Page 17 of Watered Down

She pulled on her shoes, grabbed a breakfast shake, and headed to the greengrocer.

She walked through the silent darkness. The occasional transport got her attention, but their behaviour didn’t change. It took her fifteen minutes to get to the wholesaler, and she waved as she came in and took a look at the order Emgoth placed. The numbers were reasonable, and she went around and selected the fruit and vegetables that they needed for the list.

As she was working, the butcher shop lit up, and she eased over there to take care of the other list. She finished with them, went to the bakery to check on the flatbread, and then got on the transport to head to the docks.

The ride was familiar, and several regulars recognized her. She waved but didn’t chat with anyone. She didn’t resent early mornings, but they required focus.

Cloudy got off at her stop and walked the long way through the port down to the dock. She walked down the dock and noticed the problem right off. The stall was missing.

Cloudy walked toward the spot where the stall had been, ignoring the men who were chortling.

“So, you are the partner. We want this business, so take off.” Two thuggish sea Vecchin were glaring at her.

Because she had been given a direct order, she pressed the small icon Hazor had given her.

“No, I don’t think I will.” Then she did the thing that she hadn’t mentioned to the guardians. She lifted her arms, created an energy bow, and shot both the men in the chest.

Humming to herself, she went to the end of the dock and got the built-in come-alongs. She had been paranoid about the stall tipping into the water and paid extra to have them installed. She pulled out enough slack to reach the building she could see under the surface. Time to test her gills.

She got the links and the cables, kicked off her shoes, and jumped into the icy water of pre-dawn at the docks. Cloudy swam and found the first link on the side of the building about fourteen feet down. She was still holding her breath, but her lungs started burning as she moved across the building to the second link site. The gills kicked in, and she gasped in more water. It was fricking cold! Having her lungs filled with cold air was weird, but oxygen was coming to her system, and she could work with that.

She got everything ready, tugged on the cables, and swam upward as fast as she could.

Cloudy burst upward and aimed for the dock. She slipped and slid as she thudded to the surface, and helpful hands reached out for her.

She looked at Hazor and smiled. “Morning.” She let go of him and stepped to the side, activating one motor and sprinting to trigger the other.

Cloudy backed away as the heavy unit came up and out of the water.

Hazor said, “Cloudy? Why were you in the water?”

“I was putting the links on the stall. It’s coming up now, slowly.”

Hazor looked over the edge. “How deep did you go?”

“Sixteen feet, twenty feet. I dunno. I went to where the building was.”

Hazor looked at her. “You were under for a while.”