The Edge

Tola: Part Four

Cassandra was the rowdier of the twins. Tola knew it could cause problems sometimes, but Cassandra had never done anything really wrong. It was just occasional pranks and being more outspoken. Other than that, she listened and she wasn't overly defiant. She was just spirited, as Father used to say.

And she would never do anything like steal a ship.

Or at least, Tola thought that she would never do something like that.

"Important question, how big of a ship are we talking here?" Arian hadn't stopped moving since they got back on the ship. He liked to pace when he was thinking. He said it helped him focus. "Because if it was a big ship, then that's...gutsy. I didn't think she had it in her."

"They didn't say." Tola had never seen Helen look so mortified—not even the time Arian had shoplifted and she had to pick him up from the police station. Her emotions were a rolling mix that mostly just registered as red, almost bloodlike. It was like everything happening was cutting into her soul. "They didn't believe that I don't know where she is. That's why we can't leave."

"For how long?" Luca asked. He also kept moving, but differently than Arian. Instead of pacing, he sat down and bounced his leg very, very quickly. "Do we know?"

"No idea, but the police are definitely getting involved." Helen stopped and took a deep breath. It felt like she was trying to gather herself, but wasn't able to do it properly. "We'll just have to be honest and get out of this as fast as possible."

"Are they sure it was her?" Matteo asked. "Not someone else? Or maybe she was coerced?"

"They have video footage. I saw some of it. There were others with her, but it looked like she was leading the whole thing.'

Silence settled over the room as they digested that information. It was broken by Luca abruptly getting up. "I'm gonna go for a walk. Just...I need a walk."

Tola thought about following him into the ship's hallways, but when Luca went for a walk, he wanted to be alone. She had to respect that. Being around other people would just make his anxiety worse.

"Well, if she was with other people...that may mean someone around here might know something about it," Matteo pointed out. "And they might be willing to talk to us."

"Maybe?" Helen sighed. "It seems risky. If the police are watching us, they might try to follow us to her..."

Arian snorted loudly. "Nah, local cops aren't going to be a problem. The most that will happen is they'll tell Solo Industries, and if Solo Industries doesn't have any kind of serious presence wherever she went, they won't be able to do shit about it, unless they really want to go to the trouble and expense of a bounty hunter over one ship. All she has to do is never come back here again, and that won't be hard." He turned around suddenly mid-pace and started for the door. "I'm gonna survey the area and ask around."

"Arian."

"I'll go with him," Tola said immediately. "If he gets into any trouble, I can...start crying." Not on purpose of course; she didn't like to deliberately manipulate people. But she had a habit of crying when she felt like she was in trouble, and this one time, it felt okay to let that get them out of trouble.

"...fine. Compromise." Helen first grabbed a shopping list from the kitchen counters and passed it off to them. "Find a grocery store, get anything we need, ask along the way, and then come right back. Gideon, do you mind going with them?"

"Fine by me," Arian interjected. "He can glare people down if we need him to."

"I'm not glaring down anyone," Gideon sighed as he stood. "But yeah, I'll go."