The Cupid War by Timothy Carter Page B

… I’m sorry, Fallon. It should not have gone badly for you. Jada and Owen were sent to watch your back and intervene the moment the Suicide appeared.”
    â€œWell, they didn’t do a very good job, did they?” Fallon said.
    â€œThey captured and destroyed the Suicide,” Caleb pointed out.
    â€œMaybe they did,” Fallon conceded. “But they only caught one.”
    â€œThere was another Suicide?” Caleb said, meeting his eyes once more.
    â€œWorse,” Fallon said. “The second one wasn’t a dead person. It was my old friend, Susan Sides.”
    â€œThat’s not possible,” Alexander said. “A person becomes a Suicide after death, never before.”
    â€œWell, it’s true,” Fallon told him. “She’s the one that nearly finished me.”
    â€œFallon,” Caleb said, “what you are suggesting … ”
    â€œNot suggesting,” Fallon said. “Telling.”
    â€œ … is entirely without precedent,” Caleb finished.
    â€œThen I’ve got a first for you guys.” Fallon said. “I was on the floor, and she stepped in me. Literally stepped in me! The second that happened, it was like she suddenly knew I was there. She could see me, too! And she knew she was destroying me.” His voice sounded more defensive than he wanted, but he couldn’t help it. If these two wouldn’t believe his story, what chance was there that anyone else would?
    â€œI must report this to Louis,” Caleb said at last. “He’ll want to hear what you have to say.”
    â€œI doubt that,” Fallon said. “Say, Caleb? Who’s Sandra?”
    Caleb, who’d turned to walk out, stopped and hung his head.
    â€œSandra is Louis’s daughter,” Caleb said. “Please don’t mention her to him; it is a very painful subject.”
    â€œHow come?” Fallon asked, though he had a fairly good idea.
    â€œShe killed herself,” Caleb said, then he turned and left the room.
    It didn’t take Caleb long to find Louis. The Cupid boss stormed into the Healing Chamber ten minutes later, glaring with visible impatience.
    What a shock, Fallon thought as he sat himself up again.
    â€œCaleb tells me you’re making up stories about live Suicides again,” Louis said. “Get it straight—there ain’t no such thing, got it?”
    Fallon groaned and gave the Cupid boss the dirtiest look he could muster. Then he slapped Louis hard in the face.
    Louis, astonished, took a step back, eyes bulging. Caleb, standing behind him, was similarly shocked.
    â€œStop being stupid,” Fallon said. “I’m not making up stories, I’m telling you what happened to me.”
    Louis recovered his composure and raised his hand, fingers ready.
    â€œDon’t you dare!” Alexander shouted. “This is my Healing Chamber, Louis, and he is my patient. You will not discipline one of my patients while they remain under my care. Are we clear?”
    Louis looked at him for a long moment, then lowered his arm.
    â€œAre you ready to listen now?” Fallon asked.
    Louis shook with anger, ready to explode. He clenched and unclenched his fists and his eyes bored into Fallon like drills.
    Fallon was sorely tempted to push his luck, take advantage of the situation, but he did not. This was serious business, with too much at stake. Besides, while Caleb had been looking for Louis, Fallon had thought about what he’d said about their Cupid boss. He understood Louis a little better now, saw where he was coming from and what was driving him.
    But that didn’t mean he had to take his crap.
    Caleb stepped forward and gently laid a hand on Louis’s shoulder. “Let him speak,” he said. “I do not believe he is lying.”
    â€œYou owe me that much,” Fallon said.
    Louis took a number of deep breaths and visibly calmed himself down. Fallon guessed he didn’t do