Vol. 3: Chapter 29
Inside the barbecue restaurant, a man and a woman sat facing each other. The man was holding court, stuffing his face with grilled meat between boasts.
"I remember this one time, I went in solo, infiltrated the main hive of the K'tharr Swarm on Cylos VII. Stood face-to-face with hundreds of their Royal Guards and didn't even blink. I not only nuked their spawning pools but also managed to rescue a hundred captured marines…"
"I have a question." Zoe raised a hand, cutting him off. "According to the Galactic Federation Military Codex, was your mission objective an Extermination Protocol or an Asset Recovery? Their operational priorities conflict."
Trevor visibly froze, his eyes darting back and forth as if searching a database. "It was a dual-objective mission. In the entire Galactic Federation, there are less than a hundred operatives qualified to accept A++ level dual-ops. Anyway, after I fought my way out with those two hundred marines…"
"I have another question," Zoe interrupted again, hand raised. "Didn't you just say you rescued a hundred men?"
"A hundred of them were marines! The other hundred were K'tharr drones we convinced to defect!" Trevor's voice got a little louder, drawing a sidelong glance from a nearby table.
Zoe covered her mouth with her hand and made a "please, continue" gesture.
"So I was escorting these three hundred... uh, humans and bugs... blasting a path with my 'Hellfire' Plasma Rifle, taking out countless K'tharr assassins lying in ambush. I'm telling you, I fired thirty thousand rounds of high-energy particle bursts, and the barrel didn't even glow red!"
Zoe's hand went up again. "At that sustained rate of fire, wouldn't your combat suit's life support system have triggered a heat warning? Or does your armor have an independent cooling system?"
"Lady, are you even listening to the important parts of the story?!" Trevor was getting flustered. "I said my gun wasn't hot, and you're asking about my armor?"
Zoe hid her smirk. "Please... continue."
Trevor took a deep breath. "At that moment, my armor was perfectly cool... no, wait, what I mean is, I led those four hundred units all the way back to the Federation's jump point and finally completed the mission."
"Look at this…" Trevor dramatically threw open his tactical jacket, revealing a chest covered in two or three dozen gleaming medallions. They practically blinded you in the restaurant's dim lighting. "Every single one of these is a Rare-tier or higher achievement that I earned with my life on the line!"
"This Star of Terra here? I got that for the mission I just told you about.
This Singularity Savior one? Earned that for dismantling a black hole bomb that nearly consumed an entire star system.
This Guardian of the White House... I mean, Guardian of the Galactic Senate, I got that for foiling a terrorist plot against the Chancellor.
This one, I earned on the New California retirement colony. And this one, at the Hope Kindergarten space station."
...
At the next table, Kael was doubled over, clutching his stomach and gasping for air between silent laughs. Lila was covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Kael had originally come to help Zoe escape her blind date, but from the looks of this guy's pathetic performance, his services were clearly not required.
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Just then, a heavy-set, middle-aged woman walked in. As a waiter led her to a table, her eyes fell on Zoe and Trevor, and she stopped dead in her tracks.
She stomped over to their table and pointed a finger at Zoe, her voice booming.
"You goddamn homewrecker! How dare you seduce my husband!"
The entire restaurant went silent. Every eye in the place turned toward them.
The woman rounded on Trevor. "You told me you were going overseas for a mission! What are you doing here messing around with this woman?"
"I... I..." The color drained from Trevor's face. "She's my protection detail." He shot Zoe a desperate look, winking furiously, begging her to play along.
Zoe was having none of it. She stood up. "So you do have a wife? And you still came out to meet me?"
Trevor jumped to his feet, waving his hands frantically. "No, wait, don't get the wrong idea."
The woman grabbed him by the ear and twisted. "You took two million dollars from me for some classified mission, and you're using it to go on dates with other women!"
"Let go, let go of me…" Trevor's eyes started to water.
Zoe saw a crowd was forming and was clearly uncomfortable. She grabbed her bag to leave, but the woman snatched her arm. "You're not going anywhere! We're not finished here!"
Zoe's expression hardened. "What's not finished? I'm a victim here, too. I knew nothing about his situation."
The woman held on tight. "Bullshit! You must have brainwashed him. I was wondering why he stopped answering my messages. It was you, you bitch!"
Kael saw the scene escalating and knew it was time to step in. He stood up, but Lila stopped him with a look. He followed her gaze to the entrance and broke into a grin. Two more women, their faces a mirror image of the first wife's fury, were storming in.
As expected, they marched right up to Trevor, and smack, smack, landed a few hard slaps across his face. "You son of a bitch, Trevor!" one of them sobbed. "You told me we were secretly married, and you've been seeing other women behind my back!"
The situation quickly spiraled out of control as the three women surrounded the single man. A full-on brawl erupted.
Lila tugged on Kael's sleeve and gestured with her chin. "Hey. Looks like it's not over yet."
Kael looked back at the entrance. Sure enough, three more furious-looking women were rushing in. This was about to get even worse.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Kael grabbed Zoe's arm and pulled her out of the restaurant, with Lila following close behind.
...
Downstairs, Kael gasped for breath. "Jesus Christ, that was tougher than taking down a Burning Horde boss."
Zoe was still shaken from the ordeal. It took her a long moment to collect herself. She looked up at Kael, embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea it would turn out like this. If I'd known, I never would have come."
"It's not your fault," Kael said, waving it off. "Who could've predicted a psycho like that? But hey, it wasn't a total waste. I haven't seen a show that good in a long time. That was entertaining as hell."
Lila shot him a look. "Entertaining for you, maybe. Zoe was terrified." She turned to Zoe. "Did you drive here, or...?"
"I took the subway," Zoe said. "My car's been sitting for a while, so I sent it in for maintenance."
"Then Kael can drive you home," Lila said, giving Kael a pointed look that said, Be a gentleman.
"Yeah, of course. I'll take you," Kael said immediately.
Zoe looked at Lila. "What about you? Are you driving yourself?"
Lila shook her head. "I have a driver." She waved toward the curb. Kael looked over and saw Gable was already there, waiting by a sleek car.
After they parted ways, Kael drove Zoe toward her apartment. She sat in the passenger seat, looking over at him. Several times, she opened her mouth to ask about his relationship with Lila, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had a feeling it wasn't the "sugar momma" arrangement he'd joked about. A woman like Lila wouldn't get pouty with a man who was just a boy toy.
Kael knew what she wanted to ask. He just smiled and said nothing.
When they arrived at her building, Zoe got out. She was about to head inside when Kael called out to her.
"Zoe."
She turned back.
"About your server transfer. I'll figure something out."
Zoe nodded, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes. It was important to her, but it wasn't what she was most concerned with right now.
Kael didn't elaborate, just watched her go inside. Then, he hit the gas and drove to his old apartment building a few blocks away. He got out, went upstairs, and quietly unlocked his old door. Inside, he saw the small, punched-in hole. Had to be Chad.
Kael tiptoed into his room, opened his closet, and put his various IDs and documents into a plastic bag.
Before leaving, he took one last look around the room that had been his refuge for so long.