Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

A waitress came by to clean up the plates and refill waters as the trio sat around the table. With a small zap, the tracking device in Lui’s hands beeped and came back to life. He set it in the middle of the table as it processed. “You got it working!” Hanna said in surprise. She smiled at Lui. “How did you do that?” 

Lui shrugged. “Battery was dead.” 

The three of them leaned over the device, watching as the progress bar loaded. After a few minutes, the screen changed to a green dot on the map. 

“Is that…?” DJ tilted his head. 

“Everest,” Lui confirmed. “That was easy enough.” 

“I guess that makes sense.” Hanna turned the device so she could see the screen better. “The one place floodwaters won’t reach.” 

“Almost too easy.” DJ leaned back. “It’s like he wants to be found.” 

“Don’t jinx it,” Lui said, taking another drink from his glass. 

Hanna grabbed the tracking device like she was snatching a classified document she wasn’t supposed to have. “I’ll take care of it lickity-split. I can be there and back again by this time tomorrow.” 

“First of all, we agreed to go together.” Lui raised his eyebrows at her. “Secondly, the fact that you don’t know how far away Mount Everest is is slightly concerning. Do you even know what country it’s in?” 

“Of course I know,” Hanna answered defensively. “It’s on the border of two countries.” 

“Which two?” Lui pressed, picking up a leftover clean napkin and folding it on the table. 

“China and Nepal,” Hanna answered with a smug grin. “You didn’t think I’d know that, did you?” 

Lui shrugged again, still focused on folding the napkin. “Geography isn’t your strongest suit.” 

“Dilly dally shilly shally,” Hanna muttered, rolling her eyes. “We’re wasting time sitting here.” 

“We’re resting,” Lui calmly corrected, flipping the napkin over and folding again. “Rest is just as important as work, if not more so. You can’t expect to be helpful and productive if you keep trying to pour from an empty cup.” 

“I told you, I’m fine,” Hanna mumbled. 

“You’re not. You overexerted yourself,” Lui pointed out, crimping the napkin edges in place. 

Hanna huffed. “Well, if I hadn’t, the polar caps would have melted and we’d all be swimming now so…” She folded her arms again and looked away. “What’s the wellbeing of one person compared to the rest of the world?”

“Sometimes it matters who the one person is,” Lui said softly, finally looking up from the project in his hands. “Yeah, you stopped a cataclysmic event. That’s a huge accomplishment! Stop and appreciate it. You’re allowed to rest before diving into the next big task. Give yourself a little grace.” 

“Grace is a luxury for other people,” Hanna said while glaring off into the distance. “I have to earn it.”

“That’s…” Lui furrowed his brows and tilted his head. “Not how grace works.” 

DJ, long forgotten in the conversation, watched the two of them interact. He kept whatever thoughts he had about the interaction occurring in front of him to himself. When the conversation didn’t go any further, DJ stood up and stretched with a yawn. “Well, I’m tired and my arm hurts, so I’m going to bed.” Neither Lui nor Hanna moved. “We’ll go after EDJ after we get some adequate sleep, okay?” DJ continued. “Hopefully, our transportation will be sorted out by then.” 

Hanna sighed and turned back to the group. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” She gave a tired smile and nodded to both of them. “Go sleep. We’ll figure things out in the morning.” 

“Good night,” DJ said, looking from Hanna to Lui. Good luck. 

Hanna waited for DJ’s footsteps to fade away before speaking again. “I’m sorry for arguing.” 

“You’re muttering again,” Lui commented absently, setting the folded napkin on the table in front of her. While a napkin wasn’t the sturdiest of materials, it held the shape of a folded swan surprisingly well. 

“I don’t mutter,” Hanna muttered, gently picking up the origami swan. 

“You do when something’s bothering you.” Lui folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them, watching Hanna. “So what is it?” 

Hanna frowned. “If EDJ thinks he’s going to get away with this, he’s got another thing coming.” 

“It’s just Iul doing typical evil person junk.” Lui attempted to shrug from his position. “This kind of stuff happens all the time. It’s fine.” 

“No, it’s not fine,” Hanna said, eyes narrow. “And I’m going to tell him as much when I find him.” 

“You don’t have to try so hard to fix everything, you know,” Lui said quietly, raising a brow. 

Hanna turned the origami swan over in her hands. “It’s not about fixing it.” 

Lui frowned. “There is a fine line between justice and revenge, Hanna.”

She sighed. “I know, it’s just… if I don’t do it, no one will.” 

Lui raised his head. “You don’t really believe that, do you?” He sat up in his chair. “There are plenty of capable people out there who can take care of Iul. It doesn’t have to be you. Please don’t make this personal.” 

“EDJ made it personal when he attacked you and DJ,” Hanna said gloomily. “I have to make him pay.” 

“The problem is, he knows that,” Lui said, leaning back. “Iul has something bad planned for you, Hanna, I know it. He’s trying to get on your bad side. Don’t let him.” 

Hanna looked up from the napkin and narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean?” 

Oh uh, Lui thought. I have to tell her. “Hanna… I…” Lui started, glancing away. He took a breath before speaking. “Iul got some information out of me. I don’t know how he’s going to use it, but if something bad happens to you because of something I told him…” He looked back at her, green eyes pleading. “Let someone else handle it. Please? Don't go.” 

Hanna’s face softened. “He really scares you,” she said quietly. “Is he really that bad?” 

Lui looked away. “He’s capable of a lot more than he lets on.” 

“Hey,” Hanna said to get his attention. “Whatever you told him can’t be that important.” She offered a reassuring smile. “He’s not going to get the jump on me. All right? We’re going to be the ones catching him by surprise this time.” 

“Be careful, Hanna,” Lui said, not sounding completely reassured. “He’s a crafty one.” He watched her for another minute. “So what else is bothering you?” 

“What makes you think there’s anything else?” Hanna muttered, leaning back and focusing on the swan again. 

“You’re still muttering,” Lui answered. “If you wanna talk, I’m listening.” Hanna’s brows knit together as she flipped the origami swan over and over again. Her mouth moved, but she didn’t speak. It was as though she wanted to say something, but she was locked inside her own head. Lui waited patiently. After what seemed like an eternity, Lui stood up. “Let’s go for a walk.” 

Hanna nodded, stood up, and followed him to the register, tucking the napkin swan into a pocket. She stood off to the side rubbing her tired eyes as Lui talked to the hostess and handed over his ID and card. Once payment for the meal was taken care of, Lui and Hanna walked outside. It was still the middle of the night, after one in the morning at this point, but the sun was already rising. The sudden blast of cold air sent a chill down Lui’s spine, but he shoved his hands in his pockets and pressed forward. He was all too familiar with the odd day and night cycles of the arctic. He stopped and looked back to see Hanna staring up at the sky with wide, glossy eyes. Lui smiled as he walked back and stood beside her, also looking up to watch the sky. Golden rays landed on soft pink and purple clouds in the orange sky between snow-capped mountain peaks.

“It’s beautiful,” Hanna whispered in awe. 

Lui glanced at her with a soft smile. Beautiful.