The Elementalist

34. Safe House

Safe HouseAfter Voi and Laura settled into their room—to be shared with Milia, regrettably—Laura lay on her stomach on her bed, gazing at Voi wistfully. “I wish I were as pretty as you.”

“What?” Voi blinked. “Oh, Laura, don’t sell yourself short.”

Laura sighed then added, “I don’t know, maybe I’m just jealous because of the way Ronny and the captain were looking at you when we came in. I hardly ever have men look at me that way.”

Voi frowned. “Ronny? What do you mean?” Just as Laura began to answer, they heard footsteps coming from the staircase.

Andre entered the room then cleared his throat. “Pardon my intrusion, ladies, but Milia would like me to go over the particulars of the mission with you as soon as possible, Voi.”

Laura turned up her nose. “Where is that sour tart, anyway?”

“Out on errands, apparently.” He cast a distracted gaze about the room, taking in their cramped accommodations.

The nurse shrugged. “It’s just as well. She’s really no fun to be around.”

“If it’s all the same to you,” said Andre, “I still think she expects us to be finished by the time she returns. We’ll be launching the mission first thing in the morning.”

Voi sighed and rose from the bed. “Alright, I’ll come along.” On her way out of the room, she noticed Laura giving her an exaggerated wink.

Voi shook her head then followed Andre downstairs into the living room where Ronny stood by the window, peeping through the curtains. He looked up. Voi paused, her heart seizing in her chest. Seeing the captain with her, however, Ronny politely dismissed himself.

Suddenly, she could breathe again.

Over the next half hour, Andre shared information regarding the Z’Gaurdeaer’s intelligence on the Fambrach Mountains with Voi. Details on the Darmoilen half were scarce, but there were a few landmarks, he noted, which could help Voi find the region the League was specifically interested in. When he was finished, she stared blankly at the maps, lost in thought.

Andre placed his hand on hers. “You’ll do fine,” he said. “I have faith in you.”

She gave an uncomfortable smile. “Thank you, Andre.”

He returned the gesture then squeezed her hand.

Unexpectedly, the locks on the front door gave an aggressive rattle, and the door burst open. Andre and Voi simultaneously looked up, Voi swift to reclaim her hand.

Milia stood in the doorway, her neck buried in a scarf and her arms full of paper bags. She stumbled in before kicking the door shut behind her with the heel of her boot. Using a subtle head motion, she locked the door using elementalism. “Don’t mind me,” she murmured, setting groceries on the kitchen table, then she went to the icebox and opened it.

Andre was smirking at Milia, for some reason, though he didn’t say anything.

“Really?” Immediately, she slammed the door shut. “Well, that’s just great. Did anyone think to make sure we had actual ice in the damn ice-box while I was out?”

Voi and Andre exchanged cringes. Apparently, they’d just assumed the refrigerator would be electric.

* * *

As it turned out, someone had thought to go out for ice. Voi was gazing out of her bedroom window when she spotted a man hopping out of a truck. He walked to the back to offload a frozen block, hoisted it onto his shoulder, then approached the house.

Voi jumped off her bed and hurried downstairs.

“What’s wrong?” Laura called from above.

Voi leaned into the living room. Ronny was lying on the sofa, seemingly taking a nap with his fedora over his face. “Psst!” she said. “There’s someone coming!”

Ronny sat up. “What?”

She jabbed her index finger at the entry.

Someone banged on the door. Ronny got up to see what the fuss was about, though he wasn’t in a hurry. He cracked the door open, hesitated, and then pulled it wider.

A burly man came inside, shaking snow from his boots. His fedora sat lopsided on his head.

Voi’s mouth fell open as she redirected her finger at the newcomer. “You! I know you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, shifting the chunk of ice on his shoulder. “Help me get that top door open, will you?”

Dumbfounded, Voi gathered her wits and hurried to the icebox. “You’re the one who helped me find Ronny that day outside the Tribune Tower! Alex Ryan, I believe you said your name was.”

The man hefted the ice into its proper compartment with a heavy grunt then shut the door. “A-plus for memory, kid.” He approached Voi, extending his hand.

Voi shook it reluctantly. “You… work with Ronny, right?”

“He’s my partner; you bet your sweet cheeks I work with him!”

She whirled, staring at the clairvoyant. “I don’t understand. Why is he here?”

“Like he said, Voi, he’s my partner. Don’t worry. He’s a part of this mission and has Sector One clearance. Alex used to track Haran communications over radio.”

She turned back to the newcomer. “I didn’t even know the Haran used radio.”

“Not normally,” he said, “but when they do, they’re pretty discreet—hence the reason most people aren’t aware of it.” He paused and looked at Ronny, gesturing at Voi. “Is she flyin’ tonight?”

Ronny shook his head. “Not until the morning. Milia’s orders.”

“What’s all the buzz about?” Laura came rushing down though halted immediately at the sight of Agent Ryan. “Oh. Him.”

“Nice to see you too, cupcake.” Ryan winked.

“Ugh.” Laura shuddered then went back upstairs.

Ryan spoke to Voi. “I have to admit, young lady, you’ve got a sweet piece of equipment back there.”

Voi self-consciously placed a hand on her rear end. “I beg your pardon?”

“Hey now, I only meant the plane out back. Besides, you’re not really my type.”

“Oh.” She blinked then nodded. “Well yes, it’s one of a kind. State-of-the-art, in fact.”

“From the future, more like! On top of it being powered by aether or whatever, I heard it can also pick up on radio signals for hundreds of miles—without those big-a*s antennas you see on military ships and planes these days.”

“Actually…” Andre’s voice came from an obscure corner of the room.

The others turned in surprise. Ronny looked ready to jump out of his skin. Voi had never seen anyone surprise him like that before.

“The MR-6 is powered by fuel,” Andre explained from an armchair, “just as any other engine-propelled craft.” He snapped a book closed. “It simply uses an aether drive to manipulate its movements through space.”

Ryan tugged on his suspenders then released them with a snap. “Yeah? Well, something in that drive gives its communication and radar systems a serious power boost. Colonel Snipes wouldn’t shut up about it!”

“Radar?” Voi echoed, not very familiar with the term.

Andre rose from his chair and approached them. “Yes, it’s that circular glass screen you were asking about when I first showed you the MR-6. It’s used to detect things like enemy aircraft or hidden objects. I had it installed to meet the AAC’s requirements; you won’t be needing it.”

She pouted.

“Has Voi been briefed?” Milia interrupted, climbing up from the basement.

The atmosphere grew stiff.

Milia was wearing uncharacteristically casual attire: a large sweater with billowy trousers laced into boots. Yet somehow, there was still an air of elegance about the woman, Voi observed, though perhaps it was just the red lipstick the diplomat was wearing and the holier-than-thou air with which she carried herself.

“Well hello, gorgeous!” Ryan crooned.

Milia gave him an annoyed look.

“Voi’s been brought up to speed,” Ronny said sensibly.

“Good.” Milia moved for the stairs then paused. “I sincerely hope one of you intends to do the cooking. I can’t be bothered playing housewife.”

“You mean you’re actually not good at something?” said Andre.

Milia gave him a bland look before retiring downstairs.

Ryan shook his head. “Way to be an a*s, cap.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Asses don’t offer to cook a four-course meal!” Agent Ryan swung towards the groceries with a jaunty step, rolling up his sleeves.

“Since when do you cook?” asked Ronny.

Ryan shrugged. “How hard can it be?”

Voi found herself sharing an incredulous look with Andre.

* * *

“Thank the gods for men like you, Callahan.”

Ronny tensed as Neverri patted his shoulder then went upstairs after dinner, giving the Borellian a dark look behind his back. He thought the gesture of familiarity was… inappropriate. After all, they had only formally been introduced a few hours ago.

Following the brief meeting they held in preparation for the mission, Ronny offered to take over dinner preparations after Ryan burned some chicken to a charcoal in the farmhouse’s cast iron stove. Voi chipped in, too, preparing a salad and sautéed vegetables. Being the last ones in the kitchen, she said to Ronny while washing dishes, “I don’t understand: that man is single; you’d think he’d have learned to cook by now.”

Ronny stifled a laugh. “Alex isn’t single.”

She stopped scrubbing a plate over the sink. “I didn’t see a ring on his finger.”

He smirked. “Keeping your options open?”

Her cheeks flushed.

“Kidding, Voi.”

Casting him a nervous look, she resumed her task.

“Alex has been married for six years, but he’s, uh, taking a break. Chooses not to wear the ring while he’s out.”

Voi thought about this for a moment. “I see.” She went back to scrubbing the plate. More vigorously, he noted. He watched her dry off some of the dishes then put them aside, though she pretended not to notice.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She didn’t say anything at first, just kept washing. “Fine. Everything is fine.”

“Out of everyone involved in this mission, Voi, you’re the only one putting your life in harm’s way; it’s okay to have reservations.”

She handed a clean plate to him without looking. “What makes you think I’m having reservations?”

He shrugged, drying off the dish. “Just thought you were a bit quiet at the meeting. Thought maybe you had something else on your mind.”

Still, nothing.

“I trust the captain has given you the information you’ll need for your flight in the morning?”

“He has.”

They fell silent.

Finished, Voi dried off her hands with a towel then left in a hurry.

“Just let me know if you need anything, Voi.”

She paused. “One thing, Ronny.”

“Yeah?”

She faced him. “Are you sure you weren’t being overly strict when you were chastising me about developing a relationship with Andre due to jealousy?”

He furrowed his brow and decided to play dumb. “I’m not sure I follow.”

She rolled her eyes. “Never mind. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Voi.”

She faked a smile then went up to her room.

Ronny ran his hand over his face. Way to smooth things over, Callahan.