After the End - Chapter 8
"Hello, Lucas. " Cybersix puts her books on the table and sits down.
"Hi, Adrian. Happy Monday."
She smiles wryly at him.
So it appears everything is okay between them again. Lucas thinks back to Saturday night, when he'd stood on the roof of his apartment building, hoping to catch a glimpse of her so he'd know she was okay. He was a little surprised when she actually did show up.
"Lucas, what are you doing up here? It's the middle of the night. You should be asleep." She said to him.
"I was looking for you." He replied. "I wanted to know for sure that you were okay."
"I told you before I was fine." She walked over to the roof's high ledge and leaned casually against it. Once again Lucas found himself struck by her beauty; how could she be so graceful doing a simple thing like that? "I know you did. But you sort of... blew me off when we talked on the phone yesterday."
"I know." She said quietly. "And I'm sorry. It's just that I don't like to be coddled when I'm sick."
Lucas wondered if that was just because she'd been alone for so long. She'd never had anyone to coddle her. "It's okay. It's just that I worry about you."
"I know you do, and I wish you wouldn't." She looked straight at him. "I live a very dangerous life, Lucas. If you and I are going to continue to be... friends, then that's something you'll have to get used to."
Lucas sighs into his cup of coffee. Before, he'd thought that a good friendship - or a good relationship - was worth doing anything for, that he'd never turn his back on someone just because they sometime stressed him out or inconvenienced him. But knowing that Cybersix could be killed than any time, or fade away from lack of sustenance - it wasn't easy. And he wants to love her so much, but he can't. The whole thing is starting to wear him down.
With an effort, he brings himself back to the present. But he would miss Cybersix so much if he stopped seeing her. No, he realizes, for better or worse, he's hopelessly in love with her.
"So, did you read in yesterday's paper about that girl being attacked?"
Lucas is surprised she brought this up. The story in the paper said that a teenage girl, who'd been missing for a whole day, was found Saturday night in an alley by her brother. At first, the boy claimed that he'd 'rescued' his sister from Cybersix, who apparently had been standing ominously over her at the time. But it turned out later the girl had been drugged and raped, and because of that - probably only because of that - the police dismissed Cybersix as a suspect. Yet the boy was still convinced she had something to do with it.
"Pretty ridiculous, if you ask me." Lucas says. "About the boy insisting that Cybersix was involved, I mean. I think he's just looking for a scapegoat."
Cybersix remains silent for a moment before speaking quietly. "I heard that she might have seen who did it."
"Really?"
She scowls out the window, lost in thought. "But it's not that simple. The whole thing is a mystery."
"Seems pretty straight forward to me-."
She gives him a look, warning him not to go any further. Suddenly it hits Lucas how he can so clearly see Cybersix's expression in "Adrian's" face. How could he have missed that before? "So, you want to get together after work?" An invitation.
"Yes."
"Nice night." Lucas remarks as they walk down the path. Cybersix had come to his apartment earlier, but he could see that she was restless - as she often was. So he'd suggested a walk, and now they are strolling through a city park.
"It is." She replied, after such a long pause he didn't think she was going to answer.
"So, uh, you want to talk?" Lucas asks tentatively.
Cybersix stops walking and turns to him, sighing frustratingly. "It's just that so much has happened in the last month. Things are piling up."
Lucas nods. "I know what you mean. I've been there before."
She smiles at him. "It's nice to have someone to talk to, though."
Lucas looks at her face in the moonlight. They are standing very close. He feels his mouth go dry. "Cybersix... maybe this isn't the right time, but there's something I really need to ask you."
She opens her mouth to reply.
"Cybersix!"
Both of them look around to find the source of the voice. A little distance across the park, a figure comes running from behind a tree. Cybersix blinks as she recognizes who it is. "Yashimotto?"
He runs up and stops in front of them, then bows slightly. "Greetings, Cybersix. It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has." She's pleasantly surprised. "Oh, Yashimotto, this is my friend Lucas."
"Ah, pleased to meet you." He puts his hand out for Lucas to shake.
"And Lucas, this is Yashimotto. He's a private investigator. We helped each other out a while back."
After nodding to Lucas, Yashimotto turns back to Cybersix. "Good thing I found you. I've been trying to call you for the last week. You know, you're just as hard to catch on the phone as you are in person!"
"Why, what's going on?" She asks.
"I wanted to - well, to warn you, really. I have some information that might be important to you."
They hear the sound of arguing nearby. Two men, evidently drunk, come staggering toward them on the path.
"Is there some place where we could talk in private?" Yashimotto asks.
"Sure." Cybersix answers. "Tell you what. Why don't you two go up to my apartment? I'll meet you there."
***
Moments later, Lucas finds himself walking up the stairs beside Yashimotto - who, he can't help but notice, seems to know his way to Cybersix's apartment. They arrive at her door and stop to wait for her. Lucas feels distinctly uneasy, standing there silently with this guy he doesn't even know. Yashimotto seems to be calm, cool and collected.
Finally Cybersix opens the door from the other side. "Come in."
Data 7 wanders over as the two men enter the apartment
"Oh my." Yashimotto says when he sees him. "What happened to you?"
"He was badly burned in the Isle of Doom explosion."
"Ah, so you were there. Then it's a good thing you both survived."
Cybersix pulls an extra chair - she only has three - up to her tiny table. "Both of you, sit down. So, what is this about?"
"Okay, I'll get right to the point " Yashimotto says. "In the last month, I've had three different people come to me asking if I could track you down."
"Why?"
"Well," He raises his hand to tick them off on his fingers. "The first guy seemed pretty serious; I didn't trust him at all - just one of those gut instincts. The other two were both young and men who wanted pictures of you for their respective websites."
"What!?" Lucas exclaims indignantly. Cybersix gasps.
Yashimotto holds up his hands in a placating gesture . "I told all of them to get lost, of course. But I thought you should know, Cybersix, since the Isle of Doom you've become somewhat of an underground celebrity. Many people saw you that day. After those two guys showed up, I was curious, so I looked around on the Internet... people are speculating about you, starting rumors; some even claim they know you."
Cybersix frowns thoughtfully. She never thought of the possibility of this happening. The last thing she needs is to have humans chasing her too, for whatever reason. "What are they saying about me?"
Yashimotto shrugs. "Some people think you're a hero, others think you're a villain. It's about 50/50. And then there's a whole cult of young men who are simply... fascinated by you."
Cybersix puts her head in her hands and groans. "Oh, great. First Lori, and now I've got men with crushes on me too? How many people have to put with teenagers of both sexes panting after them?"
Yashimotto chuckles. "I feel for you. But with all due respect, Cybersix, it's difficult not to be."
"Be what?"
"Fascinated by you."
"Oh. Well, thank you." Cybersix replies.
Lucas frowns.
"I just thought you should know that some people are becoming obsessed with you. And it might get worse now, considering that article in the paper the other day."
Cybersix knows this is Yashimotto's way of probing for information, but finds she doesn't mind. "I found that girl just before her brother did. And I saw who must have raped her."
"Yeah, you mentioned that." Lucas interjects. "Did you recognize the guy?"
She looks down at the table again, then back at Lucas. "It was Sylvester."
Lucas snorts. "Figures."
"Sylvester?"
"One of Jose's cronies."
Yashimotto's eyes narrow. "And did you actually see him do anything incriminating? Maybe we could report him to the police."
Cybersix hesitates. "Yeah, I guess I did - I don't really know. It just makes no sense that he did it."
"What do you mean?"
She takes a breath. "When VonReichter was alive, he never would have allowed Sylvester to do that to a human. Not because he cared of course, but just because the police might find DNA evidence on the victim, and our DNA isn't human."
There's more to it than that, but Cybersix doesn't want to share her feelings. She thinks back to when she was young; Sylvester had started out as a sweet and honest kid. She remembered how, after 29's death, he had come to her to comfort her, instinctively knowing she needed help even though she had to try and to hide her grief.
But that was before VonReichter had taken Sylvester for "special training, and then he was never the same again. She came to realize he would do anything for VonReichter, but she'd always held onto the belief that it was only because he was brainwashed. She'd hoped that, if Sylvester was ever able to think for himself again, he would choose good over evil. But now his Master was no longer around to control him, and it appeared that he had, in fact, made a conscious choice to hurt someone. Cybersix is having trouble reconciling this, and berrating herself for it; obviously she's just too naive.
"But it still doesn't make sense." Yashimotto's voice reclaims her attention. "Would I be correct in assuming that, since he works for Jose, this Sylvester has no scruples?"
"It seems that way, yes."
"Then why didn't he just kill the girl and dump the body? Why leave evidence for the police to find?"
All three of them are silent while they think about this.
"Oh, and that's another thing. Tell me, does he have superhuman strength like you do?"
"Yes."
"Then why would he need to drug the girl first?"
Cybersix puts her head in her hands and sighs in frustration.
Yashimotto half-smiles at her. "Sorry. I'm just playing devil's advocate. It's my job to ask questions like this." He rubs at his chin in thought. "I think there's more going on here than meets the eye. You know, I bet I could get at the police records on that girl. Find out the details of what happened to her."
Cybersix considers this. "Hmm, that would be a big help."
He gets up from the table. "Okay, good. Here, take my card. Call me in a few days, or I'll call you, and I'll tell you what I've found."
"Thanks, Yashimotto."
She stands up and shows him out, then turns around to see Lucas frowning at her. "What?"
"Are you sure you trust that guy?"
She shrugs. "Yeah, why shouldn't I? He's kept my secret this long."
Lucas nods to himself. He couldn't help but notice that Yashimotto seemed to know almost as much about Cybersix's history as he does. He sulks at the thought.
Cybersix tries to keep from rolling her eyes. She turns to Data 7. "What you think, Data?"
The panther snorts and nods his head briskly once.
"See," She says to Lucas. "Even my overprotective brother agrees with me. Don't worry, Yashimotto will help us."