(GQ #13) Adventures in Spacepunk

11. Root Causes

A crosswalk light held Jun back from crossing the street. Neutral-toned, squat buildings and unlit neon signs gave them little to look at, and few pedestrians commuted this way during the day. The sky, cloudless as usual, hung above, not even a gust of wind to stir their bangs. Zero cars passed. It would take little to cut through this dead air.

Their tablet buzzing did just that. They unwrapped it, hoping to see a response from their runaway crewmate.

Instead it was Roxie. 'Did something happen back at the bar? You looked unhappy.'

How sweet of her to worry. It wasn't that deep, though. They put on an act of being annoyed with Aiden over the phone just in order to look less suspicious to Krow when they had to bail. Actually being annoyed made it all the easier.

Helping to hide Angelo? That, Jun understood. Letting an already missing boy roam free in an unknown city seemed reckless even for Aiden. They'd deal with him soon enough. For now, they reassured Roxie without bogging her down in specifics.

By the time they crossed the street, someone else headed their way. Not only did his bright red hair and vest ruffles make him stand out; he looked to be around Angelo's age, much younger than the few others hanging around. Nova's words came to mind.

"Last I saw him, some little redheaded boy was helpin' him walk."

"Excuse me." To Jun's surprise, he showed his phone to them before they got the chance to ask him anything. An even younger freckled redhead was pictured inside. "Have you seen this boy?"

"No, but," Jun realized the 'little' might've been more literal than they thought, "he does sound like a kid who was last seen with who I'm looking for. Have you seen someone this tall," they lowered their hand to Angelo's height, "with thick glasses, suspenders, and a bulls-eye shirt?"

"Do his eyes carry a deep sadness?"

The question knocked them back. "That's weirdly accurate, yeah."

"Whatever he's going through seems intense." The boy stroked his ruffles. Closer up, Jun saw that they were tissues. "I hope he knows the inherent value he has."

"Hmm. I'll see if I can let him know when I find him. So, like, where did you last see him?"

"After I asked him about my brother, he turned onto Apennine Boulevard." He motioned to where he'd come from. "That was about an hour or two ago." His mood died. "Even if he found him, I don't know if he has the self-confidence to guide him back."

"Actually, the person who saw them together said the kid who might be your brother was helping my guy walk after he busted his ankle. They planned on coming up this way, according to her." Jun thought about the timeframe of Nova having seen them. It had to have been before her interview. "If I have my timing correctly, she saw them not too long after you guys talked."

The boy's eyebrows scrunched up for a moment, then his eyes softened in heartfelt joy. "That's great."

"Sure? I mean, the bad ankle narrows down our search area. They'd be easy to spot if they were here." Jun looked around the ghost town of a district. "So if I had to guess, they're probably still on Apennine."

"That's even better! Through Elliot's help, they can both feel seen, valued, and cared about." This kid functioned on a wavelength Jun did not fully understand. "I hope you don't mind, but can I join you on the way back to Apennine Boulevard?"

Jun shrugged. "Sure, you can walk with me for now, but like, I gotta take a detour to talk to a friend. It's probably better if you go ahead."

He gently took their hand with an intense stare. "I can always make time for you."