Everybody Wants to Rule the World

55

Trigger Warning(s): gun violence (it's a classic car chase action scene, nothing too trigger-heavy)

Mission: Impossible Fallout Soundtrack Suite by Lorne Balfe

~ Emira's Point of View ~

5:41 PM, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2028. NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS, USA.

My mom was the first to greet Arlie when Thao opened the door.

"Hi, Charlisa! Happy Thanksgiving!"

Arlie smiled. No one else but me would be able to tell it wasn't genuine. "Happy Thanksgiving, Mrs. Nguyen!"

"How have you been?"

Before Arlie could respond, I shrieked her name. Then, I remembered that I had to pretend we kept in touch, so I forced a small smile and hugged her. "Is... is everything good now?" I tried to keep my question as vague as possible, but I struggled to contain my excitement.

She said we would reunite when everything was resolved, and here she was, dressed in her typical gaudy clothing. But there was a sorrowful glimmer in her eyes – either the victory had come at a great cost, or she was here for another reason. And when she just continued smiling and replied, "Nah," my heart sank to the floor. "Can I talk to you?"

"Um, yeah. We could... take a walk?" It wasn't the best option, but if we talked in my room, my family would crowd around the door and eavesdrop.

"Sure." She addressed my family with another almost-convincing grin. "Sorry to steal Mirie from you. There's just... a lot going on in my life."

Judging by my parents' drawn out, sympathetic, "Ohhh," they assumed it had something to do with the rocky relationships within Arlie's family. It was that misunderstanding that propelled me out the door, clutching Arlie's arm.

"What's going on? Is everything okay? Arlie, you have no idea how worried I've be–"

She shushed me. "We can't actually take a walk. You're going to need to hold back your questions until we get to a secure location." Leaving me behind, she strode to her black vehicle and opened the passenger seat.

"Oh... isn't that going to make my parents suspicious?"

"They're at the window. It'll seem more suspicious if you don't come with me. Here, hug me. Look sorry for me."

It wasn't difficult to comply. I had missed her so much that only my confusion prevented me from crying. And I couldn't deny that it felt like heaven to know she was with me again.

Once I was safely in the passenger seat, she climbed into the drivers' seat and tossed me her phone. "Hold that. Let me know if Zavis or Jack texts me."

"Not Aaliya?"

"She's been weird."

"...okay." After several moments of driving with tense silence, during which Arlie seemed to look through the rearview mirror more than her windshield, I couldn't help asking, "How long until we get to this secure location?"

"I have a safehouse here – it's by Gruene, so about fifteen minutes."

"The situation's that bad, then? That we need a safe house?"

She sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I'm going to be honest with you... I don't know that it could be any worse."

"Oh." I exhaled shakily. "And we can't talk in here?"