Learning the Hard Way 3

by H. P. Caledon

  “Well, I’m here, too.”

  Keelan lifted his head to see the deadpan of the physician. “Hi, physician.” Keelan leaned his head back on the pillow. His head felt twice as big as it was supposed to be.

  “If you’d just lie still, I’ll scan you. I need to see how many of your fractures have healed.”

  “Healed?”

  “Yeah, a month in a coma should make you lie still.”

  “A month?” Keelan barely recognized his own voice and could barely wrap his mind around the fact that it was a whole month since... Alice died, he realized.

  “It’s okay, Dad.” Misery took his hand. “It’s all going to be okay.”

  The physician pushed on a screen, and a plate slid out from the wall over the bed. A light ran from one end to the other and back again, and the physician punched some more on the screen while humming a melody with no tune.

  “You’ve healed, but you’re not going dancing anytime soon. We’ve tried to keep your ligaments and muscles active in the non-injured body parts, so half of you should work. More or less.”

  “You’re so optimistic and positive to talk to, you know that?”

  The physician didn’t answer, and Keelan raised his head to look at a face void of expression.

  Mike suppressed a snicker.

  “Your turn,” the physician said and left.

  “My turn?” Keelan asked.

  “No, mine,” Mike said. “First, let’s see if you can walk on your own. Unless you want to stay there a while longer?”

  “Forget it,” Keelan muttered and tried to make a leg cooperate.

  * * * *

  Mike, Keelan, and Misery were eating in the mess hall on level one. After the run-in with Lewis and the Acadians, Lewis had decided to grant them access to level one anyway. Mike was just interested in seeing whether Keelan recognized the boys from Red Turf. Mike had since found out that they always sat at the same table, so he’d placed them at the next table so Keelan could see them when they sat.

  The Acadians and Lewis came in and got in line. Mike managed eye contact with Lewis, who took a seat next to Keelan.

  “Good to see you up.”

  “Thanks.” Keelan stabbed his fork at more food. The Acadians found their table and took a seat. Keelan lost all interest in the food on the fork as it was halfway in his mouth.

  “Didn’t Mike and Misery tell you about them?” Lewis asked.

  “What did you do to them?” Keelan asked, letting go of his fork. It danced around on the plate before landing on the table between his and Mike’s tray.

  “I got them this way.”

  “Empty on the top floor?”

  “Not exactly,” Lewis said, looking at Keelan, puzzled. Mike waited for it to unfold, because if Lewis was to learn Keelan knew anything about that new special unit of soldiers, he was to hear it from Keelan himself.

  “Who are they?” Keelan asked.

  “Acadians. A special unit of—”

  “Collected street kids from Red Turf. Where’s the last three?”

  “What do you know?” Lewis asked quietly, his eyes holding a dangerous gleam.

  “More than you,” Keelan whispered, before he sat up straight, his eyes roaming the unit. “You’re a lucky man.”

  “How’s that?”

  “What Keelan is saying is that these are his boys. He took care of them in the days prior to the collection,” Mike said. “And then one morning they were just gone. You know Keelan by now, sir.”

  “So, you know them?” Lewis asked.

  “The three closest to us now were the ones I spoke with the most. They’ve gotten so big. Fritz is about Rosita’s age.”

  “So that’s why you took care of them?”

  “Fritz is Churchburrow, too. He’s... my brother.”

  “Aha,” Lewis mumbled and looked into his cup, which Mike was happy about, given the look Misery and Keelan exchanged. She turned to look at Fritz, but Mike kept looking at her eyes. They remained green.

  “I can understand that a miserable childhood can make for strong connections. You don’t need a crappy childhood for that, but... your loyalty is commendable. I got the boys after they were enhanced. Just so you know. I was given an order and got this unit to be trained. I will not apologize even if your feelings toward these boys make you think less of me.”

  “I don’t think less of you, Lewis. With a childhood like mine, like theirs, this is better than life in some hole or on an uninhabitable planet. And that’s probably where they would have ended up. Look at my daughter. If I hadn’t decided to hunt her down, she would have ended up on Orlani. If you hadn’t gotten those boys... let’s face facts here.” Keelan winked at Misery. “I have my hands full with this one.”

  Lewis nodded and smiled carefully. “I have only one way of helping you now, and you’re gonna have to trust me.”

  “Do tell,” Mike said.

  Lewis glanced at Keelan who’d picked up his fork and stabbed some more food.

  “Only the Techno Raiders can do this. Disappear, that is,” Lewis said. “Everybody is looking for the three of you right now. So I’ll make you disappear.”

  “And that’s a sentence that never sounds good from a man with that many weapons,” Misery whispered conspiratorially.

  Lewis smiled lopsidedly. “Why do you think I said you’d have to trust me?”

  Keelan looked at Lewis before glancing at Mike. Misery looked from one to the other with expectation. Mike sighed with a smile and slid further down in his chair to sit comfortably when awaiting Keelan’s answer. Misery did the same.

  “Fine,” Keelan said. “Then we do that.”

  “Good, come on.”

  Keelan, Mike, and Misery each lay on their stretcher staring at a dark ceiling. Lewis and the physician were in the room, and that was it.

  “No one but us present here now knows what’s about to happen, and it’s going to stay that way,” Lewis said.

  Keelan turned his head to look at a grinning Mike.

  “Troublemaker,” Mike said.

  “You started it.”

  “Did not,” Mike said while the physician injected him.

  “Did too,” Keelan said.

  “Did nooo... ” Mike fell asleep.

  “Did to,” Keelan said and turned to look at Misery. She smiled and reached for his hand. He took it and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. Once again, he tried to memorize the texture and softness of her skin, while he tried to recall the smell of Alice’s hair. He felt the prick of the needle in his arm and smiled at Misery. Darkness closed in on his mind, and the last thing he registered was her voice.

  “I love you, Dad.”

  Epilogue

  Lewis sat on the edge of a crate and surveyed Reeds’ South Port. Getting provisions for a ship the size of a Spec Edit was no small task, but today it was mainly a new workforce for the service decks.

  People stood in lines to be registered while others gathered in groups to have the opportunity to ask questions and get more information about the limitations and opportunities of a job on Spec Edit.

  It was strange to sit there and look at a port that just six months before had been turned on its head when Misery, Mike, and Keelan had torn their way through it. But the trouble they started didn’t end there. A team of mercenaries had managed to catch a collector that they had been pursued for many years. It was with a great deal of professional pride that Lewis learned of the team who had succeeded in bringing in Karlson.

  News feeds still reported seeing Mike and Keelan here or there, but there were never any follow-ups. Lewis had tried to get in touch with Ratkins, but Ratkins had just stared at him blankly and ended the call.

  Harrison plopped down next to him, and Lewis smiled.

  “Thanks.”

  “For what?” Harrison feigned ignorance.

  “Ha! It was some of our boys who caught Karlson here, you know.”

  “Yeah, I recognized the Orlani team. And Matthew’s
hand in it has been kept completely out of it?”

  “Yeah, no one likes double-dealing mercs.”

  “Probably for the best.” Harrison scratched at a spot on the crate. “They have to hide well, because you and I are running out of favors everywhere. And those three can cause so much trouble that you and I end up in a situation so sticky we’ll never escape it.”

  “I gave them a lesson in hiding,” Lewis said, smiling.

  “How good a lesson?”

  “The best.”

  Harrison nodded and looked at the many people milling around on the port. “Will we ever learn, you think?”

  “Learn what?”

  “To follow orders?”

  “What did we agree on at the academy? Soul or medals?” Lewis asked.

  “Yeah. So, statistically, it’s my turn to fuck up and your turn to save my ass, right?”

  Lewis smiled and shook his friend’s hand. “As always, buddy, I’m the eyes in the back of your head.”

  “And I yours,” Harrison said, slapped Lewis’ shoulder, and went back to his own troops.

  * * * *

  Hannah stood in the line and waited her turn to be registered for a job on the service levels of Spec Edit five like the doge had asked her to do. She was both excited and scared at the same time, but she trusted the species who had urged her to seek the position.

  Two men sat on a crate at the end of the ramp of the big ship that would take her, the new personnel, and their belongings up. The two men seemed to be friends. They had the same rank—that much she could see.

  It became her turn, and she stepped forward.

  “Hi,” the soldier said and took her pad. He looked through it and smiled. “Your application has been approved. Welcome to Spec Edit five. If you would gather your belongings and head inside, a soldier will help you find a seat.” The soldier held his arm out to the ramp.

  “Who are they?” she asked, motioning to the two men.

  “The blond is our Lieutenant Colonel Lewis. The other one is Lieutenant Colonel Harrison of Spec Edit three.”

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling nervously. She picked up her bag and walked up the ramp.

  Lieutenant Colonel Harrison hopped off the crate and left Lewis, nodding at Hannah as he passed her. He was such a handsome man. So was Lieutenant Colonel Lewis, but younger than she’d thought he’d be.

  Lieutenant Colonel Lewis left the crate and was about to walk into the ship when the handle on Hannah’s suitcase broke, and all her belongings spilled onto the ramp. Lewis turned and headed her way.

  “Let me help you.” He crouched and stuffed her clothes back into the suitcase before closing it and carrying it into the ship.

  “Thank you,” she said, following him in. He left her stuff with a soldier and the order to find a kitbag for it.

  “There you go, we got all your belongings sorted out. Welcome to Spec Edit five. May I in advance thank you for the work and the contribution you’ll be to our crew in the future.” Lewis held out his hand, and she shook it, smiling.

  “Thank you.”

  His wristband beeped. “Excuse me.”

  She nodded, and he left the dock.

  Yeah, it was going to be good for her just like the doge had promised her. The doge had certainly not lied when praising Lieutenant Colonel Lewis and claimed him to be a good man. He was, that much she could see.

  She put her hand on the lower part of her belly and wondered when she’d be able to feel life. And she wondered about the doge’s explanation of how the little life in her belly would one day be a contributing factor of a destiny not even Lieutenant Colonel Lewis knew he was already the protector of.

  About the Author

  Thinking there was only so much room for future worlds and chatty characters inside a person’s skull, HP Caledon decided to write some of it down to get some peace and quiet and be able to live in the present moment. Fat lot of good that did—it just made room for more chatty characters! So, with coffee and the occasional glass of red wine at the ready, he has come to enjoy the run of characters and never-ending creativeness that this brought with it.

  When not writing, he reads, trains CrossFit, studies all aspects of life and people, and enjoys more coffee.

  HP Caledon is in his late thirties, Danish, and a blacksmith by trade.