I, Human

Fate of The Stranger | The Father

"Mr. Moorcock, Mr. Moorcock have you heard the news?"

The older man pulled his olive trench coat tighter around himself and ruffled the paperboy's greasy hair.

"How couldn't I have," he picked a rolled-up newspaper out of the basket on the boy's bicycle, "with the best paperboy in London keeping me informed."

The boy's face lit up and he puffed out his chest a bit. Mr. Moorcock handed him a coin and the boy put it in the pocket of his overalls before cycling away. Mr. Moorcock jammed the paper in his armpit and continued his trek, pulling out his pipe and placing it between his teeth. He patted his coat and searched his pockets, cursing when he realized he'd left his lighter at home.

"Ho, Daniel!" His expression further soured at the sight of the bespectacled man.

"I swear Phil if another person asks if I've heard the news, I'm going to bash my head in with my cane." He gripped the cane like a sword.

"If you are going to kill yourself, then why are you waving it at me?" Phil lowered one of his raised hands and guided the cane away from himself. With his other hand, he fished a lighter out of one of his numerous trouser pockets. "Regardless, I come in peace."

Daniel eyed the lighter that Phillip proffered and took it with a smile. He lit his pipe and took a long drag, feeling the heat tickle his lungs and make him more alert. He blew out a stream of fragrant smoke and passed the lighter back.

"What's an old man like you doing always pulling the pipe anyways?" Philip pocketed his lighter and his hands, following Daniel as he walked.

"Forty-five is still young enough to teach you a lesson in manners kid."

"Sure, sure, you believe that."

Silence fell and Daniel was content to let it hang. This time of spring was always chilly and he preferred to keep his breath and heat on the inside, only parting his lips for a smoke. Phillip had other preferences, he twiddled his thumbs and opened his mouth now and then.

"So, Dan," he began.

Daniel sighed; it was only a matter of time. "Of course, I've heard. It has probably spread from Seattle to Hong Kong by now."

"And?"

"And what," Daniel spat.

"What do you think it is?"

"Phillip my good man, I have seventeen pending patents, two lawsuits, and a downed shipment. The last thing on my mind is the Aspect's mystery cargo." He exaggerated the last two words for his benefit more than Phillip's comprehension.

Phil was silent for a while. Daniel's tone and words were harsh but that was every day Daniel. "Yet, you're going to the airport?"

"No, I'm going to get to the steamcar."

"To take you to the airport?"

"Do you know someplace where I can find a dragon?" Daniel took Phil's evident confusion as his answer, "Then I'm taking the steamcar to the airport."

Daniel heard a shrill whistling noise and stopped at the road crossing. The steamcar came rattling around a bend moments later, red and gold metal gleaming in the sun. The white sprocket sigil of the Royal Engineers' Institute was emblazoned proudly on its side. The vehicle stopped in the middle of the road and Daniel, Phillip, and the stream of people he made a point of ignoring clambered onto the trainlike vehicle. It whistled twice and jerked twice as it started moving along the special track constructed for it.

Phillip pulled out his copy of the newspaper and started reading. Daniel did the same, glossing over page after page that wrote only about speculations of the new discovery. Annoyed, he threw the paper out of the window, attracting the attention of the person sitting in the opposite lane. The teenager with a cap his coat barely hanging off his skinny shoulders narrowed his eyes at him and then widened them in surprise and recognition.