Another Fortunate Accident
Ch. 8 – The Call of Home
Nene glanced over at the clock from her bed. 12:30 a.m., it read back to her. She's been gone for four hours. She should have called by now! The hacker had specifically told Priss to call her with any news on Linna's condition in exchange for creating the fake ID.
Nene rolled over and sighed. I wonder if Priss told Linna she's the one who hurt her?
She recalled just finishing prepping some disks when Priss had knocked on her door asking for a favor. Those disks were the ones she had stealthily copied from the hardsuit files after Sylia had left to go find Priss earlier in the evening. After the rather ragged looking singer had left with the ID in hand, she reviewed the footage from the office boomer attack.
Linna's files were badly damaged by the impact to her helmet, but Priss' were all too clear. Nene had to go back and review them three times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Mentally recalling the aftermath of the 'accident', Nene wondered why she didn't realize it sooner. Priss was so… so concerned… not like anything Nene could recall seeing from the normally detached Blue Saber. If nothing else, she would have expected Priss to be tossing things around the mobile pit at the sight of Linna's injuries… not hovering over her like a friend… or was it more?
Nene suspected that Linna might lean 'that way' after getting to know her over the last few weeks… but Priss? Sure, she didn't seem to be too thrilled with Leon's advances or for that matter anyone else's as far as she knew. There was that one man in her life… although she didn't know much about Priss' past. What she learned was just what she could pick up from conversations between Priss and Sylia. She didn't talk much to Nene even after nearly a year of being teammates.
She had definitely not been Priss' choice to join the Knight Sabers. Sylia had picked her because of her hacking skills. Linna, however, had been Priss' choice… not Sylia's… not even hers. Perhaps that's where the answer was… just why had Priss picked Linna?
Not that it will matter much if I don't hear from her soon she thought to herself as Nene drew up the covers and let sleep overcome her.
The blood-curdling scream shattered the remnants of sleep from around Misa Yamazaki. She leaped out of the vacant hospital bed and was at her daughter's side in an instant. Even with the lights dimmed, she could see Linna sitting up in bed, arms holding her abdomen, eyes open wide in shock. Misa gathered her daughter in steady arms in an attempt to comfort her.
The shaking girl heaved sobs on her shoulder, clutching her mother's neck with one arm and holding her midsection with the other. "Priss… where's Priss?" she stammered out.
"Who?"
"Mom?"
Linna's questioning reply caught Misa by surprise. "Linna, it's me. You just had a nightmare… it's OK now… I'm here with you." The soothing voice instantly calmed the shaking from Linna's body as Misa began to gently rock her daughter back and forth. She continued to comfort Linna until the sobbing stopped. Linna's arm relaxed from around her neck.
She looked up into her daughter's eyes to see she had fallen back asleep, her exhausting ordeal still taking its toll on her. She gently lowered Linna back into the bed and tucked her in, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.
With her daughter resting peacefully again, her thoughts turned to that name… "Priss." It was familiar for some reason. A picture of the ragged woman practically lying on top of Linna when they had first come into the room reappeared in her mind. The nametag… she had only read it briefly when trying frantically to get a doctor earlier… what was that name… Priscilla… Priss… it had to be the same person Linna had asked about. The way she asked for her though… that brought some serious questions to her mind.
The other word that came to mind… 'Commitment'. That's what Linna had said she still feared when they had talked after the dinner back at the house. But she was sure it was that 'commitment' that had caused her to leave so suddenly after the walk with Masaki. She knew Linna's father didn't have any idea what that commitment really was. However, she knew her daughter a little better than that. Even though she had suspicions, she didn't want to unnecessarily worry her father over pure speculation. Of course, that was before Linna's boomer 'accident'… which only seemed to confirm her suspicions even more. Finally, this 'Priss' person filled in some blanks that she had… if she was who Misa though she might be.
Looking over at the clock, she noted that it was almost 3 in the morning. "Might as well try and get a couple of hours of sleep anyway." She looked over at her husband, still blissfully sleeping in a chair in a corner of the room. That man could sleep through a typhoon… she noted dryly. Lying down on the bed opposite her daughter, she pulled the plain white covers up over her and tried to block out the gnawing concerns in her head… until Linna's next nightmare woke her a few minutes later.
"There wasn't much left to pick up after the Knight Sabers were finished with the boomer," the operative spoke through the video connection.
"All the easier to clean up. How about the loose ends at the hospital?" Mason queried expectantly.
"Almost finished. Having an in-house employee makes it almost too easy," the agent boasted.
"What do you mean by 'almost'?"
The displeased tone had its obvious unnerving effect, even through the video feed. "We've arranged for a 'lengthy' recovery period outside of the Tokyo area. The parents are being persuaded shortly to take the employee back home with Hugh Geit supplying severance pay to compensate for their trouble."
"That should keep them from unnecessarily stirring up trouble in the Tokyo area for the time being," Mason said approvingly. He understood all too well the subtle differences between an external media circus following a military boomer incident and the internal strife caused by one of Genom's own products injuring an employee. In reality, protecting Genom from external pressures was considerably easier than trying to contain a cancerous fear of the company's product. Hiding the truth from co-workers would also be easier considering the lucky break of the office manager rampaging through a nearby building and not Hugh Geit's. That left only some minor details to address. "You have arranged to clean up the hospital computer files, haven't you?"
The surprised look on the operative's face brought a scowl from the pale skinned mastermind. "Right away sir!" the shaken man stammered out before cutting the connection.
Mason began to rub his temples. "Why is it so hard for the most powerful company in the world to find adequate people for such simple tasks?" he asked his red-haired assistant.
"I do not know sir," she answered.
"I wasn't expecting you to know, but at least I can count on you to carry out certain tasks without always wondering if I'm going to have to clean up afterwards."
The familiar voices roused Linna from the depths of sleep. She cracked her eyelids slightly until the sharp daylight from the open windows blinding them closed again. Trying to reorient herself, she concentrated on the voices. They reminded her of home… her mother and father arguing over her again.
"You can't let them do this to her. How do you know she's ready?" … her mom's voice.
"I'm not the doctor, they are. When the doctors say she's ready to be discharged, she's coming with us." … her father's voice.
Doctor? Discharged? Hospital?
"Doesn't Linna have a say in how she wants to recover?"
"No she doesn't! When she ran out Sunday afternoon, she lost her right to choose for herself in my book."
"So it's her fault she was hurt by that boomer?"
A boomer attack…?
"I never said that!"
"So why not let her decide if she wants to stay in Tokyo or not?"
Tokyo… I'm still in Tokyo…
"The doctors say she'll likely need two weeks of bed-rest to heal properly. Who's going to give her help for two weeks here? Not that street thug that was in here last night!"
Priss… Memories came back to Linna in a torrent, Priss voice… waking up to Nene in the hospital… Priss visiting… almost falling out of bed only to be caught by Priss… holding her close… her parents interrupting… and now fighting. The elder Yamazaki's comments stung at Linna, but also raised her blood pressure. She considered getting up for a split second when her mother's biting response stopped her.
"Her name is Priss and you should know better than to judge someone by their looks alone… especially if they are a friend of Linna's."
"If she's such a friend, why didn't she come back to check on her? It doesn't matter anyway, Linna's coming home with us and that's final."
…didn't come back?…
Misa Yamazaki didn't quite agree with the finality of the situation. "I want her to come home just as much as you do, but forcing her to come will just push her away again… and I don't want to lose touch with Linna…"
The bedridden woman could sense when her mother was overly emotional. Linna's eyes were still closed but she could see the tears in her mother's eyes.
"… she's all we have left."
"I know. But we have no choice. She has to come with us."
"Why?"
A tense silence filled the room as Linna waited for her father's answer.
"Her employers are offering a generous severance package… but only if we take her away from Tokyo for the recovery."
Genom…
"But why?"
"Does it really matter why? Besides, we need the money to afford the specialists."
"Specialists? For what?"
Her father hesitated again for a moment. "The doctor pulled me aside after the company representatives finished with their offer…."
Another pause… this time Linna cracked her eyes open in curiosity. Neither of her parents was looking at her. Her mother was focused squarely on her father, who was obviously troubled very deeply. He was always calm, sure, confident, and stubborn. That wasn't the man Linna saw across from her hospital bed. He was tense, hands shaking by his sides, head bowed… that sight frightened Linna more than anything he could have said. After a few more tense moments of waiting, she couldn't bear the suspense any longer. "What did he say? What's wrong?"
Her interruption snapped both parents out of their shared trance. "Linna! How long…"
"… have I been listening? Long enough." She interrupted her mother more sharply than she wanted to. She wasn't angry with her mother, but more frustrated with the familiar situation of being talked about but not talked to. The added stress of the unknown prognosis from the doctor wasn't helping matters either. "Dad, what did the doctor say?"
Her father didn't answer the question right away.
"She has a right to know," her mother added in, "and so do I."
Her father's voice cracked as he answered… something Linna hadn't heard him do in years. "They told me a bunch of medical junk… tried to make me understand what happened..."
"Understand what?" Linna queried nervously.
He looked up into his daughter's eyes as he answered her again. "You'll never be able to bear your own children."
Her mother gasped audibly and turned towards Linna.
For her part, Linna was sure this had to be another nightmare… she'd had enough of them in the past day. Her expressionless face remained unchanged as her mother rushed to her side to hold her.
Linna's father tried to continue. "They gave me a list of specialists, doctors who can help with this kind of thing. A few are close to home…"
Misa Yamazaki held her daughter upright in the bed, rocking Linna back and forth with tears streaming down her slightly wrinkled face.
Linna still hadn't reacted at all. It's just a dream… it has to be… The problem was she couldn't wake up, no matter how much she wanted to. Linna looked down on her gown to see her mother's tears beginning to soak the plain fabric. Another lone tear joined the fray… then another… and another… My tears. As if detached from reality; she looked up through a watery scene, her mother supporting her as always… father off in the distance, just standing in shock. She could feel their pain… their loss.
The beginning pangs of guilt began to creep up form the recesses of her past. I've failed them… I thought there would be more time She thought back to the time spent after high school… helping around the house… trying to please her parents… her father. Having failed for two years to live up to their, his, expectations; she decided to strike out on her own. She had a dream of being someone special, someone able to help others, and that led her to the Knight Sabers. Looking at herself sitting in a hospital bed as a result of wearing a hardsuit… yet another failure. I've let everyone down… my relatives… my parents… my friends… The guilt swelled as Linna began to sob uncontrollably on her mother's shoulder. She cried until her stitches ached… the pain just a further reminder. That caused her to cry even harder. It's my fault… all of this… just trying to pretend to be some stupid superhero… look where it got me… all my fault… No! Not just my fault…
The guilt turned wildly over to anger as emotions ran rampant through her blood. …No! It's that boomers fault… but, it wasn't the boomer… it was Priss… it's Priss'… NO! Not her fault… Not Priss… Priss… Angry thoughts dissolved into concern of her missing friend. I can't blame Priss, can I? I forgave her… she didn't… she couldn't have known… But lingering doubts trailed in her mind. Why didn't she come back?
The last thing she remembered was her parents yelling at her about her blood soaked bandage… and Priss backing away towards the door, ready to bolt at any second. That was the obvious answer. How could Priss stay in the room with her parents here, especially with her ID badge reading Priscilla Yamazaki? But, she felt so close to Priss… why did it matter if her parents were here or not? But how does Priss feel about me? The question brought out a stunning memory… a kiss… just on the cheek… but a kiss none the less.
Linna hadn't thought much about what she was doing. She just wanted to reassure Priss, try to make her understand that whatever happened couldn't have been her fault. Priss seemed to take it in stride at the moment, but so much was going on. Linna wanted to talk through her feelings… and tried to… until her parents came in. She didn't know when Priss had left, only that she hadn't come back. Her father's own words stung even harder now… "If she's such a friend, why didn't she come back to check on her?"
It was the only explanation she could think of… the only one that made any sense. If it was just about some stupid badge, the Priss I know wouldn't care… she'd just laugh away the questions, wouldn't she?… it's not that… it's me… it has to be... The familiar feeling of rejection ran rampant through her emotionally overtaxed mind. …always the outsider, no matter where I am or who I'm with…
Her mother still supported her, holding her up and letting Linna cry out the pain into her shoulder. Linna needed that comfort more than ever now. Two months on my own and my life is over… where can I go now? Linna made an emotional decision as the aching pain of loneliness flooded over her body. She clutched onto her mother hard and whispered to her, "Please… take me home mom."
"Linna…" her mother started before her daughter looked up into her eyes with tears streaming down both cheeks.
"Just take me home."
To be continued
