The Good Doctor's Tales Folio Five by Randall Farmer Read Free Book Online Page B

getting her rescued,” Gilgamesh said.  “The Skinner left town last night, to go hunt, and I slid my letter under her door when she was out of range.”  He had waited a half hour after, of course, making sure her trip wasn’t a short one .  She had t aken her hunting and body disposal equipment with her, but the Skinner took those with her whenever she left home without a disguise.  “She hasn’t returned and seen my letter yet.”  He had also stripped as much dross from her place as he could.
    “I’m not sure I understand,” Sinclair said.  “Why go to all this effort?  Why risk so much?”
    “I must ,” Gilgamesh said.  His meager funds nearly depleted, he still tossed in quarters to fund phone booth long distance telephone call s .  He had grown too dependent on Tiamat’s handouts…which wasn’t Crow-like.  He wished he had the time to finish the correspondence course on television and radio repair .
    Gilgamesh took a deep breath.  “I realized I had been doing nothing but reacting to life’s challenges.  I thought I was making decisions, but, realistically, I wasn’t .  I decided to stop allowing myself to be carried where life leads me.  I’m striking out on my own and carving my own path, now.”
    If he made even the slightest effort to see Tiamat rescued, he would be going against the nebulous ‘this is how things are done’ philosophy rul ing most if not all Crows.  Helping Tiamat would also be dangerous.  The obvious next step for him to take , helping on an actual rescue attempt, made him sick with fear.
    “Shadow does know how to pick his Crows,” Sinclair said, his voice dropping to a breathy whisper.  “Guru Shadow and Guru Innocence both do.  We all have causes, be it helping Transforms, like myself, Occum and his Beasts, and Ezekiel with his worries about civilization.  Looks like y ou found your cause, Gilgamesh .  A t least it isn’t as politically catastrophic as Midgard’s .”
    Midgard had taken on the cause of helping other Crows survive, and it had so far netted him visits from representatives of Chevalier and another important senior Crow by the name of Snow, and a more kindly personal visit from Thomas the Dreamer, all imploring him to cease and desist.  Chevalier’s representative, Echo, had told Midgard none of the Crows west of the Mississippi would offer him aid of any kind, because of what he did.
    “Thank you,” Gilgamesh said.   He had no choice.  He had to help Tiamat.  He would learn to be adventurous.  Adventurous for a Crow, at least.  He needed to talk to Sky.
    “I have a different question, and I might be presumptuous in asking it, but I think I must ,” Sinclair said.  “Tiamat is a murderous predator and would probably kill you or enslave you if you weren’t taking precautions.  Was Tiamat’s capture such a terrible thing?”
    Gilgamesh opened his mouth to bark , shocked at the question , but he held his temper in check .  The answers seemed so obvious to him.  N ot to Sinclair, though , so Gilgamesh pushed the remnants of panic and irrationality down.
    “Well, an Arm is the only thing capable of opposing a Beast Man.  After she graduated and left the Skinner, Tiamat’s murderous rages against the normals diminished.  Not gone away, mind you, but diminished.  I was making progress with my contacts with her.  She understands, now, that Crows aren’t useful juice sources.  She knows we can be of help.”  He paused.  “I like Tiamat, at least when she’s not scaring the crap out of me.  She’s intelligent, witty, and, dam m it, fun to talk to.  Also , as you well know, Arm dross is the best.  I’ve been living off of her kills for so long I almost feel like I owe her for them.  From a dispassionate and pragmatic perspective , at least in her time in Chicago, I believe she ’ s saving more lives than she ’ s taking.  Psychos and Monsters are dangerous, Sinclair.”
    “Yes,” Sinclair said.  “