What?

Chapter Fourteen

The day went by. I did the normal. I worked. I took a break every now and then. I had Wintergreen watch Robin for the rest of the day. The kid didn't want me there and I couldn't blame him. I had made him sick and who wouldn't hold a grudge for that? I wouldn't, so it doesn't surprise me that he would.

I trained in the gym. Simulations one after the other. Already a pile of debris was growing in the corner. I seethed some frustration as I breathed out. I was on level forty-three. I started on level fifteen. I wasn't angry, but being defeated only motivates me to try harder; to pull out more of what I've got. When Robin fails, he tries harder too.

I hate to lose and that was a real blow of defeat. Why was it defeat? The kid was just there; so dependent on others or mainly me. He struggled, but still, it was only in his fruitless fight for independence which he couldn't have then...or now. Robin is a free-spirited teenage boy. He's one where the only way that he'll be loyal is if he wishes to be. It's getting him to wish that's the challenge. I was so close to getting him to set down from the flight. I was so close to getting the bird to sniff at the seeds lying on the ground from the tree above him.

It's a matter of luring someone in. People won't want to be pushed towards what they feel is dangerous, so what makes Robin any different? Of course, Robin's own stubbornness is what keeps this from being anything but 'imprisonment' as he calls it. The kid is so much like me, in more ways then he realizes. It's frustrating, but still I can overcome it. It's like a fish and a hook. The boat is intimidating and not something that the fish wishes to go near. If you push a fish towards the hook with a net, then the fish will immediately swim away. If you wait and give it time, the fish will come for the little worm on the end of the hook. Then you have your prey, your goal.

And I screwed it all up, big time with one small sentence. He could have swam or flown closer, but no. I messed that up.

'Idiot.'

"Master Wilson, I brought you some... my word..." Wintergreen came in and it was clear that he had just spotted the mess my gym room was, "Master Wilson, I must insist that you stop."

"And why might that be, Wintergreen?" I breathed out as I went to start another simulation, level forty-four.

"Sir, beating your best robots to pieces is just a waste of supplies and resources," he walked over to the simulation station.

"I'm a criminal, I can steal more," I replied, determined to keep training.

"Slade," Wintergreen's tone changed, "The boy was likely to find out anyway. You need not beat yourself or your robots up for that matter because of that. I suggest, you go out and get some fresh air."

I nodded, "You don't mind cleaning up the mess?"

"No, just as long as you relax for the rest of the day."

"Fair deal."

I knew that dragging out a failure is not exactly helpful, although failure is something that I'm not accustomed to. I couldn't work. I really couldn't work. Wintergreen was right. I went out again in civilian clothes. That's twice in one week and not like me at all. I try to keep a low profile. So instead of sticking around the slums, I took a cab towards the outskirts and then another downtown. Big skyscrapers, cars running around like the sky would fall if they didn't get to their destination, people walking briskly from bus stops to their offices, the city, in other words. What a city was!

When I got there, I had no idea what I was doing there. I decided I just needed air. I walked for a good couple OF hours, just passing shops and crossing the street when needed. At one point I came to the park. Normally, I wouldn't go to such an open area, but something was egging me to do so. I walked around. Teenagers were playing volleyball. Elderly men played chess. Families were having picnics in front of a perfect view of the bay. I sat down on the grass. It was a clear day, not a cloud in the sky and the sun was leaning on the far side trying to touch the horizon. The gnats weren't bothering anyone, or at least not me.