Chapter 23 - Rafael #2
He stuffs both helmets inside before slipping on his visor. “Coda upgraded the scanner on my bike and my visor. We’re covered.”
Rafael nods, forcing out a breath. Kane wouldn’t have brought him here if he wasn’t sure.
“Okay.” His voice is steady this time. “I saw on V-link there’d be some unique pop-up stalls today.” Not that he ever imagined getting a chance to try one. “Think we can check them out?”
“Sure.” Kane shrugs. “But I have to draw the line at those food injector stands. I prefer to ingest my food like a normal person—or mostly chrome person.”
“Me too,” he agrees, watching Kane adjust controls on the HOV’s dash.
With a few taps, the decals and license plate shift to an entirely different number.
“Wow, is that—will that really work? I’ve never seen tech like that.”
“Echo’s been using this tech for years,” Kane informs him, glancing at his wristlink.
“Coda pieced it together from old VitaCorp schematics. Not exactly corpo-issue, but it fools most scanners—and most people. The trick is keeping it on simple shapes or flat surfaces. She tried using it on herself once. Didn’t end well. ”
“What happened?” Rafael frowns.
Kane snorts. “Too much variability. Her cover blew in under five minutes.”
With a chuckle, he shifts to climb off the bike, but the moment his boots touch the platform, his breath stutters.
Beneath layers of glass and metal, hundreds of HOVs glide far below.
A hand settles on his back. He looks up to Kane staring at him, almost amused. “It’s reinforced. Nova City and the corps wouldn’t risk lawsuits.”
Rafael exhales. Right. If this weren’t safe, the city would’ve removed them decades ago.
They leave the landing pad and step out of the alley onto the main skyway. Late-night tourists gawk at the Terra’s storefronts while downtown regulars rush past, some on HOV scooters and boards.
Rafael’s gaze sweeps the faces instinctively. But the faces on these streets are strangers.
The knot in his chest eases. Up ahead, food stalls line a narrower walkway between the restaurants, steam rising from grills and fryers.
“There they are!” Rafael jogs forward, weaving them through the crowd toward a stand selling rainbow-bright kebabs. “They even have flavor pops!”
“Flavor pops?” Kane follows at his side. When they reach the end of the stall’s line, he mutters, “These things better not explode in my mouth.”
Laughter bursts out of Rafael. “No, nothing’s going to explode in your mouth.”
His voice carries louder than intended. A few strangers turn to look, and others whisper. He ducks his head into Kane’s chest to hide his face.
Kane’s mouth brushes his ear. “Maybe the flavor pops won’t…but I’m hoping something else will later.”
Rafael’s breath stutters.
Then Kane taps his head, and he straightens, facing forward again. Kane’s arm snakes across his chest, bringing Rafael against him. The contact settles him as the line shuffles forward.
When they finally get their pops—Hydro Splash for Kane and Hydroponic Berry for Rafael—they drift down the street away from the vendors and the crowd. Rafael doesn’t hesitate. He takes an eager bite.
Sweetness floods his taste buds, and a grin breaks across his face. At his side, Kane eyes the green and yellow concoction pulsing on the stick, as if it might be radioactive. Rafael swallows and leans. “Aren’t you going to try it?”
“Yes.” Kane’s frown deepens.
“All right, just don’t forget—” The man takes a single, defiant bite before he can finish.
Regret instantly twists Kane’s face, eyes widening and jaw clenching.
Almost immediately, Rafael doubles over. “I’m sorry!” he gasps between chuckles. “I was trying to warn you! When the flavor pop is brightest, it’s the most sour. You should’ve waited for the darker colors.”
Kane struggles to swallow, and he can only laugh harder.
Once Kane finally recovers, his touch settles at the back of Rafael’s neck. “That’s enough out of you.” There’s no anger in his words, only playfulness. “You’re lucky you’re cute, you know that?”
The laughter dies in Rafael’s throat. Heat creeping to his face, he looks up to meet Kane’s gaze, crinkled with his smile.
“Thanks for this, Kane. Really.” His voice is soft, barely audible over the city noise. “This—it means everything to me.”
“I want to make you happy.” Kane twirls the flavor pop. “Even if I end up needing a new tongue after this.”
Rafael chuckles, but his gaze catches on Kane’s wristlink flashing again. Even here, his duties follow him. “Do you…need to go?” he asks.
Auburn brow furrows. “No.” Kane squeezes Rafael’s neck before sliding to cradle his back. “We’ve got time. But I’ve got a meeting with the lieutenants later tonight, and in a few hours the NCPD lackeys will be out here running laps with the rest of the corpo grease.”
As if summoned by his words, a familiar siren wails in the distance. Rafael’s gaze snaps down to the glass floor.
Blue and white light flashes as a police HOV tears through the air lane, cutting around slow-moving cars. His stomach flips.
When Rafael looks up, Kane isn’t fazed. His expression is utterly calm.
Right. Nothing’s changed. Rafael takes a breath. Until Kane seems concerned, the least he can do is try to believe him.
The corners of his mouth lift. “Let’s at least try the seasoning bubbles,” he says. “And maybe grab some cream-around-the-world on the way out!”
Kane snorts. “I can’t tell if you’re making that up, but something about this place tells me you’re not.” He takes another bite of his pop as Rafael guides them toward another stand.
They move down the street together. Rafael scans the crowd, that hum of awareness returning. Kane’s not the only one hiding here.
A hand brushes the small of his back. He peers up at Kane, watching him, a half-smile on his lips.
Everything else fades away.
The bike waits in the alley. Kane’s crew waits in Shreveport. Rafael’s shift starts tomorrow.
But right now, everything else can wait.