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Ripping the inner door open, she strode back into her large bedroom, tearing out clothes and shoes and throwing them on her bed, ready for sorting and stuffing into a suitcase. Then, she charged back into her modern bathroom with its well-appointed fixtures and packed her toilet bag.
It took a while, though, because Harlow was somewhat indecisive.
What did someone wear at a military garrison anyway?
Kage
The food was divine.
He almost moaned at the flavours, the juiciness, the meatiness.
This was heaven. This was healing.
Yet it was a distraction. One he couldn’t afford right now.
Kage dragged his wrist comm to his face. 2300 Standard.
Damn.Hours later than he’d planned to punch out of Axuma.
He’d had no choice, partly because he’d agreed with Harlow’s assessment of his hangry status. He’da probably passed out behind the pilot’s chair without food. And embarrassed himself in front of her.
Also, partly because he’d wanted to nab the bogey waiting in the shadows beyond her apartment.
The strange flyer had appeared when he and Harlow were introducing themselves at the entrance to her building.
His meta vision had spotted the dark machine coast past them, slow down, then double back. Before parking a ways further, lights turned off. He’d also seen a camera flash and a long lens pointed in their direction.
Amateur.
Yet no one had exited the machine.
So he’d moved Harlow inside, with a slight persuasive hint that they shift their discussion upstairs. But, instead, she’d upped the ante by wanting to feed him and further undone him with her food, her beer and her smile. It had thrown him off for a few moments, and he’d retreated into silence, taking all of her in. He was intrigued, for, under the sassy attitude, she was kind, down to earth, and had no scruples about caring for him. That was rare in the playbooks of the women he’d dated in the past.
But the charlie outside still played on his mind.
Before finishing his meal, he had to shut down thekinaicasing Harlow’s apartment.
This is why moments after she closed herself in her inner sanctuary, he set down the delicious bounty in his hand, crept to her bedroom door and used his wrist comm to hack its secure lock. He shut her in there. And sent a prayer hoping she wouldn’t try to open it until he returned.
Then he ran soundlessly for the open balcony and threw himself off it, turning on his suit’s flight thrusters as he did. His helmet reactivated as he launched over the dark, quiet streets of Axuma that were eerily silent. The only sound was the gentle rustle of leaves, the lapping of waves from the lake and the distant hum of flyer traffic. It was punctuated only by the occasional soft chirps of nesting birds and low sirens, adding to the sense of isolation and solitude.
The street was dimly lit, with only a few lights casting a faint and diffused illumination over the area.
In the darkness, shadows and shapes appeared where none were before, looming against the buildings that seemed to shrink back at Kage’s approach.
He glided high above street level, looking for his quarry, until he found the dark, unmarked flyer.
His HUD registered one life sign to the right of the driver’s console.
He took a thorough perimeter assessment and finding no other bolo, Kage aimed to the left of the flyer.
Seconds later, he punched through its roof.
Just like carving butter.
One huge heavy-duty, shielded hand curled around to grab the neck of the man in the driver’s seat. The other peeled back the plex roof for better access.
Apart from the initial thud and the wrench of folding metal, the entire incursion had occurred silently.
