Trial X6

Mini Fella

  Leaning on the refrigerator and eating a sandwich, I watched the TV Alec had dragged into the kitchen. He sat at the table, flicking through the channels, and everything that was on was about the transgenic murder from six days ago. There were interviews, hover drone footage replays, and dramatic, over-exaggerated stories from news anchors.

  "Oh yeah, I bet Manticore's gonna write you a big fat check for that one, buddy." Alec said with food in his mouth while holding the remote towards the TV. He had one leg resting on the edge of the table and trash was littered everywhere. He clicked off the TV and got up. "Josh?" He called out while exiting the kitchen. Finishing my sandwich, I went into the living room. Joshua was painting more portraits of Annie.

  "I said I know, Alec." Joshua was looking down at the shorter transgenic as someone entered the house. Alec nodded.

  "'Kay."

  "Hey, little fella." Joshua said to Max as she came in with a paper bag.

  "Hey, big fella." Max smiled.

  "Well, I guess that makes me medium fella," Alec popped off while watching Max hand Joshua the paper bag. "and you're the mini fella." He smirked at me. Giving a small warning growl, I narrowed my eyes.

  "Got you some food and stuff." Max said as Alec was peeking into the bag, and Joshua was putting down his paint.

  "You get those little pretzels I asked for?"

  "Hey!" Max smacked Alec's hands away from the bag.

  "Max, come on! I'm stuck here, you know, an innocent man, framed for the murder committed by his twin?" Max rolled her eyes at him. "You know, I was thinking about selling the story to Hollywood and make a great TV movie. What do you think?"

  "Here." Max handed him a paper and passport.

  "What's this?"

  "Fake birth certificate to prove you had a twin, and fake passport to prove you weren't in the country when the murders were committed."

  "Ah, this ought to be enough to clear the charges." He looked up with a grin. "Thanks, Max." He said lowly.

  "You owe me twenty-five hundred bucks." Alec raised his eyebrows at her. "Guy's best in the business. Same guy Logan uses." She smiled. Alec tapped the passport on the birth certificate and whistled.

  "How's, uh, how's Logan anyway?"

  "I wouldn't know." We all looked at Max. "Come on, go get dressed. Twenty-five hundred is a lot of deliveries."

  "Yeah...." Alec sighed. "Yeah." He went to his room to get dressed.

  "So I'm thinking of swinging by here tomorrow." Max stood next to Joshua to watch him paint.

  "I'll be here." His face was sad as he brushed the black paint onto the canvas, making the shadows of Annie's hair.

  "See ya." Max pat his shoulder. Shaking my head slightly, I went to put my shoes on to go to work.

~

  "Hallelujah." Normal said while watching the TV and leaning against a concrete column. Max, Alec, and I stood next to him to see what was going on on the TV.

  "Who the Hell is that?" Max asked.

  "That is the Right Reverend Terry Caldwell, a man not afraid to speak the truth, gally-gal."

  "If I'm hearing you correctly, Reverend, is that you don't believe the transgenics should be accourted even the most basic human rights?" The interviewer asked.