| Chapter 14

Chicago's nighttime blessed me with its beauty once David exited the freeway ramp onto city streets. I pressed my head out of the passenger window to look out at the sky, at the few stars.

And that was when I heard it.

There was a strange hum in the air. Quiet but there. When I glanced up at the sky, I saw the ship more than normal. It hung beneath the clouds rather than above them. The same red lights I'd seen the other night flashed on the ship's side.

Pulling my body back inside the car, I looked back at Vera in the backseat. "No one's noticing this?" I asked.

She shook her head.

I looked at David next. "And you? You can't hear that? The humming."

"I mean," David shrugged as he turned us on another street, taking us downtown. "I was listening to music, so nah."

Nah.

Outside the window the city was filled with life. So much of it, it was crowded with people. They were on the sidewalks, inside restaurants; outside where the sound could be heard.

Yet, none of them looked up. Heads were faced down, eyes glued to the screens of their phones. Even those who were with friends, talking and laughing, did so while scrolling through the internet

If they would only look up and open their eyes to the skies.

"I bet everyone is listening to music," I grumbled as I shifted in my seat, reaching for the business card I'd placed back in the pocket of my jeans. Once in my hands, I flipped it, reading the words printed on its front: Howard Holmes, Chicago Illinois.

"Howard Holmes..." I read the name out loud.

"Howard?" David turned on another street, though he looked at me. "That dude's name is Howard?"

What did it matter what his first name was? "Really?" I rolled my eyes at him, then turned my body to face Vera behind me. "Vera, what happened when you were on the ship?" I needed to know everything.

Vera looked at me with those stars before looking out of the window. "It was normal," she said. "Which was weird considering," she waved her hands around her as though something was falling, "the accident."

"No one reached out to help? The city didn't call your dad or anything?" I asked.

"I don't know. No one ever tells me those things. But since we got back on the ship, I haven't seen my dad. Or Brylon.

I didn't know much about them, but I knew that was weird. With something as disastrous as an engine piece falling from the sky, one would think the higher ups would be around, doing everything in their power to fix it. But to think they were missing, and Vera was alone in all of this?

I gulped.

"I don't know why she just didn't call the city or something." David drummed his fingers across the steering wheel. "What can we do?"

"What can't we do, man?" I slapped his shoulder. "I mean, you remember the cops. They weren't very Pylon friendly."

"Okay?" David turned down another street. Downtown, the people were minimal. "And? Since you think you have all the answers."

I bit the corner of my lip, chewing on it. I looked down at the card again. Thinking back to Holmes, he seemed so nice. So acceptable. We need that.

"We can talk to him," I forced Holmes' card in David's face. "He'll tell us what to do."

David looked at the card, at the name, and huffed. "Can't we just call him? It's late. He ain't going to be there."

"We don't know that." I crossed my arms. "He's an important guy. What if he works all night? He could be there."

David gave Vera one back glance before grumbling words under his breath until he said, "Man, whatever..."

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The city's center was dark compared to the rest of Chicago's downtown. Light decorated every building, illuminating the streets with a bright light. But the center was lonely, shadowed, and the statues outside looked more like the three horsemen riding in the night for our doom than cows munching in a pasture.

"Holmes' office is just up the stairs, at the left," I said as I pulled out my phone to look at the time: 9:45 P.M. "Maybe he's there."

"You're dumb," David grumbled as he walked beside Vera and me. "What makes you think the man would be here right now? It's fuckin' late. If anything, he's at home. You know, with his family."

David had a point. Before I put my phone away, I pulled out the business card. Then dialed the number. "Okay, I'll call him," I said.

"Call him? Now you want to call him?" David rolled his eyes and turned towards Vera. "Can you talk some sense into your friend, please?"

I turned back and looked at her as Holmes' office line rang in my ear. Ring, ring... ring, ring... but no answer.

Vera and I locked eyes as she started to say, "But he's not my..."

"If you say he's not your friend one more time I swear to God." David pressed his hands on top of his head.

Both Vera and I were silent as the phone continued to ring in my ear.

"Not friends don't go looking for each other or need each other. Not friends avoid each other like the plague." David walked past us as he walked up the center's steps. "Like I'mma do once we're done with all this shit."

Vera pursed her lips

And I pocketed my phone once I received a "Howard Holmes is not in his office. Please leave your message after the beep."

Looking at Vera, I faked a smile and said, "Don't listen to him. It's fine. There should still be holograms on duty, right? We can alert them, at least. They're always ready to take complaints."

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When we entered the building, there weren't any holograms. Or people for that matter. I knew it was late and the building wasn't necessarily open. But if we could walk inside, I figure there would be some sort of assistance. A robot or something.

But, again, there was nothing. The three of us walked through the building's main entrance and stepped right into a darkness we hoped would save us. While Vera and I walked in circles, trying our hardest to get some sort of electric response, David walked straight to the service desk. He hopped over the front of it, knocking the two chairs out of his way. With quick fingers, he turned on the computers meant for city workers.

"He knows what he's doing?" Vera asked me.

I shrugged. "He's a criminal."

"Man, fuck you." David rolled his head around his shoulders. "I'm not a criminal."

Nodding, I looked back at Vera and whispered, "Innocent until proven guilty."

Vera let out a quiet "ah," before turning towards the stairs leading up to Holmes's office. I watched her for a moment, trying to note what she could see. But when she stopped moving, I turned and looked back at David. He still typed away on the computer in front of him. An occasional error warning sound would echo in the silence.

"Anything?" I approached the counter and leaned against it with my arms.

"Anything?" He glanced at me before rolling his eyes. "It's not like you know what I'm doing."

"I don't." I shrugged, looking over at Vera as she moved up a few steps.

"Then?" David cleared his throat.

"I just," I looked back at him, shrugging once more, "I learned a long time ago you usually got it, even when you don't."

David didn't look at me. He was focused on the screen. I could see the various color warnings reflecting on his eyes and I wondered what he typed.

If there was one thing I had to give David credit for was his computer skills. Sure, he was a troubled kid and did shit he shouldn't have. But the second technology was placed in front of him, he went to work. It was admirable.

"Oh shit." He narrowed his eyes a bit, pointing at what he saw on the computer. "This the guy we're coming in here to see? This is Howard?"

"What?"

"Gus..." The sound of Vera's voice made me turn towards her rather than look at David's screen. She hadn't moved anymore, but she also wasn't looking upstairs, either. She'd turned, eyes facing the front of the building. She pointed towards the main entrance.

I saw what made her stop moving. "It's a...." she whispered.

"A hologram." Swallowing my nerves, I moved away from the front counter and approached the small rolling device that hadn't activated yet. The robot was dormant, with no holographic image displayed above its body.

I kneeled in front of it, hands on my knees. With one finger, I touched it. It rolled back an inch. "It isn't activating yet..."

"Shouldn't it activate the second it detects movement or something?" Vera moved off the stairs, walking towards me.

"It should." I poked the robot again. "The fact that it isn't is weird."

"Man, fuck the robot. I need you to tell me if this is the guy," David hissed. "Because if it is, then—"

When I stood straight and turned around, the look on David's face changed. His eyes widened, jaw dropping slightly. In an instant, he dove beneath the computers in front of him, hiding.

Next to me, Vera gasped and stumbled backward.

By the time I was able to turn around and see what scared the both of them, I had no time to react. A fist met my jaw before I could even see it coming.

Stars were beautiful to look at. In the skies. In Vera's eyes. But not when they were in mine; not when I couldn't defend myself, block a punch, and fell flat on my back.

My head slammed into the floor behind me and instantly, I was dizzy. Groaning, I tried to turn. But the sound of Vera's scream made my head snap up too fast. There were stars again. A lot of them. I groaned in discomfort.

"You know, when I first saw you, I thought I told you not to do this again."

That voice... I know that voice.

I pushed myself up, balancing my weight on my arms. Looking up would make me fall over. To keep steady, I squeezed my eyes shut. And listened.

"I thought you were a good kid."

I didn't have to open my eyes to know it was Holmes talking. I understood he told me not to sneak around anymore, to just accept the fact I had told him what I needed to say and move on. But there was more to our story, and he needed to know.

I thought he was a good guy. Why hit me? Why attack us?

"Let me go!" Vera shouted. The sound of her struggles forced me to open my eyes.

I wasn't sure why I thought it was just Holmes. Mainly because I thought there couldn't be anyone else. And while he was with us, standing with his hands behind his back, there were others. Officers were holding Vera back. They'd cuffed her hands to keep her still.

She fought them, wriggling her body. When she looked at me, I saw the stars die in her eyes. Her lips mouthed my name. "Gus."

Holmes slowly walked past the three officers he'd brought with him. He didn't even glance at them. His gaze was focused on me, eyes glued to mine.

"Gus." He kneeled in front of me, a smile on his face. His fingers gripped my chin. "What makes you think sneaking into a city building would be easy to forgive?"

I clenched my jaw tight and shook my head out from his hands. "We didn't sneak in." Turning, I flipped on my back, crawling away from him. A quick glance back at the counter, I tried to find David. But he wasn't there.

"Oh?" Holmes didn't move.

I cleared my throat and shook my head one more time. "The door was open. We just walked in, Holmes. I needed to find you." I pushed myself up, standing in front of him. "We have to tell you about the Pylon ship."

"Ah." Holmes stood, too. He lifted his hand and waved it beside his head. As though commanded, the cops pulled Vera away from us, practically dragging her. I tried to go after them, but Holmes held me back.

His arm wrapped around my shoulders as he pulled me close to him. "Don't bother," he hissed.

"Let her go!" I shouted, still reaching my arms in her direction. "Stop! She didn't do anything!"

"Oh, but she did." The tone of Holmes' voice made me look into his eyes. They were dark, almost lifeless. "The ship? Their ship? I know all about it, Gus," he said. "And you."

He let me go but pushed me. I stumbled back against the front counter, hissing as the side of it slammed into my ribs.

"I know about you, too. Gustavo Ramirez, correct? Your father had the same name, didn't he?"

What...?

Wincing, I looked up at him. The cops continued to pull Vera away, but they didn't take her up the stairs. They pulled her back, away from the front desk, away from the light coming in through the large windows. I could only hear her cry.

"What does knowing about me have to do with anything?" I pushed off the front counter. "Their ship, it's falling! It's going to crash! If you don't—"

"And like you, he didn't listen, either." Holmes, with his sinister grin, didn't let me finish. With a quick step, he moved towards me, fist raised. This time I saw it coming but couldn't defend against it.

Instead, my reaction was to turn, to try and hop over the counter like David had done. But before I could even manage to move, Holmes gripped the collar of my shirt and pulled me.

Right before he hit me, I swore I saw David, cowering beside the office desk, fear in his eyes.

I couldn't see anything else because darkness took over.