12/31/99
-Euripides
221 to 222 - 1122.
Corina decides she needs to speak with Black before waking the formerly feral Senator Wyatt, and finding out if he's amenable to becoming the next prime minister of Regina. Corina: "Were you on good terms with the Senator?" Black: "I'm on good terms with everyone...who's still breathing." Cute. Black doesn't have any problems with Wyatt, and he does know about his background - Wyatt was from a wealthy family, from Rhylanor. Corina wants to have Wyatt made prime minister, so she doesn't have to do everything herself. Black suggests she call for elections, and Corina: "So you think William will be amenable to that?" Black: "Oh yes, I think the appropriate word or two..." Corina: "Do you want to be there when he wakes up?" Black: "That won't be necessary." Corina: "I'll get him a nice room in the DukeDome." Black: "You might inquire as to how he's getting along with his furry friends." Corina: "You mean the neo-dogs?" Black: "Yes." Corina: "Ah, well, I think Rex is all right, I'll make sure he's in the room with Wyatt when he wakes up. I'll have to suck up to Rex before that."
Corina sets Rex up in the room with the senator, and then she waits for him to wake up. Wyatt wakes up, all right, with an "Oh, thank God. It was all just a hideous dream." Corina: "If you mean the coup, and the arrests..." Wyatt is looking at his fur patched suit, hanging on the wall, with wide eyes. Corina: "Don't worry, you're safe for now. The junta that was taking the senators out and having them killed, I've had taken out and shot." Wyatt: "Don't kill me, I'll do whatever you want. I'll vote however you want. You just tell me what to do, and I'm your man...." Corina: "I've had the death warrant for you canceled. I am the planetary government, all of it. The alpha and the omega. But the day to day bureaucracy of the planet, and all that can be a little much to handle for one person. You've got the credentials, the political clout and the former position in the civilian government. I need someone in the job controlling the planetary civil government that I can rely on." Wyatt: "I want to be prime minister." Corina: "I can certainly have you appointed to the position of acting Prime Minister, until elections are called..." Wyatt: " Well I want my party to win the elections. I want to be the head of my party. I believe I do have the seniority, since I'm the only one that survived. And I want to be named Prime Minister. Surely you can just have that nasty little man who works for you, Mr. Brown or whatever his name is, handle it." Corina: "If you're ever going to live to walk the streets of Regina, you're going to have to wipe that phrase from your vocabulary. Black continues to be a power on Regina, and as a matter of fact, a lot of the people in the junta who are no longer with us were on Mr. Black's undesirable 'list'. I suggest you replace that phrase in your memory with 'Mr. Black, that useful Regina bureaucrat'. He'd like it better that way."
Wyatt begins demanding food, a phone, his tailor, his barber, his manicurist, etc. Corina responds "Don't push your luck. A moment ago you were begging for your life." Wyatt: "I thought we had a deal?" Corina: "We do." Corina decides to let Wyatt get himself all civilized again, which includes his tailor, his hair dresser, his manicurist, etc. He also has a rather lengthy discussion by phone with Corina's Chef about the wine list, what's fresh, etc.
Jenessa wakes up, sits up, and whacks her head on the really low ceiling of the drawer hotel. Ouch. Then Ford Tessla appears, about four inches from her face, with a perky "Good morning!!" Jenessa is trying to be polite, but she's rather annoyed to find Ford has first, picked the lock on her compartment to get in, and second, he's emptied out all of her stuff and is rifling through it. She resists the urge to throttle the little guy. Ford suggest they go to breakfast, to Wubchuk Groobia. Jenessa: "Okay, I'll need to get ready. Come back in two hours. Not before." Ford looks at his very expensive looking watch, says okay, and leaves. Jenessa goes back to sleep.
Col. Shaw is out walking Watson, when a seedy-looking individual in a lumpy trenchcoat approaches him. Man in trenchcoat: "How much for the dog?" Shaw: "He's not for sale." Man: "It is the dog is it not? The infamous dog?" Shaw: "What infamous dog?" Man: "The dog that was controlling the Palladium Group? Nathan Andrews' dog?" Shaw: "How would I know?" Man: "I must have that dog. I can offer you a lot of money. What do I have to offer you?" Shaw: "Nothing, at this time." Man: "Are you sure?" He opens up his coat, and he has a lot of money bulging out of the inside pockets in it. Shaw: "He's not for sale."
The man then shrugs, reaches through the coat pockets and swings up a shotgun that had also been slung under the coat, pointing it towards Shaw. Shaw yells "gun" at Watson, who begins to lunge for the long arm. A small shiny oddly sparkling ball drops out of the man's coat sleeve. Watson stops in mid-lunge to study the ball rolling on the ground. Shaw deflects the shotgun away from his body with unarmed combat. Shaw then grabs the shotgun and yanks. When Shaw yanks the shotgun, and an arm (the left arm) comes with it. Man: "Oh bugger." And he runs off. There is a brief pause as Shaw recovers from the strange turn of events, and then he picks up the ball, finds a switch, and turns it off. Now he has Watson's attention. He examines the shotgun, which still has a price tag from InstelArms on it. The arm is a prosthetic, and has a bar-code with numbers. Shaw takes the arm and the shotgun, and goes to the nearest InstelArms shop. Shaw <to clerk>: "One of your customers lost this." Clerk: "I'm sorry sir, we don't sell arms." Shaw shows him the price tag on the shotgun. Clerk: "OH. I thought you meant the arm." The clerk refuses to provide any information as to the identity of anyone who has recently purchased such a firearm. Shaw doesn't want the shotgun, so the clerk agrees to put it in lost and found. Shaw buys a duffle bag, so he has something to put the arm into, and leaves.
Shaw calls STA to swear out a complaint, but they make him come into the office to fill out the paperwork. The STA guy takes the information, but he's a bit suspicious about someone making a complaint about being menaced for no reason. Shaw: "Look, I was told that I had to come down here to swear out a complaint, so I did. I didn't come down here for you to give me a ration of shit because you can't keep your citizens under control." Ooh. The Desk Sergeant overhears this and suggests that Shaw travel to Zhodane if he wants an orderly society. Since Shaw's the only 'witness', he needs to leave a contact number so that he can be reached when the sketch artist is available to draw a picture of the assailant. The pile of correctly filled out paperwork (Shaw has admin) is added to the very voluminous stack on the desk. Copy two of the paperwork is forwarded to Regina Security, as usual.
Mikie is discharged from Regina Trauma, with instructions to take it easy. Not that they need to tell him that - his body will take care of that. His entire body is bruised, basically. He has to come back in a couple of days, and then again in a week for rechecks. Whatever. Not like he has anything else to do. The only place he can think of to go is 'work'.
Shaw has come to Regina Trauma in search of the Prosthetics department (maintenance only on Up Port, not new construction). A female is hard at work, grinding some kind of hook or something when he gets there. Shaw announces as she looks up: "I need to look up a lost limb." Female: "What?!?" Shaw gestures to her ears - she's wearing hearing protection. Female: "Oh! Sorry. How can I help you?" Shaw: "I said, I need to look up some information on a lost prosthetic limb", showing her the arm. Female: "Just leave it here. I'll see that the owner is contacted." Shaw: "I need to check on it, as it may be one I installed." Shaw shows her an ID card. She asks to examine the arm. Female: "I'd say, just by looking at it, that this belongs to Pandaron Fleegle. I know this by looking inside here, where it says 'If found, please return to Pandaron Fleegle', and an address." Shaw: "Thank you." Female <to his retreating back>: "Doctors!"
Shaw goes to the address on the limb, a secure apartment complex and when he buzzes the intercom for the apartment he gets a response from "the Voice" from within: "I see a tall man, a dark man, a man with many secrets. A man with many faces. Yes, can I help you?" Shaw: "Is this the residence of Pandaron Fleegle?" Voice: "It may or may not be." Shaw: "I believe I have something that belongs to you." Voice: "To me, or to Pandaron?" Shaw: "Well, to Pandaron." Voice: "What is it - wait, don't tell me. It's a tool. a special tool, one that is always with you." Shaw: "Are you going to let me in, or not?" Voice: "I sense a dark presence..." But he does buzz the door open. Shaw is stopped at the door by the manager on site, and is told he can't bring the dog inside. Shaw: "It's not a pet, it's an associate." This goes back and forth for a while, until Shaw bribes the manager with $50 credits. Manager " Oh - that's not a dog, which I couldn't allow in, that's an associate."
The lavender door with pentagrams and other 'arcane symbols' on it is, of course, the one Shaw is going to. He's about to knock when the door opens by itself. Voice: "Enter, please." The place is full of draped curtains, etc.; very mystical, in a carnaval sideshow sort of way. Shaw: "Is Pandaron Fleegle here?" Voice: "You seek Pandaron the All Knowing?" Shaw: "Yeah." Voice: "Destiny has marked you." Shaw: "'Destiny has marked me?" Voice: "There is something that will happen to you soon, something important. Something - a death, betrayal." Shaw: "Are you reading the future, or the past?" Voice: "Do you wish to know more?" Shaw: "About what I already know? Are you Pandaron Fleegle?" Voice: "Yes." Shaw takes out the arm. Pandaron; "I wondered where that had gotten to. I was in the midst of a little astral projection trip when some one nicked it. The arm has a dark history." Shaw: "It's YOUR arm!" Pandaron: "Well yes, but I inherited it. But we were talking about you. Do you want to know more?" Shaw: "Can I return later, and we can continue this?" Pandaron: "Of course. That will be $20 credits." Shaw gives him the money, then says "That will be $50 credits. For returning your arm." Pandaron: "That's highway robbery." He pays it any way, and Shaw leaves, pocketing the money (and almost breaking even on the trip).
Mikie goes to Regina Security, and goes through the dance to get a new ID card, then he heads for his office. Brigitte is there. "Good morning sir, would you care for some coffee or tea?" Mikie opts for coffee, then goes in and sits down at the desk. He looks at the folders on the desk, marked "Eyes Only", and "Top Secret". Black has dropped off a few little jobs for Mikie, mostly "Could you pop by and take a peek at this person, see if he's lying", that sort of thing. It's pretty low key, compared to extracting information from the late Blaelok (or Blevelt or Maybock). One of the files is a new, slim one on Colonel Robert Shaw, retired. He's just shown up recently, and Black wants to know more about him. Brigitte brings in coffee, and Mikie mentions needing to replace his other ID (bank card, etc.); Brigitte can take care of that for him.
Jenessa is roused by insistent tapping, followed by the reappearance of the perky Pikhan. Ford: "Hi! It's been two hours." Jenessa: "Hi Ford. Are you going to buy me some coffee?" Ford: "Sure. Or I could make you some coffee. Just give me a couple of minutes, and I can build a coffeemaker." Jenessa: "No thank you. I'd rather just go some where and buy it." Ford: "Okay." They head over for the Bread and Bean for the aforementioned coffee. As they get to the coffee shop, Jenessa is trying to explain a few things to Ford. Jenessa: "Ford, I like you, but you have to stop waking me up early in the morning, you have to stop breaking into my room, and you have to stop going through my stuff." Ford: "Sure - oh, just a second - ." Ford runs off, directly at Shaw who is entering the Bread and Bean with Watson, and says "Cool robot dog!!! Can I look at him?" Jenessa follows and explains to Shaw: "I'm sorry, he's a friend. He likes to look at these things." Shaw: "He's a Pikhan. They like to look at these things." Jenessa: "Ford, I need my coffee. Come away from this man." Ford: "Oh, okay." Ford gets the attention of the barista, and says "She needs coffee. Probably a really big one." Barista: "How about the Grande?" Just right. Ford gets one too, and then loads it with sugar. Well, that does explain some of his character quirks.
Jenessa expresses an interest in meeting people on Regina. Ford: "What kind of people do you want to meet?" Jenessa: "People who have things." Ford: "That man has a neat robot dog," indicating Col. Shaw. Shaw gets printouts of Free Thoughts and the Tattler - he's looking for articles on psionics. He reads up on the Zhodanis, and everything else that's even vaguely related to psionics.
Brigitte comes in to the office and lets Mikie know that "the Shaw person? He's on channel six." Brigitte shows Mikie how to use the remote control to get the security camera feed. It's Shaw, in the Bread and Bean. Mikie decides he might as well go there.
Shaw gets out a highlighter, and starts marking all the names of anyone who was reported as a psionic. A Zhodani in a turban, across the room, is watching Shaw. Shaw watches him back. This goes on for a few minutes, then Shaw's newsfax bursts into flames. He drops it. Rather quickly. Then he goes to the printer and tries to get another copy. He pushes the 'print' button, repeatedly, but gets nothing. Ford notices this and comes over to ask (a bit eagerly) if something's broken? Shaw: "Well, yeah. This won't print." Ford quickly whips out his pocket toolkit and starts taking it apart. He then discovers that when he pushes a button, it prints out 14 copies of Free Thoughts. But while he's looking at it he also discovers a weird chip array wired into the printer. When Ford flips the toggle switch connected to the chip array the printer begins to spit out currency, or at least reasonable facsimiles of money. After a couple on minutes, the printer stops and the barista on duty insists that Ford "put it back together", which he does - also having switched it back to the position where it prints newsfaxes.
Ford: "Now what?" Jenessa: "Take me somewhere." Ford: "Where would you like to go?" Jenessa: "How about a nice jewelry store?" Ford: "Well, there's Sparkly Bits and Baubles, that's a nice place." Jenessa: "Any crowds?" Ford: "Sure, there are crowds sometimes." Jenessa: "Why don't we go to the jewelry store, and then some place with crowds. I want to meet people."
On the way, Jenessa gets Ford talking about the jewelry store, and what sort of security measures they use. She soon discovers that Regina is a bit different. Ford: "... And they have a big, one-eyed, old Vargr. With a shotgun." Once at the shop, Jenessa asks Ford to point out the types of security the store is using, and he does. Not exactly quietly, either. One of the Vargr ladies asks "May I help you?" Jenessa: "Yes, I'd like to see a watch." Vargr: "A watch, or a watch?" Jenessa: "Oh, just a watch. Mine was ruined yesterday, and I need to replace it." When Jenessa selects one to try on Ford notes "Yes, but it's so, mass-produced." Jenessa: "I'll take this one. We may be coming back at a later date, for a more expensive one." She buys the watch, then after they leave, Jenessa asks Ford if he "saw any other security measures?" Ford: "Well, no, that's pretty much it. They don't go in for much of the really high tech security systems on Regina, they tend to fall back on the fact that whoever's working in the store has a gun and will shoot you." Jenessa: "You don't think those nice little Vargr ladies would have guns, do you?" Ford: "Oh, absolutely. Everyone here has guns. Don't you?" Jenessa: "No." Ford: "Oh but you really should have one. At the very least to defend yourself against the rats, or snakes, and that kind of thing." Jenessa: "Snakes?" Ford: "Or, whatever else lives here. The mutant brain things with eight legs, and stuff like that." Jenessa: "Ford, when we go back to the drawers, I'd like the upper one if you don't mind." Ford: "It's fine with me if you want to be on top." Jenessa: "Do these snakes climb?" Ford: "I don't know. But they spit poison. If Dick Salamander hadn't had his RayBans on..." There ensues the obligatory Dick Salamander conversation. Jenessa isn't a fan, but that's okay, because Ford can brief her on everything she would need to know about the mighty Dick Salamander on the way to the Star Port Mall.
Mikie has gone the opposite direction he came from originally, and he does eventually spot Shaw, walking with a dog at his side. Shaw doesn't see anyone following him, but he does get one of the odd feelings, so he decides to do what he can to loose whoever may be following him. He goes through the Star Port mall, in and out of shops, the whole thing. He still has the same feeling, but he hasn't seen anyone at all. Shaw hasn't lost Mikie when he heads into the warehouse district, so Mikie backs off a bit. Shaw gets into the elevator, pushes the buttons for level 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Mikie goes directly to level 2 on the other elevator, gets a copy of the Times, and sits down to read. Shaw gets off on level 2, and heads over to watch the elevators. Shaw sees, and recognizes Mikie, who doesn't yet know who Shaw really is. Yet. Shaw eventually gets tired of watching, since Mikie looks like he's been there a while so he can't be the one who was following him. Shaw gets up and leaves, with Watson; Mikie did notice Watson - how interesting.
In the mall, after Ford has gone off to check on something, Jenessa feels some one attempting to pick her pocket. He's obviously having a bad day, because his ring gets caught in her pocket. He panics, tries to pull his hand out. It's Vic Weseli. Jenessa: "Vic, go away." Vic: "Hey, you're not going to get a catch like me every day." Jenessa isn't having any, so he goes off to find a new mark. This time the female sprays him in the face with pepper spray. It's not Vic's day.
Ford returns. Ford: "Hey, you know that shop you were interested in? Sparkly Bits? Well, I was talking to some friends of mine, and it's on level 3, and there's some repair work going on just above the shop. They had to remove the bulkhead, and there's just a sound shield above it right now." Now that's interesting. Jenessa decides she needs to go back to take a 'rest', in her drawer. But Ford doesn't need to come. Really.
Shaw goes back down to level 6, and goes to great lengths to lose anyone who may be following him. If he is being followed, it's not by Mikie, who stayed on level 2 (he can work on Shaw later). Watson is eventually put into his 'secret storage' area, and plugged in to recharge.
Jenessa is walking along, minding her own business, when a really big guy steps out into her path. She tries to avoid him, but when she moves, he moves, repeatedly. And then his partner moves in from the back. Jenessa is informed that there's "a tax for working around here." Jenessa: "And you people are here to scare me?" Thug: "Just keeping you informed." Jenessa: "Well, consider me informed. And your name is?" "Bruno." Jenessa: "Thanks Bruno." She reaches waaayyy up, and gives his cheek a pinch. Bruno swats her on the rump as she passes, really hard. That's going to leave a bruise. Jenessa goes back to her upper bunk, and lies there to ponder what she should do. Rob the store, or not rob the store...
Mikie, walking back towards Regina Security on level 2, is approached by a couple he doesn't recognize. They introduce themselves as Jim Fredericks and his wife, Trixie - in theory, they're friends of Theresa, and Mikie met them at a party. Mikie doesn't remember them at all, but then again, he does have some blank areas. Jim: "So, how's Theresa doing? I haven't seen her in ages." Pause. Mikie: "Theresa's dead." Jim <laughing>: "Yeah, right. Very funny." Mikie just looks at him, quite serious. Jim: "You're serious?" Mikie: "You have no idea." Jim: "My God, what happened? Was it an accident?" Mikie has to think for a few moments about what the 'official story' was, but then he tells Jim about Theresa's "aneurysm". After a few minutes of Jim's condolences, Mikie gets uncomfortable enough that he just blurts out that he has to go, and takes off towards the park.
There's a lot of construction going on at the Ambassadore. They're doing structural repairs currently. It's very weird, what with the permanent night cycle. Mikie has a great view of a couple of Navy ships above the dome.
Jenessa is laying in her drawer when there's a tap-tap-tapping on her door. Jenessa: "Yes, Ford." Ford: "Hey, how did you know it was me?" Jenessa: "Lucky guess." Ford pops up, dropping a bag of stuff on the bed. Jenessa: "What's all this?" Ford has brought her a bunch of really neat tools (cutters, and silent vacuums, and stuff). He's convinced himself that Jenessa is working for some kind of intelligence agency, and is after a "secret microchip", and she's working against "Doctor X". But of course, she's not able to tell him that she's a spy, because that's a secret. Of course. It all makes perfect sense in Ford's fuzzy little brain.
Shaw is working his way up from level 6, looking for the man who tried to buy Watson. He has nothing better to do. He's concentrating on shops that deal with robots, and he ends up in "Personal Robotics", where he is greeted by a clerk who comments that "we don't get many walk-ins, our customers tend to be a bit uncomfortable shopping in person." Shaw <having now seen the kind of robots they sell>: "I feel kind of odd myself. I met this girl, and she was into this kind of thing..." Clerk: "Are you looking for something male or female, or...?" Shaw: "Uh, I'm looking for something for her... Do you have any brochures, or catalogs?" Clerk: "Of course. If you could just fill in a survey before you go?" Shaw just checks off boxes at random, desperate to get out. He leaves, as soon as possible, which he does. Regina has such interesting stores!!
Shaw decides to concentrate his search on places that deal with robotics, and / or programming. He goes to Rossum's Universal Robots, and to Gendyne. He gets catalogs to go at his stops, as he's "sort of short on time today". After Gendyne, he goes to a public terminal and searches for places that deal with robots directly or peripherally, but it's just the two places that deal with the public, the others are industrial. Shaw does find one place that does repairs, Mr. Fixit, and he goes there. The second he enters, a bunch of Pikhans leap up, one of them declaring "Hey! Someone's come in!!". They run over and offer to fix something for Shaw. Anything at all. Including the heel of his right shoe, that is slightly worn. Shaw agrees. They take the shoes, go to the back, and Shaw tries to not picture what they're doing from the noises. They do come back out eventually, with his shoes. They've fixed the wear, and added a cool feature - special grab hooks for extra traction that extend if he stomps his foot and then plants his sole down. Whoa, cool! If he's careful, these could be fun.
Shaw leaves, goes to the park, and finds somewhere comfortable to sit, read the catalogs, and watch the elevators and the traffic through the darkened park. The bonfires around the Japanese gardens are aggravating - just think of the oxygen they're wasting. A really large man comes over to Shaw, and asks "Are you looking for something?" Shaw: "Well, I'm thinking of buying one of these yard maintenance robots, but I'm not sure which one." Large Man: "I'd go for the Gendyne one, for the warranty." Shaw: "You think so?" Man: "Oh yes, this model is good, but I think the warranty tips the scale." There's some further discussion of warranties, colors, and models, before the large man excuses himself and goes on his merry way.
Shaw does eventually see the man who tried to buy Watson, and watches him as he goes into the shop and pulls an arm off one of the mannequins in the window. He puts it into the sleeve, and puts the hand in his pocket. Shaw goes to the shop, just before the man exits. Shaw manages to stealth up behind the man. When Shaw says hello to the man he whips around. Unfortunately this causes the new fake arm to fly out of his sleeve and pocket, barely missing Shaw. When the man sees Shaw, he yells: "You! You're not taking me to your lair!! I will fight you in whatever form you take! I will crush your evil cabal! I know who you are." Shaw: "And who am I?" Man: "Oh, you'd like me to tell you what I know. But I'm not falling for that." Shaw: "Why don't I call the authorities, and tell them you've been mugging people?" Man: "Go ahead, summon your minions. I'm not afraid of you!" [Okay, he's a loony. Yup.] Man: "You may kill me, but others will come after me!" Shaw: "People will be coming after you all right <men in white coats, with nets>... And just exactly what did you want with my dog?" Man: "The dog is the key. The dog owned Nathan Andrews, he controlled the Palladium Group. It all fits." Shaw: "Why did you steal Pandaron's arm?" Man: "I had to have an arm I could trust, didn't I?" Shaw: "But that arm had a dark side." Man: "Colonel Shaw, or whatever your real name is...." Shaw: "Colonel Shaw. And what is your name?" Man: "My name is not important. I will find the dog. And when I do, well, you know what that means. And know I must away." He swishes his coat around him, and runs off.
Ford shows up and tells Jenessa there's "someone here to see you." Jenessa: "Who is it?" It's a tall man in an expensive coat (he's crazy, and has one arm). Jenessa admits to being in the "jewelry business". The man offers Jenessa a job "finding" some "jewelry" that is currently in someone else's possession. Jenessa asks how much he is willing to pay. Man: "Say, $10,000." Jenessa: "Good-bye." Man: "You have a counter offer?" Jenessa: "More than that." Man: "Well, $10,000 now, and $10,000 on delivery." Jenessa: "I'm sorry." Man: "I need a dog." Jenessa: "If you need a dog, why don't you go to a pet shop. I don't handle dogs." Man: "Well it's not a real dog, it's a robot." Jenessa: "I don't do robots either." Man: "For a spook, you're awfully particular about the work you take." Jenessa: "Well, you see, my jewelry makes me a lot of money, so the thieving -" Man: "Thieving? I thought you were a spy??" Jenessa: "Spy? Who told you I was a spy? Oh, Ford..." Man: "Thief, spy, it doesn't matter." Jenessa declines the offer of employment. Man: "Well, since you can't do the work for me, I can't let you be taken by them." He pulls a handgun, and offers to give Jenessa time to pray to her God. She suggests he check his magazine, and she's already palmed it. This causes a bit of a delay, but the crazy man then draws a short sword, and runs Jenessa through. Through her liver, to be specific. Ow. He withdraws the sword, and is about to stab her again, when Ford pops up and lops the man's remaining good arm off with a fusion chainsaw. The crazy man screams and runs off. That screws up Shaw's description of the one-armed man, now doesn't it?
Ford and Jenessa travel to Regina Trauma by autocab, where she's eventually treated. Ford is trying to adjust to the fact that Jenessa is a thief, and not a spook. Jenessa does a bit too much talking, so they sedate her. She wakes up some time later, drooling, and is told that they had some problems with bleeding, as a piece of the sword broke off inside. Jenessa wants it as a souvenir, which seems normal. Jenessa: "Do you know where the person is who brought me in? He'll probably be fixing something." Doctor: "Ah, he's yours." Ford is in one of the operating theaters, fixing something. Jenessa gets his attention, and asks to "go home now". Ford: "Are you sure you want to go back there? I have an apartment." Jenessa: "I don't think so." Ford really would prefer to take her to a proper place to rest, but he agrees to take her back to the drawer, and lock her in, per her request. He is concerned however, that the crazy man might come back to finish the job while he's gone. So he bolts her in. Maybe she shouldn't drink the juice. Jenessa examines the bit of blade the doctor removed from her. It's very old, handmade, damascus with some sort of pattern on it. It's probably very valuable, and some one was using it as a pig-sticker.
Mikie eventually notices a man by the glow of his dopestick in the darkness near the park. He's about 6' tall, wearing a black turtleneck, and has short blonde hair. He takes a couple of puffs, drops the dopestick, then hops into an auto-cab. As the cab pulls away, Mikie sees something that has just been written on the wall, with permanent marker: "For a good time, call Theresa", and a phone number. It might have been a coincidence, but the phone number is for Theresa's former apartment. Damn. Mikie takes a short cut to try to catch up with the cab.
As Mikie is following the man, a nearby public vid-phone begins ringing; Mike answers it. Voice: "Hello Mr. Griffin." Mikie: "What do you want?" Voice: "We want to give you an object lesson." Mikie: "In what?" Voice: "No matter where you go, no matter where you run, we can find you." Mikie: "News flash: I'm not running." Voice: "We're not done with you, Mr. Griffin. Not by a long shot -" Mikie: "F... you." He hangs up, and heads in the direction the cab was going.
Shaw goes home, checks for messages (none). He turns on the tri-dee, and in the glow he sees a dead body in the middle of the room, surrounded by a pool of blood. It's the one-armed man. Only his other arm is shorter too. Looks like he bled out from a traumatic amputation of his 'good' arm, which has apparently been ripped and seared. But there's no blood trail into the room, it just starts where the body is, so he was probably killed there, only - where's the missing arm? Shaw examines the body of the now deceased crazy man, while wearing gloves - the man has no ID, and the labels have all been removed from his clothing. Shaw then calls the cops.
Detective Jimmy Weseli shows up, and asks Shaw if he's touched the body or anything. Shaw: "No." Jimmy: "So, you're a surgeon?" Shaw: "I beg your pardon?" Jimmy: "You're a doctor of some sort, aren't you?" Shaw: "I was, a long time ago." Jimmy: "I ask, because the fine powder on your hands and the light red lines along your wrists usually indicate the use of surgical gloves." Shaw: "I do some lab work." Jimmy: "Out of your home?" Shaw: "Look, I called you, remember?" Some verbal dancing about goes on, with no one actually accusing anyone of anything, and much indignation at the implied potential guilt. Shaw is left alone on his side of the room when the forensics guys arrive to do their thing.
Jimmy: "Mr. Shaw, could you come over here for a minute?" Jimmy pulls back the coat sleeve, and shows the cuff with 'Robert Shaw' and Shaw's address written on it. Shaw: "He was stalking me." Jimmy: "Look, if he was stalking you, you may still be in danger. Do you have any enemies?" Shaw: "Not that I'm aware of, not locally. Except for him." <Indicating the body.> Jimmy: "So you have no living local enemies?" Shaw: "None that I'm aware of." The cops finally leave, hours later. Shaw calls the 24 Hour Carpet Cleaning Service. He gets their answering machine, but they do call back. He does get a call back at 3 a.m., which interrupts his lovely dream of the beach and the scantily clad bikini babes. Damn. But the man from the carpet cleaning service does show up, and does a fine job of cleaning up the section that was bloody, leaving a clean spot. The rest of the carpet will have to be cleaned now. But that can wait until Shaw gets some real sleep.