Descending Road - WHO’S THE BIGGER FOOL? by Dana W. Paxson

WHO’S THE BIGGER FOOL?

1544 4D

He woke up in darkness. His hand felt a mat, then the toe of a boot.

“He’s awake.” The second voice Andrew had heard.

“Who are you, dumb cock?” The first voice.

“My name is Andrew Luce. I’m Darko Hejj. I live in Gran Dar City. I’m with the--“

“Don’t give us milinfo,” a third voice warned. It was softer and deeper than the others, and carried an accent Andrew guessed was Gellin Sintherou Coll.

“A Hejji boy. Equals dumb cock.”

“Let’s get this over with, before they miss him.”

The deeper voice said, “I’m Linderus. You’ve got something for me?” There was a slight tremor in the man’s tone.

Andrew said, “If you’re Linderus, describe Ti’Ann.”

The deep voice hissed, “You fuck, what have you done to her?”

One of the others said, fast, “No, he saved you something of hers. He wanted you to have it, that’s all.”

“She’s dead? Oh, shit, she’s dead. Oh, no, damn it, no!”

Andrew heard scuffling. He could still see nothing but blackness.

“Let me go, I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him.”

“No! That’s no way. They’ve got a full unit here. They’ll torch this whole area if he’s missing. Look, he’s clean, we snooped his ass and everything he’s got — no bio, no chem.”

“Yeah, he’s too stupid to do anything nasty. Come on, Lin, let him give you what he brought you.”

Silence. Then the deeper voice said slowly, “She’s andro. She’s got little black flecks on her cheeks. She’s got short hair. Her mouth…"

“That’s okay,” Andrew said, weariness coming up through him. “That’s her. I’ve got her datasheet, with your letter and two of hers. She never got to send the last one. Here.” He reached in his half-opened thighpack, drew out the datasheet, and held it out into the darkness.

It left his hand. A moment later a soft glow rose nearby; a huge hulk of a man stood silhouetted with his back to Andrew, his head bent over the screen, a faint female voice murmuring to him. Andrew looked down, remembering the news of death he had heard so many times in the City.

The glow faded. A long, uneven breath. Then a hand squeezed Andrew‘s shoulder and pulled it back and upward. “Stand up,” the deep voice said. “She’s dead, right?”

“Yes. I’m sor-”

“Shut up. I don’t know why you did this. I don’t want to thank you, I want to kill you. But I guess it was better than not knowing.”

Andrew clambered to his feet. Another uneven breath from the man. “If I thought you were getting some kind of pleasure out of this, I wouldn’t kill you, I’d just cut off some parts you need and I’d leave you to live without them. They told me your unit killed her. You’re a fool to do this, bring this back to me and wait to see me hurt.

“I guess I didn’t have to stand here in front of you so you could see it, did I? So who’s the bigger fool?

“Maybe some day I’ll thank you for this. But you listen: some day your lady will be gone, and there’ll be some other fool standing there watching you dying inside for her, and you’ll want to kill him just the way I want to kill you. So get fucking out of my sight, and out of fucking range of my guns, and out of my mind, and I hope I never find even one kinky hair off your head, or the sound of your stupid Hejji voice, or the little jive bugs out of your ass. Now come here.”

Andrew stood still, confused.

“Come here!” the deep voice commanded.

Andrew took a step forward, and huge arms wrapped him in a crushing hug; a big hand cradled his head and pressed it against a salt-dampened chest. “Thanks, dumb cock,” the voice deep rumbled. “Linderus is as dumb as you, so that makes us brothers. Now get back to your people so you can piss for real. Or I will fucking kill you.”

A hand in the dark led Andrew back through the grass, and he found, as he finally reached the ditch again, that he needed very badly indeed to piss.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	WHO’S THE BIGGER FOOL? 1544 4D He woke up in darkness. His hand felt a mat, then the toe of a boot. “He’s awake.” The second voice Andrew had heard. “Who are you, dumb cock?” The first voice. “My name is Andrew Luce. I’m Darko Hejj. I live in Gran Dar City. I’m with the--“ “Don’t give us milinfo,” a third voice warned. It was softer and deeper than the others, and carried an accent Andrew guessed was Gellin Sintherou Coll. “A Hejji boy. Equals dumb cock.” “Let’s get this over with, before they miss him.” The deeper voice said, “I’m Linderus. You’ve got something for me?” There was a slight tremor in the man’s tone. Andrew said, “If you’re Linderus, describe Ti’Ann.” The deep voice hissed, “You fuck, what have you done to her?” One of the others said, fast, “No, he saved you something of hers. He wanted you to have it, that’s all.” “She’s dead? Oh, shit, she’s dead. Oh, no, damn it, no!” Andrew heard scuffling. He could still see nothing but blackness. “Let me go, I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him.” “No! That’s no way. They’ve got a full unit here. They’ll torch this whole area if he’s missing. Look, he’s clean, we snooped his ass and everything he’s got — no bio, no chem.” “Yeah, he’s too stupid to do anything nasty. Come on, Lin, let him give you what he brought you.” Silence. Then the deeper voice said slowly, “She’s andro. She’s got little black flecks on her cheeks. She’s got short hair. Her mouth…" “That’s okay,” Andrew said, weariness coming up through him. “That’s her. I’ve got her datasheet, with your letter and two of hers. She never got to send the last one. Here.” He reached in his half-opened thighpack, drew out the datasheet, and held it out into the darkness. It left his hand. A moment later a soft glow rose nearby; a huge hulk of a man stood silhouetted with his back to Andrew, his head bent over the screen, a faint female voice murmuring to him. Andrew looked down, remembering the news of death he had heard so many times in the City. The glow faded. A long, uneven breath. Then a hand squeezed Andrew‘s shoulder and pulled it back and upward. “Stand up,” the deep voice said. “She’s dead, right?” “Yes. I’m sor-” “Shut up. I don’t know why you did this. I don’t want to thank you, I want to kill you. But I guess it was better than not knowing.” Andrew clambered to his feet. Another uneven breath from the man. “If I thought you were getting some kind of pleasure out of this, I wouldn’t kill you, I’d just cut off some parts you need and I’d leave you to live without them. They told me your unit killed her. You’re a fool to do this, bring this back to me and wait to see me hurt. “I guess I didn’t have to stand here in front of you so you could see it, did I? So who’s the bigger fool? “Maybe some day I’ll thank you for this. But you listen: some day your lady will be gone, and there’ll be some other fool standing there watching you dying inside for her, and you’ll want to kill him just the way I want to kill you. So get fucking out of my sight, and out of fucking range of my guns, and out of my mind, and I hope I never find even one kinky hair off your head, or the sound of your stupid Hejji voice, or the little jive bugs out of your ass. Now come here.” Andrew stood still, confused. “Come here!” the deep voice commanded. Andrew took a step forward, and huge arms wrapped him in a crushing hug; a big hand cradled his head and pressed it against a salt-dampened chest. “Thanks, dumb cock,” the voice deep rumbled. “Linderus is as dumb as you, so that makes us brothers. Now get back to your people so you can piss for real. Or I will fucking kill you.” A hand in the dark led Andrew back through the grass, and he found, as he finally reached the ditch again, that he needed very badly indeed to piss.