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That type of clean slate wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.
I felt a lurch in my gut as she turned to head inside. "Just promise me you'll be cautious. We're in this together."
Together. As in bonded, the way we felt earlier. I liked the sound of that. "I promise," I replied, my voice filled with determination.
As she disappeared into the opera house, I shifted my focus to my surroundings. I wandered around the grounds, discreetly seeing the adjacent buildings, hoping to catch any signs or clues that could lead me closer to Riven's whereabouts. My mind raced with thoughts of the impending end of my time together with Faye. Once Riven was found, once my name was cleared,ifthose things could happen, what would become of us?
I couldn't deny the growing connection between us, the bond forged through this journey that seemed like a lifetime, though it was only days. I was a former ex-con, a Ventivore with a past that cast a long shadow. Could Faye see a future with someone like me, someone with a checkered history?
Lost in my thoughts, I found myself staring into the distance, my gaze fixed on the entrance of the opera house, where Faye had vanished. This woman had me feeling everything—hope, uncertainty, and a tinge of sadness.
But I also knew all this had an end date. Once it was over, our paths might diverge, and I’d have to accept it.
My bond instinct protested then. The thought alone made me feel like I was choking. I took in a breath of the cold night air. Both sets of lungs ached.
I couldn't expect Faye to see a future with me, burdened by my past. All I could do was focus on the present, on the task at hand, and hope when all was said and done, we could part ways with fond memories and a sense of accomplishment.
As I continued my vigil outside the opera house, my eyes darting between the crowd and the surrounding area, I couldn't help but steal glances at the entrance, waiting for her to reappear. The uncertainty of our future weighed on me, but for now, I would stay and watch, determined to complete our first and last mission together.
***
FAYE
Istepped into theopera house, my face downward, shielding my identity from immediate recognition. The opulence of the surroundings momentarily overwhelmed me. If it weren’t enough, I struggled to push aside thoughts of Klinn and the inevitable end to our time together.
The ache was as real as if a weight crushed my chest. He told me about the alien bonding experience. When we made love outside his house in the rain, I almost believed a nonphysical part of me joined with him, too.
I couldn’t think about this. Not now.
Now was the time to focus on the task at hand, to search for any signs of criminal activity which could lead us to Riven.
My eyes darted around the opulent venue, scanning the well-dressed alien patrons as they mingled and moved with an air of sophistication. Private booths drew my attention, seeing individuals disappearing behind closed doors, engaging in hushed conversations. It appeared to be the norm, the expected behavior in such an elite setting. But I knew beneath the tailored clothes and strains of the orchestra, secrets could be lurking.
Exploring deeper into the opera house might yield more promising leads. Notes from an organ reverberated through the main hall, signaling to the patrons that the first act of the opera was to begin. As patrons filed into the auditorium, I ventured beyond the main halls and into the less frequented areas.
I found myself in a rehearsal room. A large instrument resembling a piano sat in the middle of the space. Other instruments I wasn’t familiar with were stacked in the back corner.
I continued my search, slipping into a director's office, where meticulous notes and scripts were scattered across a desk. I made sure no one was near the door before I rifled through the contents. It didn't reveal anything substantial. I needed to dig deeper.
With the sounds of choral singing in the distance behind me, I left the office and crept further through the building. The lights were dimmer in this section of the opera house. My hands were nervous and clammy as I walked, knowing I wandered far from the rest of the opera goers. I let my fingers glide along a wall to ground myself, to concentrate on my surroundings in the present. I kept doing this until I felt the wall curve away from my fingers.
I stopped, studying where my fingers landed. Was there a small defect in the wallpaper or a stud the builders didn’t adequately cover? I looked left and right, making sure no one else was in the hall with me before I pressed along the curve of the wall again.
A soft creak, then a trace outline of a door became visible on the wall. I shook my head, mad at myself for being so distracted I didn’t even see it there moments before. Leaning down to inspect it, I saw it didn't have any distinctive marks. Still, I didn’t want to leave it unexplored.
I gave the door another push. It opened into a small corridor. Blue lights flickered in the dim space. Given the auditorium was in a direct line far down the hall, it was possible performers used this to navigate swiftly between backstage areas and other sections of the opera house, a hidden network beneath the polished surface.
I stepped inside, making sure I left the door slightly open so I could make my way out. The lights continued to flicker. In the far distance, somewhere I couldn’t see, I faintly heard voices. Were they actors?
The floor came to a set of steps leading downward into the sublevels of the opera house. The voices I heard before grew a little louder. By my calculations, they were further sublevel, maybe around sixty or seventy feet away. Before I went downstairs, I explored the alcove I arrived at so far.
Then my eyes caught a glimmer of something out of place. A small insignia was etched onto the wall, barely visible beneath layers of dust and neglect. I traced the infinite spiral with my finger, noting it was the same symbol that clued me in earlier to Bartie’s involvement with the Nexus Spiral.
So this new syndicate was moving onto new turf. Could this be the link I had been searching for? The connection between Bartie and the energy fields, and perhaps even Riven? I knew I needed to document and examine it more closely later.
As I walked deeper into the hidden passageway, the air grew stale and heavy. Music from above in the auditorium carried down here, a distant strain while the deeper notes of the orchestra filled the walls and ceiling, creating a vibrational hum to make the building feel like it was a living, breathing thing.
My thoughts drifted to Klinn, his presence still lingering in my mind. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a future for us beyond this mission.
