The Dream World Collective

119. Prison Break

Sushi skidded through the gallery door, panting, and glared at the vast blankness of Ari's wall.

"Eddie!"

A couple browsing the artwork gave her a dirty look, but she returned it so ferociously that they decided to pretend they hadn't.

"Eddie!"

"Bugger off," came a muffled reply from above. Sushi scrambled up the corkscrew stairs and surfaced in Eddie's studio. He was working with his back turned to her, but she could see the sizzling blue glow of a welding torch.

"Eddie, he's not coming."

"Yeah?" Eddie spun to face her, and she flinched. In place of a mask he was wearing welding goggles with round black lenses like bug eyes.

"What the hell are you wearing?" she gasped.

"Get out of my studio."

He turned back to his welding table.

"But Ari's not coming. He's meeting a client or something. All his stuff's just sitting outside."

"Look, love, this was your idea, not mine. Hang it all back up if you want. I've got work to do, right?"

"I can't hang it all myself!" cried Sushi. "It's huge. Where did the others go?"

"Look, what part of 'get out' don't you understand?" yelled Eddie over the spitting hiss of his blue flame.

"We can't just leave it sitting outside!"

Eddie switched off his torch, pulled his goggles up onto his forehead, and leaned back to peer theatrically out of a window.

"Funny, doesn't look like rain." He snapped his goggles back into place and flicked the flame at her threateningly. "Now run off and play. Some of us have work to do."

With a roar of frustration, Sushi turned and clanged down the metal spiral stairs.

"I'm going to kill that man," she seethed as she stormed out into the Japanese garden and dropped herself hard onto the stone bench. Ari's paintings were pure genius. Eddie was an irresponsible moron to leave them out in a pile like that. For that matter, Ari was a moron, too. How hard would it have been to get scared, rush back, and give everyone an excuse to laugh at him?

Feeling thoroughly disgruntled, Sushi settled herself on the chilly slab of stone to guard the paintings until someone was able to help her move them back in. She pulled out her phone and called Summer, but got no reply.

With a growl, she called Otto. Maybe he hadn't arrived back at the house yet.

After a few rings, she heard a dreamy, "Hey, Sush."

"Otto, you've got to get back to the gallery. We have to—"

"No, it's cool. Way ahead of you. Summer and I got it all out already, all piled up outside the door. Beau—"

"I know it's sitting outside, you extra-large vat of bean dip! We need—"

"Pretty impressive, right?"

"Shut up and get back here. This is an emergency, ok? Priority one alpha ninja whatever. Got it?"

"Sushi, you're not hearing me," replied Otto, maddeningly calm. "We already finished the job. You can take Ari over any time."

Sushi roared in frustration.

"I've got a little thing to take care of, possibly," Otto added. His voice sounded drifty and a little euphoric. "Quite an intriguing possibility, actually. Very potentiable."

"That's not a real—" The line went dead. "—word! Rrrgh!"

Sushi only barely stopped herself from throwing her phone at the ground cover of neat white pebbles. She began pacing restlessly among the manicured plants and rock structures, ignoring the paths. The cast iron gate on one side and the paintings piled against the gallery door on the other felt like a cage. She knew she would not be able to make herself leave as long as the paintings were outside, where weather could wreck them or any passerby could take them.

"I bet he doesn't even have a client," she hissed under her breath. "What does that even mean, anyway? I have a client. He was probably just—"

A new idea fell into her mind and she suddenly felt sick. What if he knew? What if Ari had seen through her, figured out it was a trick? What if he had seen so deep into her that he'd known he could turn it around by forcing her to keep watch in the cold? How long would he leave her here? Hours? Days?

She fought against her own mind. It was ridiculous. There was no way a man could make that many calculations that fast. Besides, how did he know she wouldn't just walk away?

She stalked to the iron gate and laid a hand on it. It squealed softly as she opened it and walked out into the freedom of the sidewalk. She stood there, breathing deeply, enjoying her triumph over Ari, her own private prison break.

Still, she did feel responsible for the paintings' well-being. It had been her idea to put them out here, after all. Just until Eddie finished his welding, then. Standing tall, she walked back to the stone bench and sat down to resume her vigil. The wind closed the gate behind her with a gentle clang.