Junkyard Pirate Page 13

  "You seem to be getting around pretty well," AJ said. "Let me get changed and I'll go with you."

  "In the last two days, you've gone from shuffling across the floor to walking without any aid. It's remarkable."

  "In the last two days, you've recovered from a bullet wound and had three pieces of shrapnel removed," he fired back.

  Jayne set her hand onto her hip as they walked. "You know, I can feel where the shrapnel exited but it's like an old memory. I haven't walked without pain for fifty years, AJ."

  "Just need a minute." AJ peeled off his clothing and left it in a pile outside the bathroom. It was a risk to attempt standing in the shower, but the experience was too enticing. Water sluiced off his body and as he soaped, his hands found muscles he'd thought long lost.

  "Date night?" Beverly asked, wearing a conservative one-piece swimsuit, and seated on the small shelf made for holding soap.

  "We just need to get out."

  "There are new clothing items in the bags next to your bed," Beverly said. "I picked out a nice shirt for you. I hope you like it."

  As much as AJ would have liked to stay in the shower all night, he wanted even more to escape the confines of his home. He dried off and looked in the mirror, checking his scraggly beard. He had some difficulty recognizing his own face as age spots and wrinkles had all but disappeared. It had been some time since he'd used his razor and while it was painful, he finished with limited damage.

  "Don't you look nice," Jayne said as he joined her in the kitchen, still carrying socks and shoes. Unsurprising, the dark gray pants fit almost perfectly as did the collared golf shirt he pulled over the top.

  "Beverly got this for me," he said. "That was my first shower since the accident. I feel like a million bucks."

  "Are you sure you're okay being seen with an old lady like me?"

  AJ laughed as he slipped on his shoes. "You were quite the looker in your day. Haven't lost that much if you ask me."

  "Oh, now you remember me?" Jayne said.

  "Didn't at first, but I found some old pictures," he said. "I saw you a bunch of times when we brought in wounded."

  Jayne grinned as she grabbed her keys and walked out the door. AJ followed.

  "I got hit on by a lot of you boys," she said, driving down the road. "Never bothered me much as long as they kept their hands to themselves. Different times back then."

  "Most of us were scared out of our wits. Attention from a good-looking broad meant a lot."

  "I know."

  They drove in silence for almost twenty minutes until Jayne pulled into underground parking beneath a tall, upscale apartment building.

  "You want to come up?" she asked, opening her door after parking in a numbered spot.

  "Whoa, slow down, Doc," AJ said. "This is just our first date."

  Thirteen

  Hostile Takeover

  "Nice view, Doc," AJ said as they entered the living room of Jayne's apartment. On the sixth floor, the living room looked over the city through floor to ceiling glass panels.

  "Thanks. Kitchen is back there." She pointed behind them. "Scotch is to the right of the sink. Ice in the freezer." She disappeared through a door at the back of the living room.

  AJ found the Scotch and a couple of glasses, poured two fingers in each, and added ice. He walked back to Jayne's bedroom and opened the door a few inches, pushing the glass through. "Got a …" Before he could finish, Jayne lifted the glass from his hand. "How'd you … right." A projection of Jayne’s outline through the door, courtesy of Beverly, showed the doc walking away into the room.

  The living room was comfortable, if sparsely furnished, and AJ slumped onto a firm leather couch. As he looked out over the skyline, he sipped at the Scotch. He hadn't had hard alcohol for quite a while and enjoyed the burn as he reacquainted himself with an old friend.

  "BB, you're being pretty quiet," he said, reflecting on the unpredictability of his recent life.

  "Team bonding is important," Beverly said, appearing on the edge of the glass coffee table, wearing canvas sneakers, jeans, and a simple white blouse. "Dr. Jayne is feeling stress and you are uniquely suited to helping her through the transition."

  "What kind of information do you have on that Korgul ship you found in Mexico?" AJ asked.

  A virtual map appeared showing his current position in downtown Tucson. Zooming out, the map grew to encompass the northern section of Mexico and a bright blue line snaked across Interstate 10 and then south, finally ending up in Guachochi, Chihuahua.

  Instinctively, AJ reached for the map and spread his hands, a gesture Beverly had taught him. With a few deft movements, the small town of Guachochi occupied most of his view. On the northeast side of town, a subtle blinking indicated a business called Yonke Payan.

  "The ship is visible in the archive of pictures the proprietor has taken," Beverly said.

  "You're sure it's still there?" AJ asked. "When was the picture taken?"

  Beverly moved the virtual map to the side of his view and projected a picture of what looked like a small, older space shuttle with no windows or obvious engines. AJ strained to make out details, but the quality of the photograph was poor.

  "The image was digitized fifteen years ago," Beverly said. "There is no further record of the craft."

  "I see," he said.

  "Presentable enough?" Amanda Jayne interrupted the conversation as she appeared at the door to her bedroom, wearing a simple, knee-length black dress. Her shoulder-length gray hair had been pulled into a knot and pinned to the back of her head.

  AJ swiped at the displays, dismissing them as he stood. "You look great, Doc," he said.

  While white gauze still peeked out from beneath the neckline of her dress, the bruises from her encounter with the Korgul-slaved FCC inspector were mostly hidden. While Jack's efforts had been primarily to repair internal damage, Jayne had been pleased by what she'd found in the mirror.

  "I haven't been able to wear this dress for years," she said, slowly turning for AJ to appreciate. "And I haven't felt this good for even longer than that."

  "Seems like something worth celebrating," AJ said. "What are you thinking?"

  "Up for a walk?" She shot him a knowing grin as she collected his empty glass and set it next to hers on the kitchen counter. "There's a steak place not too far from here."

  "Lead on," he said, gesturing to the door. He could hardly believe that he was able to say yes to a walk of any length. What a great evening it was already.

  For several minutes, the two were quiet as they worked through Jayne's building and down to the sidewalk. The sun was still high enough in the sky that the day's heat reflected off the concrete and warmed the cool, dry air.

  "Tell me about Fantastium and the work you're doing in your shop," she said.

  "I'm not sure I really know that much," AJ said. "Best I can tell, Fantastium is an energy-dense element humanity hasn't discovered yet. Apparently, Korgul are stripping Earth of both that and Blastorium."

  "I recall the conversation," Jayne said, nudging him to make a turn. "What can we do about it? I mean, I'm more than appreciative to have my life back, but I'm already in the business of helping people. Why should I turn away from being a doctor?"

  "You mean, beyond discovery and eventual death by the Korgul?" AJ asked.

  "I guess."

  "From my perspective, the big picture is simple. If you look at technological breakthroughs over time, fire was probably the biggest discovery, ever. Simply put, with fire, we could stay warm when it got cold, cook, defend. All that good stuff. After the wheel, the combustion engine has to be next in line."

  "Penicillin?" Jayne offered as she stopped him in front of a thick wooden door beneath a sign reading Double Barrel.

  "Sure," AJ said, opening the door. "Modern plumbing. Dentistry. Computers. They're all important inventions, to be sure. But what if Fantastium is every bit as big as one of those first-tier ideas?"

  "Are you joining us for a late dinner?"
A middle-aged woman dressed neatly in slacks and a black blouse greeted them as they entered the quiet restaurant. A flicker of recognition, followed by a broad smile crossed the woman's face. "Oh, Dr. Jayne. I didn't recognize you all dressed up. You look beautiful this evening."

  "Carla." Jayne smiled graciously. "Thank you. I don't break out the dresses very often but tonight, my friend AJ and I are celebrating."

  "Oh?" Carla asked, intensely interested. "I didn't even know you were dating. It's so sudden."

  AJ picked up on the woman's implication and interrupted. "No, no, no," he said. "We're just old friends celebrating positive news about my health. The doctor's a genius, if you didn't know."

  Jayne narrowed her eyes and then her eyebrows shot up as understanding struck her. Picking up on his lead, she looped her arm into his and patted his forearm. "You're too kind, Albert."

  Carla led them to a high-backed booth and waited for them to scoot in. "Do you know what you'd like to drink? I'll be your server this evening, as it's getting late."

  "Trust me?" Jayne asked.

  "At this point, I'd be a fool not to," he said.

  "Eight-ounce ribeye for me, medium. Twelve-ounce for AJ. House red wine would be lovely for me and a glass of Macallan 15 - dirty for my friend. We'll start with a house salad and half a loaf of your wheat bread. The buttered potatoes would be a nice side with the meal," she said.

  "You must be starving to order all that." Carla smiled approvingly, anticipating a big tip. "Medium on your steak, AJ?"

  "Medium rare, if you don't mind." He returned her smile.

  "Make sure to save room for dessert," Carla said, smiling broadly over her shoulder as the hostess sauntered off. A busboy snuck in to flip and fill the water glasses.

  "I think she likes you," Jayne said.

  "Right." AJ chuckled as he waited for the busboy to get out of earshot. "What if Fantastium opened up transit to other civilized species? What if we could trade with alien civilizations? How big would that be?"

  "Is that how Korgul and Beltigersk came to Earth?" He saw intense interest on Jayne's face and grinned as he imagined the myriad questions running through her head.

  "Far as I can tell. And think about it; what if Korgul are depleting Earth of those resources? They're stealing our future. It's like they're taking away the invention of the wheel," AJ said. "We have to stop them."

  Jayne nodded her head. "Why not go to the government and tell someone? Yes, it's hard to believe to begin with, but surely Jack and Beverly could help us convince someone, especially if we dig up some of that Fantastium you're talking about."

  "There are twenty million Korgul on the planet, maybe more," AJ said. "That means one in every hundred people. The government is loaded with people controlled by these aliens. We only get one shot at this. They find out what we’re up to and we're done for."

  "If that's so, why haven't they come for us already? Didn't you say you pulled a Korgul out of that guy who attacked us?" she asked. "Won't they know he's missing?"

  "His name was Sawyer and I'm not sure," AJ said. "According to BB, there are two kinds of Korgul; contractors and government types. The government types are all in constant communication and the contractors are lone wolfs. We got lucky. Sawyer's rider was a lone wolf."

  AJ sat back as Carla delivered drinks and salads to the table.

  "Our chef says six minutes on the main course," Carla said, smiling as her hand brushed the top of AJ's before she left the table. The contact wasn't lost on Jayne.

  "Believe me now?" Jayne asked.

  AJ rolled his eyes. "Little forty-something gal like that doesn't have eyes for an old codger like me."

  "You should spend more time in front of a mirror, AJ," Jayne said. "If I didn't know better, I wouldn't put you much past fifty."

  "You know, that could cause trouble for you," AJ said.

  "Me?"

  "Sure. How many people know you?" he asked. "Imagine what your friends are gonna say when you look like a thirty-year-old. It's no big deal for me because there aren't five people still alive who know me."

  She frowned. "I see your point. We'll have to address that if it comes up."

  "When."

  "Sure. Now, back to this Fantastium," she said. "You’ve convinced me it's important. What are you building in that shop of yours?"

  "Survey tool, collector, and containment systems," AJ said. "The backpack thing is still a mystery, although I have a guess. Basically, we need Fantastium to power the ship in Mexico."

  "I thought you said Mexico was a trap."

  "A good one, too," AJ said. "We really don't have a choice but to go after it."

  "With what?"

  "I guess I was thinking we'd take a road trip."

  "With what?"

  "I've got an old Ford flatbed I use for hauling junk. With a little elbow grease, we could get it running like a top," he said.

  "So, we just drive down there, load up a spaceship and bring it back?"

  "You just summed up a junker's life."

  "What about the Korgul?"

  AJ shrugged. " I was hoping BB and Jack might have some ideas about that. Since we can't tell who is under their control, it's not a problem I can do much about."

  Jayne sipped on her wine and then leaned forward onto her elbows. "How can you be so cavalier about all this?" While her words conveyed concern, AJ saw a glint of excitement in her eyes.

  "Look, we have time to work out details. BB has experience working against Korgul, so I figure she'll have some ideas," he said. "My job is to get things working and ready to roll."

  "I could start planning the supplies we'd need for a trip," she said. "I also need to shut down my practice and help my patients find other doctors. When are you thinking of leaving?"

  "A week, maybe two?" AJ said, shrugging. "I wasn't really expecting to be out of the chair. Once that happened, things began moving pretty quickly."

  Jayne nodded. "Your recovery has been remarkable."

  "Not to me. Sitting in that chair was driving me nuts," He cut into the steak that had just been delivered. "Damn, this is fantastic."

  "Thought you'd like it," Jayne said, cutting into her own. "Is that your phone ringing?"

  "Oh, crap," AJ said, patting his pockets, withdrawing his phone and answering it. "This is AJ."

  "Shit, man," Darnell's concerned voice exclaimed. "Where the hell are you? I came to your house. Your chair is at the bottom of the ramp, you're gone, and there are bloody sheets in the dryer."

  "Oh, Doc Jayne stopped by and took me out for dinner," AJ said, waggling his eyebrows at Jayne.

  "What? Really? What about your chair?"

  "Look, we're just finishing up. What say, we run by your house and we can talk?"

  "It's getting kind of late, but I do want to talk to you," Darnell said. "Koreans were in town. I've got some heavy shit going down. They want me to move to DC."

  "As in Washington? Did that merger happen?"

  "More like hostile takeover," Darnell said. "These guys are super strange, too – spooky like. Yeah, come by when you're done with dinner. I don't want to talk about it on the phone."

  "See you in half an hour, buddy," AJ said and then hung up the phone.

  "That your friend?" Jayne asked, setting her fork down. AJ stared in surprise at the woman's plate which no longer had even a sliver of steak left on it.

  "Darnell. He stopped by the junkyard and was looking for me," AJ said, cutting off the end of his steak. "You get enough to eat?"

  Jayne greedily eyed AJ's steak as he nudged it in her direction. "I'm starving." She stabbed at and removed the remnant from his plate.

  AJ caught Carla's attention as she passed their table.

  "My, you've done admirably. Can I interest you in dessert? We have a hearty carrot cake – which might be a bit much after such a meal. We also have a light lime tart you could consider splitting. There’s always our famous Death by Chocolate and I think we have some tiramisu left. I could bri
ng the dessert tray over if you'd like to look."

  AJ shook his head. "Actually, we need to get going, but maybe you could pack up one of each of those to go?"

  Carla looked at AJ with a surprised smile but nodded. "Of course," she said, slipping the bill folder back into her pocket. "I'll bring them out immediately."

  "My treat," Jayne said, removing a credit card from her purse. "I think I ate most of it anyway."

  "You have any interest in going to Darnell's? I don't think it'd be too weird."

  Jayne shook her head. "It sounds like he needs his friend tonight. I can drop you off if you like, though."

  "Did you know there is a car service that will pick you up at any time of night?" AJ asked. "And I'm not talking cabs. It's like, regular people who drive you around."

  Jayne chuckled as Carla set the bag of desserts on the table and presented the bill. "I'm familiar with the services."

  "I'll walk you home, then I'll catch a ride," AJ said. "You'll have to pick out your dessert first, though."

  "Come back and visit us soon," Carla called after them, as the two exited the restaurant.

  AJ caught the woman's eye and winked as the door closed behind them. "Bet on it," he said, which earned him a playful slap on the shoulder from Jayne. "What?" he asked, feigning innocence.

  "Isn't it a rule that you're not allowed to flirt with other women when you're on a date? Even if I do look like your mother," Jayne said.

  "You definitely don't look like my mother." The two walked in amiable silence back toward Jayne's apartment building. He finally broke the silence. "This was a pretty great night, Doc. Thanks."

  "It was pretty great," she said, nodding. "Mind if I come by in the morning so we can work on plans for the Mexico trip?"

  "Sure," he said. "I'll just be working out in the shop. Maybe we can finish that mystery device."

  "BB, can you call me a ride?" AJ asked as the two stopped at the entrance to Jayne’s building.

  Beverly appeared in front of AJ, bobbing up and down with her rocket pack. "Three minutes out."