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Despite an increase to the budget, the Psychonauts supplied the four agents with a pretty cramped ride. Blending in as civilians was part of the job, but the Sedan was compact enough for Raz’s head to nearly scrape the fabric ceiling. Sitting in the back, the scenery of craggy mountains moving by as Bobby drove down the freeway, Raz fidgeted with his seatbelt, scoffing.
The windows were up, and the air conditioning was thrumming. Temperatures were scorching, the sun a blinding, burning blot in the clear sky. The weather aside, Raz tried to focus on the upcoming mission. Infiltrating a shady company with suspicious ties was on the itinerary, along with possibly stopping for sightseeing, if they had time afterward. On the long, straight road to their hotel many miles from the airport in the middle of the sweltering afternoon, Raz’s thoughts drifted like the heat shimmer.
His lone saving grace was the chill from the A/C. It pelted him from above and blasted Bobby and Chloe in front. Chloe was twisting the knob for the radio, hints of guitar riffs melting into a political interview. She was still figuring out the stations, and he saw a hint of her frown as she continued twisting it. Most of the time, static bled through and contrasted with the buzz of the A/C.
“Try the scan button, babe,” Bobby suggested, quickly checking his left mirror.
As he merged, Chloe hit the button, only for both of them to deepen their frowns. A strident note was hit, filled with praise and mingling with chimes. Chloe continued jabbing the button, her luck running dry.
“How many gospel broadcasts will this frequency pick up?” she mumbled, trying for a seventh time.
Raz grinned to himself. For someone who had adjusted Oleander’s transmitter to reach outer space, Chloe couldn’t configure a single, solid station. While she returned to spinning the knob, he asked, “Hey, Chloe, turn it off and on again?”
He hadn’t expected Chloe to actually try it, punching the button twice. Another sorrowful, elegant chorus resounded, echoing with a piercing pipe organ. Grimacing, Chloe was quick to change it, and she resumed her struggle with a shake of her head.
Raz caught Bobby leering at him in the rearview mirror. He decided it was in his best interest to offer a sheepish grin and direct his attention to the silent passenger next to him.
Lili hadn’t said much during their travels. She had mostly slept through the flight, wearing an adorable, frilly eye mask borrowed from Franke. She had been bustling with energy the previous night, eager to get back in the action after a brief, mandatory reprieve. Now, gazing at Lili, who peered through the slightly tinted window to the other cars, she was like a statue. Her demeanor was calm, tranquil in a way that suggested no concerns. Her expression was neutral, lacking her typical arched brows or pointed looks, entirely content.
A slow, hymn-like strain emerged and crooned from the speakers. What sounded like distant howls, such as sirens, melted together with soothing, yet uncanny reverbs. To an average listener, they may have been unnerved by the lack of typical drums, guitars, or pianos, as a symphony of sorrow droned, suggesting a harrowing continuance should they dare to lend an ear.
Lili, however, perked to life, cat-like in her reflexes. Raz withheld a yelp and a comment that it was like she had risen from the dead. Leaning forward and capturing the back of Chloe’s seat, she grinned from ear to ear. She quickly told her not to change it and insisted she liked the song.
Bobby scoffed. “This counts as music? Your taste is still eerie, Lili.”
“Hey, cotton candy, lay off,” Raz fired back with a flick of his wrist.
“Yeah, yeah, she knows I don’t mean anything by it.” Bobby rolled his eyes, his thoughts seeping through his lowered mental guard. Sounds like distant sirens I’d hear when the world ends.
Be nice. It’s better - it’s something different, Chloe replied, and she leered at Raz, her mask unwavering.
Knowing he was unwanted, Raz bowed out of their telepathic link, though he had thought of the same concept. As Chloe shifted in her seat, looking out to the exit ramps, Raz stared at Lili. Her eyes were closed, immersing herself in the moody music. It clashed entirely with the summer season, like an array of twilight suddenly blanketing the land. Somehow, the cool, circulating air enhanced the intricately dark nature of the song, as if they were about to traverse through genuine, gray fog.
Lili reclined in her seat, hands folded in her lap. A smile graced her face, and behind those pretty lips that he had kissed time and time again, a melody resounded. She hummed along, slow and steady. She was one voice of many, but she stood out among the rest of the quiet cacophony, like a real siren standing alone in the middle of the midnight sea.
Raz tilted his head, grinning. He reached for her hand, and her rounder fingers curled around his slender, gloved palm. As she leaned into him, still humming, Raz joined her harmony, following in a round. He chased her melody, as if she guided him along a cobblestone path in the middle of a starry night, wading through uncertainty.
Lili stopped to look at him, her eyes cut like fine, pristine amber. She was all he saw against the backdrop of blue and black hues, of a world provided by her song. Lili sat up, and wordlessly, she kissed him, allowing Raz to sink into the waves of her adoration.
But for once, Raz wasn’t the one unaware of the meaning behind a moment.
“Seriously? How the hell can you kiss during this?”
“There must be something in the airwaves compelling them.”
“Eyes on the road! Not us!” Lili snapped, and Raz barked out a fierce laugh, reveling in the heat rosing her cheeks a pretty red.