Destruction - The Oasis Project Book 2 (Complete)

Forty-Two - Ira

"How did you know where to find me?" I asked Stuart, leaning against his shoulder as we walked with our arms around each other. That's your missing girl? Beiya had asked him, gawking, before the shock made her shut up. Stuart had politely told her and a very confused Yulian at the door to give us a moment, before calmly leading me outside.

"Ira, you talk like I don't know your MO." When he noticed how flushed my cheeks got, he planted a small kiss on the side of my forehead, which made it even worse. "Chaotic. Memorable. Alive." Stuart stopped walking to look at me, and it was clear how much he'd missed me, but now wasn't the moment to say.

I couldn't resist pulling him into an embrace again, stroking his soft hair as he relaxed against me. After all this time with Oasis, Stuart was the last person I'd expected to see. I didn't want to let go of him, in case he was just a figment of my imagination and would disappear into thin air at any moment. "I just- What the hell? You're here. How-" I pulled away slightly to look at Stuart, who wasn't holding back his smile. "I don't know how to say how happy I am to see you."

"I believe I know." Stuart chuckled and cupped my face in his hands. I was trembling when I leaned in to kiss him, softly, as if he would shatter. Our lips lingered against each other, and I didn't open my eyes until Stuart breathed, "It's been too long."

"I-I've missed you," I blurted out, before looking away from the pair of green eyes that I could get so lost in. It was cloudy today and cooler, but my blood was pumping so fast that I couldn't feel the difference. "How the hell did you know I was here?"

"Well," Stuart said, taking my hand and prompting me to walk across the red dirt again, "it started with Miguel calling me in the middle of the night..."

It turned out that Nate did make it safely to Miguel's, which was an immense relief. When Nate relayed the note that I had written, Miguel immediately let Stuart know that I was alive. By then, Stuart had already found some people who knew about the Oasis Project and were working towards exposing it. Having taken a hard drive from Dell Island - a dark expression crossed his face when he told me about it - and having been an insider made him a key figure in the network, important enough that when he told everyone else to keep an eye out for me, they did.

"When Four told me she got a One from her ambush, I didn't think much of it," Stuart admitted. "When she told me in the vaguest terms that Oasis took extra precautions on this One, it started to sound familiar."

Our shared amusement was cut off when a loud ringtone sounded from Stuart's pocket. He rolled his eyes after seeing the caller and reluctantly put the phone to his ear. "Yes, I got it." His voice was dripping in sarcasm, which caught me by surprise. "I told you, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Spent too long out here?" I asked when he hung up the phone, shaking his head. I would be lying if I said that I didn't like this new Robin persona that I was seeing.

"Sort of." Stuart let his stress dissipate before laying a hand on my shoulder. "That was what I was about to tell you. Linkin's in Spain. She's not in good shape, but she's the one who told me about you being a One."

I blinked, speechless. We started walking back to Bruce's house while I replayed the car crash I saw in the rear-view mirror in my head. Just before Stuart opened the door, I stammered, "W-What? S-She's alive?"

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"Four, you can't be serious." Stuart crossed his arms tighter. "This is her friend we're talking about. My friend. We don't know what's wrong-"

"You wanted to see One," Beiya retorted, "you saw her, you can take some of the other people. I don't care who she is to you, you are not taking the One or the Three. If there's another risk like you say, they cannot be in the same place."

Yulian mumbled something in my ear, which made me nod furiously. "Yes!"

"What was that?" Beiya whipped her head around to us.

"He said," I translated, "the way you treat us like sleeper agents is simply insulting."

"We don't know-" Beiya began.

"Stuart, when are we leaving?" I cut her off, standing up.

A smile spread across his face. "Whenever you're ready." That meant now.

"Yulian is coming with," I said, catching him by surprise. I offered a hand to help him up, and he took it, confused.

"No, that's-"

I leaned over Beiya. "You want me to help, I pick my team. I want my best friend with me."

Stuart was suddenly intrigued by this information. "Best friend since when?"

"Since over ten years ago," I replied impatiently. Before Stuart could connect the dots, I added, "Any more questions? Let's get a fucking move on."