Her.

I had imagined the moment. Rehearsed my reaction in my mind one thousand times. Even dreamt about it. Yet here, I stood, frozen. What was she doing here? The meeting was tomorrow, not today. She wasn't supposed to be here. I wasn't ready for this.

A gentle gust of wind slipped through the hangar and some of her wavy strands danced softly. She wore her hair longer than I remembered, free and wild, with no trace of the unmistakable braid that used to hold it in place. Her gaze bore into me, and my bones shook with nerves. What would she be thinking? Orange light from the rising sun filtered through the windows, bathing her silhouette. She looked gorgeous. Even more than she did before. My memory hadn't done justice to her.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke, which made me think she was surprised to see me too. Even though her harsh gaze didn't change. God, that look. I had never been able to erase it from my memory. Rugged. Raw. Able to shake you in many different ways. Sometimes it felt like a fiery dagger that had struck me down. Others a blast of heat that made my heart quiver. I was once very good at reading thoes eyes. I even felt proud of it. Like if they had their own language and I was the only one who could decipher it. However, now things were different. That gaze looked new to me. No language. No meaning. A wall.

Tanya's words resonated inside me: Keep it professional.

"There's a space reserved for guests. You can park there," I finally said, breaking the silence.

Heather panted, annoyed. "Where?"

"I'll show you. Come."

Heather unplugged the battery, left her helmet on the seat, and dragged the hoverbike following me. My heart pounded loudly as I saw her approach me. We walked in silence, except for the rhythmic knocking of her boots that reminded me she was there, behind me. It wasn't a dream.

We reached the Asthar model, and right next to it, there was plenty of space to park. A silver line on the floor marked off the spots, and a phrase decorated the entrance: "Welcome guests".

"Here." I said.

Heather looked around scanning the area. She gazed at a nearby window, seemingly interested in the sunlight streaming through it. Then, once she seemed to have selected her favorite spot, she dragged her hoverbike and placed it carefully in a shaded area.

"The sun will shine directly there in the evening." I informed her. 

"I won't stay that long." She replied while plugging the hoverbike into the energy source.

"Oh," I said realizing it had been silly to assume she would spend the whole day at the Nexus Court. She unzipped her black jacket and took it off. She wore an elegant dark green blazer with a black top underneath. She looked different. Like, not her but also her. I couldn't explain.

"Do you know your way in?" I said, trying not to stare at her wordless blacktop, although my eyes fought fiercely to do it.

"I do."

"Okay, then. So, bye... I guess. Well, bye until tomorrow. I mean, see you later. Not later, tomorrow." Grace, stop talking, please, I thought to myself.

"I'm not coming tomorrow. The first 'bye' was correct," she stated while placing her Reg bracelet into the hoverbike sensor and turning the lights off.

"You are not coming tomorrow?" I repeated like an idiot.

"Nope," she said and then turned to walk towards the gigantic front door of the hangar. She raised a hand without looking back. "Bye, Grace."

Her voice saying my name sent a spark all over my body and I stood there. Still. Watching her disappear in the sunlight that escaped from the semi-opened door. It had happened. And I survived. Good. Yet my bones felt frail. My heart unsteady. What was all of that about her not coming tomorrow? Had the mission changed in the past days?

I tried to keep running, but my concentration had gone awry. I activated the speed sensor and ran as fast as my body and implant let me. Two hours later I had my feet inside a bucket of iced water, hurting like hell.

I had pierced the city from one side to the other like an arrow. Thank God my feet gave up close to Kate's neighborhood and I decided to pay an emergency surprise visit.

"What were you thinking?" She said alarmed, while pulling more ice into the bucket. "You can't force it like this, you're gonna end up legless."

"I lost control. I usually don't use the speed sensor when I train." I said, glancing down at my swollen ankles. Zoe sat in my lap observing the bucket as if it held all the mysteries of the universe.

"Does this have anything to do with a certain someone showing up at the Nexus Court today?" Kate inquired knowingly.

"How did you know?" I blurted out.

"Well... Heather told me she was coming today. A few hours later, you show up looking all stressed out. It doesn't take a detective to connect the dots." She said.

"What did she tell you?" I asked and then I immediately regretted the question. "Actually, never mind. I don't want to know."

Kate tightened her lips as if swallowing whatever she was about to say. I hugged Zoe as if that was able to give me the calm I so desperately needed. But soon enough, Zoe chimed in, pulling me away with her cute little hands and a complaint.

"You too Zoe?" I said overreacting sadly.

"Don't take it personally. She is a bit cranky today. We had our first visit to the clinic and she didn't like it." Kate said.

I frown. "The clinic?"

"Yeah. They want to monitor her progress before deciding on the first implant," She explained.

I gazed at Zoe who played with my reg bracelet. Her beautiful big eyes were from another world and my heart ached to think maybe one day she would not have them anymore.

"Are you ok with that?" I said.

"As If we had any choice."

"But you are her moms. You should be able to decide." I said.

"We decided to live here." Kate held Zoe's hand and stroked it kindly. "Look, Grace, I know you're perspective might be different because you were raised on the other side. But trust me, implants are a lifeline for us now. They save lives." She said.

"I know. But It's hard for me to think It is the only way." I said.

"The planet's on life support. If you have a better plan, I'm all ears," She said.

I shook my head. She had a point. Surviving without technology in this world was impossible. I knew it all too well. But the level they had reached in Reg Society... Huh, It wasn't just that they used technology to survive; they depended on it at all times. The opinion of data was worth more than that of people. It didn't matter not knowing why things were done; people didn't ask anymore.

When I felt my feet coming back to life, I returned to Nexus Court. Now much more relaxed. Seeing Heather again had left me unsettled, but now I felt that I may be able to handle the situation. I took a shower, changed, and then headed to Brooke's office. She had mentioned she didn't have any meetings that morning, so I brought her some pastries and tea. I hadn't seen much of her lately; she had been buried in work. I thought it might be nice to have a chat about the meeting we both had to face tomorrow. I knocked on the door, but she didn't answer.

"Brooke is not here." A voice from behind me said. I turned around and saw Normand and Gabriel who were passing by.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She's in a meeting. Room 122." Normand said.

"She didn't have any meeting this morning," I said.

"There's been a change," Gabriel said.

I left the tea and pastries on her desk and then made my way upstairs to the meeting room. I didn't need to look at the room numbers to know where she was. Shouts resonated throughout the entire floor. "Oh my God, what is happening?" I mused to myself.

I reached door 122, which was closed, and heard Brooke's voice through it.

"You should be grateful. You were lucky you were sent to the Undercity Hub." Brooke said.

"I don't matter what you say. I won't take part in that mission." Heather's voice came through.

"Looks like being down there has made you even more disobedient," Brooke said.

"I haven't done anything but follow orders. Always. And you know that. But that mission is a mistake. Things could escalate very badly." Heather said.

"Enough! This is how things are. You're not in the position to decide, remember?" Brooke said.

Silence.

Footsteps approached the door and I moved to the side. The door opened and Heather emerged from it. Her eyes blazing with anger. Her lips tightened in frustration.

Our gazes met for one second. A second that was enough to twist my stomach. Then, she left without uttering a single word. I peeked inside the meeting room. Brooke was sitting on one of the chairs, feet on the table, legs crossed, a hand on her head, looking exhausted.

"What was all about?" I asked.

She turned her head to me realizing my presence.

"Oh, it's you. Where the hell were you?" She asked annoyed.

"I went for a run," I said.

"For four hours?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Brooke tapped the table angrily. "Great. Another one that does whatever she wants. It's like working with teenagers."

"Whoa. Can you tell me what happened?" I said.

Brooke sight. "Nothing. Heather Anderson being Heather Anderson. That's it. Five years in the Undercity Hub and she still thinks she can rule the world. She refused to join the mission." She shifted her legs off the table and stood up.

What? Heather didn't want to join the mision. Would that have to do something with me?  The idea sent a pang to my heart.

"Why?" I asked.

"Bullshit reasons. Not wasting any more time on that." Brooke said as she came out of the room.

Brooke was breathing fire, so I decided not to bring up the topic again. We made our way to her office, where I offered her the tea and pastries I had brought, hoping to calm her down. Once she settled into her large white armchair, she received a call and immediately switched back to work mode. I stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the expansive gardens of Nexus Court and took a deep breath. I loved the blue trees surrounding the Fountain Of Knowledge. 

Suddenly, in the distance, I spotted the hangar doors slowly opening. Then, like lightning, a hoverbike shot out. Her. She ascended a few meters before zooming off at full throttle. Seconds later she disappeared into the gray of the city clouds. The only restrain of her was a hole in the clouds and a faint trail of blue smoke. This woman... Where was she off to? Would she even show up for the meeting tomorrow? And why was she so reluctant to join the mission?

I leaned my arms on the balcony railing and then rested my head on them. I had no idea what awaited me tomorrow. Yet, I felt as if everything was about to change. Same feeling as the day I left the border. But unlike then, I wasn't afraid. Instead, a tingling sensation invaded my chest. Damn, I was excited. But why the hell was I? Just yesterday, I felt like the mission would suffocate me and leave me reduced to ashes. The mere thought of seeing her again was like a harpoon piercing me from head to toe. But now, I felt different. I was nervous, yes. But...somehow I was also at peace. I closed my eyes and breath in the silence of that moment. Hold onto this peace. Don't release it, I thought. I knew that starting tomorrow, this calmness would become a rare find. Strong waves were coming, and I would need to recall this tranquility to ride them out.

Author's note:

Hey lovely people! What's up? Did you enjoy the chapter? Finally, they met again! What did you think about Heather? 🤓

Thank you so much for keeping up with the story! You're my boost of motivation! 

Love you all! 💖

Ava💫