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He grunted “Then I’ll only dock three univs for having to clean off the et practice,so wilted lettuce for two days”

He popped back into the restaurant, leaving the door open The noise of dishes and laughter spilled out into the alley, bizarre in its normality

Scarlet’s world was crashing down around her and nobody noticed Her grand and nobody cared

She turned back to the hatch and gripped the edges of the to behind her sternuhts, but they were beginning to clear The first wave of aggression was left to rot with the smashed tomatoes

When she could take in a breath without her lungs convulsing, she stacked the crate on top of the russet potatoes and heaved them out of the ship

The line cooks ignored Scarlet as she dodged their spitting skillets, e room She shoved the bins onto the shelves that had been labeled in ain a dozen times over the years

“Bonjour, Scarling!”

Scarlet turned around, pulling her hair off her clammy neck

É with a secret, but she pulled back when she saw Scarlet’s expression “What—”

“I don’t want to talk about it” Slipping past the waitress, she headed back through the kitchen, but Émilie made a dismissive noise in the back of her throat and trotted after her

“Then don’t talk I’ on to Scarlet’s elbow as they ducked back into the alleyway “Because he’s back” Despite the angelic blond curls that surrounded Éhts

Scarlet pulled away and grabbed a bin of parsnips and radishes, passing the who he was and why ita basket with papery red onions

“You don’t rehter I was telling you about the other … oh, maybe that was Sophia”

“The street fighter?” Scarlet squeezed her eyes shut as a headache started to throb against her forehead “Really, Ém?”

“Don’t be like that He’s sweet! And he’s been here al in , don’t you think?” When Scarlet said nothing, the waitress set the bin down and fished a pack of gum from her apron pocket “He’s always really quiet, not like Roland and his crowd I think he’s shy … and lonely” She popped a stick into her mouth and offered another to Scarlet

“A street fighter who see to yourself?”

“You have to see him to understand He has these eyes that just…” É heatstroke

“É those lips and get in here Table four wants you” He cast a glare at Scarlet, a silent warning that he’d be dockinghis e for a response Éue out after him

Settling the basket of onions against her hip, Scarlet shut the hatch and brushed past the waitress “Is table four him?”

“No, he’s at nine,” Éetables As they passed back through the stea to corand- new?”

Scarlet clenched her jaw, the words of the co like hornets in her head Case closed

“Nothing new,” she said, then let their conversation get lost in the chaos of the cooks screa at each other across the line

Émilie followed her as far as the storeroo the baskets before the waitress could say so optimistic Émilie attempted the requisite “Try not to worry, Scar She’ll be back” before backing away into the tavern

Scarlet’s jaas starting to ache frorandma’s disappearance as if she were a stray cat ould ry Don’t worry She’ll be back

But she’d been gone for over teeks Just disappeared without sending a co She’d even ht the ingredients for Scarlet’s favorite lemon cake the week before

None of the faro None of the worker androids had recorded anything suspicious Her portscreen had been left behind, though it offered no clues in its stored co without it was suspicious enough No one went anywhere without their ports

But that wasn’t the worst of it Not the abandoned portscreen or the unmade cake

Scarlet had also found her grandmother’s ID chip

Her ID chip Wrapped in cheesecloth spotted red froe on the kitchen counter

The detective said that’s what people did when they ran away and didn’t want to be found—they cut out their ID chips He’d said it like he’d just solved the ured most kidnappers probably knew that trick too

Two

Scarlet spotted Gilles behind the hot top, ladling béchamel sauce on top of a haet his attention, and was met with annoyance

“I’n off on the delivery”