“Get away from me!” I said. Recoiling, I fell backward and knocked into Joelene. We both toppled to the floor.
Father laughed and pointed at us like we were two silly children who had fallen from a seesaw. “Sorry,” he said, dabbing the corner of his eyes, “but that was funny. You should have seen your look!”
Xavid smiled sadly and said, “Comedic!”
Joelene stood and gave me a hand.
“Did you see those reflexes?” Father asked Xavid. “Did you get that?” he asked the film crew. They confirmed that they had. “He’s boiled,” said Father. “He’s boiled down to the real shit.”
“You can’t,” I told him.
“Oh, yes I can.” Father snapped his fingers. “Like that he could have her tied up and ready for torture.” The candle flame danced in his pupils. “So, now do you get it? You marry Elle and everything’s lard. If you don’t, he goes after your little puss ball. And believe me, he gets her. No question about it.”
“That would be awful!” exclaimed Xavid.
“Right!” said Father. He’s so good, he’s like the black plague injected in your eye. This guy can crack systems. He can scale walls. No medicated anything.” Turning to , Father said, “Right? No medicated shit.”
, who like a trained but diseased hawk was perched back on his stool, said, “You are correct.” His voice was soft and quiet, as if counterpoint to the grisly fury of his being. “The lovely Miss Nora Gonzalez-Matsu will feel every terrible, painful thing I do to her.”
That’s what I felt as I sat in the car while we headed back to civilization. Joelene sat beside me, patting me, and whispered soothing words, but I felt alone and broken. Somehow, I was going to kill Father.
Back in Kobehaba, before we parted, Father said, “Listen, I don’t want that hunk of gristle to tear Nora in half. The truth is the guy scares me! are usually pretty disgusting, but that one’s completely evil. I’m telling you, you should see the fucker eat a jar of mayonnaise. It’ll make you sick!” He snorted a laugh. Meanwhile, Xavid got out his chopsticks and began fluffing Father’s hair again. “Nora’s really nothing in the whole scheme of things. I know you like her and everything, but let’s just do what we have to do and nothing bad will happen.”
“You leave us little choice,” said Joelene.
“That’s the idea!” Father forced a laugh. Then to Xavid, he said, “Don’t make it too perfect. I’d like to look like we went at it a little, you know?” Xavid pulled a corkscrew-looking thing and a spray bottle from a pocket and kept working.
“Look,” continued Father, “the numbers from his date with Elle are just what we needed. We’ll have the audience. We’ll introduce our new partner, we’ll demo their crap, and hopefully we’ll be lard.” He smiled and asked, “?”
I didn’t answer.
“I know you don’t like this, but every day, every hour, every minute, I do things I don’t want to do. But I do them. I do them for the company.”
Patting my shoulder, Joelene said, “He’s very tired and upset, sir.”
Father let out a big sigh. Take him home. Wipe his ass with a silk doily, or whatever it is you do. Just get him ready for the show.”
Ten
My sleep was distressed and filled with nightmare. At one point, I was on a rooftop in an unrecognizable city. In the distance, I saw a green and gold MKG train that I knew had only one passenger—her. I watched it slowly pull out of a station. When it came to a curve, it was like some strange momentum over, and the train barreled forward, derailed, and crashed.
Frantic to get to her, I was climbing down an endless set of polished wooden stairs. At first, the stairs were normal and I could move fast, but as I continued, they got steeper, until I could no longer step up, but had to climb. Soon I was scaling a sheer wooden cliff. Then I was clinging with my fingernails onto tiny cracks.
I lost my grip and plunged down.
With a start, I woke sweaty and anxious, but determined to get a message to Nora about .
“This isn’t yours!” I heard Joelene say on the other side of the room. “I don’t give a fuck about you. I repeat, just leave him the fuck alone!”
Peering toward my desk, I saw her profile in the blue light of her screens.
“Listen to me,” she repeated, “stay away or I’ll kill you!”
In all the years she had been with me, I think I had heard her swear once when she’d badly stubbed a toe. And she had never used this harsh tone, nor threatened anyone. Shutting my eyes, I put my head back onto my pillow, and pretended to be asleep. She spoke again, but not loud enough for me to hear.
Then the room was silent. I wanted to peek, as if to confirm that she was there—that I hadn’t dreamed it, when I heard footsteps.
“Michael,” she said, softly, “your father is coming.”
Turning over, I saw that Joelene’s eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were white. She had been up all night—talking to whom I didn’t know. I asked, “What’s going on?”
“I suspect he wants us to help plan the wedding.”
It took me a moment to remember the product show and Elle. Pulling the chenille up over my face, I said, “Tell Father I died of head lice.”
She sighed deeply and with obvious irritation. “They’re here already!”
Sitting up, I saw the estimator clock count down… three… two… The front door was unlocked from the outside and Father and Xavid came in. Father wore a blue feather boa over a jacket so yellow it made my mouth pucker.
“We solved your shooting!” he announced. “Last night, our engineers found a worm in the code. I don’t have to tell you how super-hideous and awful that . Anyway that worm was responsible for breach where you got shot.”
The gold-visor-wearing orange satin stepped in carrying a naked man. Stooping, the satin then plopped him onto the middle of the floor. Dark purple and green bruises colored the man’s arms, legs, and chest. A line of blood ran from one of his ears. In his mouth was a wad of blue cloth. I covered my chest with my blanket.
Pointing a finger at the man, Father declared, “This is the bastard who put the worm in our code and wanted you dead.”
He writhed against the wires that tied his hands and feet. Scooting farther back in bed, I asked, “Who is he?”
“Ken Goh!”
I hadn’t even recognized him without his blue and orange face paint. At once I felt furious at him, sympathetic for his present suffering, and confused. “Why would he do that?”
“We don’t know!” said Father, as if I wasn’t even supposed to ask. “But he did it. We caught him. End of story. And it was my hairdresser who figured out the evil plot.”
“Simple deduction!” said Xavid, as he pushed up his glasses.
Father then snapped his fingers. “Take the prisoner to the dungeon beneath the PartyHaus.” The gold visor satin picked up Ken and headed out. “You,” he said to me, “get dressed. Chesterfield Kez is here, and he’s brought Elle’s brother to be your friend.”
“Wait,” I said, “if Ken was behind the means it wasn’t MKG!”
“Forget those puds! They’re rancid lard! Besides, Elle’s ratings killed Nora’s. We need that hype to cover our asses.”