What Freedom Means (14)
Tal'ena looked at me with a look that indicated that these two guys were going to try something, and to let her do the talking. I nodded silently, and put the parcel I was carrying down by the store we had just left, and waited for the two to make their move.
The larger of the two just stood there while the smaller talked first. "Hey, where is your master?"
Tal'ena answered. "He is getting the car. Do you have business with him?"
"Yeah, he owes us money. He said that we could take his morphs, though."
The smell I was getting off the smaller cleared stated that he was lying, but I think that they were not aware of that fact. Tal'ena played along with them, though. "If you would be kind enough to wait until he arrives, I think we can agree on something." This turned out to be a mistake.
"I don't think so, miss. I think we are going to take you and your male friend right now!" He made a grab for her, while the larger one made a grab for me. While I was not certain what I was supposed to do in this particular instance, I did know that their intent was to steal or kidnap us which was forbidden. I am glad to say that I used a very minimal amount of force in disabling the larger of the two thugs. He lay on the ground, out cold. Tal'ena, however, was having difficulty with the smaller one. He had a knife, and she was just barely managing to keep him from slashing at her. I reacted instantly, pouncing on him and knocking him to the ground. I felt my side catch fire, but I managed to keep him pinned down just as a police cruiser showed up. Jeff arrived right after him.
The police officer pulled me off him, and then called for an ambulance after he saw the knife sticking out my side. By then I heard the tiny mental voice in the back of my head telling me not to touch or remove the blade, and to wait for the medics. An additional cruiser rolled up, and two more officers stepped out and placed both of the thugs under arrest. Jeff was asking Tal'ena if she was OK. She replied that she was, and asked him to load our parcels into the car so that it would not get lost or trampled. He did this, and the medic roared up in the ambulance just as he was closing the trunk to his car. The medics wasted no time in loading me up and taking me to the clinic. Somewhere along the way I passed out, and knew nothing more.
I woke up in an unfamiliar room, but surrounded by familiar smells. First and foremost was the medicinal scent which reminded me of the first few memories after being decanted. Second was Tal'ena, with a male and female human afterwards. I also faintly caught a whiff of Jack and Wendy as well. I turned my head and saw that a calendar clock had been thoughtfully places where I would be able to see it. It indicated that two days had passed. I turned my head the other direction and saw those two green eyes that I fell in love with staring right back at me. I coughed a bit to clear my throat. "How long have you been here?" I croaked. She replied right away. "almost the entire time. They first tried to kick me out, then when they found that I was ignoring the rules but staying out of the way, they let me stay. The doctors managed to put you back together pretty quickly." I nodded and slowly started to rotate on my side. They must have drugged me, because my whole body was moving in slow motion. "Blame the repair nanites for that. I just wish they didn't drug me so heavily. I feel like my body's made of stone." We heard a knock at the door. Tal'ena told them to enter, and Jeff, along with a police officer, came in. The officer took down out version of events, and asked us if we were willing to press charges against the two. Tal'ena said yes to her right away. I was confused and asked her what she meant. Tal'ena, Jeff, and the officer spent the next fifteen minutes giving me the pocket version of how the legal system works. After this, I answered yes, and the officer asked me for some additional information, which I provided. After that, she left, and the doctor for the clinic came in and pronounced me fit to return to work.