8 - Nico
“ W HAT ABOUT THE I NTERNATIONAL S PACE Station? Maybe they can see something from there.” Nico was walking to the gate for his connecting flight to New York City, talking through a single earbud.
“No good.” The agent the Director had asked him to talk to had a distinct Russian accent. “None of the optical instruments on ISS can pick it up either.”
Nico passed a female pilot and female flight attendant chatting. “Control tower says private jet traffic is four times normal,” the pilot said. “All these ultra rich and celebrities are getting the hell out of town.”
“Must be nice for Valentine’s Day,” the flight attendant answered back.
“Costa Rica isn’t that bad for romance.” The pilot winked at the other woman.
They were flirting! Nico loved spotting Queer couples in public.
He picked up the pace to get out of earshot.
“What about Space Force?” Nico asked.
“They do spy satellites, not invasion of aliens.”
“We’re not sure it’s that,” Nico said.
“We must prepare as if it is.”
Nico’s phone buzzed with a series of texts from a number he didn’t recognize. But the words of the first message stopped him in his tracks:
Bond Boy here
That was their special code, so Nico would know it was Sam!
come home soon
working on a surprise for you
And then a photo of Sam, looking right at the camera with that smart-aleck come-kiss-me look Sam had sometimes. Nico loved that look.
But wait. Why wasn’t Sam using his regular phone?
“I gotta call you back,” Nico told the agent, and hung up the call. His fingers flew on the screen, texting Sam back at the new number.
What’s going on? You OK?
Yeah—just miss you
Nico texted back:
I don’t get in till the middle of the night
His flight wasn’t landing until 3 AM Eastern.
Wake me up
Nah, then we’ll both be groggy and sleep deprived
Nico got to his gate. The video screen read, B OARDING: 3 MIN
You can snuggle me and we’ll fall back asleep together
Deal
Oh, Frida won her election—she’s officially student govt president!
Amazing
Nico’s phone flashed silently with an incoming call: D IRECTOR .
Gotta jump—boss is calling
OK, love you
Nico swiped the call on.
“Parkour, what’s with this report?” As always, the Director’s voice was slightly mechanized to keep their identity secret. “You didn’t see anything but you still think they’re there?”
“They might be,” Nico admitted.
“Same results our agent got in La Palma. Nothing the telescope could see, but no proof it’s not there. There’s so much we can’t see.”
Nico had read about the Gran Telescopio Canarias in the Canary Islands—it was the largest optical telescope in the world, with Keck a close second.
“If there’s even the slightest chance—” Nico started, but then realized he couldn’t finish his sentence—there were people around. “I really want to talk to Sam about it.”
“Absolutely not! Agency protocol.” The Director left no room for arguing. Then their tone softened. “Anyway, if there’s a chance we all have an expiration date coming so soon… you should get home. Be with your husband.”
The speaker over Nico’s head crackled: “Passengers heading to New York, we’ll be boarding momentarily.”
“They’re calling my flight,” Nico said.
“I’ll be in touch when you land.” The Director cut off the call.
Nico pulled up the business class ticket on his phone. His fingers drummed the side of his overnight bag as his mind raced.
Was the world really going to end? Eliot’s words echoed in Nico’s mind: If there are aliens, shouldn’t we make every minute count?
He toggled to a map app and searched an address he knew by heart.
2 hours 4 minutes drive.
Maybe he should try.
“Business class passengers, we’ll take you through the green lane.”
Nico walked away from the gate instead, and took an escalator down to baggage claim. He passed luggage carousels and stopped at a car rental company desk.
He set his Corey Freeman driver’s license that said he was twenty-six on the counter, along with his agency credit card. He’d pay the agency back. “I need a car.”
1911
As he pulled the huge SUV rental onto the 405 North, Nico had a pang about not showing up when he’d promised Sam.
But if the world really was going to end so soon, a couple of hours wouldn’t matter. Anyway, he’d just get there later tomorrow. And Ari said Sam didn’t care that much about Valentine’s Day anyway. He’d text Sam when he got to Bakersfield.
His phone rang: Godeane, one of his two vlogging friends—her specialty was makeovers that made you look like someone else entirely.
She was almost like a grandmother; she and Byron were the only two connections Nico still had to his life before.
Before Sam. Before being on the run. Before the Institute.
He hit the speaker phone button to connect the call.
“Darling boy!” Her voice was warm with affection.
“Hi, Godeane.”
“Everything all right?” she asked. “You haven’t posted a video in a while.”
“Fine,” Nico lied. “Just been busy. How about you? I haven’t seen a new transformation video since…” Nico tried to remember the last one he’d seen. “Since before you made me look like Warren.”
It still hurt that Warren wasn’t around anymore. But remembering his kindness to Nico helped. And it had all led him to Sam…
“Sometimes it’s enough work just to get myself presentable.” Godeane laughed good naturedly. “How’s Sam?”
“Good.”
“What’s wrong? I can hear it in your voice. Something’s up.”
Nico took a breath. Why not ask her? “Do you think everyone deserves a second chance?”
Godeane considered, then said, “I guess the question is, do you think they’re worth it?”
Damn, he was going too fast on the downhill.
He moved over a lane and slowed down until he was just nine miles over the speed limit, like Byron had taught him when they were racing to save Sam just over a month ago.
Even though now he actually had a driver’s license.
But he still didn’t want to get pulled over by the cops.
He thought about Godeane’s question. “What if you’re not sure?”
“No one can decide that for you. You have to listen to your heart. You have good instincts. You’ll know what to do.” Another phone rang on Godeane’s end of the line. Nico guessed old people still liked their landlines.
“I better get it,” Godeane said as the other phone rang again. “You are loved, darling boy. Don’t forget that.” She ended the call.
Nico just drove for a while, thoughts spinning. About the end of the world. About Sam.
And about how he hadn’t seen them since they kicked him out.
How so much had happened since.
And how this might be the last chance he’d ever have to come to some peace with his parents.