Numboo Three! Take that writers' block! I beat you! Hope to get some good feedback here!
Disclaimer: You know who owns what.
Italics are thoughts
--
To Learn to Live
Chapter Three: Dream a Dream Come True
--
"HELP! Somebody please! HELP!"
June whirled around at the sound of the scream. She could hear the beating of small, panicked footsteps on the rainy pavement.
"Who's there?" she called, her hand fluttering on her gun. A crash of galvanized trashcans answered her, a small flood of rubbish spilling out from the mouth of the alley.
Almost immediately after, a young girl scrambled out onto the sidewalk. One of the legs of the magenta thigh high garter tights she wore was ripped at the knee, stained with a small amount of blood. She wore no shirt, her young, heaving breasts covered only by a small black bra. Her wide frightened eyes danced around the area, tears smearing the heavy black makeup down her pale face.
"Hey, kid! C'mon, quick! In the spinner!"
The girl jumped at the sound of the new voice. She stared at June, terrified for a moment, but then quickly followed the order. The door opened and she fairly leapt inside. June went for her door and froze when she heard the growl and snigger of male voices. Her hand whipped out her gun and she spun around, finding aim on a small knot of punks from the alley.
"Party's over boys! Take it somewhere else!" she shouted, her gun unwavering. A few of them raised quiet qualms about her, but the obvious leader hushed them and stepped forward.
"Lady, all we wants is the girl. Where's the whore?"
"No girl around here but me, and I hope you aren't insulting me. Now beat it!"
The dirty man sneered at June. "Hell, I see her in that flying heap. You some kinda rep-symp? Give us the reppie whore and there won't be no trouble," he bargained, taking a step forward.
June's stomach went icy. If they were right, and she was…But it was wrong. She knew their kind and she couldn't let her go to them.
"Joleson, BR61675. Blade Runner Unit," she explained, cocking her gun slowly and loudly. "And I said beat it!"
At the crack of the chamber filling with a bullet, the leader stepped back into the throng. "Awright boys. Let's let the officer do her duty. No fun fucking a robot anyway."
June felt bile rise in her throat and the thought of putting a slug through his jewel box crossed her mind. She waited until they disappeared, then lowered her gun and entered the spinner.
The girl jumped visibly when June settled in the driver's seat. June stared out the window, waiting to see if they dared to come around again. Finally, she holstered her gun and ran a hand through her red curly hair.
"Bastards," she growled. "They're better off in lock-up. And they say replicants have no empathy." She turned and looked at the girl. Her hair was messy and out of place, clods of dirt caked in the bright pink bob. She'd begun to shiver a bit, whether out of fear or chill. June reached behind her seat and watched her nearly jump out of the spinner with a gasp. "Whoa, now take it easy hon. Just seeing if we can't…ah here we go." She pulled a purple vinyl zip-up top with clear sleeves out of a bag and held it out to her passenger. "Here you go."
The girl stared at her with wide hazel eyes. She made no move for the top.
"You won't hurt me, will you?" she asked in a quavering voice. June felt that cold needling her stomach again.
"Why would I do that?"
"You've got a gun. Guns hurt people."
"I'm a police officer honey. It's my job to keep you safe." She edged the shirt to her. Finally, she girl reached for it. June could see the ripped nails painted pink. "There you go." Her slender fingers gripped it and she held it to her chest for a moment. She slipped it on and looked down at it, a tiny, barely-there smile gracing her lips.
"I like it," she said, the tremor all but gone from her voice. June grinned.
"It looks good on you," she said, holding out her hand in a friendly gesture. "My name's June." Slowly, the girl grasped her hand and timidly shook it.
"I'm Lucy," she whispered, clasping June's hand a little tighter. She placed her other hand over Lucy's and smiled gently.
"Lucy, if you want to make a statement against them, I can take you to the station," she explained. Lucy shook her head firmly.
"No, I just want to go home."
"Are you sure? We could get them easy," June urged.
"No. Please I…Father will be worried," Lucy said, reaching for the door.
"Wait a minute, where are you going?" June stopped her.
"I…I have to get home."
June shook her head in finality. "After what happened tonight, I'm not letting you walk out there. Where do you live?"
"I…In…I don't think you should."
"Honey it is way too dangerous tonight. Considering what just happened, I don't think your father would mind you getting a ride home."
Lucy sighed. "I live at the Yukon, near Mr. Lee's restaurant."
"Howie Lee's?"
"Yes. With Father, Mother and…my uncles."
Full house for the Yukon, June thought, but let it pass and nodded. "Alright honey, buckle up."
The trip to the hotel was short and silent. The only sounds were the hums and beeps of the spinner and Lucy's slow, even breathing. June glanced at her from time to time. The fear was still lurking in her eyes, tears threatening to leak out. The only signs of the trouble she'd had were the wounds on her knee, the dirt on her body and the tracks of black make-up streaked on her cheeks. They set down in front of the hotel and sat for a moment. Finally, Lucy looked at her.
"Thank you, June." Suddenly she looked ashamed. "I…I wasn't doing anything wrong."
"Oh honey I know. You're alright now," June said with a soft smile. "Do you want me to tell your father what happened?"
Lucy sat thinking a moment then shook her head. "Father doesn't really like visitors. I'll tell him, I promise."
"Okay." She started to take the shirt off but June held up a hand. "You keep that."
"But it's yours."
"It suits you better than me. It's a gift."
Lucy looked at the floorboards a moment and then looked up at June, a real smile on her face now. June felt relief puddle in her stomach. "Thank you."
"You're welcome Lucy. I'm gonna get out and watch you go in, okay?"
"Okay," she smiled, opening her door. June got out and leaned against her spinner, watching Lucy disappear into the Yukon hotel. Then something above her moved and caught her eye. She looked up and saw a man standing in a lighted window. He was looking down at her; she could see his incredibly dark eyes even at the distance she was.
She saw someone else come into view and realized it was Lucy. The man in the window turned to her and pulled her to him protectively. She spoke to the man, who looked at her earnestly and spoke to her in return. She saw Lucy nod and point down at where June stood. The man looked down at her again, this time with a look of surprise in those piercing eyes…
--
"June? June, wake up."
June breathed in deeply, the dream fading quickly. She opened sleepy teal eyes and saw a blur above her. When her vision cleared, she smiled at Spencer who was gently shaking her shoulder.
"Okay Spence', I'm up. What's going on?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Well, one of my contacts at CARS called my phone early this morning. I went to meet him so we could discuss your situation."
June immediately woke up and sat up in the bed. "And? What's he say? Will they take me?"
Spencer was surprised at how quickly the news got her focused, but continued. "Well, it took a bit of doing—they don't usually take non-replicants—but I was able to secure you passage on one of their transports. Merry Christmas."
A firework went off in June's stomach. "Hot damn!" She leapt out of the sheets and tackled him in a joyous hug. "Oh, thank you Spencer! Thank you, thank you!" Spencer laughed and patted her back. She froze and pulled away, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "Uh, sorry. I gotta stop that. So when do we go?"
"Well, that's the bad news."
"What? Bad news? No, no, bad news is bad. Please, no bad news."
Spencer nodded grimly. "Sorry to say there is. See, they'll take you, but they're stationed out of town past the kipple. We'd have to get past the radioactive stuff to get there. A ground car won't get us there. The roads don't go out that far, and my spinner was impounded after I got locked up."
June gaped at him. Spencer frowned. He hated to disappoint her.
"Is that all?"
Now it was his turn to gape. Did nothing discourage this crazy woman? "Um, yeah, that's all. Why? You have a plan."
"Well, kind of," she shrugged. "I may not be on the best of terms with my uncle, but family ties should get him on my side for a minute. Can I use your phone?"
"Yeah, of course," he handed it to her. She took it and dialed quickly. A moment passed and she straightened up involuntarily.
"Hello, Rachel? Put me through to Eldon. Who the hell else has this number? It's June, so put him through." The determined look in her eyes went out like a candle flame. "What? When? I…I see… Never mind, look, I need a spinner. Any way you can…good. Okay sure. I'll be there." She clicked the phone off and handed it to him, not looking up from the floor. "Rachel said they'd get a spinner ready for me at the Tyrell building. Can you drive me?"
Spencer paled at the near emotionless tone in her voice. "June? What's wrong?" He stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. She slumped into a chair.
"He's dead."
Spencer felt something like a nail pierce his heart. Not more death for this girl, his mind said, causing a shiver to go through him. "Who is?"
"Tyrell… he was murdered."
"What? By who?"
Her eyes filled with tears, dripping onto her legs. "I don't know." She wiped her wet eyes fiercely. "He wasn't the nicest guy on the planet, but…I did love him…God, I'm so sick of death Spencer."
He sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry." She pulled away and got to her feet, wiping her eyes again.
"I don't have time for this now. Can you give me a lift?" She stood with her shoulders squared, her eyes drying but strained.
Spencer looked at her for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, I can get you there. It'll take us about an hour through the tunnel."
June nodded, staring out the window at the city. It was filled with artificial light and artificial people. And she wasn't thinking about the replicants. So many lies. So much death. She knew death was for everyone, and she probably wouldn't escape it Off-world, but even living here felt like death. And that wasn't for her. She could stand driving an hour through the stinking kipple if only to get away from this living-dead planet.
--
"So Spencer, this is your Blade Runner."
June looked levelly at the tall man before her. He reminded her of one of those bouncers on Nightclub Row; only this guy was barring her from freedom, not some dancer.
They'd made it to the Tyrell Building through the foul-smelling wasteland, protected by the newly erected tunnel. Hats off to the City's Board of Commissions. When they arrived at the gilded glass complex, they received an icy greeting from Rachel and a couple strong-arms. Though reluctantly, the cold secretary led them to the impressive custom spinner that her late "great" uncle had left her. June asked about Tyrell's death, but got no information. Not surprising though. She'd known for a long time that Rachel was a replicant. Not as advanced as a typical Six, but much more loyal, and her DNA files and the integral data she held were invaluable to the former Blade Runner. It was funny that her uncle left more to her than his own flesh and blood. Not that it mattered. The spinner and the sizable amount of chinyen were all she required now.
"Former Blade Runner, Matthew. I'm telling you she's okay," Spencer explained. The burly man looked down his hawk-like nose at her, taking in her body covered by the masculine clothing.
"You sure you ain't just paying off a few…favors?" he sneered.
Anger flared in June's stomach, but she only laughed softly and darkly, shaking her head full of curls. "Look 'Tiny' I've been through enough shit as it is, and I don't need it from a bouncer-wannabe like you, so don't start. I'm not in the mood."
"Watch your mouth bitch!" He snarled, making a fist. Spencer stepped between them.
"That is enough! I'm the leader of this group, and I've already cleared her with Simon. Now step aside," he ordered. The men looked each other squarely in the eye, then Matthew sighed and moved to the side. June stalked past him, muttering something about his mother. He looked stonily at Spencer who shrugged and went to catch up with her.
"Let him just talk down to me and you, what bullshit. He's a dick," she mumbled to herself, sneering at him over her shoulder. Spencer laughed, causing June to give him a strange look.
"That's Matt. He is that, but good for security. Biggest hard-ass I ever met."
"Language Spencer," she chuckled. "You're usually so soft-spoken."
Spencer sent a smile her way. "You haven't seen me on my soapbox yet. I haven't done that since the protest at the plant. That was months ago," he sighed nostalgically.
June grinned. "I'd like to hear your big comeback speech, but I don't think I have the time."
Spencer nodded as they approached the dispatch platforms. Lines of people waited to board their passage to freedom. He took her hand and led her to the front of the lines, much to the displeasure of those who waited hours. When they reached the entrance to the humming transports, they were stopped by a thin woman with black hair and a bulging binder.
"Wait a minute, you can't just—Spencer! Oh my god, you're out!" She ran forward and clasped his hands. "It's so good to have you back. And who's this?" she asked, finally noticing June.
"This is June, Becky. She's the one I talked with Simon about. Is he around?"
Becky nodded with a secretary-like smile. "Yes, he's inside working the computers." She turned and walked to a small portable building and popped her head in. "Simon, Spencer's here. He wants to see you."
There was a tumble from inside and a wiry nervous man poked his head outside the door. He grinned at Spencer. "Hey boss, good to see you." He stepped onto the platform, smoothing the wrinkles from his shirt. "This must be her," he said looking at June, who gave him a confident smile.
"Simon, this is June, and yes, she's the one I need you to take with you."
"Any luggage?" Simon asked.
June lifted a bit of the shirt to show them the pouch. "Just this. Chinyen and meds."
"Meds?" Becky asked, raising a thin brow. "You sick?"
"Nope, I'm a doctor. These are experimental components," she explained, hoping they wouldn't ask too many more questions.
The pair exchanged a look and nodded. "Okay," said Becky stepping forward. "Take it off and put it in this tray and we'll put you through the scanner. Gotta make sure you're physically fit—"
"No need," Spencer interrupted. "She used to be in the LPD. She's as fit as they come."
Simon nodded assent and ushered her forward. "Alright, just go in, find a seat and buckle up."
"Just a minute," June hesitated and turned to her savior. Her eyes stung a little. She'd been so hung up on getting off Terra that she forgot of how much she would miss him. She stepped forward and held out her hand. "You saved my life Spencer. I owe you everything," she admitted.
"You don't owe me anything but a vid or two when you get wherever you need to be," he answered, reaching out to hold her hand.
"You got it. And you, send me a vid of that comeback speech." She tried to smile, but her eyes started to shimmer a bit. "I know I said I'd stop it but, do you mind—" Spencer cut her off and pulled her into a tight hug. She sighed and tried to keep her tears reined in. "You're the only thing on this planet that I'm going to miss."
He patted her back and let her go. Simon led her onto the ramp and she stepped through the door. He turned to leave.
"Hey!" She called. He turned and saw her pretty smile for the last time for a while. "You keep that spinner, okay? Merry Christmas!"
He grinned. "No argument there! You take care June!" He shouted over the rising hum of the engine warming.
"I will! Thank you!" She called back as the door slid shut on the image of the last friend she had on Terra. The airlock hissed a computerized voice urged everyone into a seat. She scanned the area and saw an empty seat beside a small brown-eyed boy. Walking over, she gestured to the chair and he nodded with a smile. She returned it and sat down, feeling the pain that had been pounding in her chest ebb away as the engines turned over and rumbled.
The clink of the vials in her bag caught her attention. She unsnapped the flap and checked on her precious cargo. They were both intact as were all the chips. She gazed at the shimmering silver fluid swirling behind the glass and smiled. This was everything she had fought for, and now it was time to really set things in motion.
"Hey, what's that?" asked the boy, turning wide inquisitive eyes to June. She looked at him, and thought of how this would help him. And all others like him. It sent a warm ripple through her heart and she smiled warmly at him. This really was redemption.
"My destiny," she whispered, as if telling him a secret.
And yours too, I hope, she thought to herself as the transport lifted them up from the ravaged land and started them off on their journey.
--
There ya go, another chapter down the hatch! I hope you're enjoying this, because I haven't gotten a lot of reviews. PLEASE review! It renews my faith in my stories. And it makes me happy too!