She had seen him on the platform in Toulouse, stepping off the escalator in his ratty jeans and no luggage, when Wolf had become so on edge. When it seemed like Wolf had heard something, or recognized someone.
A coincidence?
The speaker overhead crackled. Scarlet barely heard it over the noise of the corridor, until the repeated words gradually silenced the chatter around her. “—experiencing a temporary delay. All passengers are to return to their private quarters immediately and stay clear of the corridors until further notice is given. This is not a test. We are experiencing a temporary delay…”
Eighteen
Scarlet shut the door behind her, relieved that Wolf was still there. Pacing. He swiveled toward her.
“I just heard the announcement,” she said. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“No. I wondered if you might.”
She wrapped her fingers around the portscreen in her pocket. “Some sort of delay. It seems odd to clear the corridors, though.”
He didn’t respond. His scowl became fierce, almost angry. “You smell…”
When he didn’t continue, an offended laugh erupted out of her. “I smell?”
Wolf roughly shook his head, hair whipping across his creased brow. “Not like that. Who did you talk to out there?”
Frowning, she fell back against the door. If Ran had been wearing cologne, it had been too faint for her to pick up.
“Why?” she snapped, annoyed as much with his accusation as with the unexpected sting of guilt it caused. “Is it any of your business?”
His jaw tensed. “No, that’s not what I—” He paused, eyes flickering past her.
A knock startled Scarlet away from the wall. She turned and yanked open the door.
An android rolled into the room, scanner at the end of its wiry arm. “We are performing an identity check for the safety of all passengers. Please show your ID for scanning.”
Scarlet raised her hand on instinct. She didn’t think to question the order until a red light passed over her skin, beeped, and the android turned to Wolf.
“What’s going on?” she said. “We scanned our tickets when we boarded.”
Another beep. “You are not to leave this room until further instructions are given.”
“That wasn’t an answer,” said Scarlet.
A panel opened in the android’s torso and a third limb reached out to greet them, this one fitted with a slender syringe. “I must now conduct a mandatory blood check. Please extend your right arm.”
Scarlet gawked down at the gleaming needle. “You’re running blood tests? That’s ridiculous. We’re just going to Paris.”
“Please extend your right arm,” the android repeated, “or I will be forced to report you for failure to comply with maglev rail safety regulations. Your tickets will be considered invalid and you will be escorted off the train at the next station.”
Scarlet bristled and glanced at Wolf, but he had eyes only for the syringe. For a moment Scarlet thought he was going to smash in the robot’s sensor, before he reluctantly stretched out his arm. Wolf’s expression became distant while the needle punctured his skin.
The moment the android had withdrawn a blood sample and retracted the skeletal limb, Wolf backed away and folded his arm against his chest.
A fear of needles? Scarlet squinted at him, holding out her own elbow as the android produced another syringe. She couldn’t imagine it hurt any more than that tattoo had.
Scowling, she watched as the syringe filled with her own blood. “What exactly are you looking for?” she said as the android finished and both syringes disappeared into its body.
“Initiating blood scan,” said the android, followed by a clatter of humming and beeps. Wolf had just tucked his arm against his side when the android pronounced, “Scan complete. Please shut the door and remain in this room until further instructions are given.”
“You already said that,” Scarlet said to the android’s back as it retreated into the hall.
Pressing a thumb against the small puncture wound, Scarlet slammed the door shut with her foot. “What was that all about? I have half a mind to comm the maglev customer service and issue a complaint.”