Push the Plot Along...
Chapter 11: Push the Plot Along...
A man in his late twenties wandered into Wilde at Heart and looked around. “Excuse me,” he asked Ben, “I’m looking for my wife.”
Ben eyed the young man up and down and nodded approvingly. “Ryan Atwood?”
Startled, Ryan nodded. “Yes. Is Taylor here?”
“In the back, playing gin rummy with my daughter and losing by the number of dramatic sighs and promises of a ‘comeback’ I’ve been hearing.”
Ryan smiled. “Sounds like my wife. Taylor!” he called.
Taylor squealed and ran from the back room. She threw her arms around Ryan’s neck, “Don’t hate me, but I kind of lost fifty dollars to Sally.”
“Ben said you were playing gin rummy,” Ryan gaped.
“We may have upped the stakes,” Taylor blushed.
Sally came from the back room, folding and refolding two twenties and a ten.
“Beware of sharks,” Ben advised as Sally hummed the theme tune to Jaws.
Ryan shook his head. “It’s okay, Taylor. I have news too.”
“Bad news?” Taylor asked, immediately wary.
Her husband’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally said, “Interesting news that has an ironic charm?”
“Have you been talking to Seth?” Taylor smirked. She smiled. “You found a kid like you, didn’t you?”
”Yes, I did, by the building site,” Ryan confessed. “He’s in the truck.”
“The truck? Ryan!” Taylor left with Ryan in tow.
Karl popped his head in the door just as Taylor and Ryan were deciding what to do with the street kid he’d picked up. “I think Taylor’s going to take a few days off.” He nodded at the truck peeling away. “With Ryan going over the plans for the new building still, it’ll be up to her to make sure the kid adjusts.”
“I know how that is,” Ben said, casting a fond look at his daughter, scouring Amazon for films and CDs she wanted to buy with her winnings.
An unfamiliar beep startled Ben so much he dropped the books he was about to put on the shelves. Karl moved instantly to help him collect the scattered tomes and their eyes met for a long moment.
“Dad!” Sally’s voice broke their reverie. “Someone’s engaged Cody!”
Ben and Karl scrambled up from the floor to look. Karl tapped in a few commands and got CCTV footage of Cody and a young man leaving the Dollhouse. A few more buttons and he said, “Sally, your laptop should have the footage now. Give me a… minute… and… got it!”
Ben began to read aloud, laying his hand on Karl’s shoulder, ostensibly for balance. “Dallas status: Engaged …Dallas? They’re calling him Dallas?”
“He does have a twang,” Karl pointed out.
Ben shrugged. “He picked it up at college. And the day before, he’d been talking to Eliot and that also brings it out stronger.”
Karl huffed. “Do you see what the reason given for the engagement is?”
Ben’s eyes widened. “The kid wants the perfect boyfriend? Well, don’t we all!”
“Cody does fit that description pretty well,” Sally mused. “Even if he’s got crap taste in guys.”
“Twenty one year old guitarist,” Ben fired back.
“With a job and the admiration of the whole town,” Sally smugly returned.
Ben rolled his eyes.
Karl started. “Look at this. The wedge, the thing they use to implant the personality and memories in an Active, look at the characteristics.”
As Ben read, he frowned in confusion. “Friendly. Warm. Clever. Witty. Loyal. Likes to cuddle. Watches sports. Drinks beer.”
“Minus the wit, sports and beer and you’ve got a puppy,” Sally added.
“Add them in and you’ve got a Cody,” Ben said.
“Whoever this guy is, he’s basically asked for a guy who’s been implanted with all the same traits he had before,” Karl muttered. “He couldn’t have known… And Cody, even with the mind-wipe…”
“Can we find out who the kid is?” Ben asked.
Karl shook his head. “Nearly all of the borrowers are given fake titles to bury their identities in case the police come calling. See, it just lists him as Jay Tee Eight Two. Randomised letters and numbers make it harder to track down. Client security is top priority here.”
Sally tilted her head. “He seems nice.”
The two men turned to look at her.
“What? I’m not saying we should be buying them china, but think about it. If he wanted kinky sex-”
“Sally Tennessee Cassiopeia Madison!” Ben exclaimed.
Karl's eyebrows rose high on his forehead.
“-look at him. He’s young. He’s probably just closeted and really lonely. Hence the dog-like characteristics; he wants someone to love him the way his dog does.”
Karl turned to Ben. “You have a brilliant daughter.”
Ben shrugged. “That I do. All right, but we hack the return check-up. Any bruises or signs of any abuse and we find this kid and render him unable to enjoy the companionship of anyone human.”
Sally nodded. “Agreed. Can I castrate him with the rusty machete, Dad?”
Karl flinched despite himself.
“No worries,” Sally said, “we only hurt the baddies and you’re not one of them, Karl. You’re an…”
“Oldie, but a goodie?” the Welshman smiled.
Sally returned the grin. “Exactly.”
A man in his late twenties wandered into Wilde at Heart and looked around. “Excuse me,” he asked Ben, “I’m looking for my wife.”
Ben eyed the young man up and down and nodded approvingly. “Ryan Atwood?”
Startled, Ryan nodded. “Yes. Is Taylor here?”
“In the back, playing gin rummy with my daughter and losing by the number of dramatic sighs and promises of a ‘comeback’ I’ve been hearing.”
Ryan smiled. “Sounds like my wife. Taylor!” he called.
Taylor squealed and ran from the back room. She threw her arms around Ryan’s neck, “Don’t hate me, but I kind of lost fifty dollars to Sally.”
“Ben said you were playing gin rummy,” Ryan gaped.
“We may have upped the stakes,” Taylor blushed.
Sally came from the back room, folding and refolding two twenties and a ten.
“Beware of sharks,” Ben advised as Sally hummed the theme tune to Jaws.
Ryan shook his head. “It’s okay, Taylor. I have news too.”
“Bad news?” Taylor asked, immediately wary.
Her husband’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally said, “Interesting news that has an ironic charm?”
“Have you been talking to Seth?” Taylor smirked. She smiled. “You found a kid like you, didn’t you?”
”Yes, I did, by the building site,” Ryan confessed. “He’s in the truck.”
“The truck? Ryan!” Taylor left with Ryan in tow.
Karl popped his head in the door just as Taylor and Ryan were deciding what to do with the street kid he’d picked up. “I think Taylor’s going to take a few days off.” He nodded at the truck peeling away. “With Ryan going over the plans for the new building still, it’ll be up to her to make sure the kid adjusts.”
“I know how that is,” Ben said, casting a fond look at his daughter, scouring Amazon for films and CDs she wanted to buy with her winnings.
An unfamiliar beep startled Ben so much he dropped the books he was about to put on the shelves. Karl moved instantly to help him collect the scattered tomes and their eyes met for a long moment.
“Dad!” Sally’s voice broke their reverie. “Someone’s engaged Cody!”
Ben and Karl scrambled up from the floor to look. Karl tapped in a few commands and got CCTV footage of Cody and a young man leaving the Dollhouse. A few more buttons and he said, “Sally, your laptop should have the footage now. Give me a… minute… and… got it!”
Ben began to read aloud, laying his hand on Karl’s shoulder, ostensibly for balance. “Dallas status: Engaged …Dallas? They’re calling him Dallas?”
“He does have a twang,” Karl pointed out.
Ben shrugged. “He picked it up at college. And the day before, he’d been talking to Eliot and that also brings it out stronger.”
Karl huffed. “Do you see what the reason given for the engagement is?”
Ben’s eyes widened. “The kid wants the perfect boyfriend? Well, don’t we all!”
“Cody does fit that description pretty well,” Sally mused. “Even if he’s got crap taste in guys.”
“Twenty one year old guitarist,” Ben fired back.
“With a job and the admiration of the whole town,” Sally smugly returned.
Ben rolled his eyes.
Karl started. “Look at this. The wedge, the thing they use to implant the personality and memories in an Active, look at the characteristics.”
As Ben read, he frowned in confusion. “Friendly. Warm. Clever. Witty. Loyal. Likes to cuddle. Watches sports. Drinks beer.”
“Minus the wit, sports and beer and you’ve got a puppy,” Sally added.
“Add them in and you’ve got a Cody,” Ben said.
“Whoever this guy is, he’s basically asked for a guy who’s been implanted with all the same traits he had before,” Karl muttered. “He couldn’t have known… And Cody, even with the mind-wipe…”
“Can we find out who the kid is?” Ben asked.
Karl shook his head. “Nearly all of the borrowers are given fake titles to bury their identities in case the police come calling. See, it just lists him as Jay Tee Eight Two. Randomised letters and numbers make it harder to track down. Client security is top priority here.”
Sally tilted her head. “He seems nice.”
The two men turned to look at her.
“What? I’m not saying we should be buying them china, but think about it. If he wanted kinky sex-”
“Sally Tennessee Cassiopeia Madison!” Ben exclaimed.
Karl's eyebrows rose high on his forehead.
“-look at him. He’s young. He’s probably just closeted and really lonely. Hence the dog-like characteristics; he wants someone to love him the way his dog does.”
Karl turned to Ben. “You have a brilliant daughter.”
Ben shrugged. “That I do. All right, but we hack the return check-up. Any bruises or signs of any abuse and we find this kid and render him unable to enjoy the companionship of anyone human.”
Sally nodded. “Agreed. Can I castrate him with the rusty machete, Dad?”
Karl flinched despite himself.
“No worries,” Sally said, “we only hurt the baddies and you’re not one of them, Karl. You’re an…”
“Oldie, but a goodie?” the Welshman smiled.
Sally returned the grin. “Exactly.”