Favourite Crime

Cada

"You're sending me away?" I asked Haoun.

"The safest option for you right now is to lie low at a house safe from sudden checks for runaways." He said.

"I don't care. I can protect myself. I can hide if someone comes. I want to stay here." I said.

"You prefer a couch in a small room that you have to share with me most of the time over a manor?"

"I feel safer here."

"And I'd feel better if I knew you were at that place instead of here where anyone can find you. I don't want to lose yet another recruit. It's terribly inconvenient."

I scowled at that. "How do you even know those people are trustworthy?"

"They used to work for me."

"Is one of them trained by you?"

"Yes."

"I thought you said none of them work with you anymore?"

"The occasional favour doesn't count." He looked up from his desk. "You should be happy you're getting out of this place."

He wasn't going to change his mind. I knew that.

So I went.

Herou and Imish were welcoming people. They set me up in a room. I had good food, good clothes, my own space.

I never was a grateful person, though.

"If you need anything, let us know." Imish said. She was blind in one eye and much taller than me. Her red hair was cut short and she was the one Haoun had trained in thievery and beating people up. "Knowing Haoun, you've probably had a rocky several nights."

I had, but not because of Haoun. I wasn't going to ask just yet, however.

She left me and I waited until I heard their door close.

Then I climbed out the window.

It took me a moment to find a part of the boundary wall obscure from view of the multiple guards, but eventually I was able to get past.

I went to the docks. I avoided the crowd and simply walked along the bank close to the docks, looking at the ships. Knowing how advanced Jorebia was, the ship would stand out. And it did. I found a ship of expensive but light metal, taller and more finely shaped than the others.

I saw people in traditional Jorebian fashion of thick belts and elaborate eye makeup walking down the docks and I tried to make out their ranks from the badges they wore.

They were physicists. They had nothing to do with me, but someone on that ship did.

"Planning a return trip in a cage?"

I pulled out my gun and pointed it to the man standing behind me.

Haoun didn't even flinch. "You shouldn’t be here."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, ignoring him.

"The same thing you are." He nodded in the ships' direction. "Scouting."

"Don't you have lackeys for that?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at the manor?"

"Turns out I'm not good at following rules."

"Go back, Shade."

I stared at him. "You are here for me, aren't you? You knew I'd come here."

"I have better things to do than follow you around." He stared back.

"Where do you sleep, Haoun?"

"Why are you concerned about my sleeping arrangements?"

"You spend random shattered hours of your day at your office." I said. "You're out doing things a lot of the time. I've never seen you pack up and leave the office. You were with me most nights." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had no one expecting you at home but... do you even have a home?"

He was quiet. Staring at me.

"Is your office where you live?"

"I don't see the point of a separate space."

"That's a yes." I took a step back. "Do you ever sleep?"

"I sleep enough." He scowled.

"Where? I've seen you sleep only a numbered amount of times, Haoun." I said. "Did you-"

"That's enough for today, Shade." He said, looking away. "You will come with me now."

The look on his face suggested I needed to stop pestering him.

I'm not good at doing what I'm supposed to.

"Did you not sleep there because I was there?" I asked.

"I slept on the roof." He turned to me again. "Whenever I had enough of the alcohol that I had no choice but to sleep, I went to the roof. I don't sleep in front of other people."

I paused. "Right. I remember. You don't trust anyone."