Daughter of Zeus ✔

3.7

Ada considered Kressick's offer of companionship, not because she wanted protection on the road, but because she needed more money. Five-thousand dollars wouldn't last very long, especially if she was on the road alone, staying in hotels. She could sleep in her car at rest areas, but she knew better. It was as Kressick said: interstate travel hadn't been safe for years.

If he came with her, Ada could keep her money until she got to Atlanta. As always, money eclipsed most other concerns, especially since she had quit Eat'n'Save. Ada was an adult and realized the stupidity in the move. At the same time, she hadn't been able to stop herself.

Mr. Tate asked her to help a customer unload their purchases at their vehicle. Nodding and affixing a plasticine smile to her face, Ada rolled the cart to the parking lot. The customer was an elderly woman who chattered non-stop. The words were empty, filtering through Ada like waves metering out to shore.

One sentence slapped her in the face:

"Is this all you do, dearie?"

Parcel in hand, Ada froze. She set the bag down in the woman's trunk, her face screwed up in confusion.

"Huh?"

"This." The woman waved a blue-veined arm at the supermarket building. "Is it all you do?"

"I...don't know." And she really didn't know how to answer the question without offending the lady, or humiliating herself.

"Shame." The woman patted her face, her parchment skin scratching against Ada's cheek. "If I were stuck here, I'd be beside myself."

She grasped Ada's hand in hers, and when the weight of her lifted, it was replaced with a hard, plastic note.

It was a tip, to be scanned and uploaded to Ada's personal interface. As the woman's car navigated out of the lot, Ada clasped the note.

She walked home, effectively walking off her shift, and away from her job. Mr. Tate had called her once, then left her alone.

Her last option seemed to be Kressick. She waved Mr. Tate's call from the interface screen, dialing Kressick. He didn't pick up the phone, and so Ada left a vague message about travelling together. He responded hours later, and showed up the next afternoon.

He knocked as he always did, three soft taps on the wood. Ada wondered if he knocked like he did for a reason. Perhaps he owned a dissipating door and wasn't used to wood.

"Hello again." Kressick said when she opened the door.

"Yes, hello."

They stared at each other until Ada coughed. She wasn't one to apologize, and she didn't want to speak first either.

Instead, she handed him the interface he'd brought by before. He turned it over a few times, finding that it loaded faster and seemed in general working order.

"Much thanks," he held up the interface, then pocketed it. "Now, am I going to stand out here or are you going to invite me in?" Kressick stood waiting, looking patient, but Ada sensed tension.

"You could have just asked me to move."

"But that would have been rude."

She shook her head, and he followed her into the kitchen. They sat. Ada concentrated on her clasped hands, aware that Kressick was watching her.

"Have you made a decision about your mother?"

He would wonder about that outcome first. Ada looked up and answered without hesitation:

"Signing her up for another loan. It's the only choice, really." She left out the part where she had illegally hacked the payment system. Also, she kept quiet on the rest of her plan, like how she planned to befriend and punish the bastard she might have called father in different circumstances.

"If you're still leaving, I can come with you."

Kressick's company would make her trip easier. However, something about him put her off, and Ada spoke her mind.

"I'm thinking, no thanks."

"Well, if this sways you, I'm prepared to finance your trip. Five-thousand won't get you very far."

"No, it won't." Her tone was careful, eyes narrowed.

"Then I'm coming with. It's why you asked me over, correct?"

Was it? Ada wasn't sure what happened. She denied Kressick. In answer, he told her he that he was coming. The wrong-ness nagged at her, and she wanted it to stop.

She held up a hand. "Wait." He was lying, had to be. No one acted altruistically, not really. "Why do you want to come with me? Are you honestly worried about me?"

"Yes, I am. You mother would have wanted me to help you."

Kressick looked sincere. But he could be faking all the niceties. She hadn't known him long enough to know. Being in a car with a possible psychopath was not a comforting thought. More digging was required, and it was work she was willing to do.

"You were with my mother for two years. Do you really think you know what she wants for me?"

Mentioning her mother changed Kressick's expression. His eyes twitched once and after it seemed he was in control.

"I know she wouldn't want you going alone. Interstate travel is rife with interstate thugs. You must know that, if you asked me here. My wealth must have also softened your contemplations."

Kressick was not overtly tactful, and he had discerned her selfish interest in his companionship. His sharp tone was out of character. Or was it? Ada didn't really know Kressick. He could have been a killer, a fanatical Prominent member, or a closet pedophile. Neither were secrets Ada wanted to be true of this man.

"You got it. I'm only interested in your money. Is that how you hooked my mom?"

Kressick smiled. "That had to be it."

Damnit. She had to admit, he was charming. The man even managed to turn her barb into a joke.

"Fine, you can come, but we're leaving tonight."

"Good thing all my bags are in my car." Kressick approached the front door, stopping when Ada told him they were taking her car, not his.

"We're taking the car that can't hold a charge?"

The question brought another flicker of impatience to Kressick's face.

"I bought a new battery."

Kressick returned to his calm attitude. "Alright. Where are we going?"

Ada took a minute to answer. "Georgia."

She expected more questions, but there were none.

"Don't you want to know why?"

"I don't like to pry," Kressick said.

Ada could hear the held-in laughter in his voice. It was like he knew what she was going to say and found it funny.

"Right."

~ * ~

Out on the driveway, Kressick transferred his bags from his trunk into Ada's blue station-wagon. Afterward, he input a message into his interface. He read it over twice to make sure it was devoid of spelling or grammatical errors:

I'm going with her. She trusts me, almost. I didn't have to use it to get her to say yes. Will update later.

When satisfied with the prose, Kressick hit send.

~ * ~