Chapter 22: Unsettling — Part 9
Diane, the one he thought of as the pretty girl, smiled at him, took the tonic from the waitress, tipped her, and set it in front of Trenton, who was still crouched down on the ground, then returned to her seat. “The Snap can be quite disorienting when not experienced in a bender suit, Mr. Smith. Drink this, it should settle your nerves some, and help repair the damage to your spleen.” Diane pulled out a small tool kit and began working on her hand, exposing metal wires and rods as she tested various contact points while bending her fingers. Next to her, her head on the table, Triana still clutched two empty steins which nobody had bothered to refill. Occassionally she sang out some alcohol related mantra. Trenton’s head spun as the tonic took effect.
“I am terribly sorry I was unable to protect the bulk of the world leaders from their assassinations, Mr. Smith, and I assure you I am not in any way involved in the cover up of said deaths.” Orchid began. “You see, the people who had a vested interest in protecting this planet from the enemy bent on conquering it have been infighting for so long that they have quite forgotten that I was only born some thirty six years ago, and have no idea who the real enemy is, much less how to deal with it. But that has been somewhat corrected, and I am now working on resolving that issue in the interest of saving the planet. Your leader, the President, his loss has not been noticed much, I think.”
“The President was a royal pain in the ass.” Trenton said, “I hated that fucking piece of shit.” He looked around nervously. “Why am I telling you that?”
“The tonic, Trenton, is quite powerful. There will be no lies between us this evening. Think of it as the price for a speedy recovery. We can’t be too certain about the nature of our enemy, and so we don’t know if he, she, or it has spies among us. If you know you are a spy, you’ll end up admitting it, if you don’t know, well, we will discover that soon enough.”
Trenton started to get up, found he couldn’t. “I am a spy. I was encouraged to come here by my superiors to gain more information on you. Of course my telling you this will undoubtedly compromise my position within my own organization. I am wired, after all.”
“We already knew that, of course, but your organization is hardly our concern. Unless your ‘wire’ can broadcast through two thousand feet of rock and across the void of space, from Mars back to Earth, it is doubtful to me that they will know anything that happens here — unless of course you choose to tell them.” Diane laughed, making Trenton feel like a child.
“There’s a gay bar on Mars?” Trenton asked.
“This is a bender facility. It is one of the many facilities linked through The Point of Entry on Earth.” Orchid gave Trenton another glass of liquid, trying not to sound distasteful. “This is the antidote to the tonic. Drink up.”
Trenton found himself unable to refuse. He drank the ghastly brown drink to the bottom. He blacked out, coming to in his office, his hand clutched tightly around a polished gold sphere. His head ached, his ribs ached, and his nose had, at some time, started to bleed, but he had control of himself again. He vaguely remembered Orchid asking him to help Senator Jones build an army, but no idea how. The sphere in his hand, he knew, was in some way supposed to help. Not knowing what else to do, Trenton made a prompt visit to Senator Jones.
Triana laughed at some pretty young woman’s crude but effective flirtation. In the short time she had been with Orchid at the Bar on Mars, men and women had bought her numerous drinks, and made many advances. Apparently, her newness was somewhat attractive. Orchid, however, was quite protective of her new find. Triana, after all, had lived a quiet and lonely life before her entry into Bender Society, and benders could become suddenly and unexpectedly disinterested in a person once their newness wore off.
One drink sobered Triana, a tonic similar to the one Trenton had been given, but without the truth factor mixed in. She looked curiously at Orchid, as if seeing her for the first time.
“I really hate bars.” Triana said suddenly. “So, you invited me here, asked for my help, and I said yes. Now tell me what I’m supposed to do?”
“Keep an eye on Trenton.” Orchid said. “You know, when you’re not running your coffee shop.”
“He lives in Washington DC.”
“I’ve already made a few phone calls. He will be relocated, shortly, assigned to you as an augment. He won’t know this, not until you’re needed, anyway.”
“And when will I be needed?” Triana asked, now totally sober.
“If I have my way, never.” Orchid said.
