Sons of Abraham: Terminate (13 page)

              “It is, especially in the morning.  The water on the skin of the fruit looks metallic when the sun catches it just so.  I have just the right picture in mind, but only after you’ve answered the Commander’s question.”

              Nathan felt embarrassed as he’d realized his negligence.  He turned quickly to find the Commander smiling, carving a sliver of beef from the slab and dropping it to his mouth with his fingers.  Nathan looked down, realizing that there were no utensils other than a knife for carving the meat.  Somehow, the thought only filled him with joy.

              “I’m so sorry, Commander,” he started.  “You’re right, they didn’t just give me the job after I completed the Academy.  I actually trained in the city with the local law enforcement my first four years.  Luckily, I managed to make the right friends as I went, so I received some recommendations that most didn’t get on their resume.”

              “Really? Such as?”

              “Major David Ballistar.  We went to the same college.  Granted I was there years after he’d gone, but I’d caught his eye when he attended a ballgame I was playing.  When they announced my major, he looked up my record and sought me out afterward.  We’ve been friends ever since.”

              “How fortunate,” Bastiian replied.  “I assume this is the same Ballistar who gave the elegant speech at the Cyber’s trial?”

              “One and the same.”

              “Yes, I thought as much.  Glorious speech.  Somehow, I believe the entire MA program would have been better off had you and he been in charge of it rather than the Gates fellow.”

              The food stuck in Nathan’s throat at the suggestion that something was wrong with Colonel Andrew Gates.  He forced it down, attempting to hold back his disapproval.

              “Oh, I mean no offense to the man,” Bastiian continued, noting the stern expression that Nathan failed to hide.  “It just seemed to me that Gates held back his Cyber Agents when he should have allowed them more liberties.  The Cybers made adequate decisions, probably more logical than any of their so-called superiors.  Had they allowed the MA’s a little more freedom, perhaps even put on of them in charge, then maybe the issue with the wireless takeover could have been prevented.  Do you not see it that way?”

              “No, I actually agree with that part.  I think they always knew they were using a double-edged sword when they installed wireless control to the third gens.  On one hand, it prevented the Cybers from taking too many liberties, such as their predecessors had.  On the other hand, well, I guess you already pointed that part out.”

              Bastiian allowed for Nathan to sample more of his plate before offering the next question.  He noted how the Agent focused on one dish, finishing it completely before moving to the next.  Like a child diligently working towards their dessert.  Unlike Tana, who didn’t think her quick hands had gathered his attention.

              “Have you ever met a second gen, Agent Calloway?”

              “Please, I think we can go with Nathan at the table.”

              Bastiian nodded as the informal gesture. 

              “No, I haven’t.  I’ve chased a fugitive across the galaxy that I swear is a second gen, but I’ve never actually met one.”

              “Pity.  I find myself fascinated by the lot of them.  Other than Joseph, the third gens seem so distant, so robotic in their speech and manners.  I wonder how it is that Joseph managed to be so human while maintaining that edge that made him so good at his job.”

              “I’ve heard theories,” Tana started.  “That much of the Cyber’s personality comes from their minds, long before the cybernetics are implanted.  Perhaps Joseph was an extraordinary person BEFORE he became a Cyber.”

              “Yes, that is possible, I suppose,” Bastiian replied.  “Did you know Joseph before the implant, Nathan?”

              He tried not to laugh as the way the Commander used his name was far too similar to using his title.  He realized, for the first time, that no one had ever asked him such a question before.

              “I did, actually,” he admitted.  “And, you’re right.  Joseph, or Alex, I knew him, was a remarkable man before the procedure.”

              “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Tana crooned.  “Your tone, I can almost feel your sadness.  Was it his death that plagues your heart?”

              Nathan hadn’t noticed a change in his tone, but he opted to play along.

              “Both his deaths actually.”

              “Both?!”

              “Yes.  I….I guess I’ve never told anyone this before, but I was roommates with Alex for two years before I transferred to the Academy.  He was just, one of those guys that everyone came to with their problems.  Every time I’d come back from class to our room, there’d be some poor sap on my bed, telling him all their problems like he was a psychologist.”

              “A what?” Tana asked, looking to Bastiian, whom only shrugged.

              “Oh, a psychologist is a doctor, of sorts.  They specialize in helping people with their emotional and mental problems.”

              “Oh,  Counselor.  I understand now.”

              “Good.  So, as I was saying, we were roommates.  I kept seeing these guys, and even a few girls, come to him, time and time again, all looking for answers.  He never seemed to grow tired of it either.  He’d listen to them all night if he had to, then give them some piece of advice before sending them on their way.”

              “Did YOU ever ask for his advice?” Tana asked, leaning forward and resting her sharp chin on her slender hand.

              “Yeah, I actually did, once.  There was this girl in my World History 202 class.  God, she was gorgeous.  She’d talk to me, sometimes, asking me what I did over the weekend, or if I’d be playing in tonight’s game, but all I could do was offer her three-word answers.”

              Nathan laughed and took a sip from the golden cup.  The wine tasted different after a slice of beef, leading him to recall how people were paid to know which wine to serve with which meat. 

              “I find it hard to believe you EVER had trouble with women, Agent Calloway.”

              Nathan got lost in her eyes and a warm smile for a moment, oblivious that she’d neglected his request to omit his title.  Her eyes were sparkling in the dim light, closing just enough to let him know she was at ease with the sound of his voice.  He hadn’t caught it at first, but her free hand was twirling a lock of hair between two long fingers.

              “Well, we were all young and dumb once,” he replied.  “But more about Alex, or Joseph, whichever you prefer.  He’d been accepted into the Military’s Academy when I’d transferred to the Law Enforcement side.  We kept in touch by messages, but I never got to see him.  He was stationed in Mesa, acting as a peace officer when his squad was hit with Red Fever.”

              “Red Fever?” she asked.  “I’ve never heard of such an illness.”

              “It’s no illness,” Bastiian informed her, finishing his glass of wine.  “It was a weapon, chemical one at that.  Amazing how man can be so cruel sometimes.  I’ll spare you the horrid details, especially over the dinner table, but let me just say that Red Fever is named for the temperature to which it bakes one’s brain.”

              “Oh, that sounds dreadful,” she whimpered.  “Did your friend pass from this cowardly weapon?”

              “Yeah, in a way,” Nathan muttered, looking down at his empty plate.  “His brain was damaged, leaving him an empty shell.  His parents couldn’t stand the thought of losing their only son, so they signed the waiver for the Cyber program.  Luckily, the cybernetics was able to bypass the damaged tissue, so he lived on so to speak.”

              “Did he recognize you, afterward that is?” Bastiian asked, nodding to the young girl as she filled his glass.

              “No, he didn’t know me anymore,” Nathan stammered.  “It wasn’t easy, the first time we did a case together.  I kept wanting to call him Alex and ask him how his family was doing.  You keep telling yourself that it isn’t the same person inside, but little bits of his personality would pop out and make ya think otherwise.”

              “To Joseph,” Bastiian announced, raising his full glass.

              The young girl worked quickly, topping off the two remaining glasses for the toast.

              “To Joseph,” Tana repeated, raising her glass as well.

              Nathan raised his but was unable to speak.  His thoughts became haunted once more, images of a man, grasping at his shoulder, thanking Nathan for never calling him an ‘it.’  The last words he would ever hear from his friend.  He took a drink though the sweetness seemed to have left the drink.

              “You will have to excuse me,” the Commander offered, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin and gently laying it on the empty plate.  “There are duties I must perform before the night is through.  Please, sit with Tana.  I’m sure you will find her company, enchanting.”

              “Goodnight Commander,” Nathan stated, unable to think of anything else to say.

              Bastiian turned, a curious look to his face.  The curiosity turned to a beaming smile.

              “Goodnight?” he asked.  “Yes, it is a proper parting word for the evening.  Now that I’ve heard it, I can’t imagine having NEVER said it.  We say ‘Good day’ all the time, but we never say ‘Goodnight.’  Anyways, we say rest well, Agent Calloway.”

              With that, Nathan found himself alone with the beautiful young woman.  That is if he didn’t acknowledge the young server who stood in the corner.

              “I’m sorry,” Nathan started.  “The girl seems so young, and it’s getting late.”

              “You have a kind heart for the little ones,” Tana sighed.  “Naya, you are excused for the evening.  You have Agent Calloway to thank for it.”

              “Thank, Agent Calloway,” the girl repeated in a shy voice.

              Nathan nodded as he watched the tiny girl shuffle from the room.  Tana took the pitcher of wine, topping off her glass, then Nathan’s, before setting it down on the corner between them.  She lifted her heavy, wooden chair, and moved it down to the corner as well before returning to her seat.  Nathan couldn’t help but notice she leaned her head on her left hand, the one closest to him.

              “That seems a little more appropriate,” she whispered.  “Tell me, Agent Calloway, is there a Mrs. Calloway back home?”

              Once more, Nathan found himself holding back a laugh.

              “Oh no,” he replied, nearly spitting out a mouthful of wine.  “I could never do that to a woman I love.  My job has me away for weeks, sometimes months in a row.  I couldn’t go out knowing that someone was home, missing me.”

              “Such a pity,” she said, leaning in lower, looking up at him through her brows.  “You mean to say that no woman has EVER captured your heart?”

              Nathan thought back, a grim line forming on his face.

              “Yes, once.”

              “Tell me of her.  Describe this woman whom you couldn’t bring yourself to leave for months on end.”

              Nathan drew a long sip from the glass, which Tana filled the moment he sat he back on the table.  He removed the napkin from his lap, wiped his lip, and then dropped it on his empty plate.

              “Lisa,” he said softly.  “Gorgeous creature.  Dark hair, smooth, pale skin, deep brown eyes, a tiny nose, and this luscious, plump lips I just wanted to bite whenever she smiled at me.”

              Tana offered a faint smile, then nodded her head for him to continue.  A lock of her hair fell from its tie as she moved, falling over her face.

              “I loved her, so very much,” he continued, his eyes lost, staring at nothing across the way.  “She was a free spirit, and always knew what to say whenever the stress was getting to me.  We were together through college, from the moment Alex gave me the advice that I needed.  Just before I applied to the Academy, I visited her father, and I asked him for his daughter’s hand.”

              The furrowing brow informed him that he needed to explain.

              “Marriage.  It’s a forgotten tradition, but old fashioned types, like the way I was raised, would always ask a father’s permission before asking his daughter to marry him.”

              “How charming.  What did he say?”

              “He told me no.”

              “What?  How dare he?  Were you not good to his little girl?”

              “No, I was good to her, as good as I was capable of being.  Her Dad actually liked me too, but he saw something that I never considered.  He knew where my education was leading me.  He said he didn’t want his daughter to wake up in the middle of the night and receive a call on her pad that I’d been killed.  I argued, but he also reminded me of how Lisa always worried about me, that she’d sleep by her pad, looking at it every hour when I was away, instead of sleeping.  I hated him for it, but I knew he was right.  We broke up a month later.”

              Tana pouted her lips, her hand gently laying over Nathan’s, slowly tracing it with her fingertip.