...
She stared at the nightclub in silence for a while, watching people come and go, trying her best to be OK with the solitude.
She stared at the nightclub in silence for a while, watching people come and go, trying her best to be OK with the solitude.
That went about like she thought it would. She quickly found herself questioning her plan. She found herself thinking maybe Michael was right. Maybe she should try something a little less risky. But that just wasn't her style, and the whole point was to get back to who she'd been before, not to do things even further outside her comfort zone.
Without thinking, she started to pull her knees up against her chest, but the narrow ledge and her center of gravity got in a pushing match that nearly sent her tumbling forward off the roof. She slapped her hands back down and caught herself, but her strained shoulder paid the price.
Nikki grunted at the pain and ground her teeth to keep in the string of curses she so wanted to unravel. Being normal sucked. No two ways about it.
She spun on her aggravated butt to swing her legs back over the lip and stood up to stretch, letting out a long grumbly groan as she did so.
Does this mean you're going back to the transport? Michael said.
"I thought you'd left."
I'm not going anywhere, Nikki. Except maybe back to the transport, I hope.
That was pretty wishful thinking on his part, but Nikki wasn't about to give Michael another reason to criticize the night's activities. She'd left Coop loading up supplies on his own nearly two hours ago, something the man had to be getting used to from her by now. There was no way he was still waiting around with a transport full of controlled goods.
He would come back for her after he unloaded, of course. She had her run of the city now that the whole mess with Savior seemed to have blown over, but Elias and his crew never left her alone for too long. They didn't push. They never asked where she'd been or what she'd been doing, but they were always there waiting to give her a ride when she was ready to go…back.
Nikki rolled her shoulder to loosen up the stiffness that had built during her wait and turned back to watch the club.
Why won't you call it what it is?
"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied.
It's your home now. It's not going to kill you to say that.
"It's not home. It's just a place where I'm crashing, for now."
It's a safe place where you keep all your things, and it's full of people who care about you. If that's not home, I don't know what is.
"And?" She knew there was an and, and not just because she knew Michael as well as she knew herself. She could feel the and about to drop. She was good at sensing that sort of thing. She could feel ands and buts with the best of them.
And you could ask one of them to help with this "plan" of yours.
She laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear again. "I don't need help picking a fight. You of all people—"
You know that's not what I mean. She could hear the frustration in his voice, or thoughts, or—thought voice. I mean you could spar with a friend instead of assaulting a stranger.
She shook her head but otherwise didn't bother responding. He didn't get it, and she didn't feel like explaining. He'd just make fun of her if she did.
A handful of girls stepped out of the club. Well, "stepped" was being kind—they'd obviously been at the partying since happy hour. They were clinging to each other and barely keeping their feet, mostly due to laughter that was hurting Nikki's ears three stories up.
They were townies for sure. Skimpy spangly dresses, ridiculous shoes—not helping their stability issues—enough makeup to paint a free zone shack, and hair that was nothing short of magnificent.
Nikki's hand almost made it to her own hair before she stopped herself. She would NOT envy townies. There was nothing wrong with her style, which was why she'd had Coop help her maintain it for months. The only thing about it she'd changed was the color, and even there she'd kept it close to what Michael had done after Sky City. The black he'd put in had almost grown out completely, but she'd dyed the platinum underneath a blue so dark it was almost black, in the right light. Her roots were already starting to show, but that was an easy fix.
The gigglers stayed put outside the front door to chat, much to the bouncer's amusement and Nikki's annoyance. Watching the townies fed a growing wave of contempt that could have been hers or Michael's. When he was in her head like this, she had trouble telling his emotions from hers. They felt the same to her now, which irritated her enough to make her question and battle everything she felt when he was around. Still, she didn't want to complain. She didn't want to risk pissing off the universe enough to make it snatch away what little of him she had left.
Michael was quiet all of a sudden, but not like he'd faded away again. He was still there. Nikki could feel him, almost like he was staring over her shoulder. Something had shut him up, and whatever it was started a trickle of unease creeping through Nikki's belly.
It didn't take her long to spot what was bothering him. She'd noticed the kid lurking in the alley earlier, but a skinny, dirty teenager seemingly half conscious next to a dumpster was white noise to a zoner like Nikki. Her eyes had moved past him without a thought. But looking at him now set off her trouble alarms. He was on his feet against the wall of the alley and looking all manner of shifty, his gaze glued to the townies. His body language was practically screaming creeper.
On the plus side, it was also screaming malnourished, strung out, and altogether harmless. The kid was probably as tall as Nikki, if not taller, but she would bet hard cash she outweighed him. On the threat scale, he barely registered, especially against four well-fed women, even if they were townies.
Still, that wasn't stopping him from eyeing them like they were a charity food drop. Definite creeper. Watching him reminded Nikki of the hunting lions she'd watched during her halo years. He was motionless in the tall garbage, watching and waiting for a weak or injured member of the herd to fall behind before he made his move.
One of the ladies, arguably the least inebriated, separated from the group to a chorus of ear-splitting complaints and started her slightly weaving climb up the road, while her friends started their raucous stagger downhill.
The loner passed right by the grubby teen's alley, not noticing him or his hungry stare, and continued up the street, singing to herself.
Nikki stared at the teen staring after the townie, half of her begging him to make a move, the other half willing him not to. She didn't have to work to figure out which feelings were hers this time. Even so, when the teen slipped out of the alley and started following the girl, her desire to go after him was doubly strong. Michael was suddenly onboard with the hero plan, as she'd known he would be once he saw someone in trouble.
His sudden resolve to play hero didn't stop him from second guessing her plan though, unfortunately. Even at a run, she didn't make it halfway across the roof before he started in.
Nikki, don't do this on your own. Call for help.
She didn't bother with a response.
She slowed as she reached the fire escape. She could see the water on the steps and rails reflecting the moonlight, and she had no desire to do a repeat performance of her graceless dumpster drop, especially not from three stories up. She started the climb down trying to ride the line between fast and careful, erring a wee bit on the side of fast.
Michael was wise enough not to distract her on the climb down, but as soon as her feet hit the alley pavement, he was back at it.
Did you hear me? Call for help, Nikki. Please.
"Don't be an idiot," she almost laughed as she jogged down the narrow side alley toward the main street. "You know what good shouting for help does."
He had to. They'd seen it happen too many times for him to miss it. In the free zones, shouting for help was a sure way to draw out the vultures and turn a two-sided scuffle into a three-, four-, or more-sided frenzy.
Seattle isn't a free zone, Nikki.
"Figured that one out on your own, did you?"
You know what I mean. Besides, I didn't mean shout for help. I mean call call. As in—
"Shhh," she cut in as she reached the edge of the alley and peeked out up the main street. "You want to kill my element of surprise?"
She felt incredulity pulsing through her, but she did earn silence from him for a few seconds while she leaned out to see the girl and her shadow halfway up the hill already. Nikki jogged across the street and settled into a fast walking pace to eat up the gap between her and the stalker.
Dammit, Nikki. Nobody can hear me but you. And if you'd answer in your head instead of out loud—
"You mean just jump over the crazy line and start having conversations in my head? No thanks." She could practically feel his frustrated-wordless response. She knew that sensation. She'd felt hints of it through their link nearly every time they'd argued throughout their lives. If he'd had hands, he would have been rubbing his eyes in defeat.
Up ahead, the high-heeled townie's body language changed enough for Nikki to notice, as far behind as she was. By her stiffer, more alert posture, the girl was apparently sober enough to sense looming trouble, if not enough to sense the source. She seemed to be eyeing a couple of guys talking under the streetlight at the top of the hill where this road met a busier street. Then, apparently to prove just how defective her danger sense was, the girl turned down an alley a hundred meters shy of the relative safety of the intersection.
Her pursuer banished any doubt Nikki might have had as to his intentions by speeding up to a jog as soon as soon as the girl stepped out of sight.
Nikki did the same, all thoughts of stealth and surprise washed away by the adrenaline her heart was pounding through her veins.
There's an emergency call box at the top of the hill. I'm begging you—
"No. I can take that kid," she said to herself as much as to him. The tremor of doubt from Michael was growing stronger in her belly, making the kid seem a lot bigger than he'd looked from the roof.
If not the cops, then Coop, at least.
"No, I have to do this. Stop worrying about me," she growled in a whisper as she rounded the corner into the alley.
It was empty as far ahead as she could see.
She had time to start a frustrated curse before a scream from ahead told her the girl had turned down an even narrower gap behind the building on the right, and the perv had made his move.
It's not you I'm worried about, Nikki, Michael said as she sprinted for the gap. What happens if this kid gets the drop on you? What if he has a weapon? If you can't stop him, what happens to the girl?
Too late, Nikki realized what Michael meant. She'd been so caught up in her side of plan, she'd failed to consider what failure might mean for everyone involved.
She rounded the corner into the alley cursing herself under her breath and skidded to a halt.
She'd expected to see the scrawny perv getting handsy with the spangled townie. She hadn't expected to see the two not-so-scrawny thugs backing him up.
Copyright 2015 Toby Minton
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