Page 59 of Between Earth and Eternity
The button beeps before the door slides open, and I catch muffled voices on the other side.
“Skyler, it’s for you,” Ori says sheepishly, stepping away from the doorway.
It’salmostcomical that we’re here again.
“Miss Andrews, we have a few questions for you,” Runa says with a look of disappointment. Another badge, a different man from last time, is at her side, hence why she didn’t call me Skyler.
“About what?” I ask calmly.
“We’ll explain,” the badge answers, even though I’m looking at Runa. I sigh, defeated, and step aside for them to enter.
“Sorry, Miss Andrews, I’m afraid you will need to come with us this time,” Runa explains.
“Oh. Um. Give me a minute to change and I’ll be right out.” I push the button a bit too harshly to close the door.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
How do they know already? Perhaps they know everything. Trying to track down Laz and Payson, my conversation with Sarah, the letter. Not to mention my unfortunate confrontations with both Mannox brothers . . . My rap sheet is getting too long. There’s only so much they will let slide.
Ori’s cool and calm voice helps deter me from my swirling panic. “This is probably about our hasty departure from Sega.You didn’t do anything. Just tell them the truth. You and I went shopping, you ran into an old friend, then we came back. Easy.”
If only, I want to say. “Yeah. It’s probably nothing,” I reply, even though I know it’s anything but. How many times can I avoid real consequences?
I quickly change and throw on my hat to meet Runa in the hall, where I’m escorted through passageways meant only for crew members, sparing me the embarrassment of onlookers but only making the seriousness of the situation more prevalent. I don’t have my hands bound like a prisoner, but it feels as much. When we arrive at a stark-white room with only a table and two chairs, it clicks that this is more than just a few questions. This is an interrogation.
“Please take a seat,” Runa says gently, having seen my face fall in realization.
“We have received some intel of suspicious activity. It seems to be coming up more as of late, so we need to ask you a few things, Miss Andrews. And we ask you to be honest in your answers,” the badge says, looking at his datapad.
“Why me?”
He looks to Runa to explain. “Well, you’ve displayed some . . . unpopular opinions, so naturally, your name came up in discussions.”
Naturally.
“Speaking my opinions doesn’t mean I have committed a crime, so why treat me like a criminal?” I snap.
“We will ask the questions, Miss Andrews,” the badge bites back. “And you’re not the only one we are questioning. This is an investigation.”
Investigation? Does that mean they’re questioning Laz and Payson too?
“In addition to your public displays, witnesses claim they saw you looking suspicious when you visited Sega yesterday,” he adds.
“Suspicious how?”
“You were seen in a questionable part of town, and then it appears you had an argument with someone in a shop.”
“Who made this claim?” I ask, calmly this time.
“I can’t say.”
Kol or Slade? Probably both. It explains the look Slade gave me on the shuttle.
“Can you confirm if this is true?” he asks, patience clearly gone.
“I was exploring the town and got lost. Then I ran into a friend I knew back on Earth. We got a drink together and talked. It got heated at one point, but it was nothing.”
It’s not a lie, but it’s not the full truth either. Runa watches me with stoic resolve.
