(aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2611 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad
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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
“You really have something special, don’t you?” said Allie as we ate in the hospital cafeteria.
“In what way?” I said acting a little dumb.
“You know exactly what I mean. The blue stuff, the surgeon bloke couldn’t see it but I could, it was pouring out of you into that poor woman and going over to your daughter and even my knee got a bit.”
“Your knee?”
“Yeah, I did a cartilage doing judo about ten years ago—had a small op on it, but it’s always given me a little trouble. It feels brilliant now.”
“Good.”
“You know what’s wrong with your patients as well, don’t you?”
“Sometimes. That poor woman was just hours away from a post mortem.”
“She’s going to live is she?”
“Yes, now she is. It will take months for her to recover but I healed the brain injury, sorted her torn liver and cleared her kidneys.”
“Jesus—you virtually rebuilt her.”
“If you put it like that, yeah, I suppose I did.”
“Do you enjoy playing god?”
“I’m not playing god, I don’t decide who lives or dies—sometimes they still die despite my best endeavours. I do enjoy helping people though.”
“So why didn’t you study medicine instead of dormice?”
“Never occurred to me.”
“Sure?”
“Okay, my best friend did go off to do it, but with my personal problems I didn’t think it would be a good idea. I could disappear as a biologist and appear somewhere else as someone else—or so I thought.”
“It wasn’t the case?”
“No, they all knew in a couple of months—I suspect medicine would have been the same. At least I don’t have issues with patients telling me they’d prefer to be seen by a proper woman.”
“Parents don’t say it about their children being taught by you then?”
“No—they’re all supposed to be adults anyway. There was a murmur about toilets when I transitioned, but I ignored it anyway—unless they look under the door they couldn’t see anything anyway plus I found some way to hide everything, so it wasn’t an issue.”
“What one of these jockstrap things, what do they call them—a gaff?”
“Uh no, think super glue and lots of pulling and pushing.”
She smirked then sniggered, so did I protesting that it wasn’t funny as it was very uncomfortable—which only made her laugh even more.
“You know, while I’m laughing at your reminiscences I have difficulty believing you were ever a boy. Especially seeing you as a wife and mother—there is no boy there at all—is there?”
I shrugged, “I’m not the best person to ask, am I?”
“You have all these girls, didn’t you ever want a son or didn’t Simon?”
“It wasn’t to be.”
“Oh right, fine—do we have to collect Trish?”
I looked at my watch, “Oh crikey, we’re late.” We almost ran from the hospital and came close to bowling over some woman coming in. I apologised and the deep voice which replied tended to indicate which department they were going to.
“Was that...?” asked Allie.
“It is Charing Cross.”
She nodded and looked to make some stupid remark then seeing my expression passed on it.
“She probably feels as female as you or I.”
“Okay, I know when to keep shtum.”
A cab was discharging a fare so we engaged it to take us to the bank HQ. He told us it would cost quite a lot but I nodded and he smiled as we pulled into the afternoon traffic and headed east across the river.
At Canary Wharf, we got out and I paid the fare, leaving us about fifty yards to walk. I became aware that we were being followed, I think Allie picked up on it too. Then some youngster came jogging towards us and as he drew level all hell broke loose. Two of the men jumped on Allie and knocked her to the ground, the jogger grabbed at me but I saw it coming and stepped back ducking away from him, clutched his arm kicked his stomach and hurled him at the two still fighting with my companion.
He hit one of the attackers and they fell off Allie, the third jumped up clutching some sort of knife, “Come on, bitch,” he said waving his hand for me to attack.
I was aware that Allie was lying very still so she was either dead or badly hurt. I was now angry as well as frightened. The two others were egging their mate to take me. He did, or tried. He leapt at me and I dropped backwards my foot caught him in the crotch and propelled him over me and into a wall. Rolling away, I jumped up and took out number two as he lunged at me and walked straight into a kick which rearranged much of his dentition and sent him staggering backwards. His colleague ran.
Blue lights and sirens arrived and the police picked up the two attackers. Bending to assist Allie, I realised it was too late. The thin stiletto had pierced her heart. “You my son, are going down for a long time,” said a policeman to the dazed attacker I’d kicked into the wall.
The thug suddenly hit him and tried to run away. He gave a blood curdling scream and fell to the ground twitching like he was having a fit. The other copper had fired a taser at him. Judging by the fluid on the ground, the man had wet himself. I felt no pity—in fact I wanted him to suffer. He’d just killed someone I liked.
An ambulance arrived with more police cars and I was ushered away from the scene and into the bank. Henry rushed up and I fell into his arms, “They killed Allie,” I said and began crying, he held me and patted my back. Ten minutes before we’d been talking, now she was dead, giving up her life to protect me—me, what right did I have to live when she was dead? Why did she have to die? For some bloody bank—for stupid money and power. Because some stupid Russian ordered it.
I was so angry, I wanted to go straight to the Russian embassy and kill the ambassador, then all his family. Trish wandered out to me with a girl from Sammi’s office, “Mummy,” she yelled, “what’s wrong?” At that instant I realised I didn’t want to kill anyone, I wanted the killing to stop—it had to stop and it had to stop now.
“What’s the matter, Mummy?” asked Trish who grasped me round the waist and pushed her head into my chest.
“I got attacked coming into the bank, Allie was killed.”
“Allie?” she gasped, “but she was your bodyguard.”
“Yeah, they targeted her, she had little or no chance to fight back.”
“Oh, Mummy, I feel scared that one day they’ll kill you.”
“This has to stop, Henry, and it has to stop now.”
“If only we could, dear girl.”
“Get me a meeting with the Russian ambassador—I’ll stop it.”
“I don’t think it’s quite that easy.”
“You get me the appointment—I’ll do the rest.”
“I’m not sure it’s a good...”
“I’m not asking, Henry, I’m telling you. Come along, Trish, let’s go and see what you’ve been doing up with Sammi’s computer.”
Comments
Scared
I don't usually comment on Bike but I'm now scared and frightened. Well done Ang, not many can do that.
Shiraz
A whole new approach
The attacks seem to have degenerated from sophisticated fraud discrediting the bank to an amateur attack by thugs on the street. The feeling of paranoia has ramped up but the villainy seems to be getting desperate. They know what Cathy is capable of and I think will be ready to give up on what has been a very expensive failing attempt at a hostile takeover if she can give just the right push to the right person, whoever that is.
Rhona McCloud
The buck stops here
I would dearly wish to be the spider on the wall listening in on that conversation. Oops we will be thanks you your extraordinary storytelling. This arc is running as powerfully as when the automotive grim reaper, Stella, knocked Catherin into the gorse bushes at the beginning!!! great story, greater writing, coming from the pen of a fantastic writer. Thank you for all of the work you have, and continue to exert on our behalf.
Huggles
Michele. .
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
We assume
it was the Russians and in all probability that still seems the most likely scenario, Seems to me that they are getting desperate , Why else were they attacking Cathy and Allie at that time of the day! For so called professionals they show a sad lack of planning ,Attacks during the day have probably only the element of surprise going for them, If you add into that the fact that Cathy whilst looking like the beautiful woman she undoubtedly is can probably be just as dangerous as her late bodyguard you can see that this was a job doomed to failure .... There is an old saying if you pay peanuts you get monkeys .... You would have to say in this case that saying is doing a disservice to monkeys....
Kirri
Never thought much of the Russian people
They got the government they deserve as they seem to be the bunch who will vote for the side which gives them the best pensions.
Too bad there is no easy way to get rid of them.
In this fictional world though I doubt it is off target by much or if at all imho. Look at the way they go about getting petty retribution by assassinating somebody using Polonium.
And then there is that naive Snowjob who is cowardly hiding there, with the Russians only taking him in so they can rub the US's nose in it.
Not quite
The Russian people are quite all right (and they've produced some brilliant composers, authors, artists, scientists, and what not). It's just that their government has always been pretty horrible, except perhaps for a couple of reasonably enlightened czars in the 18th and 19th century. Of course, that also means that since the political culture is what it is there's little hope of a quick turn for the better.
Charing Cross patient
Well we can't all be as amazing as Cathy is. I might not be as beautiful as Cathy but I am totally passable and I have absolutely no doubt that it has made the difference between having a decent job and life and one that would have me working Mickey Ds.
I cried when I read that
I cried when I read that Allie was killed. She was such a nice woman and had become a fairly good friend to Cathy, even though her primary job was bodyguard. I really hope Cathy knocks the socks off the Russian Ambassador and removes him from the scene. The only problem is that there always seems to be someone "in the wings" waiting to replace the bad guy with either themselves or another bad guy.
Janice Lynn
Allie
Yes, that was an unexpected loss, worth a few tears. But perhaps we'll see this as Billie getting a new adopted aunt?
Oh, myyy...
Not nice... Not at all. I was beginning to like Allie. :-(
I do begin to wonder what will happen to the Russian Ambassador (and perhaps higher up) if things don't get stopped... Some folks might be happy to learn that this goes all the way up to the guy on the Ritz Crackers - you know Puttin - and, he learns he's in over his head (finally).
Oy...
I can just see the conversation...
"You'll make sure all this stops, now."
"Don't you go threatening us."
"I'm not. I'm just telling you that it stops now, or someone else will stop it."
"That's enough insulting..." He turns to have Cathy escorted out of the room clutches his chest and...
Thanks, I think.
Annette
Spontaneous insanity
She can heal so I suppose she could tear down. The sword swings both ways does it not?
Gwen
Bears don't change their fur -
just as leopards don't change their spots. It will be a long time before Russia becomes anything approaching a democracy.
The house elf is still a pretty nasty piece of work, he had to be to make colonel in the old KGB and he hasn't changed. If you go to Leningrad (St Petersburg) just look at the obscenely pretentious 'Summer Palace' he has had built for himself. It's more ostentatious than the old 'Winter Palace' of the Tsars.
That sort of criminality is entrenched right through the current Russian State.
Still enjoying your story Ang, (Still lovin' it.)