Page 10 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

Carefully, Shinji looked around. They were on a sunny, fairly busy corner, with traffic from both cars and pedestrians passing them on the street. Around them, large hotels rose into the cloudless sky, windows catching the sun. People

ambled down the sidewalks, seemingly in no hurry. It was, as far as he could tell, a fairly lazy, normal day around the harbor.

And then Shinji spotted a boy. A kid around his own age, leaning casually against a palm tree with his arms crossed. He wore shorts and a sleeveless shirt and looked like he spent all of his time outdoors in the sun. His long, dark brown hair hung in his eyes, and those eyes were definitely watching him. When their gazes met, the boy gave a smirk that was clearly not friendly, and the challenge there made Shinji bristle.

“Shinji? You okay?” Lucy stepped out beside him, nudging his arm. “What are you staring at?”

“Nothing.” Shinji glanced back at the other kid, but the boy was now gazing down the street and not looking at them at all. Behind them, Oliver and Phoebe were still in the cab with the driver, and he could hear Phoebe’s voice drifting through the glass. “It’s beautiful here, huh?”

“Yeah,” Lucy said, distracted. She gazed warily around the street, as if searching for attackers hidden in the bushes and alleyways. Tinker emerged from a pocket, crawled up her arm, and perched on her shoulders, delicate copper ears rotating around like miniature satellite dishes.

“What areyoulooking for?” Shinji asked.

“Hightower,” Lucy replied without hesitation, and Shinji’s nerves prickled. Why was she looking for Hightower? Did she want to talk to them? If she saw any members of the

Hightower Corporation walking around, would she decide to go back and work for them?

Shinji shook himself. He’d had these suspicions about Lucy before, and nothing good had come of it. Lucy was his friend. She was part of SEA now, just like him. She wouldn’t betray them just because she was homesick.

As if sensing his unease, Lucy glanced over with a faint frown. “Everyone at Hightower knows who I am,” she explained. “Or at least, they know who my dad is. If Hightower is already here and recognizes me, it might put the mission in danger.”

Shinji relaxed. That made sense, though it made him feel even more guilty for doubting her loyalty. “Kinda feels like we’re in another training simulation,” he joked, making her smile. “At least if there are any Hightower goons wandering around, they’re not going to jump us in the middle of the city—”

Something slammed into Lucy from behind, pushing her into Shinji. He stumbled back, just managing to stay on his feet while holding Lucy upright. Before he could even get his balance again, someone rushed by, and Shinji caught a split-second glimpse of the boy who had smirked at him. The kid didn’t stop to apologize, but kept right on running.

“Did he do that on purpose?” Shinji said. He took a breath to shout something after the rude boy, but Lucy suddenly clutched at her shoulder and let out a horrified gasp.

“Tinker!” Lucy shrieked. “He stole Tinker! Catch him!”

“What?” Shinji said, but Lucy took off across the road in the direction the boy had fled. With a curse under his breath, Shinji sprinted after her. He heard Oliver shout his name over the sounds of cars and traffic, but he couldn’t stop. If the strange boy had stolen Tinker, Lucy would be inconsolable. They had to get him back.

The boy ducked between buildings, crossed another road, and vaulted over a fence to escape. He was very fast. Probably did this kind of thing all the time. But Shinji also had experience fleeing pursuers in crowded markets, and there was no way Lucy was going to lose Tinker. She scrambled over the fence with a determination that impressed him, and kept going. They followed the boy past shops and buildings, weaving around cars and sidewalks lined with palms, and finally chased him through an indoor market filled with stalls and vendors selling everything from purses to bananas.

As they drew closer, catching fleeting glimpses of the boy through the crowd, Lucy suddenly shouted something. Shinji couldn’t tell if it was directed at the thief or at Tinker, but a few seconds later, he heard the boy ahead of them yelp in surprise. And then what sounded like a muffled curse.

Ducking between stalls, Shinji and Lucy finally caught up to him near the bathrooms. He was crouched behind a potted plant in the hall between the women’s and men’s rooms, and Shinji could hear him groaning in pain. As they rounded the corner, trapping him in the hallway, he glanced up at them, panting, and held out a hand.

“Okay, okay. Take it easy. You got me, okay? Just back off.”

“Where’s Tinker?” Lucy demanded, stepping forward with her fists clenched. “What did you do with him? Tell me.”

“You mean your robot rat? It’s here.” He gestured to a potted fern in the corner. “I stuffed it in there after the stupid thing nearly burned my fingers off.”

“Good. You got what you deserved,” Lucy said icily, brushing past him and heading toward the potted fern. Reaching under the fronds, she emerged with Tinker, who made happy squeaking noises as she pulled him free. Lucy put the mouse to her face, making sure he was all right, then glared daggers back at the thief. “Thanks for letting me test out my antitheft protocols,” she said. “I hope it hurt. A lot.”

The boy raised one hand, where a line of burned red skin streaked his palm. “There. Happy now?”

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t answer, stalking back to Shinji with Tinker held close. The boy’s gaze shifted, meeting Shinji’s glare with a raised eyebrow. “What?” he challenged. “Gonna beat me up now for stealing your girlfriend’s rat?”

Shinji snorted. The kid was baiting him, trying to make him mad, but little did he know, Shinji was a professional smart aleck himself. “I wouldn’t have to,” he drawled. “She could kick your butt on her own if she wanted.”

The kid laughed. It wasn’t a mocking laugh now, though it did make Lucy’s lips tighten. “Yeah, I’m not gonna call that bluff,” he said, and raised both arms in a placating gesture.

“You got your rat back. How ’bout we walk away and forget we ever saw each other—deal?”

“Already done,” Lucy said in a voice of cold disdain. “Let’s go, Shinji.”

Shinji started to turn away but hesitated. He could feel something stir inside him, a faint curiosity that wasn’t his own. It made his stomach jump and his heart beat faster at the realization. Was it…the Coatl, reacting to this stranger?

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