Chapter 5 AN: My deepest apologies for taking so long to update. I really have no excuse. I went away for Christmas and just got out of the habit of sitting down and devoting time to this story. I will be gone again at the end of the month, but hope to get in a few more chapters until then. Still no Brian and Justin action yet, but it will come. I know I'm taking a long time to get them together, but I'm trying to develop the technology and background. --------------------------------------------------------------- Brian sat on the plane tapping his fingers incessantly against the armrest. After two hours Lindsay thought that she might actually kill him and grabbed his hand. "Please, stop. I know you're nervous, but you're going to make me do something drastic to you." "I'm not nervous. I'm Brian Kinney. I don't get nervous," Brian tried to smile in her direction, but Lindsay noted it looked more like a grimace. Lindsay just sat there looking at him, holding his hand, saying nothing. Brian finally relented. "Okay, I'm nervous. I am unwilling to admit, though, that I'm scared shitless." Lindsay chuckled at that. Just the mere admission of not having that last expressed feeling meant that, of course, he was scared shitless. They had spent three days in Pittsburgh running through tests at Digital Iris, only to be told that they were going to be flying to Switzerland to have the surgery performed. This was definitely not something that Melanie had informed Lindsay or Brian was a possbility. But due to FDA standards, the procedure was not sanctioned in the United States, so off to Europe they went on 24-hours notice. The only upside to the whole ordeal seemed to be that at least they were being flown there on a private jet. Brian didn't know if he could stand being around all of those people in an airplane terminal, or even on board a plane. He had to admit to himself that having cloistered himself away out at the lake had almost made him semi-agoraphobic. He especially hated being around people when he couldn't see their reactions to his blindness. Brian reached out his hand to the floor of the jet, and was met with a soft muzzle in his hand. Shadow was still his ever-present shadow. He had to admit to himself that he was actually beginning to like the dog; and not just because of what he was going to be able to do for him, but just because of his quiet companionship and nature. The dog definetely was starting to have a calming influence on him. ------------------------------------------------ After eight hours of flight, they finally landed in Geneva and were met by a limousine and whisked off to the medical facility where the procedure was to be performed. Arriving at the clinic they were met by Melanie. "Lindsay, Brian, I see that you've arrived safe and sound," Melanie smiled in their direction. "We're here, Dr. Markus," Brian said. "Although I would like to lodge a complaint against your intended here. She threatened me with bodily harm." "Only because you were driving me fucking nuts with your incessant fidgeting." Melanie couldn't help but laugh. Brian was trying to put up a brave front, but she could read the signs. The man was frightened, but she didn't blame him. He was undergoing an experimental procedure. Although the procedure had been done before, with varying degrees of success, she wasn't quite willing to divulge all of that information quit yet. "Brian, Lindsay, this building is divided into two separate facilities. There is a medical side and a residential side. We're going to take you into the medical side. We're going to keep you there for about a week. We'll be running a few more tests before the procedure is done to install the implant in your brain and into Shadow's brain. While all of this is going on, Lindsay will be staying in the residential section. So, kids, say goodbye to each other for a bit. You're both going to be on your own," Melanie explained to them. Lindsay looked at Brian and could actually see the panic that was crossing his face. Not only was he in a strange place surrounded by unknown people, but he was going to be without her for at least a week. She wrapped Brian in a hug and tried to reassure him. "I'll be here when you get out, you asshole. I'm not going anywhere." "Geez, such kind words from my fanclub," Brian laughed. And then quietly he whispered into Lindsay's ear, "You better be. I don't know what I'd do without you, you know?" At that last statement, Lindsay let out a sob as Brian was escorted by Melanie into one part of the hospital while someone had taken her bag and was asking her to follow them. ------------------------------------------------- Five days had elapsed since Justin was ambushed by his mother and ex-asshole. Justin chuckled at that last thought. Well, I have to find some kind of humor somewhere in this whole messed up piece of shit that is my life right now, he said to himself. After leaving Martin by the lake, he had power walked halfway around the lake trying to put Martin's physical presence behind him and trying to extricate all of the thoughts that were running around in his head. Luckily when he got back two hours later, the house was quiet and everyone was gone. He had gone about his normal everyday routine, trying to put some normalcy back in his life after that event. He was coming back from the grocery store in town, and he glanced down to Brian's cabin. Lindsay had asked him to clean up the place while they were gone, so he might as well check it out this afternoon. Justin had to admit that he was putting it off, just because he didn't want to seem too eager to learn more about his reclusive neighbor. His mind kept returning to the memory of the rainy afternoon when he had found him scared and shaking by the tree. When he had touched him, he felt something; and, damn, the man smelled good. Stop it, he said to himself. I don't know the guy, and he sure as hell is not interested in me. I definitely do not need a man in my life. In fact, from here on out, I am swearing off of men. Justin looked at his right hand. You, my friend, are it for awhile, I am afraid. As Justin pushed open the cabin door, he was shocked. The place was a disaster. There were papers strewn everywhere and a sink full of dishes in the kitchen crusted over with food and flies everywhere. Even some furniture seemed to have been pushed over. Well, when Mr. Kinney has a temper tantrum, he has a temper tantrum, Justin noted. Then Justin felt guilty about having that thought. Maybe the temper tantrum was my fault for trying to help him. Did I humiliate him when I tried to help him? Did I treat him like I would a child, so he had acted like one? Justin took a deep breath and waded into the living room, straightening the furniture and picking up the papers. It really wasn't all that bad once he got started. There really wasn't all that much furniture. The space was kept open, of course, so even a blind person could get about. Duh, Justin! Justin noted that a lot of the papers were bills, but there were some personal things amongst them. He tried his best not to be nosy and read any of them. The kitchen was another thing altogether. It seemed to take forever. The dishes took a lot of soaking to get the caked-on food off of them. Once that was complete, he decided to tackle the refrigerator, and it seemed that everything in it would have to go. Justin found a mop and cleaned the kitchen floor. When Justin opened the bedroom door, a similar sight met him. There were papers and photographs all over the floor. As Justin was picking up the photographs, he saw one of a smiling Brian. He had his arm draped around another man who Justin, of course, didn't know. Oh, Mr. Kinney, if only I had met you before the asshole! In the pictures Brian looked so different to the Brian that he had met that day. He seemed so full of life and so vibrant. Sitting on the bed Justin found a book, "Braille Made Easy" along with some audiotapes. The tapes were still in their wrappers, and the spine on the book still looked fresh and had never been cracked. The receipt was five months old. Brian had never even attempted to learn to read braille. You refuse to accept your blindness, Justin thought, and then you get stuck in the dark. He shook his head slightly, sensing that that statement could apply to him also. Wasn't he up here hiding, too; keeping himself safe, stuck away in his own darkness? Is that why Brian had come all the way out here, to surround himself with his blindness? Why have I come all the way out here? Justin finished up the last of the cleaning and took a look around the cabin to see if he had missed anything. Seeing that the cabin looked habitable again, he sat on the couch. Justin looked around the room, trying to memorize it. He closed his eyes, stood up, and turned a half turn, imagining where he pictured in his head the kitchen to be. He took some hesitant steps in that direction and after a half a dozen steps came into contact with the wall. So this is what it feels like, he thought. My only saving grace is that I can voluntarily open my eyes and see, and Brian can't do that. He lives everyday with such anger and bitterness that he can't see. Justin opened the door to the porch and took in a breath of fresh air and looked at the view of the lake. He has never seen this, he thought. -------------------------------------------------- Brian awoke feeling groggy and with a bitch of a headache. He tenderly touched his face and head, only to find that it was covered with surgical gauze. "Ah, you have awoken, Herr Kinney," Brian heard a voice say. "Who the hell are you?" "I am Willam. I will be assisting you in some tests, and also will be getting you hooked up to Shadow when the time is right." "How is Shadow?" "He is fine. He came through the surgery wonderfully well, just like you. The doctor will be here momentarily, so please just relax." Brian could hear the door opening and sensed the presence of another person in the room. The voices stayed low and quiet, but it didn't matter anyway as they chatted in German. "Herr Kinney, I would like you to meet Dr. Raab." "Mr. Kinney, I was the one who performed the surgery on you, and then subsequently on Shadow. I would like you to just relax while I take off the dressing." Brian could feel the cooler air of the room hit his head as the surgical dressing was removed. He then felt the doctor's fingers gingerly touching something behind his left ear. "Ah, everything looks very good. How do you feel, Mr. Kinney?" "Good." "If you want, let me guide your hand and you can touch the interface that we have installed." Brian felt his hand being guided to just behind his left ear. It was strange, to say the least. He felt as if he had just discovered some kind of growth on his head. He had expected everything to be above the skin, but when he felt it, he could feel the layer of skin over it. "Give it time, Mr. Kinney. After awhile you won't even notice it. The implant picks up impulses through the skin with the coupler on top. As I said, after awhile you won't even notice or think about it. The impulses will be relayed to the cortical implant via the implanted circuitry. Are you ready to begin?" "Hell, yes," Brian practically yelled.