Though he loved all types of spaceships and flying machines, Thorne had never been much for piloting until he had discovered the underground—or, to be more accurate, aboveground—racing scene. Never one to say no to a bet, his descent into gambling on the outcomes of podship racing had been swift and potent. It had only halted once he had realized that people could bet on him if he honed his flying skills. If he was the racer, he didn't have to be dependent on anyone else for the outcome.
Just as he preferred.
The adrenaline of it all—not to mention the winnings—had propelled him into a type of dedication to learning that Thorne had never known he'd possessed.
And now, as he flew in the middle of the troposphere, he thanked his lucky stars for his greedy nature and need for a rush. The ability to participate in podship chases had been of the deciding factors for Thorne in becoming an agent for the MiB.
He didn't just get to race anymore, he got to shoot at the other ships too.
And he was shooting, all right.
"Watch him!" yelled Kai, as their target took a nosedive towards Earth after barely missing one of Thorne's missiles.
"I'm on him!" Thorne yelled back, plunging their own ship into an eighty-five degree arc.
They both hit the harness with full force and Kai gasped for air, but Thorne had been ready for it. He had learned many years ago from racing that these types of dives should always be anticipated. Kai, on the other hand, had never quite gotten used to them—or Thorne's flying. He tended to wuss out whenever they were heavy into the chase.
"We are going to die, we are going to die, WE ARE GOING TO DIE!" he screamed, but Thorne ignored him and only forced the engines to accelerate more.
Aimery Park, Sybil Mira's right-hand man and the Lunar commanding the podship they were chasing, took an abrupt turn to the right. Even Thorne almost vomited as he was forced to yank back on the controllers in order to avoid hitting the tail-end of the ship.
"Get him closer to Earth!" Kai said, and Thorne saw that he was as white as a ghost.
Thorne didn't need the reminder. They had been chasing Aimery for almost an hour, and at the rate they were flying they would run out of fuel relatively soon. Nainsi had pulled up the schematics of the ship Aimery had stolen and it had much more staying power—if it had been recently refueled. There was no way of knowing.
"Jacin," he said into his mouthpiece. "Kai's sending you my coordinates. Aimery loves to dance but frankly I'm bored of his company. Want to cut in?"
There was brief static before he heard Jacin snicker in his ear. "It would be my pleasure. Send them over."
Kai was already typing into his portscreen and still looking like he would pass out any minute, but he held it together long enough to get the coordinates over to Jacin.
Wolf's voice came through his earpiece. "We're ahead of you about four klicks away. Get him to go southwest and we can cut him off."
Thorne gritted his teeth and pulled on the controllers again. He had lost precious time recovering from Aimery's turn. But he would not be left in the dust. Not when they were so close to catching him.
"Keep your shit together," said Thorne to Kai, before hitting the thrusters one last time. It was not exactly a MiB-approved move whilst flying, but it would help them catch up. They were thrown back by the force but sure enough, Thorne's control system locked in on Aimery's podship again. "Got you," he said, almost laughing, and released another missile.
He swore when it missed the podship by a hair.
Then Jacin's ship descended upon them, effectively forcing Aimery to double back. He took another shot and it clipped the side. Thorne whooped and did a quick loop de loop in the air, conveniently ignoring Kai's cries of protest beside him. Aimery would not be able to keep flying if he valued his life at all.
And if he didn't—what did Thorne care?
When they were level again, they watched Aimery begin his descent with Jacin's podship nearly kissing his tail. Thorne followed closely behind anyway, laughing victoriously and counting this chase as a win in his legacy of races.
"I hate you," said Kai.
Guns drawn, the four agents approached the podship. They had been on the ground for over two minutes, but no one had yet to exit. Aimery had lost some control of the podship during the descent, perhaps due to the damage on the exterior, and Thorne was beginning to wonder if he was injured or just in denial that the chase was over. He hadn't exactly crash-landed, but it hadn't been pretty—a few tumbles here and there and a final bang into the side of a large hill in Japan Province.
Wolf went first, as his instincts were always on point when they were in these types of situations. He paused in front of the hatch to the door. "My glasses are giving me an 11.9 reading. I think the metal exterior is keeping some of it in, though. Can I get a few extra Glamour Blockers?"
Jacin reached in his pocket and tossed him the kind they used in their holding cells—the ones with the sticky suctioning piece. Wolf stuck two on the hatch. Then, frowning, he threw another one onto the other side of the podship.
They all knew better than to trust a Lunar, let alone a Lunar who worked with Sybil Mira.
Then again, though he'd never admit it, there was one Lunar that he trusted.
Sort of.
The thought reminded him of how exhausted he was from sneaking into Cress's apartment the night before. Not that he could say anything—the rest of his team would never let him fly if they knew he was running off a one-hour power nap and about a bucket of coffee.
Not to mention they would probably kick him off their team and out of MiB if they knew he was dating a Lunar.
Sort of.
Were they dating?
It had been a while since he'd bothered to flirt with other girls, at least intentionally. Cress didn't believe him, but he really was busy with work most of the time. Since he'd met her two months ago, missions had taken over his life more than usual, which wasn't exactly okay with him.
There was work and there was play. Thorne needed more time to play.
He snapped back to attention when Wolf and Jacin forced the podship hatch open. Kai was half-watching the door and half-glaring at Thorne, as if saying, what are you just standing there for?
Thorne rushed forward, gun still at the ready, and the four of them pointed their weapons inside.
"Aimery Park, you are under arrest for illegal use of glamour, property theft, evading authorities, and attempted murder," sneered Jacin.
"And that's just what you've done in the last day," added Thorne.
Aimery smiled up at them as if they had just announced a birthday party in his honor. To Thorne's dismay, he was not injured at all. Rather, he was smug. "Nice to see you too, boys."
The arrow on Thorne's Glamour Meter ticked upward a notch; he was trying to control them. The fact that he couldn't made Thorne want to return the smug look. It had almost been too easy.
Wolf secured the handcuffs that were equipped with even more Glamour Blockers, but Aimery was completely unperturbed by the fact that he was being arrested.
Wait…
"It's too easy," said Thorne, backing out of the podship. He circled around it, pressing himself flat against its exterior to slide around it. Was there someone hiding on the other side? Had Aimery had a second person in the podship? Perhaps glamoured the original owner?
But Thorne circled the whole ship and found no one, only more of Aimery's smugness.
"Find anything?" he said.
Wolf yanked on his cuffs, making Aimery wince and lose his grin for just a split second. They marched him out of the podship and the second they came to a halt Jacin pressed his gun against Aimery's temple. "No funny business. What are you hiding, Lunar?"
He shrugged, completely unfazed by Jacin's gun. "What's to hide? You got me, boys. Boo-hoo."
His grin turned wicked and then the world around them exploded.
The first thing Thorne noticed was the persistent eeeeeeeeeee in his left ear. Like a dull but high-pitched note played at continuum, it muted every other sound around him. His limbs were heavy, as if he'd been drugged, and he wondered briefly if he had fallen asleep on the job and the guys were trying to wake him up with a fog horn. But when he forced his eyes open, he saw red stars dance in his vision. He blinked furiously, trying to shake them away, but his peripheral vision was still skewed.
He saw dirt and dust and smoke in front of him. Why was he on the ground? Why was it raining ash?
Then he remembered.
Aimery.
The bomb.
Thorne tried to move but his legs were pinned to the ground. He tilted his head and groaned. They were pinned to the ground because Wolf had fallen on top of him.
"Get off me," said Thorne, but he could barely hear himself over the noise in his ear. The force of Aimery's podship exploding had to have done a number on his eardrums. He hoped it would subside soon enough.
Wolf grunted something back but managed to roll off him, and Thorne attempted to get up. He was unsuccessful twice, failing to gain purchase until he righted himself.
Jacin was sitting up, looking like a mad man. His hair had come undone, half of it black from ash, the other half still blonde. His face was covered in soot and one sleeve looked like it had been burned off. With that same arm he pointed the gun at Aimery, who was sprawled out in front of him, pinned down by Jacin's boots—which were conveniently using Aimery's neck as a footrest.
Kai wasn't moving.
"I called for backup while you three were snoozing," said Jacin. "Who knows if someone is tracking us and has planted something in our podships as well."
Thorne pulled at his collar to make more room to breathe. "How would they have done that?"
"Who knows? But on the off-chance that this was planned and Aimery isn't just trying to commit suicide, I'd say I'd rather not take the risk." He glanced over his shoulder. "You all right, Wolf?"
Wolf grunted again and Thorne turned his head to the right so he could hear him better. A small wave of panic told him that maybe he was deaf on the left side now. He shook the worry away and trotted over to help Wolf examine Kai. When they determined that he was breathing, Thorne sat back down on the ground.
He needed a bath and an appointment at the MiB med clinic.
The ringing in his left ear had subsided by the time he made it back to his apartment. The doctors had said it shouldn't be permanent and it was comforting to know that their diagnosis seemed to be accurate. The minor scrapes and bruises on his face would fade within a few days.
Aimery was behind bars and under 24/7 guard at MiB headquarters. Kai had suffered a concussion but had been adamant about being fine. Despite his protests, the doctors were keeping him overnight for observation.
Since he had already washed and cleaned up on base, the only things Thorne needed now were his pillow and his mattress. He was pushing forty hours without any real sleep. But his zombie-like state temporarily retreated when he arrived home and saw Cress sleeping on the stoop of his apartment.
He shook her awake.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed. "Someone could see you!"
She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "A girl could die waiting for you."
"You shouldn't be here."
"I just wanted to see you." She yawned again. "Didn't think you'd be home so late."
"You shouldn't be here," he repeated, trying to get her to understand the urgency of the matter.
She gave him a look. "Because…? Oh. Right. A woman sitting on the steps of an apartment immediately signifies that you're an agent. How silly of me."
Thorne pulled her to her feet, wondering if it was anger or sleep that was suddenly making her so sarcastic. He hesitated only briefly before he took her hand and began walking her away from his apartment. She squeezed his hand, but he didn't return the gesture.
She sighed loudly. "Where are you taking me?"
"Home."
"I'm perfectly capable of walking myself home."
He chewed on his lip and kept walking. "I don't want you walking by yourself at night, got it?"
Cress stopped walking. Reluctantly, he stopped too. Her eyes widened. "What happened to your face?"
She reached for him but he flinched back. "Don't. It's been a really long day."
"You need to get that cut looked at."
"Already did. Now please, Cress, we have to move. We're too exposed here."
She looked around them at the empty street, then back up at Thorne. "What happened today?"
"Walk," he said, then he tugged on her hand and she thankfully followed him. "You know I can't talk about work, Cress."
"So something bad happened. That's why your face is cut."
He wanted to make his own sarcastic comment about her keen observation skills, but he had learned the hard way that Cress was pretty sensitive and didn't respond to that sort of thing. Besides, it was kind of endearing that someone cared about his welfare.
"I don't want you out by yourself right now. It's for your own good."
Cress laughed at him, which was the last thing he had expected. He frowned at her and she squeezed his hand again. "Lunars wouldn't hurt their own kind, Thorne. I'm totally fine."
"Cress…"
"It's you we have to worry about."
"No, this one, she's—I mean, in theory, if it were a she…" Cress peered up at him conspiratorially. She wasn't taking him seriously at all. He stopped and took her face in his hands. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, but he forced her to look at him. "There's a bad Lunar visiting town right now. Super dangerous. Dozens of people died the last time she—I mean—oh stars. Fine, it's a woman. She's pure evil. She doesn't care who gets in her way."
Cress furrowed her brow in thought. "But you deal with these types of criminals all the time."
"She's worse. Trust me."
"I do."
"Okay, then it's settled."
They walked in silence for another fifteen minutes until Thorne decided to call them a hover taxi. He blamed the day's events for not having thought of it sooner. This way, he could still ensure that Cress got home safely, and he wouldn't be stuck walking anymore. His pillow and mattress sang to him from afar, reminding him that they were waiting for him.
"I can help," said Cress while they were waiting for the taxi to arrive. Her expression had turned eager. "I can find her."
Thorne laughed. "You're adorable, babe. But leave it to the MiB. This is what we do."
"No really, I can help."
Thorne stopped laughing. "You're helping me by staying safe. I don't want to be on a mission and be distracted because I'm thinking you're out there trying to stop some Lunars on your own or something."
"If we were together, it wouldn't be on my own."
Thorne dragged a hand down his face. "Cress, do you hear yourself? What's the number one rule if we're going to see each other?"
Her face fell. "No one can know we're together."
Seeing how disappointed she was, he tried to loop his arms around her for encouragement. "It's for your own safety. Leave the crazies to me, okay?"
She didn't look at him but she nodded.
"Good," he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
She finally hugged him back, and he breathed out some of the tension that he'd been holding in all day. "Want to stay at my place again tonight?" she asked.
Thorne pulled away slightly. "Again? You figured out I was there?"
"I have video surveillance, you know."
He frowned. He hadn't seen any cameras at her place when he'd visited her on other occasions. But he was too tired to think about where she hid them. Besides, if she knew that he had been there, then she knew he hadn't completely stood her up. And if she had still come to see him today, then she definitely wasn't mad at him. And that was always a good thing.
"I want to, Cress, believe me. But not tonight."
"I wore your favorite dress," she said, shrugging the shoulder of her thin coat without letting go of him. "The blue one."
Thorne's insides screamed. The blue, spaghetti strap, plunging neckline one, to be specific. It was the one she'd worn when he'd first met her. "Exploiting weaknesses is an unfair tactic, babe." He kissed the top of her head. "Stars I love that dress."
"I only wear it for my favorite hero."
"I prefer superhero, actually." But his face fell as soon as he'd said it, and he was glad that she was pressed against him and couldn't see it. "I'm sorry, Cress. I just can't stay tonight."
"Okay," she whispered into his shirt. "Maybe next time."
Thorne closed his eyes and tried not to pass out while standing there. "Next time let me come to you, okay? No more showing up at my doorstep."
He heard her sigh against his chest and, for a moment, wished that he could go just one night without disappointing her.
At least she hadn't been mad at him for the majority of their time together. He would take what he could get at this point. And, he supposed, give what he was able to give—even though he had a nagging feeling that it just wasn't enough.
