"This way, Sergeant." A man in Frontier uniform said, walking past Fuse without breaking stride.
Certain he could escape if this turned out to be a trap, he followed the man through the border town of Nykberg. There were various soldiers patrolling, most in Frontier uniforms like his escort. But there were also those dressed in the field fatigues of the Grand Army. Each time one of them glanced over at him, he felt his pulse quicken.
"The desk clerk has the key to your room." The man said, stopping in front of a run down hotel. "Inside you'll find clean clothes, medical supplies, and traveling provisions. From this point on, you're on your own. Echelon can provide you with no more assistance until you reach Coast City."
Fuse nodded and the man strode away without another word. Steeling himself, he walked up the steps and a woman smiled warmly at him. "Are you Mister Fuse?"
"I am."
She set a card on the counter in front of her and beamed at him. "Breakfast is at eight and we serve dinner until ten at night. Would you like something brought to your room?"
He picked up the card with his free hand, wondering why she wasn't questioning the unconscious girl on his shoulder. "Is the cost included with the room?"
"Of course."
"Then yes. Thank you." He said, glancing down at the number on the card. "Third floor?"
"Yes, sir."
He nodded and walked over to the stairs, climbing them as quickly as he could. The hotel was eerily quiet and he wondered if this was an Echelon outpost as he slid the card into the lock and pushed into the room.
Spying the medical supplies set up next to the bed, he set the girl down and pulled the filthy blanket off her, tossing it toward the door and grabbing the kit that would allow him to start a central line. With her being so thin, it was easy to find the right spot and in ten minutes, she was getting fluids for the first time in days.
There was a polite knock at the door and the woman backed into the room with a cart. "Dinner?"
"Yeah." He sighed, walking over to her. "Is there a way that you could..."
"Not barge into your room for the duration of your stay?" He nodded and she laughed. "Consider it done, sir."
After she left, hanging a sign on the knob of his door with a wink, he pulled the lid off one of the plates. A lifetime of eating military rations or mess hall food hadn't prepared him for what he was looking at, but it smelled delicious. Reaching for a fork, he saw the state of his hands and lowered the lid before lifting his arm and making a face.
Checking on the girl once more, he walked over to the bathroom and stripped out of the pilfered, ill-fitting clothes. Sitting on the counter were two piles. One was all black and looked about his size, the other were more traditional to the region and looked to be made for a child. The only similarity were the boots. Military issue, but different sizes.
Echelon was an intelligence agency, but he hadn't appreciated the extent of their knowledge until that exact moment. Exhaling, he walked over to the tub and climbed in, turning the shower on. Instead of the frigid water he was used to, what came out was hot enough to be mildly uncomfortable.
Fifteen minutes later, he exited the bathroom to find the girl awake and in the process of pulling out the central line. He was on her instantly, gripping her wrist tightly, which only made her panic more and she flailed. It was a feeble attempt given her condition, but it was still impressive she could muster that much strength.
"Stop." Fuse said firmly, pinning her down. Her eyes found his and he froze as well. Her irises were red and not round, but fractal shaped. As he stared, trying to reconcile what he was seeing with what he understood, her breathing became more panicked. When she looked away from him, it broke the spell and he gave his head a shake. "Can you understand me?"
She nodded frantically, locking her eyes on his again.
"Okay, this?" He gave her wrist a gentle shake. "This is keeping you from dying. Pulling it out could kill you. Do not touch it. Understand?"
Another frantic nod and he let go of her wrist. She released the tube and he slid off the bed, checking the IV and making sure that things were still where they were supposed to be. When he was done, he walked over to the cart and lifted the lid off a plate and grabbed a fork. "Think you can eat something?"
When he didn't get a response, he looked over to find her passed out again. Instead of waking her, he sat down in one of the plush chairs and began eating the food, clearing both plates in less than five minutes. Satisfied, he used the last dregs of his energy to poke through the knapsacks and examine the room. In the small wardrobe there hung a heavy leather coat that would reach his knees when he put it on and a down coat that felt lightweight, but warm.
"They really planned this out." He muttered aloud, walking back to the chair and dropping into it.
~
A strange wheezing sound pulled him out of a sleep he didn't remember slipping into and after looking at the door, he looked over at the bed to find the girl panting with a pained expression on her face.
He ran over and swapped the bag for a fresh one before feeling her forehead. It was uncomfortably warm, but she was still too dehydrated for sweat to form. Turning to head to the bathroom he felt a tug on his shirt and her red eyes were looking at him again as she wheezed.
"You'll be alright." He said, pulling her fingers loose and rushing to the bathroom. After getting the water just cool enough that she wouldn't go into shock, he plugged the drain and jogged back out into the room.
After disconnecting the IV from the port, he gathered her into his arms and carried her back into the bathroom. She was too weak to support herself, so he kept one hand on her as he stripped the worn shirt and torn pants off her before turning the water off. After contemplating for a few seconds, he sighed internally and awkwardly stripped down to his boxers.
As he hefted her to climb into the tub, she stared through glassy eyes at his chest and tried to touch it, but he sat them both down and positioned her between his legs. She let out a gasp and passed out, falling limp against him.
Taking the opportunity in the lukewarm water, that he added more cold to to account for the added body, he grabbed a rag and the soap and began to carefully, methodically scrub her body where he was surprised to learn that the violet hair growing from her scalp wasn't artificial. As he worked, her breathing slowed and her temperature came down, so by the time he was done, he felt confident that she was through the worst of it and set about the task of drying her off and dressing her.
When he connected the IV back to the port, he took a moment to appreciate how complete his exhaustion was as he stared at the girl. Searching his memory for the first time for her name, he couldn't remember seeing it on any documents. Shrugging, he figured she could tell him next time they were both awake and made his way back to the chair.
The more he tried to switch his mind off and sleep, the more questions sprouted in his mind and wouldn't be silenced. When he chose to go rogue on the GA and bring the girl to Echelon in Coast City, it was in response to his frustration and anger. If they'd only listened to him, all of this could've been avoided and she'd be safely back at C-Corp with additional security.
But now he was on his own and having to think for himself and make judgements that could cost two people their lives. And he was operating with no information. Why did Echelon want the girl? Why do her eyes look the way they do? How is he going to get to the other side of the continent after everything he'd done to get them here? Why did HQ want to abandon the search for her in the first place? Why did C-Corp so readily accept HQ's decision? Why were the Vanguard called in to handle the search?
His head was beginning to hurt and sleep wasn't going to come until he got some answers, so he did the only thing he knew to do when he had idle time on his hands. He began cleaning the room and reorganized what he could. By the time the sun had come up, their travel provisions were organized and the room was more spotless than it had been when they first entered less than twelve hours prior.
He slipped from the room, bringing the cart back downstairs and set about claiming a breakfast. Preparing three bowls with oatmeal and fruit, as well as a large stack of toasted bread and prepackaged jams.
"Coffee?" He asked the desk clerk, a older man this time.
"By the glass or pot?" He shot back.
"Gallon, preferably." Fuse muttered, earning a chuckle. "A pot, please."
"Coming right up. You're gonna need that cart you brought back as well." He said, disappearing into the back and returning a few minutes later. "Got you the strong stuff."
"Thank you."
"Anything else?"
Fuse set the tray of bowls down on the cart and reached for the plate of toast. "Juice of some sort?"
"In that pod over there. Apple and orange." He answered, pointing down the line to a chrome dome.
After retrieving three cartons, he pushed the cart to the elevator and pressed the call button. He'd been the only one to exit, so it opened immediately and it was a quick trip back up to his floor. Entering the room, he saw that the girl was awake and watched as relief washed over her as he entered the room. He thought this was an odd reaction given they'd really only known each other for a matter of minutes.
Pushing this out of his head, he picked up a bowl of oatmeal. "Think you could eat?"
She nodded, so he grabbed a spoon and a carton of juice and brought them to the bed. After helping her sit up, which involved wedging her vertical with pillows, she took a small bite of the oatmeal and sighed. He opened the carton of juice and set it on the sheet next to her before returning to the cart and pouring a cup of coffee for himself and stuck a spoon in a bowl, eating over the cart.
After half an hour, he'd polished off the remaining oatmeal and most of the toast along with the entire pot of coffee and one of the cartons of juice. The girl had maybe taken five bites and barely touched the juice, but he expected that and finished them off for her, which earned him a surprised look.
"Something wrong?" He asked, stacking the bowls neatly and pushing the cart outside of his room to be claimed.
She shook her head and stared down at her hands.
"I'm not very good at this, but I have some questions I need to ask you. Do you feel up to answering them?" She nodded, but didn't meet his gaze as he sat on the foot of the bed. "First of all, what's your name?"
At this, she did look up and as her mouth moved with the only sound being the exhaling of air, some of the pieces fell into place. He frowned and got up from the bed, walking over to the dresser where he'd found a notebook and pens during his cleaning spree. Bringing them back over, he handed them to her.
"You can write?" He asked.
She nodded and scribbled something down and turning it toward him. "Lin. Okay, Lin, I'm Kurokawa Fuse." He said, then narrowed his eyes. "Why would Echelon hack trillion dollar hardware and give us sanctuary to get me to bring you to them? Do you have any connections to them?"
She shook her head and scribbled in the pad again. He waited patiently until she spun it back around.
"I spent nearly every minute I've been on this planet in my lab. I don't know anyone other than Chairman Paul and DoctorPhoenicks."
"Phoenicks." Fuse murmured dully. "That's where he went, then. Wait, what do you mean 'been on this planet'? You're not-"
She shook her head and began writing, but her hand started shaking and the note was largely illegible by the time she held it out.
"My first memories were being on a ship. I spent years on it, but then I landed here and after they did some tests on me, they kept me in a lab to do work for them. I'm good at making things."
He stared at the note, reading it a few times before handing it back to her. "Last question for now. How old are you?"
Her brow furrowed as she thought and her hand, shaking violently now, managed to barely scratch out the number nineteen. Fuse nodded and walked over to swap the bag out. "You're two years older than me."
She watched him work and let him help her lay back down. She'd improved quickly, too quickly for someone so close to death and he wasn't sure what to make of it. But she quickly drifted back to sleep, betraying how weak she still was. She also clearly didn't have any answers to the questions that plagued him and had multiplied since handing her the notepad, and that frustrated him.
~
He set her down on the toilet and walked from the bathroom, pushing the door to. "Just knock when you're done." He said, leaning against the wall.
Her needing to relieve herself was a good sign. And they'd both slept most of the day, which was an even better sign. His mind was much clearer and her condition was much improved. The bags were nearly gone from under her eyes, but she needed proper nutrition. There was a knock and he walked in as she was struggling to pull the pants up.
He could smell her urine and it had the same chemical scent that stim addicts had, which made him frown as he helped her. It explained the tremors and her rapid clarity. With the fluids and nutrition supplements, her body was able to start processing the remaining stims in her system. Soon she'd burn through them, crash, and go through withdrawals. If her recovery was due to the stimulants, then the withdrawals would definitely kill her.
"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, Lin. But I'm going to have to cause you a great deal of pain." He said, helping her back to the bed. She gave him a look of concern and he sat down to reconnect the tube to the port. "You're going to go through stim withdrawal. Probably in another day. Given those track marks, it's going to be bad. You understand what I mean, right?"
She nodded, her expression changing to fear. He continued, "There's a drug I can give you that'll burn through your system and it's worse pain than the withdrawals. I can help you through that, but you're still going to be in misery. You'll live, though. You've got to make a decision now, though. If we wait any longer, then I can't guarantee that it'll work and you'll go through hell just to die in pain anyway. I'm not trying to scare you, but I want you to understand."
She grabbed his shirt and nodded, mouthing 'do it now'.
"Alright." He said, kneeling down and pulling out the kit Echelon had left.
An hour later, he pressed an injector to her neck. She wrapped her frail hands around his wrist and kept her eyes on his as he pressed the button. The effect was immediate and her face glowed red as the veins and muscles on her neck bulged. Her hands, still gripping his wrist, squeezed tightly and her nails dug into his flesh. She couldn't scream audibly, but he listened as air was forced from her lungs and her entire body was rigid.
He pushed her onto the mattress when she started to thrash around, begging silently for him to make the pain stop. He could only shake his head in response to her as this continued until she blacked out from pain. Guilt flooded him as he watched her twitch. There was absolutely nothing he could do for her other than keep her alive to continue enduring the torture until the drug burned off the remaining stimulants in her bloodstream.
The cycle of her waking, thrashing, and begging before blacking out continued for nearly sixteen hours before she sighed in relief, shaking slightly in her sleep. She'd wet herself twice and the digested oatmeal stained the sheets, but she was through it. He sighed in relief as well, picking her up and carrying her into the bathroom to clean her up again.
~
Two weeks later, a knock at the door to their room shook Fuse out of a light doze. He looked at Lin who pointed to the door nervously and got up. Pulling it open revealed the soldier that had escorted them to the hotel. There was a look in his eye that made Fuse step aside and the man walked in, pulling off his hat and tucking it under his arm.
"This location's been compromised. You'll have to leave as soon as possible." He said bluntly.
Fuse sighed. "She's only just recovered enough strength to be awake for more than a few hours a day." The soldier gave him a look. "Stim addiction."
"That's unfortunate. We were hoping she'd be further along. But that doesn't change the situation. The GA has assigned the woman you failed to kill at the Tully farm to the case and she's managed to piece together that you haven't moved from this location. A few of the GA soldiers recognized you or thought it odd enough that it was included in their reports."
"Alex. Gonna be hard to come after me with one arm." He muttered darkly.
The man smirked, tipping his head toward Lin. "Are you not similarly restricted?"
"We'll be gone within the hour."
"I'll let Echelon know. A blizzard will be blowing in soon, that'll provide you enough cover to escape the city without being seen." He said, placing his hat back on and walking from the room.
Lin gave Fuse a concerned look and he shrugged. "Guess we're leaving."