Parker slammed her fist into the keyboard.
"Goddamn it Nova" She screamed into her mic, the sound echoing uselessly through the silence. "Jesus Christ, I'm sorry, turn your earpiece back on. Listen to me. Nova...?"
This was her fault. All her fault. Parker squeezed her eyes shut, a headache already pulsing against her temples. She should have just let Nova go, let Nova go and wreck herself if that's what she really wanted to do. Nova never listen anyway. She might say it was about the thousands of people suffering in the Outer City, about the sick and dying, about the starving, about the broken families, but it wasn't. It never had been. It was about Nova, and her endless quest of glory and recognition. Just another part of Nova that people would never understand.
But it didn't matter.
Parker couldn't let go. Couldn't imagine a world were the biting flame of Nova's spirit had been put out. Couldn't imagine a world were Nova took her last breath without Parker by her side.
So Parker took a breath and opened her eyes. Her hands fell back to the keyboard, already sending a string of orders and institutions to Mace.
"Open a comm channel to Huntsman." She hissed at her computer as she finally sent the last comm.
A bland robotic voice answered back. "Comm channel now open between Huntsman and Recluse."
"Huntsman, any sign of the heir?"
A muffled sound of annoyance. "None. I'm still waiting."
"He's not coming Finn. Get out of there before The Baine find you."
"Christ, Parker, you didn't want to tell me this before?"
Parker ignored him. "And get Rose out of there too, head back to the base. Prepare for a total shutdown."
Finn whistled, low. "Things went that bad? How's my little Nova handling things?"
"She's not yours." Parker bit back before she could stop herself.
"Jesus, Park, I'm joking." Finn paused. "I'm packing up now, I'll send a comm to Rose."
"Right." Parker gulped. "I'm sending Mace in after her."
Finn snorted. "You're joking right?"
Parker grit her teeth, "Do I sound like I'm joking?"
"Based on the fact that we agreed there would be no extraction team, I'd say yes." Finn's voice was as light as ever but Parker could tell he was tense.
"This is Nova weren't talking about, dammit Finn." Parker was already shifting her eyes back to her screen, data flowing past her.
"And...?" Finn's voice was broken through the sudden crackling of Parker's earpiece. "We agreed one person wasn't worth risking the whole team."
"I'm only risking Mace. He can handle it." Parker tapped at the keyboard, looking for a crack in the security system. There had to be something.
"Did you ask Mace if he was willing to throw his life away on a suicide mission?" Parker could hear Finn collapsing his rifle stand and put away his weapons.
"Stop acting like you wouldn't do the same if it were Rose on the other side. Jesus Christ Finn, you don't have to act like you don't care about anyone." The words came out harsher than she'd intended, Parker reeled back, instantly regretting what she'd said.
"Of course I'd go after Rose, but I wouldn't send someone else to save my own girl." Finn's tone was as leashed as ever. None of the anger and fear that had to be somewhere beneath the surface. "Maybe you are the one who should stop chasing someone who clearly isn't interested anymore."
YOU ARE READING
The Assassin and the Crown of Stars
Fantasía"There had been a time, long ago, long before even Nova was alive, when not everything was made from rusted metal and broken scraps. When there were creatures besides humans and the sky had been blue and visible through the clouds of smoke. When the...
