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Chapter eleven

It’s Personal

“Zann,” Niko breathed into the phone. His hands were shaking. He cleared his throat for the third time, trying to ease back some of the wild nervousness that had arisen in making this call.

“Niko. I’ve been trying to track down who the fuck could have pulled something like this.

I’ve got a few possible leads, but I’m not getting far.

” His brother’s voice grew gravelly with agitation.

“I was supposed to be there with him, Niko. I was staying with him and making sure he was okay. And they ended up hitting while I was out on a fucking errand. Getting Ch’ua’s fucking piece of shit chicken.

I wish I had access to Galapol’s fucking files. If I could get their data—”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” Niko said, slowly. “They were supposed to have eyes out on him, weren’t they? What if they’re in on this?”

Elliott may have had a point.

Zann hissed out a sigh, the sound staticky over the phone line. “I know. I know that. But I still wish I had access to everything they know. Cut off from their database and left to try and figure all this shit out on my own feels like I’m stuck doing it crippled.”

Niko was silent for a moment. “...Really? Zann?”

The silent horror that was likely running through his brother as he realized his fuckup was almost tangible. “Shit. Fuck, sorry. I didn’t mean— I wasn’t thinking— Look, I haven’t slept since any of this started.”

Niko shook his head. “Where are you staying right now?”

“I’m still on Kaapra-19, but laying low. In an old shit hotel in District Twenty-One, where you can pay in cash and don’t have to register your real name.”

“Hey, so I wanted to propose something. You probably aren’t going to like it, either.”

“Well, add it to the pile, then. Let’s hear it.”

“I want you to come stay here.”

The gentle hum of the call’s background filled the air before Zann spoke. “Here. Where, exactly, is here?”

“Uh, to where Elliott and I have been staying.”

“What happens if I go there?”

Niko sighed, shifting to try and get more comfortable in his wheelchair.

He looked up at the ceiling, where fluorescent white lights glared down at him.

“What happens is you come here and lay low instead. It’s not safe out there anymore.

If they got Dad and Loolae, they’re probably turning their gaze your way too.

It’s just a matter of time now. You’ll be safe here, though.

Nobody knows about this place, and if we’re careful, they’re not ever going to. ”

He could imagine Zann’s mannerisms—chewing on his full lips, dark eyes glancing about in thought. Turning a pen over and over in his hand, fidgeting with it. Or maybe it was an unlit cigarette now.

“And does your murder boyfriend know you’re asking this? He cool with this?”

“We, uh, talked a lot about it, yeah. He knows. He’s okay with it.”

“So, you think I’m safer there with Serial McKiller than I am out here? You know, the same guy who we both know has been manip—”

“Zann,” Niko cut him off. “You know why he’s been killing them. I’m killing them too. They’re monsters, and nobody gives a shit that they are. He’s not just murdering anyone he fucking comes across. They killed his sister. It’s personal.”

An odd beat of silence fell across the phone line before Zann spoke. “I mean, technically… Eh, sure. You could put it like that. Fucked him right up, too.”

“How could you be anything but fucked up, after seeing any of that sick shit happen to the only family you had? Those videos were even worse than the recording of Mom and Ryen. I don’t know how I’d stay sane, seeing the footage he did if it was someone that close to me in it.”

“...You watched all those videos, Niko?” Zann said slowly. “Every one?”

“I did. Listen, he isn’t going to do jack shit to you. In fact, you’re the one who tried to straight up murder him. You shot him point blank. Twice. Remember that?”

“So, he’s really going to love me being there, then.”

“Look, Zann. We talked about it. He says it’s okay. I’m asking a lot of him to do this. I’m asking everything to let you in here. This is a show of trust. And stop fucking saying he’s manipulating me. You think he’s pulling my strings and he’s convinced you’re a Galapol plant.”

Zann honked out a laugh. “Galapol plant? I mean, that’s exactly what I was, up until they fucking fired me!” His voice grew into a half shout and Niko winced.

“Well, he’s convinced you still work there.”

“Yeah, I wish I did. Then maybe I could make some actual useful progress on finding our dad.”

“Listen. Are you going to come here, or not? I can’t keep you safe if you’re not here, Zann. We can work together again. I—I miss you.”

Zann was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, I miss you too, Niko. Everything’s really hit the fan lately.” He seemed to hesitate a moment, before adding, “You know, it’s not that I don’t feel for the guy. Believe me, I do . I just—”

“I know, I know. You don’t agree with what he’s— What we’re doing.”

“Yeah. This is a dangerous game, Niko. The most dangerous in the entire galaxy. But— You know what? Fine. Yeah. I’ll go with you.

It is a matter of time before I'm next. I’m only here out of sheer, dumb luck.

If I'd been at my apartment or Dad's place at the time, it would've been me too.

These fuckers took him. And I said I wanted to help you with Honeybliss.

So, let's do it. No more fucking around. But there are a few things I need to take care of here first. Give me a day.”

Warmth spread through Niko’s chest at knowing he’d see his brother again soon—and that they’d get to work together like they always had.

The thought washed a buoyant brightness through him, granting a brief respite of normalcy against the backdrop horror of his situation. “Yeah. A day. We can do that, Zann.”

“You going to come meet me somewhere, or am I going there?”

“No, we’ll come pick you up. Meet at Celelast again?”

“That works. Hey, have you been watching the news since your broadcast stunt?”

Niko tensed. “No, actually. I’ve—” Been hiding away like a coward. “Been preoccupied.”

“Sure. Check it out, though. Everyone’s going nuts. It’s all the news stations are talking about, day and night. You had some real shit timing with that whole thing, but you guys actually got through to people. I think they might actually cancel the damn bounty.” He sounded surprised.

Niko let out a long, slow breath, the air that flowed from him seeming to carry the crushing weight and tension he’d been carrying with it. “That’s great. That’s… Wow.”

“Yeah. Take a look. Anyway, I’d better get to it. See you soon, Niko.”

It felt good to have a victory.

Niko closed his eyes and smiled. “See you soon, Zann.”

Niko wheeled back into the lounge that Elliott had planted himself in again while he researched.

He couldn’t help the grin that spread its way across his face, and felt a prickle of goosebumps at the anticipation and excitement of being able to share the good news with him.

He knew Elliott was going to love this—if he didn’t already know about it.

Elliott paused in his research, gesturing a cluster of holograms away, his green eyes focused on Niko now. He frowned, but it was something light and quizzical, rather than the nervous one he usually wore. “What is it?”

Niko made his way over to Elliott’s side. “Have you been watching the news?”

Elliott hesitated, glancing away. Niko could swear he looked a little sheepish. “I— Ah, no. No, I’ve been busy with this.”

Niko’s grin only grew. He knew what Elliott was doing. He’d been avoiding it.

“Why? What happened?” Elliott prodded.

“I’m not going to tell you,” Niko teased, parroting Elliott’s earlier presentation of the Sonadora’s new stealth system.

“Instead, you’ll have to see.” He opened a new hologram from his phone of live newsfeed.

On it, two Gheroun reporters were excitedly trying to predict if the bounties on Elliott and Niko’s heads were going to be dropped.

They speculated on the name of Starhawk.

Their chatter was spliced with various replays of clips from the footage Elliott had gathered—with the victims’ faces and certain anatomy all blurred out—and clips of him speaking from his live statement.

From the view of the camera, he was serious, composed, professional. He spoke articulately.

Beside him on the broadcast, Niko looked painfully nervous—miserable, even, his eyes unwilling to directly meet the camera far more than he’d realized at the time—and stayed clammed up, aside from his single, stuttering debut.

He’d only just learned devastating news, though. It was all he’d been able to do to keep himself together. He just prayed nobody would start trying to suggest he was Elliott’s hostage, or something. That would be the last thing they’d need.

Niko looked back at the Elliott on the newsfeed, his heart swelling with pride. This was his boyfriend. This was the man he’d chosen to believe in. He felt so in love, brimming full with it, the sugared sensation of it threatening to spill over.

“Not to mention this footage itself,” one of the reporters continued. “Awful, awful stuff. The link to those files has so much more than we can even show on television. It’s all pretty damning. A lot of people are going to be in big trouble now.”

“This is something that’s shaking up the entire galaxy, folks,” the other Gheroun said, blinking her three wide, golden eyes.

“Coming up after this break: is Elliott Kestrel, once feared and detested across the galaxy, actually starting to gain fans , instead?

Stay tuned to hear about how some people have begun to express sympathy for Galapol's number one most wanted.”