This choice: Concentrate on your position at Eastman • Go Back...Chapter #35Being Ian by: Seuzz   You can take care of Lisa whenever. Right now, you want to get a handle on the mysterious box you found at Eastman. And the more boots you have on the ground, the better your chances of getting answers quickly. So you pull into a nearby parking lot and dial up Ian. "Hey, handsome," you chirp. "Whatcha up to?"
"Having a conference," he says brusquely.
"Ooh, sounds serious. I don't suppose there's any chance me and Steve Patterson could stop by tonight when you're done."
There's a lengthy pause. "Actually, it's Patterson I'm with," he says. "We're having a friendly talk at McDonalds." There's a murmur from somewhere else into the phone.
"Oh." This is a surprise. "What's going on?"
Another pause. "Well, you tell me. Didn't you just say you wanted him and you meet up with me?"
"Okay, I don't know what it's all about. I just thought it would be a good idea if the three of us got together tonight."
"Well, you're welcome to join us, I guess. I think we could do with your input." You hear him mutter Alyssa's name, presumably to Patterson. "We're on Ninth Street."
"Can we shift the meeting over to your house? It's kind of a sensitive topic."
"So's this one. We're talking about Kevin."
"Kevin? McIllroy? What about him?"
Another pause. "Isn't that what you want to talk about?"
"Um ..."
"How out of the loop are you, Alyssa? I dunno, maybe we should meet at my place."
And so it is decided. You're feeling quite worried by the time you get out to Carpenter's house, but have to wait nearly ten minutes before he and Patterson show up. (Fortunately, his parents are very easy going, and with Alyssa's personality you're able to have a really nice conversation with them.) Ian looks grim as he enters, and Patterson looks flushed and aggrieved. When you're back in Ian's bedroom, he turns to you with a skeptical expression. "So, what are you wanting to talk about?"
"First of all, what's this about Kevin?"
"Kevin and Steve here got in a fight," Ian says simply as Patterson rolls his eyes. "I thought you'd have heard about it."
"A fight?" You frown at Patterson. "What about?"
"You aren't my fucking parents, you know," Patterson says hotly. "If I wanna fucking lecture--"
"Oh, hush, sweetie," you curtly reprimand him. "Was it a serious fight?"
"I'm not trying to act like your dad, Patterson," Ian says. "I'm just trying to explain how it's not a good idea--"
"Oh, fuck this," Steve exclaims. "You made your bullshit point--"
"Okay, that's enough," you say firmly. "You guys are going to have to get along, for the sake of the team. For my sake, too."
"What do you mean, 'your' sake?" Ian asks.
But you've already dropped your bag to the floor and are fishing inside it. "Steve, my love, will you hold Ian down?" you say as you pull out the blank mask.
Ian jerks in surprise as Patterson grabs him from behind. Quick as a cat you leap onto the corner of the bed and press the mask against his face. He slumps into Patterson's arms, and your slave lays him next to the bed. "You took your sweet time," he grumbles.
"Shut up. I'd ask you what all this was about with Kevin, but I'll know in a few minutes." You lock the door and start to tear off your clothes. "Sit on him if he wakes up before I do." Once you've got most of your clothes off, you lay back and clutch at your face.
* * * * *
"Okay guys, listen up." You clap your hands hard, sending a loud crack through the changing room, and the rest of the team turns around to listen to the pre-practice talk. It's Wednesday morning, and you are still playing the part of Ian Carpenter. "I had a nice, long talk with Patterson yesterday--"
"Good. You tell him how far he could shove that attitude up his ass?" Brett Dutoit shouts.
"Actually, we came up with a different plan," you say placidly. "He and I are now co-captains."
There's a moment of silence, and then shouts break out. You let them yell for a few seconds, then raise your hand. Still they shout, until you clench your hand into a fist and wearily brandish it. One by one they all fall silent.
"Yeah, I know," you say. "We had a long talk about tactics and strategy. I got him to see that we do best at teamwork, you know, cooperatively. But he got me to see that we've been using that to mask a certain amount of ... well, he said 'laziness'--" Groans and catcalls. "But I'll just say that maybe each of us relies on the others too much. We're gonna step up the individual effort while still trying to keep the teamwork aspect in play."
"But how come he gets to be co-captain?" Derek Linwood challenges.
"Because he can handle that part better than me. It's what him and Gordon Black were doing at Westside."
"Fuck Westside," you hear a murmured voice.
"Yeah, and with his help, we will. Good and hard," you say, mildly. "But remember, Patterson is co-captain, which means you listen to him with the same attention and respect as you listen to me." You catch Ben Paxon smirking. "But if you got a problem with Patterson, you can still come to me."
Scott Bridges's hand shoots up in the air. "I gotta problem, Ian."
"Suck it up, Scott. Okay." You clap your hands again. "Let's get in shape this morning so we'll look good this afternoon."
You run them hard--much harder than is Ian's wont--but are pleased by the results.
* * * * *
"So you got any gossip for me?" you ask the top of Alyssa's head when you bump into her just before lunch.
She lifts her face to stare up into yours. God, she is so beautiful. It says something about Alyssa's blind spots--and about Ian's native reticence--that you hadn't recognized how much of a thing he has for her until you got his mask on and could only watch agog as she dressed in front of you. If Ian were conscious, and knew where he was--under Alyssa's face--he might not want to return to being himself.
"What's that?" you ask aloud, for you weren't paying attention while she was speaking.
"I said-- Oh come on. Your ears aren't that far from my mouth," she says with playful waspishness. "I said, I found out why I didn't hear about Kevin's fight with Steve. Freaking Lisa--"
"I don't want to hear about that," you say. Problems between Alyssa and Lisa have far less salience for you now. Casually you put your hands in your pockets and nudge Alyssa off toward a corner of the front quad. "I mean, about that box."
"Oh, right. Yeah, real interesting, that" she drawls. "I think we've definitely got ourselves some suspects." She doesn't see the way you're glaring at her; she does love to draw things out. "So, you remember Scott Bickelmeier, on the football team from last year?"
"Yeah, I know Scott. He transferred to Westside."
"Well, he was working at Salopak this last summer, until August, when he got fired."
"How come?"
"I hear he and his friend got drunk at work."
"August, huh? Timing is right. That's when Blackwell had the box sent over there. So, Scott and-- You said he had a friend there too? Who was working there with him?"
She grins. "Sawyer. Harrison." She emphasizes each word.
You blink and then gape. "Sawyer?!" You let out a low whistle.
She nods. "Uh huh. I talked to Belinda last period. Apparently, the company fired him and Scott for getting drunk, but the family is thinking of suing, saying that it was exposure to toxic chemicals, not alcohol, that, you know--"
"Yeah, have they figured out what it was that did put him in that coma?"
She shakes her head. "Belinda says the doctors are totally baffled. There's no medical reason for it. She says his brain activity is totally normal. It's just that the pathways from his brain to his body aren't working right." She shivers. "They're thinking he may be totally awake in there, but trapped."
"That would be horrible," you agree, but you're also running calculations in your head. "Lessee, Sawyer fell into that coma toward the end of August, right?" She nods. "Yeah, the timing is perfect." You tug on your lip. "But what about Scott? Didn't you say he was fired for the same reason?"
"Yeah, but there was something else there."
"What?"
She shrugs. "I haven't found out yet. But I know he was supposed to come back to Eastman, but at the last minute before classes started he suddenly transferred to Westside. And it's not like his parents moved."
This is all very puzzling. There are no definite clues that suggest either Sawyer or Scott are connected to that box, but the circumstantial evidence is strong. Both avenues would be worth investigating, though they are each tricky. Ian is well acquainted with Scott (formerly of the Eastman football squad, now of the Westside squad), but questioning Scott might be difficult. Sawyer can't even answer questions, but if you visited him at the hospital, you might be able to determine if there is a magical cause behind his coma.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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