Chapter 2: The Loner VS The Recluse

The following morning came. Roger barely slept through the night. He conceded defeat, getting dressed, wearing his normal attire minus his suit jacket and gloves. It was too hot for them. He was standing in the back courtyard, leaning on the railing. The morning fog was starting to come in from the sea, clouding the streets below. The mammatus clouds above him glowed with a reddish-orange hue, the air thick with heat and humidity in the middle of the July, a low thunder rumbling through the air.

I guess that's as close as I'll get to seeing the sun rise.

Norman appeared, with a cup of coffee. Roger heard him and turned around.

"I see you're up early, sir. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Roger turned away, looking at the street below him once again. "No. Please wake Dorothy and tell her to come see me."

"Master Roger…"

"NOW, Norman…"

Norman set the tray down on the table and went back inside. Roger continued staring at the street below him, his heart weighing heavy.

There's no other way. This is what's for the best. For her, for them.

The wind gently whipped his face, as minor beads of sweat had begun to form on his forehead. He heard familiar steps approach him from behind.

"I take it this isn't a meeting related to the firm?"

Dorothy's voice sounded almost like her monotone voice from when she was an android. Roger turned, putting his hands in pocket, his face showing the weight of the decision he now had to tell Dorothy. The wind gently rippled across her skirt and through her hair. She was only wearing her blouse, a button undone around the bulge on her belly.

"It's not," he replied.

"I see. So, what's going on?"

The sky made them appear like shadows toward one another. Dorothy could only see one half of Roger's face in the light, the other casted in shade by a nearby stone trellis. However, Dorothy was bathed in the full red light from the clouds above. Roger took a breath, steadied himself, and began talking.

"I've made arrangements for you to go to Electric City until this is over. You're not safe here. They came after Angel here, even with me home. I'm not losing you again, and I'm not losing the twins. Governor Batter has agreed to provide you housing until it's safe again."

"Roger, the safest place for me is here. Nowhere else. Here. Do you honestly think I can make it through all of those MP patrols going on? They know my car. They'll stop me." Her voice began to start showing some emotion, though she was trying hard to contain it.

"Not if you leave now. Shift change is happening and Dastun posted Michaelson at the bridge to let you pass."

Roger's face did not change. It wasn't a glare per se. It was a stern look, made worse by him frowning. All the same, Dorothy felt like she was getting a dressing down by him, and she didn't like it.

"Roger, you don't tell me what to do. I'm. Staying."

"You're not. I've made the arrangements. You're leaving, even if I have to drive you there myself."

"I like to see you try."

"Unlike the time you were an android and I asked you to get out of my car, unprofessionally, I can make you this time," he said, his voice starting to rise in anger.

There was silence between them. Roger steadied him and regained his composure. Dorothy was now glaring at Roger.

"Really? So that's what's it come to? And here I thought you were a gentleman…"

"Baiting me won't work, Dorothy. Whether you like it or not, I am being a gentleman. By making sure you're not in harm's way. By making sure our children are not in harm's way. You read the report, right? We found those robots that kidnapped you and miniature Leviathan-like robots running amuck at JFK Mark. Plus, the MP were there with their tanks and personnel carriers."

Dorothy finally broke her composure.

"I don't care about the report. I care about you! This is your stupid, righteous indignation taking over your judgment! You're still upset you couldn't save Angel, and now, you're taking it out on me by pushing me away, through some poorly conceived logic!"

"That… That has nothing to do with it!"

They were now yelling at each other. Norman, who remained in the living room, waiting to be called, hung his head sadly.

"Then what does it have to do with, Roger Smith? Your insecure feelings about yourself, who you are, and your ability to fight?"

Roger turned pink in the face at this comment, gritting his teeth. He felt the words struck his pride. He steadied himself with a deep breath.

"That was low, even for you," he said, quietly, turning away from her, looking over the railing.

"What you're doing right now is low, even for you! How do you expect to not dish out what you give me? Roger, pull it together! There's no place on this earth that will be safe for me, except here! After all this time, you tell me I'm your partner, I'm your equal, we'll do this together, but only when things are good. Now when things are bad, you send me away. All that bravado, telling me at first that I can fight, then I can fight but from the sidelines, and now I can't fight, all because I'm pregnant. I'm not helpless! What do you expect me to do if they were to get a hold of me? Do nothing? It would be quite the opposite. That's why I should stay here. It's not fair you thinking you have to do this alone! You don't have to anymore! Because that's what partners do, Roger. They help each other! They see things through to the end. Don't you understand what I'm telling you? I love you and I want to help you!"

Roger's eyes opened wide in shock, his irises trembling, hearing Dorothy's words. He felt his heart skip a beat, becoming lighter than it had in days. Any other time, he would gladly embrace those words. He hung his head, struggling. He wanted to show her his answer. His hand curled into a fist, as he hit the railing. He wanted to tell her the truth about he felt about her, but he knew if he did, she wouldn't leave. There was only one alternative, and he knew once he said it, the one thing he dreaded more than losing her to the enemy would come true. But, she would be alive. And that's what mattered to him the most. He would take it, even if it meant never seeing her again or his kids. His heart became heavy once again.

"Dorothy, right now… I… I can't… it's complicated…"

Dorothy felt his response go right through her, knocking the air out of her. He had to be lying. He was never a good liar, even she knew this. But… if he was lying, why say this now, of all times? She took a step back, steadying herself, breathing hard. She felt her temper rising. Roger still wasn't looking at her.

What a coward.

"So… after everything… that's it? You can't? It's complicated???" She laughed sarcastically, still in shock from his response, the sound of her laughter too painful for him to listen, "I can't believe you. And you pride yourself on being a gentleman. I see how it is. It takes two to tango, and here I am, knocked up, ready to go on this journey with you, but you have cold feet. So much for 'doing this together.' You're taking the easy way out. FINE. I'll go. But I won't be coming back!"

And she turned heel, walking back inside into the living room. As she did so, she took off her comm, placing on the cover of the piano. She went into the bedroom, grabbing a bag and bunch of random clothes, shoes, whatever her hands could lay upon, and walked out a short time later. She took one last look at the French doors. Roger was still outside and had not come in. Norman however, had saw her take off her comm and was holding it in his hand, following her to the lift.

"Miss Dorothy, please. I know you're upset, dear. I apologize for his behavior. He's doing what he feels is best to protect you."

"A duty he apparently doesn't want anymore, Norman."

"Miss Dorothy, please…"

The lift began to descend as she rode it down to the hangar. Norman trying desperately to get her to take the comm back, but she refused every time. As the lift arrived in the hangar, she finally had enough.

"NORMAN, NO! I'm not… I'm not coming back. I'll figure it out on my own."

Norman bowed his head in anguish as Dorothy got into her car. Norman followed, holding the door open as she tried to shut it.

"Miss Dorothy, please… it's not about the comm… just hear me out."

She huffed a breath out, forcing air upward to fan her bangs. "Okay."

Norman unholstered one of his 1911s and gave it to her. Dorothy stared at him as she held it.

"These have an ambidextrous safety on them. Down is safe, up is ready to fire. Keep it on down for the time being until you need it. There's a map. We've outline different routes to take. Shift change is taking place now, so take the one that's in orange. Officer Michaelson will be at the bridge to let you cross. With martial law in effect, no one has approached it to leave, so they've only had one person manning it so far. However, if someone stops you, you don't stop. You have the weapons systems in the car. I did last minute maintenance last night so everything should be running smoothly. However, this… this I want back. You stop for no one, you get to Electric City, and the only person you talk to is the Governor. No one else. This is a tool to use to help you. If anyone threatens you dear, better you than them. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Dorothy stared at the gun. "Norman, I can't…"

"Dorothy, I want your word that if comes down to you and your children, or someone else, you will choose the former."

"Norman…"

"Your word, Miss Dorothy."

He said the last part so firmly, that she nodded, although in shock, setting the gun in the passenger seat. He tried handing her the comm once more.

"Please, I want you to reconsider this. Otherwise… how will we…"

"Roger made this mess, now he can lie in it. If he wants to know how well I'm doing, he can drive to Electric City and find out himself. I'm not coming back Norman!"

And with that, she yanked the driver's side door shut, and sped out of the hangar, nearly running into Beck who had showed up to begin work on Big O. Meanwhile, Roger heard the tires squealing as he was still in the back courtyard. He ran along the railing, following her car, jumping on top of the railing facing the southwest to watch her car disappear in the fog, the sound of it fading away. He remained, his face now covered in the reddish orange of the sky, straining to keep in what he wanted to let escape from him. He took a breath and jumped down. As he began walking away, he delivered a roundhouse kick to a flowerpot sitting on top of one of the stone columns, knocking it over, and breaking it. His eyes shaking, full of anger, not at her, but at himself.

"Damnnit," he muttered, and he walked back inside, shoving his hands in his pockets, stopping to stare at living room for a moment.

Memories began flooding him, haunting his mind. Dorothy teaching him piano, Dorothy and him dancing after their first date, kissing him, him losing his bet over a chess match from the holidays, her finally giving him her answer on Heaven's Day where she wanted the relationship to go and the subsequent events that followed. He looked away from the bedroom. There were too many memories in there and he didn't want to experience them.

He put his hands in his pockets, walking slowly to the lift, calling it. While he waited, he saw where he had tripped, trying to go after her because she had overheard him talking to Norman about her and his feelings for her. He shook his head, trying to shake the memory out. But now… now he understood why people focused on memories so much in the city. With the right people, they were priceless, and if used properly, forged a better present and future.

The lift arrived and he stepped inside, hitting the floor for the office. He shut the lift and the lift began to descend. How many conversations had happened in here… too many for him to remember. Him taking her by her hand to run to Instro's place when her favorite piano tune to wake him with became too much for him. Her talking about cases or their work out from the day. He leaned back into the lift, hard, the steel echoing briefly from the impact, trying to silence his mind, but the lift seemed to take forever to reach its destination.

He finally arrived at the office, wanting to look over some notes. As he pulled out his desk chair, he saw the two hour glasses she had given him, next to the photo Norman had taken of them during the play she had put on for the children at the clinic. Him holding her arm up in celebration as he grinned widely and she was both surprised and happy by the gift of roses he had given her, and wanting to celebrate the night with her. Roger looked away for a moment, gritting his teeth. Then he heard the unicorn buzzer ring on his desk. It was Norman, but he sounded very somber.

"Master Roger, Mr. Dale has called. It seems Big Ear has the information you are seeking. What do you plan to do, sir?"

"Get the bike ready. I'll be down in a minute."

"Understood, sir," and Norman signed off on the comm.

Roger pushed his chair back in, then went over to the two hourglasses Dorothy had given him and flipped them over.

"Twice the luck. Maybe… I'll see her again before they run out…"

He shook his head. Now he was just being stupid. He made his choice and she had responded with hers.

"Who am I kidding?" he muttered and he walked back to the lift, taking it down to the hangar. He stepped out, seeing Beck by the console, looking over some systems on Big O.

"Yo!"

Roger grunted back.

"Ah, okay then. Hi to you too. I'm installing some last-minute components. Should help with movement on the Tri-Sudden Impact arms."

Roger nodded, taking the keys, gloves, and wallet from the tray Norman was holding, while walking to the bike. Norman bowed as Roger put his leg over the seat, putting on his helmet. Roger noticed Norman holding Dorothy's comm. He scowled even more. Beck called out to him.

"Your Crow Bird left. Nearly ran me over. You two alright?"

Roger sighed. He didn't care if it was Beck. It was better to get it off his chest.

"No, not really. She's gone. All because I tried to do the right thing."

Beck raised his eye brow. "Doing the right thing is subject to interpretation."

Roger gave a short laugh. "Tell me about it."

"She'll come back."

"No… she won't. She told me she loved me. And I… told her the one thing I knew that would hurt her and get her to leave for safety. I told her I couldn't… and it was complicated."

Roger sat on the bike, but not before Beck yelled, "ARE YOU A MORON?"

Roger turned to look at Beck, raising an eyebrow. Beck was shaking his head, now walking over to the bike, while talking.

"Of all the things to say to her, especially while she's pregnant with your kids, are you. A. Moron? You may be Paradigm City's top negotiator, but you have no clue when it comes to love. That girl has admitted twice she loves you, albeit once I was controlling her, and once when I had you hostage, but she literally spills her heart for a third time, and you tell her you can't return the feelings and it's complicated? To the mother of your children? I ought to shoot you out of principle for being… what does she call you… oh yeah! A louse!"

Roger turned around, starting the bike.

"For once Beck, you're right," and Roger started the bike, securing his helmet.

"You'll know they'll spot you wearing this. Why are you not wearing a disguise?"

Roger shook his head, not caring anymore as he sped out of the garage, leaving Beck and Norman behind. Beck sighed and walked back to the console to check over the installation process. Norman followed him to assist him, setting Dorothy's comm down on the console.