Page 21 of Raven

When Archer took on Zion after the Change, well, it’s no small job turning a resort with a hundred young, rich people into a permanent residence, then setting up a research lab and taking on the development of a DNA drug that could save future generations from looking like aliens. And yes, Archer was still the same jerk, flying high on all substances possible for two years. Yet, he did what he did best—medicine. And for that, I will always respect him.

What changed him eventually was his best friend, Droga. Friendship will do that. I’d say that reuniting with family can be catalytic. Losing one even more so, like him losing his dad, Ayana’s godfather. That did a number on Archer and, by the way, fucked us all.

What really brought Archer back to sanity was Katura Ortiz. Katura is a magnificent bitch with a great brain and juvenile attitude that needs a couple of years to adjust itself. But she is exactly what the doctor prescribed for Archer’s fuckuppery. A woman can be more powerful than a nuclear war. Yes, I said it. If she can empower the man? Well, the sky is the limit to what he can achieve. Archer is a king. Or something of the sort. And good for him. About time he pulled his head out of his ass.

“It’s not about moving the lab elsewhere,” Archer says thoughtfully as we stand outside the Center. “This is a home to so many people. Two years ago, we promised everyone this would be a safe haven.”

I get it. Now, this is his home, because, yeah, Katura, among other things.

“Listen, Raven, speaking of that Tsariuk business…” Archer stalls, without finishing.

I stall because my mind instantly goes to Maddy. I scan the parking lot and the garden next to it, noticing some of the lab workers smoking and talking to a kid. My entire body tenses, waiting for what Archer is about to say.

“Listen, let’s get together for drinks sometime, yeah?” he says, changing the topic again. “We have a lot of things to discuss, besides the meeting stuff. Marlow is all lovey-dovey these days. It would be fine if he weren’t partying so much and being completely useless the next day.”

“Sound familiar?”

Archer snorts out a laugh. This is new, Archer taking jokes about himself easily.

“Yeah, there are some changes lately,” Archer says. “Let’s talk sometime this week. Just you and I. Give me a ring, yeah?”

“Sure.”

Archer nods toward the kid walking toward us, eating chips out of a bag in his hand. “Watch out, he’ll trick you into something or another.” He grins at the approaching kid and gives him a high-five. “Looking for trouble?”

The kid squints at him with a big grin. “Nah.”

“Nah?”

“Nah.”

Archer laughs and walks back into the building, leaving me alone with the kid.

Port Mrei has many children. Ayana has one, Sonny “Little.” He is talked about as a mascot of future hope. And the future of Ayana is dressed in a Spiderman shirt, board shorts, and flip-flops with, yep, Spiderman. His sunburnt hair is a tangled web of shoulder-long frizzy strands.

He is an interesting specimen. He helped to find Archer and Katura after their kidnapping when he pointed us to the bunkers in Ashlands. He’s been helpful. And there are several ways I can use him again.

Even more so, he often hangs out at the medical center, with Maddy. She is extremely protective of him.

My thinking? If Maddy has a special connection with the kid, then I need to keep him around to get her attention.

Sonny “Little” dips his hand smudged with orange powder into the bag of cheesy chips, and the moment he meets my eyes, he freezes and stops chewing.

“Hi,” he says awkwardly, his eyes intense and curious, but he doesn’t look away, doesn’t walk away, like he’s waiting for something.

I don’t feel good about using the kid, but he can help. “If I take you to the Center, will you sit down with some of the security guys? They will show you Port Mrei, and you can point out other hidden bunkers. Like you did before.”

His eyes light up. He nods. “You will give me a tour?”

“Sure.”

“Now?”

Like I said, too eager.

“No. I have things to do.”

“Are you going to your cave?”

---