Theo trudged along at his side, hands shoved in his pocket. He lent a mocking tone to his voice that usually got him pinched by his twin as he said, “Right, because then they might try to snatch me from under your nose, seeing as I am something of a hot commodity in the region. It would be terrible if someone were to try to kidnap me, Jun. Just awful. Could you imagine such a thing?”
Jun cut in over his sarcastic monologue with a short, quiet command. “Stop talking, eyes front. Let’s go.”
A lovely young lady smiled broadly at Theo from the other side of the walkway. Knotted lines of barbed-wire ink twisted down her neck, around her glowing circuitry tattoos. She licked metallic blue lips with a long tongue stained the same unnatural shade.
Theo lifted his hand in a respectful little wave, then yelped when Jun smacked it back down to his side with a particularly colorful curse.
“Don’t engage. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”
It hadn’t hurt even a little, but Theo still shook his hand out theatrically with a glare. “And what idea might that be?”
His theatrics had absolutely no effect on Jun, who simply continued to scowl at their surroundings. “That you’re available.”
Wasn’t that an interesting thought?
A thought that required chasing all the way to the end. Theo bumped their shoulders as he hurried to keep up with Jun’s long stride. “Oh? Are you saying I’m unavailable? That I’ve been taken off the market? Why would you say that, I wonder?”
It was as if he hadn’t said anything. Jun didn’t even twitch in his direction beyond a slight deepening of the line between his brows. He stopped in front of a building that held no distinction Theo could determine from the others to either side. “We’re here. I need you to tell me everything they say to the best of your ability.”
The weight of responsibility settled unevenly across Theo’s shoulders, heavy and unfamiliar. He summoned up a nervous laugh as he contemplated the dark metal facade. “I’m amazed you would entrust me with something so crucial, having met me. Surely, you’ve realized by now what an unmitigated disaster I am.”
It was disconcerting to suddenly have Jun’s full attention when he had been chasing it fruitlessly for so long. Jun’s coat flared dramatically as he turned to face Theo. He kept quiet but firm, leaving no room for argument. “I have never met anyone more capable. You’re incredible, and I don’t say that lightly.”
A pleasant burst of warmth ran through Theo’s veins at the simply stated praise, knocking his breath out in the soundless shape of Jun’s name.
Jun watched his mouth for a moment before continuing, the beautiful lines of his face cast in stark relief by the shadow of his hood. “Stay close. If I have to pull out my weapon, you run. Understand?”
Adrenaline gathered in Theo’s fingertips like rain dripping down until he was buzzing with it, shaky with nerves even as he lifted his chin against them. “Yes, Captain.”
Rough, tattooed fingers grazed his cheek in the barest caress, and then they dropped away to disappear into the folds of Jun’s coat. “Good.”
It would have been remiss of Theo not to notice the bunch and strain of Jun’s muscle as he hauled open the riveted steel door manually, then slid it halfway across the opening with a grunt.
Theo prided himself on his observational skills.
So, he definitely noticed.
The interior revealed some sort of warehouse, full of crates piled twice as high and in much worse shape than the ones crowding Jun’s ship.
Nobody was inside, but a single, dim light switched on in the center of the space.
“Close the door.”
Theo jumped at the sound of a soft feminine voice, his face scrunching as he realized she had spoken in a language he’d never heard beyond his own voice, reading aloud.
Damn, he had botched his pronunciation of some of the vowels.
Jun stepped in front of Theo, peering into the darkness with one hand inside his coat. “What did she say?”
Theo grabbed onto Jun’s coat and pressed up close to translate quietly. “She asked us to close the door.”
“That’s enough Standard. You speak as I do, or not at all.”
Scanning their abandoned surroundings critically, Jun edged a boot in front of Theo’s. “Translate.”
Theo released his coat to examine the space himself and discovered nothing to be seen. “She demands that we cease using Standard.”
“No more.”
Jun opened his mouth, and Theo rushed in to cut him off with Korean: “Don’t speak another word. Allow me to take over from here, please. You’re going to have to trust me.”
“Cease now, or I leave.”
Theo spun around to hold a placating hand out toward the empty space the voice had originated from. “Apologies, friend. We have your package. You have credits for us?”
He winced at the awkward, rusty pronunciation and mixed-up articles. But for all that he was making a mess of it, there was a tiny thrill in practicing a language he had never used in conversation.
The contact stepped out of the shadows. A delicate filigree mask covered the top half of her face, leaving her unadorned mouth exposed. Her outfit left much of her body on display, bare skin peeking out between strips of black fabric.
It was disconcerting to realize that she was unmarked. No tattoos, no augments. Theo had grown so used to seeing Outliers with decorated skin that it was something of a shock to come across someone as plain as himself.
Theo took in the details of her appearance with avid curiosity, but she only had eyes for Jun. She never glanced away from him even as she addressed Theo.
“He doesn’t remember me, but I remember him.”
Twisting his head from one to the other, Theo could read no signs of recognition on Jun’s stony face. “You know each other?”
She slowly lifted a hand in the air between them, as if to reach out, but held it back.
