“Let me pull up my calendar. I’ll check.” I had my implant pull up my calendar, which was pretty much blank, I tended to go with the flow, and life on the base was all about routine. Routine maintenance, routine schedules, routine relationships, routine duty, if it’s Wednesday it must be poker night, ad nauseam... I could see it all crashing to an end.
“Let’s see, I’m free, oh, day after tomorrow, I’d see you tomorrow, but the Misses has plans for helping speed my recovery, and I’d hate to disappoint her.” I could hear her smile over the comm link.
“No, we certainly don’t want to interfere with that, say, how is the Misses doing?” Concern in a professional matter.
“Not bad lately, why?” Curiosity mixed with trace amount of fear. What did she know that I didn’t?
“I assumed you knew that she had been seeing one of our therapists for the past three months, Susan Roose actually.” Curiouser and curiouser. Therapist to close friend. I wondered about any breaches in ethics and decided to let it lie. For now.
“No I didn’t, but that’s OK. Her attitude has been great the last month and a half. Hat’s off and a big compliment to Susan, for her personnel file and when I see her in person.”
“I’ll note the recommendation for her file, but you might want to keep mum about this info, hate to think of any possible disruption of the patient, therapist confidentiality.”
“No sweat, mum’s the word.” Had to reign in my curiosity. Hey, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.
“Right then. So we’ll see you day after tomorrow, early or later in the day?” I thought quickly.
“If you want to buy me lunch, you could have me at your disposal all afternoon.” Hoping, hoping, hoping...
“That would be lovely, I have some dreadful meetings earlier in the morning, so Noon, day after tomorrow then.” I could see dimples around that smile.
“I look forward to it.” A smile on my face covering up the creeping lust in my heart.
“So do I.” She disconnected and I made a note on my calendar. I wondered then if being a hero was such a bad racket after all. Not that I would have chosen it if given a choice. No, no, nobody in his right mind would choose to endure what I had been through. Now it was just a question of how much goodwill could I work out of the system to my benefit. A cushy post, a loving wife wanting to please me in any and every manner, and the adulation of millions thrown in for good measure. Not bad all in all.
Now if I could just get the system to leave me alone long enough to make a stab at trying to figure out who had tried to off me, and maybe get some justice for Dave, I could actually feel better about life and living it. I was feeling pretty rotten. Not rotten enough to keep me from dozing off for a few minutes. But there is little or no rest for the wicked.
My comm link buzzed me. Again. It was Dr. Shin Shibata, my dentist and poker buddy.
“Hey pal, how are you? Not too crispy huh?” He chuckled at his lame attempt at humor.
“Not me, though I like my bacon that way...” He snorted.
“And you like your eggs?” I grinned.
“Scrambled like my brain is right now.” I heard him ‘tisk,tisk.’
“And your coffee?” I shook my head.
“I like my coffee hot as a woman and sweet as death.” I heard him shake his head.
“Your brain doesn’t sound scrambled to me pal.”
“Thanks for the reassurance.”
“Don’t mention it buddy.” I was beginning to think he had taken a side job with ‘Platitudes R Us’.
“So what’s up?”
“Just wanted to see how you were holding up, I know poker is off this week, but what about next week?” So that was it. To hell with Dave, Shin had been riding a winning streak for like the last three weeks and he was itching to rack up some more credit’s.
“What, getting greedy Shin? Want jewel encrusted laser drills for that retirement practice on Mars?” Shin lived for small games of chance, baseball, his wife Lilly, and saving peoples teeth. Despite close to half a century of world wide fluoridation of water and the almost total banishment of major decay, people still skipped flossing and still had cavities. He was damned good at it too, he was the most popular dentist on the planet. Even the scientist’s from the research station came to him for dental care. He had a wide sense of humor, he didn’t ask stupid questions of his patients when their mouths were full of tools and his fingers, and he was very gentle. His nickname on base was ‘Practically Painless.’
“No, no. Just checking. Shame about Dave. Glad you made it, oh, I’ll call you next week, patient just came in, gotta go. Bye.” He disconnected. There were only three dentists on the whole planet, Chief Dentist Block, Shin, and his wife Lilly. There was always a dentist on duty in case of emergency, or accident. Which meant that there was only eight hours of any day the Shibata’s could spend together, baring sleep. They were one of the happiest couple’s on the planet. Go figure.
Which is what I proceeded to try and do. Who had wanted us dead and why? What had Dave been involved in? That I didn’t know about. I had no enemy’s. I was 38 and a slacker in the oldest definition of the word. I had bounced around the states as a kid cause my parents split when I was nine. Went to college, picked up a degree in Journalism and quickly drifted into sales. I was told I had a gift. Capable of selling refrigerator’s to Eskimo’s in the Arctic. I just hated two things in life. Authority figures and work. I worked to live, I could never live to work. I had another talent that would come out in later years. I was a natural problem solver and had breezed through retraining in tech school. Once I had a system down, I could zero in on any problem or malfunction in near record time and fix it. Do it right the first time and you won’t waste time going back a second.
So tackling the mystery of who had tried to kill Dave and I seemed a natural problem solving exercise. I put a ball game up on the vid. I was pleased to see the Dodgers were playing the hated Giants. I like baseball. Watching it relaxes me and let’s my mind wander. Did Dave have any hidden problems, addictions, dangerous habits or secret enemies? What had he been involved in that might cause someone to make an attempt to kill him and by extension, me? Who stood to gain? I took a sip of juice and realized I had to relieve myself. After hobbling back from the bathroom I saw the Dodgers were up four to one. When I had gimped out they were tied one, one. Never fails, you go and get a hot dog, or you turn to look at an attractive woman, or take a leak and someone hit’s a three run homer.
That was it! I was letting the fluff and layer’s of surviving my recent ordeal take my mind off the details. Dave had given me a clue near the end. I should have gone to services! Maybe his cult affiliation had come back to haunt him. I was twisting my mind through various situations and scenarios when I heard a knock at the door.
It was Jazz with lunch.
“Yumm, smells good, what is it?” I asked suddenly famished and Pavlov’s dogging it.
She set the tray down on the portable table and wheeled it into place over me. Lifted the covering.
“Chicken noodle soup, slightly salty, light salad with ranch dressing, turkey sandwich with Swiss, mustard, no mayo. Iced tea, sweet.” She smiled warmly as she placed a napkin over my lap. I leaned forward so she could fluff the pillow behind me. After I broke up some crackers and added some pepper to the soup I dug in with gusto.
“Hmmm, damn good soup.” She left me to eat in peace.
“Call me when you’re done so I can remove the tray.” I waved my spoon in acknowledgement. I was halfway through the salad when the room buzzer sounded.
It was Jake Chee. Jake was all of 24 years old, slight, buzz cut hair, eyebrow piercing, nose rings, ear rings, he had more metal in him than a mining combine but no tattoo’s. He was scared of needles. He was a sub section chief in the System’s Maintenance and Repair Department. He was three years into a five year tour. He was a genius. He had been caught hacking into the Defense Department’s computer control systems of the Nuclear Missi
le grid at the age of nine. There wasn’t a system he couldn’t hack by his own admission. He had put himself through MIT by winning every major cash prize for every major vid game contest on the planet. He had contacted me on my arrival at Doheny because while rifling through my personnel file he had discovered I had a thing for the ‘Reckoning’ vid game. Which was currently in its 43rd incarnation. He came over once or twice a week and we teamed up to slay zombies and other monsters. After two and a half years we only had another dozen levels to finish the game.
He was into death metal and computers and chicks who liked to be tied up. He would have been into guns, but they had been outlawed years ago. He knew just about everything about everybody in Doheny because he had sneaked a peek at their file on arrival. He had showed up with out a wife, but had a personally programmed Companion Bot. She looked tiny, if busty, and Eurasian and strutted around his quarters in four inch stiletto’s and a wardrobe that rotated between a French maid’s outfit, a ninja, and a Vegas showgirl stripper. He had her dialed up to take a level of abuse that few living women, even a slaternly masochist, would have put up with. He had had an extra large tub installed in his bathroom because he claimed she went wild whenever he gave here a golden shower.
I wasn’t into water sports, but to each his own. I always had a hard time keeping my eyes off her rack, cause her tit’s were huge. Good thing she had a titanium spine to help support those babies. He had to have control, that was his thing. When he took her out in public, he walked her around on a leash... often dressed in a skin tight leopard skin patterned leotard. He disdained work coverall’s for black rock band logo’d t-shirts and torn blue jeans. He was a hotshot on the base and was being groomed for better things. If he stayed for another tour he would be head of his department. Another tour and he might be named Head of Ops. If he transferred out he could pick his assignment.
After high fiving me he pointed at my tray.
“You gonna finish that?” Indicating the sandwich. I pointed at half and gave him the thumbs up. He grabbed it and sat in the chair next to my bed.
“Thanks, um, skipped lunch.” I raised my eyebrow’s in astonishment. Jake worked at a pace and level that burned calories at such a rate that he was almost always hungry and as a consequence never missed a meal.
“So bubba, how ya doin’?” He asked around mouthfuls of sandwich.
“Physically okay, ankles are a bit tender.” I finished the sandwich and pushed the call button.
“What about up here?” He pointed at his head and winked.
“Kinda fucked up.” He finished the sandwich half and licked his fingertips as Jazz came in to gather up the tray.
“Everything okay?” She asked looking at the empty plates.
“Delicious, thanks.” She recovered the dishes, removed the tray, made for the door and stopped.
“If you need anything Mr. Dunn, don’t hesitate to call.” Smiled a kind of knowing smile.
“Thanks, if I want anything, you’ll be the first person I call.” She smiled a smile so wide it almost brought out dimples. Maybe because I’d called her a person.
“Man, you are a little twisted, callin’ that Bot a person.” Said Jake.
“No, that’s not it. Though I did nail her in the ass this morning.” A look of shock came over his face turning into a leering grin. He held out a fist and I gave him knuckles.
“You go guy! How was she?” Inquisitive.
“Kinda fun, but not the same as the real thing, not the same reactions but close, but that’s not why I’m fucked up...” I hesitated.
“Oh, come on! You’re not gonna start cryin’ like a little girl, the classic, why me, why am I alive, why is Dave dead shit now are ya?” A grimace formed on his face.
“No, that’s not it either.” He shook his head in affirmation.
“That’s good, cause I’d have to remind you of what yer Great Grandpa said. When yer number is up, yer number is up. Dave’s was up and yours wasn’t. Simple. Get over it.”
“I got it, I got it. No, what I want to know is, what was Dave involved in that someone would want to kill him and by extension, kill me and who would that someone be.” I looked at him with an intensity that caused him to flinch and he held up a hand to ward it off.
“Ouch. Gotcha. Yeah, that would put the whammy on my head when you put it that way.” He looked at me with a what now expression on his face.
“Jake, I need a favor from you.” Expectant.
“You name it friend, you have it.” Excitement.
“I need you to start diggin’ around in the system, put some traces out, see who Dave was talking to, who he was involved with, maybe put the hit on the Security system, see what they’re lookin’ at and lookin’ into, see what we can get a line on there.” I could tell from his near vacant expression that he was inputting this data into his implant.
“Cool, I’ll get started right away, anything else?” His eye’s fixed on me.
“No, not for now, see what you can come up with oh yeah, check on Admin and Ops too, and I’ll see what I can dig up in Psych, I have an appointment with Dr. Barber, day after tomorrow.” His eyes went wide.
“You Dog you, a meeting with the hottest woman on the station!” He grinned from ear to ear.
“Eh, just a routine after accident exam, but I’ll see what this new found hero status can help me dig up.” He nodded his head.
“Not to throw a wrench in your works but are you sure you weren’t the target?”
“Me? No way, I’m too non-confrontational, I don’t make enemies, I go with the flow baby. You know me, man.” He waved a hand.
“Oh, here, brought you a little somehin’, somethin’.” He produced a small stainless flask and held it out. I took it, hoping.
“This what I think it is?” He gave me a thumbs up in the affirmative.
“Irish, like you like.” I was impressed.
“Real or synth?” I asked, hoping more.
“Real, that bottle came in the last shipment. I was saving it for a special occasion, but your living seems special enough. So enjoy. We’ll have a couple shots when you come over.” Real warmth.
“Thanks lad. You’re a true friend.” It would hit the spot.
“Gotcha bro. Well, if you’re OK, I’m gonna go get on it.” He stood up.
“Let’s meet the day after the day after tomorrow. Call me if anything unusual comes up, otherwise, we’ll meet at your crib.” I held out my hand and he shook it.
“Cool.” He turned and left. I had a snort and stashed the flask behind my pillow. I flipped on a movie on the vid and dozed for a couple hours till the wife came in. I had her help me to the bathroom where I drained out the electrolytes and tea I’d been drinking. She was always asking to let her ‘handle it’, but I didn’t feel like letting her practice her aim just then. She helped me back to bed and lay down next to me, holding my hand. We kissed a bit.
“So, how was your day sweetie?” I asked, meaning it.
“Same old, same old. Find a glitch, fix a glitch. How are you doing?” She was in one of the under departments of Operations. Communications maintenance and repair. Keeping the system working and command flowing was very important to keep the base up and running.
“Getting bored. Ready to go home.” She snuggled up.
“Can’t wait to get you there.” She whispered in my ear and nuzzled it with her nose.
Which sent sparks shooting up my spine. I looked at her so close I could see her soul winking at me through the windows of her eyes.
“Stay for dinner?” She nodded her assent before resting her head on my shoulder.
“Sure honey.” She murmured. I hit the call button. Jazz materialized quickly.
“Dinner for two, please.” She nodded her head once in assent, expression neutral.
Was that a hint of jealousy? I didn’t care, my wife was real. She could feel for real, and I could feel her, for real. Jazz left, head held high. Her programming would get her out of it, what ever
it was. Non attachment directive in overdrive. Dinner arrived twenty minutes later. Chicken Cordon Bleu, scalloped potato’s, French peas in garlic. Served with a chilled synth Chardonnay. We ate in silence, Karen sitting at the end of the bed across the porta-table from me.
“How’s Susan?” I asked her casually. She shook her head.
“Holding up about as well as can be expected. PR called me this morning and asked if I would be available for the press conference tomorrow morning, if I was coming to pick you up. I said sure, of course, unless there was a problem my taking off a few shifts, and he said there would be no problems there.” I looked her in the eyes, caring.
“Oh, yeah, I talked to him too. I figure we can do the press conference, then hit the memorial for Dave, make a brief stop at security and then home for some rest. Had a visit from Mr. Blamdin and Mr. Suh too. I’m getting a promotion. Think I can wrangle one for you too, you know, more responsibility, more time off, so we can, you know, rest.” Rest was our code word for sex, if you haven’t figured that out by now.
“I also had a call from Dr. Barber.” Her right eyebrow went up.
“She’s staying with Susan for the next couple nights.”
“So I’ll have you to myself, good, good. Yeah, she wants me to come in for an evaluation day after tomorrow.” Watching for a reaction. She shrugged her shoulders.
“If she determines you need help, someone to talk to, maybe you can get Susan to be your therapist. She’s good. I’ve been seeing her for three months now.” Cool and casual the cat came out of the bag as cats will. Therapist, friend, co worshiper. A pattern was there, but I couldn’t see it yet.
Karen was ten years younger than me. Five’ five”, 130 pounds or 59 Kilo’s, dark hair, dark eyes, an off and on wayward tendency toward the manic depressive side, but then that’s a trait I’ve seen quite a few times in “Art” chicks. When she was depressive, she tended to stay to herself, she read alot, wouldn’t let me touch her. When she was manic she couldn’t keep her hands or her mouth, or any other part of her off me. She was a painter, masquerading as a law clerk/computer/nerd/tech/programmer. She was into art, Yoga, vegetables, drinking, doing coke, pussy, and every once in awhile, some dick. As for the ‘some dick’, that’s where I came in.
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