Fou sat on the edge of a concrete planter, trying to think her way through the mess she was in. She and Alistair had yet to make the top five, which left her wondering why the Rouvelliers were keeping them. They were both understudies, but Daisya's summary dismissal had demonstrated how disposable those were.
Were they still tormenting Alistair, and using her to do it? Or did they have something else in mind?
Not that it mattered. Neither of them could beat Tyki.
She thought back to Zhu's dying confession. It was mostly for Kanda's benefit, and God knew he deserved far more than that, but she, too, had been sold to the Rouvelliers. With her own permission. Even if the police had suppressed the darker details of the night her parents died, it didn't matter. Everyone knew, and had she stayed, everything would have changed.
She had accepted Zhu's decision because nobody in the Black Order would know anything about her, and she'd made sure that if they found out, she could deal with them, the hard way if necessary. As it turned out, nobody cared. They all had their own problems. For a while, at least, the Order had been a sanctuary.
At the time, it had been worth it, but now? She missed China. She was born here, grew up here, she was at home here. How hard would it be to just not get on that plane? Sure, the Rouvelliers would make a few phone calls, but she was old enough so that it wouldn't matter. She didn't have to go home anymore.
It wouldn't be easy, and there were still risks. She wouldn't be able to dance, to start with. They'd make sure of it, and she had no other marketable skills, but she was smart and hard-working. She might be able to carve out some kind of life for herself.
Unless they kept track of her, and kept making those calls everywhere she went. They could, conceivably, hound her indefinitely, just like they could Alistair. She was fairly sure the accusations against him were exaggerated, but she already knew that the truth was no defense against a good story.
Fou's phone buzzed, and she frowned at the text: Please come quickly plus a location in the car park, sent from Allen's number. It wasn't the sort of prank Allen himself would pull, but people sometimes lost their phones. Someone might be fucking with his friends.
Then Komui texted her.
It's Lavi. You get that?
She'd heard about Lenalee's foot. Komui must be driving, if Lavi had his phone. Yes.
Other texts started coming in as she replied, from Alistair, Johnny, Reever, what looked like might be Allen's entire contacts list.
So did Komui. Lavi sent. Allen's not picking up. Can you go?
Yeah. Figures that the fucked-up night wasn't quite done with them yet!
She hopped off the planter, texted the others back, telling them that she'd handle it, then she texted a make-up artist she knew well. You there?
Yes. Roufa sent.
There's a problem in the car park. If you don't hear from me in fifteen minutes, send help. She sent the location she'd been given.
Is that that text from Allen? Everyone's talking about it.
Yes. Lavi's with Komui and Lenalee, so I'm going to check it out.
Should I go with you?
No. I can handle it. Fou had a black belt in the nastiest form of karate she could find, and unlike many of her fellow students in the dojo, she had no qualms about using it. She had seen what the human race was capable of, and she'd made damned sure she was capable of worse. Roufa, on the other hand, would be worse than useless. Just check back with me in fifteen minutes, okay?
All right. Be careful!
The sun was nearly down, but the lights in the car park were on, and she didn't have that far to go. Off in a corner was what looked like an elderly drunk who had passed out, a crumpled heap of clothing and white hair huddled next to a generous scattering of cigarette butts.
"Allen!" Fou's shout echoed weirdly in that empty space, as did the sound of her boot heels as she ran. He wasn't moving. He did have a pulse, though, and he was breathing. "Allen! Allen, what happened, are you…shit!" His hair was matted with blood.
"Shit!" She called Reever, who didn't pick up. Neither did Klaud or Dr. Miranda. With Lenalee injured and Komui gone, the Order was apparently in an uproar. She left messages, and went back to Allen. "Allen?"
He didn't say anything.
"Oh, God damn it!" she said. She needed to call an ambulance, but she also needed a chaperone involved. They were the ones besides Komui who had Allen's medical records, which the responders would need.
Another look at Allen, and she scowled. "Fuck it," she muttered. "I'm calling anyway."
"Fou? Wait." A hand caught her arm.
"Allen?" She looked up from her phone, to where Allen was trying to sit up. "No, don't move!"
"I'm fine," he said, then he clutched at his head. "Ow, shit! Sorry, Fou."
Only Allen would apologize for using profanity in front of the most foul-mouthed girl in the Order. "See? You're not fine. What happened?"
"My heart. I got a shock, and it knocked the wind out of me."
"Wait, a shock? From the thing in your chest? Oh my God, Allen, we need to get you to the hospital right now!" She went back to her phone.
"No, we don't," he said, pushing himself upright. "It was an appropriate shock. I need to get checked, but I don't need an ambulance."
She hesitated. "What do you mean, an appropriate shock?"
"I had an arrhythmia, and the ICD shocked my heart back on track. It's beating fine now."
"But you hit your head."
Allen smiled weakly. "I fell when it happened, and this is a bloody awful surface to fall on. I'm fine, Fou. It did its job. It always does."
"What if you have a concussion?"
"It won't be the first one," Allen said.
"This has happened before?" Fou asked.
"I've had a few shocks and a few concussions," he said. "They need attention, but it's more important to have my records with me than it is to get there fast. Did you call Dr. Miranda? She has them and can talk to the doctors here. If she speaks Chinese, that is. Does she?"
"No," Fou said, "but Komui does and he's already on his way to the hospital."
"Why? What happened?" Allen asked, alarmed.
"Lenalee hurt her foot. What are you doing?"
Allen had grabbed for his phone. "I want to see if she's okay."
"No!" Fou swatted at his hands, but she was much reassured. If he was acting like this, he really was fine. "No, we're going to make sure you're okay first. Jeeze! Anyway, she doesn't have her phone with her. No, sit down!" She grabbed at him as he tried to stand. "Hang on a second." She reached for her phone and called Roufa.
"I was just on my way down there," Roufa said.
"I said fifteen minutes, not five," Fou said.
"I'm free now, not in fifteen minutes. Where are you? Did you find him?"
"I found him. His heart did its bad heart thing, and he fell and hit his head."
"Oh, no! Did you call an ambulance?"
"He said not to. He wants Dr. Miranda. Can you find her? I'm trying to call her, but she's not picking up."
"She's probably with Chaoji. He twisted his wrist."
"Christ!" Fou said. "Can this day get any more FUBAR?" Small twists and strains weren't unusual during a high-pressure performance, but this small thing was suddenly much bigger than it needed to be.
"I really hope not!" Roufa said. "I'll go find her. Stay put, okay? And you probably shouldn't move him."
"I know, but he keeps moving himself and I can't make him stop. I'm sending you a picture of exactly where we are." Fou said, looking around for a good landmark. "Thanks." She hung up, then something occurred to her.
"Allen, I got a text telling me to come here. Who sent it?"
"I don't know," Allen said, picking absently at his matted hair.
"Are you sure?" Fou liked to think she could tell when someone was lying to her, but that night she realized that she couldn't be sure. It wasn't so much that she thought he was or that she thought he wasn't, she just didn't know.
"I'm sure," he said, "but whoever it was, I'm grateful. It was a decent thing to do. And thanks for answering. I'm sorry to be such a bother." Then he looked up as Howard Link came in, slightly out of breath.
"What's going on?" Link asked.
Fou let Allen explain, but she thought she'd heard the echoes of a second set of footsteps rebounding off the concrete walls. "Hang on," she said, rising, but if there was someone else in here, she wanted to know who it was.
"What?" Allen asked.
"Just wait," she said.
She ran deeper into the car park, but the only thing she heard were her own footsteps and breath. She stopped abruptly, listening, but the structure's acoustics were so live that she had no idea where any single sound might be coming from. A car door slammed somewhere, an engine revved, she heard voices, the sound of high heels, nothing that would explain the feeling that someone had been watching.