“Looking in the bag.”
“Why?”
Rylie licked her dry lips. “Curiosity,” she admitted.Snooping, she said to herself.
“They’re weapons.”
“I figured that out,” she snapped, and for a brief moment, she thought she saw a smile flash over his lips. “Why do you have them?”
Netto looked down at the bag, unpinning her once again. “Protection.”
“Protection... From what?” Rylie followed his eyes back to the bag. She vaguely realized that the music had died above deck.
“From anything that would hurt you.”
Rylie didn’t know what to say, only that she all at once felt a strong wave of comfort wash over her. His proximity had gone from unnerving to nice in the beat of a second. She had the urge to burrow into his chest and wrap her arms around him, to soak up all the protection he was willing to give. She looked back at the Cyborg to search his face but it remained devoid of any emotion.
She liked protection. And safety. The homestead made her feel safe and so did the watership.
“Thank...you,” she choked out.
Rylie held her breath as he reached around her and pulled out a small sheathed knife from the bag. His frame twisted to accommodate his size in the small space. He offered it to her.
“Take it.”
Their fingers touched as she relieved him of the weapon. It was light in her grip. “I have weapons to protect myself.” Rylie unsheathed the dagger and twisted the blade around, finding it unusual compared to the knives she wielded to skin swimmers. Her finger caught a hook on the side and pressed it. A red laser shot out to surround the edges of the blade.
“A laser dagger,” he said, his voice above her ear, “will penetrate anything with enough force.”
Her hair shifted against her scalp. The Cyborg’s mouth inches away from her head. Goosebumps prickled over her skin.
The glow from the dagger cast everything in a blood-red light, muddying Netto’s blueish skin into a brown. It also made his proximity more intimate. She clicked the dagger off just as the buzz of the watership turning on vibrated the walls.
“Will it burn the case?”
“No.”
Rylie sheathed the weapon and held it against her chest. She moved to escape the room. “Thank you. I’ll keep it with me.” Her fingers tightened their grasp. She couldn’t bring herself to meet Netto’s eyes. “I think we should head back up.”
Netto hunched lower and turned, backing up into the hallway, slowly freeing her as he maneuvered in an awkward angle. She scurried past him but stopped at the stairs, turning back to look at him.
“I forgot your jacket!”
“I won’t need it.” His whole frame moved and collided with the wall as he shrugged.
“It gets cold at night, and I have a feeling you won’t fit on that bunk.” Rylie smiled at the image, feeling the sway of the ship pulling away from the dock beneath her. Netto grunted and she took it as assent.
She coughed, realizing what she had said could be portrayed as flirting, and went up the stairs now being the one to free her previous captor. Regardless of his size, she heard him following her. Rylie didn’t want him to be another notch on the bed for her sister.
The glass enclosure came into view, still clouded by the thick morning fog. If she wasn’t aware of every shuffle and buzz of the ship, it would appear as if they were still docked.
Da sat glumly on the captain’s seat staring at a large hologram radar. He didn’t look up when she peered over his shoulder, watching the steady increase of distance grow between them and the shore. Netto passed behind her and up through onto the top deck.
“What is it, Buggy?”
Rylie waited until she was sure Netto was gone before leaning down to answer.
“They have guns. Lots of them.”
