Kira's wide smile appeared above us.
I was thrilled to see her again and realized how much I had missed her.
Just like last time, dozens of hands reached for us, helping us out of the basement.
Kira embraced Firinne before turning to me and doing the same.
"More are coming," she warned, as Firinne looked troubled by the sheer number of people we had to weave through only to leave the shed.
Outside, a crowd was gathering at the foot of the hill, spilling down in clusters from the dunes.
Already, the mood felt different. This time, there was no joy, no celebration. The air was heavy with urgency, impatience humming through the people around me.
Behind us, a group had hauled the crate out of the basement shed already.
"Only this?"
"It's not enough!" I heard an irritated voice comment on the heavy crate.
I turned to Firinned, but already, she had joined a group of people she seemed to know, wearing her leader hat once again.
Kira must have noticed my confusion, because she took my hand without a word and drew me away from the crowd, down toward the lake.
For the first time, I saw her without heavy makeup or the polished clothes we wore in the City. Her cheeks were flushed, not with pink blush but with the effort of reaching the oasis. Her hair was a wilder mess than ever, but somehow, it fitted her better. Her clothes were loose, practical, cut from sturdy yet comfortable fabric.
And she had no bruises on her face or neck.
"You look good," I told her.
"Callie told me!" she burst out, her smile stretching even wider.
"What?" I frowned.
"They're going to plan your replacement soon!"
The earth slid out from under me. My lungs locked, air getting cut short in my chest.
"That's so very wonderful, Sade!" Kira held my hands, shaking them as if to wake me up from my stupor.
So very wonderful...? I guessed she had borrowed a few sound bites from Chaoxing before leaving the City.
"Are you... sure?" I uttered, in complete shock.
"Yes!" she nodded eagerly, mistaking my stupefaction for joy too big to contain.
I had a hard time identifying what I was feeling in this moment.
"They haven't set a date yet, but it should be in the next few days!"
My lungs managed to sip a small breath of fresh air, relieved that I wasn't going to be replaced tomorrow already.
I turned my eyes toward the lake, its surface shimmering under the caravan lights spilling down from the dunes.
How many days until I leave the City?
Until I leave V?
"Sade, you have to join us."
I turned to Kira's excited voice, still squeezing her hands around mine.
"You have to come to Tardigrad!"
My eyes fluttered, and I instinctively took a small step back.
"Think about it... I have to go," she spoke fast, glancing behind her shoulder to the crowd on the hill. "I have to help, but anyway..."
When she looked back in my direction, she noticed something behind me and rolled her eyes at it.
"I think someone else wants to talk to you..."
Her hands slipped away from mine, and the next second she was gone, jogging up the slope, her fiery hair flowing on her back.
As soon as she left, someone else stepped up quietly from the shadows.
"Long time no see."
Vincent appeared by my side.
He held his hands behind his back, his dark eyes peering at me from beneath his long lashes.
He looked slightly different from the last time we met. His hair had been trimmed, still long, but now neatly cut. Part of it was tied into a small bun resting on his nape. His beard had been shaved, leaving only some faint stubble above his lips and on top of his chin. A single silver hoop earring caught the light as it dangled from his ear.
Without thinking, I crossed my arms over my chest, my fingers nibbling at the hem of my collar. It was hard to hold his dark stare, so my eyes kept darting away, to the lake or the trees behind him.
I wished I could wipe away the persistent smirk on his lips. It looked as if he always knew something I didn't. I was getting better at reading people and realized that Vincent's nonchalance was just a mask for a perfectly controlled demeanor. He was so composed, so steady, he could afford the luxury of appearing laid-back.
Unlike me.
I was tense and fidgeting under his playful gaze.
Then, in one smooth movement, a hand appeared from behind his back.
He offered me a single, beautiful flower.
"For you," he said, when I didn't move.
"T-Thank you," I shyly replied, taking the flower between my fingers and looking down at its soft pink petals.
It was easier than meeting the dark depths of his eyes.
"I've been looking forward to seeing you again."
My chest tightened, and I wondered if I had heard him clearly. His tone was so teasing, I wondered if he spoke like that to everyone.
"Have you been.. wanting to see me again, too?" he asked, leaning slightly forward, trying to catch my eyes.
For the first time, I realized just how much taller he was than his brother. Or maybe it was that, in his presence, I instinctively leaned onto one hip, trying to make myself smaller, less visible to those dark, piercing eyes.
I took a small step back, careful not to let him invade the safe distance there was between us.
"You..." I cleared my throat. "You look healthier," I said, trying to divert from his question.
And it was true.
He had gained some weight since the last time we met. His cheeks were less hollow, his shoulders broader. Perhaps the meals in Tardigrad were better than those in the City's prison.
"Weird way to compliment me..." Vincent puffed out his chest, the smirk stretching into a grin. "...but I'll take it."
I couldn't help but smile. Just like Firinne, he had this effortless way of making people feel at ease around him, drawing them inside his circle.
I was mostly relieved I had managed to avoid his question.
Because the truth was...
I had been impatient to meet him again.
"I heard Kira mention Tardigrad... Are you thinking of joining us?"
I twirled the flower stem between my fingers, pouting at it. Why did everyone seem more invested in what I'd do after my contract than I was myself?
"You know... not everyone is welcomed there."
I looked back up to the hanging smirk on his lips.
"You have to prove yourself first."
I frowned, unsure of what he meant. Firinne had mentioned a program newcomers had to complete to enter their community... Was that what he was referring to?
"What do you mean?" I asked, curiosity nudging me forward.
He shifted from one foot to the other, hands clasped behind his back in that effortless, nonchalant posture I was slowly learning to read.
"Do you know why the City abandoned me?" he said, reminding me of when he was kidnapped as a child. "Why they left us to the rebels?" he added.
I shook my head, and he gave a small, bitter smile.
"Because we were not useful."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in, before continuing.
"Do you know why Tardigrad saved me from the City's jail?"
He waited, tilting his head slightly, as if expecting me to finish the thought.
"Because you're useful to them," I answered, my voice quiet, as I remembered the cheers of the crowd when they found out Vincent was freed.
"Precisely," he nodded, a hint of satisfaction in his gesture. "Find a way to be useful... And you will be rewarded."
And then, he winked at me.
We considered each other in silence for a long moment. His reasoning made sense, yet I couldn't understand how children could be "useful" to a government, to be worth saving.
It was hard to reconcile this idea with the same City that I knew provided basic income to all its citizens... with no work required. What purpose did citizens serve for the City then?
But as I would soon realize, there was much about the game of rulers I didn't yet understand.
For now, all I could focus on was securing my own future... And I already knew what Vincent and his group wanted.
"What kind of information are you looking for in the City?" I asked.
Again, he gave a satisfied smile, as if he thought he had won this round.
I didn't mind letting him think he had. I had no idea yet if I wanted to help him, but I needed to know what they were doing in the City, snooping around Henry's and Malik's homes, and probably other homes where they had placed other fake machinas.
"What did the girls tell you?" he asked, referring to the trio who had drawn me into smuggling medication, freeing political prisoners, and trading secrets.
"Nothing," I answered, wanting to confirm they were following whatever orders they received, too. "They said they don't know much either. Apparently, the information is compartmentalized... Each of them just gathers what they have to and sends it out to your group."
Vincent slowly nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied me.
"And what have you gathered on your own?" he asked, with another small nod toward me.
I swallowed, a sudden understanding settling over me.
Vincent clearly thought more of me than I had expected. I usually relied on people underestimating me, letting my apparent cluelessness work in my favor.
But now, his question implied that he thought I was capable of connecting pieces of information, smart enough to form my own theories.
"I guess it's related to something at the research center," I said carefully, hoping that being as transparent as possible would let him believe he won my trust. "If your group is gathering information on Malik, Henry... and V," I mentioned his brother and averted my eyes. "A researcher... the director of the research center... the government head of research for the City..." I let my gaze drift to the horizon of trees around the lake. "It has to be about research."
When I looked back, Vincent had crossed his arms over his chest, a smile begging to spread wider on his face.
"Not bad for a beginner..." he chuckled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear. The small bun at the back of his neck really suited him.
I blinked really fast, pushing away the distraction, and focused back on the matter at hand.
"Am I close?" I asked, careful not to mention what Firinne had suggested about it endangering Tardigrad. I wanted to see if he would bring it up himself, and I wasn't willing to risk exposing Firinne if she had said more than she should have.
"You're correct," he confirmed, his tone becoming serious again. "We're gathering information on a new research project the City is leading."
"Why?"
He studied me for a moment before stepping closer, the movement drawing us into a space that felt almost intimate. I didn't step back. My curiosity for every word leaving his mouth grounded me in place.
"Keep it to yourself, but... The City is working on eugenics research. It's called the Homo Fortis project. Do you know what eugenics means?" I shook my head. "It means modifying human genes... To "improve" them according to whatever standards they choose."
"What kind of improvements?" I frowned.
"The same thing we all want here," he answered, his eyes sweeping over the crowded hill. "Survival."
I frowned harder. Was this about the medications, too?
"One of the few reasons the City still stays in check is that they face the same hardships we do... But if they ever discover a way to survive harsher conditions and leave the rest of us behind... Let's just say it won't be only Tardigrad in trouble. It'll be everyone on the planet."
I could only imagine the hardships he meant.
Between the sterile environments of the clinics and the City's perfection, I had little idea of what it was to experience living on the Belt. Was Tardigrad a harsh place to live in? What about the Stans countries?
"But I've probably said too much already," he added, his smirk softening slightly.
Even as he spoke, I was already piecing things together.
From what I knew of the people of Tardigrad, and the lengths they went to, I understood they were not the type to sit and watch. If Vincent had ended up in jail, if Firinne was smuggling medicine and sneaking into homes, if Kira was willing to endure abuse...
They weren't going to wait for the City to arm itself.
They would strike first.
"What are you going to do?" I asked already, struggling to hide the nervousness in my voice. "To people involved in this project? What will you do to them?"
Vincent remained silent, his eyes unreadable.
But I had no time to waste. And I knew the answer already.
"Your brother is not part of it," I spoke quickly. "I can tell you that. His research has nothing to do with eugenics, or anything like that."
Vincent's expression darkened at the mention of his brother. I realized that by bringing up V, I had just revealed where my true allegiance was.
Not with Tardigrad. Not with the City.
Not with Love Machina Inc. or the clinic.
But with the one who had opened his home and life to me.
I had to think fast.
If Firinne had asked me about V, it had to be because they suspected him of being part of this project. How many days did I have left in the City? I had to make sure V was beyond their suspicion before they replaced me.
I didn't want to think about what would happen to anyone involved in this Homo Fortis project.
"I swear," I insisted again. "He's a geneticist, yes," I admitted, hoping again that my honesty would earn some trust. "But his current project isn't about improving genes... And even within that project, he's careful with ethics," I added, remembering V's stance on exobirth and his beliefs that it shouldn't be allowed.
Vincent pursed his lips and shook his head, as if he'd had enough of me defending his brother.
"It's not my role to say whether he's part of it or not. I'm just sharing this so you can decide if you want to be on the right side of history. Today, I'm only the messenger."
His words hinted at a hierarchy above him, as if others were making decisions based on the information this group collected. I was reminded of the matriarch he'd spoken to with such reverence during our last mission, clearly someone high up in their chain of command.
"By the way," it was his turn to avert my eyes now. "Are you sure you were born near Solarov?"
"Yes. Why?"
I just remembered he had promised to look into where I was from the last time we met.
"Mhmm," he scratched his jaw as he stared at the lake with a thoughtful look. "My informants didn't find anything about you in the region... How old are you? Twenty-seven, twenty-eight? Born in the early twenties, right?"
"I'm twenty-three. Born in '25."
"Oh."
He looked momentarily flustered, surprised I was younger than he'd expected.
"But I'll be twenty-four at the end of the year," I added, realizing he might think I was too young.
Too young for what? A small voice snapped inside my head.
We weren't on equal footing for that one. Since I knew V had just turned twenty-seven, and his brother had disappeared when he was six years old, I could estimate that Vincent was around thirty-three or thirty-four.
"Ah, that's not so much better..." he mumbled, smiling down at the ground as he brought his hands behind his back again. "Well... I'll have my informants double-check the earlier years then."
Noise from the crowd drew our attention, and we both turned our heads.
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