“Hello? Anyone in there?” The woman's voice sounded strained.

Is she scared? Nervous? Satara shifted towards Jason's bed but Sinastar turned to her and pointed at the bathroom door. He directed Jason in the same way without waiting for her response and pressed a finger to his lips. He pointed his other hand at the hotel doorway like a gun. So he thinks it might be a trap too?

She waited for Jason to wriggle free from his duvet cocoon and join her behind her cousin, then considered the latter's silent order. Wouldn't it be easier to run instead of hide out here? What if she's with those people from the motorway? We should leave before –

“I'm coming in –” said the lady on the other side and the door handle rattled.

Blue Fire billowed out around Sinastar's extended hand and his aura switched palpably. The instinctive urge to flee from its half diluted malignancy swept through her body and Jason stepped back at the same time. Though his face was still puffy with sleep lines, he didn't seem as disorientated as expected. He caught her eye and they both dropped into combative stances. Before they could communicate further, another woman's hushed and frantic voice joined the first.

“No, no, no, Kate. Stop! You can't go in there.”

“What?” asked Kate. The door handle stopped mid rotation. “Why not?”

“I forgot you're new to all this. We don't do housecleaning for NCA bookings.”

Sinastar withdrew the zai back into his hand but didn't look away from the door and his posture stayed guarded.

“NCA?” Kate now seemed curious instead of timid.

“Don't ask. The less you know about it, the better,” said the newcomer. “Just check the files properly before you start cleaning. Some of our customers opt out of room service or housecleaning so we have to wait until they're gone.”

“Ooh. Why's that –?”

“I said, don't ask. Let's go.” Their voices began to fade. “You better hope they don't complain about us disturbing them. Nicky will kill us …”

Sinastar waited for several seconds then turned to them. “You didn't hide.”

“The window in there's too small,” said Satara. Her shoulders raised without permission. “I didn't think it'd be a good idea to get trapped.”

“Even if that happened, I'd get you back out.”

Is he telling me off? Though his direct gaze seemed confrontational, Sinastar seemed neither angry nor disappointed. Only intensely concerned by her choices.

“Yeah but we can't just run off and hide whenever someone comes after us, Sin,” said Jason. He flinched as the other guy looked at him. “I mean, there's no point in you getting hurt when there's a chance we can all get away safely, right?”

“Of course,” said Sinastar after a potent pause. “But I'm the only one who should make that call. At least until you've both learned more.”

“So we should've waited until we were trapped before fighting back?” Though she tried to conceal her scepticism, Jason looked at her as if she had raised her fists at her cousin.

“Smaller spaces with one exit are easier to defend, if needed.” Sinastar nodded at the balcony door behind them. “That's all.”

“You didn't look like you were going to defend it with us.”

“Thankfully things didn't go that far.” He offered her a small smile and, if it not for Jason's visible tension, she might have ignored his attempt to appease her. “I wouldn't leave you to fend for yourselves alone unless I had no choice.”

“Okay. If you're sure.” She pulled the towel off her head and rubbed the ends of her hair with unsteady hands. “What's the NCA?”

“I'll explain later.” He tilted his head towards the door again and gestured at her torso. “We should make sure you're okay and then leave.”

“What about food?” asked Jason as he sank onto the single bed, boneless with relief and hunger.

But the charged energy in the room hadn't dissipated yet and her stomach acid roiled.

“We'll eat on the way.” He sounded apologetic as he sat down on the double bed and motioned towards the space beside him. “Satara, if you don't mind?”

His features had warmed but his gaze remained distant as she sat beside him, as if he could still hear people outside the door and was ready to set the entire hotel alight to escape. Taking a deep breath, she turned and let him place his versatile hands on her back. On either side of her spine.

<><><><><>

After discussing it during her check up, Jason managed to negotiate time to have a quick shower while Sinastar went to get food, claiming he couldn't do anything on an empty stomach. Sinastar agreed but washed up first. When he came back out of the bathroom, he was dressed in a white T-shirt and black chinos. He had tied his hair up into a high ponytail and caught them both staring as he retrieved a pair of fashionable, silver-framed glasses.

“The police shouldn't recognise me like this,” was all he told them.

He left via the balcony under the temporary cover of a zai-net and they remained frozen on the spot for a few minutes before Jason cleared his throat. He announced his plans to shower, then fled to the bathroom before they could make eye contact with each other. Roughly an hour later, they ended up back on the streets and she found it easier to focus on her cousin's altered appearance instead of the people around them. Her own hair was tied up in a bun underneath her hood as per his suggestion and Jason wore a white cap Sinastar bought for him along with three chicken burger meals. So this is how he hides without zai.

They entered an alley way and stopped at its furthest end, facing a clinic with a red and gold sign that depicted a glowing heart and three words; Lighter Hearts Clinic. Sinastar pointed to the alley opposite theirs.

“I'll clear the way first.” He looked at Jason. “You can follow in about five minutes. Satara, you can do the same after him.”

“Shouldn't Tara go –” Jason stopped himself with a tight self conscious grin. “– No worries. I get it.”

You're learning. She smiled but didn't nudge him. The space behind them pressed against her shoulders and the road ahead seemed darker.

“If anything happens, you know what to do.”

They touched the zai-marks hidden beneath their sleeves like panic buttons. They weren't as elaborate as Jason's previous one but would do the job and alert Sinastar via the symbol on his own wrist.

“See you there.” He pushed his hands into his pockets and stepped onto the pavement as if he had shed their past like snakeskin in the alleyway behind him.

He looked both ways and waited for a couple of cars to pass before crossing the road. In seconds, he was out of sight and she ignored the prickle across the back of her neck.

Jason shrugged as she looked at him and adjusted his cap needlessly. “What do you reckon this therapist's like?”

“Hopefully not annoying.”

“I doubt she is.” He snorted quietly. “Why would Sin trust someone like that?”

“He might not have a choice.” Satara checked the digital clock in her mind. Four more minutes.

“True. Could be why he didn't tell her everything.”

“So you were awake?” Satara smiled at his caught out expression.

“Kind of,” he admitted, fiddling with the front of his cap again. “But only for a bit.”

“Did you hear about our country?” I guess he would've heard about it sooner or later.

His arm blocked most of his face from view but not the sudden redirection of his gaze. “I didn't mean to.”

“Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have said anything out loud in the first place.” She slipped her hands into her hoodie pockets and tilted her head towards the clinic. “Sin's probably waiting.”

“Right.” He paused then shook his head and left the cover of the alley. “See ya.”

This time her arms tingled. She waited for him to cross the road and then turned sharply on the spot. She was alone but the emptiness screamed at her as if it were about to burst at the seams. A shadow flitted across the sky but it was only a crow flying from one roof to the next.

How many minutes has it been? Jason stopped hanging around outside the pharmacy beside the clinic and sidled into the opposite alley without looking back. No one followed him in. No one even looked at him. Maybe the police aren't after us yet. Is it because of Sin's letters or do they just not car-

Something hard pressed between her shoulder blades just as she was about to move and someone grabbed the back of her hoodie.

“Don't move,” they murmured. “Take your hands out of your pockets.”

Unlike her body, Satara's thoughts darted in all directions like lightning. A guy. Older guy. I can't see his shadow. Is he shorter than me? What accent is that? Italian? She withdrew her hands and stifled a grunt as the man released her clothes and grabbed her right wrist instead. The one with Sinastar's mark. Is he trying to kidnap me? Her spine stiffened. She considered yanking him forward to trip over her foot but the weapon shifted to the back of her skull.

“Don't even think about it, chicky. I'll paint the pavement with your brains.” He sounded amused. “What's your name?”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Will it make a difference?” She mimicked his tone, albeit somewhat breathlessly. His grip isn't that strong. If I touch the mark, I might be able to hold him off until Sin gets here. As long as he doesn't shoot me, that is.

“It might.” He pulled her arm behind her back and she adjusted her stance despite the warning that dug into her head.

“How?” He waited until I was alone. He probably doesn't want to make a scene any more than I do.

“More information about you, chicky.”

If I duck, he could still shoot me somewhere else. She pressed her quivering lips together and bit the inside of her cheek. I need to get around the gun. Or break his elbow before he tries.

“I told you not to move.” His fingers tightened around her arm until she winced. He pulled her back half a step. “So you going to tell me your name or what?”

He's keeping his distance. Does he know I can fight or is he just being careful?

“Giving me the silent treatment, huh? Guess I'll just have to ask your boyfriends instead.”

“Boyfriends?” Her heart jumped. She leaned forward.

“One of them did something fancy on the motorway yesterday.” His voice was too close to her ear. “Caused an explosion. Killed some people.”

“I don't know what you're –” The gun vanished, replaced by his hand around her throat.

“You know exactly what I'm talking about, chicky.” He yanked her back and stroked the hollow of her throat with his thumb. She almost gagged and her skin crawled. “Tell me or I'll skip straight to the hard part.”

You shouldn't have put the gun away, you idiot. She grabbed the wrist closest to her neck and gave it a warning squeeze.

“Want to know how that's going to go? I'll tell you.” His smoky breath crept over shoulder and she coughed, turning her face away from it. “You're going to tell us exactly how he did it and where you're all heading next. If you don't, I'll show you just how fun choking someone is. And once you tell me what I need to know, you're going to cross that road and join them without looking back.”

“Like hell I am.” She wrenched his arm up and crushed the bare pad of his thumb between her teeth, throwing her weight backwards at the same time.

He cried out but pivoted. Before she could free her other arm, he pulled the hood over her head and shoved her violently into the opposite alley wall. Damn it! She stumbled and protected her face with her hands. He was gone by the time she threw back her hood and regained her bearings. I didn't hear any doors. Where's he gone? Dusting off her palms, she backed out of the alley. Can he use zai? No, he would've known what the explosion was if he could. And he probably wouldn't have bothered using a gun. He might be gone already but even so.

She stood on the pavement a moment longer and lifted her chin to stare down the apparently deserted space with the most provocative smile she could muster despite her elevated heart rate. She walked across the road and glanced back into the alley again, silently daring them with her exposed back. No one appeared in the alley nor in any of the windows that flanked it. No one painted the pavement with the contents of her skull. No one attempted to shoot her down for her defiance.

After all that talk. She leaned against the first door she came upon once she felt safe from prying eyes and breathed in the shade between the clinic and the pharmacy. He didn't even know my name. Or Jason's. So he's probably after Sin. Then again, he might be pretending not to know. But why do that? He left without answers as soon as I tried to get away. Was he that desperate to hide who he was? Does that mean he's someone Sin might recognise?

She pawed at the bandage on her neck and wished she could spit the taste of the man's flesh into the drain beside her along with her wounded pride as a martial artist. The door at her back opened without warning and she dropped backwards with a barely suppressed gasp.

“Flippin' eggs, Tara!” exclaimed Jason as she caught hold of his arms. He shoved her back upright but his hands lingered on her shoulder blades. “What took you so long? And why were you falling –?”

“I wasn't that long,” she snapped, whirling around.

“It was longer than two minutes.” His eyes roved her clothes and face. The pink tinge faded from his cheeks. “Hey, why d'you look like you just –?”

“Where's Sin?” I need to tell him they've found us.

“I'm here, Satara.” Her cousin emerged a door at the end of a short corridor lined with pictures of distressed teenagers and adults complete with various helpline numbers and health supplements. “Did something happen?”

She tried to disregard the underlying scent of sterilising alcohol as she approached him. Jason closed the door and muttered to himself as he followed her.

“Just now I –” A woman appeared in the doorway beside Sinastar and silenced Satara with her abrupt presence.

She wasn't old at all. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a high pony tail and streaked with gold instead of grey. Her light green eyes sparkled like the crystal hearts that dangled from her ears and hung around her thin neck.

“Wow, I can see the resemblance already,” she said. Her left hand slid down Sinastar's right arm as she held out her right. “You're Satara, right? It's great to finally meet you.”

Satara eyed the offered hand until Jason coughed and nudged her discreetly from behind.

“I am.” The fingers she clasped were small and thin. One of them bore a shiny matching heart ring. “Are you the therapist?”

“That's me.” She smelt like laughter and sunlight. Like something soft and musky from The Fragrance Shop. “I'm Dr Delgado but you can call me Judy.”

Satara nodded as the therapist smiled. Jason seemed to have forgotten who he was when the latter held a hand out to him.

“Nice to meet you, Judy.” He shook her hand. “I'm Jason but you can call me Jayce.”

“Ooh, like Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors?” She reacted instantly to the confusion in his eyes. “I loved that cartoon when I was little but you two probably haven't even heard of it. Look at me, showing my age.”

She turned to Sinastar with a self conscious laugh and her excessive mirth disappeared. She touched the pale skin just below his puffy left eye.

“You look so tired, Spy.” Her expression tightened as he eased her hand away from his face. “Sorry. Are you okay? Did something happen before you got here?”

Spy? Satara tensed as the stranger's buffed fingernails lingered too close to his eyeball.

“It took longer than expected, that's all,” he replied, gesturing at the doorway. “Shall we?”

“Of course.” An anxious smile flitted across her face as she waved them in the same direction. “Come on in.”

“Spy?” asked Jason as they followed her into a waiting room with sickeningly pale walls.

“Yeah. When I first met him, I thought he was a spy or something.” She shared a knowing look with Sinastar before her gaze returned to Jason. “So many secrets for someone who needed to talk to me first. But that's just me being silly. Or the ill effects of watching way too many movies.”

When she first met him? Does that mean he tells her a lot more now?

“There's no such thing as too many movies,” said Jason, nodding sagely. His ears reddened as Judy laughed. “Though I'm not sure a therapist would agree with that.”

“This one does.” She stopped by the reception desk and winked at him. “Can I get you all anything to drink? There's a vending machine over there too.”

“We ate already.” Sinastar placed a hand on the curved white wood between them. “You got my messages, didn't you?”

“Of course.” She tightened her pony tail. The light from the window next to her made her teeth glint and revealed a delivery area behind the row of buildings. “All of them.”

“So do you think you can help?” He stared at her face as if he could find the answer there before she said it aloud.

“Anything for you, Spy.” She patted his hand and glanced at the teenagers behind him. “But I need to speak to you first. Is that okay?”

He nodded without looking at them and Satara swallowed her resentment. Something about Judy's smile, the waver in her eye contact, brushed against her thoughts like nettle leaves and left them with an irritated rash.

“Great.” The therapist motioned to the light blue, leather seats positioned against the walls and at its centre as she clip-clopped towards the other end of the waiting room. “Feel free to take a seat. We'll be back in a mo'.”

“There should be cups over there,” said Sinastar. He pointed at a water dispenser in the opposite corner. “I'll try not to take too long.”

“Take all the time you need, mate,” said Jason. He sat down at the end of the middle row and stretched his legs out, arms folded behind his head. “I heard most therapy sessions take at least an hour, right, Tara?”

He grinned meaningfully at her. Sinastar paused beside her before she could punch or answer him.

“You were saying something earlier,” he said and she slid her hands into her pockets. “What was it?”

The musty scent of bricks pervaded her memory along with a gravelly, accented voice and the pressure of a thumb against her throat. But Judy had opened the door to a long white corridor and was watching them both as she stood beside it.

“I'll tell you after.” The statement tasted a lot like defeat.

“Are you sure it can wait?” He turned to her. Urgency slipped into his tone.

“I think so.” She nodded at the therapist. “You probably shouldn't keep her waiting.”

“I would if I had to.”

She looked away from the question in his eyes and shook her head. “I don't think you have to.”

I just have to tell him before that guy finds me alone again.

He hesitated, then brushed a palm against her forehead after she had acknowledged his raised hand.

“I'll be back soon.” He nodded at Jason, who averted his gaze and lifted a hand, then joined Judy by the door.

It closed soundlessly behind him as he followed her out of sight. Her loud footsteps faded and Satara sat down a seat away from Jason. She pointed warningly at Sinastar's hiking bag and he grunted at her, kicking it aside instead of using it as a footstool.

“So you gonna tell me what that was about?” He sounded grumpy.

“What?” Did he see what that guy looked like?

“That weird hand head thing Sin did.” He fiddled with the cover of a magazine on the small table beside his chair. “With you.”

“It's the tribe greeting.” Dread crept off her chest. He came after me because he thought I'd be easier to deal with. It it because I'm a girl? “What about it?”

“Oh. It's nothing.” He pulled the Women's Health magazine out of its deep blue wooden rack and grimaced.

“Why ask about it if it's nothing?” She leaned back in the leather chair and tried to relax without breathing in the artificial cleanliness of her surroundings. Was he on the motorway too or did he know someone who was?

“It's just weird, that's all.” He flicked through the pages as if each one wanted to attack his eyes.

“Weird how?” If he's too scared to face Sin, he might be waiting for reinforcements to come before he does.

“It doesn't suit you,” he muttered, shoving the publication back into the rack and leafing through the rest. “Letting a guy touch you like that.”

“Like what?” The cool clinic area started to coil around her neck like the stranger's fingers. She resisted the urge to stand. No one else is here right now except us. It's not too late for other customers. Did she close the clinic just to see Sin?

“Like he's better than you.” Jason twisted on the leather cushion and shook his head. “Why would you let anyone do that?”

“Is that what it looks like to you?” The closed door across the room suddenly seemed as wide and as thick as the gates of a castle. “I think it's more of a respect thing.”

“How's putting his hand on your head when he barely knows you respectful?” Jason's indignation yanked on the reins of her attention.

“I think it's because he's older. Lots of Asian people don't ignore other people, even if they're younger.” That's what it looked like in Mrs Lang's dramas, at any rate.

“So he's can touch you because he's older?”

“You're missing the point.” Satara turned to him and ignored the sudden twinge in her stomach. “Besides he did the same thing to you. Why're you complaining now?”

“What? When?”

“When he gave you the headband, remember?” She snorted under her breath. “Or were you too busy staring at him to notice?”

“Ha! I wasn't staring at him.” He bent down to check the zips on Sinastar's bag. “I just wasn't expecting him to do that.”

“Just like you weren't expecting Dr Delgado to look like that?” She smiled. “I guess it doesn't matter to you as long as they're nice to look at, huh?”

“You think Sin's nice to look at?” Jason sounded like she'd punched him in the stomach.

“I never said that.” She glanced back at the door.

How long are they going to take?

<><><><><>

“I have to say, I really appreciate the new look, Spy,” said Judy. She cast an approving smile over her shoulder as they walked down the corridor which abruptly seemed longer than usual. “Very chic.”

I'm not the only one that's different today. Sinastar took off the glasses and put them in his pocket. The highlights in the therapist's hair were brighter than usual. A white tunic dress had replaced her usual lab coat and the slits in its sides revealed unprofessionally tight black leggings instead of her smart tapered trousers.

“Not that you don't look chic in your coat too.” She stopped him as he reached up to reposition his ponytail. “Wait, don't take it down just yet!”

“Why not?” He lowered his arms but she didn't let go of his arms.

“It suits you.” Her smile brightened but she looked away. “Let me enjoy it for a bit longer, okay?”

He nodded and tried to ease himself from her grasp but it tightened instead.

“Spy, what's going on?” Her thumbs caressed the skin over his pulse. “You text even less than you talk so I can't tell if you're really okay or not.”

“I'm okay.” He craved the barrier of his coat.

“What about your cousin?” Judy normally struggled to maintain her reassuringly direct eye contact whenever she spoke to him but today it seemed worse.

“Satara might talk if she trusts you.”

“No, I meant –” She cleared her throat. Her skin looked extra smooth. “– your other cousin? Did you see her again?”

“Is that what you wanted to talk about?” He stepped back but she followed him, tilting her head to hold his gaze despite her unsteady eye contact.

“We've known each other for years now and I know there's something wrong.” She shook her head and her eyes began to glisten. “You look absolutely exhausted. Like you'd fall over if I poked you.”

“What does my cousin have to do with that?”

“I know you care about both of your cousins. But she's the one who haunts you all the time.” She swallowed. “Just like you haunt me.”

“I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, Judy,” he murmured. “I've never wanted to burden you with anything.”

“No, that's not what I mean.” She transferred her hand from his wrist to his face. Her fingertips grazed his jawline and the left side of his neck. “I can see how heavy it is for you. Everything you've done and everything you're doing now. And I want to help you.”

“That's why I'm here.” He tried to hold his breath and failed. Her perfume was too strong.

“Not just like this. I'm more than happy to help Satara but I just wondered if there was anything else I could do for you.” The elegant but slightly uncharacteristic high heels brought her face within reach of his. Her thumb strayed dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. “To stop you from suffering so much on your own. To make you feel better. You know I'd do anything for you, right? You know how important your happiness is to me, don't you?”

He curled warning fingers around her warm wrist. Her desperation ticked against his thumb like a time bomb.

“I'm happy to assist you with your research,” he said and her breath faltered against his face. “And I hope you'll help Satara find her happiness in return. That's all I want.”

“Is that really all you want from me?” Her eyes drifted to the lower half of his face and back up to meet his. “I could give you so much more than that, if you want –”

“I don't need anything else.” He pulled her hand away from his face and eased his wrist from her grip before stepping back. The air between them seared his throat and lungs. “Is that okay with you, Judy?”

“Of – of course.” Her laughter trembled.

Sweat shone at her temples despite the air conditioning. She rubbed her empty hands on the front of her dress and glanced out of the window to her right.

“Are you sure?” He hooked his thumbs in his trouser pockets to stop his hands from hiding.

“I'm sure, Spy.” When she looked at him again, her eyes were less bright but steadier. “I told you I'd do anything for you, didn't I?”

“Even if you can't get what you want too?” He fought the impulse to widen the gap between them.

“Even if I can't get it now, it doesn't mean I never will, right?” She turned away before he could discourage her and rubbed her eyes as she walked. “Come on. There's something you need to see.”

He paused to look out of the window, then glanced over his shoulder at the waiting room door beyond which Satara and Jason waited for him. He wiped his wrists and regained control of his breathing before following Judy to the other end of the corridor.

I shouldn't keep them waiting for too long.