After the Second Fall Pt. 01.2

After the Second Fall - Part 1.2

by Simon Underfoot

Copyright 2020-2022, All Rights Reserved

Author's Note:

This is the second part of the first novel in the After the Second Fall trilogy. Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Simon

Chapter 8

"Do you think he's ready, John?" Director Humbolt asked.

"I'm pretty confident, and I think he is, too. Bringing in Max for training really helped, so thanks again for supporting me on that. I thought Pip's form was already good, but it's better now, and he's picked up some of Max's killer instinct."

Humbolt nodded. "You know, this is really a lose-lose for me; if Pip is successful, I'll lose Ranger, and he's my number four Adam. On the other hand, if Pip gets waxed, we may lose something really special, at least if your hunch is correct."

"I know, Geo, and I'm sorry for it, but it's the nature of the program."

"Don't I know it. Maybe someday we'll figure out a better way to train..."

"Excuse me, Director Humbolt, but why put up your number four if you're reasonably sure Pip will be successful? Wouldn't it be better to... sacrifice -- sorry for the poor word choice, but I can't come up with something better -- anyway, why sacrifice such a promising Adam?" asked Director Collins, who was sitting with the two men.

"This is going to sound heartless, but Ranger isn't actually that promising for the overall program. He's older than most of the pool Adams and slowly declining; he's never going to have a real fight unless we have several significant setbacks in a row."

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Well, Ranger is extremely talented, as you would expect, but he tends to lose his head a bit when he fights. With some of the craftier Adams he has a tendency to get tricked into bad positions. You know that big scar on his side?" Director Collins nodded. "He had several ribs broken in a training fight because he tried some overly aggressive bullshit. His opponent -- it was Max, actually -- caught him with a roundhouse kick. Doc had to cut Ranger open to piece all the fragments back together.

"That said, he's still damn good -- Pip will have to be in top form to win."

"Even if Pip does win, what are the chances he comes through this in one piece?" asked Director Collins.

John considered the question. "Honestly -- and I know this is going to sound conceited -- I think Pip is going to be fine. He doesn't have the size or reach of Ranger, or any of the other pool Adams for that matter, but you've seen the way he moves. I wouldn't be surprised at all of Pip is representing us in the Arena by the end of next year."

Humbolt shook his head, dismissing the idea, while Collins looked quite surprised. "Wait a moment, John, you said --"

John forestalled her objection with an extended hand. "I know, Director Collins, you want him for your publicity machine. I didn't say that him fighting for real would happen -- just that I wouldn't be surprised. After today, when people see what he can do, I don't think either of us are going to have much of a choice if larger circumstances dictate that he needs to fight." Director Collins was not pleased with this statement and sat back in her chair unhappily, considering the impact to her plans. "Anyway, that's all academic at this point. He still has to get through today," concluded John.

"Look, they're coming out now," observed Humbolt. "By the way, John, why aren't you out there with him? You're his handler."

"Yeah, but Max knows a hell of a lot more than I do; he seemed like a better choice."

"Makes sense, I guess," said Humbolt. "Ranger doesn't seem too pleased." Pip's opponent looked absolutely livid. He was already breathing hard while his own handler tried to give him final instructions. "I don't suppose you already knew that Ranger had a personal issue with Max..." John shrugged and smirked, confirming the suspicion.

Director Collins looked at John, her already high esteem for him increasing. "I knew you were a good handler, but you had this planned from the beginning when you asked for Max, didn't you?" John didn't answer, but he did look very pleased with himself. "I don't know if it's brilliant, but it is damn sneaky -- I fully approve," she finished with a smile. "Let's see if your plan works."

"To be clear," said John, "my plan is based wholly on Pip's abilities as a fighter. I was just supplementing his advantage."

"Uh huh, whatever," Director Collins replied, smiling.

In the training arena, Max and Ranger's handler were stepping out of the sand, joining the ring of spectators. Ranger had calmed down some, but still looked like he was ready to charge; Pip was focusing intently on his opponent. For the first time, John saw something beyond cold professionalism in Pip -- it looked like he actually wanted to kill the Adam across the arena.

The first bell sounded and the two Adams closed on each other, Ranger approaching quickly, but in a controlled manner. Pip allowed time to move normally, saving his strength for the few heartbeats it took Ranger to come within striking distance, then squeezed the Effect.

Ranger had rolled his shoulder, making it look like he was going to throw his right hand, but instead shot forward a short left jab. Had time not been moving slowly, it may have caught Pip off-guard, not particularly hurting him, but giving Ranger the upper hand. Instead, Pip stepped right, caught Ranger's wrist in his left hand, and yanked it upward in a single motion. By the time Pip's right foot touched the ground, he was already in the midst of a straight overhand right with the full power of his shoulder, chest, back, and leg behind it.

Pip's fist connected with his target, below and slightly in front of Ranger's left armpit, with dramatic effect. Pip felt ribs break and move inward, even as his own second and third fingers cracked, to be followed by the duller sensation of tissue giving way -- almost certainly the lung and heart.

Time resumed its standard progression and Ranger dropped to his knees, gasping, then toppling over. Pip stood over the body, his adrenaline still spooling up due to the shortness of the fight. The second bell sounded and the folks in red and white rushed into the arena, but as with Pip's previous fight, there was no need. Pip walked back to his starting point without a backward glance at his opponent, receiving a stoic nod from Max for a job well done.

John walked up soon afterward with Directors Humbolt and Collins trailing behind. "Alright, Pip?"

Pip had to take a deep breath before speaking, still trying to get control of residual energy. "Yeah, thanks. I'm pretty sure I broke my hand, but not badly -- probably just cracked a finger or something."

"Glad to hear it," said his handler. "Want me to send for Doc, or would you prefer your friends in blue?"

"Just Doc tonight, John -- I'm not going to be very good company," replied Pip, heading to his room.

After he had disappeared from sight, Director Collins turned to John. "What's wrong with him? I would have expected he'd be thrilled to win so easily."

"I think that's just it, Director," said John, "it shouldn't have been that easy. The truth is, Ranger never really stood a chance, and I think that bothers Pip."

"So he'd rather it have been closer?"

"No, but that probably felt a bit like being the playground bully. He'll get used to it, but it will take some time."

John took a deep breath and looked at his companions for the fight. "Directors -- thank you for joining me, and for supporting Pip. It means a lot to him, although that might not be obvious, especially just now. If you'll please excuse me, I'm going to go find Doc and have him check Pip's hand."

As he expected, John found Dr. Shepard in Surgery-One, examining Ranger. "Same thing as last time, Doc?"

"What? Oh, hello, Mr. Rogers. Not quite, actually." John raised an eyebrow, indicating his surprise. "The force was so hard this time that the heart actually exploded; the walls were blown out in all four chambers. I don't think you could do more damage than this if you jumped on a heart lying on the floor."

"Huh. Well, as lovely as that picture is, I was hoping you'd head over and see Pip -- he said he thinks his hand is broken."

"Not really that surprising given the forces involved. When you think about the thickness of a finger bone compared to a rib, it's entirely possible he has multiple fractures. I'll go there straightaway."

"Thanks, Doc. I'll walk with you, if you don't mind -- I would appreciate the opportunity to pick your brain."

"Of course," said the doctor as he grabbed his field bag and walked with John out the door. "What is on your mind?"

"Actually, that's not too far off -- the mind, I mean. Have you seen anything different in any of Pip's scans? I was thinking that there might be something that could explain the way he seems to move faster than everyone else."

"No, I don't think so, but I generally look for big issues such as malformations, signs of trauma, and the like. I can go back over them and look for smaller differences -- would that help?"

"Thanks, Doc, that's exactly what I was hoping for. If you do find something, please talk with me first."

The doctor smiled at John's overprotectiveness. "Of course. Is there something in particular that I should be looking to find?"

"Not exactly," said John, hesitating slightly. "I suspect that Pip processes information faster -- maybe much faster -- than the rest of us, but I don't know what that would look like on a scan."

Nodding, Dr. Shepard said, "That's alright. A few possibilities come immediately to mind that should be relatively easy to check. I'll come see you in a few days with the results. Is that acceptable?"

"Perfect, Doc."

The two finished their walk in silence, arriving at Pip's room a short time later. John knocked and stepped inside, seeing that Pip was lying on his bed, still dressed only in his fighting shorts, now black, with his right arm propped on a pillow. "Ready to see Doc?" Pip nodded, briefly making eye contact, and then went back to staring at the ceiling.

"All yours, Doc -- see you around."

This task done, John went in search of Madame Bower.

Before the next bell sounded, Ruth was walking quickly down a different hallway in the area of the Adams' dormitories with one of her most experienced ladies. Knocking gently on the door she sought, she slowly opened it a crack, waiting. A short while later, Maggie opened it further and looked out. Seeing her supervisor, Maggie was somewhat taken aback. "Is Pip okay?" she whispered nervously and more loudly than she intended.

"I was told he's fine, Honey, but he does need some cheering up." Maggie exhaled loudly, her relief evident. "My understanding is that he's a bit shaken and needs some company. Hold his hand, rub his forehead -- that kind of thing.

"If you can break away, Jules here can take over for you."

"Okay -- that should be fine -- I was having trouble concentrating anyway."

Maggie soon emerged, having made her excuses to the Adam inside; she hugged her substitute and walked back down the hall with Ruth.

"You'll need to find Rosie -- she isn't on rounds and I'm not sure where to find her, but she should definitely go with you."

"No problem," said Maggie smiling. "Whenever she's feeling stressed, Rosie likes to go to the showers -- I think it helps her deal with the trauma from before she got here. I know she was a little nervous about today's fight, even if she said she wasn't. If I wasn't on rounds, I would have stayed with her."

"That's fine, just get over to Pip's room as quickly as you can. So you know, he didn't ask for you -- the opposite, actually. You may need to take a firm hand." Maggie smiled hungrily. "I was speaking metaphorically, you little minx. Go get Rosie." Maggie giggled as she jogged off down the hall, her skirt swishing wildly as she disappeared around the next corner.

The reunion in the shower was brief. When Rosie saw her friend, she quickly hopped to her feet, turned off the water, and ran over, skidding slightly in her rush to see what was wrong. "He's okay, Rosie," Maggie soothed, "just banged up a little. Let's go see him."

Rosie hurriedly dried off and was soon standing next to Maggie outside Pip's door, hair still dripping slightly. "What do I do?" she asked.

Maggie shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure: comfort him, give him what he needs. I've seen you with him the last several days -- you get him -- just follow your instincts."

Rosie was unconvinced. "That sounds awfully cliche -- I thought a Second was supposed to give helpful advice."

Maggie considered for a moment. "How about: don't take 'no' for an answer."

"Hm, that is better. Thanks, Mags."

"No problem -- that's what I'm here for," she replied cheerfully.

Steeling her nerve, Rosie knocked on the door. When no response came, she knocked again, harder. As the silence lingered, she gave Maggie an unimpressed look and opened the door, her annoyance overcoming her anxiety.

Pip was lying on the bed, his arm elevated and hand wrapped; otherwise, he looked fine physically. Emotionally, he looked drained, and when he saw who it was, his head dropped back onto his pillow. "Dammit, Rosie -- did John tell you to come? I told him I didn't want company tonight." Pip sighed. "You might as well come in, too, Maggie -- no sense standing in the hall."

"Hi, Pip," she said happily, bounding into the room animatedly.

Rosie still had her arms folded, giving him a stern look. "Not even going to invite us in, huh?"

Pip took his time replying. "Ladies, you know how much I care about you. Please go away."

Rosie didn't even hesitate. "Sorry, can't. My Second told me not to take 'no' for an answer, and I have to do what she says."

Pip raised his head again, looking from Rosie to Maggie.

"Yep," Maggie said with enthusiasm, "them's the rules."

"Why would you tell her that, Maggie? Surely you know I want to be left alone tonight."

"Because I have to do what's best for my Adam, right Rosie?"

"Yep," Rosie replied, still acting stern. "Them's the rules."

Pip groaned and let his head drop again. "You two can be infuriating. It's like you rehearse things just to torment me."

"Who says we don't?" challenged Maggie.

"You see?" he asked the room. "What am I supposed to do with them?"

"Easy, Pip," replied Rosie, softening her voice. "Let us take care of you."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope," the women chorused.

"Oh, good -- so long as we're clear," he said sarcastically, still looking at the ceiling.

"Shut the door, Maggie. I think we need to give our Adam a little attention." Without waiting for her instruction to be carried out, Rosie shucked her shirt and dropped her skirt. Now wearing only her underclothes, she climbed carefully onto the bed, and then up onto Pip's chest, settling her head against his right shoulder, careful not to bump his hand. Moments later Maggie joined them, head on Pip's left shoulder. "Is this really that bad?"

"No, of course it's not. You both know how much I enjoy being with you, but I killed an Adam today. That's enough to make me a little... morose. But to know that Ranger never really had a chance -- that's what is eating at me."

"Was it a fair fight?" Maggie asked softly, all traces of the bubbly happiness gone.

"More or less. I didn't cheat, if that's what you mean."

"Would he have killed you if he could have?"

"Ha!" he snorted. "He certainly wanted to. I don't think I've ever seen anybody that mad."

"Then let it go, Pip. This is who you are -- what you are. Your whole purpose is to be your very best. Anything less than that is going to get you killed, and I don't think Rosie or I could take that."

The three were quiet for a long while. Rosie enjoyed feeling Pip's enormous chest rise and fall; Maggie was slowly drifting to sleep listening to the bass beat of his heart.

"Thank you, Rosie, for not going away."

"Of course, Pip. I'll always be here for you."

"And thank you, too, Maggie, for making her stay."

"No problem, Pip -- that's what a Second is for," she said sleepily.

"Okay, now, seriously," he said rising up on his elbows, displacing both women. "You two might not leave when I tell you, but one of you better tell me what this Second business is all about, and I mean right now. The last time I asked you both giggled and avoided answering, but if it's going to keep me from throwing you out of my room, I want to know what's going on."

"Go ahead, Rosie -- you explain it to him," said Maggie, scooting down and putting her head on Pip's thigh. "I'm just going to close my eyes for a moment."

Now sitting, Rosie smiled at Maggie, not sure if she was putting on another show. "Alright, Pip. It's actually not that complicated.

"You know that sometimes an Adam clicks with somebody, right?"

"Like us?" he asked.

"Good boy," said Rosie, beaming. "Well, when that... attraction? Yeah, that'll work -- when that attraction is strong enough, that person can register as the Adam's First. This is usually one of the PETs because our job is to be around the Adams. In these cases, she still does rounds, taking care of other Adams, but her primary responsibility is to her Adam. Following so far?" Pip nodded. "Good. The reason they allow this, even encourage it, is they've found that Adams perform better when they have someone for whom they're fighting. Still make sense?"

"Sure, but what does this have to do with a Second?"

"Well, it's not as common, but sometimes a second PET, or whoever, feels the same way about the Adam, and he about her." Pip reached down and stroked Maggie's hair, who purred in response.

"The issue is that women can be catty, so there has to be one PET primarily responsible for the Adam's welfare. The second PET becomes the Second -- her role is to make sure that the First is living up to expectations, and help any way she can. This could be anything, and includes giving advice, like Maggie did earlier."

"I see... sorta," Pip said. "Thanks for clarifying it for me, but Rosie, this all seems pretty fast. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?"

"Oh, Honey," said Rosie smiling, "I did it right after the first time Maggie joined us. Ruth could see it in me as soon as I walked back into the Lounge."

"And Maggie?"

"Yep, she's official, too. We're all yours."

"So you don't need my permission, or whatever?" asked Pip.

"Not really," answered Rosie. "From the way you looked at me, and held me, I knew you felt it, too."

"But what if I wanted to meet some of the other PETs?"

"Do you?" challenged Rosie, still smiling.

"Well, no -- but I might have."

"Sure, Pip," she said, patting his cheek. "Sure you could have."

"You're impossible, you know that?"

"Uh huh. You in the mood for a kiss yet?" Pip groaned again and flopped backward. Rosie, undeterred, climbed up his torso and began planting kisses on his neck, working slowly toward his mouth. They were soon sharing gentle, loving kisses. Still lying on his thigh, half forgotten, Maggie started to gently, rhythmically squeeze Pip through his pants. Pip groaned into Rosie's mouth, luxuriating in the sensation.

The trio continued until Maggie actually did fall asleep, making Rosie and Pip giggle with her soft snoring. Settling onto his chest, Rosie reached up and played with his hair until she, too, drifted off to sleep. For Pip, unconsciousness didn't come as easily, but he was no longer melancholy; rather, he was feeling particularly fortunate that the two women had become an apparently permanent part of his life.

Chapter 9

"So, Doc, did you find anything on the scans?"

"Huh? Oh, hello again, Mr. Rogers. To be honest, I'm a little reluctant to say. I did find an anomaly, but haven't been able to confirm it yet. I was hoping to do so after today's Council meeting."