Page 129 of Coldwire
Kieren scoffs. He tips his head skyward, glaring at the shelter above us, the continuous strike of the raindrops.
“I love you,” he says again. “I’m sorry. I always have.”
It’s a bitter, mournful admission. As though there’s nothing left to lose, and so he’s been permitted to play his last card, knowing defeat waits afterward. I witness it all through a transparent display, my attention focused on my main panel. I have to. Otherwise I don’t know what I’d do. I can’t stay. I can’t.
“Kieren…”
“Some part of me has always been aware that my goals are futile. Proving that NileCorp harmed my father isn’t as simple as merely getting away from him and into the cyber division. It’s an endless staircase to climb afterward, and even the first step sometimes seemed impossible. The only part that was bearable was you. Half my motivation for this has always been to stay alongsideyou.”
I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to. My throat has been scraped raw. My mind reels, frantic and stumbling over each thought. There’s so muchto understand at once, and in response I go blank entirely, heading toward one course of action.
“Don’t go,” Kieren whispers. “Let me help you.”
I’ve long been staring at the red button in the corner. Enough time has lapsed. My display makes the decision for me.
“I’m sorry too.”
And I log out.
35EIRALE
Nik insisted on driving all the way to Wespic without pause.
I tried twice to suggest he would be less likely to crash us and send us into a ditch if we pulled to the side and he rested for a few minutes. Or—wait for it—if he just put on the self-driving capabilities. But Nik refused, so I wasn’t going to press any further than necessary. I opted to white-knuckle my way through his shaky steering.
“City boundaries are right up ahead,” Nik announces. He reaches forward, wiping away the condensation misting the inside of the windshield.
“Great,” I reply. “We’re stopping for the night, yes?”
Nik frowns. He says nothing in answer. After a few phone calls earlier that I had to operate, we drew out the next steps: Miz and Blare were waiting in Wespic for us, and we would continue onward to Offron together as soon as Nik and I caught up. Miz had a contact in Wespic—she would acquire a method of transport specific to Offron. That way we could drive in without triggering surveillance. At the edges of Medaluo, our excuses need to be totally bulletproof. No reason for a tourist to be out there.
I tap my foot against the carpeting under the passenger seat. I mimic the windshield wipers on the light rain: left, right, left, right.
We’ll be arriving well within the deadline Teryn set. I don’t know ifthat means it will be some time before her team swoops in. Whether the tracker in my boot will signal them to act as soon as Nik has what they want. Whether they need to wait for a certain hour when Medaluo isn’t watching.
“If you don’t get some rest,” I say, eyeing how heavily Nik is blinking, “I fear I broke into that pharmacy for nothing.”
“Don’t exaggerate.”
Wespic’s entry toll booths appear within view, and Nik starts to decelerate.WELCOME TO THE LAND OF WESTERN PEACE. I find myself bracing, afraid that we’ll be stopped again, that another closure will come down and shut us out of Wespic just as we were almost blocked from Threto.
But the automatic arm lifts, registering the car’s license plate. In seconds, we’re through. I almost can’t believe how easy the entry was, shifting in my seat to glare at the arm on the booth as it comes back down. There are no other cars behind us. The road in front is empty too. It gives Nik the permission to speed up again on the asphalt.
We are only hours away from Offron. Which means we’re only hours away from the end of everything. From my freedom, one way or another.
“Even a half-hour nap,” I say, “would be very beneficial for your health and well-being.”
“Instead of showing unnecessary compassion for your kidnapper,” Nik counters, “maybe walk through your plan into Kunlun once more to make sure we haven’t missed anything.”
I’m unmoved. “What happened to not being my kidnapper?”
“I don’t know. It’s kind of growing on me as a label. Reclaiming it, redefining it, and all that.”
The plan into Kunlun is solid. We have the list of log-ins that Blare retrieved in Threto, which includes twenty unique sets of credentials from Kunlun citizens. I like our odds. Out of twenty, it’s statistically very likely that we’ll have a few where users haven’t changed their StrangeLoom passwords since they wrote it somewhere in plain text.
I just need to hope that I’m right about Offron’s data center providing a back door to dodge Kunlun’s tricky second password.
Nik makes a sharp turn. We’ve entered what appears to be the city downtown, following a row of blue streetlights that indicate a main path. Wespic isn’t under lockdown, but it feels quieter than Threto did even during isolation. I catch a glimpse of a tattoo shop with a cluster of motorbikes parked outside. A late-night soup shop with its lights on.
