13 Degrees of Separation (39 page)

“I know,” Olga said meekly, sobbing now. Mairi paced,
gritting her teeth in anger. She hated it with her mother cried. The silent
sobs were bad enough, the weeping she couldn't bear. Sometimes she thought her
mother turned the water works on purpose to get her to stop. She sighed.

“You promised me you wouldn't gamble. No more you said. I'm
tired of this Olga!”

Using her first name for the first time made her mother
look up as if she'd been slapped. “I am
still
your mother! How dare
you?”

“Don't give me that!” Mairi roared, eyes flashing in
undisguised scorn. “When
I
have to nurse you out of a hangover, when
I
have to bail you out
how
often? Chase off John's you've brought home...
made sure you've eaten...” She watched her mother wilt again under that
onslaught. Finally her mother couldn't bare it and took off crying, hands over
her face.

“Served her right,” Jake said nearby. Mairi turned her
glare on him. He winced and ducked.

“Stay out of it,” Mairi ground out and then ran a hand
through her hair, pulling on it. Damn it! What was she going to do?!?

...*...*...*...*...

On his way to the Yard Dog slip Savo turned as a body came
through the hatch. A familiar human smell cut through his wool gathering, he
turned to see Aaron Hill pass him. “What the hell? What are you doing here?” he
snarled in surprise.

Aaron turned his upper torso but kept walking. “Just
passing through Savo.”

“Bullshit. Stay out of my area you slike!” Savo snarled,
waving a fist at him. Aaron Hill had been one of his people on Kiev 221 and had
followed him over to the station when they'd gotten Prime up and running. He'd
recently shown his true colors when he'd quit working for the station and
started working for Bet your ass casino and loan sharking or whatever they
called themselves this week.

In a way he couldn't blame Aaron, at least his new bosses
didn't pretend not to be bottom feeders and scum. Sure they wore the suits and
crap same as the station council did but at least they were honest about their
intent when they rolled you for everything you had. He could understand that.

“Ah, don't be like that Savo old chum, how bout a beer
Friday?” Aaron asked. Savo chuffed, fist dropping. “First round on me. Usual
place?”

“Yeah fine,” Savo muttered waving Aaron on. Aaron waved a
backwards hand in passing and kept going. Savo turned and climbed through the
hatch and then ducked to one side as Olga came barreling through, head down
weeping. He turned, watching her go and then turned back to the bay. “What the
hell's going on?” he asked.

“Usual shit different day boss,” Jake said, polishing a
wrench. Savo turned to him. The kid racked the tool in its box and then closed
the lid. “Mairi's mom came in with Hill of all people. It got heated. Mairi's
pissed,” he said.

“Shit,” Savo muttered, turning back to the main bay just in
time to hear the loud clatter of something getting tossed around or kicked. He
winced. It sounded expensive. “I'll go talk to her,” he muttered entering the
bay.

Jake shook his head. “Someone ought to before she tears the
place apart,” he muttered.

...*...*...*...*...

Savo winced as he heard Mairi kicking angrily at a box.
“You done?” he asked, coming around the corner.

She looked up angrily, still bent over and rubbing at the
toe of her boot. “Hurt yourself?” he asked. She grunted and hopped to a crate
and then sat down. She pulled her boot off and hissed in pain.

“I'll say you did,” Savo said, looking at the bruise with a
critical eye. “Not smart,” he said, going over to the first aid kit on the wall
and pulling it down. He whistled at the dents in the boxes and crates. She'd
really been pissed. “Want to talk about it?” he asked.

Mairi grunted, still massaging her toe. He knelt, checking
it over. She sighed and then winced as his small brown hands touched her.
“Owe,” she said.

“Serves you right, what'd those boxes ever do to you?” he
joked.

“I'll pay for it. I'll pay for all of it.”

“Hey easy there,” Savo replied, looking up at her. His soft
brown eyes made her want to tear up. Her eyes stung. She angrily wiped at them.
“You've got the weight of the whole universe on your shoulders it seems. That's
not fair. You're a good kid.”

“Yeah well... life sucks.”

“Not always,” Savo murmured, spraying the bruise with
bruise relief. He loved the stuff, it zapped a bruise in hours, even cutting
down on any muscle aches and pain. It didn't do anything for joint pain, but it
was still cool. “I don't think you broke anything,” he said, glad her boots
were steel toed. “Nothin is hopefully broke over there either,” he said looking
over his shoulder to the crates.

Mairi looked up at the dents and then snorted softly. After
a few giggles she started tearing up for real, mortified that she was.

“Easy kid,” Savo murmured, setting the foot down and then
sitting beside her. She leaned over into him. He reached around her and wrapped
a long simian arm around her and let her cry. When she'd had her fill she
seemed to settle down, breathing easier.

“Ready to talk? Or do we go to stage two?” he asked.

“What's stage two?” she snuffled. He snorted as she sat up.
He pulled a red hanky out of his pocket and handed it to her. She dabbed at her
eyes and face and then blew her nose into it.

“We both get drunk and you pour your heart out into a beer.
My wives hate it when I do that though,” he replied. “We could skip to step
three if you think you are up to it,” he said with a slight smile.

“Three?” she asked stopping what she was doing to stare.

He chuffed. “Yeah, I take you to the dojo and we kick each
other's ass and then go get beer bombed,” he said. She laughed again, feeling
better.

“I think... talking,” she said.

“So? Talk,” he suggested.

He listened to Mairi as she told him her story, how she'd
been piloting the Bitch since she was 6, running errands, doing odd jobs and
nursing her mother. All to watch her mother throw the money away gambling.
“Cards, dice, stupid bets, it never mattered to my mother, she loves it all,”
Mairi said. “She keeps promising to quit, but...”

Savo grunted. He kicked his shorter legs, unsure how the
girl was going to take what he wanted to say. Finally he just decided to go
with it, let it happen. Either way she probably knew it already.

“You aren't going to like what I've got to say,” he
started.

“You're going to tell me to dump her?” Mairi asked. “Damn I
so want to. But what then? What does that make me look like?”

“Well, first off it's not what other people think of you
that really matters, it's what you think of yourself. If you can't live with
yourself you are really screwed kid,” Savo said, shrugging, hands on the edge
of the crate. “I was a career fuck up until someone straightened me out,” he
said.

“You were?”

“Yeah. Old security chief on Kiev used to hate me. He
decided a bit of hair of the dog that bit me was in order. Made me an MP and
had me clean up the messes others made. It sucked for a while but I got over
it. I found out I still got my fill of bar fights and action while not getting
drunk. It saved my marriage.”

“Oh,” Mairi replied in a small voice.

“Yeah. Some people though...” he sighed.

“She'll never learn,” Mairi said in a small voice.

“No, I'm afraid not,” Savo answered softly. “I'm... hell.
I'm sorry kid, your mom is a user and a loser. A deadbeat. I know...” he held
up a hand when she looked at him, eyes glittering. “I know you know this. You
just said so yourself remember?” Mairi was stiff with indignation, angry for
the insult. But he knew, and she knew he knew that she had to face it, one way
or another.

Mairi opened her mouth to object and then closed it. After
a moment her stiff back slumped and she sighed. After a moment she nodded.

 “It sucks really. Your mom is a good person face to face,
I like her don't get me wrong. But she'll always need someone because she'll
always have a problem, always get into trouble. She'll expect you to pick her
up until you aren't there, then she'll cry and boo hoo to get out of trouble or
until someone else helps her. It's her nature, she'll keep doing it and doing
it. There isn't any way to change it. Just like her gambling.”

“I... know.” Mairi wasn't happy about having someone point
it out to her. She was embarrassed that her family's dirty laundry was there
for all to see. It was humiliating. “What do I do about it?”

“That's up to you kid. If it was up to me I'd let her swing
the next time. Make yourself unavailable and she'll eventually get the message.
If she doesn't get killed,” he said.

She looked at him in shock and got up off the crate. She
turned without a word and stormed off.  He watched her go and sighed, shaking
his head. “And of course I put my foot in my mouth. Way to go Savo!”

Blindly, mostly by instinct, Mairi found her way to her
quarters. Arms crossed she paced in her quarters. She fumed, not just because
of what Savo had said, but because her mother wasn't here. Where the hell was
she? She knew damn well her mother didn't have a cent, she'd just blown it all!
So? Why the hell was she out and about now?

Could she be in trouble? Thoughts of her mother in a dark
alley, throat slit ran through her mind and she shivered. Damn the woman! It
would serve her right! She hesitantly reached for the phone and then stopped. 
No, most likely her mother would turn a trick to get enough credits to either
go gamble again or go get stinking drunk.

She threw herself in a chair, too worked up to eat. She
glanced at the digital display as she turned the wall screen on with the
remote. She had ten hours to get sorted out before her next shift started. She
needed to think she thought, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands. She
needed to bring her A game next shift. How could she do that though with this
going on? She realized the chimp was right after a while as she glanced at her
mother's closed door. She hated it, but he was right.

Six hours later her mother came home drunk and giggling.
She made it through the door but passed out on floor. Mairi made sure Olga was
still breathing and then left her there and went to bed. It'd serve her right
if she woke up in her own barf or sore.

...*...*...*...*...

D'red shook his virtual head, a human mannerism he'd picked
up over the centuries of interacting with only humans for virtual company. His
true arms wove discontent signs as Kennet paced in his virtual chambers.

“What the hell am I going to do! You're station council!
Think of something!”

“In this case I represent the stations interests. Your
actions are counter to those interests Mr. Kennet,” D'red said calmly, watching
the human pace. The pacing abruptly stopped however.

“You're kidding me! I'm on the council1 My interests are
the station's interests!”

“But you're a small part of the council. A small part.
There are other members remember? Their interests are also a part of the
station and its activities. You have put us in a precarious position, you're
activities are beyond legal and are damaging to the station. I've already sent
the other council members a warning memo.”

“You...” Kennet gaped at him. “You can't do that!”

“Ah, but I can. I told you, I represent the station not you
personally Mr. Kennet. I cannot in good conscious represent you in any legal
actions or in your upcoming bar hearing. To do so would put me into a conflict
of interest.”

Kennet stared, furious beyond words for a long time. “I...
Fine. I'll represent myself then,” Kennet ground out.

“I suggest you hire council. Remember the wise maxim, an
attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client,” the Veraxin
chittered. “I strongly suggest you mediate on that and your actions.”

“I'll do whatever I damn well please,” Kennet snarled,
disappearing.

D'red snorted. “Fool,” he said softly in his native
language.

...*...*...*...*...

When Petunia's shift had to cancel because Petunia had been
tapped to work on an emergency project on the station, Mairi was at ends on
what to do. Harif chased her out of the berth, he was busy working on machining
parts for other projects. Mairi headed to the bar. Alice smiled and took her
out to lunch and an ice cream.

Her weekly jaunts with Alice were turning into habit,
something she was starting to enjoy. Some of Alice's thoughts were rubbing off
on her, she felt more of a woman, more confident after talking with her. She
talked to Alice more than her mother, there was something there in the woman
that told her she was not only wise, but supportive.

Alice had a temper too, and a stubborn streak. She'd seen
her go toe to toe with Ralph, and even when Ralph threatened to belt her she'd
just glare and tell him to shut up. She'd been afraid they'd go to blows a
couple of times but that was before she had learned about play fighting. She
still didn't get the appeal, but they seemed to enjoy it, so whatever.