Page 118 of Sky Song
Was there a chance for Lyle and her like there was for Paloma and Ren? Was it even possible to have a chance with a man whose DNA didn’t include a gene for compassion?
Yet he touched her so tenderly and looked at her like she was his world. Sky song, he called her.
Stay in the present, Cricket, stay in the present.
Lyle hadn’t asked her to kill anyone, and she did want to know what secrets the supply room contained. It would be unfair to Dr. Ragberg, and she would probably lose her job over it, but she was going to help Paloma.
Prying her head out of her hands, she dug into her pocket and pulled out the access card she’d pilfered from Dr. Ragberg’s desk.
“I don’t know if it works.” She told Paloma what that card was. “See if it’s of any help.”
Paloma brightened and twirled the card between her fingers. “It makes my job so much easier. Look at you, not that innocent, after all. Neighbor.”
“Back at you. What anavidgamer you are. Neighbor.”
Paloma sighed. “I wish we had luck with the power outage.”
“What happened?”
“We almost had the government meet our demands and allow the freighter to fly away like we wanted. But the space depot authorities stealthily called in a mine squad to attach explosives to the freighter. We learned about it by accident. Their plan was to blast us all to pieces in space.”
Cricket couldn’t believe what Paloma was telling her. “Who was supposed to go with you?”
“There is a group of misfits that bought into the enterprise. Also, the pilots. None of us can fly ships, so we were going to kidnap the original pilots, make them deliver us to a certain base. They were completely innocent - and yet the authorities were willing to sacrifice them. We backed out.”
“I thought Meeus was a kind and considerate world!”
Cricket’s outrage elicited a loud snort from Paloma. “Meeus is as kind and considerate as a mesozoic Earth.”
“We are told daily that the establishment cares about the happiness of its people. Or have they been blowing smoke into people’s faces for two centuries?”
“No, they do care,” Paloma pushed her unruly hair off her face. “Look around - it’s a great place, but every paradise has a cost. You're either a part of this paradise or you’re out. There’s no in-between.”
Cricket cocked her head. “Then I guess I’m more out than in.”
Chapter 15
On the day of Operation Supply Room, Lyle sent Paloma to work. She fumed at not being invited to go to the hospital with the three of them, but reluctantly agreed that her role shouldn’t include the physical breaking and entering.
Thanks to Paloma, the card Cricket had stolen now gave them unlimited access to all areas of the hospital, as well as administrative powers to temporarily lock down entire blocks of the building, if it came to that.
“They should've let me practice what I do best,” Paloma had said with malice when she returned the upgraded card to Cricket. “I could’ve done great things to Meeus security systems instead of breaking them.”
They rented a rider - yes, at Cricket’s expense - and drove to the hospital in time for the shift change. Parking as close as they possibly could in a reserved spot, they got out. Lyle wore the lab scrubs from their previous rendezvous to hide behind. Ren, in his flannel shirt, looked like an inconspicuous young man.
Cricket led them through the doors into the building, their fancy card allowing her to bypass any kind of restrictions imposed by the recent changes to staff access. In the elevator, she said, “We have a quarter hour before my shift starts. Terrance is usually late, but Salty will be on time. Just so you know.”
“We have enough time,” Lyle said, typically confident.
They’d discussed everything beforehand, but still she worried. And who wouldn't? Except the fricking Shadow Flyer who laughed when being shot at from every direction. In space.
Once at the lab, Lyle and Ren smoothly split up. While Lyle moved to the supply room door, Ren headed to the metal cabinet on the wall and attached a small magnetic disc with wires to its lock. The disc gave a loud pop. Cabinet doors hung open. Acrid smell of burning chemicals and hot metal wafted from the mini-explosion.
“Wave this around.” Ren threw an empty plastic tray at Cricket. “In case the fire alarm is sensitive.”
Like an idiot, she vigorously worked the tray to circulate air.
Ren extended to Cricket the stun gun he liberated from the cabinet. “Keep this. Won’t hurt to have an extra piece.”
