C. L. Anderson by Bitter Angels

Author:Bitter Angels
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

SIRI

It did not feel good to be back on Dazzle.

Dr. Gwin’s ministrations cleared up the worst of Siri’s headache and faded the purple-and-black bruise down to green and yellow, but Gwin wouldn’t do anything about the slight queasiness from the too-light gravity and too-fast spinning of the little moon.

“You’ll get used to it,” Dr. Gwin announced. “You did before.”

“So much for the healer’s oath.”

“First, do no harm,” recited Dr. Gwin placidly. “Not allowing your body to make its own adjustments would leave you dependent on chemicals. Very harmful.”

In the back of her mind, Siri knew Shawn was smiling at her. It did nothing for her temper.

The doctor was certainly a stubborn one, that much was certain. Nothing Siri could say to Gwin—or any of the three assistants who came and went during the clinic’s night shift—could get her released. Shawn spent the time alternating between sneering at her protests of “I feel fine!” and suggesting she just make the best of it and get some rest.

I don’t feel like resting, she’d told him, aware she was beginning to sound petulant. I want to get to work.

“It’s just another couple of hours, Siri,” Shawn replied. “It will wait.”

It’s already been too damn many hours. She didn’t say that what she really wanted to do was get out of here and find Vijay. Shawn already knew. But she needed to see Vijay, needed to make sure nothing had happened to him, and to make sure he knew nothing had happened to her, not really.

Even Shawn could not argue with that.

Somewhere into the second hour of trying to get some sleep on the narrow, sterile monitor bed the clinic staff had threatened to strap her into, Vijay walked in.

He was clutching his arm and swearing, and it took Siri a good three minutes to realize the thug with blood dripping down his wrist was Vijay. She sat up straight, mouth open. He perched on the edge of the one empty bed and didn’t even look at her while he held his arm out for the clinician, who swabbed and sealed and asked what he’d done to himself.

“None of your fucking business,” snarled Vijay…Edison. His cover name was Edison.

The clinician shrugged. “You’re going to want to take it easy for a few hours while that sets, or you’ll split yourself open again. The bed’s free if you want it.”

In response, Vijay/Edison kicked his boots off and dropped backward until he lay stretched out on the cot. He grinned over at her.

“Hey, lady, come here often?”

Siri rolled her eyes. “What century are you from?”

“You pick. I won’t disappoint.”

They couldn’t say anything real. She hadn’t swept the room yet.

“So, were you with that load of Guardians that got caught by the smugglers?” He folded his hands behind his head.

“How’d you hear about that?”

Vijay jerked his chin toward the door. “It’s been big news. Everybody’s got their parts in knots. There’ve been lockdowns, searches, bunch of arrests. The whole big security-theater spectacular.”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t all that much on our end.

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