Solomon

His head was muddled and it was dark. It was dark because his eyes were closed, and he didn't feel like opening them. His head hurt. He considered that briefly, then became aware that his claw also hurt. Soon, he added his kidney and his liver to the list, and thought it might be more productive to make a list of what didn't hurt. No, that produced nothing.

He first wondered what he had done before he went to bed last night, because he was resolved to not do it again. He tried to stop thinking about anything, because it hurt to think.

Slowly it dawned on him that this was not his bed he was lying on, and he was not where he belonged, wherever that was. He thought there had been a cute woman, or was it a man who was cute? Anyway, he had some recollection of looking for something in the city. He ruefully squinted through one eye. Nothing he saw made sense; not the periwinkle walls or the pair of scissors or the desk. He closed his eye and moaned slyly.

Just then, he heard the door open. He reopened his eye to see a little man carrying an automatic rifle walk into the room. The man laid the automatic rifle on the small table beside the door and peered at him. "Aaack, looks like Mister Beast is coming back to life."

He suppressed another moan and asked, "Where am I? And who are you?"

"Oh my, two questions at once. Sorry, you're over your limit. I'll answer one. You can call me Solomon.

That was all he wanted to try to absorb at the moment anyway, so he closed his eye again and tried to shrug. He immediately opened both eyes and asked, "What am I here for? Can I have something to drink?"

"Nope, your questions always come in pairs?" Solomon walked to the refrigerator and got a Mudslide. "Maybe this will put a little life in you. How are you feeling after your accident?"

"What accident?" he replied innocently, feeling a bit more noble.

"Well, it wasn't the Fire Department that sent you here," Solomon replied sweetly.

"And this doesn't look like a hospital. By the way, where's the bathroom? Who are you working for?" He did need the bathroom, but he also wanted to scope the place out a bit. He wasn't forgetting the automatic rifle on the table next to Solomon.

"There you go again. That's two questions. The bathroom's over there," he said, gesturing with his head.

Sitting up slowly and gingerly, he looked around the room. The bathroom door was to his left. The other door was in front of him, beside Solomon who had sat in a chair next to the small table. There were no windows, and just the bed, the table, the refrigerator, and a desk in the room. There was a fishing pole on the desk.

"If you're thinking about picking up that fishing pole, just be aware that it's exclusively for my use," Solomon declaimed coldly.

He wasn't thinking about taking the fishing pole at the moment. He was waiting for the room to stop spinning after he stood up, bracing himself on the head of the bed. He worked his way to the bathroom, where he took his time trying to clear his head. He splashed some water on his face, then rushed back to the bed and sat down. His leg was beginning to cool down.

"If it's not too much trouble, how about you call me a cab now?"

This seemed to genuinely amuse Solomon. He laughed out loud, then exclaimed "You won't be needing a cab to get where you're going."

Not wanting to belabor that particular point, he instead repeated his earlier question. "Who are you working for?"

"So let's you tell me who you're working for, and why you were snooping around like a brine shrimp back there in the art museum." Solomon rapped his fingers on the table beside the automatic rifle.

"I was looking for my friend. Who hit me?"

"You tripped on a triangle. You took a bad fall. Who is this friend you were looking for?"

"Jessi Cruz," he lied. "Who do you work for, and why are you keeping me here?"

"Nobody's keeping you here. That would be way too much trouble. Who wants to deal with a generous guest? We just wanted to chat while we help you get back on your feet."

"Okay, we chatted and I'm on my feet," (barely, he thought to himself), "so I'll just be hopping on. Nice talking to you, Solomon."

Although his leg was still cooling down, he started moving toward the door, his eyes on the automatic rifle. Solomon stood up and opened the door for him in an oddly proud manner. Ignoring Solomon's articulate leer, he silently set out out of the room.

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