‘Why is Mel blushing like that?’
‘Senpai had a little trouble sleeping too. She woke up in the middle of the night. Probably just a nightmare or something.’ Melissa made strangling noises.
‘Really? That must have been some nightmare. I want to hear all about it later.’ More strangling noises.
‘My lips are sealed,’ Nava said.
‘You’re no fun.’
‘You just figured that out?’
~~~
Tonight’s shorts were white and the camisole had a cartoon cow on it with ‘Moo’ written beneath the image. The white lace tended to show less of what was underneath than the fuchsia had which might have been Melissa’s intent or pure coincidence.
‘What’s a moo?’ Nava asked, pointing vaguely at Melissa’s chest.
‘It’s supposed to be the sound a cow makes,’ Melissa replied.
‘What’s a cow?’
‘You don’t know what a cow is? I mean, I’ve never seen one. They’ve been extinct for centuries aside from a few examples in zoos. They used to be used for food and a few other things and then the Vegan Revolution happened on Earth and all domesticated animals became kind of a luxury. Pigs, cows, chickens, sheep… They were all on the endangered list within a century.’
‘You learn something new every day.’
‘I’m glad my top is educational.’ Melissa’s face straightened. ‘Do you think they’ll come tonight?’
‘I can’t see them waiting much longer.’
‘Oh.’ Melissa headed for the ladder. ‘Well, I won’t wish you a good night then. Since it probably won’t be.’
‘And I won’t wish you sweet dreams, because we all know where that ends up.’
Melissa let out a squeak. Nava had checked: the sheets and pillowcases were flame retardant.
235/4/7.
The room was in darkness and Nava deepened that darkness by hiding her head under her blankets. She was supposed to be asleep, but there had been worrying signs all day and sleep was refusing to come. The instructors had been watching. The instructors had been having private conversations at the sides of the dojo where they thought they would not be overheard. Nava had, in fact, overheard nothing, but she had come to a conclusion: they would be coming tonight.
The sound of shoes on the tiled floor came to her. Whoever the shoes belonged to, they were trying to move quietly, stealthily. She detected three pairs of shoes, moving closer by the second. Her body tensed. Were they coming for her? Were they coming for one of the other girls? Who was it this time? Questions which would be unanswered until someone was taken.
The footsteps fell silent too close to Nava’s slim, metal-framed bed. Was it her turn tonight? Then she heard a muffled sound from about two metres away, the sound of a pressure syringe firing… Maya. They had come for Maya. Inside her mind, Nava realised she was relieved, but at the same time she hated herself for feeling that emotion. She was safe for another night. She was…
Someone yanked the blankets off her bed…
Nava bolted upright on the bench seat in Melissa’s apartment. She made no sound, but the lingering unease from the nightmare clung to her and there was cold sweat on her brow. She did not get dreams like that often, but they shook her when they came.
Swinging her legs down to the floor, Nava stood and went to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.
~~~
Merle Shepherd Fosse watched his buddy, Jesse Audley Beyer, at work on the lock with some interest. It was hardly the first time he had seen Jesse bypassing the security on an apartment, but the skill with which his friend could do it was really quite remarkable and he did not get to see it every day. It was two fifteen in the morning, so there was no one about to disturb them, but Merle was still making a point of checking the area once in a while to be sure that they were undisturbed.
There was a soft click as the lock disengaged and the door began to slide open more or less immediately. Merle stepped forward, getting one foot inside just before a hand came out of the dark apartment to strike him in the chest. The combat uniform he was wearing absorbed the force of the punch, but a pulse of light exploding from the impact point marked the application of a spell. Magical force lifted Merle off his feet and threw him bodily out, over the balcony rail and into empty air. Then he was falling.
Back at the apartment door, Jesse was in the middle of rising to his feet when Nava stepped out of doorway. ‘What?’ Merle got out, and then Nava’s knee slammed into his face. Stunned, he just knelt on the ground while Nava reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. His eyes widened, and then he slumped, falling to the concrete as Nava released him. Nava turned to the rail.
‘No!’ Melissa was in the doorway, still in her cow T-shirt and lacy panties. ‘I’ve called Courtney Martell. She’ll be here soon. We need them alive, so you’re not going after the one who fell.’
For a second, it looked like Nava might start toward the stairs anyway. Then she shrugged. ‘Assuming he’s still alive. That was quite a fall.’
‘Well… We can hope. I’ll put some clothes on and then go check.’ Melissa turned to go back inside.
‘Thank you, Mel.’
‘What for? I should be thanking you for–’
‘For stopping me.’
‘Oh. That. Well, that’s what friends are for, right?’
~~~
‘He’s alive,’ Courtney said. ‘Barely, but that should be enough.’
‘If he talks,’ Nava said.
‘Yeah. If.’
‘Who are they?’ Melissa asked.
Courtney paused for a second, apparently considering her answer, or whether to answer. ‘The dead one is Jesse Audley Beyer. He’s a third year in the support stream. It, uh, seems that he died of shock. His heart gave out. The only physical trauma was a broken nose, so it seems that Nava Ward isn’t responsible for that death.’ Courtney flashed a look at Nava; she was not convinced. ‘The other one is in the same class. Merle Shepherd Fosse.’
‘The same clan as Darius.
