“Fuck!” Cass clutched his side and threw himself through the just-opened door. Things had been going so well. They’d gotten in without alerting security, Mako had jacked in and gotten all the data they’d been hired to retrieve, and it was only when he disconnected that things had started going wrong. A security sweep when there wasn’t supposed to be any. A locked door that they hadn’t known was locked, but which delayed them enough for the security to see them.
Mako grabbed his arm. “You okay? Oh, shit—” His eyes pixelated briefly and the door slammed shut again behind them, just in time for Cass to hear more shots slam into the metal. “You aren’t okay. Shit. Okay. Right. Uh, AuDy? Aria? Now what?”
“Now we keep to the mission.” Cass didn’t want to think about the amount of blood seeping down his side. He kept his left hand pressed against the wound and his right braced on Mako’s shoulder as he spoke into their comms. “AuDy, is the Kingdom Come in position for evac?”
“Give me your ETA. I will be there.”
Cass closed his eyes briefly in relief at AuDy’s calm voice. He opened them again to force himself to keep walking, making Mako start moving again to match him. “Mako. New route. What are our options?”
“Fuck, Cass, you expect— Right, yeah, okay. Um.” Mako’s voice drifted off as he accessed thet digital maps, and Cass kept heading forward towards the next junction on pure willpower. Mako automatically kept pace; he wasn’t great at moving himself when immersed in the Mesh, but so long as he wasn’t doing anything too complex, he could be led. “The loading dock’s closest but they’ll be looking there. Honestly, if you’re up for stairs, the roof’s probably best.”
“ETA for roof evac,” AuDy said over comms. “Aria will cause a diversion.”
“And I’ll kill you if you don’t save your own ass. Talk more once we’re back onboard, okay?”
Cass sent out a quick prayer that Aria’s idea of a diversion wouldn’t bring more forces than she could handle on her own. “Keep yourself safe, Aria. I’ll manage the stairs. Mako, ETA?”
“Five minutes normally, I’d put it at seven or eight if I need to carry you.” Mako turned the corner confidently. “You got any bandages or things you can use?”
“Not if we’re moving.” Cass focused on his breathing and his legs. “Just get us back home, Mako. I’m trusting you.”
“Aye-aye, captain,” Mako said, but it didn’t come off as flippantly as it usually did, and Cass didn’t have the heart to complain that his rank had never been ‘captain’ anyway. Mako shifted as they reached the steep stairway, sliding his arm around Cass’ back and letting Cass lean on him. “Fuck, you’re heavy.”
“You could exercise.” There was comfort in the normality of Mako’s complaints, despite everything. He forced himself up the steps, one at a time, letting Mako set the pace. Outside, he heard Aria’s signature fireworks. They rang in his head almost double, and he hoped that was just the comms. “Things seem to be going according to the new plan.”
Mako snorted and turned the corner on the landing. “Someday I’ll get a nice fancy hoverboard, and then I’ll never need to carry you again.”
“Put it in the budget.” Cass fought to keep his eyes open. “Maybe you can save up for one.”
“By what, not having Space-ios or Chewy Chocolate Chums or, like, only ordering water instead of Triple Flavor-Blasted Sparkling Sodas?” Mako laughed. “Maybe we’ll branch out and rob a bank, that might work better.”
Cass groaned, more at the idea than anything else, but Mako instantly changed his tone. “You okay?”
“Am I leaving a trail?”
“Uh.” Cass felt Mako turn. “Nooooo?”
“Then I’m fine for now.”
“Man, your standards are so fucking low.”
Cass laughed, but it hurt. Everything about moving hurt, to be fair, so he just accepted it and kept moving. This was going to suck to fix up. He had to actually sit his team down and teach them first aid that went beyond “Stick a bandage on it” at some point, but— it was hard getting everyone in the same place and focused at the same time. Still, if he got hurt again, it’d be better for them to have more of an idea of what to do.
“We’re almost at the roof door, AuDy. You ready?”
It took Cass until they were at the door to realise that Mako was staring at him. AuDy had clicked acknowledgement into the comms, after all. “Yeah,” Cass said, smiling at his friend. “Let’s go.”
The door opened and Cass willed himself into a run. The Kingdom Come hovered just above the flat-topped roof, rotors sending up great clouds of dust. In the distance, Cass registered bright colors, which must be Aria leading security on a chase. It wouldn’t last long now that the Kingdom Come was here, but he was still grateful that it had worked at all.
The Kingdom Come’s ramp was still a good foot above the roof, though, which wasn’t ordinarily a problem but right now Cass was swearing with every footstep. Hazily, he heard Mako yelling over comms, but it was still a surprise when metal arms reached down and lifted him smoothly into the ship. “Thanks,” Cass managed to say.
AuDy said, “It is no problem at all. I will take you to the medbay, and then we shall make our escape.”
“Great plan.” Cass leaned against their chest, happy to let his focus return to just his own body. AuDy was very good at what they did, and their difficulty with subtlety was a boon as much as a hindrance. “Everything okay out here?”
“Your injury is the most distressing event that has occurred.” AuDy laid Cass down on the operating table, which was both very uncomfortable and something Cass was glad he’d cleaned before the mission. They started securing Cass to it with the loose straps Cass had installed entirely because AuDy’s flying sometimes tended to the dramatic. “My part was very boring until this pickup. Mako will be here soon. I need to fly a getaway before security arrives.”
“Try not to do any barrel rolls,” Cass said, attempting levity. He wasn’t sure it worked.
But AuDy paused at the door and flickered his running lights in a pattern the Chime generally assumed was their version of a smile. “I will do my best, Cass. I wouldn’t wish to cause you more distress.”
“Thank you,” Cass said, and meant it.
Mako burst through the door just after AuDy left. “Okay. I hate blood. I mean, I love it, but it should be on the inside? You know? What can I do?”
“Wash your hands,” Cass said automatically. Medical prep had been drilled into his head for so many years he could do it while asleep, which was good, because blood loss and an anxious and distractible crewmate made things pretty hard. “Then you’re gonna cut away the part of my clothing around the wound, okay? There are good scissors in the drawer above and to the left of the sink. Don’t use them on anything other than fabric.”
“Bossy, aren’t you?” Mako grumbled, but he was moving fast. Cass listened to the water run, and the cabinet open, and Mako’s feet patter back to his side. “Okay. I’d be sorry about fucking up your shirt, but who am I kidding, you’d look great in a crop top if you ever let yourself wear one.”
Cass rolled his eyes and listened to the methodical snip of the scissors. For all that Mako complained, his hands were sure and steady, and he did know how to cut in a straight line from all the clothing modifications he liked giving himself. “Once you’ve finished cutting, you’re going to need to clean the wound. Disinfectant is next to the sink. Put it on a swab. You know it hurts, so I might cry.”
“I’ll give you exactly as much sympathy as you give me when I cry while you patch me up.” There was a pause, then, in a different tone, Mako said, “Um, Cass? You gotta let go of your side now.”
“Oh. Right.” With difficulty, Cass relaxed his arm and moved it away from his wound. “Okay.”
Mako gave absolutely no warning before pulling away the blood-sticky fabric and ran the disinfectant swab over the wound. Cass bit his lip as his breath hissed out of his body. It stung, bright and shining across his entire body, and his eyes did prick with tears. There was higher-quality stuff that didn’t burn so much (mostly because it had some local anaesthetic mixed in), but the Chime didn’t have the budget of the Royal Apostolosian Medical Corps, so he made do.
“Bandage,” he said, but this part Mako knew, and he felt the layers of absorbent material and then sticky wrap going around his body. That meant he had to push his body off the table enough for Mako’s hands and the bandage roll, which hurt, but he managed it. He’d get Koda to check out his work later, when they weren’t worried about the job quite so much.
AuDy’s voice came over the comms. “Mako, Cass, please prepare for evasive maneuvers.”
“Good timing,” Mako yelled back. “Just finished with the finicky bit.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Mako. Please hold on.”
And then, of course, AuDy did a spinning barrel roll into a loop-the-loop that Cass gritted his teeth through because even fully healthy he hated when AuDy did this. As it was, he felt nauseous and prayed to Apole and Apothesa that they’d be through this now and he could actually rest and start recovering properly.
“That’s the last of them, AuDy.” Aria’s voice was bright on the comms, and Cass smiled. “Nice flying!”
“Thank you, Aria. Please wait until we’re away from the dome before docking.”
The Kingdom Come evened out, and Cass breathed more easily. Around him, Mako started washing up. He was perfectly capable of keeping things clean when he wanted to, but mostly he didn’t want to or didn’t remember for long enough to do it successfully. Apparently, Cass’ injury was important enough to make sure he’d stick around and get things actually clean.
“Hey, Cass?”
“Mm?” Cass cracked his eyes open to see Mako standing in front of him, holding a wet towel.
Mako shifted from foot to foot, blushing a little. “I— you good enough to clean yourself off? ‘Cause you’ve got kind of a lot of blood on your hands.”
“Right.” Cass reached for the towel and started trying to wipe his fingers off, but after maybe fifteen seconds of holding his arms up, he sighed. It was too much effort to use them. He really did need to get some more fluids into his body soon. “Go ahead, Mako.”
Mako nodded, and took the towel back. Gently, he started cleaning Cass’ hands. It was soothing, letting someone take care of him like this; Cass had gone out of his way to avoid allowing anyone to tend to him since leaving Apostolos; it reminded him too strongly of the personal attendants he’d been raised with, as a child of royalty. But in this context, it wasn’t pampering—or, if it was, it was only because he was hurt and Mako cared about him, not because he had been born special or something.
The warm water felt much better than sticky and partially dried blood did. Cass relaxed into it, like it was a massage, and almost felt sorry when Mako finished. “Can you stand?” Mako asked. “That table’s hella uncomfortable.”
“Not on my own.” Cass sighed. “Can you get me to the kitchen?”
“Uh.” Mako was cleaning off the towel and his own hands again. “Probably not? Like, I know you’re hurt, but I’m tired.”
“Fuck.” Cass stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out a good solution to this problem, and then the Kingdom Come shuddered. “Is that Aria docking?”
“Yeah. I messaged her saying she should come here when she’s done with the Brilliance.”
“Please tell me you didn’t make it sound like I was dying.”
Mako laughed. “No, I told her we needed her big strong arms because we’re both sad noodles right now and AuDy’s busy flying the ship.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Cass closed his eyes again. He needed sleep, but he needed food first. He couldn’t remember what exactly they had, but Mako’s store of sugary drinks—sugar-blasted slurpees or whatever—would probably do the trick, as much as he hated them normally. They were too sweet, too sugary, and generally just felt like liquified candy. But that had its place, especially right now.
Aria strolled in with confidence and speed, but she wasn’t running, for which Cass was profoundly grateful. “I hear you’ve been terribly wounded in the line of duty.” She stopped next to Cass and poked at his side. “Mako sent me a photo, but I didn’t believe him that you were actually wearing a crop-top until I walked in. But I guess it doesn’t really count if your stomach’s all wrapped up anyway. Can’t see those abs.”
“I’m so sorry to offend your sartorial standards.”
“He remembered the word ‘sartorial’,” Mako said cheerfully. “That’s good, right?”
“Mhmm.” Aria undid the straps keeping Cass more-or-less in place and dragged at his legs. “Come on, soldier, I can’t pick you up. You gotta do some work yourself.”
“I’m not a soldier anymore,” Cass pointed out, carefully swinging his legs over the table’s edge. His side ached as he pushed himself up, but Aria’s arm behind him meant he mostly just had to get himself started, not take all the weight. “And I was always a better doctor than soldier.”
“Yeah, but it’s a soldier thing to make a plan and then be the one shot in it. Much noble, very hero, wow.”
Cass rolled his eyes and she burst out laughing. Mako was giggling in the corner too, and came around to Cass’ other side. Together, they got him on his feet and helped him stumble into the kitchen. While Aria deposited him in a chair, Mako raided the fridge and set a soda bottle filled with something neon pink and sparkling in front of Cass. “It’s strawberry-peach,” Mako said, at Cass’ dubious look. “It’s not actually fizzy! It’s just shiny ‘cause it’s pretty!”
“If it fizzes I’m going to dump the rest of it on your head,” Cass said, and then took a swig. It did not fizz. It just tasted sickly-sweet. Cass drank it anyway, because he needed the energy, and leaned sideways against Aria. “Can you tell AuDy that I want a real medic to have a look and make sure it really is just an awful flesh wound?”
“You do not need her to,” AuDy said, from where Cass assumed the doorway was. “I have set our route to get paid. After we have money again, we can go to a clinic.”
Aria squeezed Cass’ shoulder. “We’ll take care of you, Cass. Don’t worry about it.”
Cass nodded and let his head fall back onto her shoulder. “Great. Does that mean I can sleep now?”
AuDy moved closer. “You can do whatever you need, Cass. We’ll be here.”
“Just let us know what you need.”
Cass smiled, and let it turn into a yawn. “Bed, first. We’ll figure out next steps from there.”
AuDy picked him up like it was nothing, and Cass thought he heard both Mako and Aria’s footsteps quietly trailing along behind.
He was asleep before he touched the mattress, safe and secure in his teammates’ arms.