Jia didn’t know if she agreed with the sentiment. Her current job defined her in many ways, and her desire to become a detective had influenced her teen and young adult years, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny that she wasn’t all that interested in the fine details of grav field emitters.
They were boring.
“She seems interested,” Bolin complained. He nodded toward Jia before turning to her. “Or did you want to talk about something else?”
Jia smiled softly and shrugged. She might as well see how he handled it. “Tonight’s about getting to know you guys, so I’d like you to talk about whatever you like.”
Halfway through their meal, all three men decided they needed to go to the restroom together. Jia was impressed. It was rare she saw men use the classic woman’s strategy.
Chinara cleared her throat as the men disappeared around the corner, heading toward the hallway containing the restrooms. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I like Conrad.”
Imogen nodded. “I could see myself going on another date with Michael.” She eyed the hallway the guys had just disappeared into. “He’s scrumptious.”
They both looked at Jia, hungry expressions on their faces.
She let out a quiet sigh and shrugged. “Bolin’s nice and handsome, but I’m just not feeling it.”
“Do what?” Imogen scoffed. “You’re not feeling it? This isn’t one of those rich jerks your sister or mom throws at you, and don’t pretend they don’t. We were there for you when what’s his name...”
“Terrence,” Chinara stuck in.
“Right, him.” She nodded to the men’s empty seats. “He’s really into you. I could tell.”
Chinara took a sip of her wine. “I agree. You could have something with him.”
Jia glanced toward the hall. The men remained absent.
“I’m just not sure.” She shook her head. “Like I said, I’m not feeling it.”
“Let me ask this in another way,” Imogen continued with a slight frown. “What do you want in a man? If you don’t like what you see in Bolin, then what do you like?”
Jia averted her eyes, not wanting to talk about her sudden interest in well-built men. “I’m not sure in general.”
Imogen rolled her head around on her neck before focusing on her friend. “Jia, how are you going to find someone if you don’t even know what you’re looking for?” She tapped the table in front of her. “That’s the point of dates. To figure out your preferences, and lady, you aren’t twelve. You’ve had a couple of dates before. This shouldn’t be rocket science.”
Chinara’s expression darkened with concern. “We’re not trying to pull a Mei here. We’re not saying you need to find some man to marry right away. You could choose to not marry any guy. It wouldn’t be a problem, but you’re going to waste your limited free time if you don’t figure out what you want.”
Jia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What did she want, other than a certain body type?
“I’m not sure, but I would imagine that we would share the same passions in life and the same life schedule. Bolin is already talking about the danger in my job and how that might affect my kids. I don’t want someone thinking instant family when I have a career I enjoy. I also don’t want someone who is too needy and can’t handle me not being at their side once I say ‘I do.’”
Chinara and Imogen narrowed their eyes at her before looking at each other and nodding slowly.
“You know what I believe?” Imogen asked. “I believe you’re overthinking this. You’re the one acting like any man you date will lead to marriage in three months. A decent job and a pair of tight buns are good enough.” She waved a hand negligently toward Jia. “Better than all your deep introspection and concern.”
Chinara took a sip of wine and put her glass down. “I wouldn’t have phrased it that way, but she’s not wrong. You need to allow yourself the chance to get to know someone before you dismiss them. You’re putting up too many constraints, and you might miss out on someone who’ll work for you.”
Jia frowned. “Maybe. I still don’t know.”
Chinara reached over and patted Jia’s hand. “No one’s saying you have to go out with Bolin again. We’re just saying we want you to be happy. We know work is important to you, but it’s not the only thing in life. Okay?”
“Fair enough.” Jia nodded toward the corner as the three men stepped around it. “But I’m not guaranteeing anything.”
“It’s fine,” Imogen replied. “We’ll handle our men, and you handle yours, but if you’re not interested in him, let him down gently.”
“Of course, I will,” Jia insisted.
“Real-person gently, not Jia-cop gently.” Imogen grinned. “Unless you intend to use handcuffs.”
Jia rolled her eyes.
Chapter Thirteen
Neo Southern California Metroplex, Police Enforcement Zone 122 Station, Office of Detectives Jia Lin and Erik Blackwell
Erik glanced between two screens.
One displayed a public report on average message transmission speeds by Hermes Corporation and the other concerned terrorist activity on different colonies. He was supposed to be finishing his report on the Shadow Zone chase, but a faint hope that he might find a pattern which suggested Hermes was indirectly involved in Mu Arae had set him on a different path.
Humanity’s continued ability to exist across dozens of light-years and scores of planets and moons impressed Erik as he sat in his office examining data windows.
Billions of peoples and millions of companies had moved from one planet to fill a whole section of space, and as additional worlds became more civilized, more people departed Earth for a new life on the frontier—some forced, others by choice.
The debilitating overpopulation fears of distant centuries might have never come to pass, but the thirst to explore the unknown and conquer new challenges continued to push people away from the homeworld.
Only the presence of the Local Neighborhood races threatened humanity’s continued expansion. The Zitark scare of a few years ago only confirmed trouble would come eventually. They might have escaped a conflict over Mu Arae, but something would happen eventually—a minor incident that would blow up into something more, then a true interstellar war would begin.
Could the aliens somehow be involved with what happened on Mu Arae? He reached up and scratched his head.
It didn’t make much sense, and approached the nonsensical conspiracy theories Garth believed—if that was even possible.
If the Zitarks had the ability to manipulate human factions, they would already be far more involved with humanity. Even races with distant contact with humanity, such as the Leems, displayed a poor understanding of the human species.
No. There was no plausible way his quest for vengeance would end with an alien race. That didn’t bother him. He’d spent his whole life fighting humans. He knew how to deal with them.
Jia smiled at Erik from behind her desk. “I told you about my weekend earlier, but you didn’t mention what you did before settling in with whatever it is you’re working on.”
“No, I didn’t, did I?” Erik closed the two windows with a quick swipe of his hand before he looked at her. “I didn’t go on any dates with engineers. I can admit that much.” He chuckled.
“I assumed as much.” Jia looked uncertain for a moment. “We talked about hobbies and that sort of thing in the past. Remember? You told me not to run myself into the ground, but you weren’t all that clear on how you weren’t running yourself into the ground. And…”
Erik raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“Sorry. It’s just something I thought about this weekend. Is it wrong to worry about my partner?” Jia shrugged. “You might have been born on Earth, but you haven’t lived here for longer than I have been alive. In a practical sense, you’re a new immigrant from the frontier. I get that it’s difficult to adjust to life on Earth, let alone in a city like Neo SoCal, so I worry. I don’t want you sitting at hom
e, being overwhelmed.”
“Overwhelmed?” Erik raised an eyebrow. “Do I seem like the kind of man who gets overwhelmed?”
She eyed him. “No, but you’re also the kind of man who would never admit it if you were overwhelmed.”
Erik nodded. “Okay, Mom. I’ll keep that in mind.” He cracked his knuckles before linking his fingers and stretching his arms above his head. “I’ll tell you one thing I’ve learned. Sitting behind a desk all day is going to kill me quicker than terrorists or gangsters.”
“What about your weekend?” Jia asked, her tone more insistent this time.
“I did some tactical training this weekend at that place I told you about. I could whine to Ragnar about using the police facilities, but using the private place means I can let Emma go to town with few complaints.”
Jia shook her head, her brow still creased with worry. “I get that you feel that kind of training is necessary, but it’s not the same thing as relaxing.”
“Nope. It isn’t.” He pointed at her. “But I’m still going to drag you there for training sooner or later. If we’re doing everything from chasing Tin Men in the Shadow Zone to fighting security bots, we need to make sure you’re ready for whatever happens.”
Jia frowned, folding her arms over her chest. “I thought I performed well. In fact, I think you said, ‘Good job.’”
Erik nodded. “I did, and I’m not saying you didn’t. You have good instincts and reacted quickly, and you did what you needed to do, even if Emma had to fly the mini-flitter you jumped on. In the end, the suspect was apprehended, and both victims came away with light scratches.” He touched his chest. “I’m just trying to do for you what the Army did for me—get you to the point where you don’t have to think, you just react.”
She gazed at him. “I don’t know if I should be happy or worried that you anticipate so many dangerous encounters that extra tactical training is necessary.” Leaning forward, she moved a holographic screen out of the way, her eyes narrowed. “I’m not interested in joining the TPST.”
He put up a hand. “I’m not either, but TPST can’t always get to us quickly. If we’re deep in a tower chasing suspects, even if TPST responds immediately, there are going to be minutes between them being called and their arrival, and as you’ve seen, a few minutes can be a big deal in a fight.” Erik leaned back in his chair. “Things will settle down eventually here, but the last couple of months have proven that’s not going to be anytime soon.”
Jia’s frown flipped into a sly smile, and she asked with a glint in her eye, “Wait, are you ignoring my question about what you’re doing to relax? If anything?”
Erik didn’t want to admit he had spent most of the weekend on Emma-curated background reading concerning several corporate- and UTC-led colonization efforts.
But he needed to give Jia something. The woman might as well have been a genetically engineered hunting dog. She couldn’t bring herself to give up an investigation, and she had caught the scent of something suspicious.
“Sphere ball,” Erik offered.
“’Sphere ball?’” Jia echoed, leaning back. “You like sphere ball?” She sounded surprised.
“I didn’t care much before, but since I’ve been back on Earth, I’ve been getting more into it,” Erik explained. “Especially in the last few weeks. It’s a good way to decompress, and I appreciate the team strategy involved.”
Sometimes he did need to shut his brain off and not worry about conspiracies. Professional sports might not be free of corruption, like all human activity, but he doubted Earth-based sphere ball franchises had anything to do with conspiracies on frontier colonies.
Jia’s mouth formed an O, then she smiled, a look of relief spreading. “Good. I’m not much into sports, but I’m glad to know you’ve found something to hold your interest that isn’t just running around shooting guns.”
The relieved expression changed, becoming playful. Erik’s jaw tightened. Something about a playful Jia worried him more than the obsessed-bloodhound-on-the-trail-of-a-lead version.
He knew how to handle the latter, not so much the former.
“What?” Erik let out, more a grunt than an intelligible question.
“I was thinking about your hair again,” Jia explained, her eyes focused on the top of his head.
“My hair?” Erik ran a hand through it. “What about it? It’s no different than the other day when you mentioned it. It doesn’t change that quickly.”
“No, it’s no different. That’s not what I’m saying.” Jia chuckled. “But it got me thinking about things to do with your time off that aren’t about sports or firing guns. Personal things.”
“Personal…things?” Erik nodded slowly, glancing at the door. Every instinct in him told him to run from the room. An ambush was coming. He could smell it, but he couldn’t figure out the incoming attack type.
Which meant he was about to get demolished.
“Since you’ve got a place, a new flitter, a nice new face, and halfway decent hair,” Jia offered quietly, “you should consider dating again.” She pointed a finger and waved it toward him. “That’s half the point of you doing all that stuff, right? I’m not saying you’re having a midlife crisis, but I understand you’re trying to start a new life, and that’s part of that. Especially since you received the de-aging treatment.”
“Dating?” Erik countered. She wasn’t completely wrong, even if she didn’t understand his motivation. Many of his recent purchases had been specifically chosen to give the impression of a man suffering from a midlife crisis rather than a vengeful soldier returning home for justice. “You think I should be dating?”
Jia’s smile fell, and uncertainty crossed her features. “I…think it’s worth considering. You spent a long time on the frontier. I probably don’t want to know about a lot of that and what it meant, but you’re on Earth now, and you have a stable job, even if it’s a difficult and occasionally dangerous one. I can understand how hard it must have been to try to start anything lasting with someone when you never knew what planet you were going to be on in six months.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, that’s true,” Erik replied, his tone guarded. “There were women here and there, but I spent a lot longer in the field than a lot of soldiers. I liked to be where the action was; even passed up promotions for it, and there were times I couldn’t tell someone I knew what system I was transferring to. It hurt my chances of anything lasting. And as an officer, my dating options were limited among the people I served alongside.”
A hint of regret crept into his voice.
He let out a little puff of air and pondered the situation. Dating wasn’t something he’d worried much about before since he’d been too busy protecting the UTC from terrorists and insurrectionists to care.
When he was a young man, he’d always assumed he would have plenty of time to find someone and settle down. Months became years and years became decades, and the idea receded in importance until he ended up over fifty and alone.
The truth was he was already married to the Army, and she was a jealous spouse.
He focused on her again. “Why are you asking? Do you have someone in mind?”
Jia’s eyes widened, and her breath caught. He could almost see the excitement spreading through her body. His stomach knotted. Oh God, he thought. I’ve made a mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake.
He’d had one chance to escape the ambush, and he had turned the wrong way.
“No, I don’t,” Jia replied, her voice tinged with eagerness. “But I know a lot of women, and they know a lot of women, and that’s a network that can’t be dismissed. I’ve never cared that much because I’m young and still in the early part of my career, but even if you’re a new detective, you’re a responsible man who has already seen the UTC. If you can afford an MX 60, I’m guessing thirty years of savings plus your military pension means you don’t want for credits.” She rubbed her chin and looked down at her desk, her face pinched in concentration.
“You’re definitely rough around the edges, and while that might not work for someone like me, plenty of women will find that appealing. My friend Imogen would, but she’s got a guy at the moment. Hmmm.”
Erik blinked. The conversation was supposed to be about weekend relaxation, not his partner throwing women at him.
Faint disappointment struck him. There was something about Jia, of all people, wanting to fix him up that bothered him, but he shoved the thought down as soon as it arose. She might be attractive and dedicated, but she was his partner. The NSCPD did not have the same rules as the Army, but some things still made sense. At least, that was what he told himself. He needed to concentrate on his job and avenging the Knights Errant.
Everything else could wait.
“We should get you back in the game right away,” Jia suggested. “I think that’s the best strategy in this situation.” She nodded, with a satisfied look.
His mouth asked a question without permission. “Why do you think that?”
“Because otherwise, it’ll be too easy for you to stay in your existing patterns,” Jia explained. “Trust me, I know all about that. I might not date as much as my friends, but I still go out on occasion, and I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes the best way to handle this sort of thing is just to dive right back in.”
“And what does that mean exactly?” Erik’s mouth was AWOL. “How am I supposed to ‘dive back in?’”
“By going on a date this week.” Jia tapped her PNIU. Her eyes scanned something projected on her smart lenses. “I’m sure I could get a date for you within a few days, if not twenty-four hours. That’s the power of a network.”
“Uh,” he mumbled, completely and utterly off-balance for the first time since returning to Earth. He needed to regain control of the conversation if he wanted to survive the ambush. “I can’t go on a date anytime soon.”
Jia narrowed her eyes, suspicion radiating off her. “Why not? It’s not like I’m going to set you up with some antisocial criminal.”
Shattered Truth Page 11