We left the store as the legs were unpacking to move it to a different location. Helios claimed Laez had dollied at the store for too long in hopes of meeting him alone. I pointed out to him how he wouldn’t have to worry about the creepy sonji again. It cheered him up considerably.

The situation left me absolutely drained of energy. Whatever it was that was keeping me going strong was used up as I took out some of my anger on Laez. I lasted approximately ten minutes into the run when my eyelids were proving to be heavier than I can handle. Helios showed me how to lay the seat down and assured me he would be nice and molest me while I was sleeping. The way he batted those pretty eyelashes made me a little saddened that he was just joking and confused as to why I would be saddened. Maybe I shouldn’t spend that much time around him.

I dreamed of Laetitia that night. It could have been early morning, I wasn’t looking outside for the sun. I also dreamed of Samantha. It began with Laetitia saying hi, thats it, just hi. She cooked me lunch, set the table then fed me like I was a little baby. She talked about her day at the gym. How men and woman constantly check her out but she wanted nothing to do with them. She was saving herself for someone special. She never did say who. I thought I saw a little twinkle in her eye when she would say she was saving herself for someone special. I tried to get it to move to a more intimate setting, I can distinctly remember trying in my dream, the dream would just not change.

I began to get flustered. The edges of the dream fluttered and became steel on wood boards. I wanted to touch her, to feel her, to taste her; my sleeping mind would not let me though. She went from feeding me to folding my clothes to cleaning my house. Every now and then she would ask me if what she is doing is helping. I wanted to scream no though no sound would come out.

Eventually my dream Laetitia was bending down folding a washcloth when she stood up and was replaced by my ex-girlfriend Samantha. It was completely natural to me though. I was getting angrier by the moment at Laetitia for not letting me put my hands all over her body and taste the sweetness of her lips when the next moment she was my ex.

"You’re a lunatic Tom. You may try to hide it behind your time as a Negotiator—she always used the official title—though we both know the truth."

Suddenly it was going backwards.

"I don’t believe you Tom." Samantha was crying now, holding a paper photograph of us together standing in line in front of a rollercoaster that I had never seen. I didn’t know what a paper photograph was until I had Bevisste find an example of it.

She was standing on a rock in Northwest Park. A bottle of beer was in her hands poised above her head like she was going to smash it on the rocks. "Why do you drink so much Tom?! Why? It got you kicked out of the Marine Corps and you keep on drinking!"

"You want to know why I really got kicked out?" My voice thundered like the voice of the Almighty.

I was back in my apartment looking at the amazing form of Laetitia doing yoga on the carpet four feet from me. I could get used to watching that. God how lucky I was for the opportunity just to be around her. Lucky jumped up on my lap and began barking.

She barked and barked when I opened my eyes realizing the barking was coming from outside the city runner. Helios was nowhere to be seen. It was surprising though. He mentioned having business to take care of in Marland. Since our business was not going to be crossing paths I thought of skipping town if I got a lot of money.

"Yeah right. I don’t imagine I would get very far." I thought out loud.

"Very far from what?" Bevisste asked.

"I thought of skipping town after my big payday, if there is one. Speaking of town where exactly did Helios take us and how do I get out of this thing?" That was one thing I did not notice until right now. There were no door handles or buttons that said ’push me to open’. The walls, floor and ceiling of the runner appeared to be one continuous piece of metal. It was beginning to become very warm as I looked around.

"Yes that would be very stupid of you Tom. We are currently in a parking lot about forty miles from the first address Cleo gave us. I believe there is a bus stop near us, barring that I know of a close subway station. He parked us pretty far out from the information he gave me, however something in the material of the runner is interfering with access to the broader Net so I’m in the dark about a lot until we leave the runner."

"And how would that be possible?" Were the walls starting to close in a little? I’m positive the lights were running out of light.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that."

If nothing else can be said about Helios and least it can be said he has a sense of humor. The runner lifted up on its front legs, opened a whole under the tail and shit me out.

"Touché." I said when I realized what had happened.  It was probably payback for coping a feel. I decided next time to hell with my moral hang ups, I would make him very uncomfortable.  "How far to the subway station?"

"Six miles." I swear she sounded smug like she enjoyed saying that. I wonder what I did to piss her off.

"Six? Where the fuck are we?" It was a legitimate question. I had never actually been to Marland before. I saw no real need to leave New Hamp City. It was the largest city on Oazan which is a Super-Earth planet making the cities I grew up in on Earth miniscule in comparison. Even New York City the largest city on Earth by population and land mass was a quarter the size of New Hamp City.

Where we were in Marland looked like the city dump or a section of the city that must have had realtors running for the hills when approached to sell property. It made the crappy part of town I lived in look respectable, like a place thieves would want to visit.

"We are in Hising Borough of Marland. It looks kind of repressed don’t you think?"

"Repressed would be the top of the ladder compared to this. People actually live here?" I was now very glad I had my Luxor 56 Special on me.

"Yes Tom, not every place is as nice as New Hamp City."

"Nice?"

"Look around you. The district of the city we live in looks quite nice compared to this place."

"You have a point. Point me in the direction." A blue line overlay popped up over the street in front of me. Bevisste was not lying. A little over six miles to the subway station. I thought that was ridiculous and just plain mean to force these residents to travel that far just so they could be part of the normal city life. I wonder what the asshole politician told himself when he listened to his wealthy donors and stopped the rail-line from reaching every point in the city.

Hising Borough while looking like a dump—there were literal piles of detritus lying around, mounds of broken vehicles and other husks of machinery, the street looked as if it had not been touched by a street sweeper in its entire existence—was a busy place. The rough looking groups of people, possibly gangs, hailed diversity though, that was nice to see, I don’t see many inter-racial gangs in New Hamp City.

I suppose I looked a little angry or ready to go cannibalistic on the first person that talked to me because every person, even the groups of six to seven, literally moved to the opposite side of the road as I rode slowly towards the subway.

"Are you scowling Tom?" Bevisste asked.

"A little but I don’t think it’s bad enough for people to run away, or maybe Helios drew something on my face." I laughed at my joke then scowled again. "The look of this place just upsets me. How the fuck can city leaders and the planet government ignore their citizens like this? It’s the goddamn thirty-fourth century and people still live in squalor. It’s fucking unacceptable Bevisste."

She was silent as she knew there was nothing she could say to make me feel happy or in a good mood. She knew me well enough to know that it wasn’t just the condition of the city that was putting me in a shitty mood, I was just blaming the city. I was getting closer to finding the motherfuckers that killed the kleens and would only continue to get angrier until I snapped into a sort of combat focus. She didn’t want that to happen, though we both knew it was inevitable, so she said nothing in hopes something else would distract me.

Something else did and it was the only thing in existence that could cut through my mood.

"Hi Laetitia. Good morning, I wasn’t expecting a call. Not that it’s a bad thing, I’m glad you called. You look beautiful. How are you?"

"You’re rambling Tom." Bevisste interrupted me.

"Good morning to you too. I got your message." She said and yawned. You know that longing you feel when you see something you have always desired but never knew you always desired it? That is what I felt multiplied exponentially. My body physically ached to hold her in my arms.

"Do you hate me now? I don’t want to abuse our new friendship but I wasn’t expecting to adopt a dog a couple days ago and I really need to complete this story or I’ll be living on the street."

"You’re so funny. I told you I’ll do whatever I can to help you out. If you need me to watch Lucky for a few days, then that’s fine. I’m watching her at your place though; keep the dog hair consolidated to one location."

"That’s fine."

"You know I was a little bummed I had to wake up alone and eat breakfast by myself." I felt like complete scum. I know that is being harsh but I felt that way. "I was gonna see if I could have a turn and unload on you with why my day was crappy. Wow that came out as selfish. Never mind it is nothing compared to what you endured in the Marines."

"No no no." I said quickly almost running into a street lamp pole. "Go ahead, fire away. I don’t want you to think you can’t talk to me about something because it didn’t happen in a warzone. I’d love to hear about your day yesterday. I’ll have to save the hug until I get home."

"Aww." Bevisste said. I wanted to hit her.

"Sounds good. Say hi Lucky." Lucky barked. I wish I knew how she got Lucky to obey commands. "Well I was at work of course, you already know that. There’s this guy that I began as a trainer for about a month ago."

Twenty years I was in my first semester in college. Joined a fraternity, signed up for a major I knew nothing about and met a girl. Now this girl was everything. She was wealthy, well her parents were, lived right off campus across the street, was into freaky things guys that age are into and had her own car—that was a big thing. We went on seven dates, seven exclusive confirmed dates not just seven times I thought was a date. I thought we were an item, told all my two friends about her then decided I would treat her to something nice. There was a ballet or some such dance show she made noise about in town, I bought tickets, got a suit, dressed to the nines and went to pick her up. I found her fucking my roommate on my bed.

My heart dropped worse right now when Laetitia told me ’some guy’ than it did that day back in college.

"We were both flirting back and forth."

I think I’ll kill someone.

"I thought it was going quite well."

May the world burn.

"Turns out he has a girlfriend."

"That motherfucker!"

"I know right? It gets worse though." Apparently she thought I was mad about the guy having a girlfriend. "He asked me out on a date."

A bomb. A really big one and maybe poison in the water supply.

"I said yes of course. He was really good looking."

Maybe I’ll just start torturing sonji’s to help temper my rage.

"He says that’s great. His girlfriend is really looking forward to meeting me. She has been on the lookout for another girl in the relationship and took a shine to me the day she saw me. He even pointed to her! You still there Tom?"

I didn’t realize I was silent for so long. The people around me did though. I had stopped in the center of a road with the look of death on my face. My life sucks and I was ready to make everyone around me pay for it.

"Yeah, babe, I’m here." What the hell, she doesn’t want anything to do with me anyway may as well talk to her how I want. "That guy is a fucking prick. Want me to shoot him or beat him with my bicycle?"

She laughed. Somehow the rage I was feeling went away. It was there, ready to lay waste to the world, then it was gone. In its place was giddiness that she was talking to me. She makes me so fucked up.

"You’re so sweet Tom. He is a prick and I’ve already had Leila switch him to another person when I’m there. I had thought... Well I guess everything happens for a reason. I mean I met you and Lucky right when I needed to most. I was beginning to get depressed at having no friends."

There’s that F word again. I don’t want to hear that word when you refer to me Laetitia! I felt like screaming.

"It would have got real bad when that guy was a prick and offered to share me with his girlfriend."

In any other circumstance I would have a grin on my face and possibilities of what that meant running through my mind. I didn’t right now. With Laetitia I was selfish. I want her for me and only me.

"You know as I sit here in your apartment all alone." She made a sad pouty face that made me laugh.

"Trust me Laetitia I would much rather be sitting next to you with your hands all over me again, maybe I’ll accidently injure myself again, than riding around in this shit hole of a city."

"I have a feeling you’re not joking about hurting yourself."

"It’ll be an accident. I promise."

She laughed. The sound is more magical than a choir of holy angels. "I’ve been thinking as I’ve been sitting here and realized I have never thought of the word lucky more times in my life than in the last few days. I think you named your dog correctly."

"I am going to have to agree with you on that one."

"Well I gotta go take a shower and get clean. Lucky and I have decided to go for a long two or three hour walk. Call me later when you get a chance to talk."

I nodded, a bug in my throat. I wanted to tell her I love her. I merely smiled and nodded as she cut the connection.

"My life sucks Bevisste. The woman seems to be molded directly out of what I desire and love the most in life and she thinks of me as a friend. I really am going to have to hurt myself just to get her to touch me."

She was quiet for a long time. That was not like Bevisste.

"You there Bevisste?"  She had to be. She was in my eyeballs.

"I do not know whether to find this amusing or not Tom, to be honest. When you just said that about Laetitia the connection seemed to be open on her end. She could have just been silent waiting to see what you would say, or it could have been a residual connection from the shitty network in Hising Borough and no data made it across to her."

"No." I shook my head. That was bullshit and just plain unfair. "You’re fucking lying."

"I wish I was. However I am almost certain it was a network echo."

"You’re an AI. Almost certain is not a saying you are familiar with. Oh this sucks."

"Yes I am certain this is a funny situation. It is quite comical. However if it is any consolation you were the sweetest person to ever have lived when you talked to her. I am sure she will think the same."

"How much further to the subway station?"

Next Chapter: Getting hit on the head really hurts