In a Different Light 8
Tal and Thorn
Instant Infamy
�And what brings you back here?� the grumpy heavy set man asked Daisuke when he pushed through the door of his clinic. Seeing J duck in, cradling the unconscious Claire, he took a long swallow of the bottle on the table at his elbow. �Bang up one of your buddies?�
Dice pointed J to the curtain that hid the operating table. Walking over to it, he held it open for J. �I need your medical expertise right now. My,� Daisuke paused. What is Claire exactly? �Friend is suffering from a mix of gunshot wounds and possibly a bad batch of Celestial Blue.�
The doctor looked in at Claire. �And what else is he on? Antibiotics, painkillers, pot? I need to know what I�m working with.�
Daisuke did his clinical best to list everything he knew Claire might have taken. �Well, he probably should be on antibiotics, but I don�t think he is. He has a prescription painkiller. At least it�s in a prescription bottle. I gave him one aspirin and one Tylenol a few hours ago and��
�Those are very reliable over the counter drugs,� J provided helpfully. �But hardly a substitute for Mr. Leonelli�s prescription.�
�Leonelli?� The doctor paused, like his alcohol clouded mind was trying to remember something. �Okay, that�s not a big deal. Anything else?�
�A needle full of Celestial Blue and,� Daisuke was cut off again by J�s assistance.
�Celestial Blue is the street name for,� J rattled off an incomprehensible scientific name for the drug. �It is highly illegal and dangerously addictive. It stimulates the neurons in the brain, producing a hyperactive state coupled with mild irrationality.�
�Don�t I know it,� Dice muttered at no one in particular then, fearing J�s coming technical explanation, he tried to whisper to the doctor, �and a small vial of Virgin�s Blood.�
Another complicated string of scientific nonsense came out of J�s mouth. �A liquid alternative to the pills usually prescribed for erectile dysfunctions. On the streets it is usually impure, mixed with other less legal forms of aphrodisiacs and generally taken with other hard-core drugs that are known for impeding the sexual abilities of the users.� J looked at Daisuke, his head cocked. �It is in my database that men of Mr. Leonelli�s age generally do not suffer from erectile dysfunctions.�
Don�t worry J that is definitely not a problem Mr. Leonelli has. Dice thought to himself as he tried to shift the focus on to something less embarrassing. �So, that�s it. Will you just help him now?�
The doctor leaned over Claire and picked up a knife from the tray next to the table. He cut away the bandages. He prodded at the flesh around the wounds with the tip of the knife. Claire cried out, eyes flying open.
Dice jumped as if seeing a corpse reanimated. He�d hoped Claire had stayed a quiet sleeping patient, considering some of the doc�s methods he�d witnessed in the past. �Claire, the doc here is trying to help you, so just relax okay.� He moved closer but out of the doctor�s light and tried to put a calming hand on Claire�s other arm.
The doctor ran his hand over Claire�s eyes, closing them. �He�s still out, kid. Just a knee-jerk sort of reaction to being poked at.� The doctor frowned at the wounds. �He been drinking?�
�Dammit, I never think of that drug. Yeah, he had a few at the club we were at.� He explained too worried to care what J�s reaction was to that tidbit of information. It was scary to see Claire wake up but not really wake-up. What if he never woke up? �Tell me you can help him, doc?�
�Maybe.� He sloshed some of the alcohol over the knife and shook it dry. �You might want to look away.� He pressed the tip of the knife against where Claire�s skin was turning blue. Bracing his hands, he made a small cut across the discolored skin.
Wide green eyes grew and refocused on what the doctor was doing to Claire. Dice would have thought he�d have turned from the sight but the Celestial in him was fascinated. His mind was watching it from an �I-might�have-to-do-that-someday-to-help-my-Other� kind of way. Other was what a Celestial called his or her life mate.
Dabbing up the trickle of purplish blood, the doctor turned back to his shelves and tables full of equipment. Rubbing the sample over a piece of broken glass that served as a slide, he pushed it under a tilted red box that lit up with blue light when he hit it on the side with his fist and called it a foul name. �That�s gonna take a minute or two.� The doctor put a hand on Daisuke�s shoulder. �Maybe it would be best if you waited out there,� he nodded to the cushy waiting room. �Or maybe took a walk through the market. This could be touchy work, and I don�t need to have to worry about stitching up the head wound you�re gonna get when you pass out.�
�The Other should not be left alone to bear�� Daisuke seemed to come out of his trance not knowing that he�d just started to quote an old Celestial text he�d never read. �Yeah, maybe I should. But please take good care of him. Ok?� Dice smiled his usual smile.
�Yeah, he�ll be fine. You just go and�� the box made a weak beeping sound, like it just wanted to go back into dormancy. The doctor stopped what he was saying and hurried over to tear off the long narrow slip of paper that the box spit out of a narrow slit near its base. �Huh. This could be tricky� Why the hell was he taking that I wonder�� The doctor read the paper slowly, making notations on it with a green crayon. �You might want to look into getting a room for the night somewhere nearby. There�s no way he�s going anywhere tonight.�
�Shouldn�t I stay here then?� Dice asked hoping he successfully masked the worry in his voice.
�I sure ain�t got room, but you�re welcome to the couches if you like.� The doctor rolled up his sleeves, tacked the paper to a piece of cork board hanging from the head of the table and turned to wash his hands. �You�d best get going. I�m gonna get right down to business.�
�Just one thing,� Daisuke took off his bullet necklace and put it around Claire�s neck. �There. It�s been known to bring luck and has saved my life more than once.� Then before he could try to talk the doctor into letting him stay in the room, he quickly made his way to the front stair, assuming J was in tow.
�Daisuke,� J spoke as they stepped away from the clinic. �A man does not part with important mementoes easily. Why leave your pendant with a man who has been your enemy these last months?�
�Tell me J, do you ever come across a fact in your databanks that contradicts every other fact to that point in time?�
�Often.� J replied.
�And when you do, how do you decide which fact is true? Are they both true? Or do you search for a reason to verify that the new fact is erroneous?� Daisuke looked up at the myriad of pipes and wished he was staring at the stars.
�I am programmed to allow for the contradictions that often occur in dealing with humans. Unless one fact is glaringly incorrect, they both are allowed to remain true and valid.�
�Really?� Daisuke leaned on the railing of the bridge they were standing on. �Then you�re one up on most humans. As a race we don�t deal well at all with contradictions. Especially our own.�
�Many wars have been fought over human contradictions,� J provided, seemingly puzzled by Daisuke.
�J, do you ever wonder why I don�t go home to anyone? I mean you�re programmed by Antonia who believes greatly in the importance of family. I�ve even heard you pose the same question to her on occasion. Just wondering?�
J took a long minute to answer. �You are a young man still, Daisuke. Only 34.5 percent of the men in Judoh your age are married, and of those only 46.11 percent have children. Your single lifestyle is still within the majority for your demographic. Antonia is older, and female. Her lack of a family of her own is� disturbing.�
�Okay, I didn�t necessarily mean hitched. Let me try again.� Daisuke knew he was probably asking the wrong person-android but he wasn�t close with many people and it didn�t seem the kind of thing he wanted to track down Shogun and ask about. �Should I have someone special in my life? And if not, tell me why?�
�Most men your age have a girlfriend. I see no reason for you to be different,� J answered. �But I fail to see what this has to do with giving Mr. Leonelli your pendant.�
Having stopped at the foot of the bridge, Dice turned to J as he finished passing a frustrated hand through his hair. �When exactly is the last time you heard about and or saw me date a girl? And Kyoko does not count.�
�You often spend your lunches with those three young ladies from the market district,� J replied.
�J, they�re prostitutes! If I spent any more time with them, I�d be charged!!!� Dice said, frustrated. �You know what, just never mind.� Dice stormed off in the direction of the market.
�Have I upset you, Daisuke?� J asked, keeping pace with Daisuke. �Would it be best if I waited for you at the clinic?�
The huff of anger subsided almost as quickly as it arose. �Yeah, I think that�s best partner. Come find me if something changes with Claire.�
�Roger.� J turned on his heel and headed back towards the clinic.
�Maybe I should have been clearer,� Dice muttered to himself not really looking at the wares for sale in the market. �I wonder what he would have said if I asked him what he thought of the idea of me going home every night to have Claire fuck my brains out.�
�This one,� a deep emotionless voice spoke from Daisuke�s elbow. A hand held up a bracelet from the pile of junk jewelry Dice had been poking at. �This is the one you�re looking for, I think.�
�Huh? What? Oh, Boma, it�s you.� Dice looked at the man and then the bracelet he was holding up. �Nah, I was just poking around. I�m not looking to buy anything.�
Boma didn�t look convinced. He pressed the bracelet into Dice�s hand and dropped several coins on the counter. He took a couple steps away from the booth, and glanced at Dice, as though waiting for him to catch up.
�But I wasn�t looking at it for me,� Dice tried to explain as he fell in step with Boma. �It isn�t my eyes that those purple stones match.�
Boma shrugged. �You wanted it. I didn�t ask why.� He gave Dice a sidelong glance. �But I did guess that it was for someone special. I overheard you talking to your machine,� Boma turned into a barely lit building that had a sign claiming to be a bar. �And you smell concerned, and afraid. Why?�
Dice found a seat for them both in furthest reaches of the bar. He stared down at the bracelet in his hand. It was made of polished silver chunky links and sparkled with a dusting of purple pink stones. He couldn�t recall ever seeing one like it and he thought it would fit Claire nicely. That had been a passing thought, now he had the dumb thing. Now he would have to agonize over whether he wanted to give it to him and how. �Something happened yesterday, something I could never have predicted and certainly wouldn�t have encouraged.�
Boma nodded silently. He just sat, looking at Daisuke through emotionless eyes. He wasn�t a warm, receptive audience for Daisuke�s troubles, but he was listening.
�Right, so, let me say I�m not really a lonely guy. Mostly that�s because I�m always doing something for someone. Shun at work or the picture girl. Anyone. You get what I�m saying. Anyway, now there is this person who makes me feel the loneliness. He makes me aware of what I don�t have because I desperately want it with him.�
�That time between realization and actualization of our desires is what makes achieving them mean something,� Boma answered, leaning back and closing his eyes. �But that is not what plagues you, I think. If it were that alone, I believe you would be exhilarated by the challenge. Excited by the newness of it all. Some dark cloud hangs over your heart.�
�Well, he could die. That certainly isn�t helping.� Daisuke sighed. �And he scares me.�
Boma opened one eye to a narrow slit. �Do you scare him as well?�
�I�m no expert. I couldn�t say. I mean if he feels what I do and he is acting the way he is, it�s possible the idea of me scares him. Then again, I think he might have already gotten his fix and moved on and now I�m just trying to get him out of this alive.� Dice paused halfway through his speech to order a drink and was now being presented with it by a waitress who winked and said �I know put it on your tab.�
Boma glared at her until she left. He turned his dark eyes back on Daisuke. �Then, we are speaking of a lover and not a potential lover.� He shrugged as he sipped his drink tentatively. �Is he at the clinic now? Is that what brought you to the Underground?�
�Yes, I was hoping the doc could help him. I can�t exactly take him to a real hospital.� Dice downed his drink trying to get the buzz before the alcohol was treated as just another beverage by his Celestial blood.
�You brought him to the best place. A �real� hospital would let him die.� Boma�s bitter distaste for �the system� came out in those words. �You seem reluctant to say who he is.� Boma leaned forward, eyes still closed. �His scent is still on you.�
�I�m reluctant to believe myself who it is.� Dice ordered another, a different kind of mixed drink with different ingredients. �Boma, I think I�m,� Dice took a deep breath and blurted out, �falling hard for my worst enemy.�
Boma leaned back, taking another sip of his drink. He shrugged. �It could be worse. Many would have guessed your machine.�
�WAS that a joke? I can never tell with you. NO, I am not suffering from Chobits syndrome!� Dice swigged down another drink. �It�s Claire.�
Boma sat his empty glass on the table. �You could do worse than the young Vampire.� Boma offered. �He is psychotically unstable, but not�� Boma seemed to be searching for the right words. �He is easy to look at.�
�Very,� Daisuke agreed very quickly. �On both those observations.� Daisuke played with the bracelet a bit making it clink on the table.
�You are making this too hard for yourself. He is lying near death at the clinic. Most likely his men are on their way if they are not there already. When he comes to, and needs a familiar face, who will he be looking at?� Boma poised the question as he rose. �And once you answer that, consider all the sappy movies you�ve seen in your life. What does that usually do to the choices made by the victimized hero of the story?�
Dice stared at the ring of water left by his glass. �I want to say me, but it might be Giovanni he�s waiting for.�
�But who will he be looking AT, not for.� Boma replied, dropping some money on the table. �That is the deciding factor in every movie I�ve ever seen. And trust me, several years spent in hiding leaves loads of time for sappy movies.�
Dice had to smile at the thought of Boma watching a sappy movie. He grabbed up the bracelet and moved towards the door. �Then I�m going to make it the happy ending I want it to be.�
�Good for you, Daisuke,� Boma said quietly to his retreating form. �Good for you.�
Part Nine |
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