04:01
Episode 4: Milk Run Mechanix
Part 1
Laurel Swanson and Violet Capagio sat on vinyl-covered chairs in the kitchen of Laurel’s house. While Laurel watched, Violet unwrapped her bandaged shoulder. The gauze crunched as it was unwound and dried blood fell away in flakes. Wind by wind the skin was revealed and when the shoulder lay bare Laurel reached out with one sturdy, teenaged finger and pressed the flawless skin.
“Damn. Only one month and it’s like it never happened. That’s just freaky.”
Violet pulled a black sweater down over her head, running her fingers through the shock of spiky blond hair afterwords.
“You do the same thing, sweetie,” Violet told her.
“Yeah, but I’m a robot. Robots are supposed to do shit like that. You’re just a human. Humans get hurt”
She reached out and touched shoulder once more. Violet brushed the finger away.
“Does it feel okay?”
Violet shrugged. “A little stiff but not bad, considering.”
“Considering most of your shoulder is still sprayed across a basement in Plymouth.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “Yes. Considering that.”
Laurel stood up and bounced to the back door. She opened it to a mid-January day that made Violet pull her bare feet up from the floor.
“Can you, like, pick up the bandages and… blood and… stuff while I’m gone?” Laurel ask in a wheedling tone.
“Where are you going?”
Laurel beamed. “I’m trying out to be a fireman. New Robbins Valley is having an open house.”
Violet slumped.
“Sweetie, we’ve talked about this. You can’t be a fireman or a cop or in the FBI. You look like you’re fifteen years old. No one will hire you.”
Laurel slammed the door, an action that rattled windows throughout the house.
“What’s the use of being super strong with night vision and all this other stuff if I can’t stop people from being hurt?”
“Will you sit down, please?” pleaded Violet
The robot pulled a chair from the table and sat with arms crossed. She looked out a rear window to the snow-covered back yard.
“Not all of our jobs will be like that last one, I promise,” Violet told her. “We’ll help people. Besides you got to save me and Leeloo.”
Laurel sighed and shrugged her shoulders at the mention of, Leeloo, the ugly little dog they had been hired to watch.
“I wouldn’t have had to save anyone if you would have just taken the whole thing seriously,” she grumped.
“Don’t start,” Violet warned.
Laurel turned and fixed a look on Violet that made the woman wonder if Laurel had laser vision among her super-sight inventory.
“And you broke the dog.” Laurel added. “She was possessed by a demon and now she’s dead and it’s your fault.”
Violet grimaced and pointed to her recently bandaged shoulder.
“Kinda paid for that one, didn’t I?”
“I want to be a hero, God damn it!”
Violet bent over and retrieved the bandage from the floor, then she stood and walked to the kitchen closet where she tossed the refuse into the trash. All the while she remained silent. She turned to face Laurel.
“Heroics are fun, Laurel, and being a hero is a great ego trip, but you really don’t want to be responsible for all those people.”
Laurel chewed on her bottom lip. She ignored her partner and watched a cardinal on a spruce tree two blocks away.
“You keep telling me this stuff but how do you know?” she asked.
“It was a long time ago and I did some… work. It didn’t turn out well.”
“When…?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Violet’s phone rang. Grateful for the interruption she fished it from the pocket of her jeans and held it to her ear.
“Yes?” she said. “This is Skyway Mechanix.” Violet looked back at Laurel who grinned gamely back.
There was a pause. Laurel tried listening in but the ambient noise of the old house made it impossible.
“Sure thing,” continued Violet. “We can be right over. Thank you. Good bye.”
“Was that a job?” asked Laurel.
Violet smiled at the robot. “Better. That was the Blue G corporation. They have a package they want delivered to Duluth.”
Laurel sighed. “Do we get to drive a big brown truck?”
“Shush. They’re a cereal company. What’s the worst thing that could happen? It’s a milk run.”
