Alive
A fan fiction in progress
by Bryan Harrison
Part 15
1
The boy was blond. He stood about 4 feet tall and weighed around 60 lbs. He appeared to be in his tenth year; dressed in a plain plaid shirt and corduroy slacks that seemed to have had every little wrinkle ironed out by the hands of a clinging, obsessive mother. Except for the vapid smile that was hinted in the corner of his mouth, his face was emotionless.
But his eyes told the story. There was nothing there.
He was Mecha. An imitation. Fast food family. Commitment free and disposable. Symbol of humanity's detachment from the natural world; and from itself.
"A love of your own…." Sy's said, reading aloud the words on the monitor, written above the free-floating image of the pretend child. "Emotive response capable child simulator. Available in male and female profiles and five racial variations, with adjustable hair coloration and textures. Now featuring adaptive temperament filters for quicker acclimation." Sy's voice trailed off then, and he backed away from the screen, lost in thought, pinching his chin and shooting quick skeptical glances in David's direction. But he would not meet the boy's eyes.
David kept his face, but inside he was pleading with Sy to not listen to the crazy man, Olmier. If only Sy would look in his eyes, he might see the plea and respond to it.
Behind Daivd, and blessedly out of his view, for he could no longer bear the sight of the man, Olmier chuckled and clucked his tongue; rubbed his hands together like the hackneyed villain from a dime store dreadful.
"My-o-my-o-my…" he kept mumbling between bouts of dark laughter.
Nance paced nervously around the room. Her face unreadable in the shadows, for the monitor was the only light. She stopped now and then, and opened her mouth to say something, to perhaps scold Sy again for not checking David out before adopting him. But after a moment of angry silence she simply sighed and continued her pacing.
The rest of the gang had been told to wait outside. Whether this was for secrecy or for David's safety, he did not know. Their whispered speculations and occasional laughter came in though the windows on the cool night air. But he could not make out their words. Wizzy's voice was not among them.
Neville, the gangs Mecha butler, and Olmier's black suited thug, stood silently at the edge of the room. Stoic, metal attendants, waiting for the moment when their differing services might be needed.
"I'm telling you, there's gold in this somehow," Olmier said. Again.
Sy sighed and rubbed his shining bald head like he was trying to massage away an ache. David understood the man's expressions well enough by now to know that he wanted to tell the creepy little crook to shut the hell up. But this was about business. He still needed the Rouge City job. David did too.
"Let me think this over," is all Sy said. He sat at the computer again to browse the Cybertronics site, his face grim and introspective in the shifting light of the monitor. Unfortunately his silence allowed Olmier to continue talking aloud.
"It's illegal to duplicate a living person, "Olmier said. "So if this isn't just some bizarre coincidence then…" he snapped his fingers rapidly. "And you're sure he's flesh? That's been established beyond all doubt?"
"Fiber don't bleed," Sy replied without looking.
Olmier was undeterred. "How can you be sure? Maybe… maybe he's some new thing, designed to scope you out." As if in an epiphany, the man jumped up, waving his hand like he held a winning lottery ticket in his sweaty palm.
"A spy!" he yelled. "Yes, yes yes! Wouldn't put it past the Feds to lean on Cybertronics. And you know how Hobby is. Acts like a boy scout, but he'd never turn down the chance at a buck. He could build something like that. Yes!"
David's heart dropped as Sy seemed to consider the idea for a second. He fixed David with a hard skeptical stare. But then he shook his head.
"We don't run in the same circles, Olmier. I don't know anyone named Hobby or what he's capable of," he said.
Even Nance, whose anger had so far left her without words, thought this idea was stupid enough to reply.
"Last time I checked, Fiber don't get bad teeth like what I tore out of his mouth," she said. "They sure don't eat, and this one can't stop. Little pig." Then she pointed an accusing finger at David. "And they damned well don't leave messes in the bathroom, like that one does. How many times I got to tell you watch your aim, Pork Chop?"
In spite of the dire situation David found himself blushing at the recrimination. That was one of the human behaviors he had yet to master.
"I say scan him again!" Olmier said.
"He ain't fiber!" Nance said. "I'd a'known when he passed the tree," Nance said.
Olmier was confused. "Tree? What about a tree?"
Sy didn't want their security measures discussed with someone he could never trust. He stood and waved the confrontation off.
"The question is where did he come from," he said. He started to approach David who was sitting silently on the couch, hands folded in his lap like a child who got caught forging his report card. But Olmier jumped ahead of Sy and faced David like some Grand Inquisitor, chin up, hands on his hips.
"I'll ask the questions," he said.
Sy rubbed his head again. Nance rolled her eyes. David had to force himself not to chuckle at the way the stubby little hustler had to puff himself up to look imposing.
"What is your real name, boy?" he said in a commanding tone.
David donned an innocent expression. "No, it isn't."
The response made Olmier hesitate a moment. "What is your name," he repeated, cautiously.
David pretended to be confused. He couldn't let them know who he was. Not with this man around.
"I don't know anyone by that name," he said finally.
"What name?" Olmier demanded.
"That name."
"What?"
"Yes."
Sy managed to not smile. Nance could not hide hers.
"What name are you talking about?" Olmier barked, his face growing red.
"Yes," David said, fighting laughter. "What is the name I am talking about. I don't know anybody named What, and it certainly isn't mine!"
Olmier grimaced. "Oh, we got a funny one, eh? Well, maybe this'll knock the jokes out of you!"
The man stepped towards David, hand raised high. But Sy caught his wrist before he could strike.
"My crew. My responsibility," Sy hissed, gripping Olmier's wrist so hard it made the man whine. This provoked the Mecha bodyguard. It stepped away from the wall, looking back and forth from Sy to its master. It's face twisted menacingly as it waited for a command to action.
David noticed Nance backing slowly towards the table near the large chair that Sy used like a throne. He knew what was hidden there, knew it would blow the Mecha's metal head from its shoulders and leave a hole in the wall behind it. If that happened, there would be war between Olmier and Sy. For his own reason David didn't want that.
The tense moment lasted only seconds. But it seemed like minutes had passed before Olmier finally waved his guard away. He said nothing, but his face was red and his jaw working silently. He was clearly a man that did not take 'no' easily, and definitely did not like being told what to do. But he would respect Sy's code. For now, at least.
Sy straightened himself up and confronted, David. He said nothing at first, only stared down with a powerful, unreadable gaze.
"Can I trust you, boy?" he said at last.
"Yes." David said. The word came from his lips faster than he would have imagined. He realized that he had been waiting for that question. Waiting for Sy to talk to him, David the person, rather than try to understand him by looking at what he used to be. He also knew he could not explain this to any of them.
Sy continued to stare. David stared back, unflinching. Something passed between he and Sy then; some understanding that David had not yet experienced in his new life. With an emotional shock he realized what it had to be: this hard, unforgiving crook, con man and leader of a violent gang of tossed away children, was the closet thing to a father he'd ever had. It surely had not been Henry, whose only concern for David had been how convenient or inconvenient was his presence. It had surely not been Alan Hobby, the most likely candidate, but whose motivations were still too complex for David to understand. He was sure however, that love had not been among them.
Rather it was Sy, the most unlikely of men, who had, in his own hardened way, taught David how to survive, how to make his way in an unforgiving world; the world that Mommy had spoken of in his other life, when she had left him in the forest that fateful day.
The thought seized David's heart and he was stunned to realize how one part of him fought for Sy's approval, even while the other was busy planning the man's betrayal. The thought made him look away from Sy. But he quickly forced himself to stare back into the man's eyes, and speak with fierce resolve.
"I have never let you down, Sy," David said. "And I don't plan to. But you make up your mind one way or the other. There's no time for dallying."
Ordinarily Sy would have snickered at hearing his words thrown back at him. But his face was still stone. A million unanswered questions loomed behind his gaze. David had to know what was going on in his mind. Then the man's eyes slowly softened. He'd made up his mind.
"Nothing changed,"Sy said. "He goes with us."
This was one place where Olmier and Nance agreed. They both made sounds of shock and caution.
"We need to find out more about him, Sy. Dammit!" Nance complained. "I mean, that spy theory is bull, but why's he look so much like that machine kid?"
Olmier was less diplomatic.
"This is my territory! My gig!" he hissed. "Therefore, I call the shots and I say he sits it out."
Sy waved them both down.
"When I found this boy in the forest, he was a mewling little kitten. He wouldn't have lasted for more than another day. Now he…." Sy gestured to David and took on a curious smile. "Well, he's not a kitten anyway. He's proved himself to my satisfaction," he said. "He earns his keep and makes us money on top. We spent a lot of time and effort training him and he's one of our best now. He ran the gauntlet and he's part of my crew. If we go, he goes."
It was a heavy gamble and David wasn't sure why Sy had played it.
Olmier was silent, glaring at Sy. He was over a barrel and all could see it. There was no time to find another gang, even if there was one that could pull off this particular job.
"Your crew. Your responsibility," Olmier said. There was a message in those words.
Sy snickered, as if the words were a punch line to a joke that only he and Olmier understood. But David understood the threat all too well. If anything went wrong, the payback would be merciless. Fatal. He felt pang of guilt for what he had planned and the price that he knew Sy was likely to pay. But then the memory of Mommy's loving smile came into his minds eye.
He had sacrificed all to find her. He wound not stop now.
"Yes, yes, yes, "Sy said, mockingly. "I know the rules of the game."
'Is it a game?' David wondered silently. No, he quickly decided. Sy was wrong. This was no game. And there surely were no rules that he could figure out.
2
The glow that David could now see on the horizon, could only be from one place. Everything near it had been submerged by the swollen Delaware River long before anyone around him had been born. In minutes, the line of colorful lights, still small in the distance, appeared in the port window of the cargo copter that Olmier had supplied for their arrival and departure. The man had spared no expense to make this a successful enterprise. The profits would still be huge.
Soon great statue heads jutting from the deep waters of the river were clearly visible. David's excitement grew. He went over his plan in his head again, and checked his pockets to make sure the money he had been stashing away was still there.
They now were passing over the lines of traffic that flooded in and out of the mouths of the great heads, restless tides of Orga rushing to and fro, either seeking satisfaction or already sated on the delights of the City That Never Blinks.
"Rouge City! Yeah!" someone yelled. Everyone laughed and exchanged high fives. The lights were off per Olmier instructions, but David could hear the slap of palms in the dark. He could not, however, make out any of their conversations over the loud wind-like wine of the copters thrusters.
None of the gang had spoken two words to him since the revelation of the night before. Sy had made it clear that there was to be no questioning David about the robot boy at the Cybertronics site; that if any vigilante interrogation occurred, his response would be without mercy. So even Wizzy had kept her mouth, speaking only when it was necessary, or to remind others about Sy's command when they tried to confront David.
"We're a crew!" Sy had yelled as the gang bedded down for the night. "And he's part of that crew now. As long as we stay together, no one can tear us apart. That's all that matters and all anyone else needs to know."
Sy had not even brought it up during the last rehearsals of the day. He'd been distant, approaching David only to pull Wizzy away on some errand. He'd only spoken to David once; a few cryptic words as the copter landed in the clearing. He'd slid up silently behind David and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"I'm not a fool, Pork Chop. I just do things my own way."
David had waited for the rest of the statement. But that was apparently all the man had to say. He wasn't sure what it had meant, and Sy had walked away before explaining. But David was certain that a huge part of Sy's resolve had been due to Olmier's challenge. The man would not tolerate a puffed up little thug telling him his business.
It was 'guy thing' as Nance was prone to say; a war of egos between men whose lives demanded they be full of themselves. It was at once their strength and their most obvious weakness; one that David would have to take advantage of to make his escape.
Someone grabbed him and pulled him away from the window. David turned to see Wizzy's face in the light from the portal, staring at him with a strange, unexpected expression.
It was unlike her. It caught him off guard.
"We're parking," she said and then sat back down.
Olmier had kept the lights low lest anyone see his cargo of underage thieves, so David couldn't see her now. But he pondered the strange expression that had been on her face as took his a seat against the wall.
Was that sadness he'd seen in her eyes?
The copter began a slow descent onto Olmier's private landing bay. It was situated on the north end of the city, next to the garish Casino the man ran as a front for his real businesses: contraband and thievery. From the parking bay, the gang would traverse a maze of old underground tunnels to their positions around the hotel. These would allow them to escape scrutiny. It would also provide quick escape if anything should go wrong.
A scuffle broke out nearby. David heard Wizzy say something in anger, and then someone else speak. It was Darek's voice.
"Oh my God. What the heck is this thing for, Wiz?"
The words caught David's attention. What thing?
There was more scuffling and some laughter, and then Darek said, "Why do you need a…"
But the boy's words were interrupted by the smack of flesh hitting flesh. A punch.
"Stay out of my bag, you idiot!" Wizzy said. David could hear the rustle of cloth as she stuffed whatever it was, back into her shoulder bag. But in the darkness, he could not see what had caused the confrontation.
"A bit touchy, are we?" Darek said. He tone was sarcastic, but it was clear that Wizzy had hurt him.
As the multi-colored walls of the parking bay rose up in the copter windows, David was going over his plans again. He had to time things just right. He breathed deeply, to calm his mind; tried not to let his excitement cloud his judgment. No matter how much Sy acted like he trusted him, David knew the man had new suspicions. He had to make his escape tonight. Nothing could go wrong.
It was at that moment, while he was considering his possible obstacles, when a troubling new thought struck him.
Had he misunderstood Sy's decision to bring him along?
The thought was disturbing, but it intrigued him. He let his mind follow the string of possibilities. Sy wasn't stupid. He rarely took risks. Too much to lose. It would have been easy enough to just leave David behind for this job. Sure, he had learned the trade and worked well with Wizzy. But was he that necessary?
Was it simply an act of trust... a war of egos... or was it part of a bigger plan?
As David's mind began to fill with dark new possibilities, the copter touched down with a thud and he felt the hydraulic landing gear gently lower the craft to the ground.
No turning back now.
While the others prepared for the night, David's mind continued following a strange thread: What if Sy had really taken Olmier's spy suggestion seriously? If Sy really believed David was a spy for the Feds, the last thing he would do was to let David know he believed that. Element of surprise. So naturally he'd pretend to think it was a stupid suggestion.
And if he thought David was a spy, wouldn't he also assume that someone had sent him... and that they knew where he was… so if David should suddenly disappear, wouldn't that raise questions? Wouldn't Sy be implicated if something bad happened?
So, obviously, if Sy were going to do something… drastic… he couldn't do it at the hideout.
The reasoning seemed ridiculous, but David couldn't stop himself. The cryptic words between Sy and Olmeir suddenly took on new dimensions.
"Your crew. Your responsibility"… "I know the rules of the game"… "I'm no fool… I just do things my own way."
David felt his breath coming faster as his mind began to shape these words into a dangerous new interpretation. Was he seeing these things correctly for the first time? Or was this just the nervousness from his pending escape making him see something that wasn't there?
Pink hued light poured into the copter as the door hissed open, and two of Olmier's black clad Mecha arrived to usher the gang out of the craft and towards the secret passageways.
"Let's do this," Wizzy said, beckoning David to follow. David rose slowly, noticing for the first time the large lump in the bag she carried over her shoulder. She always took that bag on jobs. But she usually left it in the transport.
And wasn't it bigger than usual?
Dareks words echoed darkly in his mind.
Oh My God! What the heck is that thing for Wiz?
What had the boy seen?
David's mind continued to gnaw on this irritating new suspicion as he followed the girl out of the copter into the stark, shifting lights of the parking bay. If they just wanted him out of the way without having it linked back to the gang, wouldn't the best method be to get rid of him someplace where anyone ... or anything, might take the blame? Perhaps someplace public?
Someplace crowded?
David shuddered. It seemed impossible but they surely couldn't afford to just let him go. He knew too much.
He knew everything.
And who was the most likely candidate for a job like that? Wasn't it the person he was least likely to suspect; the person who was always around him?The person who he trusted the most.
He looked at Wizzy. Something was different about her tonight. She wasn't laughing or teasing the guys. She wasn't angry or sarcastic. She didn't seem excited about doing Rouge City. There was something … resigned about her.
But was she capable of the foul deed that now burned in the pit of David's imagination?
No, he told himself. He was just being paranoid. That must be it. They were friends. Weren't they?
Of all the evil things David knew Orga were capable of, this kind of treachery was the least imaginable. But the trail of logic was too convincing.
And why her sad eyes? Why?
"Wake up, Pork Chop!" Wizzy yelled. "It's show time!"
David broke from his thoughts to see her standing near a door that opened on a dark hallway. He hesitated a moment, searching her face for something that would alleviate his suspicions. But she had become unreadable.
"Do you want him to carry you?" she said, gesturing to the Mecha thug that stood beside her, staring patiently from behind its shield of dark glasses.
Reluctantly, David followed her into the doorway.
The gang made their way through the tunnels, under the thumping night rhythms of Rouge City that filtered in though speakers on the walls. The sound of laughter and crowds of festive Orga came down the corridors that shot off in different directions along their path. Two by two, the others paired off and went down different tunnels, headed for elevators that would take them to their positions in the plaza. Soon it was only he and Wizzy being led by their silent Mecha guide.
Was it only a coincidence that they would be the only ones left in the deep? If anything was going to happen, it would happen soon.
David scrutinized the tunnels that crisscrossed their path, searching for possible escape routes; wondering how to find out what was in Wizzy's bag… before she had a chance to use it.
3
The hallway grew wide, wound deep below the city. The lights were a dim, jaundiced glow, the floor damp, and the whole place smelled of salt water and rot. It was a remnant of the original network of the maintenance thoroughfares, and hadn't been used since the new ones had been built atop it. So it was off the security grid. No one knew they were here. That thought was not lost on David.
Olmier and other members of the criminal element, who supplied the customers of Rouge with off menu delights used these forgotten passages to transport their illegal goods. It also served well for transporting people with illegal intent. A gang of vagabonds arriving all at once in any of the main lots would catch the eye of security cameras. But this way they could simply pop up at their positions. As long as the City's security system didn't make a connection, no would be no investigation.
Eventually the tunnel came to an elevator. Wizzy turned to their escort.
"We'll take it from here," she said. "And make our way back on our own."
David was surprised to see the black clad Mecha simply nod and walk away. It's retreating footfalls were muted by the damp floor. And then disappeared.
They were alone.
Wizzy pressed the call button and David heard the old machinery whir to life. He cast another suspicious look at her bag but, in the dim light, could not make out the contours of whatever she carried.
He could take the tension no more. He had to know.
"Why the bag?" he said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Wizzy turned at his question, but said nothing. David thought he saw that sad look in her eyes again. But she turned back before he could be sure.
He wanted to ask about it again, but didn't want her to know his suspicions. Surprise was his only advantage. If she went for… whatever it was, she might not expect him to try and stop her. She was tough, yes. And fast. But he was bigger. Stronger. And his time with the gang had toughened him. He was no longer a soft little kid that the world could push around at will.
The elevator arrived. It shuttered to a stop and the old sliding doors whined as they opened. Wizzy boarded without saying a word.
David hesitated. Was this the moment to make his escape? He had originally planned to slip away during one of the scams. He would pretend to be chasing her during the 'Little Cuz" game, then he could just run the other direction; make his way to Dr Know and find out where his Mother lived.
But the situation might have changed. Drastically.
He scanned the tunnels quickly, but had no idea which way to head. He couldn't go back the way they came. That would lead him right to Olmier and…
"What the hell are you waiting for?" Wizzy blurted. She was staring at him with an impatient glare.
"Nothing," David said quickly. "It's just that… these elevators are old and…. I'm not sure if they're safe."
Wizzy rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she began to jump up and down, heavily, stomping the floor of the old lift with all the weight of her small body. It shuddered and creaked, but her actions had no other effect.
"Satisfied?" she said with obvious sarcasm.
David knew he had to make a decision. Either he ran now, or he played along until he was sure if his new theory was correct. After a moment, he stepped onto the elevator and took a place where he could watch her from the corner of his eye.
She pressed the top button on an array that had at least 20 stops. The doors slid shut and the lift started to rise quickly. David pressed back against the wall, ready to act, wondering how far beneath the city they were.
Even when he got away he would have to find Dr Know. It had been so long since he had been here… and he had never really got a lay out of the place. Without Teddy he'd have no way to access the City schematic or to find out if they were still looking for him. He hated leaving the toy behind. And not just because of it's convenience. He had become attached to the thing. But there was nothing he could do about that.
His was certain now, that his life was on the line.
Wizzy suddenly shifted her weight and David saw her reach for the strap of the bag on her shoulder. He pressed back against the wall and clenched his fist, ready to throw his hardest punch if she slipped the bag off, or tried to pull anything from it.
But she only pulled it tighter against her arm. David's tension must have been clear in his stance, because she turned and frowned in his direction.
"What's up your butt?" she said.
"Nothin," David replied. But too quickly. And there had been a break in his voice. He cleared his throat. "I just don't like small spaces," he said, trying to explain away his tension. It wasn't really a lie. Not that lying bothered him anymore.
Wizzy smiled for the first time that night. But there was nothing nice about it. It seemed to say 'I know what's on your mind.' It did nothing to reassure him, if that had been its purpose.
The elevator finally stopped. The doors slid open on a large, unlit passageway, lined with large glass windows. Through them David could see a floating marquee featuring holographic images of a winged Angel and horned Devil, locked arm in arm and laughing. Beyond them, a line of brightly lit Mecha dancers could be seen, kicking their legs high in a Chorus Line on the ledge of a building shaped like the torso of woman. The robots were performing on what would be the woman's breasts, had she been real. David realized that that they were a few stories above the surface, looking at the upper levels of buildings that lie across the street.
Why here?
Wizzy pressed a button on the console. It wasn't like the others. It was red and bore a large 'X'. She noticed David's suspicious stare.
"It's a lock," she explained, calmly. "We don't want anyone taking our lift down, do we? We might need it quick, right?"
David nodded hesitantly. And then followed her into the hall.
The girl walked to the glass and gazed down on Rouge City for a quiet moment. She sighed, as if considering something. Moments passed in unbearable silence. Only the thump of The City's incessant Techno soundtrack could be heard.
Then she turned to face David. This time the look in her face was unmistakable. It was the look of a person who has a hard job to do.
"It's time," she said, sadly.
She slipped the bag off her shoulder.
4
David's first punch missed completely. He'd caught her off guard; saw a look of shock on her face as she moved on her. But she was faster than he'd expected and ducked at the last instant. Fortunately she had moved in the direction he was hoping she might.
His contingency punch landed solidly against her cheek. And just in time, for she was adjusting her footing to throw one of her notorious roundhouse kicks. Instead she fell back, her mouth open in a soundless cry of pain.
David was surprised by how easy it all had become: this human game of violence. Once he had committed to the fight, and thrown the first punch, it was like being a dream. Seconds seem to ticked by as he watched her fall back against the wall, swearing and flailing blindly out at him. She tried to recover her balance, but David swept his foot across her legs and she fell in a heap to the floor. The girl was spitting curses as she shot a swift kick at his knees.
But he was already gone.
David ran to the bag, which had fallen to the floor, and snatched it up. He was about to open it, to recover whatever weapon she had intended to use on him, when he heard her rise up and rush in his direction. He turned just in time to see her twist and arch her body; to see her foot leave the floor and snap though the air by his head.
She missed!
He screamed triumphantly, exhilarated by the blood pulsing game of life and death, and bore his fist down on her exposed face. But he realized an instant too late that she had set him up; had kicked high to draw his guard upwards.
Her knee connected with his midriff. He felt his breath forced out of him.
The pain was horrific. If not for his experience in the gauntlet, it would have been paralyzing. There was nothing like it in the Mecha world; nothing to compare to this visceral gut churning feeling. But he had survived the gauntlet. He had learned how to fight through the pain.
Breath gone and body searing, David used his greatest advantage, his size, and lunged at her. She had been preparing for another kick; was already on one foot as the other arched for the strike. So David's move caught her off balance, sent them both crashing to the floor.
"You idiot! You idiot!" she was yelling as she tried to get up. David lunged at her again, felt his shoulder strike her face and heard a satisfying grunt of pain as her head bounced against the floor.
He jumped for the bag again. Caught it and rolled into the comer. Too filled with pain to rise, he pressed himself against the wall and grasped the bag to his chest. From this position he could kick at her until his breath came back.
Wizzy rose, wobbling and clutching her head, mouthing indecipherable curses. David watched her, hoping she would not regain her senses before he caught his breath.
But she did. And a new fear grew in him as he watched her reach down, slip up the leg of her pants, and pull something out.
The blade glinted fiercely in the light flashing through the window.
"Sy was always suspicious," she hissed, panting as she stepped slowly towards him. "But when the little freak Olmier told us about you, he knew for sure… knew you could never be one of us."
David didn't respond. He used all his strength to try and open the bag before she realized what he was doing. But Wizzy rushed at him. He kicked up at her, but she sidestepped with amazing speed and planted a knee on his stomach.
David woofed in pain. His head swam with nausea. He tried to roll away. But then he suddenly felt the cold of steel pressed against his throat. He gritted his teeth.
So this was it? All this fighting and suffering to end like this? A trapped animal, caught up in a game that he had never wanted any part of?
"I should cut you like the piglet you are, Pork Chop!" Wizzy yelled. "I should cut you open and let you bleed out right here!"
And that was fully what he expected her to do. But amazingly, she rose let out a shrill cry of anger and frustration, and threw the knife across the hall.
David stared up in confusion. His stomach felt like it was tied in knots. Sick was rising in his throat. But somehow he managed to mouth a single word.
"What?" he said.
Wizzy glared down on him with furious eyes.
"You want the bag? You got it!" She said. "It was for you anyway, idiot!" She placed a hand to her cheek and grimaced at the pain. Then she placed it to her nose and pulled it away.
"Dammit! I'm bleeding!" she screamed. "You stupid little puke! You bloodied me! Why'd you jump me? Why?"
David could not respond. He rolled onto his back and tried to sit. But his stomach was too painful. So he just lay there, knowing that at least she wasn't going to kill him.
Wizzy plopped down against the wall and the two were silent as they recovered from their fight. Their breathless panting slowly subsided. At last David was able to prop himself up on an elbow. He gazed at her apologetically.
"Well, go on and open it, stupid!" Wizzy was past anger now. Something different was in her voice. It was that same mysterious resolve that David had mistaken for murderous intent.
He pushed himself up and carefully loosened the straps of the bag. Then he put a hand in. There was something furry in there. He knew immediately what it was. Shame flooded his face. He'd been a fool.
He pulled the toy bear from the bag and set it on his lap. Teddy was off. Its lifeless eyes stared back at him. Seeing nothing.
David sighed. "Wizzy… I… don't know what to say. I thought that… that you were going to…"
"What… kill you?"
David nodded, embarrassed at the admission. The threat had seemed so real. But it was all so ridiculous now.
She chuckled darkly at the thought. "You a damned fool," she laughed. And then grew serious.
"When Sy saw that freaky toy boy that looked like you, he knew that Olmier wouldn't stop until he got his hands on you. The guys a hustler from hell. Sees a buck in everything. Always looking for an angle. And he doesn't quit until he gets what he wants. You would never have been safe."
"That's why Sy wanted me to come along," David said. "So he could say I ran away. Take the weight off his back."
"Oh, figured that out on your own, did you?" Wizzy chided.
David wanted to apologize. But his mind was still trying to piece it all together. Her next words stopped him.
"You're not one of us, David," she said. "Sy always knew that. You're… different. Sure you're lost, no family, cops on your tail, just like the rest of us. But you ain't no hustler. You learned quickly, but your heart ain't in it."
She sat up and crossed her legs. "You don't love the game. You gotta love the game if you're gonna make a living at it."
David rose to his knees. His head spun, but his sick feeling was diminishing.
"Do you love the game, Wizzy?" he said.
She was silent a moment, her face pensive. For the first time since he'd met her, David saw the image of a vulnerable child hiding behind her boyish, street-tough exterior. But it quickly disappeared.
"That don't matter no more," she said. "It's my life now. I sure didn't choose it."
"Where are you from," David asked. "How'd you wind up with the gang… with Sy?"
Wizzy stared at him, indecision in her face.
"That's not really safe to talk about," she said at last. "It would make Sy vulnerable if his enemies knew he cared about anyone."
David considered this answer. How would it make Sy vulnerable if people knew he cared about her? The thought played in his head for a minute. Then it came to him.
"Really?" David said. "He's your…"
"He's my boss," she interrupted. "And that's the way it will always be. Man like Sy can't afford for people to think he has blood around. Makes me a target."
David hummed an understanding. "So… is Nance your…?"
Wizzy laughed at that idea. "Nance? She can't stand me!" she said, laughing.
"Do you even know who your Mom is?" David asked.
"Do you?" Wizzy asked.
David was about to answer when a burst of electric static came from the elevator. Somebody was trying to call it down.
"Time to go!" Wizzy said, jumping to her feet.
David rose, painfully, and slipped Teddy back into the bag.
"There's enough newbucks in the bag to last you a few months," Wizzy said. "And there's a wig and a change of clothes."
"A wig?" David said.
"They'll be looking for a blond boy... right?" Wizzy said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh... a wig. Like... fake hair, right?" David said. Wizzy just gave him one of her 'you've got to be kidding me' looks. Then she continued.
"Find someplace to change and then get the hell out of the city. Go out by the East Gate. Security is high there, but it's the busiest place. Easy to get lost in the crowd. If you can't find it, just follow the people headed away from the river. Find a ride. Get a cab. Take the ferry. Whatever."
She grabbed David by the collar, to impress on him that her next words were not to be taken lightly.
"Don't show your face around here again, Pork Chop. Never. Sy can't afford a war with Olmier. So if he thinks you're putting him in danger…"
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't have to.
The elevator buzzed angrily. Whoever was down there would quickly start searching for another way up. Wizzy grabbed David by the shoulder and dragged him to the doorway that opened on a stairwell that wound down to the plaza.
David turned to her. In the light coming through the door,he could see the bruises he had put on her face.
"Wizzy, I'm so sorry for hitting you," he said. "I don't know how to tell you what I'm feeling. It's all so jumbled. But tell Sy that I… that I..."
The girl stopped him by placing her lips firmly against his. The sensation of her kiss shocked David. But it was over before he was even sure it was happening.
"You're such a dork, Pork Chop" she said, tears forming in her eyes. "Now get out of here, before I have to kick your stupid butt again!"
She slammed the door before he had a chance to say any more. David turned, and ran down the flight of unlit stairs. When he got to the bottom he had to crawl over a chain barrier bearing the sign, 'Off Limits'. A few people stared suspiciously as he came out of the restricted zone; perhaps wondering if he was an illegal, or a robot… and whether he was for sale either way. But David disappeared into the crowd before anyone had a chance to ask.
He looked back as he moved along with the throng, and saw a lonely little face staring down from the dark windows of an unlit passageway on the side of an old building.
He started to wave, but he knew she would not be able to pick him out of the crowd.
"Bye, Wiz Kid" he said.
A bittersweet emotion was in his heart. He was free. That's what he had wanted. But part of him had become attached to the gang. They were bad. They were thieves. They were dangerous. But they were also his friends.
Life was complicated.
Once again, there was no time for emotions. He had to get out of Rouge City. Once Olmier knew he was gone, the search would start. But he had to make a quick visit first.
He stopped in a corner of two buildings, away from the crowd, and yanked Teddy from the bag. He turned the Supertoy and on and waited as it booted to life. The bear finally snapped into consciousness and surveyed its surrounding. Then its gaze locked on David.
"Hello, David," Teddy said in its gruff, lovable voice.
"Hello Teddy," he said, resisting the urge to hug the cuddly toy. He felt like he was too old for that anymore. But maybe later... when no one was looking.
"Are you ok?" Teddy said. "You look like you've been fighting," it scolded. "You should know better than that, David. Fighting is not safe."
"No time for all that, Teddy," David said, laughing. "You've got to help me find Dr know."
(cont...)