Chapter Three
Cloudy signed in at the hospital and nodded to the medic at the desk. “End of shift?”
The woman smiled. “How can you tell?”
“You have that lovely combination of exhausted and exhilarated. Has Emgoth behaved?”
The woman grimaced. “He does love a play on words, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah. Sorry, he caught that from me. Now he plays all the time.”
The medic chuckled. “It did break up the day.”
“May I visit?”
“He’s talking to a group of guardians, but when they leave, I am sure you can go in.”
Cloudy blinked. “All right.”
She got the room number and headed up to the observation ward. She checked in with the clerk and walked down the hall where the walls were clear. They weren’t kidding about observation. Emgoth was sitting with Ariget next to him. They were both speaking earnestly to three guardians.
The uniforms were familiar.
Emgoth spotted her and waved carefully.
Heads turned, and she sighed and walked to his room. Once inside, she looked at him. “Well, aren’t you pretty colours?”
Emgoth laughed. “Funny. Who did you get to work with you?”
“My brother. He and I have cooked for masses before.”
“He’s good for a few more days?”
“Yeah, he starts his interviews next month, so for now, we are good.”
“I have three days’ worth of supplies on order. If you hit the greengrocer tomorrow morning, you can pick the produce and get the meat set aside at the butcher’s.”
She nodded. “I figured. Why are we so fussy?”
“Because we have loyal customers and good-quality food makes them happy.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The nosey guardian said, “I think I am going to get a complex. You aren’t even looking at us.”
“You aren’t the one I am here to visit.”
Ariget chuckled. “She’s keeping the business afloat, Em. Cloudy, thank you.”
“You are welcome, most gracious wife of that person who lacks brains. So, Emgoth, you got roughed up by some organized crime?”
He grimaced. “Yeah. I was looking for an expansion site that isn’t in our current area, and apparently, there are some very single-minded men around there who wanted half of the gross.”
“That kills our profits. We would be working for free.”
“That is what I tried to tell them, and that is when the hitting began. You didn’t have any trouble today?”
“No. All was serene, but that might have been the peacekeepers swirling around.”
“Right. Well, stay on alert because I think they want to make you an offer, directly.”
“That won’t go over well.” Cloudy smiled. “I am cranky.”
Emgoth made a chuffing sound. “I know. I have met you.”
The nosey guardian touched her arm and said, “May I speak with you?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
They walked out of the room, and he led her to a small family room down the hall. He sat her down. “The threats are very real.”
“I believe it.”
“You aren’t worried?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not particularly. I am stronger than I look.”
He sighed. “They are bringing out the roughest deep-sea Vecchin and some high-land Vecchin. You are in danger.”
“Great. What are my options?”
“Close the stall.”
“Not happening. The people there depend on having access to food. Cutting them off with no warning would be cruel and stupid. So, are these guys thugs or do they have enhanced abilities?”
Nosey frowned. “They are thugs.”
“Nice. I can deal with thugs.”
He frowned. “How? You are so weak you can barely carry groceries.”
“That was just for the audience. After my pigmentation, I got a little stronger.”
His eyes narrowed. “How much stronger?”
She stepped toward him, bent, wrapped an arm behind his knees, and straightened. “That much stronger. I can lift over four times my body weight and have taken combat courses.”
He paused. “You can put me down.”
She leaned down and let him go.
He cocked his head. “Is that strength on record?”
“No, it developed with weightlifting. That is a natural evolution and not required to be reported.”
He looked at her. “You are into technicalities?”
“I don’t like to go over the line. Citizen or not, I don’t want to push things.”
He smiled. “Very wise. Do you know my name yet?”
“Uh, no. Haven’t had time to do that yet. I made you a nickname, but I doubt you would enjoy it.”
“What is it?”
“Nosey.”
He blinked and chuckled. “Fair. I do want to know more about you.”
“See? Not wrong.”
“Hazor.”
“What?”
“That is my name. Grandson of Vecchin, son of the overseer of Siloven.”
“Oh. Fancy.”
He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Are you now going to think of me as fancy?”
She grinned. “You are catching on, Hazor.”
“You know, I have the right to claim any compatible female on this world.”
“Great. I was tested. I was not compatible at registration.” She smirked.
“Have you been assessed since?”
“No. It isn’t like a physical. They don’t have to do it once per year or anything.” She paused. “Is Emgoth in additional danger?”
“No, but you are.”
“Delightful.”
“Do you live with family?”
She snorted. “No.”
He looked at her seriously, his black eyes staring. “You live alone?”
“Yes. Quite happily. The fridge and bed are mine alone.”
He smiled. “You don’t share?”
“No. I shared to survive, and survival is no longer an issue.”
“I see.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t think you do. I am going to say my farewells to Emgoth, and then I have to get to bed. Seriously early morning tomorrow.”
He put his hand on his hip and unclipped a small object. “If you are attacked, push this, and it will summon us and peacekeepers.”
She looked at it. “Really?”
“Yes. Really. This is a consortium that is getting brave enough to act in daylight. That makes them very dangerous.”
“And you want to stamp them out?”
“We are guardians. It is what we do.”
She nodded and attached the object to her cuff. “You guys are based on a different continent, right?”
“Yes, but we have access to speed and will stay in town overnight during this investigation.”
Cloudy smiled. “That’s nice. Okay, thank you for the emergency alert. I will make sure to use it if I am attacked.”
He paused. “Or threatened. Use it if you are threatened.”
“Ah, that is a different matter. Okay. If someone threatens me or the food stall, I will push it.” She grinned. “Thanks, Fancy.”
He smiled, and she patted his arm as she passed. She returned to Emgoth and patted his hand. “See you in a few days.”
She nodded to the other guardians. “Thing one, thing two. Good evening.”
She left, and Emgoth laughed and explained her issue with names. She shrugged. It was true. She had incredible difficulty with names; it was voices and faces she could separate. She knew who had allergies, who liked less spice or more spice, just by hearing them order.
She left the hospital and headed home. She had to get her sleep in. She had the feeling she would need it.
* * * *
Hazor watched the woman disappear into the lift. He looked at Emgoth. “How long have you worked with her?”
“Three years.”
Ariget said, “Four and a half. I was nervous about her at first, but she has less interest in him than I do.”
Emgoth laughed. “She came to me as a sort of apprentice and worked with me for eighteen months. After that, it was partnership when she got her citizenship, and we have been piling up the funds since.”
Ariget snorted. “And now our kids are in university learning with no debt, and that pale little monster is responsible.”
Emgoth shrugged.
Hazor asked, “How?”
Emgoth sighed. “I was making ends meet, but she came in and discarded three-quarters of the menu. If customers wanted their favourites, she asked, ‘Do you want variety, or do you want good food? Pick one.’ That shut them up, and they put their efforts into critiquing the new menu in a helpful way. Now, we have a solid product that appeals to all our customers: the akko with sauce for something unique, and the frozen fruit ice for something sweet. Easy to shop for, easy to do.”
Hazor smiled. “She figured it out?”
“She said that the limits make it comforting, and because it was limited, we could put effort into seasoning. We did and... well... you three ate the result.”
Hazor nodded. “We certainly did. Why list the fruit ice if she can’t make it?”
“Because it has to remain a Siloven business. It makes them feel better that the little alien can’t do it all.”
Hazor nodded. “They don’t trust her.”
“They didn’t then; they do now. Her pigment change was dramatic, and it earned her a lot of respect.
It showed she wanted to fit in. No one knew she had citizenship at that point.
When she got the bond lock, it was met with approval.
It showed she wasn’t leaving, and that got her even more respect. ”
Hazor nodded. “So she’s on Siloven to make it a home?”
“Yeah.”
“Does she have any romantic interest?”
He looked at Hazor in surprise. “Um, no. She doesn’t even eye vegetables speculatively.”
Hazor felt a surge of relief.
Ariget stared, and he could see she understood. “She’s never been tested.”
“She will be. She’s not what I would have thought for me, but I am... intrigued.”
Emgoth blinked. “She’s my business partner. She works at the stall. She isn’t up for anything else.”
Hazor smiled. “If I take her, I will get you a replacement.”
Emgoth sighed. “On this whole world, in this whole system, there is no one like her.”
Hazor asked, “Does she have any other adaptations aside from increased strength?”
The injured man said, “No. Not that she has told me. You know about that?”
“She was impressing on me that she is sturdy and does not need my help.”
“But you want to help.”
“I definitely do. The fact that she is making herself a target is irritating to me.”
Ariget held her husband’s hand. “What does that mean?”
Hazor inhaled. “If she is under threat, she had better call.”
His buddies chuckled, and they finished getting the description of the thugs. They would cross-reference them with known criminals and have the case ready to snap the moment they stuck their heads out.
* * * *
Cloudy got up, stretched, showered, and pulled her hair into the thick braid that she wore daily. The food stall uniform had the name on the tunic and straight trousers. It was the least sexy and most favourite thing that she owned.