Perfect Tommy jumped to his feet, his aching head forgotten. "New Jersey! Peggy!" he cried. He hurried across the dance floor toward them.
New Jersey stopped so suddenly that Peggy ran into him. Then, without a word, he stopped out to meet him half way.
Tommy held out a hand to his friend. "Man, am I glad to see..."
Jersey's fist slammed into Tommy's jaw.
Shocked and hurt, Tommy stumbled back.
"Sidney!" Peggy cried, chasing after the doctor.
"Why, damn it?" Jersey roared. "Why did you betray us? Betrayed Buckaroo?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tommy mumbled, rubbing his jaw.
Peggy stepped between the two men and leanded her back against New Jersey, holding him back. She glared up at Perfect Tommy. "You let them in!" she accused. Her eyes were filled with hurt, anguished that someone so dear to them could do this to them. "How could you? To Buckaroo? He loved you like a btother! He'd do anything for you!"
Tommy shook his head. "It wasn't me." he whispered, feeling ashamed none-the-less.
"Like hell!" the usually timid Sidney snarled.
"He's telling the truth." jessie spoke up up from where she was leaning against the bar, watching the whole episode. "He's been with me for the last two days."
Jersey glanced at her, unimpressed. "Really? I've sure seen a hell of a lot of him of late, for him not to have been there." he challenged.
Jessie stiffened. Though she was not overly concerned with what happened between them as long as it didn't get in her way, she did not like to be doubted. Pushing away from the bar, she started toward them. "What you were seeing was a Dupe, short for duplicate. A cyborg, part andriod, part biological replica created from Tom's DNA." She stopped beside Perfect Tommy, reached up, grabbed his chin, and turned his head to show them the gash in his head. "Difference: Dupes have steel under the skin."
Peggy gasped. She stepped foreward and took Tommy's face in her hands, pulling his head down so she could get a better look at the wound. "What happened?"
Tommy was too busy winceing to answer, so Knuckes said "He was shot while making his escape."
Anger dissolved as Jersey's natural doctoring instint came into play. He took the younger Cavalier by the chin so that he could inspect the wound himself. After a moment he looked at Peggy. "That's a couple of days old." He turned back to Tommy. "You didn't have that yesterday."
"It wasn't me." Perfect Tommy insisted, pulling his head back. He was pleading with them. "You have to believe me! I would never do anything to hurt any of you!"
Jersey rubbed the back of his head, glancing down at the ground. "That's a pretty hard thing to believe."
Peggy turned to face him. "As hard as believing that our Perfect Tommy would betray us?"
The doctor glanced at her, then at Tommy. After a moment, he sighed. "No where near as hard." He shook his head. "Sorry I hit you."
"Sure." Knuckles huffed, turning back to her bar. "If he didn't have a concussion before..." With a shake of her head she glanced back at Peggy Bazai. "Sandra, take the pink bunnies upstairs and introducer her to my closet. Those things are starting to give me the willies."
Sandra grinned. Like an eager child, she took Peggy's hand and began to drag her to the circler stairs at the center of the island bar. Peggy hesitated, glancing back at New Jersey. Despite knowing that this was the real Perfect Tommy, she couldn't help but wonder if this was just another trap.
Perfect Tommy understood. And he turned away.
New Jersey nodded assurances to Peggy. "I'll be right here."
Again, Perfect Tommy caught the "I'll" rather than the "We'll." "Me, too." he quickly added. "Right here."
"No." New Jersey corrected. "You will be sitting over there where I can get a good look at you fool head."
Peggy smiled slightly and allowed the girl to practically drag her up the stairs.
It took the doctor nearly fifteen minutes to declare Tommy alive and, though not well, close enough. "He has a slight concussion. We'll just have to keep an eye on him until we can get his head scanned, make sure nothing is cracked... any more than usual."
Perfect Tommy frowned, but before he could respond, Gage tossed him a bullet proof vest.
"Try that on for size." the bouncer ordered, digging another out of a trunk and tossing it to New Jersey. "Knuckles?" he held a small one out to his boss.
But jessie shook her head. "Give it to Bunnies. It's the only one that'll fit her."
"Knuckles..."
"Gage, when was the last time I got shot?"
Gage frowned. "The last time you said `Gage, when was the last time I got shot'" but he didn't push the argument. He had lost. He knew that even before she had shook her head. Instead he waved the two men over to the trunk. "Pick a weapon, boy. Doctor are you armed?"
Jersey nodded. "But I need ammo."
"Not to worry. I'll fix you up." Gage promised.
"Alrighty." Jessi looked up as Sandra and Peggy returned. "Sandra, your a love. Go home. Be safe."
Sandra smiled and, with a wave, headed for the door.
Knuckles turned her attention to Peggy. The young woman had picked camouflage carpi and turntleneck and white tennis shoes. Knuckles sighed. "You're not a soilder are you?"
"No!" both Tommy and Jersey answered as one.
Peggy shot them a glare. "I can fight." she answered, returning her attention to the bounty hunter.
Knuckles chuckled. She handed her bullet proof vest to her. "Men." she offered. "Over protective, thus blind as bats." She leaned close. "Little do they realize that the greatest of predators are all female."
Peggy smiled almost shyly.
"Don't worry." Knuckles continued. "You will be in the safest place there is and still primary to the plan."
"Plan?" Again both men's voices blended. It was almost musical.
Peggy did her best to ignore them. "Where's that?" she wanted to know.
"With the bad guys."
"WHAT?!" Perfect Tommy and New Jersey cried togeather.
Peggy sighed. "You know, they really are quite cute when they do that."
Jessie grinned. It was almost funny how this was becoming more about they people she was inadvertently rescuing rather than the people she was hunting.
It was a nice feeling.
It was also a scary feeling.
