Page 45 of Agent's Integrity

Julia

My side throbbed. My whole body hurt. Every time I moved, something else ached. The wound in my abdomen hurt constantly, distracting me from everything else. I just wanted to lie down and sleep for a month, but there wasn’t time for that. I managed to get a little sleep, and that would have to be enough. I also managed to clean up, with some help from Ethan, and borrowed yet another set of clothes from him. I felt clean and I smelled better, but that was the end of the list of positive things I could think of.

The ship shuddered when the docking clamps locked onto it. I tried not to flinch when it jarred my side. I leaned my head against the seat and took a few more seconds to rest while Ethan finished the docking procedures and shut down the engines. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he flipped switches and typed on the computer interface. He had showered as well and was dressed in a dark green shirt and brown pants. His dreadlocks were pulled back and secured loosely by a band. Part of a tattoo peeked out from the neck of his shirt, and I wondered if it was another animal tattoo.

I had the irrational desire to ask him to show me all of his tattoos. Tattoos were considered a cultural ritual to the Novem, and it wasn’t polite to ask about them. But curiosity begged me to ask anyway. I had never cared much for tattoos before, but I found my eyes continually drawn to the ones I could see on him. I’d seen another tattoo on his left hand—this one a chain that encircled his wrist and led down the center of his palm to a key. At least, I thought it was a key. I only got glimpses of it here and there.

Now isn’t the time to think about tattoos. We were landing on a hostile planet while being pursued by people who wanted us dead. Or, at least, wanted me dead. We had much more important things to think about.

Ethan unfastened his seatbelt and stood up. “We’re here. Are you ready?”

My side twinged at the thought of moving, but I nodded anyway. It wasn’t like I had a choice. Staying put would likely result in my death. I needed to move, and I couldn’t afford to show weakness. They would likely be searching for an injured woman and a Novem tribe member. Ethan would stand out enough on his own without adding my visible injury to the mix.

He was obviously waiting for me to get up first, so I slowly got to my feet and tested my strength. I felt tired, weak, and in far too much pain, but I could move. I walked to the outer door with my hand on the wall for support. The pain lessened a little bit the more I moved.

Ethan snatched a bag off the floor and slung it across his shoulders. I eyed it as I waited for him by the door. The gun he had given me was tucked into my back. Extra ammo was in one of the pockets in the baggy pants Ethan let me borrow. It was a good thing my belt had survived everything so far or I’d never be able to keep the pants up.

Ethan opened the door, and we climbed down the steps to the tarmac. We had landed in Abington, which was one of the larger cities on the west coast. The planet had one continent, which was roughly liver-shaped, and it was also called Esmuna. I had never been to Esmuna before, nor did I know much about the geography. I had a vague picture in my head of where the major cities were, and Dothan, the capital, was in the center of the continent, but beyond that my mind drew a blank.

The first thing I noticed was the cold. I shivered involuntarily and the aching in my side increased. I gritted my teeth against the pain and started walking towards the terminal. I didn’t hurry, but I tried not to walk too slowly either. Ethan matched my pace.

“Why is it so cold?” I whispered through clenched teeth.

“It’s winter here. See the snow over there? They’ve cleaned out most of it but there are still patches around.”

Now that he mentioned it, I noticed the scattered piles of snow against the building. Of course, we would have the unfortunate luck to fly to a place in the middle of winter. I personally didn’t care for the cold.

Ethan must have noticed because he wrapped his arm carefully around my back. It wasn’t much, but when I leaned into his side, the cold wasn’t as bad. He accepted my weight without complaint.

We stepped into the terminal, and a wave of warmth washed over me. I relaxed my hunched shoulders and looked around at the bustling crowds of people moving up and down the massive walkways with purpose. It felt strange to be so on edge and in fear of dying while life continued like normal for everyone else.

Enough of that. Focus on what’s important right now.“Bank terminal.”

Ethan pointed to the right. “Looks like there’s one over there.”

There was a bank kiosk not far away, and I withdrew whatever cash I thought I would need. Ethan stepped up when I was finished and withdrew money as well. I frowned at him but didn’t say anything. It was a good idea for him to get money out too. I didn’t have much, not on an IPF salary, and I wasn’t going to dip into my savings account. That was for Alexi’s future. If I died, she’d need the money.

That thought depressed me, so I turned my attention towards other things. “I need to get new shoes.”

“What?” Ethan gave me a questioning look.

I smiled faintly and scanned the signs for the shops down the side corridor. “The acid rain ate through most of the soles on my shoes.”

He glanced at my feet, but I didn’t look. I already knew what he would see. They looked pathetic. The sides were scuffed, chunks were missing, and the soles were barely still attached.

“Oh. I didn’t think about that.”

“You probably have special shoes that are resistant to such things like acid.” I had said it jokingly, but Ethan’s sheepish look told me I was right. I rolled my eyes, attempted to hide a smile, and pointed to the left. “There’s a store that way. Let’s go.”

Thankfully, this spaceport had autowalks. We stepped onto one, and I leaned against the banister while we glided down the walkway. After a couple hundred feet, we stepped off, and Ethan steered me towards the shoe store. Within a few minutes, I had found a pair of sturdy boots in my size. I paid for them, and Ethan helped me switch them out.

He held up one of the ruined shoes in his hand and whistled. “That is bad. Sorry about your shoes.”

I wanted to shrug but was afraid it would hurt too much. “It’s okay. They’re just shoes.” I discreetly transferred my badge into one of my new shoes to hide it. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable thing in the world, but I figured no one ever thought to check inside shoes. It was the safest place I could keep it. I wasn’t willing to part with it, even if it meant I was possibly putting myself in more danger.

Once my feet were securely laced in my new shoes, Ethan helped me stand back up. “Where next?”

I scanned the area around us. “I need a computer.” I spotted a public computer interface and headed for it. I pulled up the net and started running a location search. I knew the place we needed to go, but I didn’t knowwhereit was. I wasn’t sure if my plan was a good one, or if it would even work, but I was desperate. Emerson was the only one I could ask for help. Although the thought of asking for help from him goaded me, I would do it. He wasn’t as bad as he pretended to be. I know his motivation for helping me track down Santiago had been to protect Kit, but he had still helped. We had worked together well enough, even if it had only been for a short time.

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