Brainrush 03 - Beyond Judgment by Richard Bard Read Free Book Online

know…yet,” Tony said. He turned to Lacey. “I know this is the last thing you want to hear right now, but—”
    He cut off as Lacey turned to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she announced. “A magical day has just become more wondrous than ever! Please enjoy some refreshments while we take a short break.”
    A few minutes later, the wedding party was gathered in a private salon.
    “Everyone needs to calm down for a moment,” Tony said. The room quieted. Ahmed and Sarafina sat together on a love seat. Ahmed spun a pencil on the coffee table. Sarafina sat as close to him as she dared. Her hands were in her lap. She rocked gently back and forth. Mario, Lacey, and Marshall stood nearby. Alex sat on his mother’s lap on an antique lounger. He appeared agitated. He cradled the tablet. He hadn’t used it again—despite a barrage of questions from Sarafina and Ahmed. Tony feared that he was retreating into himself. It seemed to Tony as if it had taken a lot of effort for the boy to communicate in the first place.
    He pulled up a chair across from Alex and sat down. “Hey, pal.”
    Alex ignored him.
    “So, that was pretty cool how you spoke using your tablet,” Tony said. “How long you been doin’ that?”
    Still nothing.
    Tony hesitated. He recalled the emotional connection he’d shared with Alex earlier. The experience had sparked difficult memories. His shoulders sagged. “I feel you, Alex,” he said more to himself than to the boy. “I miss your pops, too. He was the best friend I ever had.” He soaked in the gazes of everyone around him, settling finally on Francesca. “Aw, hell, kid,” he added, “Jake was the best friend
any
of us ever had. We’d have done anything for him.”
    Alex shifted in his mom’s embrace. He rested the tablet on his lap. His index finger traced the lines of a complicated fractal pattern on the screen.
    The reaction fueled Tony’s hopes. He continued softly, less the interrogator, more the friend. “You said he needs our help?”
    The boy’s fingers picked up speed across the screen.
    The only sound in the room was the rustle of Lacey’s gown as she edged closer to Marshall.
    Okay, Tony thought. Keep it simple—yes-or-no questions only. “Umm…would you like us to pray for him?”
    Alex’s finger hesitated on the display. It was as if he was confused by the question.
    Francesca opened her mouth as if to speak but evidently thought better of it. She didn’t want to disrupt the connection. She arched her eyebrows at Tony. He got the message.
Keep it going.
He cut to the chase.
    “O…kay,” Tony said, drawing out the word. He was worried for the poor kid. But another part of him remembered that beneath the childhood veneer, Alex tested smarter than most adults. Maybe it was time to treat him as such. “Alex, do you know where he is?”
    Alex glanced pointedly out the salon’s picture window. Then back to his tablet.
    “Outside?” Tony asked.
    Alex swept the fractal image aside. His index finger moved across rows of application icons. Tony waited for him to pull upwhatever app he’d used earlier to communicate. Instead, the boy opened an application that included a series of illustrated flash cards. He swept through them. The childlike images flashed by so fast that Tony could barely keep up. Each illustration included a word beneath it. He saw a television— TV; a boy in a bed— SLEEPY; a beverage— DRINK; and several others. When an image of two children RUNNING appeared, Alex stopped.
    “He was running?” Tony asked. “Outside?”
    Alex didn’t look up. But the crooked smile was back. It was such a “Jake” expression that Tony found it unnerving. Apparently satisfied, Alex crossed his hands over the screen as if there were no further need for it.
    “Nooo…” Francesca muttered, louder than she intended. The sentiment had come unbidden. She swallowed hard. Joy at her son’s ability to communicate appeared to battle with her concern for his