Perhaps Love "Ace! Ace!" Cosmo half-sobbed in his fever dream, thrashing frantically on the old cot in the abandoned building. The young man with the wild red hair and gregarious--if somewhat rebellious--personality was the assistant to Electrocity's most famous magician, Ace Cooper. Or had been. Ace Cooper had not fired him;instead the boy had run away eight--no, eleven-- days ago because he thought that he was a danger to his friend and employer. The lanky girl on the stool beside the cot watched the youth while her mind wrestled with the reason Cosmo had cited for leaving the Magician. Cosmo a danger? To himself, certainly, but to the Magician?! Not likely. There is a valid reason if he felt if he didn't leave that he would become a danger to his employer. Why in Light's names he would think that, I've no clue, but I sincerely hope Mr. Cooper's back from the mandatory three-day magician's conference because Cosmo needs him rather desperately. At that moment, Ace Cooper was pacing the Magic Express, talking to thin air. He was a slender, strong man a shade over six feet. His short black hair had two `bands' of pure white--one streaking down what was the part and a wide swath in the back that seemed to connect his ears. His clean- shaven face was handsome in a rugged sort of way with blue, deepset eyes that missed little; the mind behind the eyes was sharp, very sharp. Some said Ace's sense of humor was sharper still, but it was the intellect that gave him that wit. He was clad in almost unrelieved black--only a white dress shirt relieved the almost harsh formality he imposed on himself. For dramatic effect and sometimes warmth, he wore a cloak of black that was lined with red silk and a purple cummerbund. Prowling beside him was a panther of the same hue as glossy midnight. "Angel," Ace called familiarly to the waiting silence, "has Cosmo been in at any time this week?" "_Negative, Ace," replied a cool female voice--Ace's personal computer system that ran the Magic Express; he called it Angel-- "but a young woman did enter the Express seven times during the past days and fed Zina. Today, she left a message for you. Shall I replay it?" "Yes, please, Angel." "Mr Cooper. Cosmo is at 9th and St. James on the second floor of the only office building that's been in use in this mellenia. The electricity works still. I have been attempting to counsel him back to you; three days ago, I almost succeeded in doing so. Unfortunately, because he hadn't eaten anything in a week, the strain of hiding from searches, and almost no sleep, he's come down with a virus and I've been trying to take care of him. I can no longer do so or I'll catch what he has..." "Stop the message, Angel. Isn't 9th and St. James the place for the chaklari dealers?" "_It is a center of high criminal activity, much of it caused by juveniles living away from homes that do not want them for a variety of reasons. The building is one of a few twentieth-century buildings still standing in the area, though all infrastructure has been severely weakened by the last millenia's use. It has finally been abandoned for the most part, but it does still have electricity, heat, and water. However, I would advise extreme caution, Ace." "Is there more of the message?" "_Certainly. I have found a CD player and a CD of John Denver, a twentieth century folk singer and have found a song that will help you find where Cosmo is. It is called "Perhaps Love" a duet between John Denver and the tenor Placido Domingo and I have downloaded a sound file from the Electrocity Library for you... This song will be on continuos repeat--if I play it long enough, your assistant calms down for a while. End message, begin sound file." The music flowed out, rich and warm. Perhaps love is like a resting place, a shelter from the storm. It exists to give you comfort, it is there to keep you warm. And in those times of trouble, When you are most alone The memory of love will bring you home. Perhaps love is like a window, perhaps an open door. It invites you to come closer, it wants to show you more. And even if you lose yourself And don't know what to do, The memory of love will see you through. Ace was already moving. He got into a personalized hover car blazoned with a M in a yellow circle that denoted most property of Ace Cooper and headed north, his comm link pulsing with the song. When he reached the building, police cars were already there. Ace saw with relief that his old friend Vega was in charge of this search. "Dealers are everywhere, Ace," Vega remarked. "But what brings you here? It's not the chalkari dealers." "Cosmo is in that building there somewhere. A friend of his stopped by and tipped me off." "I'd seen Cosmo at the teen hangout until four days ago, but I didn't think that he had run away from you...Would you like me to send officers with you?" "Yes. If Cosmo is as sick as his friend alleged, I'll need a stretcher; if he's not, I want them to help him outside anyway." "Tena, Stan! Get a stretcher and follow Ace!" "Yes, sir!" The trio entered the building with caution and took the stairs instead of the elevator to the second floor. From down a long hall, a thread of music spun on the dust covered air. Love to some is like a cloud, For some as strong as steel. For some a way of living, For some a way to feel. And some say love is holding on And some say letting go And some say love is everything and some say they don't know. Cosmo lay on the cot, trying to focus. The music was the first thing he was able to discern, then he slowly opened his gritty eyes. And Ace was there, Ace had found him. Cosmo, lie still, "We're getting you out of here. Hold the stretcher low and level..." Cosmo felt nothing at all, no change, but the officers watched out the corners of their eyes as the Magician levitated his assistant from the cot then instructed the enforcement officers to move the stretcher below Cosmo's body as he removed the cot. Ace then let gravity pull Cosmo's body down to the stretcher. The Magician then cut the music by unplugging the CD player and taking it with him. Cosmo watched his guardian as long as he could before sliding back into uneasy sleep. Even the sun did not wake him when they reached the outside. A medic ran a diagnostic scan over the boy and then spoke to the Magician. "It's a virus, all right. He's lucky you found him, Mr. Cooper. A viral infection must run its course, but here are the proper medications to bring down the fever. These can be given in hot tea--try a strong mint to help cover the taste. Keep liquids in him and have him eat slowly. Rest goes without saying-- at least two weeks." "Come on, Ace. I'll help get Cosmo home. The dealers fled." Vega eased Cosmo into the police hover car, making sure the boy was comfortable on the stretcher. Ace got into his vehicle and in a matter of moments, they carried the teenager into the Magic Express. "Who alerted you?" the police officer asked. "That's a mystery. I never saw her--she used Cosmo's formal ID to gain entrance and fed Zina while I was away and left me a message and a twentieth century sound file. When I got there, Cosmo was the only being in the room." "Unusual. Obviously doesn't want to be seen...Well, Ace, use your judgment on this one. I trust you far more than the legal system. I have to head back to Headquarters and go to an officers' board meeting." "Good luck, Vega." Ace sighed and opened the CD player, removing the CD carefully. Finding a case for it, he then added the disc to the collection he and Cosmo had gathered. Perhaps love is like the ocean, Full of conflict, full of pain. A fire when it's cold outside; thunder when it rains. If I should live forever and all my dreams come true. My memories of love will be of you. "Angel, cut the sound file, please. Don't delete it." The song ended. The words still rang in the Magician's head, though, and he wondered about Cosmo's young friend. Two days later, the Magician was in his library when he heard a soft, wavering footfall. Two mugs and a pot of tea were on a table between two chairs. "Sit down, Cosmo." He heard the boy collapse into one old stuffed chair with a vast amount of relief before turning from the shelf and sitting in the chair opposite. He regarded the youth critically, noting the weakness, the pallor, but also the will behind the now clear eyes. "I guess I owe you an explanation, hunh, Ace?" The boy's voice was a whisper, hoarse and almost without inflection. "Maybe a small one. Here, have some tea." "Thanks." After a few moments, the boy began to speak again, "I felt I was becoming a danger to you, a handicap. It's always me in trouble anyway..." "So you left." "Yeah. During the day, I hung out at Tab's Arcade. Nights I spent in Daedelus Park. I met Marshall there my first night." "And Marshall is?" "The girl who was trying to convince me to come back. I made her promise not to tell any adult that I was runaway. Pretty dumb. You found me anyway after I got sick." Ace decided right then not to disclose that it was probably Marshall who had brought him to Cosmo. She would tell him herself, of that he was sure. "What does Marshall look like?" the Magician asked. " She used your ID card to enter and feed Zina; I'm taking her to task for doing that." "I asked her to do so, Ace... I realized pretty quick that I wouldn't be able to do it." "Even so, Cosmo, I am holding her responsible; since she did it on your behalf and request, I won't press formal charges. Now, what does she look like?" "The first thing I noticed when I met her was how much like a predatorial bird she seemed. It wasn't the way she looked--tall, brown wavy hair cut shoulder length with bangs, grey-blue eyes and dirty specs and long, bony limbs-- but the way she acted. She was always listening, with her head cocked to one side except when she was watching the world, drawing or telling stories...Ace, the stories she can tell! And her eyes would light up whenever she saw a hawk or falcon. I saw at least five pair, though, and it seemed as though they guarded her in rotation. It was weird." "Solitary?" "Yeah. She never came to the hangouts; she prefered the Library Annex Electrocity Museums, and the park. I don't know how she fed herself, but she gave me most of her electrodollar chits so I could eat. Oh, and she didn't want people to touch her; she flinched away when I tried to hug her. I got the impression she was hiding out from someone, but she never told me anything. I didn't ask." "Was she a good counselor?" There was a hint of humor in Ace's eyes. "First, she listened--like you're doing now. It was her questions that got me thinking." "Almost an unusual occupation for you," came the remark; Cosmo flushed crimson at the light barb. Ace noted this immediately and his voice and tone gentled in response. "Forgive me, Cosmo. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." "Nah, you're right. I should have stayed and talked with you sooner. I made you worry about me. Again." The boy's repentant tone was tinged with despair. He heard Ace get up and move, felt a hand on his shoulder. "Cosmo, you're not a failure. Without you, I might forget why I perform my shows and seek the truth in cases Vega has trouble with--I might have become like the twentieth century crime-fighter Bruce Wayne, bitter and angry. I would forget how to live." "But I--" "Hush. Listen." Angel had begun to play music, and the file was the newest one in her memory. The words of the song filled the room, easing the strained moment, soothing a young man's badly torn spirit and making the Magician smile with pleasure. Ace hauled the teen to his feet and had him sit on the couch. "Hey, Ace?" Cosmo's eyes were half-closed, sleepy as the medicine hit. "Hmm?" "Marshall told you, didn't she?" The teen curled up on the sofa. "Yes. How did you guess?" Ace grabbed a light blanket. "She really likes this song." Soft light fabric brushed the youth's hands. "Rest well, Cosmo." The Magician's voice came from a distance, soft. "Right, Ace." And the music played on. disclaimer: The Magician and all characters property of Gaumont Multimedia. "Perhaps Love" by John Denver Placido Domingo copyright 1981 Sony Music. Character of Marshall is mine, ask if you want to use.