The Navigator

9. To Catch and Throw

Author's Note:

Song Credit: Smells Like Teen Spirit, Saint Mesa

Disclaimer: This Chapter contains some mature language and sexual themes. This story is rated mature so discretion is advised.

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Addy led the way to the globe, it was a permanent feature on the boardwalk but was usually reserved for official training. It was too expensive for recreational use, but during the Foundation Day festival, Dade subsidized the cost of running it to make the tickets more affordable. Because of this marked kindness it was usually the most popular attraction and the lines had stretched forever in years past.

To cut down on wait times they had started using appointments, this made more sense because in general you had to go in with an instructor so you didn't just slam into a glass wall and break your face. Momentum was a thing the average person didn't understand until they experienced it. It was still oxygenated so there was some drag, but generally whatever force you used to jump up was the force you hit the roof with. Being strapped to someone who knew what they were doing cut down on accidents significantly.

Addy had made her reservation at the end of her walk last year, holding herself a 20 minute private experience. She only missed this once over the last 7 years, when she was so broke she couldn't afford food or a place to live.

That had been the worst year of her life, a cycle she wasn't sure she could break. Brooke kept insisting she needed to just move in with her, but Addy was stubborn. She could figure it out. However, It had only taken a few nights under the Westend bridge to break her pride and she started moving from couch to couch. Not wanting to be a burden to her friends and acquaintances for longer than a couple of nights at a time. When Jax came back, she had done her best to hide it, but everyone knew.

Addy knew he had gotten her apartment back for her. He had made a lot of effort to make it look like that wasn't the case, and so she pretended not to know. She was exhausted but she didn't want to test her bullheadedness, if she confronted him about her home it was possible she would talk her way out of one.

She wasn't totally comfortable taking a job that she owed to Jax, she liked to stand on her own merit. However, Dade had convinced her that no matter how good of friends he was with Jax, business was business and he wouldn't put anyone on the payroll he didn't think would be the right fit. It was reassuring and she had come to know the 'mysterious' Quartermaster well enough to believe him.

Overall she knew how lucky she was, if she didn't have the support network she did, the connections, she wouldn't have been able to escape homelessness. Never a day went by when she wasn't grateful for her turn of luck and heartbroken for those less fortunate. She donated to the local shelter, she couldn't volunteer without becoming emotionally unstable for days, but she always hoped that her check made some kind of difference to someone.

Addy took Gemma back from Brooke, helping the little girl wave goodbye before stepping up to the entrance and scanning her wrist. Her identification chip interacted with the scanner, checking it against the schedule. A yellow light blinked indicating it needed additional information, so Addy helped Gemma scan her own wrist. The appointment had been for both of them so she didn't anticipate a problem but it was still uncomfortable watching the amber light blink over and over again as the computer thought.

Eventually, the light turned green and the door opened, admitting them into the preflight area. A young man in his 20's was reading something on a computer screen as they walked in and he looked up.