They walked back to the lift in comfortable silence, arms tightly wrapped around each other. It was still early but Jason's hope to lay down, cuddle and maybe get at least some hours of sleep was crushed the minute the lift doors closed.
"Good morning again, Jason Bates," H.E.L.E.N. greeted them. "Hello, Neri! The Commander and Froggy asked for your presence in my maintenance room."
"Hello H.E.L.E.N.," Neri responded and smiled.
"Is it urgent?" Jason wanted to know.
"Very urgent," H.E.L.E.N. said and Jason sighed. "But your ride will be undisturbed until level delta," she promised.
"Can you turn off the camera for the the time being?" Jason asked and pulled Neri closer, locking eyes with her.
"My security protocols don't allow me to leave public space unattended," H.E.L.E.N. apologised, "but I can redirect the focus on the left upper corner. If you shift one meter to the left, you will be out of sight."
"Do that," Jason replied and wrapped his arms around Neri's waist.
"Thank you, H.E.L.E.N.," Neri said, her gaze on his lips.
"You're welcome," H.E.L.E.N. responded sincerely but was already ignored.
They only had about two minutes and Jason had no intention to waste any second of it. Their lips met – still a little shy and careful at first, but the kiss gained in speed quickly. He breathed in her scent, tasted it on his tongue while caressing her lips with his. He deepened the kiss and softly tugged on her upper lip, one hand in her hair, the other one at her back. Neri stroked his neck and with the other hand wrapped around his shoulder, she nestled on him, responding immediately to every change in pace and rhythm.
The lift ride was over way too soon for an appropriate make-up make-out session but still better than nothing. He wanted to lose himself in this kiss. The butterflies in his stomach, the vibrant electricity in every cell of his body – it had been such a long time since he had enjoyed this feeling instead of instantly over-thinking every moment of it. It took him a lot of effort to stop kissing her even after the lift stopped. H.E.L.E.N. waited politely for them to break apart for good before she opened the doors but he never let go of her hand while they walked to H.E.L.E.N.'s lab.
"What's going on?" Jason wanted to know when they stepped through the door.
The small room was crowded for Winston and his mother had joined their friends. Mera smiled at Jason, obviously noticing the way he and Neri were still wrapped around each other.
"We found the spy," Froggy responded and gave a nod in the direction of a screen where a young dark-haired woman was shown.
"Amelia Bones," Diane explained. "She is one of the maintenance technicians for H.E.L.E.N.'s core devices."
"She tried to get access to the database again last night," Winston added, "so H.E.L.E.N. was able to identify her. But I still don't understand how she could have overwritten the security protocols. You need a special identification code which only a few of us hold."
"H.E.L.E.N.," Froggy asked her, "please identify the id code which was used to manipulate your core protocols."
"The identification code belongs to Bates, Brett," H.E.L.E.N. answered and Brett was immediately in the centre of attention. Guilt was written all over his face.
Diane put a hand on her hip. "Would you explain that, please?" she demanded.
Brett squirmed uncomfortably. "It's not that I have a lot of dating opportunities around here," he murmured defensively, "and she was hot!"
"So you just gave her your id card?" Vanessa assumed sharply.
"Duck," Mick advised him through his teeth but ducked away himself when Vanessa shot a glance at him.
"Of course not," Brett exclaimed and looked around. "She must have taken it while I was asleep. I thought I'd lost it, left it somewhere or something."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Jason said while banishing the uncomfortable thought of Brett being sexually active out of his mind.
"Give me a break, will you?" Brett responded, falsely interpretation Jason's intention to defend him as an accusation. "Just because you two don't –"
"Brett!" Mera and Neri said simultaneously, Mera's tone reproachful, Neri's unusually and surprisingly sharp.
Brett flinched, looking even more guilty. Mick's eyes narrowed and the others were looking half uncomfortable, half embarrassed, avoiding Jason's gaze all of the sudden. When Jason exchanged a quick look with Neri, he noticed she was as angry as him that Brett had just tossed a private piece of information in the room.
"Brett, how many times did I tell you to watch your clearances?" Diane scolded him.
"I'm sorry," Brett murmured, also giving Jason and Neri a look.
"What is done is done," Neri said, her voice calmer but still annoyed. "Where is she now?"
"H.E.L.E.N., can you locate Amelia Bones?" Cass asked her.
"Amelia Bones is no longer on ORCA," H.E.L.E.N. replied.
"Oh, this is just great," Jason moaned.
"H.E.L.E.N., please inform the security anyway," Diane demanded and exchanged a look with Winston. "I have to call the President. This is gonna be unpleasant. De Souza will behead me."
"I'm coming with you for moral support," Winston offered.
"Thank you, Winston," Diane replied and grimaced.
"What do you know of her?" Jason wanted to know while Diane and Winston stepped out of the door.
Brett shrugged. "Not much. We didn't spend much time talking."
"Can't blame ya," Mick said and shot a look at the picture. "She's a knock-out – Ouch!"
"Why would she steal information and forward it to a public channel?" Mera asked.
"Is she angry with us?" Neri wanted to know.
"I don't know," Brett responded, squirming. "She never asked me one thing about you."
"Well, according to her record, she worked on ORCA for two years now," Froggy tossed in. "And before that … "
"What?" Lena asked when Froggy fell silent.
"She was working at UBRI."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Vanessa cried. "UBRI? Seriously?"
"I can ask my father," Lena offered. "Although he is not working at UBRI anymore, he sure still has a lot of contacts. If it's alright with you, I ask him to find out about Amelia Bones."
"That would be great," Jason nodded. "Thank you, Lena."
"You know, he never really forgave himself for what he'd almost done," Lena went on and gave the alien sisters each a look. "He wanted me to let you know that he's very sorry. And Jason," she said, addressing him again directly, "I forgot to tell you: the other day, the government sent some agents with the invitation to next week's meeting. I'm very grateful that you suggested including him. Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
Lena smiled at him and left with Anja to make the call.
After a minute of silence, Mick cleared his throat. "Ehm, Jase? There is something we wanted to discuss with you."
"You're not bringing up Sidney again!" Vanessa told him. "The rebel councillors are arriving tomorrow and a spy just slipped through our fingers. It's not the right time to go out for some partying."
"Yeah, tomorrow!" Mick emphasised. "And the government will take care of that chick! It's the perfect time for some distraction, and maybe the last opportunity for quite some time for us to be together. As nice, as it is to hang around here with you guys like old times, I would like to show you some of our life nowadays."
"To go out in Sidney?" Jason frowned.
"Yeah, we could go for some shopping," Mick suggested, "look for some nice stuff the girls can wear next week."
"We already have our dresses, Mick," Mera told him.
"Come on," Cass pleaded, "we never do anything most people of our age do."
"That's because we have bigger things on our plate than most people," Jason reminded her. "Anyway, Sidney is loud and crowded. We should rather retreat to the Island, do some swimming and resting."
"Why do you always have to be so grown up and serious?" Brett complained. "Couldn't you just once be not the killjoy and be a little more lose?"
Jason lifted one eyebrow. "You are right the last person to tell me about responsibility."
Brett slouched. "Yeah, I know. Sorry," he murmured.
"Well, it sure would do us some good to get out of here," Froggy said carefully.
"I have to admit," Mera added, "I'm also a little curious."
Jason sighed. "What do you think?" he asked Neri quietly. They were still holding hands.
"I wanna see," Neri responded and took his arm with her free hand, moving closer to him. "With our friends."
He mirrored her smile before turning back to the others. "Fine," he said. "But we need transport to the mainland, hotel rooms and transport back home. Any idea, how to pay for that?"
The others exchanged a quick look before he found himself again in the centre of attention.
Jason sighed, this time in resignation. "Fine, I'll talk to Mum."
"Aces!" Brett cried and gave each Mick and Froggy a high five.