Cyber Dreams - 6.51 - Small Reunions

Juliet, Aya, and Emma sat at one of the couch groupings in the lobby of the Big Rock Inn, a surprisingly upscale hotel where Frida had booked rooms for the entire team, including Books and his mercenaries. They were waiting on Tanaka and Bennet, supposedly due imminently, though they’d been hearing that for close to twenty minutes—Ceres City had a traffic problem. There wasn’t traffic as Juliet was used to; there weren’t any cars or trucks to speak of under the dome protecting the hive-like urban tumor growing out of the asteroid, but the trams, subways, and high-speed rails were notoriously off-schedule.

“So, Tristan’s in a trauma center?” Aya asked as Juliet finished detailing everything she’d done since leaving the Cherry Blossom.

“Yeah, Athena’s footing the bill at one of the fancy Diamond Care centers. She’s seeing about getting him some legs and waiting around to make sure he comes out of the induced coma all right.”

Aya nodded, reaching up to twirl a loose lock of bubblegum-pink hair. “But he’s gonna be all right?”

“I think so,” Juliet sighed, shrugging. “He hasn’t spoken since I pulled his PAI.”

“But you had to, right?” Emma’s tone made it sound like she was confirming the fact for herself.

“Yes, Em!” Juliet turned to Aya. “He had one of the, um, bad Angel chips.”

Aya’s eyes widened as she slowly nodded. “Lucky, when you escaped, why didn’t you tell us about Tristan being there? Or did you? I don’t remember you mentioning he was on the Horizon Prophet.”

Emma’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she peered at Aya. “Wait, you knew that guy? I mean, like, before?”

Juliet groaned. “Aya, don’t—”

“Lucky didn’t tell you? They were dating back on Luna.” She looked at Juliet and grinned wickedly.

“Oh, brother—”

Emma leaned forward. “Really? I mean, he’s fine as hell, but, like, he gave me corpo-sec vibes.”

“Em, he was unconscious.” Juliet sighed and glared at Aya. “A lot changed since we were dating, and I didn’t mention him earlier ‘cause I guess it didn’t come up. Besides, we had plenty to talk about, didn’t we?”

Aya smiled, and her irises sparkled with a stream of heart-shaped bubbles—a new effect she was trying out—as she nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.” Juliet didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking about—mind reading. Aya turned to Emma. “Anyway, I was just surprised to hear about him, but I’m glad Lucky got you both off that ship.”

“So weird to hear you call her ‘Lucky.’” Emma looked at Juliet. “Is it, like, an ironic name?”

Juliet frowned. “Ironic? Why?”

Emma shrugged. “I guess I wouldn’t have described either of us as ‘lucky.’ Shows we drifted pretty far apart, huh?” Before Juliet could answer, she twisted a particularly painful knife the way only a big sister could do: “But, back to the topic of that guy—if he was, like, your boyfriend, shouldn’t you be there waiting for him to wake—”

“We aren’t together, Em!” Juliet growled. “Besides, he’s in good hands, and there are other people I want to see, other people I was worried about.” Emma nodded slowly. Aya opened her mouth, glanced between Juliet and Emma, and closed it. Juliet groaned and added, “I’ll go see him after everyone checks in. Okay?”

Emma played innocent, holding her hands up, palms out. “Hey, do what you think is right.”

Juliet frowned, struck by sudden flashbacks of her teen years filled with irritating fights stemming from little digs like the one Emma had just lobbed. She chose to ignore it, smiling over at Aya. “Have you talked to Leo yet?”

“I did. He’s nursing a headache. He, um, came in a little hot and clipped a broken plasteel girder with his helmet.” Her eyes widened, and she reached over to squeeze Juliet’s knee. “Promise me you won’t tease him about it!”

“I promise, Aya! I’m just glad he’s okay.” Juliet sighed again and leaned back, watching the revolving lobby door, wishing Tanaka and Bennet would hurry up. She was glad to have Emma back, happy she was safe, but she was also finding out that she and her sister had a vast gulf between them—years spent apart and in very different social circles. It made things worse that Juliet was the only person she knew within a few hundred million kilometers. She’d secretly hoped Emma would want to relax in the hotel room, maybe take a nap or send some messages back home, but she’d quickly volunteered to tag along when Juliet said she was going to meet Aya.

Emma shifted and sipped her fizzy glass of cola. As she swallowed, she asked, “So, who’re we waiting for again? I mean, not their names, but, like, who are they to you?”

Aya grinned and leaned forward. “Bennet is one of my oldest friends. He’s worked with my family for more than ten years. He’s a muscle head and the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. The man who went to spring him from his holding cell is Tanaka—” She stopped short and looked at Juliet with a raised eyebrow. “What’s his first name again?”

“Rutger.” Juliet sipped her drink, then realized Aya was waiting for her to say more about him. “He’s a mercenary and probably the most dangerous man you’ll ever meet face-to-face.”

“So, the sweetest guy and the most dangerous, huh? Sounds like this should be interesting.”

Aya nodded. “Tanaka taught Juliet how to use that sword.”

Juliet fidgeted and put her hand on the hilt of Honey’s sword. “Not this one.”

Sudden understanding bloomed in Emma’s eyes. “Oh! The one that broke! Was that his?”

“Yep.” Juliet cringed inwardly as she realized her armpits had grown damp at the mere thought of telling Tanaka about his sword. She almost felt like retreating, feigning a headache of her own and going back to her room.

“Relax, Juliet,” Angel’s soothing voice cut through the irrational anxiety. “You know you did nothing wrong. Tanaka will be proud of you, especially if you share footage of that fight. You were amazing!”

Juliet sighed and sank down in the comfortable chair, reaching to pick up her drink. The glass was cold and damp with condensation and the fizzy cola tickled her throat just right as she took a long pull on the straw. She’d barely set it down when one of the hotel’s staff approached with a tray of fresh drinks.

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Emma took another cola and watched the girl meander away, frowning. “I’ve never been in a place like this. It’s so…posh. I feel like I shouldn’t be here.” She looked down at the borrowed T-shirt and cargo pants Frida had given her. Juliet had no idea where they came from—Frida wouldn’t be caught dead dressing in cargo pants. Maybe they were Dora Lee’s?

“Let’s go shopping after we check in with everyone, Em. You need all kinds of stuff. Did the hotel give you a toothbrush?”

“Yeah, but it’s disposable.”

Aya, leaning far back in the depths of her chair’s cushions, stuck out a foot and nudged Juliet’s knee. “Can I come?”

Juliet winked at her. “I was hoping you’d ask.”

Emma narrowed her eyes and glanced from Juliet to Aya, then back again. “Are you two, like, a thing?”

Aya laughed and nudged Juliet’s knee again. “She’s more like a sister!” She shifted her foot to the other side of the little coffee table and gave Emma’s knee a shove. “Which means you’re gonna be like a sister to me, so you better get used to having me around.”

Emma’s eyes widened with amusement, and she leaned back with a rather contented smile. Looking at her then, Juliet felt a little bad for wanting some space, and she realized she’d been feeling that way because she and Emma were stuck—their relationship was still stalled in the same place it had been when Juliet was a teen, and Emma had begun hanging around with her anti-corpo buddies.

To her surprise, Emma seemed to be on the same page. “I hope I can get to know Juliet the way she is now, and if that means hanging around with her friends, then I’m all for it. I…” She trailed off, and Aya nudged her with her foot again.

“What?”

“I made some friends in prison. There’s one woman I owe a lot to. She was more like a counselor than a cellmate.”

“We could try—” Juliet’s impulse to help was cut short as Emma shook her head.

“No, she’s not coming out. She, uh, did some pretty horrible things before she got locked up. Her sentence isn’t for sale.”

Juliet glanced at Aya, but her pink-haired friend just shrugged. “Oh, well, maybe you could visit her?”

“Yeah.” Emma smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Look!” Aya leaped to her feet and pointed to the rotating door. Sure enough, Bennet was pushing his way through. He wore an exceedingly undersized tank top tucked into skin-tight, flexible black leggings, and Juliet couldn’t help the giggle that burbled out of her throat when Aya said, “He looks like an action figure!”

“Oh my gosh!” Juliet laughed. “Is that what he had on inside the Atlas?”

Bennet spotted them right away and started over, waving his hand over his head. His hair was short, as usual, but it was standing up and out to the sides, and Juliet knew it was probably matted with sweat from being inside the gel-filled inner cocoon of the Atlas for so long. She waved back. “Come here!” As he approached, Juliet saw Tanaka enter the lobby, dressed far more appropriately in gray slacks and a white button-up shirt—when had he had a chance to get changed? Even so dressed, he wore his monoblade, and Juliet swallowed another gulp of nervous energy.

Bennet didn’t wait for small talk, and neither did Aya—she flew into his arms, squeezing her tiny arms around his bulging neck as he laughed. “You made it!” she laughed. “You flew through space like a meteor! I thought for sure you were going to blow up when you dropped onto Ceres!”

He laughed. “No chance, runt!” Still holding Aya against him with one arm, he spread the other and beckoned Juliet. “Get in here!” She laughed and joined the group hug, squeezing him around the ribs. Of course, that put her face right near his armpit, but she trusted Angel to filter out the odor. “Man, I’m glad to see you guys! When I was trying to get to that last gun, I kept thinking, ‘Come on, Benny! You gonna let this thing blow Lucky and Aya up?’ I was so stressed until Athena told me you got out of range, and then I let her take over and fly me down. Holy cow! What a ride that was! What a view!”

“All right!” Aya laughed. “I can’t breathe! Let me down!”

“If you insist. One more squeeze!” Bennet made good on the threat—suddenly, it felt like an anaconda was trying to finish Juliet off. She groaned, Aya squealed, and then Bennet let them down. As they gasped for air, he looked at Emma standing a little awkwardly to the side and grinned. “Who’s this? Did they clone you, after all, Lucky?”

“Oh, sure!” Emma laughed, but Juliet saw the twinkle in her eye. She hurried over to her and put an arm over her shoulder. “Benny, this is my sister, Em—Em, Benny.”

“All this time, you had a sister?” Bennet laughed.

“Hey!” Aya cried. “She’s got a few.”

Bennet ignored her and stepped closer to Emma, holding out a big, meaty hand. “Pleased to meet you.” Juliet could feel Aya’s eyes on her, so she looked at her and couldn’t help giggling as her friend wriggled her eyebrows and jerked her head at Bennet and Emma.

“I think Aya is a believer in love at first sight,” Angel whispered, and Juliet’s giggling intensified as she nodded.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Juliet.” Tanaka’s gruff voice instantly sobered her up. She turned to him and offered a soft smile. He wasn’t exactly holding his arms out invitingly, but she didn’t care. She stepped close, put her arms around his ribs, and hugged him, resting her chin against his shoulder.

“I’m only safe thanks to all you taught me. Thank you for everything.”

“You were easy to teach,” he chuckled, and to her great relief, he hugged her back, gently patting her back. She could hear Bennet teasing Aya and giving her sister the third degree, but she tuned them out as Tanaka said, “I see you have a new sword.”

Rather than let go of her hug, she squeezed him tighter, and some small fraction of the stress she’d felt during her fight with Montclair resurfaced, tightening her throat as she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

To her surprise, he laughed. “You’re worried about a sword after everything you accomplished.” He pushed her back, gripping her shoulders with his strong, nimble fingers. “A weapon is a weapon. Its job is to serve the wielder. Did it serve you well?”

She nodded, sniffing. “It did.”

“Then I am happy. So, where did you acquire this new one? From the lifeless fingers of a foe?”

Juliet chuckled at his morbid assumption. “No, Rutger. Honey gave it to me.” She glanced around the lobby, ensuring they were mostly alone in their corner of the ample space, then, taking a step back to make a little room, drew the sword. As soon as it cleared the scabbard, the blade began to buzz and flicker with yellow, dancing lights. Tanaka’s breath hissed as he inhaled through his teeth. Juliet held the monoblade steady between them, and he leaned forward, peering at the blade.

“Kenzo Adler? This is Bumblebee!” He clapped his hands in delight, and Juliet swore twenty years melted away from his face as his eyes twinkled with delight. “I used to watch a neo-anime featuring this sword! Did you ever see it? Neon Samurai?”

“Uh,” Juliet chuckled, her eyes widening, surprised by Tanaka’s instant fanboy transformation. She carefully sheathed the sword and continued, “No, I haven’t. Was it, um, was it just based on this sword? It’s that famous?”

“That’s Adler’s best sword! I used to follow Kaito Suzuki’s career, but he lost the sword in the eighties. The fight wasn’t recorded, but rumor had it that Hiroshi Watanabe took it from him. If so, he never showed it publicly. Honey gave it to you?” His tone said he didn’t believe it.

“Her, um, boyfriend, I guess, bought it for her at auction on Mars. At least that’s what she told me.” Juliet shrugged.

“It’s fitting that you should have that sword, Kenshi Juliet.” To her dismay, he bowed, and she grabbed his shoulders, hastily pushing him upright.

“Stop that!” she laughed. “I should be bowing to you.”

He laughed and reached out to grasp the back of her neck. His hand felt warm against her skin as he gently squeezed. “You’ve done so much. I’ve been speaking with Selene,” he winked, eliciting a giggle from Juliet, “and she filled me on things. Time for you to have some rest, hmm? Not too long, I hope. Don’t tell her I said that; she made me promise not to pressure you.” He let go of her and then reached back, pressing his hands to his lower back as he stretched. “I need a shower and a nap. Talk soon.” He waved toward Aya and the others, but they were enthralled by some ridiculous story Bennet was weaving, so he just shrugged and nodded, turning toward the reception desk.

“Let’s have a drink later, Rutger,” Juliet called after him. “Just you and me, all right?”

“Hai.” He didn’t turn; he just waved his hand over his shoulder as he walked.

As she watched him go, Juliet subvocalized, “Any word from Athena about Jensen yet?”

“He’s done with surgery and should wake any time now. She wasn’t pleased by the stock in cybernetic legs here on Ceres; she’d wanted to get him a pair somewhat like yours—natural-looking—but the available models weren’t very high quality. She ended up with some high-end but plasteel-encased ones. Here’s a picture.” As she spoke, Angel opened a new window on Juliet’s AUI displaying a brochure page from Aurora Corp. It featured an elegant-looking cybernetic leg prosthetic that immediately reminded Juliet of Tricia from Doctor Ladia’s office. The features were impressive, and the price tag—79,000 Sol bits—was equally so.

“Well, if she’s footing the bill for a hundred and fifty k worth of new cyberware, I doubt Jensen’s gonna complain.” As she spoke, Juliet walked back over to the others.

“…I mean, I just grabbed the turret and pulled,” Bennet reached out, miming the action, obviously doing his best to show off his muscles as he grunted, “and ripped it out of its housing! Ever seen a forty-millimeter cannon barrel? It makes a nice club, let me tell you!”

Juliet slapped him on the shoulder. “Uh, glad I’m not interrupting anything important.”

He looked at her with his usual grin and shrugged. “Just a little blow-by-blow of my adventures in the Atlas.”

“Why don’t you go get cleaned up and change out of your, um, tights, and then you can join us for some shopping and food. We should swing by and say hello to Jensen, too.”

Aya snickered. “I kind of like his tights, Lucky!”

“They’re certainly…something,” Emma piled on.

“Hey!” Bennet frowned and pointed toward his face. “Eyes up here, ladies.” He turned to Juliet. “What kind of food?”

She shrugged. “You can pick.”

“All right. I’m in. Gimme twenty.” When he turned and started toward the elevator, he held a hand behind his butt, which, of course, resulted in giggles and catcalls.

“He’s so funny!” Emma said as she retook her seat. Aya glanced at Juliet with a raised eyebrow, but Juliet didn’t have a response, so she just shrugged.

“I say we order a drink while we wait.” She glanced at their soda glasses. “I mean a real drink.”