Chapter 14

As the morning sun crept over the distant buildings, Ellie stepped out of the ambulance, nursing her arm in a sling. She hadn’t broken a bone in her life, but it had been quite the night for firsts. 
Aoife, also in a sling, was talking with Charles and a man in a trenchcoat, who seemed to be with the police. 
“Thanks for coming, Ash,” Charles said to the man. 
“It’s about time you solved this thing,” he grumbled. “We’ve had complaints coming left, right and centre.”
“We wouldn’t have done it without Ellie,” said Charles. He nodded to her arm. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I was beaten up by a robot,” she answered. “It only hurts when I move it, so I’ll try not to.”
Charles chuckled. “You did amazing back there, you know,” he said. “We owe you our lives.”
Ellie laughed, self-consciously. She’d certainly never had anyone tell her that before. 
“Genius move with the scanner,” added Aoife. “It shorted the entire system, but I still dismantled a few key components… just to be on the safe side.”
“So that’s it?” asked Ash. “No more missing persons reports?”
“It should be,” said Charles with a hopeful smile. “And if there are any more, you know where to come.”
“I’d prefer you get it right the first time,” said Ash, pointedly. 
The policeman moved away to join his colleagues. Ellie was glad; Charles was such a nice person, and didn’t deserve a berating like that. 
“So SPIMS is really gone?” Ellie asked. For a program that was meant to save Freshfields, she couldn’t believe how relieved she felt. But what that meant for the future was anyone’s guess.
“It is,” said Charles. “Once Ash and his ploddies are done, things should return to normal — without the store’s computerised overlord, that is.”
“And we can finally get back to our normal lives!” came a voice from nearby.
Ellie turned to see Xana, Olivia and Jae-Sun striding over to them. They each looked like they had been through the wars: their hair was wild and unmanaged, and their stances hinted at injuries unseen. 
“What happened to you guys?” Aoife asked. 
The three exchanged looks. 
“SPIMS,” said Jae-Sun.
“And we’d rather not talk about it,” added Olivia. 
“Yep,” agreed Xana. 
“What matters is that you’re safe,” said Charles. “And that Ellie has earned yourself a few weeks of work.”
Ellie looked down at her arm, coddled like a newborn in its sling. “You know, at one time that would have seemed quite a scary prospect.”
“And now?”
Ellie didn’t know quite how to answer. The thought of letting her colleagues down, not being where she should be, had always been a deep rooted fear, and now… she found herself indifferent. What had happened over the last few days had changed things, put them in perspective, she supposed. Her store manager, a man she had respected for years, had aided and abetted in the death of dozens of people, all in the name of profit, and fear of being caught. It didn’t sit right with her — how could it? Especially when she too would have fallen victim, if it wasn’t for SIGNET.
“I think it’ll be a good chance to take a step back. It’ll be the first Christmas I’ve had off since I was a teenager.”
“Then take that well earned rest,” said Charles.
“Who will you spend the holidays with?” asked Olivia. “We always have room,” she added with a smile.
“My friend Maddy,” Ellie answered. “Every year she pesters me, and every year I say I’m working. I don’t think she’ll believe me when I tell her I’m coming.”
A look of disappointment lingered on Olivia’s face, if only for a second. It faded when Charles took Ellie’s hands in his, and swept her up in his Santa-like warmth. 
“Then I wish you the merriest of Christmases, Ellie. Make joy, and put all thoughts of sadness behind you.”
Ellie smiled at the jolly old man as, for the first time in years, she intended to do just that.

It had started to rain by the time she phoned a taxi. Standing beneath a bus shelter, watching the droplets pool along the roadside.
At this stage in the morning, all she wanted to do was go to bed. Normally after a shift she would walk home, helping her to clear her head along the way. Today, she realised, no amount of walking would clear her head; taxi seemed a much better option.
“Hey,” said a soft voice to her side. 
Ellie turned to see Jae-Sun striding towards her. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his coat, hair drenched and dripping.
Ellie felt a stab of anxiety in her gut. He was the last person she had expected to see, especially after all that had happened. Hadn’t she suffered enough?
“Hi,” Ellie replied, wincing over how dismissive she had sounded. Maybe she didn’t have the energy to hide her emotions, she concluded.
“Look,” he said, pulling his hands out from his coat and holding them out at his side, “I know you and I didn’t exactly leave things in a good place.”
“Really?” she said, again shocked by her abrasiveness. 
Jae-Sun huffed, lowering his head. “I’m not exactly sure what happened,” he said, searching for the words. “For one, I’m not exactly good at that sort of thing, and two, we had to get to the bottom of what was happening, and—”
“—it was easy enough to use me in order to get what you needed?” 
Jae-Sun didn’t try to deny it. With a defeated look, he hung his head and whispered, “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” said Ellie. She was surprised how easily the words left her lips, especially given she didn’t mean them. Jae-Sun had preyed upon one of her greatest vulnerabilities, and exploited it. That wasn’t something she could so easily forgive, yet she so readily told him otherwise. What was it that led her to placate those who hurt her? She could only conclude that there was much about herself she still had to learn. But maybe now she could let herself admit those things, and change for the future.
The sound of tyres on tarmac roused her from her thoughts. The taxi had pulled in next to her; the driver wound down the window and said her name. Ellie didn’t spare Jae-Sun another thought, and climbed inside without another word.

Next aisle: Epilogue