𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭︱raven reyes, book 2

ix. 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬.

"I was thinking you," Raven piped in, gesturing to Jasper.

Confused, Jasper blinked, stepping back. "Well, we were just talking about how I'm a drunken idiot," he reminded them.

"Pike put Monty in charge of internal surveillance. My guess is, he's got him in on electronic security as well, which means we don't have to crack Pike's password. Just Monty's," she explained. "And who knows more about Monty than you?"

"And me?" June questioned. "Am I just here to look pretty?"

To June's surprise, Raven lets out a genuine laugh at the joke before touching her shoulder. "Of course you are," she said fondly, the tips of her fingers trailing down the sleeve of June's jacket, making her feel frozen from the touch. She wondered what could have possibly possessed Raven to take an action like that when only a short while ago she was being given the cold shoulder.

"Sounds like a terrible idea," Jasper says, clueless to June's state of mind. "I'm in."

Finding her voice, June nods, shrugging off the chill. "Yeah, me too," she added more confidently than she felt.

A wide smile that made June's uneasy feeling fade spread on Raven's mouth as she laughed. "Alright!" She exclaimed in excitement, turning away from June to clap Jasper on the shoulder.

The happiness turned into stress in a matter of hours. June was growing tired fast, sitting in a chair with her elbows on the tabletop, her chin propped in her hands. She had listened to hundreds of words and terms that could possibly be one of Monty's passwords. They didn't seem like they were getting far, and Raven's frustration was beginning to show, even in her tone as she spoke. "What else could Monty have used as a password?"

"You mean other than the five hundred ideas I've already come up with?" Jasper drawled out.

"Just think, don't overanalyze," Raven reassured him.

"Easier said than done," June whispered, flicking at a piece of dust that had seemed to be the most interesting thing she's seen in the time spent here.

"Right. Speaking of which, how, exactly, are you connected to the computer here?" Jasper asked in slight annoyance, gesturing to the mechanical backpack Raven had, wires sticking out with the same infinity symbol carved in the steel. It was a valid question, and June, with her knowledge of computers, eyed the object wearily and wanted to ask more. But when she sees the look on Raven's face, her head turned to the side, listening eagerly like someone else was speaking to her. For once, Jasper noticed and cocked his head. "Raven?"

Sliding off her chair, June hesitantly took a few quiet steps to her and snapped her fingers. "Hey, Raven, you with us?"

The action had Raven snapping back to Earth. "It'll be easier for you to see for yourself than for me to explain it," she said at last like nothing ever happened.

"Huh. The old carrot and stick, eh?" Jasper joked.

"Whatever it takes, Jasper," Raven declared, clearly not in the mood. "Just keep trying. What's Monty's favorite color?"

Thinking back to a memory, Jasper tilted his head. "Green," he answered. Raven narrowed her eyes at him. "It's a joke," he explained curtly.

"Favorite book," Raven pressured.

"Catcher in the Rye," Jasper responded. "Where do those ducks go, anyway?"

"Favorite place," she continued.

"Down here or up there?"

"Either. Both."

Thinking back to a fond memory, Jasper smiled. "Starboard window bay," he replied. "It has the best view of the moon on the whole damn ship, and we used to get a little baked, just sit back, watching the sky playing... Um... On Which Planet Would You Rather?" June couldn't help but make a smile of her own at the thought of the best friends in The Ark doing so. "Answer was always Earth," Jasper finished. "We were such dumbasses."