Data 7 and Julian
This takes place very shortly after Episode
2
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Mr. Jacobs looked up at the clock, "Almost
time for my unusual visitor" he thought, glancing at the door.
The first time the stranger had come, he had pulled out his shotgun to drive him away, obviously thinking him a burglar. Instead of pulling out a gun, the stranger had raised his hands and indicated a metal case he held in his hands. When Mr. Jacobs opened it, he saw three blood red hemispheres sitting inside it. Rubies. Rubies of such high quality that he knew, upon looking at the first with his jeweler's loupe, that he didn't have the cash on hand to pay for any one of them, and would have to get a loan to obtain all three. The stranger knew how much they were worth, but still promised to sell them, just that once, at a discount that Mr. Jacobs knew he'd never see again in his lifetime. The next day saw him in a mad scramble to cobble together a syndicate with two other jewelers of his acquaintance to pool enough money together to by the lot. The profits were enough to make the syndicate a permanent affair, as well as ensure its secrecy and the stranger's privacy. Mr. Jacobs had enough gray hairs on his head to know when not to ask questions of a man who wore a ski mask when doing business.
After that, every three weeks, the stranger would phone up a day in advance, giving Mr. Jacobs time to get the money together to buy what the man said he had to offer. Carat for carat, rubies of this quality were more valuable than diamonds.
The box on his counter buzzed, and a red light flashed on it. He turned it off, put it under the counter, then came around to unlock the door, "Good evening sir." he greeted the stranger as he came in, wearing a suit, trenchcoat, ski-mask, and hat. The stranger touched his gloved hand to his hat, went to the counter, and set his metal case on it.
Mr. Jacobs returned to his place, opened the case, and nodded at the three large rubies lying on the velvet bottom. He scooped them out, laid them on his pad, and started examining each one critically, "Hmm, this one is not as good as the other two or the last set you brought." he pushed one toward him, "See? There's a small flaw here."
The stranger took the loupe and looked where Mr. Jacobs indicated. After a few moments, he nodded his agreement.
"I can only give 17000 for that one, 20000 each for the others, as usual."
The stranger gave a thumbs-up. Mr. Jacobs pulled out three stacks of money, pulled 3000 out of one of them, and put them into the metal case. He closed it, latched it shut, and pushed it across to the stranger, "It's always a pleasure doing business with you. Straight, to the point, and no hot property." he said.
They shook hands, and the stranger left.
He went to the phone and dialed a number, "Samuel? Abe here.
My friend came by again. Is that Arab Sheik still looking for that
matched set of his? He is? Yes, I have them. I'll run
them through the system, of course, but it's a bother, because he hasn't
yet sold me any stolen property. Yes, yes, I'll tell Tivel too.
Have a good evening, Samuel."
---------------
"I am not alone!" Cybersix thought
exuberantly as she pushed off from the roof top. She sailed through
the night air, the warm wind rushing against her face, "29 is alive!
I am not alone any more!"
"WOOOPS!" she gasped. She rolled, grabbed the cape, and whipped it out wide to increase the drag on her body. She still overshot the far edge of the next rooftop. She released the cape and grabbed at a clothesline. It held as she whipped around it twice before letting go. She alighted lightly on the rooftop. She'd jumped a little too exuberantly, she realized with wry amusement.
She wondered where Data 7 was. They had been reunited just two days earlier, and were still having problems linking up. He still didn't know his way around town yet, and obviously had to adjust his schedule to work around hers. Cybers didn't need much sleep, but she didn't know what his panther body required.
"Maybe I'll just run around like I usually do to work my muscles out. Maybe he'll see me, and we'll get ourselves a Fixed Idea or two tonight."
Did Data 7 need sustenance? She didn't know, but she knew she'd cheerfully share her precious stash with him if he did. "The two of us working together would make a great team. Hmm, maybe I'd better tell him about my Fixed Idea friend. I wonder what he'd think about a smart Fixed Idea? For that matter, how am I going to know what he thinks at all?"
Pushing that problem aside for the moment,
she started running, basking for the moment in the experience of being
the happiest person in Meridiana that night.
---------------
Julian walked down the street, hands in
his pockets. Another day gone, and he was still hungry. It
was one thing to try to do the right thing, as that woman Cybersix wanted
him to do, but it sure didn't do anything to fill his belly. He'd
gone looking for work, but the storekeepers didn't need anyone today.
One thing for sure. He wasn't going back to Manny, the fat crook who seemed to speak through his nose. Looking back on it, it was really dumb stealing pocketbooks and turning the money over to Manny, getting back a puny share in the form of greasy french fries and a skinny hot dog. If he was going to go back to stealing, he'd keep the money for himself, drop the wallet into a mailbox, and not steal as many times.
He pushed the image of Cybersix out of his mind at that decision, "Aww! I won't be seeing her again." he reasoned. He glanced up and down the street, not seeing anybody right... Hello there!
Julian ducked into an alley and poked his head out.
A man in a trenchcoat, wearing a hat AND a ski mask, was walking down the street. Weird. He had a thin steel case tucked under one arm. Julian shook his head: the trenchcoat made the hit too difficult. But the guy aroused his curiosity.
He ducked back into the alley and waited as the man trudged by. He then came back out and silently followed him from a distance.
They walked like this for a few minutes, when three men jumped out of a side alley and surrounded the man, who looked around him quickly.
Julian gulped and dashed to hide behind a trash can. Manny was one of the punks!
"Watcha got there, bub?" Manny demanded in his rasping voice, pointing at the case under the man's arm. The man grabbed at it protectively, "Sumptin' val-yoo-able, huh? Well, let Manny and his pals share in the wealth, huh?"
The man spun and flung the case down the street. It skittered past Julian's spot and flipped up onto the sidewalk. Julian eyed it.
"Wise guy, huh?" Manny signalled his men, who pulled out switchblades.
The man crouched down, looking around and putting his hand on his hat.
Suddenly, a long, whistling sound filled the air. Julian looked around: it sounded like someone blowing a whistle, only they weren't running out of breath.
Manny and his men looked around too.
The sound quickly deepened into a loud, long roar. It sounded like a jet engine at full throttle. The wind suddenly picked up in the street, and bits of paper blew violently toward the group. The men broke up and tried to stagger away from the man, who was still crouched, totally unaffected by the wind that was now screaming in on them from all directions.
Julian blinked. Papers and dust were
whipped up from the street, only to disappear several feet above that man's
head! He turned his head and saw the steel case lying on the sidewalk,
also unaffected by the wind.
---------------
"That doesn't sound good!" Cybersix
skidded to a halt, turned, and began running toward the sound of the roar,
---------------
"LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" Manny yelled to
his gang, his feet sliding on the pavement as he tried to fight the strong
winds that had suddenly come at the same time as the roar. He scrambled
as best he could toward the safety of the alley. His men slid around
too.
Suddenly, the roaring stopped, as if a switch had been thrown. Manny's business partners took to their heels and fled.
Alone now, the man stood up. He pinched his nose through the ski mask, shook his head, then turned to retrieve his case.
It wasn't where he was sure he had flung it.
He looked around some more, then shook his head. He reached into a coat pocket, pulled out a small box with an antenna, and turned it on. He turned it around as if it was a radio finder, then strode off purposefully in a different direction.
In the alley, Manny was panting loudly, his heart thumping, "What the hell was THAT??" he thought frantically. Whatever it was, it was too damn loud and acted like a giant vacuum cleaner! He stuck he head out and saw the back of the man walking away rapidly. Good, "Whew! Maybe I'd better just stick to getting streetbrats to steal wallets!"
"BETTER NOT!"
He glanced around wildly, then looked up and screamed when a caped figure leaped off the roof and came flapping down like an avenging angel.
Cybersix landed lightly on the ground, blocking the way back into the alley. Manny tried to run, but Cybersix grabbed him by the collar, spun him around, lifted him up, and slammed his back up against the street light. Manny gulped as he stared into the shadowed face of the dame that had fought a panther at the old opera house! Her black eyes glittered in the night.
"Don't go. WE have unfinished business." she said evenly, in a clear, deadly sounding voice, smiling when she paused.
"W-WE?" Manny couldn't feel the street!
"Oh yes! You remember ME, don't you?"
"Can't ferget ya!" Manny said shakily, trying to make it sound humorous.
"Good. Don't. Remember Julian?"
"Uhh, the street brat? Y-y-yes I do!"
"Good. Forget him."
"F-f-forget him?"
"Forget him. Don't you EVER force him back into pickpocketing again!" she pushed him harder into the lamppost for emphasis, "Understand me?"
"Y-y-yes ma'am!" Manny stuttered.
"Good. Get yourself an honest job!" She lifted him away from the lamppost, spun him around, set him down, and shoved him down the street.
When he got control of his feet again, he turned around.
She was gone.
--------------
Cybersix laughed softly to herself as
she watched Manny flee down the street,, "Once again Cybersix, the Terror
of the Night, strikes again, raising fear in the hearts of evil doers!"
The image of herself painted as a crimefighter made her laugh a bit louder,
"Girl,
that was corny as hell! Those lines came right out of those comic
books you had to read for that class on modern American culture!"
She thought of Von Richter and stopped laughing, "Unlike the comic book,
I can't be sure that the good girl wins at the end of my story." she
sighed, "But the enemies are real. What a life!"
She turned and started leaping from one roof to the other, looking for a clue to the cause of the roaring sound that had drawn her there in the first place. If it was Von Richter's doing, she wanted as much advance notice as possible.
Soon, she gave up and decided to go by
the docks. Fish were there. Cats liked fish, so cats were there
too. Data 7 was a cat. Umm, sort of. So maybe he'd be
there too.
-------------
"WOW!" Julians' eyes bugged when he saw
the stacks of cash that had been in the steel case he had pried open.
He had found an old, unoccupied boat on the pier, and had taken up residence
there after the old opera house had burned down. He had taken the
case there.
He grabbed a bundle and began to count, but soon ran out of numbers.
"MMMMRRRR?"
He turned, "Data 7! Hi! Like my new pad?"
Data 7 craned his head and looked around the sparsely furnished room, slowly rocking with the waves. He walked up to Julian, who knelt down and began to scratch and pet him, "Hey, I'm glad you came back! Sorry I didn't have anything to give you yesterday, but we'll eat well from now on!"
Data 7's ears pricked up at that information. Especially about eating well.
"Look at this!"
Data 7 didn't know much about money, but had an idea of what Julian used to do. He turned to him, "MMMMM?" he rumbled.
"Hey, finders keepers!"
The panther looked askance at Julian, who was beginning to wonder if that woman Cybersix really wasn't crazy when she called the big cat "Brother".
"The guy threw it away!" Julian rationalized, "I saw it myself! Cross my heart and hope to die!"
Data 7 looked at the ground and moved his head sideways.
"Ohhh! I won't be able to find the guy anyhow! Crazy man wearing a ski mask! Hey, we can buy fish and steaks and-"
Julian would never know if his bald attempt at bribery would have succeeded with Data 7, because a jet of water appeared. Data 7 leaped and spun about to glare at it, while Julian thought frantically that the boat was sinking. He suddenly realized that the jet was appearing several inches away from the port hole, and was increasing in size...
"HEY!" Julian cried out as the water shot across the cabin and splashed everywhere.
Someone ran down the steps into the cabin, just as the jet of water suddenly disappeared. Data 7 Roared and leaped at the man with the ski mask.
The two wrestled on the floor, knocking the table down and making Julian jump out of the way. Data 7 howled and screamed as the man got onto his back, then bounded out of the cabin in an attempt to shake him off.
Julian ran outside, "DATA 7! DATA 7!" He shouted as he saw the panther leap and run about, trying to shake the man off.
"Julian!"
"Cybersix!" Julian recognized the woman's voice immediately, "Help Data 7!" He pointed.
Cybersix gasped. Someone was not only on Data 7, but while the cat had been howling, had gotten his forearm into the big cat's mouth! Data 7 was obviously trying to chomp down hard on the arm, but looked as if he was gagging on it instead. Every time he opened his mouth wider, the man wedged his forearm deeper into the pink, toothfilled mouth. His eyes gleamed wide with panic. She leaped to the struggling pair and began to kick and pound at her brother's attacker viciously.
It was like pounding on rocks. Her fist and foot kept stopping dead the moment she touched him.
"NOOO! I WON'T LOSE YOU AGAIN!" her thoughts screamed. She changed tactics, getting around in front and trying to pull the man's arm out of her brother's mouth.
She caught sight of the man's eyes, which were a light blue. They both locked eyes for a moment..
Suddenly, the man pulled his arm out of Data 7's mouth and released him. Cybersix grabbed Data 7 and pulled him away, then fell on her knees and hugged him, "You okay brother? Are you all right?" she blubbered anxiously, petting at his head and neck, then burying her face in his thick fur to wipe off the tears of relief welling in her eyes.
The man stood up and backed off as Julian ran up.
"Wow! Cool!" Julian gasped as the ski-mask and gloves the man wore changed color from black to grey to white. Then the man pulled the mask back.
"Young lady," Dr. Zacharias said sternly, "I expect an explanation for all this!"