Attack Doll 2: Junior Prime

by Douglas A. Taylor

Chapter 23

 

  Lily was sitting cross-legged when I teleported in with her meal. Following the protocol Shelley had laid out, I told her to self-report, then to use the bathroom and wash her hands, and then to eat.

  I had brought in a large glass of water and a bowl of rice, chicken, and vegetables. Just because I was curious, I brought with me a fork and spoon and also a pair of chopsticks, all of which I laid beside the bowl. Lily ignored the chopsticks, picked up the fork, and began eating. Interesting, I thought. Li Lin-fa would have chosen the chopsticks without hesitation, I was sure.

  She ate about two-thirds of the food and drank all the water. Then she resumed her meditative pose. I watched her for some time. We had agreed that I would start trying to communicate with her after she finished eating; right now, I was trying to figure out just what to say. Prime Commander was of the opinion that the exact words I used didn't matter so much as simply using her name as much as possible and asking her, in Cantonese, to show herself. He suggested saying whatever came into my head, but right now, nothing was coming.

  "Li Lin-fa, can you hear me?" I eventually murmured in Cantonese. Lily gave no response, but then, I didn't expect her to. Not yet. "I am Prime Indigo, your friend. Do you remember me?"

  I sat down beside her and took hold of her hand. It was soft and warm, and Lily offered me no resistance. "I want to help you, Li Lin-fa. My friends and I all want to help you. We have brought you here to this place where you can be safe from Enclave. But we don't know how to talk to you, and we don't know how to get you to talk to us. Can you help us? Please?"

  I searched her calm, beautiful face for any reaction, but there was none. She looked so different now from the woman I had spoken to in the cage in the Enclave base. There was no animating force to her; she seemed like something carved from ice. Well -- soft, warm ice, maybe.

  "I have missed you terribly, pretty one," I said softly, "and I hope you have missed me as well. I think about you every day. I want to talk to you again and have you talk to me." I smiled, although she couldn't see it under my force shield. "And I would very much like to kiss you one more time."

  Lily made a small sound, something like a groan, and abruptly pulled her hand from my grasp. A few seconds later, she got to her feet, moved a couple of yards away, and sat back down again. It was the first time since we had captured her that I had seen her move without being ordered to do so. Her face had not changed expression the entire time.

  I stared at her, not really sure what to do. "Wizzit?" I said, Prime-to-Prime. "Any suggestions?"

  "Sensors indicate that her heart rate is elevated, and her breathing is slightly irregular. Offhand, I'd say you have upset her."

  "Upset her or flustered her," came Shelley's voice. That startled me, because I didn't realize she would be listening in. "What did you say?"

  "Just that we wanted to help her but we didn't know how."

  "And . . .?"

  I grinned, because I could hear the playful smile in her voice. Shelley knew me too well. That was all right, because I trusted her as much as anybody I could think of. And, after all, I had once promised to tell her everything that went on between Lily and me. "Okay, you caught me," I said with a chuckle. "I also told her that I missed her very much and wanted to kiss her again sometime. That was when she pulled away."

  "Maybe you shouldn't threaten her like that," Wizzit said nastily.

  "Behave yourself, Wizzit," Shelley said sharply.

  "Maybe he's right, though," I said, feeling suddenly disheartened. "Maybe I came on too strong and frightened her."

  "I seriously doubt that, not from watching your body language and hearing the tone of your voice. My guess is that, somewhere deep inside, Li Lin-fa heard you and tried to respond, and that made Lily react the way she did."

  "Then what should I do now?"

  "You know, I'm not really sure. I'm playing this by ear as much as you are." She hesitated. "If I had to guess, I'd say you should take it in small steps. Leave now for a while and come back later. Sound right to you?"

  "Yeah," I said. "Yeah, it does. So . . . should I tell her goodbye?"

  "Indigo, she's your friend, not mine," Shelley said, laughing. "You know her better than I do. What do you think?"

  By way of answer, I moved over until I was sitting directly in front of Lily. "Li Lin-fa," I said earnestly, taking hold of her hand again, "I have to leave you now. I have duties elsewhere. But I promise I will come back to see you again, and my friends will come to visit you as well. We are all trying to help you." I looked into her eyes a moment longer; then I gave her hand a final squeeze, stood up, and gathered up the dishes. "I'm ready to go now, Wizzit."

  Shelley found me a few minutes later as I was putting away the leftovers and washing Lily's dishes. Without a word, she crooked a finger, telling me to follow her. She led me into her room and pointed silently at her computer monitor.

  She had pulled up a live feed of the stronghouse. On the screen, Lily was sitting in her meditative pose, eyes closed, her perfect face as serene and lovely as it always was. It was marred only by the glistening track of a single tear that had spilled out of one eye and slid down her cheek.