Beggarman

you some food from the clinic.” He pulled three small boxes out of his coat and handed them to Cobb. “They’re not much. Just some dried fruit and cookies. I didn’t have a chance to pick you up some real food.”

  “These are fine, thanks. But I’m more interested in your news.”

  “Well, you’re in luck. There’s a transport from Jolappia coming in the day after tomorrow. It’s here to pick up critically ill people and take them to a hospital for better treatment. If I can get you on that transport, you’d go to Jolappia. Once there, you’re safe on an Alliance planet.”

  “That sounds great, doc. But how do I get onto the transport without being spotted?” Cobb queried in a slight higher voice.

  “Actually, I was going take a page from your book and wrap you up in bandages. I doubt if the Kirrians would want to mess with someone infected with the Colberian fever,” the doctor said, taking great pleasure in showing off his ingenuity.

  “What’s that?”

  “A highly infectious, deadly disease, indigenous to this planet.”

  “Doc, it sounds like a plan. How da I get into the clinic?”

  “I’ll take you back tonight when the clinic is closed and fix you up there. I have a key. When everyone shows up in the morning, I’ll just tell them I’d had an emergency case during the night and had to come in to take care of it—or you, to be more precise.”

  Cobb was elated. He hadn’t let his hopes get up until this point, because he knew there were too many things that could’ve gone wrong. But the doc’s plan made sense and should work.

  “Doc, I really appreciate this. You don’t know how hard this has been on me.”

  “I can guess. Listen, let’s wait here a few hours until everyone has left the clinic. Then we’ll head back there. You can eat some of the goodies I brought.”

  Cobb couldn’t shake the paranoia and his guard was still up, but it had slowly begun to drop. They found a place to sit, and Cobb tore into the boxes, managing to consume all their contents in just a few minutes. The so-called cookies were stale and the fruit was getting ready to ferment, but Cobb really didn’t care. He was so hungry they were down his gullet before his taste buds were aware of their passage.

  The doctor said. “I guess you were hungry.” He sat there watching and smiling when Cobb looked over to check on him. Cobb thought that he could really like this guy. He was sharp and had a sense of humor. It was the first time he had really had a moment to study the Jolappian. The light was dim, but it was enough for him to make out the other man’s features. He had the typical elongated Jolappian face, with its broad nose, lipless mouth, and wide, cat-like eyes. But the corners of this man’s mouth turned upward, making him look as though he was grinning. It wasn’t a sinister grin; it looked more like he was bemused with the world. Cobb thought that, from the little time he had talked with the man, the grin might be more of a personality trait than a physical one. They didn’t talk much during the two-hour wait. Cobb, still alert for any sign of a trap, wasn’t in much of a talking mood. He did find out that Zeff was not married, unless you considered being married to one’s profession. Zeff seemed very dedicated to his work and truly apolitical.

  Zeff finally picked up on his wariness and said, “I’m not going to turn you in. I’m a doctor, and nothing would be gained by getting you or any body else killed. It’s in my best interest also to get you out of here alive.”

  Cobb believed him, but old habits die hard. He had been on edge so long it was difficult to relax. Cobb still had to probe.

  “I saw that MP visit your clinic today.”

  Zeff pondered the statement for a few seconds, then chuckled.

  “Oh that. The MPs sometimes come to my clinic to get treated for what you’d call ‘diseases of love.’ They come to me because they don’t what their superiors to find out they have that type of medical problem.”

  “Sounds similar to what Alliance troops do back at base.”

  “It’s a pretty common practice.” Zeff paused, then asked in a serious tone, “There was something disturbing the MP told me. He said that one of their young MPs had been murdered yesterday. Know anything about that, Cobb?”

  “Nope, it’s news to me.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Zeff responded flatly.

  Cobb could not tell if Zeff had bought the lie or not, but he was not very proud of what he had done anyway, and to explain the situation would have required giving much more information than he was willing to provide.

  When the time was up, they got up and started walking back toward the clinic. The street was almost deserted, and, as he walked, Cobb kept the doctor between him and the row of houses. He figured that any attack would come from that direction, and he would use the doctor has a shield to slip off into the darkness. When they reached the clinic, Cobb could see that it was more rundown than it had seemed from a distance. Nevertheless, it stood out in comparison to the surrounding buildings. The doctor unlocked the door with an electronic key, which seemed out of place in this backward area. As the doctor entered, Cobb followed close behind with one hand on his laser and the other on the knife. The area was dark but Cobb could make out a number of chairs and knew it was the waiting room for the clinic. The smell was also in stark contrast to the street; the place smelled clean. The doctor returned to the door to locked and then went past Cobb to the back of the clinic and turned on a light that would not be visible from the street.

  Zeff motioned with his hand for Cobb to come back and said, “There’s a changing room with a shower through that door. Take off everything and throw it into one of the trash containers. When you have cleaned up, grab a clean shirt and pair of pants from the shelves to the left of the shower. They’re only to be worn in the clinic, so they are very flimsy. Also, do me a favor, don’t touch anything until you have showered. You’re really filthy, and I don’t want you contaminating my clinic.”

  “Are you always this nice to your patients?” Cobb responded.

  “Always.”

  Cobb did what he was told. When he had taken all of his clothes and bandages off, he looked in a mirror. He had a number of sores on this face from wearing the dirty bandages for so long. He also had a beard. He took his gun, med kit, and knife and put them in a space behind the shelves, making sure they were out of sight. He also took the Alliance money he had kept and put it on a chair. He put the rest of his stuff into a container obviously used for trash. Cobb then took a shower, and it was magnificent. He had managed to wash himself a little in the rivers he had passed, but he hadn’t been able to do so totally nude. He couldn’t risk damaging the bandages, which were his primary protection, so he had washed off with most of his clothes on. But now he was being enveloped by warm, clean water, and it was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time. He washed every part of his body at least twice. He stayed in the shower longer than he needed to but not as long as he would have if he didn’t have to get back to the doctor. After he had dried himself and put on the clean pants and shirt, he went back to the space to get his gun and knife. He knew instinctively that the doc would not want him keeping his weapons, so Cobb slid the gun back into the space. But there was no way he was going to be completely defenseless. He cut a length of cord from a clothesline and fashioned a crude harness that allowed the knife to hang in his armpit. His clothes were so flimsy that his armpit was the only place he could put it without its being seen.

  Zeff was waiting for him when he left the changing room. “I thought you had drowned. You’re not as ugly as I thought you’d be. Your face is a mess, but you smell a lot better. I have a quarantine room set up in the rear. Let’s get you back there so I can put on the new bandages.”

  Cobb didn’t say anything. He went where the doctor was indicating. A small room with a double door was near the rear of the clinic. Inside, a hospital-style bed sat in the middle of the room and a row of cabinets with a small table ran along one wall. Cobb went to the bed
and sat down. Dr. Zeffer went to the table where he had prepared some bandages and instruments.

  “Let me put some medicine on those sores, they look like their getting infected.” Zeff said, moving to the table to pick up a small device. He returned to Cobb and sprayed the sores on his head and neck. “Any others on your body need treating?”

  Cob quickly said “No, the rest of me is fine.” Even though he had a number of cuts and sores all over his body, he didn’t want the doctor to find the knife hidden in his armpit.

  Zeff looked at him with one eyebrow raised but let it pass. He hadn’t taken Cobb for the shy type. Zeff grabbed a roll of bandages and placed them on Cobb’s head to mimic the Kirrian skull ridge. “Here’s your Kirrian top notch. Hold it in place while I do the bandaging.” Wordlessly Cobb did as he was told. Grabbing another roll, Zeff began wrapping Cobb’s head. It took about 15 minutes to finish the job. Cobb didn’t like the idea of being bandaged again, but this time it was more comfortable than the crude, rushed job he’d had to do originally.

  “There you go, now you look better,” Zeff said laughing.

  “Very funny,” Cobb replied with a slight chuckle.

  “Go ahead and lay down. The clinic won’t open for another three hours, so you may as well sleep.”

  “Sounds good