Chapter 9

Indrahar Hospital, Ishiyama,
Solaris City, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance,
November 3, 3067

Mickey held Hyolee's hand as the two rushed toward the end of the corridor. An influx of doctors and interns and patients seemed to push them back to the elevator, but the two resisted, swimming upstream in the human flow, until they reached the room at the end of the corridor. Jenny and Jeremy were waiting outside.

"My God!" Hyolee uttered, seeing the big dark blotch on Jenny's bridge. "Are you alright?"

"Eeehh..." Jenny shrugged. "This is just a scar. It's annoying, but it'll get better in several days."

"And Amber?" Mickey added. "Is it true that she is held for ransom by the Bertoli mafia?"

"It appears that way," Jeremy confirmed. "We found her on the deadly slum of Wasteland, in an abandoned complex. The guy that held her hostage – presumably the same guy that kidnapped her – was a Bertoli hired gremlin, and we have a confirmation that he worked for Mac too."

"Oh my god," Hyolee murmured. "What will happen to Mac?"

"Major Tom and Stan are dealing with him," Jenny explained.

"Is Amber fine?" Mickey asked Jeremy.

"So far so good. No internal damage, just dehydration, malnutrition and drug abuse. It seemed that the gremlin drugged her for weeks with only minimal water or food. But that's just a report from the interns. We'll know for sure if we can talk to a doctor."

"So no doctors yet?" Mickey mused. "Just interns? Are they good?"

"Yeah, they're good, theyr're just a little... quirky."

"Seriously?" Hyolee asked.

"Seriously!" Jenny scoffed. "Indrahar is the best around here, but the service is below par."

"What happened to the gremlin?" Mickey wondered.

"Let's say he won't give us any more trouble," Jenny replied while making a slicing gesture across her neck. "Jeremy took care of him." She looked at Jeremy, "I must say I'm impressed with your performance. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Back home," Jeremy grinned. "Never bring a knife to a gunfight, I know, but when all fail, a blade is better than an empty gun. Just like today."

"Yeah, yeah, you can gloat," Jenny smiled. "You deserve it. Wanna grab something to eat?"

"Sure," Jeremy said, then turned to Mickey. "Can you stay here for a while? When you see those quirky interns, don't let them go. Make them talk, or ask for the doctor. We want the opinion of a professional."

"You can count on me," Mickey replied in gusto. "Just go eat something."

"Wow, imagine what will happen to Amber if Stan, Jenny and Jeremy didn't come for her," Hyolee, commented, trying to look inside the room. "I wonder who wants to hurt Amber. She's sweet and honorable."

"Mac has a lot of enemies," Mickey tried to make sense of the situation. "Some of them may try to get to Mac through her." He put his arms around her. "Let's just hope her nightmare ends here and now."

"Yeah," Hyolee purred as she leaned her head on Mickey's shoulder.

Mac was on his way to see Amber when Stan intercepted him in front of the hospital gate. Looking at Stan's eyes, he knew that he was in for a major showdown. He admitted he underestimated Stan and Jenny and – most disturbingly – Jeremy. He never thought that the three could find Amber, given the reputation of the gremlin.

But Mac wasn't worried about Major Tom or Stan. They were just pansy-ass stable owners. The gremlin's demise would open a can of worm for the Bertoli Mafia. Mac's collaboration with the gremlin happened behind the mafia's back. Mac had been using the gremlin's greed to do his dirty work, and although he didn't hurt the mafia's business, they would see him misusing the mafia's asset. And now, the gremlin was dead. The mafia would gun their engines toward him.

"We haven't finished our conversation," Stan said as Mac tried to get into the hospital. "And now, there are new findings that we need to discuss."

"What conversation?" Mac scoffed. "You and I had never had any conversation. You never care for the truth. You just take the easy path, and that easy path is I am guilty because of what I do. Worse, you never want the truth because you hate me."

"The truth is," Stan blurted, "we mentioned your name to Bertoli Mafia, and it led us straight to Amber. What do you say about that, huh? Still deny your involvement in this mess?"

"There's nothing you can prove," Mac sniggered curtly. "You're just fishing in the muddy water. Go ahead, bring it to the police. What are you gonna tell them? That I kidnapped my own girlfriend? What for? Money problem? I have more money than all of you combined." He spat on the ground. "You and your kind make me sick."

By looking at Stan's body language, Mac knew that he succeeded in pushing him back. But the battle was far from being won. Stan moved toward him, undaunted by his tirade, and ground his teeth, "Your service to Ground Control stable is no longer needed. You have 24 hours to vacate your place, and leave Amber alone."

"You?" Mac replied with a derogatory chuckle. "You don't have the power to fire me."

"Major Tom is with Amber," Stan hissed. "Do you want to take it up there?"

At this point Mac knew he had lost Amber. Major Tom had probably poisoned her mind with the fact that Mac was responsible for everything. And she already saw Jeremy as her knight in shining armor that saved her from evil spirit. The two would probably screw each other's brain out as soon as she got out of hospital. No, Mac didn't care about it anymore. He just couldn't bring himself to look into Amber's eyes.

"So it's Jeremy now, isn't it?" Mac huffed and walked away from the hospital. "I don't need you, but you can't survive without me. Let's see if Jeremy can fill in my shoes."

Amber opened her eyes to the sound of steady beepings. She was still dizzy, but she could see things in the room. It took her a while to figure out that she was in a hospital. She looked around until she found Major Tom sitting next to her. Upon seeing his assuring face, Amber knew she was safe.

Pieces of memory started piling up in her mind, filling the gap between the hangar incident and now. She remembered having a practice alone, then somebody tried to sneak into the hangar. It was hard to remember what he was trying to do, but she remembered the guy climbing up Jeremy's mech with Kilroy's wrench…

Oh, no, she thought. Jeremy's in deep trouble.

"Major Tom," she whispered. "Don't let Jeremy go to fight. Somebody is trying to sabotage his mech."

"I know," Major Tom said. "He went out and his gun jammed in the arena. But he was a good mechwarrior. He still won the match."

"Was he hurt?" Amber tried to get up.

"No, he was fine. Kilroy is trying to figure out who might have done it. He suspected it was the work of a professional." Major Tom took a deep breath before continuing, "But what's done is done. Nothing we can do to change the past. Just forget about everything and rest. You've gone through a lot."

"If only I could stop that bastard," Amber exhaled. "Who wants to hurt Jeremy that bad?"

"I'm afraid we'll never know," Major Tom shook his head. "Jeremy killed him before we know anything. All we knew was the guy used to work for Bertoli Mafia."

"Jeremy," Amber closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Mac didn't come with him, did he?"

"No, my dear," Major Tom held her arms. "Only Stan, Jenny, and Jeremy."

Amber tried to hold her tears, but inside she cried a river. She knew her relationship with Mac was only physical, but it would be nice if Mac cared for her just a little bit. She didn't' ask much; just when she really needed someone, she hoped he was there for her. The fact that Mac wasn't in the search party made her believe that she was no more than a sex toy to him. It made her felt cheap.

"I'm tired," Amber sighed, swallowing her sobbings. "I want to be alone."

Major Tom understood what she felt. He made a gentle tap on her arm, then glided out of the room.