The Ark

41.

Overlays flooded my vision as I followed Delta back through the food market. My newly acquired Lens ran through its automatic set up, hitting me with a series of weather and location notifications. I blinked them off, nearly walking into the back of Delta as she stopped to sniff the garlic-laden air around a dumpling stall. Zaphron's hov-board was tucked easily under her arm.

I had to hand it to the girl, she was one hell of a negotiator. Even if her bargaining had involved a few threats to Ronnie's personal safety.

"How's your shoulder?" I asked, eyeing the robotic brace that covered her injured arm. Wires clawed out from the wrist cuff, snaking under the skin on the back of her hand. "Where'd you get the robo-support?"

"Axel," she said, giving a pan full of gyoza a longing look as she continued on. "Turns out that shot annihilated a bunch of my tendons and nerves, so it was either this, or an entire robotic prosthetic." She held her hand out in front of her, inspecting the wires buried under her skin. "I'm still getting used to it."

I swallowed, remembering how lifeless her entire arm had been when I had last said goodbye to her at Danse Macabre. She'd seemed so unfazed at the time that it hadn't really occurred to me just how permanent the damage could be.

"Looks cool," I offered, though not entirely convincingly.

She gave me a weak smile and took a deep breath through her nose. "Lucky the cyborg look suits me. Plus" —she flexed her arm like a bodybuilder— "robo strength."

I forced a chuckle and looked away, a puddle of guilt in my stomach.

Delta threw her good arm around my shoulders. "So... you gonna tell me what happened with Zaphron?"

Heat flooded my cheeks at her loaded tone. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said, releasing me with a playful shove, "the guy was supposed to bring you to meet me on the Japanese border—then suddenly he's MIA and I find you wandering around here trying to sell his stuff at a ridiculous discount." She waved the hov-board at me to emphasise her point.

"Oh." I half laughed, half exhaled and shook my head. "I stole his car and left him at the plantations. After everything I just— I wasn't sure I could trust him."

Delta threw her head back and laughed. "You left him stranded in what is probably the only remote part of the Ark?" She choked out a breath. "That's hilarious."

"It is?" I frowned. "But I thought you said he was bringing me to meet you? Wouldn't it have saved a whole lot of time if I'd just gone with him?"

"Of course, it would have." Delta grinned, continuing through the stalls. "But where's the fun in that? Plus, who knows if he was actually going to keep his word?" She glanced back and raised an eyebrow.

I tried to fall into step behind her as she wove through the crowd, but couldn't slip past people the way she seamlessly did. It felt like I bumped shoulders with everyone that passed. "So how did you find me?"