It was unnerving, trying to tell which part of them she was studying. Raime figured her silence couldn’t be taken as idling. Her glassy eyes, never focused, her sly smile, unwavering. Unlike the Major, they had never been face to face with the Capitán of the Cors herself, although she had been easy to recognize. Currently, Raime made a valiant effort to not open their mouth, their stomach performing acrobatic feats trying to contain the unbearable stress. Ambushed at the exit of the museum, they had entered a state of paralysis, stuck between a rock and hard place, respectively the two hands of the Cors. They hadn’t found the strength to flee, since Raime had been granted an in depth demonstration of how effortlessly fast the Major was. Trying to play in the maw of the machine, Raime had cut all of their exit strategies before they could even be planned. From their adoption to the Prys incident to that night they were recovered in the elevator, they had been saved from ending up in the hands of the Cors. A disgrace to all that have ever cared for them, shameful recklessness, possibilities collapsing all around them.
The Capitán had said nothing more, waving away the Major like he was furniture, and invited Raime to follow her. And so they ended up in the Glassway, on opposites sides of a table in a busy terrace. They had walked there, they must’ve been, but drowning in a presumption of imminent doom, it could’ve been like they’d been instantly transported right behind the table of their penance. The rising chatter and constant traffic of the Glassway’s streets did little to ease their profuse sweating, Raime’s nails almost tearing through their suits fabric, over the knees. They were still in uncomfortable territory, the Glassway, small enough that it barely counted as a district on its own, faced City Hall, spanning for only a three sided star of streets, covered by an extravagant stained glass roof, forming an impressive bridge between the buildings. At night, the asymmetrical buildings and paved streets below shone with an awe inspiring sight, always attracting many to witness the last wonder of the world. Now that night had fully fallen, lights from below shone beams across the city skyline and lights from above washed a rainbow of unpredictable colors over the streets. Among those enjoying themselves, letting their voices rise higher, lost in the momentary bliss, untouched by the Sun, Raime’s torment was painted purple over their face.
“Eat something,” The Capitán said, pushing a plate of pastry towards Raime, then after a moment, “I know you’re still there.”
Even in the direct absence of the Major, Raime had already come to terms with the futility of fleeing, being confronted this way only annoyed them.
“I’m not hiding,” Raime blurted out, stuffing their face with something they grabbed from the plate without looking, preventing them from speaking too much.
They couldn’t help being hypnotized by her eyes. The Capitán made no effort keeping her opaque glasses tight against her face, proudly displaying her disability to anyone that glanced at her. Between this and her dismissing the Major without a word, Raime had been increasingly attentive to any of her move. Walking to the Glassway, she had decided to stay uncomfortably close to them, not outright holding them by the hand but not keeping the distance Raime would have wanted. However, in the prolonged quiet between them, they hadn’t sensed anything, malicious or otherwise, emanating from her smile. It was as if she only listened. Could she hear Raime’s shallow breaths? She had rested her cane against the table, out of reach. Without even questioning it, Raime figured she was used to wield it to cause harm, although they didn’t want to figure out the veracity of that assumption. Now that the silence had been broken, her empty gaze felt more focused, her smile warmer. Had she been biding her time to make Raime more comfortable? She’d be hard pressed to find them this easily pushed around. Chowing down on the vaguely cinnamon flavored pastry, Raime came to a probable conclusion. The Capitán didn’t know, same as the Major. Had they been aware of Raime’s true nature, they wouldn’t have taken such paths of subterfuge, the Major would never have entertained them in the first place, the Capitán would never have brought them to the most densely populated part of Last Kunlun aside from the Hull. The cover was intact, it had to be. Still, it made no difference with this situation being one Raime would rather not be in, especially with how delighted the Capitán was looking.
“Raime, Raime, Raime, I’ve heard so much about you…”
The aforementioned gulped, “What, from the Major?”
“Hm, hm,” The Capitán hummed playfully, “It’s not everyday he gets to make friends, I’ve sent him to school so long ago now, I’ve lost hope of him getting to socialize.”
Is that what they were, friends? Raime couldn’t contain a snicker, almost choking on the last of the food in their throat. Cute. If this was where the conversation was heading, they could at least relax their shoulders.
“And he tells me you’re from the Hull?”
“That’s right,” Raime replied solemnly, picking up another pastry, as they found cinnamon to be perfectly to their liking, “Upper stratum at that.”
“No kidding?”
Shooting looks between her and around them, Raime tried making sense of the dichotomy painted before their eyes. In front of them, sat a seemingly amicable person, ready to engage in a conversation without any show of force. But to anyone else who noticed her sitting here, they were as alarmed as Raime had been, frantically looking around for any trace of the Major, and only going on their way, faster than they’d come, once they could tell the coast was clear. Maybe Raime was already high on cinnamon powder but all of these passerby’s unfounded panic felt comical.
“What are you interested in?” Raime asked, their mouth full.
Flawless query, just vague enough to cover all of the bases. Was she interested in the Hull, in Raime themselves? What did she know, if she knew anything? Their natural genius for landing on perfect opportunities was starting to scare them.
“So the Pillar of Order has no business partaking in simple pleasantries? But you’re a smart one, I’m interested in something. Growing up in the Hull, you haven’t heard much about me I presume?”
“You could say that, you’re kind of a non factor there,” Raime gulped, “If you’ll excuse me.”
The Capitán’s smile widened ever slightly, sending a chill down their spine that prevented them from taking another pick in the plate of pastries.
“I can tell you’re nervous.”
“Well you’re-” Raime replied instantly, choking on their words, “You’re still famous.”
“Am I or is the Major?”
“Both?”
The fluctuations of her smile told them nothing, but it didn’t calm them either. She hadn’t taken a piece of the pastries, looking at her, she even seemed slightly malnourished for someone Raime expected to be nearing their seventies. Standing at the chain of command and not indulging, Raime couldn’t be sure if that was something to pity or respect. The stained glass above them shifted slowly, reflecting bright reds against the dirty blonde of her hair, her coat looking embraced by fire. For exaggerated sights such as these, the atmosphere of the Glassway always felt too intense for Raime. The buildings were also rigorously locked, some part of an institution that refused to die was being needlessly adamant on keeping outsiders away. Raime knew there were structural reasons, as the Glassway’s crossroad was one of the oldest installments of Last Kunlun, back when it bore another name. However, holding onto those jurisdictions these days only felt like pointless pride. Raime hadn’t found it in themselves to fight against it, if there wasn’t a door to sneak past or a wall to climb, they’d simply turn away. Now they wish they’d tried harder, pushed further.
“I’ll be honest then, fame isn’t what drives me. It’s an inevitable byproduct. Naturally, I don’t fight against it, but I’m looking for… expansion. Not conquest mind you, but I’m sure there are things in the Hull that would benefit from our help, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, probably, but then why don’t you?”
The Capitán rocked her head from side to side, visually conveying how she weighed the scales for her decisions.
“Like you said, I’m famous. Should I just waltz in past the Grand Gate and open a booth of operations? Tell me if that’s a sensible idea.”
Raime didn’t answer.
“It’s on me really,” The Capitán continued pensively, “I’ve procrastinated, the Hull was a daunting district to… tame. And so I didn’t, you guys seemed to handle things well on your own but now that life around the city is as calm as it’s ever been, I thought: Hey, might as well see if they need a hand somewhere?” The Capitán offered them a warm smile before finishing, “That’s where you come in.”
“Me?”
“You. Raime.”
Hearing their name uttered by the Pillar of Order made them shift in their seat.
“Here’s my proposition, no strings attached, from me to you. We will build a bridge, from the Cors to the Hull. Nothing too committal, we will not install a base of operations inside the walls, we will not monitor anything you don’t want us to. But we will become available as helping hands, our research team, our scouting efforts… anything we already do in the rest of the city, will be available to you all.”
“If you want an ambassador, you’d be better off finding someone with actual influence in the Hull, I’m basically nobody.”
“But you’re here, right now.”
Her intent weighed heavy. Forced to look down on the table, Raime got a good look at what they’d been eating. Their throat tied itself into a knot once they recognized the size and forms of the sweets. The very same that had composed the platters they had abstained from in the underbelly, provided by Gale as bargaining chip for thankless labor. Two worlds collided around them, and amidst the noisy street they seemed to be the only one aware of it. Raime tried, even if they hadn’t wanted to, to discern in the Capitán’s face whether or not the place for their discussion had been deliberate. However, despite her permanent smile, Raime could see she wasn’t making a joke out of them. Her hands crossed under her chin, she was earnestly waiting for an answer. Raime sat against what they had become, what they always had been, in the forms of pastries they had refused to take, in the vain hope that they’d avoid seeing the blunt of the hammer, pressed against their face. Metaphorically, at least.
Robbed of a straightfoward shot in the face, Raime was forced to consider her proposal. Even if they hadn’t ever laid their feet into that mire themselves, Raime knew the Hull was slowly falling apart. Even if Scarmetal would hold until the Sun decided to take everyone, the rest of the installations, relying on old arms like Clay, were decaying at noticeable speeds. Black Lake was inexorably rising, the high majority of the district deciding to collectively ignore it, leaving the last few maintenance workers to drown in its fumes. A week ago, Raime would’ve brushed it all away, as there wasn’t likely to be anything they could do. But would taking her hand be the catalyst for things to change? The museum had only provided a millennia old mirror, one answer to drown in a thousand more questions, it had given them neither path nor purpose. The Capitán, from her invisible throne, was offering both. Could they follow her invitation and leave the unknown for her to take care of?
“What do you think of the one behind the counter?”
“Huh?”
The discussion veered in a completely different direction, like the Capitán was abandoning the topic altogether. Not questioning her outright, Raime looked behind them, at the storefront. A lone human was handling the pastries, small and unassuming, aside from angular tattoos on her temples. Squinting a little, Raime paid attention to her behavior. She wasn’t making any waves, diligently answering questions and serving plates, however her eyes were red under, as if she’d been crying only hours prior.
“Looks like baggage.”
“So the hoarseness in her voice wasn’t out of nowhere.”
If the Capitán hadn’t prompted them to look again, Raime wouldn’t have noticed, despite how evident it was now. Still, they failed to understand how that correlated to them. The relief of not being the focus of the Capitán was diluted by how unpredictable she was proving to be. At least the Major had been relatively easy to move around.
“Why don’t you stick with me for a moment?” The Capitán said, her voice slightly lower, leaning over the table, “You can give me your answer once we’re done.”
“…Sure,” Raime replied, as the Capitán rose from her seat, picking up her cane in a smooth motion, not waiting for their answer.
Couldn’t they have waited for her to do whatever the Capitán was supposed to do? Granted they wouldn’t have lounged around and probably would have ran for it now that the Major was decidely nowhere to be seen, but now they were more curious than anything. Raime was still unsure about what she was planning. Were the pastries only a coincidence? In the absence of a confrontation from her, Raime thought they were at least one step ahead of the Capitán, but a blind spot still itched over their head. This time, they stayed at a more respectable distance behind her, pretending they weren’t affiliated, but close enough that they’d hear what she would say to the distressed human.
“Hello again,” The Capitán said, with unbridled confidence, “I’m truly sorry if I intrude but… I couldn’t help but notice some tremor in your voice. This isn’t an accusation from the Pillar of Order, it’s an invitation from me. I want to tell you, I’m here if you need anything.”
Even if her actions, like tapping her cane against the ground as she made her way to the counter, and leaning against it once she started talking, had been loud and unabashed, her voice had gotten softer once she’d begun talking. Now focused from afar, Raime could see the moment the baker dropped her guard, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“I… I couldn’t ask of you to…”
“Ask me.”
Spectating the scene from this distance felt almost perverse. The baker’s words betrayed a lack of confidence, she obviously wanted the Capitán to push, just a little further, and she did. Raime felt bile in their throat, maybe from the excess of sugar. They slowly stepped closer. A line hadn’t been forming behind the Capitán, on the contrary, her presence and by extension Raime’s as well had been deterring more customers from approaching but the baker seemed wholly unconcerned at the moment.
“It’s just… I’m sorry I don’t want to do this behind the counter, I’ll close, I’ll just close, sorry please come in.”
Once the waiter rushed back inside to close the storefront’s blinds, the Capitán spun around to address Raime.
“What she says, come, come.”
“What do you even need me for?”
“I need the Major on some important business, while he’s out why don’t you be my eyes for a moment? No pressure, just look around, as long as you don’t step on my feet.”
Raime couldn’t make heads or tails with the Capitán’s intent but they had already begun following her. Meeting the baker again, she was clearly taken aback by their presence.
“Wh-”
“They’re with me,” The Capitán said, swinging her cane to rest on Raime’s shoulder.
The Capitán then swung her cane back to rest under her arm and stood between Raime and the baker, hiding them in her shadow. Following the baker into the building and up two flights of stairs, Raime could finally see what the bowels of the Glassway looked like. The smell of old wood was almost intoxicating, the ancient engravings in the wooden beams alone vindicated the efforts of the districts people to prevent anyone from just coming and going. Doors jutted out at random in the paths of the steps, circumventing the need for regular landings. The open ones lead to hallways, the closed ones could’ve lead anywhere. Everything was narrow, dimly lit, but every time they crossed a window to the main street, it felt like they were moving through a kaleidoscope. The shattered design of the glass fractured an already chaotic assortment of colors, bathing them in ever shifting gradients.
Finally reaching a hallfway, the baker hurried into an apartment. Her hands still shaking on the handle, she let the both of them in and expressly checked in another room, swiftly closing the door. Raime didn’t pry, and the Capitán would have trouble to. The apartment, if it was all there was, was anything but modest, full bookshelves and extravagant furniture emboldened the space in a way that didn’t feel tasteful. Raime kept their mouth shut, if the Capitán wanted to handle the baker, they’d let them.
“My parent killed himself.”
Raime hadn’t been facing her when the sentence fell, they froze in contemplation of whether or not they should turn to her and offer condolences, as sincere as they could make them.
“First of all, what’s your name, dear?” The Capitán replied, remaining warmly calm.
“Oh I’m, I’m sorry I was just, I just needed to get that out first I haven’t told anyone else. I’m June, my name’s June. This, this is… was his apartment. I found out yesterday, I just thought he was busy. He didn’t-” June’s voice faltered, “He didn’t leave a note, nothing, just took the pill on his couch here.”
June pointed an accusatory finger towards a pompous leather couch. Naturally, it was now empty but Raime decided to not look at it further, instead focusing on a bookshelf. In stark difference to Alina’s, this one contained little to no fiction at first glance. Rows of sociological research manuals, studies on primal behaviors, evolution grids and differences in anatomy between terrans. One lavender colored book grabbed Raime’s attention, it lacked any text on its back, making it stand out between the scholarly collection. Raime glanced back, the Capitán had sat June on another chair, kneeling close to her, talking too softly for them to hear. Raime only raised an eyebrow and went back to the book, taking it out of its well fitted place. The cover had nothing more going on, not even the name of an author. It was light and not as tall as the encyclopedia sized books it had been arranged with. Raime opened it to its last page and found only two blank sides. They started shuffling through the rest, thinking they might have mistaken the innocuous cover for that of a note book but the second to last page was full.
“They have stolen our right to feel, to be hurt, to fail. Forced into blissful obedience under their law of absolute survival, our kind has forgotten what it was to live at all. They have chained our planet to their malevolent web, feeding the soil of our ancestors to species that were never meant to breath the same air as ours. Do not loathe them, do not mistake them for your enemies, all Locus, all Myrrh are a mirror into the future of humanity if we let their foul design come to pass. Once our system will have nothing for them anymore, our kind will be forced to join their unending cycle, walking in exile towards another world that has been denied its rightful end. Refuse the name they have taken, salvation is in the hands of those that reach for it, it was never theirs to give. They are no closer to divinity than they would like you to believe. They warp your perception of what is right, of what should be. They claim only seeking the perpetuation of our species, yet they brutally sic their war beasts, shaped to liken our own forms, onto us at any sign of resistance. Do not let it evade your mind, their war frames are instruments built out of the purest wish of inflicting the most raw, visceral, unfair death upon anyone that tries to defy their design. Fake eyes that pretend to see, fake mouths that pretend to talk, fake limbs that pretend to walk, a mockery of the history of humans, paraded to remind you how unreachable they are. They are ready to tear you to pieces, leave nothing behind but your shattered dreams if you even dare to untangle your soul from their cosmic trap. Never let them steal that fire from you.”
Raime looked for a name but the last line was left unsigned. Looking through the rest of the book, the rest of the pages were more of the same, endless preachings against what Raime assumed to be Jiù ēn. Here and there, some sentences were highlighted by a bright green marker, probably by June’s parent himself. A pill in an obnoxious chair felt like a fitting end to someone whose free time consisted of reading zealous ramblings.
“Got something?”
Raime jumped, even before they heard her talk, they felt the bottom of her cane hit their ankle. Her and the Major really needed to start announcing their actions in a smoother fashion. Raime had been in the process of putting the thin book back in place but they handed it over to her instead. It took a few seconds of the Capitán turning over the book in her hands for Raime to feel incredibly embarrassed. Still, she hadn’t said anything yet so Raime just boiled in silence.
“You found it by accident?”
“It stood out… the rest is a bunch of thick medical and psychology books, this one…”
“It’s familiar, held it before. Vulpine’s manifesto. You know the rumor that she finished her life in Last Kunlun? Would have been older than the Old Man if she was still kicking, good find.”
The Capitán slid the book in her coat pocket and turned back. Raime realized June was nowhere to be seen anymore, and the previously locked door that she had expressly checked as they arrived was now slightly open. Still reeling from the shame, Raime couldn’t figure out if the Capitán had taken offense, but her gaze only looked focused.
“I’m probably asking a lot, but try to hold it in,” The Capitán whispered, a hand on the door’s handle.
The door revealed a bedroom, even more busy and visually oppressive as the living room, the bed’s frame of dark wood was supported by false gold ornaments. Lit through the narrow windows, the whole room was draped in shifting blue and cyan. However, Raime couldn’t focus on anything else the room had to offer, their eyes stuck on what laid on the bed. An air tight bag, the color of which could’ve been either black or white, depending on the shade cast upon it, was laid across the bed, mimicking the shape of a person, moulding their traits. Raime had seen some of them before, passing through the city, escorted by cleaners. Visions of Avril standing vigil over one of them as they were taken somewhere they couldn’t follow. June had kept her parents body bag. There was no smell, completely absorbed by the overwhelming mix of dust and wood. June had been sitting next to the bed, her eyes getting foggy. She looked to the Capitán in blatant expectancy, completely ignoring Raime.
“The cleaner, he said he could come back later this week but…”
“There is no time limit, they won’t refuse you. The week’s delay is for them to act fast, any longer and they forget and move on. I’ll handle it if you let me.”
“Thank you…”
Raime didn’t know where to put themselves so they once again nestled against the door’s frame, moving as little as possible and listening in, diligently avoiding looking at the bed.
“Do you have any idea of what could’ve suddenly pushed him?”
“I tried to reach out,” June said, her lips quivering, “He had a group of friends, they knew each other from before the False Dusk. I never encroached, it was his thing, separated from me and the bakery. But now, none of them are anywhere to be found. They’re not even dead, at least not that I know of. The three of them, they’re just gone. Maybe… maybe he got abandoned.”
The Capitán had gotten closer to her again, June gladly accepting her presence. Despite Raime still being unsure if they should be here in the first place, the idea that the Major was supposed to stand in their place was just puzzling. The building was built so narrow, the apartments so low of ceiling, the Major’s frame would’ve crushed through everything in his path, making for free renovations. Raime bit their tongue until tasting iron to prevent them for letting out a chuckle.
“Is there any chance that anyone else has an idea of where the rest of his group might’ve gone?”
“No… they were so tight knit, the four of them did everything together, this is what I can’t reconcile. One day everything was as normal and now… it’s like my world has completely turned upside down. If I didn’t have the bakery… I don’t know…”
The Capitán took June’s hand into her own. Despite her blindness, she looked at her straight in her eyes. Raime could see the baker blushing.
“Do you want me to find them, June?”
Silence hung in the air. June had her mouth open already, but the indication that she was readying herself to answer was lost on the Capitán, still staring deeply into her. The realization seemed to strengthen her resolve, mimicking her confidence, June grabbed the Capitán’s hand tighter.
“I do.”
“And so we will.”
The Capitán rose, still holding on to June’s hand, bringing her to her feet. She brought her other hand to the bakers face, laying it against her cheek.
“But June, you have to hold on. Just because your parent and his friends decided to go doesn’t mean it has to be your time just yet. If you ever feel like slipping, if you ever find yourself lost again, ask for me, call my name. At any hour, I will come for you.”
Raime saw June melt into the Capitán’s hand. Despite not being able to tell the baker was turning beet red, she had to be able to feel the heat on her palm. Raime’s eyes drifted to the immobile corpse, just laying there next to them, and couldn’t repress a frown. Before the Capitán could see, they headed out of the bedroom, opening a window and letting themselves out on the balcony. Away from the uncanny situation and the pervading odor of wood, the lights of the Glassway accepted them into their embrace. The balcony was as narrow as everything else around here had been, only connecting the two windows of the living room. Down below, the street was still as busy as the night allowed, none of those under the waves of stained glass even thought about tomorrow. It was a unique sight for Raime, a rare one they had originally thought they’d never be graced with. Ever since they’d stared the Sun in its eye, they’ve continually seen new faces of Last Kunlun when they originally thought their life to have hit a dead end. The days where the underbelly felt like the last frontier felt even further than they’d ever been. Standing so close to the Cors, however, kept their blood pressure perpetually higher than they’d wish. Yet Raime chose to come back didn’t they? The Capitán had been aware that they were less than hearsay in the deepest parts of the Hull. They could flee back to U40, they could still manage, neither him nor her had to be aware, they would never be. If it all hinged upon them, they had the power to cut them off from ever stepping foot past the Grande Gate. And yet-
“Taking in the view?”
Once again the Capitán, seemed to revel in her brutish approach. She joined them on the balcony, coming through the other window.
“Might as well. It’s unique, right?”
As the last words left their mouth, Raime felt their heart drop. It might be better if they’d stop speaking altogether. The Capitán once again didn’t look like she was bothered in the slightest but after seeing her talk to June, they decided to not take her actions at face value. She was looking up to the glass roofs.
“I can guess. Despite what many have assumed, including you, I don’t have total blindness. I cannot see shapes, let alone words, my cane isn’t for show, but I can still tell glimpses of the shifts in colors the night brings. I can tell what the Sun takes away as dawn rises. I’m not too different from you and anyone else.”
Raime looked back inside, June was nowhere to be found and the door to the apartment had been left open.
“Will you really be able to find them?”
“I already did.”
Raime looked back at the pillar of Order, still lost in whatever her glassy eyes managed to see in the gentle greens that currently passed over them. Was this how the Cors were used to operate? Between her and the Major, Raime couldn’t make heads nor tails of their methods. But the nonchalance with which she proclaimed her preordained success, compared to the intensity she had expressed towards June repulsed them.
“You’re gross.”
The Capitán’s neck snapped back to look at them, if she had been granted sight, she would probably have witnessed the fastest case of human shriveling. It took all of Raime’s willpower, currently pouring out of their body, to not look away or fall to their knees. Her smile grew even wider, showing a glimpse at her teeth, perfectly white, baring at them.
“You’ve got quite the mouth on you, huh!” The Capitán said with enough unbridled glee in her voice to confuse Raime.
Gripping onto the balcony’s railing for balance, but emboldened by the Capitán’s refusal to get offended, Raime felt a primal urge to dig deeper.
“You pretend to fetch for her something you already have, you try and flirt with her next to her parent’s corpse. Is that how you became the Pillar of Order?”
The Capitán scoffed, “I didn’t ‘try’ to flirt, you saw how she reacted. Her heart was beating like drums.”
Is that what she really took offense to? Raime didn’t want to stop there.
“Oh, you can hear people’s heartbeat too?”
“What am I, the Lunar Knight?” The Capitán laughed, “I only had my little finger on her jugular.”
“A fast heartbeat can’t mean whatever you want it to. Maybe she was just scared of you.”
The Capitán’s laughter faded away and she slowly faced their way. Although she was smaller than Raime, in that moment, once more under deep scarlet lights, she towered over them, her glasses fully obscuring her eyes.
“Are you scared of me, Raime?”
Had Raime been scared of Gale, or had they been scared of what he had wielded? Either way, this kind of intimidation fell flat on their back. Even if they couldn’t shield themselves from embarrassment, or the fear to offend, the weight of consequences was a bygone concept. They still felt it, pulsing in their veins, as clear as sunshine, how perfect their body felt to move. The air in their lungs, the light against their eyes, the tear in their muscles. The Capitán of the Cors couldn’t even fathom the liberation they were feeling, every instant since they had clawed their way out. Let her focus on them, she wouldn’t even be able to discern the surface. Let the Major and the Capitán run over their shoulders, looking for where their head fell. Raime mimicked her smile back at the Capitán.
“Should I be?”
From warm oranges to clear yellows, the atmosphere around them brightened up, and in turn, the Capitán sighed.
“My proposition earlier was serious, Raime. You don’t have to agree with how I get laid, that’s none of your business, but I still look forward to working together. It’s rare enough to find someone willing to talk with the Major, let alone one who’s brazen enough to talk back to me…”
Raime, in an effort to stop trembling like they’d just come out from under a torrent, let go of the railing and stood on their own feet.
“Notice,” The Capitán added, raising a finger, “That I said brazen and not downright stupid. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt, that’s how interested I am in our collaboration.”
“I wouldn’t officially join the Cors.”
“I believe I’ve stipulated that, yes. Unless you want to?”
“I’m good.”
“But you’re on board? I need to hear you say it.”
What would that make them, Raime the triple undercover spy? Could they double down on the joke to Avril? The prospect only felt appropriate, they could already visualize her rolling their eyes in an even more exaggerated fashion. There was more they could learn, it was way too likely the Capitán had laid their hands in the underbelly by now. She wouldn’t be sharing that with them, that much Raime could wrap their head around. But working alongside the rest of the Cors, even if just from afar might just land all of the answers they would ever want, right on their lap. On top of that, Raime couldn’t forget that where they currently stood was a place they’d previously given up on ever seeing for themselves. The Cors had all the keys to Last Kunlun, getting in their good graces would only show them more that they’d ever thought they could see. Really, was there any reason they would have to refuse?
“Sure, I’m down,” Raime replied, trying to appear more conflicted than they were.
“Happy to hear it!” The Capitán clapped her hands and went back inside the apartment through the window, “Since I snatched you out of the museum I’ll let you off the hook for now, the night is yours to do as you please. I expect you at first light in 131 Byzance.”
The Capitán left without waiting for an answer but Raime had already given them one, so the sentence already felt more like an early order. They wouldn’t have minded getting to business right away, the trek back to the Hull only felt redundant while Raime was still high of the adrenaline pumping through their veins. While following the Capitán’s departure, their eyes caught the edge of the late parent’s bed-frame. While the body bag was not in view, being in close proximity with it soured the enjoyment they would’ve gotten from staying on the balcony any longer. Raime exhaled and turned back to the front door, coming face to face with a fully kitted out cleaner, their gear and gurney struggling to fit behind them in the narrow corners of the old building.
“Where?” The cleaner said after an awkward silence.
Raime pointed a thumb at their right, towards the bedroom and the cleaner shuffled past them to get to work while Raime made an agile maneuver to pass over the gurney blocking their path, momentarily laying on it. Strangely, it felt comfortable.