by R. A. Meenan
didn't realize I was considered a war hero."
Dr. Laskey shook his head. "It's the circumstance of your double amputation that earns you notoriety in the hospital realm, actually. You're quite the medical wonder. Our interns and students learn about you in classes."
Damn. He hit that sore spot. My status as a so-called "medical wonder." I was quite a popular subject in the newspapers after the war. It was part of the reason I set up shop as far away from the main city as I could. It deterred the paparazzi.
It was also why I denied knowing about this strange status any time someone brought up it up. Maybe I'd eventually get people to stop talking about it.
I dropped my jaw in what I hoped was a believable look of shock. "That's news to me."
"I imagine it is, considering your reputation," Dr. Laskey said, taking my shocked expression hook, line, and sinker. "I hear you're a bit of a hermit."
Both ears flattened now. "Just a bit, yeah." I didn't continue. Maybe he'd drop it. But of course, he didn't.
"You're definitely a feat of wonder, Trecheon," Dr. Laskey said, hitting all the sore spots of the subject. "Plain and simple, you shouldn't be alive. You lost both arms in the span of thirty seconds. You were in the middle of nowhere, abandoned by most of your pack, far from any medical help." He crossed his arms. "Legend has it that your friend Carter was covered head to toe in your blood when he finally got you to the medics. A shame he went MIA. I would have loved to ask him how he kept you alive."
I winced. There it was. The whole reason I fought this stupid status. Carter. He just had to bring up Carter. That mysterious soldier turned friend. The zyfaunos that stuck with me when I was dying. The quilar that insisted I stay close to Neil.
Hell, he was probably to blame for the fact that I was here, planning the death of a doctor. All because I felt this weird loyalty to him. Sometimes I wondered why I bothered listening to him.
But something rang true in Carter's warning words. I couldn't abandon Neil. He'd be dead in a week anyway.
Dr. Laskey frowned. "I'm sorry. Did I bring up a sore subject?"
Um. Duh. But I couldn't say that out loud without chasing him off, so I shook my head. "It's okay. Honestly, I wish Carter was here to tell me the same thing."
"I imagine all who lost someone in that pointless war feel the same."
"I'm still not sure why that makes me a medical wonder though," I said, my frustration finally crawling to the surface. "I wasn't the only one who survived something like that. Other soldiers deserve proper respect for their sacrifices too."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect," Dr. Laskey said. "But you're special. It wasn't so much your survival as it was the state your shoulders were in. You had lost your arms only hours before, but your shoulders had almost fully healed."
I raised an eyebrow. That was a new one. I knew that I had survived and that people thought that to be some great feat, but I didn't know I had somehow healed. "What?"
"Yes, very strange. It was almost like magic."
Ha ha. Right. Magic healed my shoulders. "Maybe I was channeling my inner comic book hero or something." I tried to laugh, but it came out funny. My brain rushed through possible reasons for this "magical" healing, but nothing came out. How come no one had told me this before?
"Either way," the doctor said, stroking his chin. "Fortune must be smiling on me to meet up with you. I don't suppose you'd forego your hermit status this Friday and join me at a conference?"
A spike of adrenaline ran up my spine and all thoughts about my past disintegrated. The good doctor had just signed his own death warrant. "Can I ask why?"
"I'm speaking about advances my hospitals have made in the realm of biomech," Dr. Laskey said. "You have no idea what having a legend like you on stage might do for our donations. I'll even supply you with a new set of arms for your troubles, free of charge. Your current set looks like its seen better days."
My eyes widened and my jaw slackened. "For free?"
Dr. Laskey laughed. "Yes, for free. I'll even throw in a suit and a bottle of water. What do you say?"
Dr. Laskey had just offered me new biomech arms and the perfect opportunity to take out this hit. "Um. Wow. I don't know what to say."
The doctor grinned. "Say yes and we'll get you fitted for new arms and a suit today."
"I don't see how I could turn you down."
"Great!" He called a nurse over and I got fitted that very day.
The good doctor had delivered on all his promises. I had a suit. The biomech waited on stage for installation. I even had the water bottle. I took a sip.
Now I just needed a distraction. And at that moment, one presented itself in the form of a stage hand.
"Sir, can I talk to you a moment about the lighting? We may have a bit of a problem with one of our spotlights."
Dr. Laskey smiled and put his water bottle down. "Certainly. Excuse me a moment, Trecheon. I'll be right back." He followed the stage hand out of sight.
I eyed the water bottle. This was it. No one was around. The bottle was left unguarded. All I had to do was drop the pill in the water and give it a tiny shake. I wouldn't even leave fingerprints behind.
"Come on, Trech. Think of the money. You're desperate. You need it."
But those shiny, new, free biomech arms are probably worth twice as much as this job.
"But think about Laurel. Think of how you felt when you saw that bruise. He's a liar. Just an asshole hiding behind that smile."
But think about how fishy she felt. No one really takes out abusive spouses with hitmen unless they have something to gain.
"But Neil's right. It doesn't matter what her true motives are. You're getting paid to kill, not question."
But you're depriving the world of a good man. A man that's helping you when you didn't even ask for it.
I could feel my resolve wavering. "But I have to help Neil. . ."
Why?
"Because Carter asked me to. Carter needed me to." I took a deep breath. "And Carter died saving my life. I can grant him one last wish."
I could hear Dr. Laskey coming around the corner, talking and laughing with someone. I bit my lip, lifted the pill from my pocket. . .
I dropped the pill in the water and gave it a swirl. The pill dissolved instantly. The water looked no different. I smoothed out my features and willed my heart to slow down. There. Deed done. No backing down now.
Four
Dr. Laskey turned the corner with a smiling brunette in a business suit. He had his arm around her waist and had obviously told some funny joke because she dissolved into giggles. Dr. Laskey smiled at me.
"Sorry about that, Trecheon." He snatched up the contaminated water and took a sip.
I kept my voice as steady as possible. "Not a problem."
Dr. Laskey pulled the brunette forward. "Here, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
A stage hand ran up. "Dr. Laskey! You're on in twenty seconds. Please move to the stage."
Dr. Laskey rolled his eyes impatiently. "Duty calls." He downed the rest of his water, wiped his mouth dry, and kissed the brunette's head. "I'll see you later, honey." He tossed the bottle in a nearby trash can.
It took all my strength not to grimace. So this was the "other woman." Suddenly my resolve hardened. I smiled, hoping it wasn't too fake. "I'm all ready."
Dr. Laskey coughed and leaned on the stage wall before walking out.
We took our places on the stage. A portable examination table sat next to the doctor and my brand new arms rested on a metal wheeled table. Dr. Laskey intended to install the arms on stage to show how easy the procedure could be.
He coughed again and took a heavy, labored breath.
I put on my concerned face. "You okay?"
"Yeah." He took a breath from his inhaler. "Just the asthma acting up. Always does when I'm about to speak on stage." He smiled at me.
Then the curtain raised.
The crowd applauded and my ti
me on stage blurred into a tangle of medical terminology, assorted questions from doctors, and procedure explanations. I didn't really hear any of it. All I heard was Dr. Laskey's quiet, ever increasing coughs.
Soon the doctor was asking me to remove my shirt and we started the process of removing my old arms and sliding the new ones in. The fitting several days earlier replaced many of the old parts and plating in the shoulder mounts and rewired much of the circuitry. All he had to do today was anchor the new arms.
He removed the old arms easily, but he littered his speech with coughs. I eyed him again, frowning. "Are you sure you're okay, Doctor?"
"I'm fine," he wheezed. He took another puff of his inhaler. "We're almost done and then I can go relax."
He turned back toward the audience and held out one of the new arms. "This particular arm is military grade," he said. "While Captain Omnir is no longer in the Marine Corps, he can appreciate the arm's functionality." He explained the features while I kept an eye on him.
He turned, slotted one arm in, and anchored it. "This anchor can be removed in an instant, should the arm become useless or pinned in battle. It's--" He coughed hard and shook his head. "It's quite an advancement." He finished putting the arm together, then moved to the other one.
That's when the spasms started.
Dr. Laskey dropped the arm to the stage and doubled over, coughing. I immediately jumped to my feet. "Dr. Laskey! Are you okay?"
He didn't answer. He coughed harder and vomited on the floor.
I played my part well. "Someone help! Dr. Laskey's in trouble!"
Two nurses ran on stage and tried to help Dr. Laskey up, but he vomited again,
