Bereth and Isaiah glanced at one another nervously as I approached.

“How did it go?” Bereth asked.

“I have no idea,” I said, shrugging.

“Not well,” Ghost said. “Taylor enjoys causing herself unnecessary trouble.”

“I like doing the right thing, Ghost.”

“After that meeting, we should move on,” he insisted. “There are other zones that need saving. We can’t be spending unnecessary time in one place.”

“Doesn’t this bother you, Ghost?”

I noticed Clarise following behind us and pivoted my attention to her.

“Hey, Clarise. Have Bereth and Isaiah been vaccinated yet, or is that allowed since they’re not part of the cult?”

She produced two vials, glaring at me as she walked past.

“Your arms, please,” she said, staring at the two men.

I looked to them and nodded.

She first gave Bereth an injection in his arm, then moved to Isaiah.

“Are you the one who identified the vaccine after you stole it from me?” I asked.

“No, but I do know how to administer it.”

“What zone are you from, by the way?”

She groaned, already growing irritated with me again. “Safe travels. Hopefully we never see each other again.”

“We’re leaving,” Ghost insisted, giving me a hard tap on the top of the head with his beak.

I opened my mouth, ready to continue the conversation, but another sharp tap from Ghost made me reconsider.

At the very least, it would be better not to waste the goodwill from Bereth and Isaiah by keeping them awkwardly in the middle of this conversation.

“Thank you,” Isaiah said to Clarise as we pushed off.

Once we’d gone out of hearing distance, Ghost spoke.

“I know you’re frustrated, Taylor, but—”

“I’m more than frustrated, Ghost. The vaccine is for everyone. Using it selectively is what the president wanted. That’s what it was made for in the first place. To create this world of better humans. Smarter. The ‘right’ kind of human. We’ve never allowed it to be used that way. I don’t want to start now.”

“So, what is it you’re considering? By now, I know you better than anyone. You’re considering fighting them for the vaccine back, and to put them in their place so this zone’s future is a better one.”

“I’d considered it, yes.”

Bereth shook his head. “I would have rather perished from the virus myself than for that to happen. Don’t be surprised if Jeremy agrees. He’s older now too, and his mischievous days are behind him. He seems to just want the people on Rockport to be left alone.”

“Left alone in this case is the same as being left to die. They can be vaccinated, and then left alone. Adversity Management digging their heels in here is them playing as gods.”

“We’re taking you back to Rockport, correct?” Isaiah asked.

“Isaiah and I have been talking,” Bereth began, his tone soft.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to keep the two of you out of the middle of things. I apologize for today. Your help has been invaluable to me. Even with the current situation being what it is, we’ve managed to vaccinate over ninety percent of the zone. On paper, that’s a success. My personal hangups aside.”

Bereth shook his head.

“No, no. It’s not that. We just wanted to say that we’ve enjoyed your company. It’s also likely we were just vaccinated as part of a gesture meant to appease you in some small way. It has brought some excitement to this old man’s life.”

I smiled, genuinely surprised by the positive words I hadn’t been expecting.

“I think your boring old man life is enviable, Bereth. I think I’d prefer fishing over what I’ve been doing with my own adult life.”

“I’m not sure the rest of the world would agree,” Isaiah said. “Sounds like it would be a worse place without you doing exactly what you’ve been doing.”

“Would you have my back if I did something you thought was extra, extra stupid, Ghost?”

Ghost tilted his head at me. “Such as?”

“Something extra, extra, extra stupid.”

Ghost stared at me blankly.

“As opposed to?”

“Ha ha ha… very funny, Ghost. At least I hoped that was humor. I try to do things that aren’t stupid from time to time.”

“I will have your back, even on those rare occasions where you aren’t doing something stupid.”

“I appreciate that sentiment, Ghost, even wrapped in your usual insults.”

***

We arrived back on Rockport, and I found Jeremy exactly where I expected to. He was drinking again, leaned over a table in the tavern. Or passed out over it, depending on your perspective. Glass half empty. Glass half full.

“You awake, big guy?” I asked.

He reached for the drink that had been in front of him, knocking it over and spilling the rest of it in the process. I scooted to the opposite end of the bench to avoid having my lap be filled with it instead.

“Get me another drink. You spilled mine.”

“What would your daughter think, seeing her dad passed out over a table like this, too drunk to drink? Think she’d be proud?”

“I’d kill you for saying that if there weren’t three of you,” he groaned, pointy at me, then at the empty space to my right and left.

“Only thing you’re killing, old man, is the mood in this place. Where’s all the singing and dancing?”

“We talked, Taylor. It’s a no.”

“What’s a no?”

He cleared his throat, raising his head to look at me with bloodshot eyes surrounded by dark rings. The trail of drool that escaped the corner of his mouth, choosing not to stop at his chin, traveling down his neck probably had higher alcohol content than beer.

“The pirates of Rockport will not be making a reappearance to help you with your little mission. They’d rather spend time with their dying families. And me? Don’t have any family.”

“Lunaria and her cult are safe. Aren’t you happy for them?”

He grinned, easily seeing through my attempts to rouse him from his stupor. That didn’t mean it wasn’t working.

“That woman offer herself to the seas as fish food for all I care.”

“I heard you designed and oversaw the building of her temple. You’re quite skilled.”

“As you can see from your time here on Rockport, there is no shortage of stone, though it was a long process to get it from here to there. Took some big boats and a lot of trips.” He paused, noticing my grin. “No, don’t get all excited. After we left and settled here your PanTech friends destroyed the boats. There’s enough stone on Redbank to do the occasional repairs needed. Maintaining great work never takes the skill that was required to create it.”

“Back at HQ, there were still debates on how these large stone structures were actually built throughout history. Thinking of having to transport the stone across a body of water makes it even more interesting.”

“Well, they should’ve marched themselves over here and volunteered for the crew. I could’ve used the extra hands.”

“Would you have fought, were it up to you?” I asked. “Now, I mean. If I wanted to go over there and take back the vaccine for the families here, would you have been willing to do it?”

“I’m not some kind of hero, like you, Taylor. I might’ve done it for fun when I was angrier and still filled with foolish hope. Now? I’ve begun to accept that my daughter was probably plucked clean by fish long ago. I’ll never get to hold her in my arms, the way I did when she was a baby. I think it was no coincidence Luna gained those so-called ‘powers’ right after she disappeared.”

“No matter what the outcome, there’s a truth of it to be discovered.”

“I know that,” he growled, picking up the overturned mug and searching the bottom for any remaining liquid.

“Something about all of this isn’t sitting well with me, Jeremy. I’ve seen a lot of weird things in zones across PanTech’s territories, but of all the places I’ve been this is probably the strangest. Priestesses communing with the stars. Divine intervention to save the sick. All theater from PanTech, but why. No, forget why. How? I think it’s all related.”

“Alright,” Jeremy said, laughing and shooing me with his hand. “I’m naming you Chief Investigator Taylor, representing Rockport’s interests. Go have a good time, kid. Keep asking those tough questions. Go forth and solve all that remains unsolved. Unearth the solutions to all our most pressing problems. Succeed and I’ll name you ‘Hero of Rockport’ and we can all cheer your name thrice. Free drinks for life.

“Alright,” I said.

“What? You serious?” he asked, still grinning.

“I’ve worked with some great detectives before. I’m pretty sure I can handle it.”

“Get lost, foolish girl,” he said, laughing even harder this time. “Leave an old man to his drink.”

“I’ll be holding you to all those promises,” I said.