Hold tight to the railing. Hop down the stairs, and limp down to the bridge. Tuk is still slumped where I left him. My mouth falls open at the eruption of the freak-a-droid's body parts. Of Big Bear in pieces...everywhere. Sleuth was right. Except for Big Bear's head, still intact, what's left of him is exploded in pieces. I scan his mauled remains on the floor. The quiet whirring, beeping, clunking of his dying drives fills the small room. Sleuth ripped every piece of droid apart. Specks of blue droid oil fleck the bridge like a dot painting. The freak-a-droid's dismembered head lies at his feet. Pink and blue oil drips from under his chin, and forms a puddle, like a purple pancake. Lifeless, his frozen eyes stare wide-eyed at the ceiling. Multi-colored wires and tubes burst from every shredded, crushed section. Chunks of his feet are scattered.Some with, some without toes. One calf has a kneecap, the other doesn't. Fingers still twitch on a hand torn at the wrist. It drips pink oil. The other with two fingers is ripped above the elbow. One thigh still has a butt cheek. The other doesn't. The largest piece—the freak-a-droid's arm-less torso riddled with teeth marks,oozes a steady stream of oil spreading slowly, oozing into the room.It's as if he was assaulted by a pod of orcas, not a lone dog.
Limp over to Tuk, kneel, pull him flat on the floor, feel through his shirt for his concave belly button and press. Nothing. Press again. Still nothing.
"Come on..."Hair falls in my face, in my eyes, in my way. Pushing again, I hold the button, counting "one, one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand..." I get to ten, and his eyes flash open. He shakes his head, gets to his feet, and stomps on the floor.
"What happened?"He says in a monotone, expressionless, like a total robot. Then stomps again and says, "Androids have feelings."
Something's wrong.
"Sleuth happened."I say, worried, wondering if I can fix him.
He stomps again, "Too bad." He jerks his head left and right six or seven times.
"Too bad? For what?"I ask.
"...That I did not see the painted dog's jaws rip that anus-of-an-android apart."He replies in the same monotone, with a vacant, vicious smile I've never seen before.
Something in his neural network is definitely damaged.
"Look," I say pointing out the window, "we're in Mandalay, about to dock. Did you really contact WEAPP and INTERPOL?"
"I did not say that."He shakes his head and stomps again. "Androids have feelings."He replies expressionless in a monotone.
My eyes go wide. Stay calm. Take a deep breath. Be gentle. "Before Big Bear, the freak-a-droid gave you that massive head-butt, you did say that." The words come out slow. "Remember?"
"I lied...it was easy," his eyes blink furiously, "How about that Luki?"he squints, and shoves my shoulder, hard.
Losing my balance, I nearly fall over.
"Ha, ha." He says flatly. His words don't flow. They're disconnected, staccato.
"I am more human than you ever thought possible." He adds, sounding like a complete automaton.
I feel sorry for him, and wish Woka were here! He'd know how to fix him.
"That's what I thought," I say, and lean in closer, to peer at his forehead,searching for a crack, a tear in his smartskin.
He squints, jerks his head back and forth twice. "What about Red Wolf?"
"You mean White Wolf?" I grin, hoping my correction won't upset him.
"Yes. Him."
"I wounded him,"and pull the gun from my pocket, "...with the acoustic-gun."
"You are a very clever hominid, Luki Sloan." He nods.
Poor Tuk...I'm sorry I reactivated him. "I took the acoustigun as protection. It was an impulse at the very last nano, before I left Anniqsuqti....I'm glad I did! I had to use it because, because...well because you...you couldn't help me!"
He looks at me blankly,like he doesn't see me. "I did my best," he says in a staccato.
"Yeah." I nod. "You did. Definitely."
He licks his lips and squints. "Where is Red Wolf?"
Don't correct him. Don't want to irritate him. "I left the old man moaning on the deck,under Anniqsuqti's steps. I'll contact WEAPP and INTERPOL."
He starts to lick his lips obsessively, "I know how to make a lightscreen call. I will do it when I get there," he points to the communication console and adds, "Androids have feelings," as he tiptoes between Big Bear's body parts and android oil puddles, and the autopilot kicks into reverse. The engines rev, and the ship glides to a stop next to a bamboo raft on the river bank.
"After that, I need you to bring Sleuth and Buzzie back to our ship."
***
That neither Tuk nor I know how to activate the Yanbu gangway doesn't matter. Glistening brown men in t-shirts and shorts hoist planks of wood above their heads to reach the deck. They know how many it takes for a gradual descent to the raft at the edge of the riverbank. A small brown-skinned woman with short black hair and bangs is the first to rush across when the last plank is put in place. She's wearing a blue WEAPP uniform. A group of female officers trails her wearing the same arctic blue outfit – a skirt and short sleeved shirt. They look like schoolgirls on a field trip, and all have something chalky smeared on their cheeks and foreheads.
In seconds the deck is crawling with WEAPPs. The officers don't look much older than me. I'mnot surprised they're all girls. Mom said women were always better WEAPP officers than men. She said intuition, empathy, patience and compassion are innate for most women, and the most important qualities to have when working with animals.
Captain Bo, Tuk and I are standing on the deck, waiting for the EMT's. Captain Bo listens to my story with smiling eyes. Tuk's next to me, like he's in a trance,fascinated by the old man groaning. He doesn't interrupt and lets me do all the talking.
One of the officers gets busy taking photographs; of White Wolf, Anniqsuqti, and the Yanbu deck spattered with blood. Two men in white shorts and shirts arrive with a narrow stretcher. The old man moans louder as they lift and strap him down. Blood trickles from his ears and nose. Captain Bo's smile melts. She spits and snarls, "Gǔnkāibiàntài. Gǔnkāi!"as he's carried down the gangway.
As soon as he's gone, she turns to me with a smile and says, "Do not worry, WEAPP will take charge of your endangereds, and also the pig. We will return them to their home countries into reserves and preserves."
"Thank you." I sigh,and feel the baby pangolin moving in my backpack. "Let me give you the baby," and slip the Xip3 jacket off to unzip the backpack.
To get out of the sun, Antoadia scrunched down to the bottom of the mesh pouch, and inside Marilyn's still clammed up. I pass the baby pangolin to Captain Bo, and ask, "Is it okay if I say good bye to the endangereds before you take them?"
"Of course." She answers, passing the pangolin to her Lieutenant who scurries down the gangway to a WEAPP medi-truck. "We will deal with them after you find your pet fox. Excuse me. I must get to work." She says, and heads to the bridge.
"Here," I say, and pass Marilyn and Antoadia to Tuk, "Take them back to our ship for now. I'll wait for you at the top of the steps in the saloon. I needy ou to help me find Mig."
"That is a good idea. You can hardly walk." He replies in a monotone, and heads stiffly to the Anniqsuqti steps.
I'm hot, tired, shaky and thirsty and feel like a rubbery, blubbery piece of muktuk. From every passing ferry, Nuwa's song hangs in the air.It's impossible to concentrate with Nuwa's screechy voice. Jamming my fingers in my ears, I close my eyes, inhale the hot, wet air, and lick the salty skin above my lip. My tongue, my throat are dry as dust. My entire body craves water. Exhale. Inhale. Stomach growls.Come on...inhale slowly. Too thirsty and tired. Impossible to concentrate. Need air conditioning. Limping to the stairs through the doors into the air conditioning, I sit , and focus my mindsight, to find my Mig. In a flash..there he is... in dim, red, darkness.
"Mig! Tell me where you are," I transfer.
With a burst of swooping stairway pictures, he says, "Down. Down. Down. Into burning night."
Standing so quickly, I slip, and with a jolt of adrenaline grab the railing before falling face first down the stairs, just as Tuk appears.