Chapter Six: Alone Time

I sit on the empty, upstairs balcony with nothing but myself, and the wind. By sitting on the balcony, I mean, I’m sitting on the railing. Mere inches from falling to my “death”. If I do fall, unlikely by the way, I have my grappling hook umbrella. I have plans for the dangerous situations I put myself in. I’m not an idiot.

Well, I wouldn’t be if I hadn’t sent that data core flying into space like an...you get the point. Now, my parents are on my back, I have to compete in these trivial games, and I have to deal with an unwanted guest tonight.

Stanley: What are you doing up here?

Speak of the devil.

Mr. T: Don’t you have a Safe to Haven?

Stanley: Haha, very funny. Now, answer me.

Mr. T: I don’t have to do anything of the sort.

Stanley: You also didn’t have to lie to me about who you really were and use me to get what you wanted. You botched the job anyway.

Mr. T: Watch it. You’re lucky I don’t just push you off this.

Stanley: I should be saying that to you.

Mr. T: You wouldn’t dare.

Stanley: How do you know what I’d dare to do?

Mr. T: You’re a grunt, correct?

Stanley: How did you-

Mr. T: Somebody elses slave, that somebody being Safe Haven. You signed a twelve year contract at the age of fifteen and have been a soldier ever since.

Stanley: That’s a little cree-

Mr. T: I know everything about you. I had to get close to you, and from what I know, pushing me off this cliff will ruin your life. I’m a Toronto. The most powerful family in the sector and killing me would be suicide.

Stanley looked away from me.

Mr. T: Not to mention the friends I made while stealing for other people. They’d be very mad to see that I’m dead. You’d have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and no help powerful enough to save you.

Stanley: You didn’t have to explain it like that.

Mr. T: I just wanted you to know that killing me wouldn’t really bode well for you. It wouldn't bode for anybody.

Stanley: And what about you killing me? How would that pan out?

Mr. T: The only problem I’d have is hiring a clean up crew.

Stanley: Wow. You really are a grade A dick.

Mr. T: You’re only saying that because I’m above you.

Stanley: You’re not above me.

Mr. T: How so?

I saw Stanley’s grin spread across his face and I rolled my eyes.

Stanley: Your parents abandoned you, and what did you do? You ran to the first person that could help you, Safe Haven.

Mr. T: How did you-

Stanley: Then, you stole for them and did everything they asked you to, until you had enough money to get away from them and started to work for shady business men and corporations. You look down on me for selling myself away, but you did the exact same thing.

This no good, insignificant, unruly dog just said that to me?!

Mr. T: Ha! You think that puts us on the same level?

Stanley: Yep.

I chuckle a little before reaching into my pocket and pulling out my butterfly knife. I spin it around my finger and point the blade towards Stanley’s throat. I lean very close to his face and whisper.

Mr. T: Who would come after me if I killed you? Your dead mum? Your dead dad? Or, your non-existent siblings?

Stanley: My partner. My best friend. My entire Safe Haven unit.

Mr. T: Oh my, you really put that much importance on your life?

Stanley: Do you really want to chance it?

I squint my eyes at him and scoff. As much as I doubted anybody cared for this man, I couldn’t test my theory. I couldn’t have Safe Haven on me.

Mr. T: You know how to argue, I’ll give you that.

I retract my knife and put it back in my pocket. I get off the railing of the balcony and face Stanley.

Mr. T: Why are you here? Am I just too good to get away?

Stanley: No. I just…

Mr. T: You just what? Spit it out.

Stanley: What was I to you?

Mr. T: What?

Stanley: Did I really mean anything to you? Or, was I...just...nothing?

I let that question sink in deeply. What did he mean to me? I guess he wasn’t the most awful job to me. In fact, he was one of, if not, the best person I ever used for one of my jobs.

Mr. T: You were a means to an end, Stanley. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Stanley: I just thought…when we were “dating”, I saw you smile.

Mr. T: What about my smile?

Stanley: It felt more genuine than any smile you showed those rich people downstairs.

Mr. T: Really? Well, I am the most renowned actor in the sector.

Stanley: Was it an act, though?

Mr. T: That’s an oddly personal question.

Stanley: Was it?

I’ve faced interrogators with a lot more experience than this Safe Haven dog, but he’s the first person ever to stump me.

Was it an act? Was I truly happy with him? I don’t even know.

Stanley: Levi?

That’s the first time I’ve heard him call me by my real name.

Mr. T: I-

Robot: Hello, there.

We both hear a voice come from behind Stanley and he turns to look at it. I look over his shoulder and see a robot wearing a bloodied waiter suit.

Robot: How are you two fine fellas doing tonight?

It must’ve noticed we were just staring at it and looked down at his attire.

Robot: What? The blood? Don’t worry, it’s not mine. Hehe.

Mr. T: What do you want?

Robot: Just a really brief talk. I have some weirdo chasing after me, but I think I lost him in the janitor’s closet.

Stanley: What?

Robot: Mr. Levi Toronto, I hear you blasted a valuable that my employer wanted into space. He’s not very happy about that.

Mr. T: Ugh! Another loose end? Fine. You’ve come here to kill me? Try it.

Robot: Kill you? No way. You’d kick my ass. No, I’ve come here for a different reason.

The robot takes one step forward and Stanley steps in front of me. The idiot.

Robot: Move.

Stanley: I have been ordered by Gerald Mar-

Robot: Yea, I don’t care.

Then, the robot’s form started to become unfocused. As if it was blending into the background. Soon, the robot’s form was gone.

Stanley: What the-

Mr. T: Move!

I push Stanley out of the way as the robot reappears and attempts to push him off the balcony. I kick the damn thing in the face and it staggers around a bit.

Stanley: How did you-

Mr. T: I’m a thief, senses are better than yours.

Robot: You’re good.

The robot tries to punch me, but I dodge and punch it in the chest. Bad move. It pushes him back, but I scream in pain as my hand throbs from punching metal. The robot laughs before Stanley aims his rifle at the damn thing.

Robot: Hey, watch where you’re pointing that thing.

The robot grabs Stanley’s rifle by the barrel and Stanley fires. There’s a loud bang, but the robot’s hand is still intact. The robot laughs as it removes its smoking hand from the barrel and looks at the bullet in its hand.

Robot: Bullets really are small.

The robot grabs Stanley’s gun again and then grabs Stanley by the neck. Stanley dropped his rifle to the ground and started to struggle against the thing’s grip.

I try to kick the thing, but that only put a pain in my leg. Then, the robot grabbed me by the neck and started to drag the both of us to the edge. It hung Stanley off the edge and held me tight to watch as Stanley dangled there and screamed.

Robot: Now, tell me where the stupid core is.

Mr. T: What?!

Robot: Where’s the core?!

Mr. T: I don’t know where that thing is!

Robot: Are you serious?! Shit!

The robot let go of me and I grasped my neck.

Robot: Tell Jamal to meet me on the roof.

Mr. T: What?

Then, he let go of Stanley, and I screamed as I rose to my feet and unholstered my grappling umbrella and shot it down the edge. Stanley grabbed it amidst his screaming fit, and I used every ounce of my strength to not drop him as he kept screaming.

The robot walked away as I started to pull Stanley up. When I got him up to the balcony, he took a deep breath and basically kissed the solid ground.

Stanley: Thanks for the save.

Mr. T: Don’t mention it.

A smirk spread across his face.

Mr. T: What?

Stanley: You saved me.

Mr. T: Don’t think too hard about it.

Then, Fog comes around the corner and looks around frantically with his suit stained by blood and...vomit?

Fog: You see a robot come through here?

Stanley: SEE him?! He attacked us!

Mr. T: He’s on the roof. I know the way up there.

Fog: How do you know that?

Mr. T: After the thing let me go, he told me to tell you to meet him on the roof.

Fog: What does he want?

Mr. T: He wants the data core.

Fog: Polly?

The look in his eyes told me this was getting very personal for him.

Fog: Let’s go.

Stanley: Right behind you.

Mr. T: No. You stay here.

Stanley: What?!

Mr. T: That thing kicked your ass.

Stanley: Yours too!

Mr. T: But, I wasn’t dangled off an edge.

Fog: Actually, Safe Haven’s downstairs dealing with a lot of sick people. Go help.

Stanley looked at him with a defiant look and I rolled my eyes before kissing him on the cheek. Fog looked at us, confused, before I pulled away and looked at a flustered Stanley.

Mr. T: Go help those people, and maybe I’ll answer that question you asked me earlier.

Stanley: Ye-Ye-Yes sir.

Stanley hurriedly grabbed his rifle off the ground and ran towards the same way Fog came from.

Fog: What question?

Mr. T: None of your business, now, we have an appointment with a robot.