Part 34 (1/2)

Mark looked right into Courtney's eyes. She may have been hurting and weak, but her eyes told the real story. The fire was there. She wasn't going down without a fight. Mark took her right hand and squeezed it.

”Me too” was all he said.

An hour later Mark and Andy were watching TV in their room at the Derby Falls Motor Lodge. It was a cheesy room with two beds that smelled like disinfectant, but they were comfortable. Andy was busy with the remote control, trying to figure out how to get the in-room movies for free. Mark's mind was elsewhere. He hadn't said much since they left the hospital. There was so much on his mind, most of which he couldn't share with Andy. He decided to focus on Courtney, and her health. At least everyone was on the same page there.

Andy gave up and flicked off the TV with the remote. He sat up and started putting on his sneakers. ”I'm going out for a smoke.”

Mark watched him for a second, then said, ”This is weird.”

”Gee, you think?” Andy said sarcastically.

”I don't mean Courtney,” Mark said. ”I'm talking about you and me. Let's be honest. We hate each other.”

Andy struggled with his shoe, then said, ”I don't hate you, Dimond. We're just on different frequencies.”

”Yeah, well, I hated you,” Mark said with a smile.

Andy smiled too and said, ”I don't blame you. But hey, things happen for a reason, right?”

”I don't know what else to say butathank you,” Mark said sincerely. ”If it weren't for you, Courtney might bea” He couldn't finish the sentence. ”You're an okay guy.”

Andy nodded. ”Yeah, whatever.” He stood and walked for the door. ”You know,” he said. ”Maybe something good will come out of this.”

”How do you figure that?” Mark asked.

”Bad things sometimes bring people together,” Andy said. ”You and I, we're pretty different. But when it comes to some things, like Sci-Clops, we click.”

”True,” Mark said.

”And we didn't kill each other on this trip. Not yet, anyway.” Mark chuckled.

Andy continued, ”Maybe we should think about working together on something.”

”Like what?” Mark asked, surprised.

”I don't know. We both got our own projects going-you got the code thing and I'm working on the plastic steel. Maybe there's a way to, like, combine them. You know, two heads are better than one and all that.”

Mark nodded thoughtfully.

*Think about it,” Andy said, opening the door. ”I'll be right back.”

Andy closed the door behind him. Mark chuckled again to himself. As if he didn't already have enough to deal with. Never in a million years did he ever think that he and Andy Mitch.e.l.l would become friends. The idea of actually working together on something was an even bigger stretch. Yet for Mark, neither seemed out of the question. Andy wasn't the guy he'd thought he was. There was more going on there. Mark wasn't a psychologist. He had no idea why some people became bullies and others victims. So much of what Andy had done to him over the years, all the torture, seemed so trivial now. There were bigger things to worry about. Way bigger things.