MAP OF THE PROBLEMATIQUE

Chapter 15: Knights of Cydonia

"Wendy. Wendy! Come on, get a hold of yourself, sis."

"Oh, Sallie, I..... Goddammit!! Why the fuck is this happening? I can't get to Lydia, Joe's gonna die, this all just fucking sucks!"

"Miss Porter!" In my fits of hysteria, I turned to find Captain Hamilton jogging across the lot to us. "Listen to me, and listen to me good."

"Captain, wha--"

"I said, listen!" he said fiercely, dropping his voice. "This is a time-sensitive thing we got here, okay? I can get Joe to you."
"What?!" My sister and I both cried out at the same time.

"Will you shush for a moment?! Listen! When my wi--" He lowered his voice again, glancing around nervously. "When my wife died in a car accident six years ago, I hired on a Mecha maid to help with things. Cooking, cleaning, whatever. This Mecha was there for me consistantly when I was grieving. I became attached against my better judgement. When I saw the two of you in that cage, when I heard your story, I was immediately reminded of her. I can't let this happen to someone else."

"Oh, my God, Captain Hamilton, what are you saying?"

"Meet me around back this instant. Bring the car."

My sister and I leapt in without further inscentive. The engine turned and we were off. Pulling around to the back of the station, where there were barely any cars and not a single soul (Orga or otherwise), we sat and waited for no more than thirty seconds before Captain Hamilton emerged with a companion.

"Joe!" I gasped, jumping out of the car to throw my arms around his neck.

"Oh, Wendy....." He returned the hug.
"Captain Hamilton, I can't thank you enough," I smiled through my tears.
"You can thank me by high-tailin' it outa here, that's what you can do. Here," he smiled, handing me a large brown paper bag. "Clothes. For him. I've bought you some time; I've told them I'd personally take him to MDU. Now go on, get goin'!" Joe slid into the back seat, and I climbed back into the driver's seat.

Waving, we pulled out of the station in a rush, turning onto the main road and waiting at a light.

"So, love," Joe met my gaze in the rear view mirror. "Lydia?"

"Lydia," I grinned.

The three of us sat in front of the school fifteen minutes later and waited for Joe to change into new clothes in the back seat.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, I-- oh. Hold on." He glanced around quickly, then looked up into the rear-view mirror. Giving his head a quick shake, I watched in astonishment as his dark, chocolate hair turned red, and his eyes changed into an even more dazzling blue than Lydia's.

"God, Joe," I gasped. "You're just full of suprises, aren't you?"

He grinned. "Alright, Sallie, are you ready?"

"You bet," she smiled back. "Let's find this guy."

"Oh, I hope he hasn't left yet...."

The plan was as follows: even though we didn't have exact proof that Eddie murdered his wife or kindapped my daughter, Sallie would interrogate him while Joe, disguised yet in hiding nearby, would record the entire conversation. A little unorthodox, and a bit of a dumb plan, really, but at that point, I would have done anything. Including be the driver that waits for the investigators.

My sister and our Mecha friend stepped from the car, turning on their heels and making their way into the building. I was nervous as hell. I tried listening to the radio, I tried reading the magazine left in the back, but nothing seemed to calm my nerves. Finally, ten minutes later (the longest ten minutes of my life), the pair came quickly back to the car.

"Get down, Wendy. Joe, c'mon." The three of us slid down in our seats.

"What are we doing, Sallie?" I asked.

"Ssh, hang on.... look, there he is."

I looked across the yard to find the man himself striding across the courtyard, towards an old, beat up VW bug parked in a faculty spot.

"Wendy. Follow him. Now."

I didn't ask questions-- yet. Waiting for him to turn his car over, I did so to mine, and we slowly made our way out of the lot behind him.

"Do not lose him, sis, do you hear me?"

"Will someone explain this to me? What did you all hear? What did he say?"

"I didn't even have to talk to him. We overheard him on the phone with someone, they were not only talking about how Eddie killed his wife, but he started asking, 'How's the girl?' Then he tried addressing her by name, he called her Lucy-- and then he corrected himself-- Lydia, he meant Lydia."

"He said her name?"

"Play it, Joe."

Joe threw his neck again, and the clip started.

"Yeah, yeah, the cops, man.... they were askin' about the brat. Is she safe? Whaddaya mean, who? Lucy, the kid. Oh, oh, Lydia, excuse me for gettin' her name wrong. Listen, I don't give two shits WHAT her name is-- if the kid acts out again, I'll do to her what I did to my wife, I can promise you that."

My heart started to slam again. I could feel my blood begin to boil. I'd kill him. I'd tear his fucking head off with my two hands. Let me burn, I didn't care. No less wicked than what he'd already done.

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Music: This chapter was named after the song "Knights of Cydonia" by none other than the band Muse, of course..... LOL