Partners - Part 4
When the commotion finally dies down, there’s a knocking on the door. “You can come out now. The coast is clear. And hurry. The cops could be here any minute.”
As the Fixer emerges, he notices she’s covered in blood. “Are you injured?”
“A few scratches. You should see the other guys.”
They make their way to the adjoining garage. She picks a car and proceeds to hotwire it. “I need to shower and sleep for a week…” she says as she closes her eyes for a few moments before opening them again and driving off.
“So, you could have escaped any time?”
“Not really. Surveillance in this place was pretty terrible. I guess they were running out of places to stash me. Besides, I was a bit more motivated to get out here. Couldn’t have you dying there.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
“Ha. Those idiots didn’t realise how valuable you really are. Escaping would always be risky, but if it meant getting you in my debt, I’d take that risk any day.”
“You’re willing to take a risk for a mass murderer?”
“Speaking of which, you now need to tell me what really happened.”
“Exactly what was said at the trial. I made a decision that cost my entire team their lives.”
“You chose to save your tech over saving your people?”
“No. I chose to save my people over saving my tech. Tech I can always rebuild. People. Once someone is gone...” the Fixer trails off.
“Oh. It’s like that. How long?”
“A little about a year. No one knew.”
“Yeah, that never came up.”
“But at least you got acquitted, right?”
“Barely. My crime made headlines; destruction of an anti-evolved R&D facility, ‘all hands lost’, loner ‘mad scientist’. Then when the acquittal comes around, that damned Victory Girl grabbed all the headlines. In the grand scale of things, all the negative coverage surrounding me was overwhelming. To make matters worse, my employer made sure to spread rumours all around that I was unhinged, you know, to cover their own collective asses.”
“So, now you’re out seeking revenge against the giant evil corporation?”
“Ha! I wish. They folded within months of the E-Division being launched. With a federalised Evolved task force, the demand for anti-evolved tech fell. I’d also like to think that my absence played a part.”
“You were the foremost expert in that field.”
“That’s worth nothing if you don’t have a lab to work from. These days, I just barely scrape by.”
“All that could change. Daddy dearest wanted me to start something new and I was looking for some talent when all this nastiness started. You’re quite talented; what do you say?
There’s a long moment of awkward silence, before she speaks again, “Right. You’re thinking out of the frying pan, into the fire.”
“I… think I’m going to need some time. If that’s alright with you.”
“Yes of course. Heaven knows you might blow all of us up if you went into a lab with a broken arm or a concussion.”
And then there’s another awkward moment of silence, before she speaks again, “Right We don’t joke about that.”
“I think I’m going to need a ton of painkillers before I can laugh at any joke. By the way, it’s rude of me, but I never asked you your name.”
“Nora. Nora Abel.”
“So. Ms Abel. How soon before I can expect some medical attention.”
“Soon enough. I know this really cool assassin who moonlights as a doctor.”
“For my sake, I hope it’s the other way around…”
As the Fixer emerges, he notices she’s covered in blood. “Are you injured?”
“A few scratches. You should see the other guys.”
They make their way to the adjoining garage. She picks a car and proceeds to hotwire it. “I need to shower and sleep for a week…” she says as she closes her eyes for a few moments before opening them again and driving off.
“So, you could have escaped any time?”
“Not really. Surveillance in this place was pretty terrible. I guess they were running out of places to stash me. Besides, I was a bit more motivated to get out here. Couldn’t have you dying there.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
“Ha. Those idiots didn’t realise how valuable you really are. Escaping would always be risky, but if it meant getting you in my debt, I’d take that risk any day.”
“You’re willing to take a risk for a mass murderer?”
“Speaking of which, you now need to tell me what really happened.”
“Exactly what was said at the trial. I made a decision that cost my entire team their lives.”
“You chose to save your tech over saving your people?”
“No. I chose to save my people over saving my tech. Tech I can always rebuild. People. Once someone is gone...” the Fixer trails off.
“Oh. It’s like that. How long?”
“A little about a year. No one knew.”
“Yeah, that never came up.”
“But at least you got acquitted, right?”
“Barely. My crime made headlines; destruction of an anti-evolved R&D facility, ‘all hands lost’, loner ‘mad scientist’. Then when the acquittal comes around, that damned Victory Girl grabbed all the headlines. In the grand scale of things, all the negative coverage surrounding me was overwhelming. To make matters worse, my employer made sure to spread rumours all around that I was unhinged, you know, to cover their own collective asses.”
“So, now you’re out seeking revenge against the giant evil corporation?”
“Ha! I wish. They folded within months of the E-Division being launched. With a federalised Evolved task force, the demand for anti-evolved tech fell. I’d also like to think that my absence played a part.”
“You were the foremost expert in that field.”
“That’s worth nothing if you don’t have a lab to work from. These days, I just barely scrape by.”
“All that could change. Daddy dearest wanted me to start something new and I was looking for some talent when all this nastiness started. You’re quite talented; what do you say?
There’s a long moment of awkward silence, before she speaks again, “Right. You’re thinking out of the frying pan, into the fire.”
“I… think I’m going to need some time. If that’s alright with you.”
“Yes of course. Heaven knows you might blow all of us up if you went into a lab with a broken arm or a concussion.”
And then there’s another awkward moment of silence, before she speaks again, “Right We don’t joke about that.”
“I think I’m going to need a ton of painkillers before I can laugh at any joke. By the way, it’s rude of me, but I never asked you your name.”
“Nora. Nora Abel.”
“So. Ms Abel. How soon before I can expect some medical attention.”
“Soon enough. I know this really cool assassin who moonlights as a doctor.”
“For my sake, I hope it’s the other way around…”
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