Bar Room, Fight
By Harris, Mitch, Shaine, and Shatterclaw. Individual rating:
PG-13.
Mitch sat at the bar, with a Guiness being the sole other occupant of his universe. I still can't believe it...happened so fast...
"Hey, you Mitch Wolfstone, right?" The tall, powerfully built man wore an ADP uniform.
"Yeah."
"We've never met, but my name is Albert J. Oliver. Mind if I buy you a drink?"
"Sure, pull up a stool."
"What'll ya be having?" Argus asked.
"I'll take whatever he's having." He sat down. Argus walked off to pour another Guiness.
"Rough night?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Did you hear about that stolen battle suit?"
"No, what happened?"
"I heard there was an explosion at the top of the Sears Tower. Some police Boomer took off with a battle suit, got hit by lightning up there."
Lightning, huh? Mitch took a sip of the beer.
"And if you can't believe that, some of the guys think it was those phantom bird things. They come up with the craziest things..."
"You don't say? Maybe they saw Santa Claus, too."
Oliver laughed, then took a long drink. "Oh, that's a good one!"
"Where are you from?"
"Chicago. Well, Niles, but I spent more time in Chi-town than anywhere. So where are you from?"
"Lived in this city all my life. But my parents are from Ireland. You?"
"Italian and German."
"Both?"
"Yeah, mother was German, father Italian. Ahhh, did they go at it!"
"I see."
"Anyway...I wanted to ask you..."
"Yeah?"
"You have one of those newfangled Boomer partners, right?"
"Buddy, I'm not in the mood to talk shop."
"Okay...hey, I'm sorry... Just wanted to know if it ever...you know, acted crazy. That's all. Tell you what, um...I'll get back to you." He walked away.
Just then, the door opened.
"Hey, barkeep! Got any Weisse?"
"Aye!" Argus replied.
The young woman, wearing an "Empire Strikes Back" t-shirt and one of the plastic overcoats that were beginning to be popular with the younger engineering types (just like Zhora's in "Blade Runner"), grinned. "Sweeet."
Walking over to the bar, Shaine accepted the bottle from Argus and took a good long pull off of it. "Hey. Mind if I sit here?"
"Sure."
She took another hit off of the bottle and sat down.
"You be wanting a glass, lass?"
Shaine just laughed a little and chugged some more.
"Argus, another Guiness." She looked at him, trying to figure out how many he'd had so far. Not too many. The barkeep looks like the type to say no when he ought to.
"She's got to be a friend of yours, Mitch!"
"Now, usually I'm not one to look for the secrets of the universe at the bottom of a bottle...but after something like that..." She shook her head.
"Maybe you can talk to him, lass. I haven't seen him like this since that one rookie got killed by a rogue Boomer."
"Yeah, will do!" She lifted the bottle in a salute as Argus left. Then she lowered her voice. "I'm not one for pep talks, either. Now, you can beat yourself up over what happened...or you can think about this. I was about to go after that thing with my sword when you did that. You wanna guess what the shields would have done if I'd hit it with one of those things?"
"I can't believe it... I killed Jinks...and destroyed the team."
"Crim's got a med crew looking at Jinks. She's stable...toasted a little...but the suit took most of it."
"I wonder if Genom has any openings."
"Hold it."
"What?"
"Don't even start with that."
Mitch took another sip of his Guiness, and Shaine set her bottle down on the counter.
Mitch looked at her. "What do you want me to say, Shaine?"
"You're going to have to do a lot better than that before they'll take you," she said darkly.
She stood. "Fine. I was going to try...but you can just come back whenever you're done with your pity party."
"What? Come back!"
She glared at him.
"I'm sorry. It's just..."
"I've been kicking myself ever since we got back... My father warned me about his temper. I thought I could rise above that, if I worked at it..." He took another sip of the beer.
"If we were our parents, Genom would have sucked me dry by now." She grabbed the beer bottle and started chugging like she really meant it.
"Yeah."
Shaine sat back down.
"You know, I can take anything the world dishes out...but..."
"Watching others take it because of you...hurts. I know."
"Yeah." He laughed. "My parents live in a perfect world; they never see what I see... That's why I became a cop. I had it in my mind to stop killing...stealing...pain... Crazy, huh?"
"Nah. Can't stop it all, maybe...but if you can find one small place and hang on to it...keep it safe... That's worth it."
"The Ravens?"
"Yeah, sure. Or my old hacking buddies...or whatever."
He laughed.
"Your own personal corner of the universe..." Her face took on a distant expression, as if she were no longer looking at the bar, or that room.
"We all have to have one. This is mine."
Shaine nodded.
Mitch finished his beer and set the glass down. "Is anyone ticked at me at home?"
"No."
"How is Jinks?" he asked, just as she continued, "Well, Harris, but he..."
Mitch laughed.
"He's Harris," Shaine finished feebly. "Jinks is going to be okay, but Crim says he wants that microwave zapper of yours, first thing when you get back.
Mitch looked down and laughed again. "Sure." Then he looked at her. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah." She finished the beer in one gulp and set the empty glass down on the counter.
"Argus, put that on my tab."
"Thanks."
They walked outside. "I'll see you tomorrow, Shaine. That's my apartment there." He pointed to a brownstone building on the other side of the street.
"All right, cool." She waved lazily.
"And thanks."
Mitch crossed the street, and made his way up the stairs. He opened the door, then walked to the fishbowl which rested on a table in the living room. Inside was his goldfish, Spike. Dropping a bit of fish food into the bowl, he smiled and said, "Spike, it's good to have friends."
///
Shaine waited for him to start walking, then headed off toward her apartment on foot. I want to enjoy this evening...and I shouldn't drive with that beer in me, anyway. I'll get the car back later.
When she got to the apartment, the front door was open. "Huh?" She peered inside.
From what Shaine could see, the place was a mess. She put one hand in her purse, setting it on her gun. Empty beer cans and food wrappers were strewn across the floor, along with clothing...a man's clothing.
She heard movement from inside. Drawing her gun, she glanced around nervously and picked up a t-shirt lying on the floor. It looked familiar..somewhat... She frowned, holding it between thumb and forefinger. "Ugh..."
There was another noise, this one definitely coming from the bedroom. She let the shirt fall, then walked slowly toward the back of the apartment, almost knocking over an empty bottle.
"Damn!" she choked out in a whisper.
The barrel of a sawed-off shotgun peered out from the doorway. Shaine looked up at it in shock, bringing her gun up quickly.
"Hold it!" She switched to German, thinking she just might know who it was... "Drop the weapon!"
The barrel started to waver even more than it had before, and the person at the other end let out a high-pitched girl scream. Just like Mulder in that one Jose Chung episode...damn it, there's only one man alive who can make that sound...
"Smith, I am going to kick your ass!"
"Valentine" Michael Smith, sans gun, stepped out of the bedroom reluctantly. "Hi..."
///
"Um, hi..." he repeated feebly. "Where have you been?"
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Looking for you?"
She swore explosively. "Where have I been! Fuck!"
"Well?" He smiled ruefully. "And who's been fucking you this time?"
Shaine gritted her teeth. Damn it...better stall, change the subject... "Yes, dear, I apologize for not telling you I was running for my life...can you ever forgive me?"
"No, I will not forgive you. You could have waited - we could have run together..."
Shaine shook her head.
"But nooo, had to go and find a nice deep hole... --Which, by the way, has way too many men in it..."
"Oh?"
"Some guy came in here...thought he was going to kill me..."
"Harris?" I am going to kill him, I swear...
"You got another boyfriend - Harris? Who's Harris?"
"That crazy bastard! I am going to--" She stopped. "Just a nutcase I work with. Damned idiot..."
"Well that's another thing...he said you asked him to look over the place, make sure the plants were watered or some shit like that..."
"What?"
"Yeah, some guy in a leather trench. Big guy, dark skin...you really need to get some better taste..."
"Oh...that's Crimson."
"Packed a lot of heat..."
"Yeah," she whispered, turning pale.
"I thought he was a Genom hit man..."
"No... He saved me from them."
"Came in here like some freak Darth Vader wannabe... He tried to kill me, but I got the jump on him. Had him tied up and begging for his life.."
Shaine burst into laughter.
"What?"
"Ohhhhh..."
"What's so funny?"
She was laughing too hard to talk. "You - you...oh... That's a good one!"
"Oh, and then..."
"Yeah?" She looked up at him, grinning.
"To top that off, some psycho...thing...came after me..."
"What kind of thing?"
"Man, what do you people put in the water around here?"
"What kind of thing are you talking about, Val?"
"It - it flew, and had long claws and fangs...big fucker...and black...it told me it was his city..."
She shook her head. "Are you sure you weren't drunk?"
"Drunk? Fuck no, I was sober..."
"Suure..."
"Damn stone cold sober..."
"You know you're going to have to lay off it if you want to stay here." Not like last time: me paying all the bills and him too drunk to--
"I swear!" Val pleaded. "The thing smashed all of my beer...and my cigs..."
"You're smoking?"
"Then it swooped down and picked me up...was flying..."
"You can just find someplace else, then!"
"Well, shit, I had Genom on my ass...but I didn't get any; I just bought them...never even got one... Does that matter? This thing almost killed me! This fucker had huge fangs, and a freakin' flock of birds with it..."
She shook her head again and walked past him into the bedroom.
"And wings, maybe fifty feet across!"
"Pack your bags, Val. I'm not keeping you here if you're high or some shit like that."
"I am not freakin' high!" He stopped, and looked at her mournfully. "I swear, Scully...I am so freakin' clean, I scare myself...
"This is real."
She looked back at him. "Is it?"
"Yeah, here, look!" He pulled up his shirt, revealing red marks that might have been made by a hardsuit.
"Look, I don't want to hear about these bird things. And neither does anyone else in this city. They don't exist."
"See? there were huge claw marks there!"
She shook her head. "Just don't talk about it again, okay?"
"Okay...can I still crash here?"
Shaine sighed. "Yeah...for now."
"'Cause..well, I..."
"Yeah, I know." Lazy, horny, and broke as usual.
"Thank you!" He threw his arms around her, picking her up and spinning her around the room.
"Urgl..." Shaine commented insightfully.
"Look, why don't you go wash up and I'll get this mess straightened out."
"Yeah. Sure."
"Then maybe we can go get some food..."
"All right." You can boil him in oil later, girl. For now...you need some rest.
She pulled her shirt off and stepped into the bathroom. The tub looked clean, a few newspapers were scattered around...
...And there was a rat sitting on the toilet seat, staring at her.
"Val!" She dropped the shirt and ran back into the bedroom.
"What? What's wrong?"
Only a tiny peep of sound escaped her lips. He walked into the bathroom, then ran out screaming and clutching at his hand.
"What the hell are you doing screaming? You're the one who let it in!"
"I did not! The little fucker bit me! Probably has AIDS, or rabies, or something... BDS, Hags Disease..."
Shaine grabbed her purse and a new shirt. "I'm leaving."
"What?"
"You heard me!" She put the shirt on, and started shrugging on her jacket.
"Wait, lemme get my coat..."
"Oh, no. I said I am leaving, not we."
"What... What?!"
She walked out of the room.
"You going to leave me here with Ratzilla? That fucker's huge!"
"Call me when you get some balls, Smith," she replied over one shoulder.
"Aww, great..." The rat scurried out of the bathroom, sending Smith running out the door after her.
///
Crimson was outside, leaning on his Barracuda.
"Why didn't you tell me!"
"I see I forgot to mention something to you..."
Her jaw dropped a little, then wavered as if she were trying to say something. He looked out from underneath his sunglasses. "Business...it kind of slipped my mind. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?"
He smiled as Val went running down the street. "Yes.
"I should have kicked him out first, then beaten him..."
"Damn straight!"
"He said he was a friend. I assumed he might have made some sort of deal with you."
"I don't make that kind of deals, Crim." Or if I do, you'll never hear about it.
"Yes, well...I can be wrong once. I'll pay for your place to be cleaned."
"I think I'm gonna have to stay at the base for now... Tell you what, I'd better just find a new place. He'll come back here."
"If you like, or we can put you up at the manor." He opened the door for her.
She shrugged and got in. "For now, maybe...but I need some space..."
"I can relate to that. So what was...Mulder, was it? What was he running from?"
"A rat."
"A rat?"
"Yeah."
"A rat? That's it?"
"Yeah."
He grinned. "Ratboy runs from rat...news at eleven..."
She didn't smile, just stared out the window as the car began to move.
///
Forty-five minutes later they arrived at the Gold Coast. It had always been a part of rich Chicago, but it was far more exclusive in 2040 than it had been in previous decades. Crimson drove up to the front gate of one of the large homes and pulled out an ID card. He swiped it through a reader at the side of the gate, then drove through. "Home sweet home."
The front of the mansion had a wraparound deck and glass entryway. Crimson pulled the Cuda up near the doors. "Here we go." He got out, and walked around to the passenger side, holding the door open for Shaine.
A woman met them at the door. Crimson hugged her, kissed her, then said, "Rika, this is Shaine. She's, um...having housing trouble. Mind if she has the guest room for a few days?"
Rika smiled. "Of course not."
Shaine stared at the couple with an absolutely impassive expression.
"Please, come right on in."
Rika led Shaine to a large room. "Dinner will be ready soon."
"All right. I think I might just go to bed now."
"Well, there's a bathroom over there, it's private, and there are clean towels there as well."
"Thanks."
"The kitchen is fully stocked, if you get hungry later." She smiled and left, closing the door behind her.
///
Some time later, Shaine slowly woke from a dream of Ratboy torture. What was that...oh, the door. "Whoizzit?" Hey, at least I'm not hung over...that's good...
"Crimson."
She propped herself up on her elbows. "Yeah, come in."
He opened the door. "You sleep well?"
"Uhnnmm..." Shaine sat up the rest of the way and shrugged noncommitally.
Crimson had a pile of clothing in his hands, which he set down on the bed. Her moonstone hair clip, appropriated by Val, sat on top of the pile.
"It's twelve-thirty."
"In the afternoon? Man..."
"I had your place cleaned up...and around... Mr. ...whatever his name was."
"Yeah."
"He now has a nice hole of his own..." Crimson's smile was vaguely disturbing.
Shaine looked back at him, nervous.
"Oh, he's alive, he just has a new roommate..."
"Oh..."
Crimson held his hands apart. "He's about this big, likes cheese, and is free from diseases."
Shaine cringed slightly. "I-- I just need my things from the old apartment...they can go in my room at the base for now."
"Sure, that can be done."
Crimson let the following silence hang.
"A-all right. Thank you."
"You're welcome. ...How do you know him?"
"We used to hack together."
"Ah."
"He was learning some stuff from Mycroft, I think."
"I think Genom wants him dead."
"Yeah... They got Tsen already..." She shivered.
"I did some checking, and he's not on their favorites list."
"And I haven't heard from Myke or the Prof. ...Or Crash..."
"I'll see what I can do. You're not on the list, are you?"
"I don't know. My major alias was never connected with me...so far as I know."
"Don't worry. We'll do what we can to keep them safe.
"On another note, he does have some use... He spread a rumor about a monster in the city. While it does sound like he was high, it will draw fire away from...'Them.' "
"He's stupid. They're going to catch him the second he opens his mouth again."
"Most likely. He's too foolhardy to be trusted; otherwise he might have had a job long ago."
"Well, I can tell you he's no good as a hacker...but you probably knew that already."
"I know. He didn't even get the test open."
She looked up at him curiously.
"You're the best, but not the only one. To maintain the business, I have to keep looking for new blood. The fight may end in my lifetime, but it may not. Someone has to keep an eye out for replacements. I had to look for at least two years before I found you...at the time, I thought Genom might have won...
"So, do I look like I have six inch fangs?"
"No..."
"Don't know where he got that from."
"Pulled it out of his ass, along with the rope he used to hogtie you..."
"Hogtie me?"
"Yeah."
"Excuse me...hogtie me?"
"You tried to kill him, but he beat you up. Don't you remember?"
He laughed. "More like I scared the crap out of him."
"Yeah, he was about ready to beat me I was laughing so hard at that."
"Then I tied him up... Well, we'll see about that. I'll let you get dressed, and Rika would like you to come down. But it's up to you."
"All right."
"Good."
Ten minutes later, she wandered the halls searching for the kitchen. Finally she came to a large room with an equally immense table, which Crimson was setting. He looked up at her. "Nice room."
"Yeah."
He looked around the room. "I don't think I've ever eaten in here.
"Lunch is in the kitchen. Follow me."
He took her on a short tour of the house. "We use it more for Starbright, for fancy meetings, but it's pretty big." She trailed silently behind him until they reached a massive kitchen. In a bay window sat a small table, where a teenage girl sat reading the newspaper.
Rika appeared, bringing a few plates of food to the table. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you." Morning? Is she just trying to be polite...?
She smiled and walked away.
"Hey, Dad, could I take the car tonight?"
Shaine looked again at the young woman reading the paper. No, that can't be...this isn't...
Well, why not?
"Aria, this is Shaine."
She looked up from the paper. "Hi."
"Um, hi..." She looks a lot like Rika...
Rika soon came back to the table, and grace was said. Shaine bowed her head and tried not to look too out of place. Lunch was salad and cold cuts.
"So, how is your job at Starbright?" Rika asked.
"It's all right...I guess... There's a lot of sh - stuff with hardware; I'm not used to that."
Rika smiled, a little too knowingly. "Yes, they are moving in that direction." She pointed at Crimson. "Has he been too hard on you?"
"No..."
"Dad, hard? She's lucky he doesn't invite her to commune with us here! ...Not that that would be a problem..." Aria looked at her, then back to the newspaper. "At least she's not like Cousin Anni. Did you hear she dyed her hair again?"
"What color this time?"
"Every color, looks like."
"You've met her?" Aria squeaked.
"Yeah. She, uh...she's nice..."
"You let Brat get to know her first?! She'll be corrupted in no time!" Aria glared at her father, then looked at Shaine again. "I am soooo sorry. Had I known my dad did that to you, I would have called the police! I mean really, Dad, how can you be so mean?"
"Two words: no car."
"Um, did I say mean? I meant, well, what did she do wrong to be punished like that?"
"Her house was...infested. And she needed a place to stay. I figured, what better way to prepare her for her life in Hell than to meet you?"
Aria laughed. "See, I told you... You wound me to the quick! And for such a wound, fatal as it is, there is only one cure!"
She stood, hands clasped to her chest. "Only one lifesaving cure..."
"Here it comes," Crimson muttered. He turned to Shaine. "Care to go to the mall?"
"With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate of life at once untie... --Why, sure!"
"Yeah, the holy of holies...the mall!"
"Sure why not."
Rika clapped. "Very good, both of you! I know I have an Oscar around here somewhere..."
"Poor venomous fool, be angry, and dispatch... Thank you."
Crimson jerked his thumb toward the door. "Go get your stuff." Aria bounded out of the room.
He grinned. "Sorry; she's a little...well, too much like..."
"Him," Rika finished.
"Yeah."
"Yeah, thanks. ...Tell you what, meet me out front in five. I have to go raid the safe."
"All right."
He kissed Rika, and left through a door Shaine hadn't seen before.
///
Spring had taken hold, and the temperature was in the sixties. The skies were perfectly clear. Aria sat in the backseat of the Cuda, wearing sunglasses, a brightly colored top, and cutoff shorts. "Come on in; the water's fine!"
Shaine slid in back next to her; she hadn't bothered with anything beyond her normal attire, except for the moonstone clip which Crimson had returned to her.
"So, what music do you like?"
Shaine shrugged. "Anything."
"Okay." Aria reached over the seat and turned on the radio as Shaine spotted Crimson walking toward the car.
"Seat belts," he prompted.
"Aw, Dad, you drive too slow to need seat belts!"
"I guess you don't want to go that badly..."
"All right, all right!"
///
"Hey, Dad, did you tell her about the time you saw the Bears play here? Or about the time you saw those bird things?"
In the rearview, Shaine could see Crimson's eyes go hard, then soften. "Bird things? You gotta be kidding. You don't actually believe in those, do you?"
"No, dear, why do you relate it?"
"Yeah Dad was still with the ADP, or so he says, and he was hunting down a rogue something-or-other... So then these five black monsters came out of the sky and took out the rogue and then they came after him. But he ran and got into his trusted Cuda and outran them and it was right here in this very spot...alias 8-K..." She pointed to the parking lot sign.
"She really doesn't want money."
"Well, if you're asking, I could be persuaded to partake in a bribe or two..."
"We'll see."
Aria hopped out, then opened the door for her father. Shaine followed them.
"Ohhh! Hey, Dad! There's Jean and Rick. Can I go say hi?"
"Go ahead. Meet us at the movies?"
"Okay." Aria bounded off.
Crimson smiled grimly. "She's something else. Sorry for dragging you out here."
"Nah. Got nothing better to do, and I'd rather not be alone."
He chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure I could dig up some work...anything you need?"
"Uh...no, I don't think so."
"Me neither. Never had much use for this place, though it is great for cloaked paintball. See, we have a passcode, and sneak in at night... The weapons can fire paintballs which fade after a few hours, then turn to dust. Of course we also use a laser on low settings... When you get to the top of the rollercoaster, you can hit just about anything in the place."
He looked around. "Mind if we stop in the comic shop?"
"Sure."
Shaine's eyes grew wide as she saw the store; it was a two-level shop that somewhat resembled the Batcave. Life size models of comic characters were strewn throughout the store; she smiled at the four foot tall Cutter holding the latest ElfQuest movie. Standing next to it were a few teenagers reading one of the graphic novels; they were dressed in black leather and one girl wore a full ballroom dress with full-length gloves. One side of her head was shaved and a tall, lanky boy was reading to her.
"Yes. I only appear human, Tamia. This is what I truly am. A sky-spirit. A forest-demon. A myth. A legend. An elf. Your kind has always used these words - or ones like them - to describe us... / B-but... / Hush...I'm exactly the same person I was a moment ago when you thought I was human..."
Shaine glanced at them, then went back to picking out issues. It'd take her a while to rebuild her collection, and she didn't want to drag them around the mall unless she couldn't live without them. Then she wandered toward the Trek section, where she gazed longingly at the life-size Data replica.
A split second later, she realized that the boy reading the issue of "Jink" had been wearing a Raven-design t-shirt. She turned back and looked at him again. Two others had joined the couple: a very short girl and a very tall boy. They began walking toward the front of the store.
Shaine took her comic books and followed them, hoping to overhear their conversation. The one with the Raven shirt pulled a stack of similar shirts from behind the counter and began showing them off, holding one in the air.
It looked like some sort of bird, airbrushed on a brick background in silver. "Watcher of the Night...Ravens - the Myth is Real" She narrowed her eyes and started sliding through the crows. As she got closer, she heard him name a price. Twenty-five dollars. There were too many in front of her to get close to him, so she paid for the comic books while waiting for the crowd to thin out.
"Yeah, I'll take one of those." She fished in a pocket for some money, came up with several wadded fives and tens.
"Sure, cash or charge?"
"Cash. You guys come here often?"
"Heh, yeah, just ask the guards! What size are you?"
"Small...extra small if you have it. --Sweet, man... Uh, I'm kind of new in town..."
"Hey, Poe, give me a Mav size!"
"Huh?"
"Oh keeper of the lore, alas, only the mistress has one!" That was the other boy, the tall one.
"Okaaayy..."
"So? I'll make her a new one, Poe! Just give me it?"
"Your life, not mine!" The tall one tossed the other boy a shirt as the small girl began attacking him.
"Uhm, I can just come back and get one later, no hurry..."
"Sorry. Here you go."
Shaine held up her hands nervously. "Matter of fact, why don't you just do that? Name's Lore. I expect to be around here a lot. Really, it's all right."
"Um, you sure? I...can have it here byyyy...Tuesday?"
"Yes, that's good." A tiny smile.
"Cool!"
"I'm Lore Mueller." She held out her hand. "And you?"
"Omar, master of the Ravens lore."
"Hi..."
Omar bowed. "At your service, m'lady." Then he looked up. "Um you'll forgive me, but I must be going..."
"Of course," she replied gently, wondering what was happening.
He jumped down and ran into the back as mall rent-a-cops came charging in. Shaine stared at the retreating teens in disbelief.
There was a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Crimson holding a bag of books. "What's going on?"
"There were some kids selling 'Raven' -shirts. I arranged to meet one back here on Tuesday, see what's going on..."
He raised an eyebrow. "Anyone we know?"
"He said his name is Omar."
"Omar?"
"Yeah."
"Not Miss Cyberpunk? Never heard of him.."
"He mentioned two others named Poe and Mav..."
"Let's see the shirt."
"I didn't get it. I'm supposed to on Tuesday.
"They didn't have my size." She grinned ruefully.
"I see. Wonder if the owner knows anything... We'll have to ask later. But first let's go find someplace quiet to talk."
"All right."
Crimson led the way to the food court. Shaine sat down near the back, and he brought her a drink.
Well, I suppose I'll have to drink a little...? She smiled crookedly and took the tiniest sip possible. "So...?"
Crimson pulled out a small black box, and tapped a button on it. "Nexus-6?" he said in a low voice.
"What? How do you know about that?"
"It's my job to know. Someday, when you're older, it will be yours."
"Bunny kept that locked up tighter than..." She shook her head.
"Bunny?"
"Uh... Fraulein Kant."
"Bunny."
"That's what we called her..."
He grinned. "What can you tell me?"
"She called the design an impossible dream...to build one to her ideal specifications she'd need technology that won't be available until 2068. At least. It's a combat model capable of passing for human..."
"Really?"
"Perfect eyesight, reflexes, hearing...
"Concealed weapons..."
A dark look passed over Crimson's eyes. "How close has she come?"
"I don't know. The few records I saw...all of them 'broke' under testing. But that was years ago."
"Funny. A rumor has it one 'Kant' will be heading for Chicago soon."
"Oh, gods... She was a hit woman for Genom Munich..."
"I'm sure they didn't have anything to do with it. --The gods, I mean, not Munich. So she's trouble..."
"Yeah, well...you'd better hope they're stronger than Genom. There were rumors she hunted humanoid Boomers for sport."
"How...nice."
"This whole thing was supposed to be some sort of design for her to go track out in the Bavarian Alps. Guess she's still got a grudge over what happened there in the war."
"That would explain a lot. A group went into the Alps, never came back."
She looked up at him.
"What happened in the war?"
"I don't know. She got really pissed whenever anyone talked about it. I know she hates the Eastern Prime Minister..."
"I see. I must mention it to her, then. But the PM doesn't have many friends..."
"I know."
"So why would 'Bunny' come here?"
"Maybe Someone asked her."
"Who would she know..." He looked at her.
Shaine nodded. "Yeah."
"She knows him, doesn't she?"
"Yeah. He worked for her."
"We just can't get a break."
"Yeah," she repeated sadly.
"Can't last forever. One day they are going to--" He stopped, and looked over her shoulder.
"What?"
He palmed the black computer pad, and hid it. "Your friends with the t-shirts are here..."
Shaine nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Um...Miss Lore?" That was Omar.
"Yeah?"
"Hi...um...can we, like, sit with you?"
"Sure."
The four of them found seats nearby, looking nervously at Crimson.
"Tough break, with those rent-a-pigs..."
"Yeah, sorry, but the guards are out in force today."
"Yes, they seem to be everywhere!" The girl in the ballgown said.
"So, if you could tell them we've been with you...uncle?..." Mav said tentatively.
"What?" Shaine winced, then blushed. She took a sip of the Coke to hide her expression.
"It always works. See, he's our long-lost uncle, here on vacation."
"Oh...yeah...okaaayyy..."
"And we've just had a nice, long lunch..."
"One problem, belove," Poe said. "Though they art swine, they would know, for we do not have refuse from said food."
"Poe, you think too much!"
Crimson's cell phone rang. He reached into his coat for it. "...Hello?
"Yes, I see, would you be open for a ride?... Yes, we can pick you up, no trouble. Hmhmmmm. ...Yes, that's fine..." He hung up and looked at them. "Okay, you want to avoid Imperial entanglements?"
Omar smiled. "Yeah, that's right. Me, Obi," he pointed to Deis, "3PO," Poe, "and R2," Mav, "Want to get off of Tatooine..."
"Does that make her Chewie?" Poe asked.
"Wrong series, Shakespeare. I'm Lore, remember?"
"No, she's Mulder," Crimson said at the same time. "We left Scully with Ratboy."
"So who is it needs us to pick them up?"
"Just a friend of a friend."
She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Here's the deal. Lore-Mulder, you and the kids go out to my car. Don't touch anything and wait for me."
"Sure."
"I'll be out as soon as I tell the Princess that she has to get another transport."
"All right; let's go."
"I'll be out in five, and don't stop for anything!" Crimson called after them.
"Okay, Han!" Omar replied.
"He's my new idol!" Poe said excitedly.
Omar became indignant. "Hey, I thought I was your idol!"
"You were, but he is the man. Like the ebon-clad warriors of the night that sweep down on ravens' wings, he has saved us! He is to me what the protectors of the night are to you."
"Poe, he's not going to make you rich...unlike my idols..." Omar rubbed his hands together.
"Oh, so you're just in it for the money?"
"You don't know," Mav pointed out, "Maybe this guy's loaded and he could give us all jobs."
"Well, no and yes. Money is the one thing we need that we don't have. People want to know and they will pay to know. As long as it's not true and has nothing to do with the truth, everyone's happy. Right?"
"His logic is flawed, but he's a good man..." Deis assured her.
"Yeah, I keep running into that type. It's my gift; it's my curse..."
"It's not like I'm actually selling them out. Heck, we all know that they're far beyond us mere mortals...and the truth we do know of them we put on the web site where it's free for all who believe."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, see, the tees help fund the website."
"And feed us..." Poe added.
"Er yeah, so we sell the fools anything they want to believe. But on the web site the truth comes out."
"And feeds us..."
Omar shot Poe a dirty look.
"I don't know. I just got in town a couple of weeks ago, and I've been hearing a lot. Hell, my boyfriend claims he got attacked by one of these fucking things, but it sounded like he was high or something."
Omar stopped. "What else have you heard?" He pulled out a palmtop and a pen.
"What? You are not going to do this to me! I'm not saying another word, man. You want a rumor from a coked-up leech, you go find him yourself."
"What? No, we'll leave out your name..."
"Truth. Huh."
"In all things, there are truths." Omar intoned.
"Yeah...and the truth here is, 'Val is white trash.' "
"Granted...it's his perspective of what happened, but depending on what he said, it may be partly reality - and that's what I want to know."
"That's gotta be the funniest thing I've heard all week. Perspective. Huh."
"Sure he's trash, he's a shit head, but that's why the Ravens went for him. They help good people. This Val must have done something, or gotten in the way."
"I still don't believe it."
"...So the Ravens went to teach him," Omar continued, "If it was them and not some dream."
"What about the female out near the airport?" Deis asked. "Didn't they help her?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, they did!" Mav said.
"Oh, yeah. The one the police tried to cover up!"
"We get police reports, too. There was one about two muggers ending up on the ADP HQ doorsteps! All tied up...seems they robbed a female out near O'Hare. Only they were stopped. She got back everything they took, and they were sent to jail. They help people."
"They're the only force of good left," Poe added.
"They're Indian spirits," said Mav, "Come to set right what the white man made wrong. They settle matters of greed, corruption, and hate..."
"Or they protect the weak," Deis concluded.
"Then why don't they clean out that damned Genom Tower blocking our view of the lake?"
"The way we figure, is they're Batman, Superman, and the ADP, all rolled into one." Omar said.
"They did, they did..." Poe said, "Sat strikes. That happened a few years back."
"Yeah, well, the cancer grew back."
"It was them; I'm sure of it! Only Genom's evil is in the hearts of many here, and it grew back..."
"Yeah," Omar said. "One day we hope they'll pick us to be among their ranks..."
Shaine looked up at him, surprised.
"I mean, now we're just lorekeepers, spreading the good word, but someday we hope they'll find us..."
"Or at the very least, let us know they're real..." Deis said wistfully as they approached the car.
Crimson was leaning against the Cuda, listening to the conversation as they approached.
"So what did this Val see?"
"A bunch of drug dreams. Just...leave it at that, okay?"
"Okay, okay!" Omar raised his hands in surrender.
Crimson opened the door for them. "Having fun?"
"Hell yes."
"She was listening to us tell her about the good word of the Raven."
Crimson turned to her. "Your kids are scaring me, Mulder."
"They're not mine; they just followed me home."
"Sure they did."
///
After Omar and his friends had been returned to their homes, Crimson headed toward St. Mary's Hospital. It was one of Chicago's oldest.
"You might want to hop in back," he warned.
Shaine slid over the seat.
"Branks is temperamental, as well as being a real prima donna...and a glory hound. But worse, she pouts when she has to ride in back.
"Branks is a doctor; she's...a reserve Raven. And our med expert."
He looked at his watch. "And she is now five minutes late."
From the front of the hospital emerged a short black woman, about Shaine's height, with a large, green Army duffle slung over one arm. She tossed the duffle next to Shaine.
"Mr. Crimson, you are late. I have been waiting here for over fifteen minutes!" She spoke with a fake Island accent.
"Witchdoc, this is Freefall. Freefall, the Witch Doctor..." As soon as Branks was in the car he gunned the engine and pulled away from the hospital.
Crimson flipped a switch and the car's roof slid into place. "We're taking her to a nice, sunny vacation spot."
"So has he redecorated the place? Or is it still a hole in the ground?"
Shaine shrugged. "It looks fine to me, but then I'm no interior decorator."
"I see." She hit Crimson in the arm. "What did you do, shoot the girl's taste away?"
"Her tastes are fine, and you'll only be there for a week - making what you love to make... Freefall, this is one person who puts Ratboy to shame."
"Oh, I doubt that."
"She saves lives, but at a high cost..."
"No, honey. He thinks that I am in it for de money..."
"This should be good," Crimson muttered.
"I'm not; I truly want to help people. And I do."
"And just how much do you do for them if they don't have any money?"
"That not my doing."
"Could have been; you could have run the Foundations care units..."
"Same fight five years later." She turned back in her seat to look at Shaine. "So how did he get his lecherous hooks into you, young one?"
Shaine grinned. "I'm being blackmailed."
"You sink to a new low? Maybe there hope for you yet!"
"He's keeping me safe from the ADP...Genom...the FBI...and and old boyfriend."
"I see. And what does Genom and ADP want with little old you?"
"That's a long story."
"Maybe later."
"It's going to be a long week," Crimson sighed.