Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.
Ch. 9--Unexpected Allies
About two and a half hours later, a sudden shaking occurred in the main room of suite 406 of the Holiday Inn. The lights in the suite flashed and dimmed temporarily. Automan materialized in the center of the main room. He didn't immediately see Walter in the room. He was about to call out Walter's name as he scanned the rest of the suite when he noticed two strangers talking and searching in an adjacent room--for what, he did not know. He drew closer to the wall to avoid detection and listened to what they were saying.
"... nothing else here," said the oriental looking man.
"All right. Let's head back to the precinct. We shouldn't have any more trouble from that LA cop anymore, anyway," said the gray-haired man.
"Not much he'll be able to do. Not after the condition we left him in at the park."
'They did something to Walter,' thought Auto with concern. He vanished from the room.
Automan reappeared on the outskirts of the park. He commanded, "Cursor, we must find Walter immediately. His life could be in danger."
A ball of light appeared and Cursor quickly line-drew a sleek aerodynamic helicopter. Auto climbed into the Autochopper and quickly took off searching the park for any sign of Walter. He flew over a small, disused, secluded camping area well within the park boundaries when he noticed what appeared to be a body lying face-down on the ground near the tree line area. The person had dark hair, was dressed in dark clothing and virtually blended in with the trees. After flying low over the area, he quickly realized the body was Walter. He landed the Autochopper a couple feet away and got out. He noticed something at his feet and picked it up. It was Walter's wallet. The money was gone, but everything else appeared to be in the wallet. He quickly ran over to Walter's position with the wallet in his hand. He knelt down and put Walter's wallet in Walter's coat pocket. He couldn't help noticing how cold Walter's skin felt under his fingers as he felt Walter's neck for a pulse fervently hoping Walter was still alive. He found a weak pulse. 'He's still alive,' thought Automan with relief. He ran his hand over Walter's body carefully scanning Walter's body for any broken bones. Relieved when he didn't find any, Auto carefully turned over Walter's body so Walter was lying on his back. Auto saw small puffs of air coming from Walter's nose at a frighteningly slow rate. 'He's breathing,' instantly noted Automan with some relief--and anxiety. 'but his breathing is much slower than it should be.' He also noticed a faded bruise on Walter's left temple, which stood out against his pale complexion. His lips were a light blue as well. 'Hypothermia and mild bruising,' diagnosed Auto immediately. "Cursor," Auto looked to the Autochopper. "A thick, wool blanket. We must get Walter's body temperature back up to a safer level."
Cursor de-rezzed the Autochopper, flew over to where Automan was kneeling next to Walter and immediately rezzed up a thick, gray wool blanket. Automan took the blanket and immediately wrapped Walter in it being careful not to shake Walter's body too much. 'Time to test those new upgrades,' thought Auto. Holding Walter close to his own body, Auto generated infra-red heat to gradually increase Walter's body temperature back up to a safer temperature. Auto's desperate attempt to bring Walter's body temperature back up to a safer level started working. Color was slowly coming back into Walter's face and his lips were losing their blue tinge. His breathing was also increasing slightly.
After some time and after Walter's body temperature reached around 96° F, Walter woke up. He felt pain near his left temple and his left side ached. He realized he was wrapped in a thick, warm blanket and someone was holding him. He tried focusing on the face of the person holding him. Like adjusting a camera lens that was out of focus, his vision slowly cleared and he was able to make out Automan's face. He weakly asked in a barely audible whisper, "Auto?"
"Yes, Walter," softly responded Automan, relief mixed with concern evident in his voice. "How do you feel?"
"Tired and my head and left side hurt. And cold," replied Wally, his voice extremely weak. He started to feebly shiver despite the blanket and heat Auto was generating. "What happened?" The last thing Wally remembered was Kovilli hitting him with his gun.
"You are suffering from hypothermia and some mild bruising."
Wally gave a weak nod in understanding. Overcome with exhaustion, Wally closed his eyes and fell fast asleep snuggling closer to Automan's body and the heat he was generating.
As soon as Automan sensed Walter's heart rate slowing down and stabilizing at a lower rate and saw Walter's breathing evening out, he at first feared that Walter had relapsed into unconsciousness. When he felt Walter snuggling as close as he could get to his body, however, he immediately realized Walter had only fallen fast asleep in his arms.
Generating the necessary heat to keep Walter warm while he slept was draining Auto's energy. (He could still feel Walter feebly shivering against his body as Walter slept despite the blanket and heat Auto was generating.) He knew if he didn't find suitable shelter for Walter soon, he would be forced to leave Walter in the same situation he found him. Auto would rather risk electronic "death" than allow Walter to freeze to death; not without doing everything he could to make sure Walter had a fighting chance to recover.
While still holding Walter close to his body, Auto started scouting the area for suitable shelter. He spied a log cabin near the very edge of a clearing separating a small town and the park and started heading for it. When he reached the cabin, he didn't see anyone inside. He looked around for the owner being careful not to jostle Walter too much and wake him but saw no one. With his strength slowly ebbing, Automan decided to risk detection, opened the front door and went into the cabin. The cabin was small with only a living room with a fireplace, a small kitchenette with a laundry room off to one side, and one bedroom with a master bathroom. As he gently laid Walter on a couch facing the fireplace in the living room, Auto heard Walter let out a small whimper in protest at the removal of heat from his body but otherwise remain asleep. Using firewood neatly stacked near the fireplace, he quickly started a fire in the fireplace. Cursor de-rezzed the wool blanket and Automan covered Walter with a soft cotton blanket, which had been laying near the couch. Auto checked Walter's pulse, which was considerably stronger, and skin temperature, which was still cool to the touch but warmer than before. Satisfied that Walter would eventually recover, Auto was forced to disappear from lack of energy.
When the owners, an elderly couple, came back to the cabin from a trip into the nearby town for supplies, they found a dark-haired young man asleep on the couch. They were shocked at first, but when they realized nothing was taken and a fire was burning in the fireplace, they relaxed thinking maybe he was just a weary traveler. Because of their close proximity to the park, they received many weary park visitors. The woman decided to examine the young man. He had a fading bruise on his left temple, and he was still somewhat pale and haggard from his ordeal but sleeping soundly. Being careful not to wake him, she gently laid her hand on his forehead feeling for a fever. His skin was cool to the touch. She told her husband that the young man looked sick but didn't appear to have a fever. They agreed to let him sleep.
Wally woke up four to five hours later to find himself in a cabin lying on a couch covered with a cotton blanket. His left side still ached but his head no longer hurt as much and he was no longer as tired or cold. There was a roaring fire in a fireplace in front of him. The last thing he remembered was waking up in Automan's arms, Auto telling him that he had hypothermia and some mild bruising, and a short while later falling fast asleep in Automan's arms. 'Auto must have brought me here,' he thought to himself. He carefully sat up wincing as his sore left side protested the change in position and looked around for Auto without finding him but saw an elderly couple.
The woman said, "Well, good evening, sir."
Wally looked at them confused. "Who are you?"
The woman responded, "My name is Edith Kal. You can call me Edie. And this"--indicating the elderly man standing next to her--"is my husband, Sam. We own this cabin. What's your name, young man?"
"Walter Nebicher, ma'am," responded Wally.
"You looked sick when we came in, so we decided to let you sleep off whatever illness you have. Now that you're awake, maybe you can tell us how you came to be in our cabin, son," said Sam.
Wally related how he was sick with hypothermia and a friend had brought him here. When they asked him where this friend was, Wally told them he wasn't certain but he knew his friend would be back to check on him.
"That's one heck of a bruise you have," said Edie. She pointed to Wally's left temple. Wally reached towards his left temple wincing slightly as he carefully felt the bruise there. "How are you feeling now?" asked she.
"Better, thank you, but my left side still aches," replied Wally.
"Here, let me take a look," said Edie as she came closer.
"All right." Wally took off his winter coat and business jacket and laid them near his feet. He carefully lifted his shirt so she could take a closer look at his left side.
Edie let out a gasp at the sight of the faded bruises on Wally's ribs. "How did you get these bruises?" she asked with concern.
"I don't know," he said wincing as she carefully probed the bruises for any broken ribs.
She removed her hands from his side, carefully straightened up and said with sympathy, "Well, nothing's broken, thank God, but your left side is going to be tender for a while. Let me get an ice pack. That should help relieve the pain." She saw Wally nod in gratitude while carefully lowering his shirt before she turned and headed into the kitchenette.
Suddenly, the name the young man had supplied clicked to Sam's attention. "Walter Nebicher? You weren't by any chance good friends with a John Ridge in high school, were you?"
"Why, yes." Wally looked at him unsure how he could have possibly have known that. "I was good friends with John Ridge in high school, however he was killed recently," he related sadly.
"We know. Johnnie called you from here the day he was killed. He told us he had called you and we were to provide you any assistance we could. He hoped you would be able to help."
"So this is where he called from," realized Wally with a sudden understanding. "I did come to help, however I had an unfortunate run in with the crooked local cops he told me about." Absently, he gently rubbed his sore ribs. He looked at Sam in confusion. "How did you know John?"
"Our house is near his patrol and he visited here often." Sam noticed the wet clothing that Wally was still wearing and offered, "Let's get you out of those wet clothes. I'll have Edie put them in the drier. You look to be about my size. You can borrow some of my clothing." He went into the bedroom and came out with a simple pair of brown pants and a long-sleeved button down tan shirt. "These aren't much, but they should fit you."
"Thank you," replied Wally. He got up, accepted the proffered clothing, went into the bedroom and changed out of his wet clothing. He came out with the wet clothes bunched up in his arms. As he gathered up his discarded winter coat and business suit jacket from the floor where he had laid them, John's pin fell out of the pocket of his winter coat. Neither man immediately noticed the fallen pin. Wally handed the wet clothes to Sam.
Sam took them into the kitchenette and gave them to Edie. She exchanged the wet clothing with Sam for the ice pack she had prepared for Wally's injured ribs. Then, she went into the laundry room, emptied out the pockets, and placed the clothing in a front-loading drier. She placed the contents of the pockets on top of the drier.
Meanwhile, Sam had taken the ice pack and headed back into the living room where Wally was sitting on the couch. He noticed a small piece of metal on the floor where Walter's winter coat and business jacket had been. He picked up the metal and brought it with him. He handed Wally the ice pack. Wally carefully placed the ice pack on his injured ribs wincing at the sudden cold.
Sam sat next to Wally on the couch examining the small pin in his hand. "I remember when Johnnie first showed me this." Absorbed in past memories, he continued, "He was so proud of it. He wanted me to engrave the back for him." He turned over the pin and tried reading the back: "'TANG. DRUGS?' Looks like Johnnie etched over my inscription. I taught him how to engrave," he said proudly before turning to Wally curiously. "How did you get a hold of this?"
Wally recognized the pin and remembered the first inscription: "Congratulations Johnnie. Love, Sam and Edie."He exclaimed in sudden realization, "You're Sam and Edie!" At Sam's look of startled confusion, Wally continued in a calmer tone, "John showed me that pin at our high school reunion a week ago. The friend I mentioned earlier and I found it near the area where John's and his partner's bodies were located."
Sam looked again at the engraving Johnnie had made in the pin. "What does 'TANG. DRUGS?' mean?"
"Well, I've been able to figure out that 'TANG' is the name of one of the corrupt cops," said Wally, unpleasantly recalling his recent exchange with the sergeant. "I was in the process of figuring out what 'DRUGS?' meant when I was confronted by Tang and his cohort Lieutenant Kovilli."
Edie walked into the living room. "Your clothes should be dry soon," she informed Wally.
"Thank you," responded he.
She noticed his weary expression and asked, "When was the last time you ate?" She knew he would need to keep his energy level up in order to fully recover from his recent bout with hypothermia.
"Not since yesterday."
"You must be famished. I'll go cook us up a wonderful meal."
At the mention of food, Wally's stomach growled. "Food sounds great. Thank you."
Edith went back into the kitchenette and started cooking a meal. About an hour later, she finished cooking and they all sat at a small table near the kitchenette and started eating.
Automan had found a generator, which he used to power up, in a city some miles from the small town where the cabin where he had been forced to leave Walter was located. He hated having to leave Walter in such a vulnerable position, especially considering how weak and sick Walter still had been, but he had had no choice. He had used up most of his energy generating the heat necessary to keep Walter warm while they were still outside.
Using the Autocar, Auto headed back to the cabin where he had left Walter. When he got to the cabin, Walter was eating. Auto had Cursor quickly rez up a white shirt, black tie, black three piece suit and a dark gray winter coat over his body before Auto went to the cabin and knocked on the door.
Sam went to answer it. He looked at the tall, blond stranger wondering what he wanted. "Hello. Can I help you, sir?"
"Hello. Yes, sir. I was forced to leave a very sick friend here, Walter Nebicher. I came back to see how he is doing," Auto told the older gentleman.
Sam realized this gentleman was the friend Wally had mentioned earlier and said, "Please come in."
Wally looked to see who was at the door. Upon seeing Auto, Wally said, "Auto, glad you came back. A lot has happened since you left." Wally quickly finished eating.
"Walter, glad to see you're feeling better," responded Auto with an amused smile as he watched Walter swiftly devour the rest of his meal.
Wally grinned, a little embarrassed, and said, "Glad to know you care." His grin grew wider. Auto just smiled in return. Sam and Edie shared an amused grin between them as they listened to the good-humored banter between the two young men. Wally stood up from the table and introduced Auto. "Sam, Edie, this is my good friend and associate I had mentioned to you before, Federal Agent Otto Mann." Wally turned to Auto and said, "Auto, this is Sam and Edie Kal. They own this cabin and knew my friend John Ridge." Both Sam and Edie shook Auto's hand receiving a slight shock each.
"Oh, before you go," said Edie sensing they were getting ready to leave. She went into the laundry room and came back out with Wally's clothes neatly folded in her arms; the contents of the pockets sitting on top. "Here." She handed the clothes to Wally. "They're dry."
Wally excused himself and headed into the bedroom with his clothes in his arms. He quickly changed. When he came out, he was again dressed in his dark navy blue suit and winter coat. The clothing he previously had on were in his arms. He gave them to Edie. "Thank you. Thank you, both of you, for your gracious hospitality and the wonderful food." Wally shook hands with both Sam and Edie.
"You can thank us by putting Johnnie's murderers behind bars," said Sam resolutely.
"We will," promised Wally.
Auto thanked them for taking care of his friend. Both Wally and Auto left and headed back to the hotel.