Hunted

VIII

“Hey, don’t I know you?”

The bartender stared at the white-clad Ranger, seated next to another Ranger. The white-clad man had short hair, was clean-shaven, and had a look of quiet confidence about him. When the Ranger didn’t reply immediately, the bartender said again, “Don’t I know you?”

Daniel looked him squarely in the eyes. “No,” he said softly, nursing his drink. “No, you don’t.”

The bartender’s eyes narrowed; he clearly felt he was missing something that he should have been picking up on. Then he shrugged to himself and moved down the bar to attend to another customer.

Martes looked sidelong at Daniel. “Okay, where’s he know you from?”

“Here. I used to be a bouncer here.”

“A bouncer? You’re kidding.”

“I used to be a lot of things.”

They had another drink and then Daniel decided he’d had enough of the place. He’d returned to that bar as much for personal amusement as anything else, but the novelty had worn off. “Let’s get out of here.”

“You got it, boss.”

They slid off the bar stools and headed toward the door, emerging into the cool darkness of the Nova Prime night. As they started to walk away, a startled voice said, “Daniel? Is that—?”

He turned and, sure enough, there was Ronna. Her hair was shorter than he’d remembered, and she looked a bit more haggard, but otherwise she was more or less the same. Her eyes widened in astonishment. “My God, it is you. I thought I was… oh my God! You’re a Ranger?”

“Sweetheart,” said Martes, clamping a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, “I’ll have you know he is the Ranger. And who are—?” Then he saw the look in Daniel’s eyes, the silent warning. “You’re kidding. This is her?”

Daniel didn’t have to reply to him; the answer was on his face.

“So… Ronna… how have you been?”

“Been okay. I guess.”

He realized she wasn’t looking him in the eyes. “Really?”

“Not really, no,” she admitted. “I’ve been in and out of a few relationships, and, well…” She shrugged.

“They weren’t going anywhere?”

She looked down. “I guess I deserved that. The truth is, lately I’ve been thinking about that night. You know: that night. And how terrible I was to you. And I was wondering if you’re, y’know… busy? Maybe we could go somewhere and talk?”

He was silent for a long moment, studying her, thinking about her… thinking about what she’d meant to him, what she could mean to him again.

But he also thought about what he himself could mean for Nova Prime. And Ronna could fit into that, yes… but not in the way she was thinking.

For his purposes, he needed her to be not what she was now, but what she had been.

Forever.

Without a word, he started to walk away. Martes automatically followed him.

Ronna stood there, stunned. It took her a few moments to find words: “Daniel? Where are you going?”

And the last thing he said, before the night swallowed him and his fellow Ranger, was, “Actually, Ronna… I want to remember you just the way you are.”

She looked stunned, but his back was to her and he never saw it.