“Let’s go get her, then.” She shot to her feet and joined me.
“Are you sure you want to come with me?”
“I’m already here. Where else am I gonna go?” She dipped her head toward the radio.
“Ari, where are you?” I spoke into the handheld. “I’m coming to get you.”
“Oh, thank God. I’m hiding in the Blue. Are you sure?”
“Now she’s trying to be sensible?” I shook my head, then pressed the talk button. “I have to. You’re my sister.” I consulted the nautical charts spread across the desk. “And you only have about an hour before high tide comes in and the cave floods.”
5
More Time Would Be Nice
Tek
“Fuck me. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t moved out.” I scrambled back to the bathroom.
Knocking small plastic containers out of the way, I reached for the Ukruum wafers Alexa got for me on the black market. Everyone raved about them, the high, the feeling that everything was possible. I’d never felt it, but they did a good job with general aches and hunger.
“Moved out?” Catita stepped in and watched me with curiosity in her eyes as I popped a couple of tablets in my mouth and washed them down with water from the faucet.
“You hungry? I have mocha flavor here. They taste like shit. I mean cardboard.”
“They’re not that bad.” She grabbed a couple and ate them. “So what happened?”
“I moved out of the house after Mom died.” For whatever stupid reason, I blamed Dad. Truth was, I’d been an asshole for leaving him and Ari when they needed me the most.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Why would you know about that?” I stopped to study her features.
“I don’t know.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “I don’t see how you staying home would’ve changed things, though. Sounded like your sister was pretty determined to go out. Why did she do that anyway?”
“Her stunts are getting out of control.” I rubbed the creases on my forehead. “Eighteen months ago, she was diagnosed with Dep.”
“Oh, Tek, I’m so sorry.” She squeezed my shoulder.
“Yeah, me too.” I rushed to the stepladder and climbed out.
Dep was an incurable disease that had shown up on Earth shortly after Mars was colonized. It affected the bone marrow like cancer and consumed the body quickly. Ari had months left. I still hadn’t gotten over Mom’s death, and now I had to get used to the idea of losing Ari too.
“Ever since she got sick, she seems to have some kind of fucked-up death wish. And there’s nothing I can do to help her. I mean, other than keep her from getting herself killed.” I turned the ignition key, and the engine rumbled to life. “Hold on to something.” I hit the accelerator.
“Maybe she’s trying to live a normal life before it’s all over.” Her gaze darted from mine to the horizon up ahead, where a tinge of light threatened to break through.
“You might be right. I wish I could give her more time.”
Catita’s head snapped toward me. “More time would be nice. Are we far?”
“About two miles.”
In the distance, the hollow cliff hovered over the ocean waves. During low tide, the vault underneath was big enough to house a kayak or canoe. Farther out, the dark outline of Ari’s boat looked like the little engine that could, teetering on its side as it struggled to hold on to its loot.
“This is as far as we’re allowed to go.” I killed the engine.
“Wait, we have to jump in?”
“Yeah, go on.” I pulled on the rope and let it run through my hands until my kayak made a splash. “Can you swim?” I toed off my shoes.
“Yes, but not like this. I can’t even see anything.” She peered over the side.
“I promise it’s safe. The darkness is our friend right now.” I stripped down to my boxer shorts and waited until she did the same.
She ogled me for a few beats, then unbuckled her belt. “Facing Captain Weston doesn’t seem like that big of deal right about now.” She dropped her clothes next to mine.
“It’s just a little water.” I swung my leg over the rail and took her hand in mine. “Jump.”
As soon as we floated to the surface, I helped her onto the kayak, hopped on, and headed for the cave. Ari had done a great job of finding a good place to hide. In the middle of the night, the entrance to the grotto was impossible to see. The problem with the Blue was that once high tide came in, it would flood and turn into a perfect death trap.
We glided inside. The moonlight came in from an opening above and bounced off the seawater as an array of bright blues and silvers flickered around the cavern walls playfully.
I shifted my body to check on Catita. “What do you think?”
“It’s great.” Her gaze darted upward toward the vault’s highest point.
“Gosh, am I glad to see you.” Ari jerked to her feet. Her brown curly hair bounced wild in the breeze. “Did you see her out there?”
Ari meant the Genie. “Yeah, I did. You know you can’t keep the catch, right? We can’t take the boat back to the wharf. The uniforms will be on us before we reach the docks.”
“Come on. We gotta try.”
High tide had risen about half a foot since I’d come in, slowly closing the only entranceway to the cave. In less than an hour, the grotto, even the cliff, would be underwater. I’d do anything to keep Ari happy, but right now my only concern was keeping her alive.
“You think the QEC cares if you stick it to them like this? Fishing right under their noses? You, the boat, the catch—it all means nothing to them.” I slid off the kayak and pulled it onto the small strip of land.
“What now?” Ari saw Catita, and her eyes went
