They stood on the catwalk, trapping each other in a stare that overflowed with relief, exhaustion, and suspicion. M’s eyes narrowed to a slit as he slowly backed away from Jr., keeping his hand near the handle of his trusty grappling gun.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’m here to get you out of here. I have a safehouse 2 miles away; if we leave now, we can make it before Mr. G arrives.” Jr. replied warily. “Don’t ask questions, we don’t have time. Just come.”
“Justifié did it. She killed Antonio, didn’t she?”
“Don’t worry about L’Amour; she’s in business for herself. Come on, we can talk about this later.”
“But… Miss Lanning… she veiled me just before…”
“M, COME ON! This is our only chance!”
They stood locked in each other’s eyes, each one trying to read the thoughts of the other. So much was at stake for both men: if M went with Jr., he might be delivered straight into the hands of Mr. G. Or, it could mean safety and a chance to save the world from interbreeding of the alien species. The silence consumed both men, with so much to be said… yet they had both said everything already. This was M’s decision, and as his Kenneth Cole wristwatch almost imperceptibly ticked away at their remaining time, M’s thoughts ticked just as mercilessly towards a decision that could mean everything.

“No. I’m sorry Jr. This is where we go our separate ways.”

Jr.’s expression changed instantly from expectation to disappointment, to disbelief, to panic; he surely didn’t expect this. Suddenly, the door behind Jr. burst open and as Mr. G strode through the doorway Agent M’s hands closed on the handle of his grappling gun. G, without hesitation and without a doubt, walked directly to Agent Jr. and forcibly grabbed his arms.
“Do it, M.” Jr. said pleadingly in a soft whisper, “It’s the only thing left.”
Mr. G yanked Jr. backwards toward the doorway with a fleeting, secure glance at M. Agent Jr. looked at M for the last time before being pulled through the door and pleaded one last time:
“Kill me.”

Agent M clenched his jaw to keep his vision from blurring from tears, and knew that a quick death would be more merciful for his old partner. He took a quick breath and without thinking drew his grappling gun and pointed it straight at Jr.’s heart.
Without a word, he pulled the trigger.

The grapple shot out of the gun and impacted squarely on the center of Jr.’s chest. He was soundlessly knocked back by the force, teetering in G’s grip which had slackened from the shock, and his eyes remained on M until the moment they closed. Mr. G unexpectedly let out a merciless laugh; a cold, dead sound that echoed the loving murder. As Agent M prepared to abandon his gun and make his escape, Agent Jr.’s eyes suddenly popped back open as he stood fully upright, an odd glaze covering his eyes. M looked down at the wretched wound in Jr.’s chest with the grapple still in it, and noticed an odd green substance where the blood should have been. Mr. G’s laughter rang throughout the rafters:
“You fool! All this time you’ve been trusting an android! Did you really think that he was human? Or ever on your side?!!”
The anger boiled within Agent M and he stood there, trembling with tears. In a rage he pulled the trigger again, retracting the grapple with a taught, wet sucking sound that followed. The grapple reached the barrel of the gun and as M looked down, horrified, he saw the human heart that had been pierced by the grapple still stuck to it with cables and androidal tissue hanging off. He reached down and pulled the heart from the gun and held it in his hand as he looked back at Agent Jr., who still stood there with an empty look in his eyes. The android turned wordlessly and followed Mr. G through the doorway and out of M’s life forever.
Agent M, breathless, full of anger and tears, looked down at what he was holding:

The heart had begun to bleed. A human heart within an android.
Still full of real blood, still fully intact, and still beating.

***

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?!” A voice positively boomed from across the catwalk. Agent M looked up and to his surprise saw five people standing and posing rather a bit self-consciously in the doorway: Frenchie dressed in a tan waistcoat wearing enormous black sunglasses, Miss Lanning wearing a black shiny pleather catsuit and smiling within a halo of amber-colored light that only God knows where it was coming from, and three strangers: One was dressed in a tuxedo, holding a magnifying glass that could have come straight out of a bad mystery novel and smoking, yes, a pipe. One was dressed in a red, white, and blue spandex bodysuit with a bright yellow cape and not just smiling, but SMILING with a head of sandy blond hair that could quite possibly withstand another Hurricane Katrina. The third was a short, stout old man grinning perilously and wearing a black leather patch over his right eye with a monicle over it.

“Give me that, M.” Frenchie said, “I’ll take care of it. Now let’s get out of here -
we’re starting a new Agency.”

to be continued…

1. The Chronicles of Agent M: Part III, Le Vestiaire
2. The Chronicles of Agent M
3. The Chronicles of Agent M: Part II, Connections Are Made
4. The Chronicles of Ms. Lanning
5. The Sea of Rum, Chapter I: The Seven Ghey Virgens