Alive
Book 2
Pt12
1
Frill raced through the New Jersey night, beneath the gnarled branches that domed the road and cloaked the sparse pockets of civilization that had survived the slow drowning. David remembered some of the rural towns from his days with Sy. Sleepy, dim lit communities, bastions for the black market and the occasional insurgencies that were epidemic at the frayed edges of the dwindling economy.
The people had been abandoned. Discarded. David knew that feeling. He thought he could understand the anger that accompanied their sense of betrayal. They had truly been betrayed, after all. Betrayed by their fellow Orga; left to wither in the wreckage of mindless ambition while the perpetrators dwelled in guarded fortress towers, or gated communities set on the most exclusive real estate. Of course the conspiracy theories would flourish here. It was something to hold onto. It gave a dark and romantic dimension to what was really the most mundane and tedious of human passions: Greed. The world had not been drowned by some ancient secret society in pursuit of unattainable global dominance. It had been drowned by blind recklessness in an almost puerile pursuit of 'stuff'. Just more 'stuff'. The vain accoutrements of absurd wealth that made the small-minded feel large and the corrupt feel just. Pointless wealth in the hands of a careless few, who squandered the treasure of nations on playing at being Monarchs. Regal footwear they were neither qualified nor really desired to fill.
The days of Noblesse Oblige were a page long ago torn from the history books.
Who really wanted to believe the decline was really that simple? So they grasped for more complex explanations. The Illuminati. The Apocalypse. And now 'The Trinary Directive.' Those were sexy. They gave the conspiratorial mind an elaborate puzzle to chew on during the daily labors of survival.
Small gatherings of teenagers huddled around cruisers along the main thoroughfares; out for the ritual of Saturday night, but not enough money to go to the city. Their trendy clothing glittered and flashed, looking displaced against the forested rural backdrop. David found it sad somehow. Children of the abandoned generation, lost in a fantasy about a fantasy; pretending they belonged to a world full of it's own false pretenses, and disappearing beneath the waves of its of its self-consumption.
They either waved or flashed the finger as the cruiser passed. David nonchalantly returned each gesture in kind.
Frill drove quietly, eyes ahead, face expressionless, mouth twitching now and then, as if he were about to say something but changed his mind. He had decided to leave the audio stream off and a thick silence hung in the cruiser. David felt questions swirling in that silence; questions about what he and Myron had been up to. But he knew he could not address that now.
He had brought his clothing along and decided to change in the passenger seat.
Frill was too lost in his emotions to even sneak a peek as David stripped down to his underwear. David noticed that he wasn't being noticed, and then noticed how odd it was for him to notice this… and that it was, for some unknown reason, bothering him. He even sat there, disrobed, for a minute, pretending to have difficulty folding up his costume while glancing at Frill from the corner of his eye to see if the boy was glancing back. He wasn't. David was surprised to find himself feeling somewhat slighted at being ignored. He sighed and went back to dressing, realizing for the first time that he had rather enjoyed the admiring comments that Frill occasionally made. Another Orga peculiarity that he'd have to figure out.
When he was dressed, he turned on his pod and found numerous messages waiting. Amanda had left most of them, but there were a couple of auto-generated pings from Ariel and some spam he had been receiving since he had made the mistake of entering a contact number at the Nexus site. He deleted those and sent both Ariel and Amanda a quick reply, assuring them he was safe and on his way. Then he put Lex back online. The bodyguard awoke abruptly and gazed at the passing forest with suspicious eyes as it linked up to the net to find out their location. If everything had been done correctly Lex wouldn't remember where they'd been, or even that it had been put offline. After a moment the large Mecha relaxed back into the seat and David breathed a sigh of relief. His Dad would likely figure out what he'd done. Eventually. But he'd deal with that when it happened.
When he sat back in his seat David saw that Frill was finally peeking at him. But this was no covert attempt to admire David's physique. There was an inquiry in those glances.
"Your Father," David said quickly, hoping to bypass the conversation he knew Frill wanted to have.
"What about him?" Frill said after a moment. There was something resentful in his reply.
"Why do you hate him?" David said. He knew the words were would provoke Frill, and felt guilty for playing with the boy's emotions this way. But it was a necessary evil. He had to avoid any discussion of Myron.
"I don't hate him" Frill replied after a short silence.
"It sure seemed like it," David said. He was relieved to see the cityscape lighting up the horizon now. They were almost back.
Frill stopped at the first signal they had seen for miles, and turned to face David.
"At least Tatiana had an excuse," he said. He seemed to take pleasure at David's sudden confusion. "Come on, Blue" he said impatiently. "Midsummer's Night Dream? You were riffing on it with my Dad just a few hours ago. Remember? Puck poisoned her. So she had an excuse for falling for a man with the head of an ass. You don't."
David stammered, unsure how to respond.
"My father is charming, but he's not what he seems," Frill continued. "He's a character in a play that he alone performs. Everybody else is just the audience; groundlings in the pit while he struts his hour upon the stage. It's a pointless tale, told by an idiot, signifying nothing."
David didn't know what to say, so he decided to say nothing. The signal changed and they were rolling again. Traffic was growing, as they got closer to the city. Frill was driving slower now, thoughtfully.
"I don't hate him. I just don't know him," Frill continued. "He's been in and out of my life since I was a boy. On the road with a show, then home for a few months, always bringing me some useless crap as a gift to make up for being gone. Then he's gone again. Europe. Japan. India. And always some excuse for never bringing me along. Never really accomplished much of what he wanted, and by the time he decided to hang around, I just didn't care anymore. If the CLA had any idea what kind of father he would turn out to be, they'd never have allowed me to be born."
David nodded. There were questions he wanted to ask, but now wasn't the time. The Nexus was coming into view, and he didn't really want to rub salt into an old wound. Fortunately, Frill seemed to want a change of subject too.
"I know Myron probably told you to not tell me whatever it is you guys did," he said. "But can you at least tell me this wasn't all a waste of time?"
"It's wasn't," David said. "But you're right. There's stuff I can't tell you. Sorry."
Frill shrugged it off, but he was obviously hurt. What's done is done, David thought. And could do nothing about that. The boy had gotten over it once. He'd get over it again. Perhaps when Zee was back he could move on. And David really had more important thing to think about.
He toyed with the disc he had been given, wondering where it would take him and if he really wanted to follow.
Would it even be safe to follow?
2
"Where have you been?" Amanda scolded when they arrived in the Plaza. Most everyone was already gone, except a few boys playing a small holo game at the table, and Jazzy, who stood at Amanda's side, arms crossed and glowering. Her hair was red now, and shot out from her temples in large curls. Her florescent mascara'd eyes said, you in trouble, boy!
"We took a little longer than expected," David replied, giving Amanda a covert look that suggested she ask no more questions. The fact that he did not apologize was not lost on either of the girls. Amanda's glittering brows relaxed a bit as she considered what David had been up to. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she calmed.
"What happened to your face?" she said. David just waved it off.
"A little unexpected turbulence," he replied.
"Well, Ariel has been a damned pest for the last hour," she said. "Pinging me like some damn stalker."
"That's just his job," David said. "He couldn't reach Lex or me so…" Amanda was about to ask why Ariel couldn't reach them, but stopped herself. Of course. This had been a secret mission.
"We should go now, before he calls your Dad." She said. David agreed.
"And what's your excuse?" Jazzy said to Frill. But Frill wasn't having any of it.
"Don't mess with me, Jazzy!" he said, and slumped down at a bench. A wandering advertising holo popped up nearby, intent on reminding the kids that Café Disney was still having a half-off special for anyone who had purchased a ticket to the Sheik Mechanique concert. But Frill stopped it with a piercing scream.
"Get the hell away from me!" he yelled. The holo vanished mid-sentence, then instantly reappeared a few tables away, much to the annoyance of the kids there. Frill sat back down and shot a sour look at David. Jazzy caught the quick exchange and glanced back and forth between them a few times. David knew what was going on in her head and decided it was best to stop the rumors before they even started.
Amanda's surprised exclamation was muffled to silence as David pulled her close and placed his lips over hers. The intoxicating sensation he had felt the first time, returned quickly as he held her body tight, kissing her long and hard. It was warm. It was good. And he wondered how he had gone so long without it.
The kiss went on much longer than was needed for David to make his point, and when he finally let her go Amanda's face was blushed and her eyes dreamy. But she quickly came to her senses and stepped back to adjust her clothes and hair. It was a completely unnecessary gesture, but she obviously felt like she had to do something beside yell at David for being so presumptuous… which she was obviously not going to do.
"Don't be a smart ass," she said. The response didn't make sense to anybody but it was the best she could come up with.
"Later, everybody" David said as he took her hand and started for the parking bay. She waved over her shoulder and then glanced sideways at David as they walked.
"And what was that all about, Mister?" she whispered, her voice hovering between annoyance and pleasant surprise. David looked back to see Jazzy's face beaming with a knowing smile, and Frill breaking out into sudden laughter. That was a good sight.
"Oh, I was just shutting them up," he replied.
3
Ariel was ready to go when they arrived, standing at attention beside the Cybertronics copter, a stern look in its face. The Mecha was about to reprimand David's for his tardiness when it noticed the way the young couple was clinging to one another, whispering and giggling at the little secrets they exchanged. Ariel had been programmed to recognize this sort of behavior and decided the scolding could wait until a more appropriate time. And perhaps a more appropriate source. Alan Hobby came to mind.
Wordlessly Ariel opened the door and let the young couple climb aboard. But David suddenly stopped before he boarded, and glanced over his shoulder. The boy stepped back on to the tarmac and stared into the shadows that loomed at the edge of the parking bay. Ariel followed his gaze and noticed two shapes slinking away into the corrider that led to the escalators. Lex now noticed them too. The bodyguard rushed into the clearing the trams used for passage, and set its eyes on the fleeing specters. But before the Mecha could zoom in, they had disappeared behind the corridor wall.
"Is there a problem, sir?" Lex said. "Should I pursue?"
"It's nobody," David replied. "Probably thought I was somebody famous." Then he crawled aboard and wrapped his arm around Amanda's shoulders. She cuddled up to him easily, apparently happy with his new decisive attitude about her. They gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment as the copter lifted off and glided slowly towards the exit. Then they fell into another kiss. It was shorter, and not as passionate perhaps. But this one was not to make a point. This was for pleasure. When they parted Amanda tucked herself under David's arm and leaned against him with a sigh.
"Not bad for an uber-nerd," she said.
David accepted the compliment with a chuckle, then placed his head against hers and took in the sweet perfume she always wore.
As they dashed through night, headed for home, David wondered if he should tell her that Martin Swinton had just followed them from the plaza; and that he had not been alone. The copter bore no insignia; something his father had decided for the sake of David's anonymity. But seeing him with Amanda, Martin would surely have figured out by now where he resided. He wasn't sure who the other person was, but if he had to chance a guess, Todd came to mind. The two had been close friends as kids, and David guessed that probably hadn't changed.
But what were they up to?
No, he decided. Better to not mention anything to Amanda… not just yet. But he would tell his father though. And he would take careful note of the man's reaction.
4
Breakfast the next morning was a bit awkward. Amanda wasn't as her usual chatty self. She'd even dressed differently. No make up, no anime eyes, nothing on her even glittered. Simple shorts and a white cotton lace up shirt, and hair in a single braid that hung down the length of her back. Instead of typically dominating the conversation as she slurped down syrup drenched high-protein cakes, she spent most of her time picking absent-mindedly at her food while smiling adoringly at David, and pretending to be fascinated with the things he was talking about, things she usually took no interest in. This was rather disconcerting since David himself wasn't even interested in what he was talking about. Algorithms. Programming in trinary base. The role of facial recognition in cognitive response. Sure these were all on his mind, but the truth was he was just making conversation while he mulled over all the matters he couldn't discuss with her; Martin's spying, the sudden reappearance of his ex-partner in crime, who amazingly turned out to be Myron's unsanctioned older brother; the mysterious gang of twins, obviously unsanctioned, and Myron's allusions to an army that would continue Johnson Johnson's 'cause'.
There was also the nagging sensation that his father knew something about Martin and those Spider snoops … and then there was the strange realization that he liked the way Frill sometimes looked at him. That he definitely didn't want to mention to Amanda.
But more importantly, the game disk. That was at the front of his mind.
He had paced his room the night before, rolling the disk in his fingers. He'd run a scanner over it and it had come out clean, just as Myron had said it would. And there was a link, also as Myron had said. The scanner couldn't tell what address the link pointed to, but the truth was, all games had links. This was really not unique.
In the end he had decided not to play. Not yet. Myron had said he should do it only when he had the time to finish. It had been well past midnight and he didn't want to stay up til dawn. But he did have time to look for the password.
He had logged on to the Club 101 message board, as Myron had instructed, and found numerous comments by the person he was told to seek out in the FAQ thread. At first glance 'Shadowman' appeared to just be a pesky board member who was always complaining about something. Every group had at least one member like that. But David knew who had really made the posts and wondered if each one contained a password for a new recruit to 'the cause'.
The last of Shadowman's comments had been made at 10:50 pm the night before. That was about when he had left the old house. David started reading, hoping the password would not be very complicated because he wasn't going to use it yet and Myron had asked him to not write it down.
"Time you guys picked a format and stayed with it. To keep the site easy to navigate, I suggest you drop all the stupid interactive nonsense at login. Decide one way or another because the way you keep changing it is really annoying…."
The post went on for a few more sentences, continuing the ruse of complaining about the site. But David didn't read any more. He had what he needed.
"And?" Amanda said. David broke from his thoughts to see her staring at him. "You were saying?" she said, curling her brow at him.
"Oh," he said, trying to remember where he was before he had started thinking of last night. He lifted a spoonful of pinto beans from his plate and into his mouth and chewed before he continued.
"So, the way I see it, the standard facial recognition software is insufficient for the cognitive leap I think we need for true sentient response. We're depending too much on external parameters. In living creatures, true familial association comes from within the emotional response as opposed to just being a trigger for that sense of relationship."
Amanda stared at him silently for a moment. David was about to explain it again, but she interrupted him.
"So, you're saying that the programming should be based on an existing internal models of relationship, utilizing other modes than visual to determine… what? The context of relationship?"
David sat back, surprised. So she really was listening after all?
"Yeah! Exactly," he said happily. "A baby knows his mother before he recognizes her face. And there are numerous other factors that determine sense association, so that even if a face isn't immediately recognizable, familial sense can be derived from peripheral determining factors, both sensual and contextual.
"Like environment?" Amanda said.
"Sure," David responded. "Smell is another."
"And then there's touch," Amanda suggested.
"Sure, that should be included," David replied.
"And then there's touch," Amanda repeated, slowly, emphasizing each word.
David placed his chin in his palm, gazing at her curiously.
"Why are you suddenly so interested in all this?" he said. "You've never even asked about…" But he stopped when he understood the look in her eyes. "Ohhh," he said. "I get it."
"Oh, do you, Mister?" Amanda said. She smiled as she scooped some of the sweet syrup into her mouth and made a show of licking her lips. David smiled back as he forked a mouthful of something from his own plate without looking what it was. He dropped it on his tongue and realized it was spinach. Not very sexy, but so appropriate.
He gulped it down quickly, and then leaned across the table. Amanda leaned forward too, to meet him halfway. Their lips touched and they stayed like that for some time.
There had been other voices in the cafeteria; some from a few lab guys who were debating technical procedures, and others from a table of corporate buyers that had flown in from the inland to look at some new designs for mining bots. But they were all suddenly very quiet.
The young couple didn't seem to notice … or to care.
5
Word of the little moment in the cafeteria spread quickly, and David wasn't surprised when his pod buzzed, interrupting he and Amanda. They had moved their affections to the roof after realizing the cafeteria was probably not the best place for teenage romance. It was a beautiful day, if not a bit chilly, and they had been there for an hour at least, sitting on the tarp that covered David's Stratocruiser, and enjoying the expansive view in between long bouts of kissing and cuddling. It was as if the interlude since their first kiss at the Nexus that fated night had just been lull for them to acclimate to their feelings for one another.
When the pod went off, David figured it was likely Stuart calling to inquire just what the hell David was doing with his daughter. Or perhaps that Grace had finally caught wind of the story and was calling him to her office for an old fashioned grilling.
But it was neither of them. David read the ID a few times before he decided to answer. This wasn't going to be good.
"Eddie, hey," he said, scooting away and casting an apologetic look at Amanda. But she only smiled and leaned back on her elbows, seeming content to wait for him.
"Hey what? You little sneak!" Eddie barked. He was obviously in a bad mood. David pretended to not know why.
"Sneak? What the hell, man?" he said, feigning innocence.
"Being a little rich brat wasn't enough for you, eh? You had to go after our find? Hey man, this is no damned hobby. This is how we make a living, you backstabber!"
"Eddie, what the… I didn't go after anything," David explained. "I just… I mean my Dad just had the place sealed off for a while. It'll be reopened… eventually."
"If you're not diving down there then who the hell is?" Eddie yelled.
"Nobody!" David yelled.
"Well this nobody sure has a pretty nice rig, you little liar!'
Confused, David rose to his feet and hurried to the southern edge of the roof. He cupped his eyes against the sunlight and gazed out on the water. Eddie was right. There was someone out there. It was too distant to tell who, but a few boats were floating around a small barge with a tall extraction pulley that glittered in the sunlight.
"Damn! I have no idea who that is," David said. "But they're breaking the restriction, whoever they are. I'll get my Dad."
"That's our find, David! We worked to make that tag."
"If they took anything, we'll get it back for you," David replied. Except the statue, he thought. Nobody gets that but me. ""I'll call you back in a few," he said as he rushed for the stairway. The danger of the situation was hitting him all at once. He beckoned Amanda as he raced past her. She jumped up and ran to catch him.
"What's going on?" she said, confused by his sudden agitation, stepping quickly to keep up with him as they entered the roof door and started down the stairs.
"Somebody is salvaging on Cybertronics property," David explained quickly.
"And that's like what?… the end of the world or something?" she replied.
"No," David said, "It's just that… I mean…" but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't explain what the emergency was. "They're breaking into a restricted area."
"Ok, I get that much" Amanda said, still not understanding the urgency. " But I what I'm not getting is why-"
She stopped suddenly. She had been about ask David why a few illegal salvagers was such damned emergency if they'd already been spotted and could easily be caught before they escaped anyway. But as they rounded a corner and entered the hall that lead to the elevators, two figures came into view. They were leaning against the wall, arms crossed, as if they had been waiting for the couple. And the looks on their faces suggested they both would be demanding explanations.
"Dad," Amanda said, her voice suddenly all lollipops and innocence.
"Grace," David said, donning what he hoped was a disarming smile.
Grace and Stuart exchanged a quick knowing glance, and then turned their stony gazes back on the errant teenagers.
"And what have you two been up to?" Grace said slowly, fixing David with a pointed stare. Stuart set an equally stern look on his daughter, who only bit her lip and looked away.
But something awoke in David then. It was as if the accumulated tension of the past month had built to a head and he suddenly decided he didn't have time for this distraction.
"What the hell do you think we were doing, Grace?" he said. "Don't you have buyers to show around?" He almost laughed when her jaw dropped and her eyes seemed to bulge from their sockets.
"Wha-What?" Grace said, shock in her voice. Stuart quickly intervened in a more diplomatic tone.
"Take it down a notch, David" he said. " We just want to talk this thing over."
"Talk it over?" Grace said, turning her outrage on Stuart now. "That is hardly the attitude this situation requires, Mister King. They are still children and-."
"I'm not a child!" Amanda yelled, in a most childlike manner.
"You sure act like one, young lady!" Grace shot back. She was losing control now, exemplifying her lack of experience with rebellious teenagers.
"Relax, Grace," Stuart said. "You're making this out to be worse than it really is."
"We were kissing!" David yelled, silencing the adults. He then reached out and took Amanda's hand and began walking quickly down the hallway.
For the first time since the night she'd met David sitting alone in his room, and realized what he was, Grace was actually lost for words. She placed her hands on her hips, and began making sounds that didn't seem to form actual sentences.
"You… what… how dare… young man …David! "
But David ignored her as he continued away. Amanda looked back apologetically at her Father as David pulled her along behind him. But amazingly Stuart seemed less outraged and more like he was trying to keep from laughing at the confused utterances that Grace was making.
"Get back here, young man!" Grace ordered when she was finally able to form a cogent sentence.
But David had things he had to do. The scolding would have to wait. He led Amanda into the waiting elevator, pressed the floor he desired and then blocked the door as he faced the adults.
"We were kissing," he repeated, unapologetically. "And I can assure you we'll be kissing again. Because we like it. Don't we Amanda?" He turned to her. She shot a sheepish grin at her Father.
"Um, yeah." she admitted with a shrug. "He's really good… I mean… oh, that was too much information, wasn't it? Sorry, Dad."
"See, Grace?" David said. "We're teenagers and teenagers do stuff like that." He then set his eyes on Stuart. "But you can trust me, Mr. King. I would never do anything to hurt her."
Stuart's expression didn't change, but he nodded his head to acknowledge David's words.
"Now if you two will excuse us," David said "I have some important business to attend to."
The two stared back defiantly at the adults as the elevator door closed. Then they both let out a sigh of relief as they began to descend.
"We're in trouble, huh? "Amanda said.
"Oh yeah," David replied. "Big trouble."
Then they fell into each others arms and pressed their faces together again. They still had a few seconds before they arrived at floor they were headed to. Might as well spend it wisely.
6
Alan Hobby was nowhere to be found. That was strange because David knew there were buyers in the building. Grace typically handled that end of the business, but buyers usually meant demonstrations of prototypes and Dad always headed those presentations.
He pulled out his pod and shot a ping at his father's code. Nothing.
"I'll handle this myself. Let's head down to security," David said to Amanda. She had been trailing along obediently, trusting that David had everything under control. But she was getting impatient now, and was obviously a little troubled by the confrontation with her Father.
"I better go home," she said weakly. "I'm just getting in more trouble than I already am."
David stopped and looked at her. She seemed reduced from her usual confident self; brow furrowed and eyes darting back and forth. She picked unconsciously at her fingernails like a little girl who knows she's crossed the line.
"I don't know what came over me," she said pensively, placing her hands over her face Then she peeked through her fingers at David and sighed. "Oh yes I do. It was you, Mister. You and your sad blue eyes and that little boy smile. Damn you."
"It's just my style, baby," David said. He was trying to be funny. It didn't work.
"It's not a joke," Amanda said, uncovering her face.
"Sorry," he said.
Stuart wasn't a harsh father, David knew that, but she was surely not looking forward to whatever punishment awaited. He wanted to tell her it would be ok, that he would take the blame and whatever scolding ensued. But he realized that she was right. He had already led her into one confrontation and was just leading her into another that that she didn't need.
And he didn't have time to deal with any of this right now. Somebody was diving at the site of his awakening. They would find 'Her'.
"Go ahead, Mandy" he said. "I'll drop by your place later and talk with your Dad. But right now I've got to find out what-"
His pod buzzed. David signaled for Amanda to wait a moment as he answered. But she was already walking away. He started to pursue her as she rounded the corner. He didn't want the wonderful morning to end on this sour note. But the voice in his pod made him stop.
"What up, son?" it said.
"Dad!" David exclaimed. "Somebody is diving in the restricted zone!" Hobby didn't respond at first. "Did you hear me? The 'restricted' zone!" David repeated, emphasizing the word so his Father would get the implication.
"Relax David," the man replied finally. "They're just laying a barrier wall around the statue."
The 'statue'? The word shocked David to silence. So he knew? He knew! How much did he know?
"You know about this?" he said, weakly.
"I hired them, David." Hobby replied. "Don't worry. They're just going to seal off the area around then Ferris wheel and your scavenger friends can have the rest. Everybody is happy that way. See?"
"If they're just laying barrier then why the extraction barge?"
"The Ferris wheel is unstable. They needed to lift it a bit to lay some foundation so it wont fall any further."
His father's answer was quick. And detailed. If he knew the Ferris wheel was unstable, that meant that he had been researching the place. How long had that been going on? David's mind started moving towards dark territory.
"Dad," he said. "How did you… I mean when did you…um."
"David?"
"How long have you known about 'Her'?" David managed to say at last.
Alan Hobby said nothing for a moment. His silence only lasted second or two, but within that short time every dark thought David had ever experienced was coming to the fore of his mind. What was the man doing?
"I'll be home tonight and we'll talk about it then," Hobby said. "I don't want you to worry. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you, right?"
"Where are you," David said, his suspicions burning now.
"I'm inland on business, son. And I really have to go. Ease your mind. You know I love you. We'll talk at length tonight."
"Dad?" David said. There was no answer. "Dad!" But the line was closed.
David started to ping again, but knew there would be no answer. He threw the pod down and it skittered across the floor and bounced against the wall. Feelings that he had not known for years came back with sudden excruciating clarity. Weakness. Helplessness. Anger.
Had he been betrayed yet again? Betrayed by someone he trusted?
He shambled back and forth in the hall, gripping the hair at his temples, swinging his fists at invisible specters. There were strange men out there, and they had entered the secret place of his awakening; his sacred abode; his fortress of solitude. And he could do nothing to stop them. He had to just trust his Father's intentions.
And what hurt even more was he didn't know if he could trust this man. But he had no choice.
"Why?" he screamed at his absent father. His voice echoed through the empty hallway. To his surprise, somebody answered.
"David?"
He turned to see Grace framed in the sunlight that poured through the windows. Her face was stern, but there was something else in her eyes too. Something powerful and… trustworthy. He needed to trust someone. He needed it badly.
David approached her slowly, his face red and breath heaving with the strength of his emotions. She stepped towards him too, and they stopped within arms reach of one another. He knew that she had come to scold him for his outburst upstairs. But she had seen something was wrong, very wrong, and another impulse took over inside her; something primal.
Grace reached out and tenderly wiped a hand over the boy's cheek. David hadn't even known he was crying until he saw the wetness on her fingers.
"What's wrong, honey?" Grace said. And she said it just the right way. The way only a woman could really say it. Soft. Understanding. Whatever had gone between them was forgotten.
David fell into the arms she held out, and began to weep. She gripped him tightly, not speaking, asking no questions, automatically adopting the role that is instinctual to the nurturing gender.
"It's ok, it's ok, She whispered as she rocked him gently. "Let it out. Let it out."
And he did. All the tension and confusion that had been driving him fell from his eyes and left with his angry sobs. The much-needed release was short and exhausting. But he couldn't tell her why. He couldn't tell her why his frustrated tears fell and the fear of another betrayal had suddenly seized his heart.
When the two finally parted, David had calmed. Grace pulled a handkerchief from a pocket in her suit and made a fuss about wiping his face.
"Blow," she said, holding the kerchief over his nose. He obeyed and she cleaned his face like he was a child.
"Good lord, boy. I'll have to replace this one now," she said, dangling the kerchief playfully between her fingers, as if it was toxic. "You better?" she said.
He nodded.
"Then chin up, young man," she said. "I like it better when you were yelling at me than crying like a baby."
David dropped his head and looked up at her guiltily.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," he said.
"No you aren't," Grace replied. Her face grew stern but there was humor in her eyes. "And maybe you shouldn't be," she added. She was quiet for a moment. "I never had a child of my own. I made a critical decision when I was young. I chose the corporate life. CLA was definitely not throwing a license in my direction. But it was my decision and I am happy with it. And then comes you, David. You are the closest thing to a child I've known. And if it seems like I am trying to keep you from growing up, then I apologize. Boys aren't exactly my area of expertise." She stopped and corrected herself. "Well not real boys anyway."
They both laughed at this. Then Grace surprised him by kissing him gently on the forehead. It was a motherly gesture, and though David knew he only had one true Mother, it felt good. It was something he needed. He leaned forward and planted a return kiss on her cheek. Grace laughed.
"So you gonna tell me what happened to your face?" she said.
David rubbed his chin. He had almost forgotten about the fight at Club 101.
"It's nothing," he said. "A little disagreement at the club last night. It doesn't even hurt anymore"
Grace eyed him skeptically for a moment.
"That little girl didn't waste any time breaking your heart, did she? " she said.
David realized that Grace assumed this was all about Amanda. She had no idea what was going on. Dad had left her out of the loop too. This reassured him. He needed to know he could trust someone.
"It's not Amanda," he said. "It's…. it's everything. Too much on my shoulders all at once."
"We call that growing pains, young man," she said. "And by the time you get used to them you have a whole new load of crap to deal with."
"I am starting to understand that," David replied with a chuckle.
They were both quiet for a time, gazing at each other. The mystery of his miraculous transformation dangled in the silence between them. But neither would address it.
"I've got something important to do now, Grace," David said, pulling away, gently. "But I would like to talk later. There's so much I don't know about you. Ok?"
She seemed surprised by this, and smiled in a way he had never seen before.
"Ok, David," she said. "Anytime you want to talk, and anything you want to talk about. It'll always be between us, and only us."
There was something cryptic in her words. What was she trying to say? Was it about his Father? She perhaps knew him better than anyone.
"I'll take you up on that," David said as he retrieved his pod from the floor. He checked the time. 11:45am.. It was still early and his Dad would not be back until tonight. That was plenty of time.
"Thanks Grace," he said, and blew her a kiss as he started for his room. She pretended to catch the kiss and put it in her pocket.
"I'll save that one for the next time you yell at me," she said and then continued on her way.
David had told Eddie he would call him back. But he had no answers for the man. He could do nothing about the divers. He could do nothing about the scary idea that his Father was might be engaged in some strange scheme.
And poor Amanda would have to deal with her father alone, for now.
It was time for David to play a game.
(cont…)