodded to a doorman and entered the building.

She blinked. “You weren’t kidding about your place.”

He chuckled. “No, I was not.”

They went up to the top floor, and he did an ocular scan. She was carried into a pale and airy expanse with a lot of white surfaces.

He brought her to a bathroom and set her on her feet. “I will be back in a moment with something clean to wear.”

She nodded and stepped out of her shoes, pulled off her jacket, and then uncuffed the sleeves of her blouse before pulling her bra loose.

That was when he came in and glanced downward. “Is that underwear or a recycling project?”

She blushed. “Shut up.”

He chuckled and held up a black shirt. He hung it up on the door hooks, and faster than she could move, everything she had taken off was out of the bathroom.

She groaned but closed the door and finished getting undressed. The marks from the fight in the cells were fading but not fast enough. She had used a ton of power to keep herself safe in the early hours of the morning. No one had gotten hurt but her.

The hot water felt like heaven, but she had just walked into the devil’s lair. She wondered what the odds of her walking out were.