Author's Note: This chapter took longer to finish. Well actually it's only half way done. Basically, I got sidetracked by video games - -; Uh well, anyway, please R&R, thank you. Oh yeah, you can R&F too.... But I'll just ignore those.
Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.
Chapter 3: Locke Hart
It was just past sunrise at Starwind & Hawking Enterprises. After recovering all of the weapons and Caster shells, turning the robbers into the police, and saving the bleeding child they found in the alleyway, Gene and the others finally were able to take a break. The boy was fast asleep on the couch, bandaged up, while Aisha kept a close eye on him. Jim was sitting at his computer, drinking coffee.
"Has he even moved while we were gone, Mel?" he asked.
"No, Jim. He's been asleep since he got here." Melfina responded, walking out of the kitchen with some more coffee.
"Aw, poor little guy." Aisha said, putting her hand on the sleeping child, showing some concern.
Gene walked in through the door, waving a small wad of cash around. "Hey, check it out! The cops gave us 1,000 wong for catching those robber guys." He boasted.
"Apparently, the police had a hard time catching them. So they gave us a small reward." Suzuka stated, walking through the door after Gene.
Gene looked at the kid sleeping on the couch. "Jeez, is he still sleeping?" Gene asked, scratching the back of his head.
Melfina nodded and handed Gene some coffee. "Yes, but he has stopped bleeding." She said.
"Hmm, that's good news." Gene remarked, drinking some of his coffee. "Jim, is there anything info on this kid?" asked, turning to Jim.
Jim turned to his computer and started typing. "Uh, let's see. Since I don't know his name, it might take a little longer. But I can probably find something." He claimed.
"Hey, look at this." Aisha said, pointing to the sleeping boy's right hand. "What's with those numbers?" she asked.
There was a something like a bar code tattooed onto the boy's hand. Jim took a look at the numbers then went into thought.
"What is it? Is this kid a bio-android?" Gene asked, looking at Jim, with a confused look on his face.
"I don't think so. I haven't ever seen a bar code like that on any other bio-androids." Jim said, scratching the back of his head.
"Hold on, I'll run a search using that bar code." He added, turning back around in his chair.
Jim typed 'LH4570', the bar code on the kid's hand, into his computer and started running a search for anything matching it. Suzuka walked towards the door.
"I must be off. I have some business to attend to." She said, walking out the door.
Gene and Melfina sat down on the couch opposite of Aisha and the sleeping boy. "Yeah whatever." Gene said, replying to Suzuka, then taking another swig of coffee.
A dull silence filled the room as Suzuka left. Everyone was thinking about something, while Jim's computer ran its search. Just then, the computer made a loud beep and Jim broke the silence.
"I got something!" He exclaimed.
Gene got up off of the couch and walked over Jim's computer. "Yeah? What'd you get?" he asked, looking over Jim's shoulder at the computer screen.
"I'll just read it out loud." Jim said. "Space Pirate Project 'LH4570', code-name: Locke Hart. Status of Project: undetermined."
"Undetermined? What project?" Gene asked, scratching his head.
"Hold on there's more." Jim said, interrupting Gene, then continued reading. "Human subject has very recently gone missing after disappearing around 12:00 A.M., when it was scheduled to arrive on Heifong and picked up by pirates disguised as robbers."
Aisha looked over to Jim and Gene. "So those guys were really Pirates?" she asked.
"It sure seems that way." Jim responded, then read some more. "The subject poses absolutely no threat unless needless provoked or angered. He must be found immediately if Project 'LH4570' is to be successful. It doesn't matter if he is dead or alive."
Silence once again filled the room, at least until the videophone began to ring. Gene snapped back to reality and picked up the phone. "Starwind & Hawking Enterprises, what can we do for you?" he asked, putting on a fake smile.
Stev's face appeared on the videophone's screen. "Well hello, again. I just wanted to call to inform you that my merchandise has arrived at my company. If it would be all right with you, I'd appreciate it if you came here to claim your reward." He said.
"Uh, sure. What for though?" Gene asked, a little suspicious.
"Well, you know how hard it is to come by Caster shells, right? I thought it would be safer if you came to get them, there'd be a less chance of them being stolen." Stev explained.
Gene looked at Jim and he signaled Gene that it was ok. "All right...So where exactly is your company?" Gene asked, turning back to face the phone.
"At the Luo Company building." Stev responded.
"What? What's going on here?" Gene questioned Stev, with both confused and shocked look on his face.
"Fred recommended you, so I decided to give you guys a try." Stev claimed. "I work for Fred, I'm the company's weapons retailer. We only just recently started selling Caster shells."
Gene sighed and shook his head. "Great... so I guess this means that we'll owe even more money to Fred." He groaned.
"Of course not. I'm paying you with my own money. Oh, and don't worry, you still get those Caster shells I promised too. Well, I see you later then." Stev said, then disappeared off of the videophone screen.
Gene hung up the phone and looked at Jim. "Come on, we're going over to Fred's place." He announced.
"All right. I just hope we don't actually run into Fred. He might hug me again." Jim said, shuddering a little afterwards.
Gene just laughed and shook his head. "Gene, can I come with you?" Melfina asked politely.
Gene looked over to Melfina. He smiled and nodded. "Sure, come on, let's get going." He answered.
"Hey, wait a minute! How come I'm stuck watching this kid?!" Aisha yelled, standing up off of the couch.
"Because you got fired yesterday, remember?" Jim pointed out, then following Gene and Melfina out the door.
Aisha grumbled to herself for a minute or two then sat back down next to Locke, who was still sleeping on the couch. Aisha crossed her arms and thought, "Fine then... I'll just raid the fridge."
So she walked off to the fridge, leaving Locke alone on the couch. Aisha opened the fridge door and looked around. "What?! There's nothing here!" she exclaimed, shocked to see a basically empty fridge.
All there was a note that read, "Aisha, stop eating everything in the fridge for once! -- Gene." Aisha growled and shook her fist angrily at the note.
"Damn you, Gene. I'll get you for this." She hissed. She slammed the door and looked over to the pot of coffee. A big grin spread across her face as she realized that the pot was full of fresh coffee.
"Heh heh heh, I'll just drink all of the coffee." She giggled to herself.
Meanwhile back on the couch, Locke had finally begun to wake up. His eyes opened slowly, he looked around at his surroundings. Suddenly his eyes sprang wide open and he sat straight up. He had no idea where he was; just then he remembered what happened. He remembered the two Ctarl Ctarl chasing him, getting clawed repeatedly, hiding in the alleyway, and he also remembered Suzuka and Aisha's faces. He turned towards the kitchen once he heard a commotion coming from there. Aisha was still rummaging through the cabinets looking for some coffee mugs. Locke, silently as possible, got off of the couch. Just then, a sharp pain ran through his chest. He looked down and saw his entire chest wrapped in bandages. He yelped quietly when he touched his chest. Aisha's good hearing picked up the yelp. She immediately became suspicious and walked back into the living room, only to find an empty couch where Locke was sleeping. She looked around the room for any signs of him. Locke was hiding behind the couch, holding his chest in pain, hoping that the person who just came into the room wouldn't find him. Aisha heard Locke's breathing easily, she walked over to the couch. Just as she looked behind it, Locke had already slipped into the next room. Aisha looked around confusedly. Then she heard Locke again, leaning against the wall in the next room. Inconveniently for Locke, he had stumbled into Aisha's room. The office/house Gene and co. rented had just added an extra room. Naturally, Aisha jumped at the opportunity to have her own room, aside from the sleeping quarters on the Outlaw Star. Locke looked around quickly for another hiding spot, but to no avail. He heard the footsteps approaching; he had accidentally left the door open. He dove under the bed and hoped somehow, his pursuer wouldn't find him there. Aisha walked into the room and took a quick glance around. She heard Locke again and knew exactly where he was hiding. Locke was lying flat on his chest under Aisha's bed. He really wanted to just scream in pain and get it over with. Aisha walked over to the bed and knelt down next to it. She looked underneath to find Locke looking back at her with great fear in his eyes, along with tears. Aisha held out her hand like she did before.
"Come on little guy. Come to Aisha." She said, trying to sound as nice as possible.
Locke looked even more afraid than he did before. "...ahh..." was all he said in response.
"Come on. It'll be okay." Aisha said with her hand still outstretched.
Locke was in too much pain to run away anymore. Even if he did try, he wouldn't get very far at all. He whimpered and admitted defeat, taking the Ctarl Ctarl's hand. Aisha gently pulled Locke out from under the bed.
"See? That wasn't so bad." She said, standing back up. "You shouldn't be moving around. You're still hurt there, little guy." She said, smiling down at him.
Locke just looked down at the floor, he was still afraid of the Ctarl Ctarl and what she might be planning. The only other Ctarl Ctarl he's encountered have tried to kill him. Aisha led Locke back to the couch and she sat down. He reluctantly lay back down next to her. He curled up into a ball on the couch, his head lying on her lap. Aisha smiled while she looked down at him, then she fell asleep. Shortly after, Locke fell asleep as well. He wasn't sure what this feeling he was getting was. Did he feel...safe?
So what'd you think? This is actually half of the chapter...but I'm on a schedule. So I'm just gonna put the other half of it as a separate chapter. As always...R&R, please! I'd appreciate it.