I Found A Knife

Willie & Frank--
Shakespeare?
In Nano-Time

Chapter 12 --

Mouse vs. Weasel

- Place Your Bets!

“Son of a bitch!” I shouted for about the thirtieth time in the last four hours, and threw a beer can at the wall. It wasn't the thirtieth beer, but it was close. Meaning, I didn't hit the wall.

“Son of a bitch,” Jennifer, Shaun and Jamey all repeated. We were parked in the alley next to my apartment building. I wasn't babysitting rats, so I didn't need to stay in the dungeon. I got to go home.

“Yippee,” I muttered to myself, and watched as the word floated on my breath, up into the night sky.

I shivered. Sometime in the last week or so, while I was talking to mice in the basement, Fall had turned in to Winter. I usually love that season in between seasons, as the leaves changed. Then the wind rises up and snatches leaves from the trees, blowing them in a wall of color across the yards and streets. It is the season of technicolor snow. But this year I missed it. And now I was going to miss the reason why I missed it, and it sucked. "Son of a bitch."

I shivered again. I was still sober enough to know it was cold, just not sober enough to care. Have to fix that. Time for another beer.

Mrs. Preiss appeared on the porch. She leaned over the side until she could see all of us.

“Hmpf! Such language, Jacob.” I'm not sure how old Mrs. Preiss wa, somewhere between seventy and seven hundred. She was a German-Jew whose family managed to emigrate to America just before World War Two. I don't think she was a child, then. So, when she said my name it came out “Yay-cub”, and was filled with that mixture of warmth, concern and consternation that only grandmothers and priests have mastered.

“It is late,” she said. “You must also stop that shouting.”

“Yes, ma'am,” I mumbled. Even in a drunken outrage, I was meek.

Jamey walked over to the porch and looked up at her.

“He's very upset. They took some friends of his away today at the school,” he told her.

“No! How can they do such a thing? Just take some one away?” she said.

“It wasn't really a some one,” Jamey explained. “They are mice. But they are his friends.”

She nodded, as if she understood. “Hmpf! Well, I can see. He should be upset. Perhaps tomorrow, after the pain in his head has passed, he can do something about this. You will help him, yes? A friend stands by a friend. Even when that friend some times acts like a rat.”

“I will help him, yes,” Jamey nodded. He pointed over his shoulder at the rest of us. “We all will, if we can. Tonight we will help him by staying with him until he sleeps. One of us will stay with him tonight, so he is not alone, if that is all right?”

Mrs. Preiss nodded her head, then nodded again, toward Jennifer. “I think the pretty girl can do that more better than you, yes? Yes, I think that is so.”

Jamey laughed, surprised. “Why, Frau Preiss.”

But the old woman was already halfway back to the front door. “Hmpf!” she said, “Make sure some one is picking up the empty cans, yes? Hmpf.”

~~~~~~~~

I don't remember going to sleep. But, I will never forget waking up. I was in Jennifer's arms, my head resting on her shoulder. We were in my bed. It took me awhile to wonder about it and look, but we were fully clothed. Oh. A base drum in my head was pounding out a dull thud, and my mouth felt like I had swallowed a wet sock. But, still, she was here, I was here, and we were in my bed.

Then, any happy thoughts were blindsided as the drummer changed directions and marched back to the front of my brain. In between the drum beats I was able to think just enough to remember how I got this way, and why. Son of a bitch.

I crawled across the floor and into the shower. Laying against the wall of the tub I reached in and turned the water on. Oh man, is that loud.

I started to climb into the tub and realized my sleeve was all wet. Then I figured out the reason for that. I lay back on the floor and slowly maneuvered my clothes off.

After a break, I pulled myself up and over the edge of the tub and laid in the bottom until the water got cold. It took a while. I knew the old guy across the hall would complain, but I didn't care. The hell with everybody else in the building. I might have stayed that way all day. But the chattering of my teeth wouldn't keep rhythm with the drumbeats. It felt like somebody had given the battery bunny a jack hammer. I forced myself to stand up and clutch the soap. Clean mind, clean body, right? Right? Sshh, stop shouting in my head.

Toweling off I had to stop twice. I've got to get quieter towels. I reached for the bathroom door. Oops. And bigger ones.

I wrapped it around me as best I could and opened the door. It didn't matter. Jennifer wasn't there.

Getting dressed was about all I could manage. I collapsed on the couch. After a collection of short breaths I reached for the remote. Wait, even the button clicks are going to be too loud. I set the remote, carefully, back down on the arm of the couch.

I was watching sunlight burn the inside of my eyelids when I heard the front door open. It closed softly and I peeked out to see Jennifer coming toward me. She had a paper grocery sack in one hand, and a box of Krispi Kreme donuts in the other. She set them both on the coffee table and reached into the paper sack.

Jennifer is an angel. The truth of that statement was confirmed when she spoke to me. Her voice was just barely above a whisper. “There wasn't any coffee in the house,” she breathed. I nodded, ever so slightly. “So,” she said, “I figured this was your morning drug of choice.” She pulled a two liter bottle of Mountain Dew bottle out of the sack. She opened it and handed it to me.

“I think I love you,” I croaked.

“You are in no condition to make decisions like that,” she said. “You want some ice?”

“God, yes.”

“Donut?”

My stomach rolled. All I could do was moan. “God, no.”

“Ok, maybe later.”

“Yeah,” I whispered. “How about next March?”

She pulled a bottle of aspirin out of the sack, along with some kind of bottled tea. She opened the aspirin and handed me the bottle. I choked down three of them and gave her back the bottle. She opened her tea and sat down on the couch next to me.

And that's where we stayed. Outside the sun reached the top of the sky. My cell phone rang once and I turned it off without looking at it. A couple of times some kids yelled as they went by on their bikes. Down the street some dogs barked as they passed. Once a police car's siren wailed by in the distance. Each time I winced a little less. I took a few more aspirin.

I didn't even hear the sunset, and felt surprised by the fact. Earlier in the day I was sure it would sound like someone pushed an orchestra off a cliff. It must have been six – eight hours that we sat like that. And neither of us said near that many words. We held hands for awhile, and then we didn't hold hands for awhile. Then we held hands some more. That was it.

Looking back on it, it was amazing. At the time, though, all I knew was that, the better I felt physically, the worse I felt mentally. I kept thinking, Sure, I hurt, but I'll heal. And I did this to myself. What are they doing to Willie and Frank? And what the hell am I going to do to stop them?

About eight someone beat on the door. I was impressed, it only hurt a lot. Yay me.

Jennifer answered the door. It was Shaun and Jamie, with bread and soup.

“Hey guys, we brought food!” Jamey said. Jennifer stopped him just inside the door. She put one hand on his chest and one finger to her lips.

“Oh,” he whispered. “Sorry. How long have you guys been awake?”

“Awhile,” I said softly. “I'm better. Still just some of the headache left.”

“You want some soup?” Shaun asked. He held an oversized thermos up.

“Buffett special?” I asked.

“What else?” he answered and set it on the table. Then he went scrounging for bowls.

I went to the table and pulled a chair out for Jennifer.

“Buffett special?” she asked.

“Cheeseburger in Paradise.” I explained. “Ground beef and a collection of veggies in a cheese based soup.” I sat down next to her.

“It can only be found at Willy's,” Shaun said. “that little place down by the railroad tracks? It's killer stuff. Perfect morning after food.”

“Or,” Jamey said, passing out the bowls Shaun found, “In this case, the night after. Geez, Jakey, you really tied it on last night.”

Shaun brought glasses of water to everybody and he and Jamey sat down on the opposite side of the table.

“I'm half way surprised to see you up at all,” Shaun said.

“I'm not up. I'm just semi-vertical. I wouldn't be that if it wasn't for Jennifer.”

“Jennifer Nightingale, that's me,” she said quietly. “Now, hush and eat your soup.”

We all ate in silence after that. When we finished Jamey took the dishes around the counter into the kitchen. He looked around for a minute, then looked at me.

“Where's the dishwasher?” he asked.

I just raised my hand.

“Oh, the old fashioned kick start model. Ok. We'll draw straws later.” He piled the dishes in the sink. And came back with ice and what was left of the soda.

“So, Kemo Sabe,” Shaun said. “What's the plan?”

“The plan?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Jamey said. “How do we get Willie and Frank out of there?”

I felt a little like a schmuck. “Guys I have no idea. I've been thinking about it, but short of a snatch and grab, I don't have idea one. Give me some time once I'm thinking clearly, maybe I can come up with something better.”

“Yeah, meantime Willie and Frank are in the dubious hands of Doctor “Weasel”. I never did like that guy.”

“They seemed ok when I saw them this morning,” Jennifer said. “They didn't type anything, but it was really early.”

I nodded. They usually sleep pretty hard early in the morning.

“They didn't seem scared, or anything, though.”

“I should have gone to see them today,” I said.

“You weren't in good enough condition to go outside, let alone all the way over there,” Jennifer pointed out. I just nodded.

“Besides,” Shaun said, “You'll be lucky if they haven't removed your access rights to the lab already.”

He was probably right. After Doctor Wizell left me standing in the hallway my head kind of exploded. I hadn't been very quiet about my views on the project, or his parentage.

Jamey looked at me. I told him about it.

“Oh yeah,” Shaun said. “Jake threatened all kinds of crazy stuff. My favorite was when he promised to post all their personal emails and photos on the school website.”

“Yeah,” I nodded slowly. “I kind of made a mess of the dungeon before I left, too. I'll be lucky if I have a job to go back to.”

After a minute I said, “Shaun, you worked today didn't you? Did you get to see them, or hear anything?”

Shaun shook his head. “I didn't work, but I went by there. I didn't get to see Willie or Frank, though. In fact, I didn't see much of anybody.” he shook his head. “The gamer's lab was closed. Same with most of the other labs. I looked in the window of the mouse lab door, but couldn't see anything.” He raised an index finger, “Now, that also means we know where Willie and Frank are. They must have them in the far corner, on the door side of the lab. That's the only place you can't see from the door.”

“That's good news. The electrical implant gear is all on the other side of the lab.”

Shaun shook his head. “Nope. It's on wheels, too. And I didn't see it when I looked in the window.”

“Crap.”

Shaun nodded. “Yeah, that's what I said, too.”

“We've got to do something before they do something stupid.”

“Maybe they won't,” Jennifer said. “I mean, Doctor Wizell can't be that much of a bad guy.”

“What?” I shouted, then winced. Ouch, too loud still.

She shook her head. “I think he's just overly focused on the project. He hasn't been exposed to the mice in any personal way before yesterday, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Jamey asked.

“Up until yesterday afternoon the stuff Willie and Frank typed was, for the most part, just words on a screen. Doctor Wizell hasn't really conversed with them yet. He's had no personal conversations with them beyond lab type stuff. Maybe now that he'll get the chance, he'll come to see them as more than test subjects.”

I winced at the words “test subjects”, and it had nothing to do with the volume of Jennifer's voice.

“Maybe,” Jamey said. “I guess we'll find out tomorrow.”

“I can't wait that long,” I said, and got up from the table.

“What are you going to do?” Jennifer asked.

“I don't know. But I have to do something. Yesterday he was talking about subjecting them to some new kind of stimulus. Now the hot wire unit is on the move.... and maybe already connected to Frank or Willie. I'm going to the lab. Want to come?”

“What if you can't get into the lab?” Shaun asked.

“I don't know.” I grabbed my jacket.

“What if you can't get into the building?” Jamey said.

“That's where Shaun and Jennifer come in. They'll still have access, even if I don't.”

“Maybe,” Shaun said.

“Yeah,” Jennifer nodded. “They've had time to think about it. They could have decided that Shaun and I are too close to you to trust.”

“What?” Shaun said. “You mean I might be out of a job again? Oh, man.. It's back to the Billy Banana suit. Will the horrors never end?”

All I could think of to say was, “Sorry, bro.”

You have to hand it to him. He didn't even hesitate. “All for a good cause.” He threw on his jacket, pulled the bottom hem down and raised his hands to shoulder height. He spread his fingers out beside his head and wiggled them. “Besides, Mom always said I was meant for a life in show biz!”

“That's my big banana man!” Jamey said, and hugged him.

I turned my phone on as we went out on to the street. There were a half dozen messages and several text messages.

“Guys, did any of you try to call earlier?”

Shaun said, “I called once. I didn't leave a message.”

“Not me,” Jamey said.

“Don't look at me. I've been with you,” Jennifer said. “Besides, my phone is in my car at school.”

“Well, what the...” I started thumbing through the text messages. “These are all from the lab.”

“Aw crap,” I said, and grabbed Jennifer's hand. “Something's wrong with Willie and Frank.” I looked at Shaun. “Let's take two cars. I'll take Jennifer. You guys follow us.”

“Let me have your keys,” Jamey said, and tossed me his. “That P O S Ford of yours won't even do the speed limit. Go on. We'll meet you there.”

I just smiled a thank you, tightened my grip on Jennifer's hand, and ran for his truck.

~~~~~~

During the drive I listened to the voice messages. Most of them were from Doctor Wizell. They were all pretty much the same. I played them for Jennifer.

“Jake, Doctor Wizell here at the lab. Please call me back.”; “Jake, Doctor Wizell again. We need to speak to you about the mice.” He got a little testy after that. “Jake. It's Doctor Wizell yet again. Now, Jake. You know you have some obligations to this laboratory. We would expect you to honor them and return our calls promptly.”

“Sure thing. Bite me, weasel boy,” I muttered.

The last two were from Doctor Kyle. “Jake, Doctor Kyle. Willie and Frank say they want to talk to you. They won't talk to us. I'm sorry about yesterday. Umm, Doctor Wizell is, too. He just hasn't realized it, yet. Please call me or come by the lab as soon as you can. One of us will be here all night. Thank you.”

We got to the lab building parking lot as the last message finished.

“Well, then,” Jennifer said. “That puts a new twist on things.”

When we hit the door my pass card didn't work. Jennifer's did, though.

“Looks like maybe somebody jumped the gun,” Jennifer said.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Wonder who that was.”

I heard her mutter something about “weasel boy” as she started up the stairs ahead of me. Ah ha!

We were headed straight to the lab, but Doctor Kyle's office was on the way, and his door was open. He was sitting at his desk, reading some kind of report. More surprising, Doctor Marten was in his other chair. He was flipping through a book of print outs. They were Willie and Frank's stuff.

“umm.. Hi. We just got your message a couple minutes ago.”

“You mean messages?” Doctor Kyle said.

I nodded. “Yeah, messages. Sorry.”

He put the report on his desk and stood up. “Don't sweat it. Near as I can tell, we still owe you the apology.”

“Not you, specifically,” I said.

“We'll get into that, later,” he said.

“Fair enough,” I agreed. “What's going on?”

“Pretty much what I told you in the message. Last night after we moved Willie and Frank upstairs they asked for you.”

Doctor Morgan held up the print outs. “Some one took it upon themselves to tell them that you weren't going to be around anymore. Judging from this, they didn't take it too well.” He looked back at the print outs for a second. “I don't think some of these words are actually on the touch pad.”

Jennifer had gone to look over his shoulder. She said, “Nope. Not that one. That one either. And, definitely not that one.” She looked up at me.

I shrugged. “They learned to spell, and then we gave them cable TV.”

She looked down at the pages again. “But they spelled 'weasel' right.”

Doctor Kyle choked off a laugh. “Perhaps we should move this discussion down to the lab?”

~~~~~~~

Willie and Frank were in the corner of the lab. They were behind a large, white fabric, folding partition. Right next to their cage was that electrical probe unit.

JAKE. YOU STINK.

Frank was on the touch pad. I went over to the keyboard.

I'M SORRY.

NO. WE MEAN YOU SMELL BAD.

WHY THANK YOU. I JUST TOOK A BATH.

YES. I CAN SMELL THE SOAP. BUT YOU ALSO SMELL OF SOME THING FOUL.

Jennifer laughed.

I typed:

SORRY. DO YOU REMEMBER THE COMMERCIALS DURING FOOTBALL FOR THAT DRINK CALLED BEER? THIS IS WHAT YOU SMELL LIKE IF YOU DRINK TOO MUCH OF IT.

Willie moved across the keyboard.

AND THEY MAKE IT SEEM SO FUN.

Behind me Doctor Kyle cleared his throat.

I nodded. IS IT OK IF WE TALK ABOUT THIS LATER, MAYBE WHEN WE ARE ALONE?

They chirped and squeeked a couple of times. I'd swear Willie was laughing.

Frank typed:

FAIR ENOUGH. IF WE ARE GOING TO GET THE CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT IT MORE.

I looked at Doctor Kyle, then back at the guys.

YES. WE WILL. CAN WE TALK ABOUT TODAY RIGHT NOW?

They squeeked and chirped at each other again. Their heads were really close together. Man, why can't I learn to speak mouse?

YES. THERE WAS SOME D I S AGREE MEANT. Frank typed.

SO I HEARD. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WOULD NOT TALK WITH ANYONE ELSE TODAY.

WE TOLD HIM THAT WE WOULD ONLY TALK TO YOU.

Willie squeeked at Frank, then Frank typed:

WE WERE CONCERN ED. HE SAID YOU WOULD NOT BE BACK. WE ARE GLAD THAT YOU ARE.

I AM TOO. I typed. AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP TO ME. BUT THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE IS IMPORTANT TO THESE PEOPLE.

INFORMATION. WHAT DO YOU MEAN.

I could actually see the question on Frank's face. Weird.

THEY ARE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT YOU THINK AND FEEL. IT HELPS THEM TO UNDERSTAND THEIR WORK BETTER.

THEIR WORK. There's that look again.

WHAT IS THEIR WORK.

I was kind of at a loss. How to explain this? I looked at Doctor Kyle.

He shrugged, “Just tell them the truth, I guess.”

“Ok,” I said.

ACTUALLY, YOU ARE. YOU AND WILLIE. THEY ARE RESEARCHING YOU BOTH. FRANK, CAN YOU REMEMBER BACK BEFORE YOU COULD TYPE AND TALK TO ME?

They chirped and squeeked some more, briefly.

WE CAN REMEMBER NOT BEING ABLE TO TELL YOU WHAT WE THOUGHT AND FELT.

I nodded. AND DO YOU REMEMBER LEARNING TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT AND FELT.

SOME OF IT. I DO NOT REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME S. BUT I REMEMBER AFTER THAT. I REMEMBER LEARNING TO SPELL NEW WORDS.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught Jennifer smiling. I couldn't help myself from smiling, too.

YES. I SAW SOME OF THE NEW WORDS THAT YOU USED LAST NIGHT.

Frank gave me this flat look.

THOSE WERE NOT NEW WORDS. I HAD NOT HAD A REASON TO USE THEM YET.

“Geez, what'd he say?” It was Jamey's voice. I looked around. Shaun and Jamey were standing over by Doctor Morgan. His eyes moved between Doctor Kyle and me.

“The lab door was open.” Shaun said.

I looked back at Frank.

WELL, YOU MADE YOUR POINT. AND YOU WERE ABLE TO MAKE YOUR POINT, AND TO TYPE AND COMMUNICATE, BECAUSE OF THESE DOCTORS. THEY HAVE BEEN GIVING YOU SOME DRUGS THAT MADE YOU ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH US. IT HELPED YOU TO LEARN AND TO TYPE.

They were back to chirping and squeeking again. Darn it, why doesn't Rosetta Stone offer mouse?

INTEREST ING. OK. AND YOU WANT US TO TALK WITH THEM.

YES, PLEASE. IT MAY BE VERY IMPORTANT.

More chirping. This time for a lot longer. I looked at Doctor Kyle and shrugged.

“Not sure what else I can do, but ask.” I told him.

Frank moved off to one side. Willie moved around the touch pad.

IF IT IS WHAT YOU WANT. WE WILL TALK WITH THEM. SOME OF THEM. BUT NOT THE WEASEL ONE.

BECAUSE HE WAS MEAN TO YOU?

NO. BECAUSE HE MEANS US HARM.

“How could they know that?” Doctor Kyle asked.

I asked them.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT HE MEANS YOU HARM?

THE SAME WAY WE KNOW YOU DRANK TOO MUCH BEER. YOU STINK.

AND DOCTOR WEASEL

"Wait." backspace, backspace, backspace

WIZELL STINKS?

YES, BUT IT IS A DIFFERENT STINK. HE SMELLS OF ANGER WITH ACTION.

YOU MEAN AGGRESSION?

YES. EXACTLY THAT. HE STINKS OF ANGER AND FEAR. WHEN SOME ONE IS AFRAID AND THEY HAVE ANGER. THEY CAN BE DANGER O US.

“huh,” I said.

“Indeed,” Doctor Kyle said. He thought about it for a moment, and then came to the keyboard.

YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO TALK WITH OR SEE DOCTOR WIZELL AGAIN. I PROMISE.

Frank chirped at Willie, and Willie typed:

JAKE, DO YOU TRUST THIS ONE. IS HIS PROMISE GOOD.

I looked at Doctor Kyle, and nodded.

YES. HE WILL DO WHAT HE SAYS.

VERY WELL. WE WILL TALK WITH HIM AGAIN. TOMORROW. WILL YOU STAY WITH US THIS NIGHT.

No hesitating on this one. YES I WILL. I WILL STAY RIGHT HERE.

~~~~~~~

“Oh, boy, back on the hospital bed,” I said.

I stayed in the lab and Shaun and Jamey while Jennifer took Shaun and Jamey down to the dungeon, broke down the bed and brought it upstairs. Doctor Morgan said he was going to lock up his office.

While they were gone Doctor Kyle said, “I'll have one of the university techs put your access back on the system first thing tomorrow.”

“Don't worry about it,” I said. “I'll take care of it from here.”

He tried to cover the sharp look he gave me, but saw that he failed. “We couldn't have kept you out of the system.. out of the lab, if we were trying, could we?”

“No, sir,” I admitted.

“And you would have come in to get the mice, wouldn't you?”

“Yes, sir. Doctor Wizell was going to stick a probe in their brains, or something just as wrong. You don't let that happen to friends.”

“Friends...” he kind of faded off.

“Yes sir. I've talked to Willie and Frank more in the last month than I've talked to my mother. They are my friends. And even if they weren't, a person doesn't hold a conversation with someone, ask them to tell you how they feel, or what they think, and then stick an electrical probe in their brain. If they weren't mice that would be considered torture, or a war crime, in most countries.”

“You have a point,” Doctor Kyle admitted. “So, how do we proceed from here?”

I thought about it, but wound up shrugging my shoulders again. “Beats me, Doctor. I'm just the house geek.”

“Not anymore,” he said. “Not if Willie and Frank are going to expect you to be around all the time.”

“Hmm. That could be a problem,” I said. “I wonder if they would let Shaun or Jennifer sit in? Maybe they'll let us take turns.”

“Maybe,” he said. “That would certainly help, both you and the lab. But, it would be up to you to talk them into it.” He headed for the door. “I'll see you in the morning.”

A thudding sound outside in the hall indicated that my bed had arrived. Doctor Kyle held the door for them as they brought it in. Turns out it was just the frame, springs and metal head board. While Jamey and Shaun went back for the mattress, Jennifer and I made room in the lab to put the bed up.

First thing was to move the electrical probe unit back to the other side of the lab. Then I put the folding partition back up around them.

“Out of sight, out of mind?” I said.

“Not likely,” Jennifer said. “But, how about we set the bed up next to Willie and Frank's place, behind the partition, too, so people walking by can't watch you sleep?”

“That's a good plan. Maybe put them between me and the wall. It might give them more of a feeling of safety.”

“I was thinking more about your feelings. Jake, I've seen what you look like, asleep in the morning. Somebody gets a picture of that and posts it up on the web? Even if you weren't embarrassed, your mother would never forgive you.”

“Cute. Very cute,” I said.

She held up the alarm clock from the basement. “Better safe than sorry, I always say.”

“Yeah, so did my grandmother.”

There was another thud out in the hallway. But, it was a softer thud this time, somehow. Jennifer went and held the door. “We'll have you tucked in safe and snug in no time, Jakey Wakey,” she said in a high, crackly voice.

“That's going to be a lot funnier when you meet my grandmother,” I said. “She smoked most of her life, has a voice like Barry White with a head cold.”

“Oh, baby, baby.”

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