She leaned in and kissed him. Days’ worth of stubble scratched around her lips, but she didn’t give a damn. He smelled ten times better than she did. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Her breath hitched as he ran his hand down her spine.

Welga sat back and held her hand to his forehead. “You’re feverish.” She fished the pill case from her pocket and handed him an antibac and an antiviral. “Figured you might need these. Guess I was right.”

“You’re amazing. The agency let you go with all of this?” He swallowed them and said, “That’s a lot of zips.”

She tried to keep a blank face.

“Goddamn it! You’re getting worse, aren’t you?”

Maybe Olafson was right. She couldn’t do espionage.

He grabbed her hand. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you before the launch, and then the stellas went down when you were with that Machinehood thing. I’m glad you’re home.” His grip tightened.

“Me too, and I have good news: we’re going to Eko-Yi.”

His expression didn’t reflect the joy she expected.

“What’s wrong?”

“According to the care-bot, my internal organs haven’t regrown enough to withstand launch forces. I’m fighting infections, too, as you could tell. You were right when you said I was in no shape for a rocket ride. I’m sorry. I can’t go up with you, but you should still do it. Like you said, they’ll give me priority once you’re there.”

“I’ll get to the hospital and bring back what you need.”

“Don’t bother. Marcelo tried yesterday. They’re out of supplies. Between the WAI shutdowns and the stellas, the trucks aren’t running.”

“Goddamn the Machinehood. This is why we need to stop them.”

“It isn’t over? What happened with the operative you caught?”

“I’ll fill you in after I secure the room,” Welga promised. She kicked off her shoes and began to undress. “But first I need a bath. Can I get you anything before I go in?”

He shook his head. “You’re teasing me.”

Welga swayed her hips as she entered the bathroom. “I’m just getting started.”

She couldn’t get hot water from the tap, but at least it was clean. Without the centralized timer, she could run the shower as long as she wanted. She scrubbed with shampoo and soap until she couldn’t see dirt anywhere.

“You are due to check in,” Por Qué reminded her.