Round Trip Fare

by Barb Taub

  She moved across to sit on the bench next to him and waited for him to continue.

  “He asked me if it was about revenge. I said yes. Not so much for my brother, because he was a soldier and he knew what he was getting himself in for. But I kept seeing that little girl slide off that stake. And then I’d work harder. And then Jeffers would push me even more. He used to say, ‘How long you live doesn’t matter.’”

  Her voice joined his. “It’s what you live for that counts.”

  “When the Accords were signed, my father asked me to come back to Null City so we could be a family again. I didn’t want to tell him the truth—that the real war was just beginning. So I said I couldn’t come yet, but I’d be there when my training was finished. I never went back.”

  She didn’t offer any words of sympathy but raised her free hand to rest on his cheek.

  His hand came up to cover hers but he still stared at the window. “My life was the hunt. I didn’t want to pay for a dream with the death of a lover, so I stayed alone. It was safer.” He turned his head slightly to press his mouth against her hand. “I had a dream about an Outsider who was going to kill Kurt Jeffers. In the dream he was arguing with another guy. I never saw the other man’s face, but I heard him say, ‘Connor Parker, you know this is everything we’ve been working for. We have to move now.’ So I talked to Director Jeffers, and he knew who Connor Parker was, or at least who he used to be. He told me there was no way you were involved, but I moved into Jeffers’ safe house anyway, and I’ve been watching you for the past two months.”

  Her hand under his, still cupping his cheek, tensed. His eyes turned to meet hers.

  “The death payment with that warning was Simon Calder and his baby daughter. I still don’t know what the murder attempt is, unless it was Eversley. But just last week I dreamed you going up to a car that exploded. It took me a while to put it together because I thought it was going to be the bomb in the floor under the Lamborghini. But the next day after that dream, I heard from the Anchor at Null City that my father stepped off the top of a building. I guess he got tired of waiting for me to come home.”

  He turned his head back to the window. But as her hand dropped from his face, she turned it to grip his free hand again. They sat silently, hands clasped, listening to the sound of the train wheels.

  »»•««

  “Watcher Court next stop.” The bells-voice announcement sounded like the ticket machine Conductor. “Please remember to remove all personal belongings when you leave the train, and thank you for riding the Metro.”

  Watcher Court Station was serene, elegant, and deserted. Pale marble columns disappeared into the gray expanse that could have been roof or sky above their heads. Carey and Yosh helped Jeffers to a bench under a large platform divider.

  “The signs are in English?” Carey stared at the spare, graceful letters carved into a marble slab spelling Watcher Court Metro Station.

  “No, they’re in whatever language the reader speaks.” Yosh sounded amused. “It can cause problems for people who are completely bilingual.”

  “What now?” Carey wondered. The Director’s eyes were closed, and his cheekbones jutted from his too-pale face. She exchanged a worried look with Yosh.

  “Now we wait.” Jeffers’ voice was quiet, but steady enough. “Humans can’t enter either of the Courts, Watcher or Fallen. I was going to leave you both at the station and see if I could find Harry.” His chuckle sounded like a gasp. “Under the circumstances, I think it makes sense to wait here for Harry’s message to find us.”

  What’s going on here? First Director Jeffers doesn’t have a Gift he could use to pay for a Metro ticket, and now he isn’t even human? With Bain padding at her heels, she worried and picked away at the question, pacing the length of the gray marble platform and back. There were a number of things that scared her, but offhand she could only think of one of them that would stop her from asking questions. That one’s name was Director, and no way in hell—or Watcher’s Court—was she going to ask him what he was. Going without connections really sucked.

  Finally she stood in front of the two men on the bench. “We can’t just sit here. This is crazy.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “Harry!” Hearing Harry’s beloved voice saying his favorite phrase, she whirled and leaped for him, crying and laughing. The arms that for years had been her shelter and her security closed around her. She wrapped her own around him as tightly as she could squeeze.

  “Ooof!” He pulled back slightly. “Look at you—all grown up. And even more beautiful than I ever imagined.”

  She ran greedy eyes over every inch of his face, reaching to touch the golden hair before sliding her hands back down his arms. His hair was tied back as she remembered, the eyes that could be so remote toward others lit with humor and affection for her, but the clothes… She blinked. “A robe, Harry?” He laughed as he pulled the loose white garment over his head, revealing boots, jeans, and a T-shirt with the kaleidoscope logo from his old band. Harry was back.

  She nodded approval. “Harry, I have so much to tell you…so many questions…but I can’t think of any of them.” Staring in wonder at his eyes, she touched a finger to the wet tracks on his cheeks. “Harry?”

  He wrapped arms around her again, and she had no idea how long they stood that way. Finally Bain nudged her leg. She stepped back with a shaky laugh. “I’m not here alone.”

  Harry held out a hand to Director Jeffers. “Sir.”

  At the weak return grip, Harry raised an eyebrow. Damn, she’d missed that eyebrow! “I see you took the blood ticket option, sir. I know just how you feel.”

  “Harry, this is the new man in my life.” When Yosh raised an eyebrow, she deliberately snapped her fingers for the dog. “Bain—manners.” Bain held up a paw, which Harry gravely shook. She grabbed his arm and swung him to face Yosh. “And this is Yosh Zahari. I’m letting him help me.”

  Yosh frowned at that. Actually, now that she noticed, he’d been frowning ever since Harry appeared. She turned to catch Harry glaring back at Yosh. What is eating them?

  She helped Harry drag another bench over to face Yosh and Jeffers. “Harry, we need your help. But first, I have to know. Didn’t you die? I saw you…that day…” Her eyes filled again, and her words choked off.

  He put an arm around her and pulled her close. “That’s an interesting story.”

  Carey sniffed. “Define interesting.”

  “I might have been just a little bit dead.” He grinned. “But I got better.”

  “Ouch. Stop sounding like an old comedy routine and just tell me what happened to you.”

  His face grew serious. “When I made the decision to become human, I had to accept a time limit. That’s why I was trying so desperately to win the second pivot point. But time ran out. I had fallen so I couldn’t go back to being an angel. Instead I had to come here.”

  He frowned at her. “And I’ve been trying to get through to your connections, but you never let me in.”

  “Well…you died. And don’t tell me it seemed like the right thing at the time.”

  He bumped her shoulder. “I thought you said no more Firefly?”

  “That was Fox Network’s decision. I’ll never give up hope.”

  Harry snorted, but gave Director Jeffers a guarded look. “What about the pivot point?”

  “We have to find Marley first.”

  Yosh nodded. “And to do that, we have to find Connor.”

  Carey interrupted whatever pissing contest their glares were promising. “Harry, there’s a…problem…with Connor.” She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and carefully unfolded the photograph Yosh had given her that first day. She handed it to Harry, and both stared down at the face they would know anywhere on the man they didn’t know at all.

  Yosh snorted. “If you mean that he’s a homicidal maniac who can kill just by telling people to die, and that he’s spent the last eight years working with
the Outsiders to destroy Null City, then yeah, that’s a bit of a problem.”

  Carey glared at Yosh. “Well, when you put it like that, sure it’s going to sound bad. But Harry, that’s not Connor. Somehow the Dark Dancer has…I don’t know…hypnotized him or something. Taken over Connor’s gift.”

  Yosh snorted, and she glared at him.

  Harry frowned. “Who is the Dark Dancer?”

  “He’s someone who used to work with Marley. I think his name is Cory or—”

  “Narcorial,” supplied Jeffers, sitting up to give Harry a level look from under frowning eyebrows.

  “Narcorial?” Harry sat back. “But he shouldn’t be able to… Oh. I see. Connor is human.”

  Director Jeffers nodded. “Connor has free will. He can choose to act for Narcorial. I’m assuming we can’t win the pivot point without Connor, but I don’t know how to get him to switch sides. I don’t even know if we can rescue Marley without…”

  “Killing him?” Carey’s voice was flat. “A lot?”

  »»•««

  The train whistle echoed in the distance. “No, we just got here.” Carey’s voice shook as Harry’s arms tightened around her. “Please.” She hadn’t cried since the morning she woke up to find Connor gone, leaving nobody in her world to cry for. Although she and Marley had been together during those years, and their prickly relationship could even be called friendship, there hadn’t been anyone who belonged to her. But in the past two days, she’d seen evidence that Connor still lived, and incredibly, found Harry again too. Now it might be okay to not be the strongest one. Maybe even cry.

  She considered it. Nah.

  “Okay, then.” She sucked in about half the air on the Metro platform, but her eyes cleared and her chin came up. “We’ll leave. Since I had to pay for the ticket with nine months of my harmonia gift, I won’t be able to find you in my connections. So how do you propose we keep in touch?”

  Harry held out a cellphone, and she gaped. “You have got to be kidding. You have cell coverage up…wherever the heck this place is?”

  Harry laughed. “My friend Rag is an inventor from Fallen Court. He’s figured out a way to link these through the Metro’s dimensional shift. It will only work while you’re actually aboard the Metro, and only when you’re traveling between stations, but it’s better than nothing. Rag calls it a prototype, though, and says the battery life is crap.”

  She nodded and tucked the phone and charger into her pack. “Okay, as I see it we have the following problems to solve before we can even try for the next pivot point. One: find out where Marley is and get her back. Two: find out why Connor is helping the Outsiders and get him back too or—” Carey paused and took a deep breath. Her voice was steady as she continued. “—or stop him. And three: stay in touch with Harry and with each other while we do it. Did I miss anything?”

  Yosh was still frowning. Harry raised an eyebrow at Jeffers, who scowled back and shook his head. Some silent communication must have passed between them because Harry shrugged and turned back to her. “Sometimes the Metro will let people stay on board in exchange for a Service Agreement. Since the Metro is the only way into or out of Null City, it could be a way for you to gather intelligence, while staying in touch through me. If you can’t get a Service Agreement with Metro, it might make sense for you to spend your nine months without your harmonia gift in Null City for safety.” At her frown, he amended. “And to gather intelligence, of course.”

  The approaching train vibrated through the platform, and her frown disappeared as she reached for Harry’s hands. “Come with us?” She knew, even as his lips pressed into a line and he shook his head. Of course she knew. “But…I’ll see you again, right?” He just looked at her.

  Then he was hugging her, and one last time she pressed her face into his shoulder and breathed. He put a hand under her chin and lifted until their eyes met before he spoke. “I never had children of my own, but Gaby left you and Connor with me. That makes you both mine. Mine to love; mine to believe in. I’ll never give up on either of you.”

  “There was a time when I said I would be happy if I could just see you one more time, just to say good-bye.” She stepped back and smiled at him. “I lied.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He smiled back, neither of them acknowledging their wet eyes. He pressed something into her hand as he kissed her forehead. “I think this belongs to you.”

  Whistling for Bain to follow, she climbed onto the waiting Metro. As the train pulled away from the platform, she watched his lone figure until the station was out of sight before staring down at the little kaleidoscope in her hand.

  Chapter Sixteen

  March 2011: Seattle Metro Station

  “Destination?”

  Carey frowned at the ticket machine Conductor through the glass window in front of her. “Carey Parker and Yosh Zahavi request six-month Service Agreement.” They had discussed their next steps on the trip back from Watcher Court. Director Jeffers insisted on returning to the Accords office in Seattle, where he and Claire would try to identify the source of leaks to the Outsiders. So Carey and Yosh decided to request the Service Agreement on the Metro.

  The silence stretched into minutes. Finally, the lights went out and the mannequin inside closed its eyes. “Hey!” Carey tapped an indignant hand against the glass.

  “Wait.” Jeffers’ voice was steady, if still weak. “It has to answer. Just wait.”

  The machine whirred, and lights illuminated the mannequin in the faded blue conductor uniform as its eyes snapped open. “Ticketing options for Carey Parker and Yosh Zahavi. One open ticket in exchange for Service Agreement. Please specify name.”

  She turned to the two men behind her. Jeffers was silent. Yosh met her eyes. “I have a wider network I can work. I can look for Marley out there, especially with Kurt as my contact.”

  “Director. His name is Director.” But she was already turning back to the ticket machine. “Service Agreement for Carey Parker.” Her hand was steady as she pulled the ticket lever. A paper fluttered into the tray below, but she was too busy waving her suddenly burning arm to pick it up. Hissing, she stared at the three-inch train engine tattooed in flaming red onto her left wrist.

  Yosh reached for her hands. “Don’t touch it!”

  She stared at the puffy skin, already bruising around the edges. “What. The. Hell?”

  “Your first ink?” He laughed at her glare even as he pulled two large adhesive bandages from his backpack. Handing her one, he peeled off the protective cover and smoothed the other bandage over her wrist. “You’ll want to cover it for the next several hours at least. It might take up to a week to fully heal, so try to keep it moisturized and don’t be upset if it peels a bit over the next few days.” Still holding her hand, he reached up with his other hand to stroke along her cheek. “Some people think they’re sexy.”

  Her free hand traced the designs visible on his neck. “Yeah, well some people like okra. There’s no accounting for tastes.” At the whistle of the approaching Metro, she pulled back and took the ticket from the tray.

  Jeffers took her hand in his firm grasp. “You owe me a year as a Warden, and I intend to collect. So be careful.”

  She squeezed back. “Yes, sir.”

  She shrugged on her backpack. “Come on, Bain.” As she turned toward the platform, she felt Yosh’s hand on her shoulder.

  “The Metro sets its own schedule so we can’t set up times to meet at the station. If you need to get in touch with me, get a message to Harry. I think Jeffers will be able to contact him. But we don’t know who is compromised at the Accords, so stay away from anyone you know from there.”

  She nodded, but before she could move on, his other arm was turning her to face him. His face was so very close as he leaned toward her. Their eyes met, and she shivered. Closer. In those eyes she saw…longing? Desperation? One of her hands moved up to stroke his inked neck, the other cupped his cheek where she had struck him. The mark was go
ne, but her thumb soothed the spot anyway.

  His lips brushed hers and returned. She opened her mouth in a gasp, and his mouth was telling her without words she was beautiful, he needed her, he didn’t want her to go without him. They were both shaking when she pulled back her head and looked up. He leaned his forehead against hers and sucked in air before he whispered, “Carey…about your brother…”

  Ice poured across her skin, and she pulled out of his arms. “I have to get on the train.”

  “Carey! I didn’t…”

  She climbed aboard and didn’t look back as the Metro pulled away.

  »»•««

  Bain’s soft whine finally got her attention. She had no idea how long she’d sat, motionless, images of Harry and Connor chasing her anger with Yosh. And always hovering at the edge of her awareness, as if she’d lost her sense of smell, or depth perception, she felt the loss of her harmonia gift for forming connections.

  Back in elementary school, she had once fought a larger boy she thought was threatening Connor. Nobody was surprised when she won. Carey simply didn’t know how to lose fights, but the two missing teeth were unexpected. The dentist said they were baby teeth and the permanent ones would come in eventually. He offered her sister Gaby a sympathetic smile and said they could put in some prosthetics to keep her other teeth in place until then, but Carey knew Gaby didn’t have the money to do anything but wait. Carey could still remember the metallic taste of her tongue rubbing the empty stretch of swollen gum. She would force herself to stop, and a minute later notice her tongue rubbing again. In the same way, her mind now kept fruitlessly reaching for connections. The pieces were all still there in her thoughts, a throbbing sore reminder each time her automatic search for their meaning drew a blank.