The City Unseen, page 5
part #2 of The Unseen Series
Skye’s mouth dropped open. “Language!”
“Sorry,” I said, “but why didn’t you tell me?”
“He said he didn’t want to wake you.”
My mouth felt like dirt, and my hair was a beehive, plus I was still wearing my clothes from the night before, which stank with sweat from the bike ride back.
“Tell him I’ll be out in a minute.” One of the benefits of Dad’s income was a pretty sweet apartment, which thankfully included my own bathroom. I jumped in the shower, washed as fast as I could, and put on my comfy dark blue jeans and a plain black shirt. Not that I had too many other options. I was still building up my wardrobe after the fire, and thanks to my laziness I didn’t have many clean clothes left either.
Josh was sitting on the lounge when I came out. I ran over and hugged him. He pulled away, slowly.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Sorry for the surprise. I was down here for a follow-up appointment and thought I’d drop by. Skye let me in.” He held up the stump of his right index finger, the one Hackman had chopped off because of me. “On the bright side, it’s healing well.”
“I’ve missed you.”
“You too. Caitlyn wanted to come, but she had to work.”
I sat down next to Josh. “I haven’t seen her in so long. It’s like we’re not even friends any more. I wanted to go visit, but I just don’t think I can go back to Ettney.”
Josh nodded. “I get what you mean. It’s a different place now. I’m counting down the days until school ends and I can get out of there for good. Caitlyn still talks about you, though, and misses you.”
“I miss her too, but nothing is the same.”
“I understand. I mean, you’ve had it way worse than me, but even having old Stumpy here has taken some adjusting.” He wiggled the stump of his finger.
“You’ve given it a name?” I groaned.
“Makes it kinda cute, don’t you think? Watch this.” He raised his voice like he was calling a dog. “Here, Stumpy. Here Stumpy!” He wiggled the stump, and then made it come leaping over to his other hand. “Good boy,” he grinned, patting it. In the corner of the room, Stewie our pug lifted his head from his bed, then put it back down when he realised he wasn’t being called. He’d been a bit down since we’d moved into the apartment.
I laughed at Josh and shook my head. “You’re an idiot.”
“Attitude is everything. That, and naming your appendages.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Appendages? You mean you’ve given other things names?”
“Yeah, that’s not the only Stumpy I’ve got.”
Chuckling, I watched Josh’s face turn red.
“Oh wow. I meant my left big toe, you know, how it’s all tiny.”
I laughed harder, and he went even redder. “Yeah, alright. I left myself open on that one.”
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down. “It’s okay,” I replied. “You’ve said worse.”
“Oh, gosh. I have, haven’t I?”
“Remember that time you complimented Mrs Baker on her enormous melons?” I smiled.
“Oh, no, don’t bring that up. For the last time, we were making watermelon smoothies in Cooking, and she had brought in some super massive melons from her garden. They were just so big and juicy, I had to say something!”
I burst into laughter again. “Josh, when you reach the bottom, stop digging!”
Skye wandered in from her room. “What are you guys laughing about?”
I looked at Josh, who was trying to hold back another wave of laughter. Instead of holding mine in, I snorted by accident, and we both lost it again. Skye joined us, despite having no idea why we were actually laughing.
The front door clicked, and Dad entered the loungeroom.
When I was younger, I always thought Dad would make a great British Lord, if he spoke with the accent and wore a top hat or something. His greying-black hair was always perfectly slicked back, and he had a face that, while thin, was never haggard. He looked tired today, though, as if he was carrying the city on his back.
“Hi, girls.”
Skye ran to greet him. “Daddy!”
He picked her up and squeezed her tight. “Hey, princess.”
I wasn’t quite up to the hugging stage yet. Not after what had happened before my parents’ split. Things got violent. Never towards me, but Mum copped a lot. The first time he tried to hug me after Mum died, when he put his hands on my shoulders, I couldn’t stop seeing them hitting Mum. Those hands that were trying to comfort me had caused so much pain. It made me sick.
He’d been trying, though, especially with Skye. She didn’t remember that stuff, and I didn’t want to tell her, didn’t want to destroy her relationship with the only parent we now had. He’d never done anything to us girls, and he told me he’d been seeing a psychologist the past few years, to help him deal with his issues. Apparently, a lot of it traced back to things he’d gone through when he was little. So, at least he was trying. But no, I wasn’t up to hugging. Not just yet.
Dad glanced at Josh and me. “Josh, nice to see you.”
“You too, sir.”
“Sir? That makes me feel about a hundred years old.”
“If the shoe fits, sir.” Josh grinned, and Dad chuckled and put Skye down. Josh knew about what had happened, about our family’s past, so he didn’t have a lot of respect for Dad. In Josh’s own weird way, that came out as jokey insults.
“I’m home early today, girls,” said Dad. “I’ll be out late tonight though, after dinner. Work thing.”
“No!” said Skye.
“It’ll be after you’ve gone to bed, princess. How about you go watch the TV in your room for a minute while we work out the details.” Skye grunted, and wandered off down the hall. Dad turned to me. “Ari, are you okay to watch Skye?”
“Uh, not exactly. I’m working.”
He frowned. “Again? You’re pulling too many hours at that pizza place.”
“You’re one to talk about work hours.”
Dad stopped and sighed. “You’re right. Sorry. Is there any way you can take the night off?”
Unseen missions weren’t exactly negotiable, but I couldn’t leave Skye alone either. “What about Josh?” I turned to him. “If you’re free, that is.”
“Well, it’s Friday, so I don’t actually have to be back for a few days. I could swing it with my folks,” Josh said.
Dad thought for a moment. “Look, Josh. You’re a good guy for offering, but I’m just not comfortable having you look after Skye alone.”
“What?” I said, frowning.
“It’s just, I’m not comfortable with it. Skye’s a young girl, and Josh is almost an adult male.”
“Almost an adult or almost a male?” Josh joked, but his red face showed how awkward he felt.
“I’m sorry, it’s just not okay.” Dad crossed his arms.
“Are you kidding? Dad, that’s ridiculous,” I said. “Josh would never… he’s the best guy I know.”
“It’s okay, Ari,” Josh said. “I should get home.” He stood to leave.
“No, you don’t need to leave,” said Dad. “You’re more than welcome to stay as long as Ari is here.”
“It’s really fine, I’m more than happy to—”
My fists clenched. “Dad, you’ve made this really awful. Besides, if you were worried about anything you should be more worried about Josh and I being alone together!”
Dad stopped, frozen.
Josh’s left eyebrow went up.
I swallowed. “I’m not saying that. I mean, it’s not as if…we’re not…”
There was a long pause. Finally, Dad spoke slowly. “Ari, you’re a different case. You’re seventeen now. You’re almost a woman. And I know that at your age, teens are exploring each other, and—”
“Stop!” I buried my face in a lounge cushion. “Please, do not finish that sentence.” I willed the couch to swallow me whole and save me from this horrifying conversation that I would never be able to erase from my brain.
I snuck a look at Josh, and he was trying desperately not to laugh.
Burying my face even more into the lounge, I shook my head. “Just go, Dad. Please, before you make this more awkward.”
There was silence for a while, except for a squeaking sound. I looked up, and Dad had gone off to his room. The squeaking sound was Josh, who was having trouble containing his laughter. His eyes streamed tears, and his mouth was pressed firmly closed. “Excuse me for a minute,” he forced through compressed lips, and he strode out the front door of the apartment, closing it quietly behind him. Outside in the hall, he couldn’t contain himself anymore, and belly laughs exploded down the hallway.
I shook my head. I’d survived explosions, supernatural attacks, and the destruction of the Ettney complex, but that conversation with Dad had nearly killed me.
Plus, I had a problem. Josh couldn’t look after Skye, not alone, and I knew no-one but the Unseen in this city. With a mission coming up, there was only one person I could call for help.
NINE
When I opened the door, Rachel didn’t look thrilled. She’d brought two suitcases, and she passed me one as she walked inside. It was so heavy the handle slipped out of my grip, and the case thunked onto our grey carpet.
“Be careful with that,” snapped Rachel. “It’s the gear I need to run the mission tonight.” I apologised, but she ignored me. “Where can I set up?”
“My room has a desk,” I answered. “That’s probably the best place.”
The toilet flushed, and Josh wandered out of the bathroom.
“You washed your hands, right?” I asked.
He wandered back in again.
“Josh is still here?” Rachel asked.
“Yeah, he’s staying around for the weekend, just in case something happens. He can cover for me with Dad.”
“Seems like a good guy,” she said. Her voice was softer than before.
“He is, yeah.”
Rachel and I lugged the suitcases into my room. Skye was in bed, and normally slept like a hibernating bear. She’d been waking up less and less lately, and the nightmares seemed to be fading. If she had one, though, they normally woke her after two in the morning, and I’d be back way before then. I had to be; Dad would be home sometime after midnight, knowing his usual work schedule. That left four hours to get down to the docks and back. Should be enough time.
Josh came into my bedroom, pointedly drying his hands on his pants. “Better?” he asked.
I nodded. “Help me with this suitcase.”
Rachel frowned. “I’m not sure if Josh is the right person to do that.”
“Hey,” Josh said, “I handled the Kindred back in Ettney. I mean, I can’t shoot brain fireballs but—"
“Flares,” Rachel interrupted.
“Right, flares. I can’t do that. But I’m good with computer stuff, at least that’s what my teacher told me after I accidentally took down the school network.”
“That doesn’t fill me with confidence, but I suppose you’re as much a part of this as any of us,” said Rachel.
“It’ll be fine, trust me.” He hoisted the suitcase onto the desk, and something inside clunked as the case hit the wooden surface.
Rachel glared at him.
We opened the suitcases and unpacked the gear. There was a small satellite dish, a portable server, and some radio communications gear. They all patched into a chunky laptop.
Rachel sat at my desk. “This will allow me to monitor the mission from here. This links back via satellite to the secure server and gear in the warehouse, so nothing can be traced back to this apartment.”
“What’s the mission, anyway?” Josh asked.
“Noah, Hud and I are checking out some weird stuff at the docks.”
Rachel coughed loudly.
“It’s okay, Rach. Josh has kept our secret this long. It’s his secret too, really.”
She grunted and loaded up the laptop.
Josh sat on my bed, and the springs creaked. “Secret missions at the docks? That’s all very double-oh-seven.” He put on a deep Scottish accent. “I shuppose that makesh me Mish Moneypenny.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“Only the most famous secret agent of all time. Licence to kill? Goldfinger? No?”
I shook my head.
“Ari, your complete ignorance of pop culture references is breathtaking.”
Rachel snorted but kept looking at the laptop. “Okay, we’re good to go,” she said. “I can monitor you guys from here.” She took out an earpiece from the laptop bag, plus a smooth black case the size of my phone. “These are our comms units. They have an inbuilt microphone that switches on when you talk. They’re not exclusive, so you can all talk and receive at the same time, although for the sake of my sanity please try not to. The black thing is a GPS transmitter, so I can monitor your movements.” She pointed to the laptop screen, which showed a map with dots and coordinates. One was our address, and the other two were moving fast along the train line near Green Point. “Looks like the boys are on the subway. The transmitters are powerful enough to penetrate the tunnels.”
Josh whistled. “Where do you guys get tech like this?”
“We have a few rich backers,” Rachel explained. “Mostly former Kindred who amassed wealth through weapons production and private security. They managed to take most of their assets with them when they defected.”
“Wow,” he replied.
“Don’t be too impressed,” Rachel added. “Keep in mind the Kindred are even better resourced. There’s more of them, and they have more friends in higher places.” She turned to me. “With that in mind, Ari, you need to be prepared for anything. This is just a small reconnaissance mission, but you know by now that recon can very quickly go south.”
I nodded, and she handed me a small backpack with some extra gear.
“Stay safe,” she said, and I went to the loungeroom to put on my black shoes. I was wearing entirely black, tonight, to remain as hidden as I could. Josh came out too and sat next to me on the lounge.
“Hey, so, before you go out…”
I stopped tying my left shoelace and looked up at him. “Yes?”
“I haven’t had a chance yet, with everything. I haven’t asked you where we are. Where you are. With us.”
My heart sank. This was a conversation I had to have, and now I couldn’t put it off any longer.
“Josh, I—”
“I guess I just need to know either way. I feel like you’re different, ever since Ettney, and I know that you’re not ready for a relationship, but I just have to know if you’ll ever be. If I have a chance with you. ‘Cause if I don’t, I can stop waiting. The waiting is the worst part.”
I took his hand, and it was warm and familiar. “Honestly? I’m not sure what happened in the Complex. I was scared and alone, and I needed someone.”
“And that someone was me.”
I paused and took a deep breath. “Right. Thing is, whatever we had back there, I don’t feel it any more. I’ve tried, honestly, I have. But I’ve changed, and so have you, and the world is just so different now. I love you, I really do, with all my heart. But not in the way I did. I don’t think that’s going to come back, either. I’m sorry.”
His eyes shone with unshed tears, and I wanted so much to love him, and kiss him, and hold him, and for those things to really mean something, but I couldn’t give him that. I was awful. I’d used him back at the Complex. I’d kissed him and been loved by him, and it had been my only comfort. But now I only thought of him as a friend. A wonderful, strong, caring, kind friend. But while I wasn’t ready for anything with Noah just yet, I wouldn’t ever be with Josh. I knew that now.
Josh stood, quietly, and nodded. “Thank you for being honest with me,” he murmured, and walked off to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
I finished lacing my shoe, wiped my eyes, and stepped out into the frozen night.
TEN
I met Noah and Hud at City Station. They both had bikes from the Unseen warehouse, and the three of us rode to the docks together. The city was quiet, save for a few office workers still heading home after a long day. Skyscraper windows formed checkerboards of light as we cycled down King Street. Just about every city and town in Australia has a King Street. It’s this weird colonial throwback to when we still cared what the British thought of us. Coleton’s King Street was one of the busiest roads in the city during the day, but it was quiet this time of night.
Homeless types were scattered here too, huddled under awnings in sleeping bags and blankets. There were a handful of shelters in the city run by well-meaning people, but they were overwhelmed by the need and had trouble making even a dent in the problem. Mostly, Coleton just didn’t care about these lonely figures. They were easier to ignore.
We kept silent as we rode. To talk properly would have required volume, and we couldn’t afford any Kindred overhearing our conversation.
Getting to the docks required a zig-zag off King Street through a series of alleys at the back of Chinatown. Normally, I loved walking through Chinatown. Beautifully sculpted red dragon gates marked the entrance to the food quarter, and the air was filled with noise and incredible smells. It was one of the few parts of the city centre that was still alive, partly because Coleton had a sizeable Chinese population, and partly because the prices were really, really good. A few weeks before, I’d spent hours here just wandering around, watching the people and looking at the lobsters crawling around in their tanks out the front of each restaurant. Chinese New Year was months away, but I was looking forward to coming down here for the celebrations. In the movies, it seems like every night in Chinatown is Chinese New Year, but normally it was a pretty chill place.
Tonight, we skirted around Chinatown, using the access roads behind restaurants and shops, weaving past dumpsters and layers of cardboard left out for collection. Posters crumbled off stained walls, and occasionally one of the dumpsters made me hold my breath—likely filled with expired seafood.
We came to the edge of Chinatown, ready to cross over Pier Road and ultimately wind up at the docks. Traffic was heavier here, and I pressed the button on the pedestrian crossing at a busy intersection. As we waited, I looked up again into the dark sky. There was too much light pollution here to see the stars. Either that, or the sky was filled with Shadows, blocking out the heavens and swirling around like clouds.
