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It was another two months before Jason's and Emerald Eyes' paths crossed again except for the occasional wave from across the crowded casino floor. Then one evening they found themselves at the same rumbuc table, Jason playing and Emerald Eyes on the arm of one of the other gamblers.
"You taking good care of my monkey?" Emerald Eyes asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Your monkey? I thought you said he was my monkey, and the answer to your question is yes. I'm taking good care of him and he of me. If I so much as look at a cocktail waitress while I'm gambling, he pitches such a fit, I feel guilty for even having the thought."
"Where is my little Mu-Monk?" Emerald Eyes asked.
"Can you believe it? Casey won't let me play with him on my shoulder; says the monkey might feed me valuable information that would influence the game. Manfred is taking care of him at the bar."
Emerald Eyes smiled and nodded before returning her attention to her escort, who was beginning to glare sharp daggers in Jason's direction. Jason returned the smile then glanced at her companion, a dull looking man with eyes set too close together, which made him look even less intelligent.
"Don't worry, Bud, we're just old friends. I'm not trying to scoop your date."
The large man continued to glare at him but said nothing. Jason shrugged, and at that moment decided he would show Emerald Eyes' companion how rumbuc could be played by a pro. By the end of the evening, Dull Eyes was short almost eight years of life-credits and was beside himself with worry.
"Come on, let's get out of here," the man grumbled as he pushed away from the table, glaring from side to side as though worried that attendants from a Sleep Station might pounce on him at any second.
"Calm down, Alexa, the cards just weren't in your favor tonight. There'll be other nights," Emerald Eyes tried to assure him.
"I better not have any other nights like this, or I'll find myself taking the early sleep," Alexa grumbled. "I'll be right back. I need to make a couple of phone calls. Stay here."
Emerald Eyes smiled sweetly and nodded. After Alexa had left, Jason cashed in his chips and pushed away from the table.
"Buy you a drink?" he asked, glancing over at Emerald Eyes who nodded.
"Your friend seemed a little upset," Jason said as they strolled towards the bar.
"Well, you certainly didn't help his mood any. It's been a long time since I've seen you play so well."
Jason shrugged, then handed Emerald Eyes a stack of chips. "After he calms down, give these back to him, and tell him to stay away from the professional tables. Also, tell him to start treating you nicer, or I'll start sitting in on all his games."
The two of them ordered drinks, then walked over to a table where Emerald Eyes could keep an eye out for Alexa. Manfred brought them their drinks with Mu-Monk on his shoulder. At the sight of his two favorite people, Mu-Monk leapt from the bartender's shoulder and straight into Emerald Eyes' arms. She cuddled the little monkey for a moment, then turned her attention back to Jason while Mu-Monk sat on the table and tried to steal sips from their drinks.
After a few minutes during which Jason spent most of his time staring off into space, Emerald Eyes reached out and touched his hand resting on the table.
"What's up J. J.? You seem to be in a strange mood this evening."
Jason turned his attention back to her with a weak smile on his face, before breaking his gaze to look down at his drink. After a long pause, he looked back up. "You know me too well. You're right. I am in a strange mood. I have been for a while, but I can't put my finger on it except to say that I'm bored, with a capital B.
He took a swig of his drink before continuing. "I've been a professional gamer for half my life, one of the best. As you pointed out a couple months ago, I have it made compared to ninety-nine percent of the rest of the world. But ever since we had that talk, I've been wondering, if I've got so much going for me and I'm bored, what must it be like for that other ninety-nine percent?"
Emerald Eyes rubbed the top of Jason's hand, a look of concern growing on her face. After a moment, she said, "Maybe you need a change of pace. I could set you up with a good friend of mine. I understand she's quite talented in helping guys forget their problems, at least for a while."
"No!" Jason barked, startling Emerald Eyes and several other people sitting nearby, and sending Mu-Monk scampering away. Taking a deep breath, he repeated more softly. "No. I'm not interested in getting laid. Besides, I've already tried it, but I appreciate the suggestion." Jason picked up his drink and downed the rest of it. "Here comes your friend."
Emerald Eyes nodded, quickly removing her hand from his and starting to rise.
"You know what is most exasperating?" Jason asked not bothering to get up.
"What's that?"
"It's that no one else seems to know what I'm talking about?"
"Well, you know what they say. Life doesn't matter—it is the way it is." Emerald Eyes reached up to touch her earring as she spoke, then catching the motion, paused a moment with a confused look on her face.
Jason finally stood up and kissed her cheek. As he watched her walk away to join Alexa, he reached out to Mu-Monk who climbed on his offered arm. But what if what everyone says isn't true? What if life does matter and the way it is isn't engraved in stone? A worried Jason nodded to Manfred to add the drinks to his tab and left Casey's deep in thought with Mu-Monk clinging to his shoulder.
On the way out, several people called goodnight to him. He returned their salutations with a simple nod. As he entered the street level, he turned in the opposite direction from his usual path home. While he didn't feel like gambling anymore, he also wasn't sleepy. As he left the bright lights from Casey's marquee, a young woman stepped out of the shadows. He identified her from her scent immediately and smiled despite his mood.
"Hello, Jason."
"Hello, Celeste," Jason replied. "Late night for you."
Celeste returned his smile and shrugged. "You were quite generous with Emerald Eyes' friend."
"What? How did you know about that?"
She shrugged again and pointed towards the heavens.
"Wow, I had no idea you had such a direct line to God."
"And you too can have such a direct line," Celeste said as she held out her begging bowl.
"Clever," Jason said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a life-chip. Over the years, he'd come to like his Guardian Angel even though her visits always cost him.
"Blessed are those who give their lives in service to others," Celeste said with a nod before disappearing back into the shadows once more.
Jason contemplated her blessing as he continued his walk, taking the downside of the escalators that appeared along his path, many of which were broken down. He finally found himself deep in the bowels of the Dome. Still, he walked on, unconcerned that he had left the relative safety of the Gambling Zone and entered a much shadier level of the MED.
There's no telling how long he would have walked if the young boy hadn't streaked across his path, startling Jason out of his reverie. At first, Jason wasn't even sure why he'd looked up, then the boy moved from one shadow through the edge of one of the few working street lights and into another shadow.
Where the hell am I? Jason wondered as he glanced around. From the darkness of his surrounding and the unkempt appearance of the street, it was clearly not the Gambling Zone, not even his accustomed neighborhood. Oh well, not to worry. He's strayed off course before. It shouldn't take much to retrace his steps.
He turned around to start back when he noticed the young boy again and suddenly realized what had drawn his attention. What was a young kid doing at this time of the night out of his Ward?
Jason stopped under the street light to pull a slip of paper from his pocket pretending to study it for directions, while watching the kid out of the corner of his eyes. Not only was it highly unusual to see a young boy out on the streets, but this particular boy would have been odd anywhere. He wore a large trench coat at least three sizes too big but that seemed a good match for the baggy pants that were rolled up at the bottom. His face was almost completely hidden by a hat with ear flaps and a bill that was bent down hiding his eyes. A red bandana around his neck finished off his outfit.
Someone needs to give you some wardrobe advice, Jason thought as he pulled the paper he was looking at from Mu-Monk's inquisitive hands, placing it back in his pocket.
"Can I do something for you, kid?" Jason asked without looking directly at the boy. "If you're thinking of robbing me, I'll tell you right now, it won't be worth your trouble. I only look rich. It's the monkey that's the wealthy one. He rents me to carry him around."
At first, the boy didn't move but remained standing in the shadows. Finally, when it became obvious that the next move was his, he took a step closer to Jason and into the light.
"You say that's a monkey on your shoulder?" the boy asked, a relieved tone in his voice. "I thought you had two heads at first."
Jason smiled but refrained from laughing for fear of scaring the boy away. "You know what a monkey is?"
"Yeah, I've heard about them. Didn't know there were any more around. Can I see him?" The boy took a couple more steps towards Jason.
Jason bent down on one knee to come closer to the boy's level and nodded. "Just move slowly at first. Let him get a whiff of you. His name is Mu-Monk, and he makes friends pretty fast."
The boy walked over and slowly stuck his hand out so Mu-Monk could smell it. After a moment, the monkey reached out and touched the boy's hand with his own.
"By the way, my name is Jason Joval. What's yours?"
After a few seconds, the boy reached up and rubbed Mu-Monk's head. "Tinker," he finally answered in a voice so soft Jason wasn't sure he'd heard it correctly.
"Tinker, did you say? That's an interesting name. Is it your first or last?"
The boy didn't answer, more interested in playing with Mu-Monk.
Jason decided to shut up for a few minutes and let the kid and monkey become acquainted. In a couple minutes, Mu-Monk had stepped from Jason's shoulder onto Tinker's arm where he sniffed at one of the ear flaps. The boy giggled.
"Cut that out. It tickles," Tinker said but made no attempt to stop the monkey.
"Where's your Ward?" Jason finally asked.
"Don't live in a Ward," Tinker replied matter-of-factly.
Jason pondered the statement. He supposed it might be true. For sure, the way the boy was dressed would support his story. But if he didn't live in a Ward, where did he live? He decided to ask Tinker.
Tinker didn't answer but continued to play with Mu-Monk as though he hadn't heard the question. Jason was about to ask the question again when the boy looked at him for the first time and pointed down.
Confused, Jason asked. "Down? Down there? What's down there?"
"Where I live," Tinker replied with an edge of impatience in his voice.
"But there's nothing down there but the sewers and the pipes, and..." Jason stopped, realizing he really didn't know what was below. He'd never been as far down in the MED as he was now. For all he knew there might be several more levels before reaching what people commonly referred to as the Pipes.
"How far below do you live?"
Tinker stared at Jason for close to a minute before finally answering, "Below, down, all the way. In the Pipes."
"You're kidding," Jason blurted out before he could stop himself. He'd heard stories about kids living in the Pipes but had figured they were only urban myths. No one could possibly survive under such conditions. Hell, it was a struggle for most people to survive in the Commons where the Patriarchy at least provided them with subsistent housing and their basic needs like food.
On the spur of the moment, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few worth-credits he carried around and held them out to the boy.
"I don't have much use for these. Maybe you do," he said, suddenly embarrassed by the gesture. Tinker took the coins and quickly stuffed them into one of the many pockets of his coat.
I wonder if he really lives in the Pipes or have I just been hoodwinked by a smooth con artist, Jason thought, then decided it didn't matter. As he had the thought, he heard a noise coming from the shadows to his left. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but when he looked back at Tinker, he realized the boy had heard it as well.
"There's nothing to be..." Jason started to say, but before he could finish, Tinker grabbed Mu-Monk and tossed him back to Jason.
As the monkey squealed and clambered up Jason's arm, Tinker yelled, "Thanks for letting me pet him. Gotta run." And with that Tinker disappeared into the shadows, shouting over his shoulder, "You better run too."
Jason stared after the boy, amazed by the brief encounter. Imagine, living in the Pipes. He still wasn't sure he believed the boy's story, but it sure had lightened up his day and made him a bit more appreciative of his own life. Mu-Monk's loud chattering brought him out of his thoughts.
"Calm down, fella. There's nothing to be chattering on about. We're headed home."
Mu-Monk continued to chatter, growing more alarmed by the second. Suddenly, he jumped from Jason's shoulder and scurried off in the general direction the boy had taken.
"Hey, come back here," Jason yelled just as he saw the first man appear from the dark shadows to his left. "Damn. Leave me to fend for myself. Thanks a lot," he murmured under his breath. You can't trust anyone these days, Jason thought as he turned around to find three other men closing in on him from the other direction.
"Good evening, gents," Jason said, smiling broadly as he looked from one man to the next. "Nice night for a stroll, isn't it? What can I do for you this evening? Not taking up a collection for Holy Mother Church, are you?"
None of the men spoke as they continued to close in around him. As Jason stared at each of them, he calculated his odds. Not good. Each of them was larger than him, though three of them appeared overweight and out of shape. He figured the fourth one was probably the ringleader and would be the most dangerous, and therefore, the one to take out first.
As he reached into his pocket, he spoke. "I bet you want my credits. How silly of me. Well, I'm a reasonable man. I'm sure you'll put them to good use." He pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing a fist-full of worth and life-credits.
"Just hand it over nice and easy, and we won't hurt you," the ringleader said in a coarse, husky voice.
"That's what I figured." Jason smiled as he extended his hand in the man's direction. The man reached out for the credits. Just as his fingers were within a couple inches of grasping them, Jason let them slip through his fingers. They jangled onto the pavement.
"Oops," Jason said. As the man instinctively bent to pick up the credits, Jason swung his right leg up in a smooth arc, catching the man just under the chin. He felt a satisfying crunch as the man's lower teeth crashed against his upper ones. His arms flew away from his body as he made a graceful reverse swan dive, crashing to the pavement.
The other three men hesitated for only an instant, two of them grabbing him on either side while the third one swung at Jason's head. The first blow landed on his temple with a brilliant and painful flash of stars. Instinctively, Jason pulled both legs to his chest while being supported by the two men holding him, kicking the third man in the chest, who fell hard to the pavement near their ringleader.
The man holding his left arm pulled it back behind Jason's back, threatening to break it. The two of them circled around as the other man slugged away landing as many blows on his comrade as on Jason.
Jason stomped hard on the foot of the man holding him, and with a cry of pain, the man relaxed his grip long enough for Jason to pull away. Meanwhile, the ringleader had managed to rise on all fours as he scooped up the few credits he could find. Jason kicked out with his left foot, hitting the man on the side of the head and sending the credits flying from his hands.
Momentarily free, Jason turned to look for his next attacker. A few yards away, the two remaining men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, each one encouraging the other to attack first.
"Come on, gents, there's plenty to go around for everyone."
Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught a flash of motion as the ringleader swung something at Jason's head. The best he could do was to partially deflect the blow with his right arm, feeling an explosion of pain course up the limb, a fraction of a second before a second blow glanced off his forehead' sending him crumpling to the ground.
He lay there fighting to remain conscious and losing the battle. He knew the odds of staying alive if he lost consciousness was a poor bet, but he couldn't move. He stared at the three men as they closed in on him.
At first, he was afraid he was going to black out before they reached him and then he was afraid that he wasn't. They were almost on top on him when everything began to fade to black. As he sank into the sea of darkness, he thought he saw a dozen or more midgets appear from nowhere as they jumped his assailants.
How cute, he thought. Pixies from hell come to save little ol' me. Then a black wave crashed over him.