by K. C. Finn
“So you’re going to let me go? Scott free?”
It’s as though he can’t believe the words that are coming out of either of their mouths.
“There are only two conditions,” Cae continues, “One is that you never come back to Dartley again. The other is that you start fresh and get out of crime for good.”
Redd nods slowly, gripping the barrier before him, inhaling the breeze again deeply. He takes in the stars one last time.
“I reckon I can manage that,” he replies.
Without warning, the conman steps up and wraps his arms around Cae’s chest. The detective isn’t the slightest bit prepared for the contact, his bare hands unsure of where to go on Redd’s back to complete the hug. Before he can really settle them the embrace is over. Redd Richmond holds Cae’s head for one moment, ruffling his hair, then lets go and shakes his head.
“You’re a soft touch Rex,” he quips.
“I won’t be if I ever have to track you down again,” Cae says, “I promise you that.”
The conman walks away laughing, startled a little when the door to the interior of the ship swings open. Kendra limps out on a crutch, eyeballing Redd as he slips away back downstairs. Cae helps her over to the vantage point and she stands where Redd has just been, looking up at the stars in the exact same way.
“Did you let him go?”
“I did.”
“You’re such an idiot.”
Cae chuckles. “Guilty as charged.”
The ex-sergeant slowly wraps her arm around Cae’s waist, pulling him close and resting her head on his shoulder. For the first time, the back of his hand touches her plaited hair as he places his arm behind her neck.
“You’ll never guess what news just came through downstairs,” she begins.
“We get news out here?” Cae asks, “In the middle of nowhere?”
“Oh wait for it, it gets better,” Kendra continues, “There’s been a massive riot in the Northern Citadel. The whole zone is up in arms. Looting in the streets, fires, explosions.”
“Home sweet home,” Cae sighs, “There really is no rest for the wicked.”
Kendra squeezes him a little tighter.
“We don’t have to go back to Dartley,” she suggests, “if you want a quiet life, we could just…I don’t know. Go someplace else when we get off this boat.”
“You, me and the professor?” Cae inquires with a grin.
“It was an idea,” Kendra says, play-punching him a little too hard in the side, “I didn’t say it was a good idea.”
Cae chews his lip for a moment, then shakes his head.
“I can’t leave Dartley in flames,” he admits.
“I know that,” Kendra replies, but she doesn’t sound regretful in the least. “We’d better get inside. Everything’s going to change soon.”
“You know what they say,” Cae quips brightly, “A change is as good as a rest.”
Kendra just grins, shaking her head as she walks away. Cae looks past her into the airspace beyond the boat, the direction of home. Dark wisps of smog gather in the distance, the toxic fumes waiting nearby to reclaim the night. The detective smiles in the starlight all the same.