Act 1
"Hey rookie, what's up?"
Hair of all colors swept to the side as the mare shook her head.
"...it's nothing..."
*****
Chapter 1
"Geez, what's with old dying geezers and fancy houses?" the man in the long white lab coat asked. His brown hair had been cruelly cut with a pair of scissors and a bowl. A pair of glasses hung on top of his nose. In his arms was a large grey box. His feet seemed to sink into the muddy path leading to a large house, the kind he had been referring to. "I think the guy has his own airfield. It's like, after you turn eighty, you get a manor instead of cake."
"None of these houses were just handed out, Neil," said the woman next to him. She wore a similar outfit. Her black hair that flowed freely to her shoulders complimented her ebony face. Her arms lacked the heavy load Neil had; instead, she held a large umbrella to provide shelter from the downpour. Rain fell like bullets.
"If you want to live a nice house like this," she continued, "you'll have to work hard and stop spending all your money on IKEA products you end up giving away."
"If I did that, I'd deserve a mansion already," Neil grumbled. "With like five hundred servants. That are robots. And monkeys. Yeah, robot monkey servants."
"You're impossible," the woman said with a sigh.
"And why do I have to carry this thing again?" he complained.
"I carried it last time."
"No y-"
The woman slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She swiped the screen a few times with her finger then shoved it in Neil's face.
"Wha-"
"It's a calendar. I've been keeping track ever since that tantrum you had."
Neil grumbled. He looked carefully for their last job. "September 21st...Client: Lara Frey...E. Rosalene's turn to carry...darn."
"See?" she said, putting the phone back in her pocket. "It's your turn. Besides, do want a repeat of last week?"
Neil shuddered. Lara may have been dying but she still had the energy to rant and rage on the death of chivalry. Ms Frey had given her last scolding right before collapsing and Dr Watts had been on the receiving end.
"Whatever. Lets just out of this rain." He and Eva shivered as a gust of wind blew by. Their thin lab coats provided little protection.
"Well, at least the house is probably heated," said Dr Rosalene. "Or at least dry."
"Think they've got coffee?"
"Since when do they ever?"
Neil sighed. His glasses began to slip down. "This is gonna be another long night."
*****
"Oh, thank you for coming in such a short notice," the young woman who greeted them said as she held the door open. She was younger than Eva, with with only the slightest amount of white on her blond head. She wore a simple yellow dress.
"Why don't any of the caretakers ever wear maid outfits?" Neil whispered as the woman led them through the house. "I know that'd happen if I was in charge. Rawr."
Eva shushed her colleague and instead turned her attention to the house's interior. It was definitely larger on the outside but it still beat her own flat by a wide margin. What struck her was the decorum; pictures of avian vehicles, both in action and on runways. Jets, biplanes, helicopters, even rockets followed the three down the hall. It was a definite change from the painting she had become used to in a house like this, landscapes and portraits and the like.
"This guy sure likes to fly," hypothesized Eva.
"What ticked you off? The pictures of airplanes?" Neil responded with a scoff. "Another guy wanting to go to the moon?"
"Who knows? Maybe..."
The three found themselves in front of a winding staircase. To the left was a dining room which lead to the kitchen by another path. On the left was a living room with a large entertainment center consisting of four large speakers and a wide-screened television.
"Huh, will you look at that," Neil said. "No piano."
"So?" his partner said quizzingly.
"Well, I dunno. Doesn't it feel weird?"
"Not really."
"We used to have a grand piano here actually," the young woman chimed in. "But Robert gave it away to the elementary school's music program. He's been giving all his life and now that it's coming to an end, he's giving even more. That television is actually now mine." She shook her head. "I'd never be able to afford something like that but the kids love it and it keeps them out of my way." She sighed then suddenly smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, I'm such an idiot. I'm Jessica, Jessica Shoichet."
"A pleasure." Eva shook Linda's hand. "I'm Doctor Eva Rosalene. And my associate-"
"The Doctor."
"-Doctor Neil Watts," she finished with her teeth clenched.
"The 'the' isn't optional, you know," Neil said with a sigh. "Neo works too if you like," he said to Jessica with a wink.
"I'm sorry, is that a reference? I don't have much time to play video games."
Neil's jaw dropped. "...buh...huh..."
"Maa!" came a sudden voice. A small blond head popped out from behind Jessica's dress. "Drew won't share the Nintendo!"
"Nuh uh," said another child who appeared to materialize from thin air. He was not much older and had brown hair. "Besides, it's only one player anyways."
"Make him share!"
"No, it still my turn!"
"Peter! Andrew! Enough!" the mother scolded. "Can't you see we have visitors? What do you say?"
"Are you gonna see Mr Bob?" The older, brown-headed boy asked. "That's not fair! Why can't we go see him? We made him a card and everything!"
"These people are going to help Mr Bob. Remember? I told you some very important people were coming soon"
"Are you gonna make Mr Bob all better?" the younger asked.
"Well...I..." Eva stuttered. How could she answer the child that no, none of the fancy equipment Neil was carrying could save the old man? She turned to to her partner for assistance but Neil was just as speechless.
Jessica came to their rescue. "Now now, boys," she interjected. "If you two are so loud, how will Mr. Bob get any rest?"
"Oh..." Peter, the younger, said. He averted his gaze shamefully.
"Sorry," his brother, Andrew, said, just as embarrassed.
"It's alright," their mother assured. "Why don't you two go watch some movies and leave everything to these two?"
The boys' expressions brightened. "Okay!"
"Come on," Jessica said to the two Sigmund Corp employees. "I'll show you to Robert."
"Hold on," Neil quickly said. He leaned over to the children and asked, "What do you two know about...The Matrix?"
"Is that console or PC?" Peter asked.
Neil groaned. "Such insults to the classics and to culture must be corrected." He tossed the case into the arms of his partner and followed the boys into the living room. He began to examine the shelf that displayed rows upon rows of DVDs and CDs. "Next thing you'll be telling me the prequels were the best of Star Wars."
"Nuh uh," exclaimed Andrew. "Episode seven was the best!"
"Ngh..."
"Neil," Eva called. "Quit wasting time."
"Give me a moment...man, this guy's got quite the collection."
It was true. Classical movies mingled with sitcom seasons and cartoons. At last, Neil found his quarry between a boxed collection of Sean Connrey filmography and a faded copy of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: The Friendship Express.
"Neil..."
"In a minute," Neil called back. "Let me just watch a first scenes, maybe the first fight...just a couple of hours..."
"NEIL!"
"Alright, alright." He handed the black box to Andrew. On the front was a picture of three people dressed in black and with dark glasses. All wielded a gun or two and green symbols fell from the sky.
"Don't repeat anything you hear to your mother and don't watch the sequels." And with those last bits of advice, Neil hurried back to his partner.
"You're impossible," Eva said, shaking her head.
"You've said that already."