Meliora - Emanate - 26

[lady_mab]

Rhys Darcy

I am only half paying attention to the contents of the menu -- distracted by the gentle hum of noise of the restaurant and the sight of Kaito pensively studying the drink selection. He orders for both of us because my mind is elsewhere.

He picks up his menu as I put mine down, watching the server disappear back into the kitchen. “Is something wrong?” he asks, glancing at me.

I meet his gaze for a beat, uncertain how I’m supposed to put exactly what I’m thinking into words. So instead I force out, “Are you firing me?”

Kaito blinks and sets down the menu. “Am I what?”

“Firing me. This is a nice restaurant.”

“Hardly. I thought I told you that we were going to celebrate that promotion that you’re not taking.” He offers a crooked half grin and I sigh despite myself. “I was also hoping to butter up my accountant a bit before seeing if I could write it off as a business expense.”

This time, I sigh out of exasperation and shake my head. “Don’t go mixing business and pleasure, Kaito.” Ugh, bad choice of words. “I could be reassigned to a different client if you keep trying shit like that.”

He manages to fake surprised and scandalized. “I would never jeopardize our partnership like that.”

“I’m being serious.”

“I know you are. You’re always serious.” There’s a hint of a smirk in his eyes as he allows himself to be distracted by the arrival of our server.

Two flights are set down between us, and I read the little signs naming each of the beers as Kaito makes small talk asking about a few of the dishes.

It’s only once the server takes my menu and leaves that I realize he ordered for both of us.

“I wasn’t done looking at that,” I say, a frown coming automatically.

Kaito lets the smirk take over. “I looked up the menu beforehand.”

“And you ordered for me?”

“Of course. I knew what you would get.”

“Hm.” I ignore his laugh and pick the first glass from the tray. “Are you sure you’re not trying to fire me?”

He tips his glass in my direction like a mock salute. There’s something in his gaze that I can’t quite interpret, but makes my stomach knot all the same. “You’re my best friend first, and my accountant second.”

I really should just drop the subject, I tell myself. Because I know I’ll just make a fool out of myself, and he knows how to turn everything into a joke. “I’m pretty sure you haven’t actually taken your girlfriend somewhere this nice.”

“You know very well that I don’t currently have a girlfriend.”

“An ex, then,” I say with a roll of my eyes. I prop my chin on one hand and take a test sip from the first glass.

He makes a nasally, overly-accented mockery of my words in response.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

This earns me snort of laughter. He shakes his head as he downs the second glass and reaches for the food between us. “Nothing.”

I lean forward and snatch the piece of bread that he had been reaching for and take it on a victory lap around the bowl of dip. “Nice try though.”

“Cheeky,” he teases.

“Irish,” I correct.

It’s his turn to roll his eyes. There’s a fond smile on his face despite the way he focuses his attention on the drinks before him. “Naturally.”

I like this -- this casual banter that we can always keep up with no effort. That’s why it makes it harder when I have to follow up on that distant look that I catch in his gaze. “What happened?”

He jerks back to attention, lifting his eyes with a hint of trepidation. He’s been fearing this conversation as well. “What do you mean?”

“When you went with Lionel to get your shots. Something happened, didn’t it?” I normally wouldn’t have thought too much about Kaito moving our plans for dinner up sooner. But it came around the same time as a concerned text message from Liala.

Lionel would have been back from his shots by the time she texted me. She was worried that something had transpired that he was not telling her about. Which, as of late, was becoming a common occurrence.

He twists his fingers together, unable to form words.

“Is this something you promised Lionel you wouldn’t tell me?”

His guilty expression confirms my suspicions. I’ve always let Kaito take Lionel to get his shots, knowing that my brother would be more likely to open up around Kaito than me. I also knew that I could trust Kaito enough to tell me when something happened, unless he had made an agreement with Lionel to gain that trust.

“No,” he finally says. “I told him I was going to tell you. I just… didn’t really know how to bring it up.”

That would account for why Liala was concerned about Lionel. He had been found out, and was sulking that he wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. It was bound to catch up to him eventually.

His explanation is delayed by the arrival of our food. Sure enough, he did order something that I had been eyeing on the menu. But Kaito doesn’t take the chance to gloat as he fiddles with his fork and contemplates his fillet.

There’s a faint buzzing sound that interrupts the silence of our table. It's coming from my jacket, draped over the back of my chair. I hesitate, uncertain if I want to answer it.

Kaito frowns, flipping his phone over on the table. He glances at the screen, and his eyebrows shoot up. "It's from the Assistant Program Manager."

I reach for my cell. The buzzing stops just as my fingers wrap around it.

Across from me, as I swipe to open the screen, Kaito's breath hitches and a strangled sound escapes his mouth. "Rhys--"

I skim over the lines of the message, brain barely comprehending what it's saying.

Due to cheaters... an impromptu check-in... ALICE will be with you shortly.

My spine locks and my legs propel me upright -- fast enough to send my chair scooting noisily backwards. My phone nearly tumbles from numb fingers. I can feel the pinpricks of curious stares across my shoulders.

Breathing suddenly is very difficult. It takes a lot of effort to force the air out of my lungs in the form of a rushed, "I have to go."

Kaito's hand snatches onto my wrist before I can stumble away. "Don't--"

"But the twins--"

"Rhys, don't. They'll be fine."

I want to laugh, but that requires more breath than I have. "I don't want to leave them on their own. If ALICE catches them together--"

"And what, you being there would make everything better?" His fingers are warm where they smooth over my pulse.

"It will make me feel better."

He visibly hesitates, caught between giving in to what I want and trying to decide the best course of action. "Call Lysander. Ask him to check in on Lio and Lia."

"If they're going to get in trouble, I want to be there with them." I try to pull my hand away, but Kaito tightens his grip.

"Why do you automatically assume that you'll get caught? If they're tracking your phones, then they already know that there are two for Lianel." He starts to say something else, but changes his mind with a shake of his head. "Call Lysander. Maybe he can get there before ALICE does."

It's common sense, I know it. From the rudimentary understanding I have of the app we've installed, it would be perfectly logical for ALICE to know that there are two people using that name.

But my first instinct is always to rush to my siblings' sides when something goes wrong. They're the only family I have left.

Kaito surprises me by rising to his feet as well. He shifts his grip on my hand and gently guides me back into my chair. When he draws away, I feel like I'm hovering uncertainly above my seat without his hands to ground me. "Lio knows. When we went in for our shots, he--"

My phone rings again, but this time it's a text message from Lionel.

I'm going to disconnect my phone for a bit. If you need anything text Lia. We've got this.

It does little to diminish my fears.

Something must change on my expression because suddenly Kaito's hand grips mine tighter than before.

I switch my gaze from my phone to our hands, then to his face. "What happened at the hospital?"

His gaze flits away, and after a moment, he releases my hand in order to pick up his utensils. "There was a man there who recognized Lio. An ALICE agent. He... clearly knew who Lio was."

The fact that we have not run into any ALICE agents during the missions so far never really occurred to me. This would be the first time, beyond Chuck and the Assistant Program Manager. "What was he doing?"

"The agent said he was setting up for the mission. Creating the code that you are supposed to scan when you check in, I guess." Kaito shrugs and takes out some of his frustration on his fillet with the steak knife. "What concerned me is that Lio admitted to setting up a proxy or whatever to pull all of the Assistant Program Manager's messages. Like, I already knew the APM was sending different messages to different teams -- there are some Informants at the bar who get texts when I don't, and so on. But he said he did it because he wanted 'to know how it all works'." He frames the phrase with air quotes.

My shoulders slump, and I'm quite certain my appetite has left somewhere around the first text message. "I should have known.

Kaito nods in the direction of my phone. "Give Lys a call. It will make you feel better."

It won't, but I slowly lever myself to my feet. "I'll be right back." My voice is faint, tired. But I take my phone and weave through the restaurant towards the restrooms. The soft ringing echoes in my ribs as I step through the door.

Lysander picks up when I think that my anxiety might spike to an unbearable level. "Hey, Rhys."

"I'm sorry, I hate to bother you at this time..."

"It's not a problem. What's up?"

"That message--"

"Yeah, talk about bad timing. We're going to have to skip our movie."

We? I hear a woman's voice in the background, holding a muted conversation. Still, I forge on as best I can. "Could you do me a favor? I'm unable to check on the twins." My mouth opens to try and add more, to explain myself, to ask him properly, but nothing comes out.

Lysander seems to understand anyway. "Yeah, man. Totally. We're in the area, so we can head over."

Relief, minor as it is, starts to loosen the knot in my stomach. "Thanks. I'll text Liala. Lionel's disconnected his phone."

"Got it. I'll call you after it's done."

"Thank you," I repeat. I'm about to hang up when his voice calls out through the tiny speaker.

"Hey, Rhys?"

I hesitate, then hold it back to my ear. "Yes?"

There's a long silence, but I can hear him breathing on the other end. "I know telling you not to stress is kind of pointless. So just remember to breathe. They'll be okay."

"I know," I say, surprised that I actually mean it. "I owe you."

Lysander laughs, and the knot continues to loosen. "No, you don't. I'll talk to you later."

We hang up and I take a few shuddering breaths before sending a swift text to Liala explaining the situation. Another few breaths before allowing myself to head back into the restaurant.

Kaito glances up as I'm still weaving my way through the tables. He cocks his head, brow furrowed in question.

I smile despite myself, because he's one of the only things that can ease the tension that has taken residence in my chest. I return to my seat, and notice a glass of wine has been placed next to my plate of pasta. "This is new."

"That's more conducive to calming your nerves than beer is. Everything go okay, then?"

"Yes." I take a thankful sip. I can't tell if I'm relaxing or feeling drained now that the nervous energy has fled. "Lysander will check on them."

He visibly relaxes as well. I hadn't noticed his tension because I had been so wrapped up with my own. "See? It's fine. Now at least try to eat so I don't feel like this is a completely ruined evening."

I open my mouth to apologize, but Kaito nudges my foot with his own under the table.

"Don't even think about it."

"Sorry," I say automatically, and he gives me a knowing smirk in response.

I pick up my fork and try to focus on the weight of Kaito's foot pressed against mine instead of the impending arrival of ALICE agents.