Chapter 290
The following afternoon, Katelina and Kai headed to the restaurant for their version of breakfast. Sunlight slanted through the windows and, as if by mutual agreement, they chose a table close to it.
The day was spent much like the one before. Kai seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of movies saved to his hard drive, all of dubious quality. Katelina was suspicious of their origins, but after everything she'd been a part of, watching pirated movies was the least of her crimes.
At midnight, Kai stood and motioned her to follow. "When it's time to leave, do not linger or we'll be caught again. Master's bribe only buys so many minutes of distraction."
Master? She pushed her revulsion away to concentrate on the rest of his statement. It explained why no one noticed their trip to the cargo hold on the security cameras. Obviously someone had been bribed to not notice them, or to make sure no one else did.
The cold of the cargo bay came as a shock to Katelina; she'd forgotten her coat again. There was no time to dwell on it, so she followed Kai to the container and waited while he opened it. Like the previous night, Sorino emerged first. His clothes were creased, but somehow he still looked perfect.
Jorick didn't. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin had a semi translucent look to it, though he wasn't withered. His smile was pained and she swore the hunger in his eyes was for more than just her kisses.
She made a vague, uncomfortable offer, though she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do it. Jorick declined, so she didn't have to find out.
The other vampires shuffled from the container. They had varying degrees of scowls on their faces, except for Verchiel. He looked as chipper as ever but, like Jorick, he had dark circles under his eyes and looked rumpled. She had a sudden flashback to the detention cell in the Citadel, when he'd been starving and Malick had let him attack her. The memory sent a shiver down her spine and she edged away.
When Sorino's pocket watch chimed, she let Jorick go with the promise that they'd see each other the next day. Knowing he was hungry made the parting worse, and she still had a strange ache in her chest even after she and Kai were back in their cabin.
Kai left for a shower and returned in a tank top and pajama bottoms. Katelina looked away from his crisscrossing scars and saw him shrug from the corner of her eye. She knew she should say something, but words failed, so she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head, "Are you and Sorino lovers?" The question shocked her and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "I mean- never mind."
He sat down on the makeshift couch and popped his laptop open. "Do you really want to know?"
"Um, no, no." But of course she did. She couldn't help it. She sat down next to him and stared at her lap while he set another movie up.
"It would depend on your definition."
She met his eyes and he shrugged again, then pointed to the laptop. When he hit play, the conversation was officially over.
***
It was nine in the morning, local time, when the ship pulled into the harbor. Katelina had barely slept, but she gathered her luggage and pulled on her winter gear. Kai's advice for disembarking was simple: keep your eyes down and don't speak unless you have to.
The passengers were herded out of the ship and into a building marked Arrivals - Immigration and Customs. Katelina clutched her paperwork and tried not to panic, though she was sure she saw suspicion in every pair of eyes. The atmosphere felt tense, and she stiffened in response.
"Relax." The voice in her head wasn't Jorick's and she looked to Kai. He shrugged as if to say, "Well, you need to."
The line moved slowly. When Katelina finally reached the counter, the immigration officer scanned the fake IDs. Then she made Katelina stand still to have her photo taken. Something about the immigration officer's focus on the computer screen felt wrong. Though Katelina glanced to Kai for answers, he stood as mute and unreadable as ever.
The female officer asked Katelina several questions: What was the nature of her visit? How long would she be in Japan? Did she have hotel reservations? Did she have friends or family in the country? Tiny beads of sweat popped out on Katelina's forehead and she stuttered the answers. After what felt like an eternity, the immigration officer let her pass, and she heaved a sigh of relief. Kai said customs was easier than immigration, and she hoped he was right.
She hovered just beyond the gate, waiting for Kai. He handed over his paperwork, nodded a few times, stood for his photo and was released in a matter of moments. He started towards Katelina and then, without warning, veered to the right. She opened her mouth to shout at him when a thickly accented voice said, "Would you please follow me to the table on your left, place your bags and suitcases on the table, and empty the contents of your pockets into the plastic bin on the table?"
She jerked around to find two uniformed men beside her. "Excuse me?"
One of the men repeated the orders and motioned her to the front of the table. She looked to Kai for help, but he continued past as though he didn't know her. Her first impulse was to grab him, but she stopped herself. He wouldn't abandon her, so he must have a plan, right?
The customs agent repeated himself a third time and then apologized and pulled her luggage away. He moved to the table and rummaged through her suitcase.
She hurried towards the customs agent. He called something to his partner, and the second man was suddenly between them. She tried to sidestep him, but he moved with her, his walkie-talkie in his hand. "I apologize for the inconvenience. Please remain calm."
Remain calm? How was she supposed to do that? Did they know? If so, why didn't they arrest her outright? She took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to relax. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe she was just the 100th customer and got a random search for her efforts.
The walkie-talkie crackled and a string of foreign directions sputtered over it. The agent's answer was a single word. He turned towards her, the luggage abandoned.
"If you would come with us, please, we have some questions."
She took a panicked step back and her heart thundered in her chest. She'd seen enough movies to know what that meant. They weren't going to ask questions, they were going to slap handcuffs on her and haul her to a foreign prison. Shit, shit, shit! She had to get out of there!
"There's nowhere to run."
An unfamiliar voice, accented in German, interrupted, "I will take it from here."
Wait, German?
Katelina spun to see a tall, broad shouldered man. His uniform was sharp and creased, and spoke of some official office she didn't recognize. Like everyone else in the terminal, he was human.
He opened his coat to show a gun, and motioned towards one of the exits. "You will come with me, Miss Mauldin. There is someone who is very anxious to see you."
His words chilled her. "Wh-who?"
"You will see."
