by P. S. Power
Being confident was important, however. It had been on a web-site where body language had been discussed at length. Also, how to pick up women for sexual conquests. He didn’t need to know how to do that yet, though learning the basic idea was probably going to be helpful, later in life. So far, his biggest drawback that way, other than his youthfulness, seemed to be that one in five women would be either very afraid of him or left angered by his presence.
It would make getting a date much more difficult, since those types of beings would need to be separated from the others before he started to move in.
Tiffany stopped and turned to him, her face questioning.
“He isn’t? Why do you think that?” She sounded curious about the idea, which could mean anything. She wasn’t giving off any signals that indicated specific lying in human beings, though that never meant their information was correct. Being wrong wasn’t the same as misleading people, apparently.
That idea had shocked him, more than a little bit. That people could lie was a known thing to him. It had been, even, since Mary had explained the idea to him very early on. It wasn’t just that most people could tell untruths, either. Many or even most of them did it on a regular basis. Even he could do it, at need.
Liam looked back at her and then shook his head slightly.
“He doesn’t have hair all over his body. Nor are there indications that he cuts or shaves it off. I had to look that up, but it seemed to me that if he did that, even part of it, that he’d have to wash at the same time. As well as have access to water and the needed tools. He also wears clothing, as is expected in this part of the world. Trolls don’t do that. Not past simple cloth or fur wraps. Animal skins. He’s taller than the given average as well. Eight feet instead of being closer to seven. Yes, that could be simple variation, but that plus his facial features being wrong for the type seems to be telling, doesn’t it?” The man looked out of proportion, but like a standard human being, not some kind of ape and human hybrid creature, which was what trolls actually were.
There was blinking going on then, for a few moments, then a nod as the woman turned back to the fridge, placing items inside of it rapidly. Most of that went into a little plastic drawer on the bottom of the device. It wasn’t empty, though by the time the brown sack stopped producing more it seemed like it might be difficult to close. Indeed, it took Brenner a bit of work to do that.
When it was, she turned and folded the brown bag sharply.
“Interesting. He’s been in the area, about seven miles from here, for almost two years. I’d asked early on what he was and he said troll, if a different sort. I didn’t bother asking after that. That still could be, of course. The books are the best I’ve found. That doesn’t mean perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I’ll see about asking again, just in case I got it wrong the first time and he’s too polite to tell me about it.”
That, it seemed, settled part of the mystery. At least to the level that he was going to know about for a long while. The woman put the brown bag in a drawer, which seemed to hold other such things and then turned to him, opening yet a different drawer, one built into the counter, being right below the top of the smooth marble surface and finally pulled out what seemed to be a key.
That was placed on a long loop made of red ribbon, then passed over to him.
“So you can wear it around your neck. You don’t have pockets, so far. As for a phone… I need to get my other one from my room. No one should call on it, but the service is still set up. I know, I know, a waste of money, except that now you can use it, and I don’t have to do half an hour’s worth of paperwork, so I win!” She seemed pleased by that idea.
What she did then wasn’t exactly a run, being slower than that. She moved with good energy though, up the stairs, only to come down at a faster pace not a minute later. A small black device, with a glass front to it, was handed to him then.
“There you go. Let me put my number in. A few others as well, just in case. Not that you shouldn’t memorize them all. Me, Mitch, and… Sanchez. He’ll be meeting us here tomorrow, before we drive over to see about Vern and that situation. It will take most of the day, unfortunately. Well, you know, you’ve made the trip before.”
He had, and could recall how to get there, in a pinch. He’d need the map for it, to make certain he got the roads right, in case different ones were needed to get to the place than to come away from it. It went on his current list of things to explore and look into.
There was silence in the room for a while, then the red-headed Agent turned to look at him.
“Now… Why don’t we… Watch some television? Unless you have a need to do more studying right now. Really, twelve to fifteen hours a day should be good for that. You need to remember to do things for fun, too. At least on occasion. You’ve seen television before, right?”
Shaking his head no, Liam let himself smile.
“No. I’ve watched some movies, on my computer. Rated G things, so that I wouldn’t learn to be violent.” Mary had been a good mother that way, he had to think.
Before the woman could comment on his movie choices for the evening, he went on, changing the subject.
“Do you know what is going on with my mother? Is she still being held against her will by the bad men?”
This time, instead of correcting his word choice, Brenner shook her head.
“Nope. She was released on bail this morning. Nothing too intense. The only charges are about accepting delivery of corpses on false pretense. That… Really, it isn’t considered to be that large of a problem. She isn’t even on home arrest, though she isn’t allowed to see you yet. CPS set that up with the judge.”
Liam had read about that and been told, by Brenner and AIC Ridley, to expect that sort of thing to be the real way they harassed himself and his mother. He was, to the courts, only five months old. Given his size and that what he was would be secret from that part of the governmental system, it would be impossible for him to go and talk to the judge himself.
To them he was five months old. Mainly because he honestly was. From what he’d read the biggest and probably best trick that the Child Protective Services could have used against him would be to claim that Mary wasn’t his real mother. It would complicate things though. After all, that she’d built him had to count and if he was being considered a human than it wasn’t truly possible for him to come from such a thing.
Hence that weapon not being used against him, yet.
“I see. Am I forbidden to call her on the telephone? That seems unlikely for the judge to have added to the rules. Or for CPS to have thought of.” Unless the FBI had told them about him. In which case they should, probably, drop everything and let him go.
That didn’t seem to be happening.
Brenner froze for several seconds. Long things that stretched out in time over the course of many breaths, before she finally spoke.
“Um… Well, technically that should be allowed. It’s just that you can’t go back yet. Which means not telling Ms. Stein where you are, exactly. She might be tempted to pick you up and go on the run, which would be kidnapping, even if you both feel like the situation isn’t fair. You’re under state custody for the time being and it will probably have to stay that way for a while, I’m afraid.”
“I understand. I won’t mention where I am.” He knew where that was, even to the mailing address. Brenner had put it on the Amazon online order so that the shoe making supplies would reach him.
After a moment she took a deep breath and then nodded.
“All right. We can call after we eat. I don’t want her to think I’m starving you or anything. The lawyers would love to have that to use as ammunition.”
Liam had to like the sound of those words. He was, possibly, going to get to talk to his mother again. What he didn't want to do was let hope carry him away. Things, he knew, weren’t going to always be going the way he wanted. He’d missed her, almost constantly, since the bad men had come to take her away from
him.
Chapter ten
“Hello?”
“Mary?” Liam knew that his constant whispering was annoying to some people. Really, that no one had mentioned it too much so far was probably a sign that many in the world were actually good at their core.
He would have loved to be loud enough to be heard easily by the world. The soft way he spoke sounded shy and retiring. As if he wasn’t confident about what he wanted to say. That wasn’t the truth.
“Liam? Oh my god… I didn’t know if they’d allow us to speak. They told me I’m not allowed to see you at all.” She stopped, cold and as if there was more she wanted him to know, only couldn’t think of how to say it.
“I was told about that. In my research it seems as if they don’t have much of a case against you. Are there any records of the supposed purchases you made?” No one had told him that he might be listened to or anything. Even online that kind of thing hadn’t been spoken of as if it were real for average people. The government was said to be able to hear what you said on the phone, all the time. That supposition was enough to get him to be careful.
Mary, for her part, was intelligent on a level that meant she understood what he was getting at.
“Not at all, which means that I didn’t do anything, of course. Linus, my lawyer, mentioned that very fact the other day at the bail hearing. The accusation is making problems, but the case will probably be dropped in a few weeks. This is pure harassment. It will be sorted, shortly.” She sounded upset by the events that had taken place.
“You’re at home?” He was calling her cell phone, so that wasn’t certain at all.
“I am. Are you… All right?”
He nodded, even if it was impossible for her to see it happening. That kind of thing, body language, was so integral to communication that leaving it off, even if it couldn’t be seen or heard might well influence how a person took what you said. In the moment Liam really didn’t want his mother to think that about anything he said. That it was bad, when it really wasn’t.
“I’ve missed you. Things here are good enough. I have my laptop and am allowed to come and go when I want. It’s very rural, so safe that way. Some people don’t like me on sight. Did you know about that?” It wasn’t his intent to ask such things at the moment. She had enough on her plate without him adding to it.
There was an inhalation, then a soft sound. A chuckle.
“I was told, by the person I got the instructions from originally. He thinks that it’s psychic in nature, instead of being chemical. That part was fascinating really. His theory, not that some people might not like you. It seems to be about the nature of the individual’s mental abilities, rather than anything else. Those who are low responders that way will tend to feel greater unease than the others will. The more intuitive will be more or less fine with you, as backwards as that may sound. You’re different, not harmful, so that’s probably what’s happening there.”
The idea was complex to think about. That humans had mental abilities that way seemed off to him, from what he’d learned so far.
Still, it wasn’t why he’d contacted his mother.
“The bad men didn’t hurt you too much?”
There was a pause then, as if she had to figure out what he was going on about.
“The police? It wasn’t fun, but no one beat me or anything. What… What about you? Things were tense there, when they removed me the other day. You weren’t treated too harshly?”
Liam smiled then.
“I was treated well. I’m not supposed to let you know where I am, as a rule. I can call you when I wish though, if you want me to?” For some reason the idea left him uneasy.
As if she might not want that kind of thing to take place. Why he felt that, he couldn’t tell. Perhaps some psychic response of his own.
“That would be good. Each day, if you have the time? I don’t know your schedule at all, but I should be in for the time being. I’m not on home arrest, but I can’t help but notice that the police have a car sitting outside constantly. So far.” There was a hushed tone to her words.
It was still louder than Liam could be. Even when he tried.
“There is a meeting Saturday, that I have to drive to. It isn’t about me, I don’t think. A werewolf kidnapped a man who had slept with his young daughter. Thirteen, I think. I was at his house the other day and he tried to take me hostage. Agent Sanchez instructed me in preventing harm to myself. I accidently broke his arm. That isn’t the problem though. I mean, no one is angry that it happened. Not even the man that did it. Vern.” At least as far as he knew.
There was a clearing of the throat in his ear.
“Sorry… Did you say werewolf? That… Is that part of a game or something like that? Or from a book?”
It was, in something he’d read that day in fact. Which wasn’t her point. She didn’t know that such things were real, that was all.
“Yes. Werewolf. They’re real. So are vampires and some other things. I’ve met some in the past days. I also learned to do basic medical procedures. Not all of them yet. I did some sutures for an injured man yesterday. He was an elf. Stab wounds.”
The words being said meant that he had a lot to go over suddenly. After all, Mary wanted to quiz him on what he thought he knew, as far as medicine went. It wasn’t, as he’d mentioned, complete knowledge of the field. After about half an hour, Mary laughed.
“So, you’ll be ready to open your own practice by this time next month? That’s amazing, you understand that, don’t you, Liam? I’m glad that you seem to be doing all right. Remember, you can tell me if you’re being mistreated at any time. I have a decent team of lawyers, if it comes to a fight. The truth is that there is no legal way for them to be keeping you right now. It’s just... We have to go carefully, since you fall outside of the current laws. I miss you. This whole thing is… Insane. I understand that the government is uncertain about you and of course what I did to create you. Still that doesn’t make it fun.”
Understanding flooded Liam, hearing Mary go over what he already knew. Little things clicked into place for him. Likely from the long practice of getting information from his mother. It was easier to do things that way, since she would understand what he needed to know better than anyone else. Research was useful as well, of course and all he really had for the time being.
“I miss you, too. I should go now. I can call again tomorrow?” It was, from the clock on the wall, about six in the evening at that moment. Marking that, he decided to try and call at the same time the next day. Except that wasn’t going to work.
Whispering he went over that.
“In the morning, I mean. Before the car trip to the meeting. I won’t have to do the driving.”
There was a soft chuckle from the handpiece. It sounded peaceful, instead of worried. A lot of the stress that had been there gone suddenly.
“I’d hope not. Have you learned to do that yet?” It sounded like a joke. As if that would be too much to ask of him, even if it was obvious that he’d been in a car.
“No. I think I have most of how it’s done, but was told that I couldn’t get a license until I was sixteen.” He thought that was what had been said, at least. “Also, that I should learn anyway, in case it came up before that.”
After a momentary silence there was a considering sound. A single syllable that indicated thinking was going on, instead of an attempt to interrupt or pass judgement on his words. Liam wasn’t certain of that, though it seemed to fit into that rough category, when Mary spoke.
“That’s probably not a horrible idea. Be careful though. Just because you can do something, that won’t always mean that it’s the best plan for the moment. You understand?” Her words went slightly hard at the end. Conveying information that wasn’t spoken.
In this case it seemed to be about his current circumstance, rather than some kind of larger life lesson. He was being told to stay there, even if he could leave. Regardless of the fact that no one could really keep him
there, if he simply walked away.
A thing which he figured he could do, after a fashion. Just retracing the map and walking back home. It would take weeks, or even months to do on foot. A thing which he could make happen, he thought. Liam needed very little by way of food or water, after all. His bare feet would take damage if he wasn’t careful, doing that sort of thing. That would also heal as he went, making it uncomfortable, without being too much to bear. At least that seemed to be the case.
Most of the world didn’t seem to be covered in tiny rocks with pointed edges.
Mary was indicating he not do that, though.
“I do understand. Things are fine here. I’m…” He nearly told her who he was with, even if he’d promised not to. Brenner had mentioned that if a smart lady like Mary knew who was caring for him, it wouldn’t take her long at all to work out how to find him. Then she might be tempted to try and come see him or even take him away.
That, removing him, even if she was his mother and the government didn’t have a real reason to keep them apart, would be kidnapping and taken as a real crime. An excuse to never let them be together, ever again. Meaning that he had to stay there for the time being. Possibly for a very long time. Years, even, if what the FBI agent had said was the truth.
After not speaking again, Mary did.
“Anyway, call in the morning, before you leave, if you get a chance. I should be up early, since I have an appointment with my lawyer. I know, it’s Saturday, but when you spend the kind of money on things like this that I am, you get special treatment.”
That, the concept of lawyers being expensive, was a thing that Liam had encountered online. It seemed out of place, since all they did was learn a bunch of rules and then use those to try and protect people from the law. He could have done that. Really, it was on his list of things to learn, as soon as possible. Along with medicine and how to make his own shoes. Possibly clothing as well, if he was allowed that sort of thing.
It was clear to him now that most people didn’t wear the simple outfits that he did, when going outside. From the internet he’d picked up that his entire life had been spent in hospital scrubs. That was what doctors and nurses wore, not the outfit of the patient. It was probably part of why Rob Mobley the Elf had allowed a strange yellow child to do a simple operation on him. Liam had, after a fashion, looked the part.