Madly

Chapter 8

Max

Whilst France was attending to the hacker's wounds I listened to the station's radio which told me that the area we had came was off limits due to the amount of gang violence. I flipped one of the datacards in my fingers as I listened and watched the stars begin to come out from behind the horizon. I kicked my feet up across the controls desk and leaned back in my chair.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" a voice beside me said.

"No it feels cold." I replied instinctively. "Cold and dead."

I turned and Erina sat in the chair next to me.

"Care to elaborate."

"Most of the stars we see have had their light distinguished long ago. It just takes it so long to reach us... I'm sorry." I brushed my hair back and looked back to her. "Are you feeling better... Erina was it?"

"Yeah Erina." She said slowly. "I'm feeling much better. Your girlfriend could get a good job here as a doctor."

"Girlfriend? Oh she isn't my girlfriend, just friend."

"Oh I'm sorry I assumed..." She blushed in embarrassment and turned away "I feel stupid. I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's cool." I told her positively."I'm actually am a lesbian so you didn't offend me."

She smiled and laughed nervously "Good. Err thanks for, for having my back back there."

"It's nothing really." I shrugged and maybe tried to sound cool and relaxed. "You look like shit."

I took a sip from my bottle and then offered it to her; she accepted it, nodded and took a long drink from it. She sighed deeply and then offered it back.

"You need it." I told her waving my hand.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I can't decrypt them tonight." She said. "I live on the other side of here. Hopefully I can get to my place tomorrow. That's if I can-"

"I just heard on the radio that the whole area is on lockdown until the day after next." I told her. "I'm sorry."

"Shit! Great"

I wasn't worried about the datacards as I wasn't even aware if they indeed had any information on them that was useful to us. I wondered whether she would slip through the conflict zone or have to wait for two days or perhaps longer to return.

"Do you need a place to stay?"

"Vane's place is nearby, I think I'll be fine. Where is she anyway?"

"Outside smoking. She your girlfriend or bodyguard." I laughed.

"Just friend." She chuckled. "I have slept with her but that was one time. There is nothing romantic going on between use... well now anyway.."

"Ahh." There was a moment of silence in which I looked at her whilst trying not to signal to her that I was checking her out.

I found her very attractive, not as beautiful as France but close. She looked exhausted and battered, France had indeed done a good job at patching her up. Her split right eyebrow now contained stitches and was clean of blood, her cheek was bruised and her chin was covered in medical plasters.

"You got caught up in the fighting?" I asked.

"Against my will, I pray you understand." She explained sincerely. "I got in a fist fight, pushed off a building, shot at, as you have seen. Let me tell you it has been a long day. What I think is happening is that either side believes me to be on the other's side which I am not. Most here or rather any here against the state, the station governance, is in one or the other of the two gangs. So I can understand why... it is just... I'm just trying to live." She told me drinking her "You're new here right did you say that?"