Automan: Frozen Assets

By Autonwallyluver

Disclaimer: I don't own Automan--wish I did. (Ahhh…my very own handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed ahh…just my type, artificially intelligent hologram. Hey, a girl can dream can't she:) I also don't own the characters Walter Nebicher, Roxanne Caldwell, Jack Curtis, Cursor, or Captain Boyd, either. So, please don't sue. Besides, you wouldn't get much money out of me anyway. The characters John Ridge, Steve Daniels, Ted Kovilli, Peter Tang, Edith Kal, and Sam Kal as well as any other miscellaneous characters are mine all mine as well as the story idea, so please ask permission first before using them. Oh, and if the names, characters, places, and incidents bear any resemblance to the actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, they are a product of my sometimes overactive imagination and/or used fictitiously and are entirely coincidental. Well, enjoy.

Ch. 1--Meeting An Old Friend

The gym of the Los Angeles High School had been decked out like a dance hall with streamers, lights, tables, and chairs. There was a space in the middle of the gym for dancing. Some couples were already dancing to some slow dance music playing in the background.

A dark-haired young man dressed in a navy blue suit, light gray shirt, black tie, and grayish blue pants stood in a corner near a table where a variety of food had been laid out looking uncomfortable. Even though this was supposed to be his high school reunion, he still felt slightly out of place. A beautiful young blond woman wearing a sparkling red dress stood next to him looking even more uncomfortable and feeling even more out of place than him. She was only there because he had asked--okay, begged--her to come with him. When he pulled his "puppy dog" look on her, he knew she was going.

He remembered when he first received the reunion invitation…

He had just gotten home from work. He had the mail in one hand and his car keys in the other. He put the car keys on an end table in the living room of his apartment and started sorting through the mail. Bills were set aside on the end table. He systematically started throwing out different envelopes as soon as he finished scanning them. One envelope caught his attention. The return address was from his old high school. "Hmm…wonder what this is?" he mumbled to himself. He tore open the envelope and read the invitation letter inside. 'A high school reunion,' thought he.

Suddenly the floor underneath his feet started shaking. The lights around him flashed and dimmed. He turned towards his computer monitor. The words "Automan program compiling." were on the screen. He remembered he promised Auto he was going to update and improve Auto's program. A ball of white light burst forth from the monitor.

"Hi, Cursor," greeted he. Cursor hovered for a short while near one of the bookcases before zooming off into a different room. A tall, shimmering silhouette of a man started to form near the bookcase Cursor had just vacated. He turned to the man after the man had fully materialized. "Hi, Auto. We'll start upgrading your program in a moment. Looks like I'm not going to be here this weekend, so we'll have to finish the upgrades this week."

"Why?" asked Auto, curiously and with a little concern.

He heard the concern in Auto's voice and quickly reassured him. "It's nothing major. Here, look at this." He handed the invitation letter to Auto.

Auto quickly scanned it and asked, "A high school reunion?"

"Yeah, it's only going to be over the weekend, so I should be back by the following Monday. Come on, let's get to work." The rest of the night was spent upgrading and improving Auto's program.

The young man was brought back to the present when a voice called his name a couple feet from where he and the young lady were standing. "Walter Nebicher?"

Wally spun around looking for the source of the voice. A muscular man with light brown hair and hazel eyes in his late twenties wearing a gray three piece suite was walking toward them. "John? John Ridge? Is that really you?" asked Wally as the man drew nearer. "Wow, you look great."

With a smile, John replied, "Thanks. You too." He turned to the young woman standing next to Wally. "And who is this beautiful young lady?"

Wally gave a slight uncomfortable tug on his collar and said in a self-conscious voice, "This is my good friend and colleague from work, Roxanne Caldwell. Roxanne, this is John Ridge."

Roxanne stretched out her hand. John gently took her hand in his and lightly kissed the back of her hand. "Nice to meet such an enchanting young lady."

Roxanne blushed. "Nice to meet you, too."

To distract John from Roxanne, Wally cleared his throat and asked, "So, John, what have you been up to lately?"

John tore his eyes away from Roxanne and focused his attention back to Wally. "I'm a forest ranger now in Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park."

"A forest ranger. Great. That's what you've always wanted, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. It's really nice. I like the fact that I get to work with the various wildlife and plants within the park, but the job can tend to get a little boring at times. You know how it can tend to get sometimes."

"I read recently about a fire that broke out in the area you work. Sounded scary. Were you involved?" asked Roxanne.

"Yeah, I was. We got pretty lucky with that one. No one was killed and the fire department was able to contain the fire to the park, but enough about me. What have you been doing lately, Wally?"

"I'm an LA police officer. I work in their computer department," answered Wally with pride taking a business card out of his wallet and handing it to John.

John studied the card for a second to make sure that Wally wasn't pulling his leg before putting it in his wallet. He knew Wally always wanted to be a cop. "A cop, huh? Great! How has the cop life been treating you?"

"Oh, not bad. Not bad at all." Wally shared a quick conspiratorial look and grin with Roxanne before turning back to John.

"Oh, hey, just remembered." John pulled a small commemorative pin out from the breast pocket of his suit. "I want to show you this." He held up the pin for them to see. "I got this for the rescue work I did while dealing with that fire. A friend engraved the back for me." He turned the pin over and tilted it so the light illuminated the engraving. The engraving read:

"Congratulations Johnnie

Love,

Sam and Edie".

John's facial expression became somber suddenly. "Yeah, it's been great. Until recently. Something's going on where I work."

"Like what?" asked Wally, his interest piqued.

"I'm not certain. Steve, my partner who patrols the area with me, has been showing up late. During the patrol, he'll disappear for a couple of hours."

"Have you talked with him about it?"

"Yeah," sighed John. " I tried to anyway. He either changes the subject or just avoids answering." After a brief pause, John said more enthusiastically, "Well, enough of my woes. Come on. Let's enjoy the party." He took both Wally's and Roxanne's arms and lead them to a nearby table. After they reached the table, he held out his hand towards Roxanne. "May I have this dance?"

"Sure," said she uncertainly. Slow dance music was still playing in the background. She looked to Wally, who only nodded his head at her. She and John went to the area cleared for dancing and started dancing. As Wally watched entranced at the light sparkling off of Roxanne's red dress, he suddenly wished with some envy that he were the one who had originally asked Roxanne to dance with him. She looked so beautiful tonight. He noticed that even though she seemed to be enjoying herself, she still seemed almost…disappointed.

Roxanne was enjoying dancing with John but as nice of a dancer as he was, she wished she were slow dancing with Wally. The song ended and the slow song "Lady In Red" started playing.

Wally got up from the table and went to where John and Roxanne were dancing. "May I cut in?" he asked John.

John turned to him a bit surprised at Wally's boldness. 'He's definitely changed,' thought John. John didn't say anything. He just handed Roxanne's hand over to Wally's outstretched hand and walked back to the table they were all sharing watching almost with envy as Roxanne tenderly embraced Wally as they danced.

Wally put his arms around Roxanne's waist and she put her arms around his neck and gently rested her head on his left shoulder. They gently swayed to the music for a few minutes in silence before Roxanne lifted her head and whispered in Wally's ear, "Thank you for inviting me." She felt so content being in his embrace.

Wally enjoyed holding her. He responded just as quietly, "You're welcome." They danced the rest of the time in companionable silence. Each enjoying the other's company. Whatever worries Wally had about what was going on at John's work were driven from his mind.

Just before the song ended when the singer whispered in the song 'I love you,' Wally whispered at the same time into Roxanne's ear, "I love you." She blushed in response before they shared a quick kiss on the lips. The song ended shortly after that and they headed back to the table John was sitting at still holding hands. The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing and conversing over what had happened since the last time Wally and John had seen each other.