It was already dark when they emerged again into the parking lot, and the drifts of freshly shoveled snow were ghostly against the sky. Blues looked back in hopes of catching a final glimpse of Morita and Ogata—but he knew he wouldn't. He shivered. Judith gave him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, but her presence was no comfort.
When he saw where they were going, he stopped in his tracks. Two cars manned by Nurtech employees, their headlights beaming, were waiting a short distance from Judith's, one on either side.
"Dr. Sorensen..."
"It's all right, Blues."
"Why are they here?"
"They're going to escort us home," said Judith. "You were supposed to go with them—see the tinted windows?-but Yuichi and I negotiated an alternative. You're riding with us." She opened the back door and waved him in, and Yuichi climbed in behind. "But they have one condition: no one can see you. They're going to watch us to make sure we comply."
Blues already knew what she was going to say next. As he followed her instructions and settled down onto the floor of the car with his head beside Yuichi's ankles, he tried to pretend that this was a new experience for him.
"Sorry about this," said Yuichi, as he peered down over his knees with a wry smile. "If it's any consolation, it's too dark to see any scenery."
"How much longer do I have to hide?" Blues said. "Since my testing is finished, I thought..."
"It's only until tomorrow," Judith said as she lowered herself into the front seat. "Nurtech's going to hold a press conference in the afternoon to introduce you to the world—you've got to be there, I'm sorry to say, but you don't have to speak if you don't want to, and Tom will be right by your side."
It took a few moments for this information to sink in, but once he realized what it all meant he let out a gasp. "Dr. Sorensen... you mean I'm going to be on netscreen?"
"Yes," she said, "and there are going to be a lot of cameras pointed at you." She sighed. "Not your cup of tea, I know. But we've got no choice." She twisted around in her seat to face him, and managed a hopeful smile. "At least, once it's over, you can start living in the open... Tom's been keeping a list of the places you want to go, and he's going to make good on his promise." She paused, and her eyes wandered down to his stomach and then away to the side. "Keep in mind, though... Now that we're going to start repairing your core in earnest, you'll have to spend most of the next couple of months asleep. You understand that, don't you?"
Hesitantly, Blues nodded. "That's... what I figured."
"Right," said Judith. "But I think we have enough time to take you to one or two of the spots on your list first." Her face lightened. "And there's something else to look forward to in your near future... your birthday present."
But Blues barely heard the last few words she spoke. His mind was being pushed back and forth by the many troubled thoughts jostling for his attention: the unknown fates of Morita and Ogata, Albert's sudden expulsion from his life, tomorrow's press conference, his dread at the idea of soon being reunited with Dr. Light, and the imminence of the operation to fix his core—the implications of which, he realized, he didn't yet fully understand.
"Blues?"
"Yes?"
"Are you okay?"
He didn't answer.
Judith gave him a sympathetic nod, then turned around in her seat. "Okay or not, we've got to get you home," she said.
They drove away in silence through the night. After the glow of Nurtech's parking lot passed out of view, Blues saw nothing but black through the window above his feet except for the occasional glare of a streetlight. With each turn, he was pushed in one direction or another. He imagined the two Nurtech cars following behind for a purpose he still didn't know. The pain in his stomach grew until it was too powerful to ignore, and in a fit of nervous energy he wrapped his fingers around Judith's scarf.
During the earliest years of his life, his perception of time was stretched by the scarcity of his experiences: a week seemed to him like an incredibly long time, and a month was an eternity. Just then he realized, for the first time, that the procedure to replace his core—which Dr. Wily had described as difficult and risky—was actually going to happen, and soon.
There was so little in his life over which he had any control. As he grasped the extent of his helplessness, he let out another gasp.
"Dr. Sorensen," he said, "I'm scared."
"Don't be," said Judith. "The worst is already over."
But Blues thought her voice sounded wooden.
After a few minutes of tense silence, the car was lit up by the red glow of a traffic light, and they came to a stop. Just then, spurred on by blind id and instinct, Blues leapt up, grabbed his generator, and lunged at the door.
But Judith was faster. The car jerked forward, knocking Blues off his feet, and he landed on top of Yuichi. Judith let out a scream.
"Yuichi!"
Yuichi flung his arms around him, and with firm but gentle hands wrestled him down onto the seat.
"Let go-"
"Blues, get your head down below the window," said Judith.
"No..."
"I said, get your head down, dammit—and don't forget who's watching."
Startled by the authority in her voice and bested by Yuichi's strength, Blues shrank back to the floor of the car. He saw Yuichi's darkened face peering down at him, reassuring rather than angry, and moments later the man bent forward, reached out, and clasped him by the hand.
"Hey, it's all right," he said. "Stay with us. There's nothing out there but snow and trees."
"I... don't care," Blues said, trembling. "I want out, Mr. Nishikawa... Not just out of the car, I mean—out of everything."
"You panicked, that's all. You just need to breathe. Breathe—that would help him, right, Dr. Sorensen?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Judith said, "but it can't hurt." Then she sucked in a deep intake of air, as if trying it out for herself. She exhaled a long sigh. "Blues, these are Nurtech's rules, not ours," she said. "This is their game. We play by their rules. If we do what they ask, then when all this is over we get to keep you and care for you however we damn well please. No more hiding and no more tests.
"Please understand: everything we've done this past year, Tom and I... The purpose was to fulfill our part of the contract... to earn you your freedom, and a chance at happiness...
"We were still young when the project began. Catherine's vision... it consumed us. We gave up our youth, our lives. Twenty years. All that work..." She took another deep breath, and her lower jaw quivered. "I swear to you, we didn't do it all—nevermind your name—to bring a being into the world who'd be destined to be frightened and unhappy. We did it for life—bold new life—your life—and joy, and love... It was a vote of confidence in the future, in humanity..."
Blues blinked up at Judith, wanting more than anything to believe her. She was veiled in darkness, and all he could see was a silhouette of her face and the flutter of movement in her jaw—except for once every ten seconds or so, when a streetlight raced past and lit up the interior of the car for an instant. In these half-moments of illumination he saw her furrowed brow, tightly pressed lips, and misty eyes—and knew she was unconsoled by her own words.
"It wasn't all for nothing. I promise," she said, as another streetlight shot by, "as long as Tom and I are alive, at least, you are going to be the happiest, most loved creature on the face of this..."
"Wait, Dr. Sorensen, please." The words shot out of Blues like a kind of gasp. "Please." He'd just remembered something Albert had said to him the day he'd learned about his failing power core, and the words took on a special urgency. "There`s an... agreement, you see, between Takayama and us. We`ll give him what he wants, and he`ll give us what we want."
Judith glanced back at him. "Yes, Blues?"
"If Nurtech isn't going to keep me," he said, "then what are they going to get, anyway?"
Everything was quiet except for the sound of Judith slowly exhaling. Blues looked up at Yuichi, but Yuichi bowed his head and closed his eyes.
"Dr. Sorensen, Mr. Nishikawa..." Disturbed by their silence, he yanked at Yuichi's hand. "Tell me. Why is Nurtech following us home? Is it really just to make sure nobody sees me? Isn't there something else?"
Yuichi opened his eyes, but kept his gaze glued to the window. "When we get to Dr. Light's house," he said, "there's going to be... a transaction. Nurtech will let you come back into the house with us, and then..."
"And then, you're going to give them something?"
"Well, yes, Dr. Light will..."
"Yuichi," said Judith in a curt voice, and Yuichi fell silent.
"What's he going to give them?" Blues said.
But Yuichi didn't answer. He peered down, gave Blues an apologetic look, and glanced away. But as he turned to stare out the window, his eyes widened. "Dr. Sorensen," he said. "You won't believe this, but it looks like we've got company."
Blues couldn't see anything out the window from his vantage point on the floor, but he heard the rush of another car passing by at high speed, and watched as Judith's jaw dropped open.
"Shit, shit, shit."
"Why is he?..." said Yuichi. "I thought Dr. Light asked him not to visit today."
"Hell if I know."
"Who are you talking about?" said Blues. But as soon as he had spoken the words, the answer rose up to the surface of his mind: It's Dr. Wily... Dr. Wily's coming... He didn't know whether to be excited or frightened.
"Nevermind," Judith said in a shaking voice. "Just relax. You're almost home."
"You still haven't answered my question." Blues said, and was surprised by the anger in his own voice. "What's Dr. Light going to give Nurtech?"
"Dr. Sorensen," said Yuichi, "can't I...?"
There was no reply from the driver's seat. Blues stared up at the side of Judith's expressionless face, and a wave of terror washed over him. "Why won't you answer me?" he said. "Mr. Nishikawa..."
"Don't, Yuichi," Judith said in a hoarse voice. "You weren't there—you were just a boy when we drew up that contract. The burden is Tom's, and mine... and Albert's..."
For the next few moments, all Blues heard was the low humming of the engine. He was aware of his body pressed up against Yuichi's feet, and of the man's hand hanging down, firmly grasping his-but he had never felt so alone.
"Somebody," he said, "answer me."
Judith cupped a hand over her mouth, and Blues realized the reason she hadn't answered was not because she was refusing, but because she was unable.
The car slowed and came to a stop. With one final deep breath, Judith unfastened her seat belt and removed the key from the ignition. Yuichi pulled Blues up into the seat beside him. Through the rear window of the car, Blues saw the snow just as it began coming down outside in sheets, stark against the black sky—and, looming about twenty meters behind, two pairs of disembodied headlights beaming toward him.
"Well, we're here," said Judith. She was staring at the headlights through her driver's side mirror, her face washed out by a pall of utter dread. "Come with us, Blues. It's time to give Nurtech what they want—and for you to learn what that is."
They exited the car. Blues could have tried to run, but he felt beaten into passivity, and his feet wouldn't cooperate. With Yuichi on one side and Judith on the other, he allowed himself to be led toward the house. Within the short distance, the snow soaked through their clothes and hair. Wearing only his dress shirt and trousers—and Judith's scarf—Blues remarked to himself that he'd never felt so cold. He looked back—the two Nurtech cars remained where they were, silent and waiting. Ahead, he saw Dr. Wily's silver Peugeot parked beside the house, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Judith glaring at it with a look of contempt.
"Be brave," she said, as she reached for the front door.
But Blues couldn't tell whether she'd addressed the words to him, or to herself.
