29. A Good Catch

Callie wasted no time passing Goji's answer to Marie. Only hours after their lunch, Sera's discharge was slated in two days, provided Goji could make arrangements with the Octoling. She had no choice but to agree. One wound in her life had to close.

[I'll be late,] she texted to Kiyo. [Going out with Ruby.] The last thing she wanted was social time, but it made a convenient excuse. He'd be upset if she said she was going to track down Sera without him.

Her phone chirped.

[Cool. Have fun.]

He would be glad for more time without her. She got back to work, wondering how she'd get through a few hours of uneasy talk of self-care and therapists with Ruby.

The sun sank ever closer to the horizon, but the bites weren't slowing down. Every ten minutes or so, ripples raced out from one of Sera's five bobbers. She had only to tug the line and set the hook in her prey. Under a tent fashioned from an old green tarp, she and her journal wiled away the rainy day as her coolers filled with fish. She put the finishing touches on a sketch of this sandy bank and its sheltering ring of rocks.

"10 min south of collapsed jetty," she wrote in a margin. "Leave road at rockslide. Cross dune to black boulders below."

Satisfied she could find her way back, she tucked her journal in her rucksack and checked the time. Somewhere, she'd lost track. Damn. She had less than an hour to pack up and get to Suvi's food stand before she closed at 7:00. If she was late, she'd have nowhere to store all these fish, and most would go to waste.

Sera collapsed her tent and rolled it up around its makeshift poles. She pulled her rods from their sandy braces and stacked everything on the market cart she'd saved from the port junkyard. The weight of the fish forced the wheels deep into the wet sand. One step told her the fifteen yards of dune ahead would feel like miles.

Good thinking, idiot.

She had to stop twice for breath before she left the beach, and twice more on the way up the slope to the road. For each minute she lost she cursed the weather for turning the ground to mush and sabotaging her weakened lungs. She could almost hear Goji's voice lecturing her for being out in the chilly rain. When her feet finally found pavement, she ignored the burning in her chest and made for the city as fast as she could.

Night caught up to her before she reached the base of Abalone Street, lightheaded and gasping. The cracked clock on the wall of the harbormaster's office read 6:50 – ten minutes left to cover two blocks uphill. Her heart thumped in her ears and her muscles ached, but if she could sell this catch, she'd eat like a queen for weeks.

Pick up your feet, hatchling.

She lowered her head and started the climb.

"Sera? Hey, Sera!"

She peered through her tentacles to see Kiyoza waving from the opposite sidewalk. A duffle and toy ink rifle were slung over his shoulder.

"What's all that?" he called.

"Fish. Selling – shop's closing." Talking wasted precious breath. She set off again, but true to form, Kiyoza would not be deterred. He jogged across the street and fell in step beside her.

"Looks heavy. Let me help."

She stumbled forward as he took the weight of the cart from her. Her tentacles darkened in annoyance, but she had no choice at the moment. She was out of time.

"Where are we going?" Kiyoza asked.

"Jasmine Tide. Food stand. Another block. Hurry."

"Oh, I know that place. I got our kelp clusters there."

Kiyoza was stronger than he looked – or maybe she was weaker than she cared to admit. Together, they covered the rest of the distance in minutes. The paper lanterns around the shop still warmly glowed in the gloom. Suvi was wiping down her grill when she saw them.

"Serashura? Evenin'! Yer out late."

"I am – sorry. Fishing was good. Time – escaped me," she panted.

"No worries. Let's see what ya got there." Suvi grinned at Kiyoza when he hefted the coolers onto the counter. "Say, honey, I remember you."

"How've you been?" Kiyoza replied. "I'd get something again, but you cleaned up already."

"Oh, for you two, it's not too late." She gave him a sly look. "I knew there was some reason ya wanted Octarian food."

"The kelp clusters were a good choice." He smiled at Sera over his shoulder.

"And the peppered ones nearly killed you," Sera said, shooing him out of the way. "Now let me sort these out. Suvi wants to go home."

She sorted her catch by species while Suvi tossed two orders of kelp clusters and fired up her fryer. While the food bubbled away in the oil, the cook weighed Sera's fish.

"You weren't kiddin'," she said. "Real good haul today. How's eighty quid sound?"

Sera kept her expression carefully flat. "These are mostly mackerel and yellowtail. Your menu needs them more than any other. Ninety-five."

Suvi laughed. "Ya got me there. Eighty-five, and yer snacks are on the house."

"Deal."

Suvi took the fish back to her icebox, and Sera pocketed the cash. All the strain of the delivery felt suddenly worthwhile.

"I was going to buy the food," Kiyoza murmured.

"It was part of the trade," Sera said. "And you've fed me more than once. I am returning the favor."

He smiled. "Thanks."

"Here ya go." Suvi reappeared and handed over two bags of hot, crispy kelp clusters. Sera's stomach growled. Kiyoza took the bags and nestled them in his duffle out of the rain. While he rearranged his gear, Suvi asked in Ottoshi, "This is going well?"

"This?"

"No need to be coy. He can't understand."

"He…? No! We are only friends, barely." Sera frowned and flushed.

"Boys don't carry loads of fish for barely-friends."

"I did not ask him to do it."

"You're not helping your case," Suvi laughed.

Kiyoza shouldered his bag and turned to Sera. "Ready to go?"

"Yes. I am cold and hungry."

"Me too. Thanks for the snacks, Miss Suvi."

"My pleasure, honey. Oi, Serashura?" She switched to Ottoshi. "A fisher girl should know a good catch when she sees one."

"Mind your business!"

Suvi chortled to herself and went about closing the shop. Sera secured her tent and rods on her cart and led Kiyoza back down the hill.

"What did she say?" he asked, looking up from his phone.

"Chided me for being late," Sera lied. "You are talking to someone?"

"Oh, just Goji. I told her we got food."

"She is well?"

"Ech… no. I'm worried about her. Remember her temper the night you came over?"

"I could never forget."

"That's new. One day she's explosive like that, and the next she's an empty shell. Oly told me weeks ago that Goji's had panic attacks, but this is something else. It's like she's coming apart. I don't know what to do."

Sera frowned. "I noticed a change, but thought it was because of me. You know several doctors. Ask one for help."

"Goji won't admit anything's wrong. I can't force help on her."

"I did not want her to take me to her hospital," Sera murmured. "If she had not insisted, I would be dead."

Kiyoza fell silent. His phone lit up again, and he tapped out text on the screen. "She's just overworked."

"You believe that?" Sera asked.

His attention went back to his phone, and Sera clicked her teeth at him. "You want to spend time with me or your messages?"

"It's still Goji. She wants to talk to you." Kiyoza called his sister. "Hey, Goj. What's up? Yeah, she's here. Hold on." He offered the phone to Sera.

She eased it from his hand, afraid to drop it and break the glass screen. Silly fragile design. Not trusting her cold fingers with the thin device, she held it to her ear with a sucker. "Goji? Hello?"

"Hi, Sera." Goji sounded brittle. "I have really good news for you. I heard from Oly. They're ready to take off your tracker."

Sera's heart leapt. "Finally! I am ready any time!"

"Two days from now, if that's all right."

"Yes! Yes, it is all right. But wait – you know who will do it?" Sera tried to think past her elation. "I do not want to be alone with them."

"I'll be there," Goji said. "I can take you to meet them or they can come to your room."

"I would prefer they not draw attention to my home."

"Then I'll pick you up around 4:00 on Tuesday."

"Come whenever you wish," Sera said. "I will stay home all day!"

"All right. Thanks, Sera. Have fun with Kiyo."

"Yes; I am feeding him for a change."

"Good luck. Stay safe. I'll see you soon."

"See you." Sera carefully handed the phone back to a curious Kiyoza.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Never mind." She couldn't stop smiling. "Let us go. I am hungry."

She should've known better than to think Kiyoza would drop it. They hadn't gone far when he said, "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy. What did Goji tell you?"

"Never mind," she said again.

"Come on – it must be good news. And you used my phone to talk to her. You have to tell me. Those are the rules."

That was a joke? She didn't care; she laughed anyway. "Oh, the rules? And if I break them?"

"I'll – er – take dinner and run."

"Then you would be stealing," she pointed out and smiled at his shock. "You do not think your threats through. There is a reason you want to know so badly?"

"You're meeting Goji without me. Why can't I come?"

"Ah. You feel left out." She pouted at him.

"I do! Come on. Goji never tells me anything."

Sera hesitated. Goji decided to tell her while Kiyoza was present. That meant she no longer cared if he knew? The ordeal was over anyway – would be in a matter of days.

"I was under watch after the attack. Your secret police are finally satisfied that I am not a threat."

"Secret police?"

"Security-and-something Agency."

"They're not secret. They keep Inkopolis safe," he said. "They were probably watching you for your own protection."

"They were not," Sera said.

"Then why?"

She knew better than to tell him about the data crystal. No one could ever know about that. "They thought if I was worth killing, I must be dangerous. But it is easy to make enemies in the Valley. We must often steal to survive. I stole from the wrong person."

"So they were kind of protecting you."

They had reached her building, and she wanted to say nothing more until they were safely in her room. She hurried ahead of him under the pretense of getting out of the misty rain.

"Why did Goji have to tell you you're clear?" Kiyoza asked inside. His voice echoed in the concrete stairwell.

"Shh. It is because I trust her."

"Right, but how is she in with the Agency at all?"

"Kiyoza, hush!" she hissed. "Wait until we have privacy."

"Sorry."

In her room, she locked the door while he unpacked the food. "Goji is connected to the Agency through her friend Oly. You don't know?"

Kiyoza gaped at her. "Oly's an agent?"

"If not, she is affiliated. She communicated with them the night of the attack at your house."

"I bet she is! She changed colors to talk to you, remember?" He grinned ear to ear. "Goji will have no idea we figured it out!"

"You see this means Goji hid it from you?"

"She had to protect Oly's secret identity. That's so fresh! It's like being in a spy movie."

Sera sat with a huff and pulled the bag of spicy kelp clusters to her. "Forgive me for not worshiping Oly like you do. She – like her comrades – treats me as a criminal."

"That's not true. Whenever I heard her talk about you, she was worried for you."

"You trust someone with a double life to be genuine with you?" Sera shook her head. "Only Goji and the doctors cared. Oly helped me to humor Goji – not to be altruistic."

Kiyoza let it go, though she could tell he disagreed. "Does this mean you can leave Inkopolis?"

"I do not know," she said. She'd been so thrilled by the news that she forgot to ask. "Goji did not say. I assume so."

"If you can… will you?"

"I cannot return to the Valley, and there is a wild world to explore. I've never been to the continental coast or to Yanmensk. I hear the northerners are friendlier to my people." Kiyoza's ears drooped as she mused, and she felt a sudden and unwelcome pang of sympathy. "Of course, while I am underage, I get a roof over my head here for free. It is not a bad bargain."

"I hope you stick around," he said. "I only just got you to like me. You haven't even met my friends. Maybe you can get dinner with us once all this Agency stuff is done with."

"They are as taxing as you?"

"Nah. You'll love them. They're all fresher than me."

Sera was about to ask what this expression 'fresh' meant when Kiyoza snatched one of her spicy bites and popped it in his mouth.

"Thief!"

He held a straight face as long as he could before his eyes teared up and he groped for water.

"And now you get what you deserve."

"Did better," he gasped between gulps. "Counted to ten that time. Gods, that's hot. You eat stuff like this every day? How do you have taste buds left?"

"We are simply tougher than you," she teased. "Right down to our tongues."

Kiyoza got up to leave shortly after they finished eating. It was a school night, he said, and Goji would be upset if he ignored his final exams. ("The year's almost over. Can't we be done already?") Sera didn't understand his reluctance to learn, but she left that question for another time.

"When are you meeting Goji?" Kiyoza asked.

"Tuesday night if all goes well."

"Good luck. Want to hang out and celebrate next weekend? You could meet my squad."

"I... would rather not yet," she replied. "But a meal with you and Goji would be nice."

"If we can pry her away from work. I'll have her let you know, okay?"

"Very well." She opened the door for him. "Thank you. For your help."

"No problem. You'll have to show me where you landed that catch. I haven't been fishing in ages."

"And give up my secret? Mm. Perhaps." She smiled. "Goodnight, Kiyoza."

"Later."

As she went about cleaning up, her sparse little space seemed brighter. Maybe it was the news of release still buoying her mood, or the fold of bills now hidden under a loose cupboard bottom. She felt oddly at home. After the hospital, she dreamed of leaving Inkopolis behind at the first chance. The continent and the north still promised adventure, but adventurers needed somewhere to return. In Inkopolis, she had friends.

Out of nowhere, friends.