Inamorato

by Keira Michelle Telford

  Logging into his personal computer in his home office, Maydevine loads up the tag network. He searches for ‘Ella Cross’, and the network performs an instant GPS trace.

  Ping!

  She’s safe in the Sentinel District, but she’s not alone.

  Another GPS registered tag is with her.

  Alexander King.

  “King,” Maydevine mutters under his breath. “What the fuck are you doing with my daughter?”

  *************************

  Not too far away from home, Ella and Alex are sitting at a picnic table in a small park.

  Each of them has a cigarette, a muffin, and a cup of coffee, and both are in uniform. Over her Kevlar vest, where it identifies her as a Cadet, Ella has stuck a ‘Hello, my name is …’ sticker. In the name space, she’s written ‘superstar’.

  Thus, her Kevlar vest reads:

  Hunter Division Superstar

  Cross, Ella

  She picks at the last remnants of a recently devoured muffin and suppresses a shiver. On the other side of the park, the warm glow of an all-night diner is inviting.

  “Did we really have to do this al fresco?”

  Alex looks up from his muffin and casts his eyes over her. He takes in every detail, from the rigidness of her posture to the goose bumps that keep appearing along the soft skin of her exposed neck.

  “Cold?” he asks.

  “My nipples could cut glass right now.”

  That’s a mental image he could do without.

  “We could go inside the diner,” he suggests, “but then we’d have to sit at different tables and that might make conversation a little bit difficult.”

  “You’re paranoid.”

  “Am I? Do you know what would happen to me if anyone were to report me to your father?”

  Ella shakes her head, sucking on her cigarette.

  “I could lose my job,” he informs her. “And much more besides.”

  She watches his eyes dart furtively around the park, making sure nobody’s spotted them together.

  “Then why did you text me tonight? What’s so important that it’s worth risking your career for?”

  Alex rummages around inside his backpack. “Call me an idiot, but I wanted to give you something.” He pulls out another portable music player and passes it to her across the table. “I loaded it with a bunch of different stuff I thought you might like.”

  “You’re giving me this? Like, I get to keep it?”

  “That’s how a gift usually works, yes.”

  “Not so long ago, you didn’t even want to be on first name terms with me. Now we’re having an illicit meeting in the middle of the night and exchanging gifts. Have you started taking crazy pills?”

  “Look, I’ve already accepted the fact that you’re going to get me into a lot of trouble. So don’t make me second guess myself, okay? There’s a line I just can’t cross with you, and I’m flying perilously close to it right now.”

  As a heavy silence threatens to descend, Ella catches sight of something else sticking out of his backpack: a rolled up tube of paper.

  “What’s the deal with that?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just a silly hobby.”

  He tries to cover it up, but it’s too late—Ella’s already made a grab for it.

  It’s an Old World comic book.

  She scrunches up her face. “What the hell is this?”

  Alex snatches it back from her. “It’s a boy thing.”

  “I thought porn was a boy thing.”

  “This is better than porn.”

  “It looks like a cartoon.”

  “It is a cartoon … sort of.”

  “You collect them?”

  “Yes, it’s nerdy, I know.”

  Ella disregards that. “I collect weapons. That’s kind of weird, too.”

  “At least weapons are useful.”

  “Not usually. Not mine anyway. Most of them never work again, I just like putting the pieces back together. It’s kind of like a jigsaw puzzle.”

  “I can appreciate that. I invent things.”

  “Really?”

  Alex nods. “I build things all the time. I take stuff I find in the Out District and repair it. I’ll take a piece of something I find out there, figure out how it works and how to replicate it, and then I’ll use the technology to build something with it. Something old, something new—it doesn’t matter.”

  “That’s neat. I can’t even put up a shelf properly.”

  Watching her take a drag from her cigarette, Alex notices the dry blood beneath her nails.

  “How many did you get today?”

  “Eleven.” She looks down at his hands and sees the same staining. “You?”

  “Eight.”

  She breaks into a grin. “Haha! I win.”

  “That’s so unfair.”

  “Don’t be a sore loser.”

  “Every two of yours should be equal to every one of mine.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I caught mine from scratch and you were handed yours.”

  Ella sticks her tongue out at him.

  “Speaking of hands …” Alex glances down at her bandaged hand. “How’s that working out for you?”

  Ella flexes it. “It hurts.”

  “Let me see.”

  She holds her hand out across the table and lets Alex unwrap the bandage, revealing bright pink skin around a wound that’s completely failing to heal. Were it not for the stitches holding everything together, her injury would be a gaping valley running straight through her palm.

  “Fuck.” Alex pokes at it. “I think it’s infected.”

  Holding her hand, he clamps his cigarette between his lips and places his thumbs on either side of the wound, applying gentle pressure to it.

  Ella winces and suppresses a squeal, biting on her tongue to hold it back.

  “You’re a monster,” she whines quietly.

  “Aww, come on. You like it.”

  She grimaces at the sight of her own damaged flesh. “What’s the diagnosis?”

  Using his thumbs to massage each side of the wound, Alex coaxes puss to the surface and it oozes out between the stitches, mingled with blood.

  “Infected.” He smothers the butt of his cigarette against the tabletop. “I need to get you back to the hospital.”

  “Can’t it wait until morning?”

  He gets up, urging her to follow him.

  “Not unless you’re booking yourself in for an amputation.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Those Bitches

  Ella watches with morbid fascination as a nurse cuts her stitches open and releases the infection. Even Alex is repulsed.

  “Christ, that’s nasty.”

  Ella tries to ignore a wave of nausea as the nurse irrigates the wound and dislodges some pale white goop that’s the consistency of cottage cheese.

  “I guess I won’t be giving any hand-jobs for a while.”

  Alex does his best to ignore that. “You’ll have one heck of a scar.”

  “It’ll make me look cool.”

  “Some guys like scars.”

  “Only guys in the Hunter Division, and they’ll all be off limits when I make Commander.” She looks up at him. “And that’s the real cruelty of it, don’t you think? ‘Cause no other kind of guy wants to date a female Hunter.”

  “Says who?”

  “Every female Hunter who’s ever lived. Where’ve you been? There’s a reason why no female Hunter has ever made it to the rank of Commander, and it’s not lack of talent—it’s loneliness.”

  “I think you might be exaggerating.”

  “Really? Commanders are forbidden to engage in personal relationships with other Hunters. That’s no big deal for a guy, though. A male Hunter can get any girl he wants outside the Division. Especially a Commander. Fuck, all you’d have to do is smile at a girl and she’d be falling all over you like a Fringer on a hot meal.”

  “Even if that is the ca
se, a male Commander could just as easily fall for one of the other Hunters under him. The heart wants what it wants, and there’s no denying that. He could find himself in exactly the same position as you, and it wouldn’t matter that he had the whole city to pick from. He could have the whole damn world, and he might still be crazy about the same girl.”

  That doesn’t make Ella feel any better. “It happens. Of course it does. Military law doesn’t mean a damn thing when it comes to matters of the heart. You know what the real problem is? When it gets serious, the bitches all have to throw in the towel ‘cause the blokes have too much pride to let their women kill for a living while they sit at home reading the paper.”

  “And let me guess: you’re not one of those bitches?”

  “What do you think? I won’t be the first female Hunter to be offered the Commander position, but I will be the first female Hunter to accept it.”

  “At the expense of your own personal happiness?”

  “When the time comes to make a choice—if it ever does—I won’t resign. And what man in his right mind would give up everything just to be with a girl like me?”

  Alex meets the challenge of her gaze. “You might be surprised.”

  Silence.

  “All done.” The nurse pulls off her gloves. “You can collect your antibiotic prescription at the pharmacy on your way out.”

  *************************

  Alex pulls his car up outside his apartment building, preferring Ella to walk the last two blocks rather than to risk being caught at her residence by Maydevine.

  “Remember to take the antibiotics,” he mothers her as they get out of the car. “Every day, and at the same time.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Don’t make me quit my job to follow you around and make sure you do as you’re told.”

  “My papa would love that.” She laughs. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing he’s ever seen on a letter of resignation, though.”

  “I got promoted ‘cause a guy left the Division to pursue his lifelong passion for nude photography.”

  “My case in point.” Ella smirks, checking her invisible watch.

  “You have to go?”

  As soon as the question leaves his lips, Alex realizes he shouldn’t have asked. Of course she has to go. She shouldn’t even be here in the first place.

  “I should.” Ella hesitates. “I’m trying to keep out of trouble these days.”

  “It’s about time.” He nudges her playfully. “Especially after what happened in the Belt. Are they any closer to resolving that?”

  “Every Cadet known to frequent the Belt is on the suspect list, but nobody’s talking. Tomorrow’s classes have been suspended, pending Police Division interviews of everyone on the list. They’re going to keep digging until they hit something that looks like the truth.”

  “You’re on the list, I’m guessing?”

  “I’m at the fucking top. Right next to Tipper Jynx, her boyfriend, and Jax Pryor.”

  Alex lights up a cigarette. “Jax Pryor … was she the girl you humiliated the other night?”

  “How did you—?” Ella recalls their conversation on the Belt bridge. “There really was a video? That’s why you were arguing with Tipper. That bitch taped the whole thing,” she processes the facts aloud.

  “Is Pryor the girl with the limp?” Alex persists. “The one who slaughtered all those Chimera during fieldwork and set you up to take the fall for it?”

  “Yeah. Why? You think she could’ve been the one who let the Chimera loose?”

  “It’s obviously in her nature.”

  Ella shakes her head, dismissing the notion. “She wouldn’t dare try to set me up again. I think she learnt a valuable lesson when I saved her life.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Silence.

  Ella tries to find an excuse to stay a few moments longer. “Oh, hey, before I forget, what do I owe you for the diner?”

  “For coffee and a muffin? It’s okay, I think I can handle it. You’re quite the cheap date.”

  Ella’s stomach feels all fluttery; he sort of called it a date.

  “Should I have ordered the lobster instead?”

  “You don’t even know what a lobster is.”

  “I’ll bet it tastes delicious.”

  “Maybe next time.”

  Next time?

  Self-conscious that her cheeks might give her away, Ella breaks eye contact and stares at the ground. “Since you’ll be out in the field tomorrow, while I’m sat in the Academy Director’s office, getting a verbal spanking from the Commissioner, will you do me a favor?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Kill one for me.”

  “Only one? Don’t you think you’re setting the bar a little too low?”

  “Surprise me, then.”

  She winks and turns to leave, but Alex has other ideas.

  “Hey, wait.” He grabs her by the arm and pulls her back. “I don’t want you to worry. It’ll all work out.”

  She thinks he’s talking about the Belt fiasco.

  “I know. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “No, not that. I mean about the other thing. You’re going to be an amazing Hunter, and any man who doesn’t recognize the good you can do, doesn’t deserve to have you.”

  The sentiment makes Ella’s heart skip. “You mean that?”

  “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.”

  As she looks up into his soft brown eyes, she lets her emotions completely take control of her brain. Standing on tiptoe, she leans toward him and wraps her arms around his neck.

  Instead of rebuffing her, as he undoubtedly should, he instinctively reciprocates. He slips his hands around her waist and holds her, enjoying the feeling of having her body pressed against his.

  She makes a soft, quiet murmur at the sensation of his hand stroking her back, and she wraps her arms tighter around him.

  “Where’s that pesky little line now?” she whispers in his ear.

  Alex nuzzles his cheek against the side of her head. “It’s so far behind me, it’s not even funny.”

  “Well, you know what they say: out of sight, out of mind.”

  “If only it were that simple.” He takes her by the shoulders and frees himself from her embrace. “The further I step over the line, the worse the consequences could be for both of us.”

  “There’s that paranoia again.”

  “It’s not paranoia, Ella. It’s the desperate call of my sanity, trying to stop me from making a complete ass of myself.”

  “You’re no fun,” she pouts.

  “Goodnight,” he insists, stepping away from her. “I’ll see you at the Founders Day party on the weekend, won’t I?”

  He sounds hopeful. He tried to hide it, but it didn’t work.

  Ella nods. “My papa’s forcing me to go.”

  “You don’t want to?”

  “Do I really seem like the type?”

  “I suppose not. Do you even own a cocktail dress?”

  “As if.” Ella pulls a face. “The most feminine thing I own is a box of tampons. I don’t fit in at those parties, and I won’t know anyone there.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Ella rolls her eyes. “Some good that’ll do me. You’re gonna look the other way and pretend we’ve never met, while I suffer a slow and painful death, listening to old people exchange war stories.”

  “I won’t ignore you, I promise.”

  “If you say so. I’ll be easy to find. I’ll be the girl sitting at the bar, contemplating mass murder.”

  With another wink, she disappears into the night. Upon slipping back through the window into her bedroom, she notices something out of place and flicks on the bedside lamp to investigate.

  It’s her internship application.

  On her pillow.

  Signed by her papa.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Hearsay

  Forced to wait in the Academy library until th
e Police Division interviews commence, Ella and a small group of her peers fidget impatiently and urge time forward.

  The air is thick with an every-man-for-himself attitude, and something is about to crack. Since the closure of the Belt, the pressure among the Cadets has been rapidly escalating. With classes suspended and talk of expulsion for the culprit, the innocent are pushing for a confession and the suspects are all eager to shift the blame.

  So much for camaraderie.

  Kill, or be killed.

  In the center of the library, there’s a larger-than-life bronze statue of a Chimera. A hunting knife is speared through its skull, and a nameless Hunter is standing over it. He’s proud and victorious, his foot planted firmly on the back of the beast. Beneath the statue, the Hunter Division directive is engraved: Destroy. Reclaim. Rebuild. Control.

  Ella climbs onto the Chimera’s shoulders, her rump resting against the Hunter’s leg. Leaning forward, she rests her chin over the hilt of the knife and sighs.

  At a desk on the other side of the room, another Cadet—Tipper’s boyfriend, Parker—chuckles to himself.

  “Hey, Prodigy,” he calls. “If you want to get something big between your legs, all you’ve gotta do is come over to my place tonight.”

  “Why?” Ella scowls at him. “Is your father lonely?”

  Pryor, cleaning her nails with a flick knife in the history section, giggles. “No wonder. I heard that fucking your mother is like shoving your dick into a jug of sour milk: frigid, sloppy, and well past its use-by date. I can smell her from here.”

  Parker leaps up from his chair, knocking it backwards onto the floor. “At least my mother’s not a banished whore.”

  Any hint of playfulness drops from Pryor’s face. She slams the blade of her knife into the nearest book and launches herself at him. Jumping off the seat of a chair onto a table, and from there onto his chest, she begins beating him about the head.

  Unfortunately, Parker’s much larger than she is, and easily flips her over onto the floor. It’s Pryor’s lucky day, though. Before Parker can reciprocate the assault, a knife is pressed against his throat.