Michael P. Calligaro - Homeostasis criminal

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Homeostasis Criminal

by Michael P Calligaro

Todd Lucas stared into his drink, all the while thinking, regretting, and wishing. Feeling the telltale

shortness of breath, he hastily set the glass down on the bar and rushed into the restroom. The coughing

fit hit him as soon as he closed the door. Gripping the edge of the sink with as much strength as his

weakened fingers could muster, he held still and waited for it to pass.

The coughs left him gasping to drag air through a rough throat. Staring up into the dingy mirror at a face

he was only now growing accustomed to, he consoled himself that at least this time there was no blood.

He wet his hands and rubbed them on his face, then returned to the tavern.

All the patrons stared at him. Todd self-consciously looked at his feet and shuffled back up to the bar.

"Hey fella, you okay?" the bartender asked.

Todd nodded and took another sip from his drink.

"I seen guys get like that from drinkin' their liver away. But I ain't never seen it happen to someone

drinkin' water."

Todd shook his head and spoke in a raspy voice. "I did this to myself, but it wasn't through drinking."

"What then?" Todd stared up at him, and the bartender frowned. "If'n you don't mind me askin', that is."

With a sigh, Todd shook his head. He might have minded once, but it wouldn't matter much longer. Soon

nothing would. "Every day we make choices. But once in a while we're faced with a choice that's bigger

than all the rest. When I came to that point, I made the wrong one. I thought a short, fun life would be

better than a long, painful one."

The look on the bartender's face suggested that he didn't really understand. Of course he didn't. How

could he? "And what happened?" the bartender asked.

"I had a lot of fun, more than I'd had in all my life. I had the best two weeks ever."

"Two weeks?"

Todd nodded. "That's when I realized that eating hot dogs and having sex wasn't all it was cracked up to

be--certainly not worth dying over. Since then I've been living and eating as healthily as possible. I'm the

healthiest dying man on the planet." He sighed again and stared into his water. The bartender intelligently

left him alone.

A while later Todd heard him talking with another patron. "Did ya hear 'bout this guy? Kills his wife in the

middle of a crowded street and then claims it wasn't really him. He actually says someone abducted his

body."

Todd looked at the TV and saw a newscast with footage of a minor movie star, Martin Stevenson, being

taken away in handcuffs. "What's so unbelievable about that?"

The patron shrugged. "He was seen just half an hour before and admits to being himself then. And one of

the foremost experts on mind transfers says it takes longer than that for someone to get accustomed to a

new body."

"Who was the expert?"

The bartender smiled, "None other den Margaret O'Connell, the head a the transfer division at

Homeostasis Inc. If anyone'd know, it's her."

Todd frowned. "Yes, she would know. But she's lying. I know of at least two Homeostasis Men who

could have pulled that off."

"But why would she lie?" the patron asked.

Todd sighed and leaned back. Forgetting he was on a bar stool, he almost fell. "She's worried that

another scandal will do serious damage to her company."

"Another scandal?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed the bartender. "Remember, what, six months ago, when they had that pervert working

for 'em? He was doin' a homeostasis job for some rich guy and went crazy. He rapes the guy's wife and

then kills himself, taking the guy's body with him."

The patron nodded. "I remember now. What was his name? Tim something?"

The bartender shook his head emphatically. "No, I thought it was Tom."

Todd coughed once. "His name was Todd."

* * *

Todd let the bus drive by Homeostasis Inc. The building was dark, with only one light shining in a fourth

floor window. That wouldn't be a problem; he was interested in the basement. He pulled the "request

stop" cord and got off shortly thereafter. He cut into an alley and, ignoring the guy sleeping in a pile of

rubbish, moseyed in the general direction of the building. Anxiety gripped him, making him wish he could

run, but his body wasn't up for it. As if on cue, another coughing fit hit and forced him to lean against a

wall until it passed. He looked back, but the homeless guy didn't come to investigate.

What am I doing here? What do I hope to achieve? He pushed off from the wall and continued on

toward the building's back entrance. Along the way, he thought about Jason Greenwell, one of the two

people he knew who had the ability to pull off the murder. Todd had worked with Jason once or twice.

Though the kid was a bit of a hothead, he never seemed like the murderous type. Then again, as far as

Todd knew, there weren't any other possibilities. Todd hadn't been out of the game long enough for

Homeostasis Inc. to train another star operative. And it didn't seem likely that it was someone from one

of the other companies. In general, the best people worked for Homeostasis. Todd had never been

impressed with anyone he'd met from the other places.

His asking of himself why he was here was rhetorical. These days he didn't have much to do but sit

around and wait for death. Appeasing his curiosity as to whether Jason had become a killer seemed a

worthwhile use of his time. He reached the back door and idly rested his hand on the entry keypad. It

seemed unlikely that his old code would still work, but he'd worked here long enough to pick up a few

secrets. Hoping they hadn't changed it, he punched in the six digit skeleton code. The little red light on the

pad switched to green. With a mixture of fear and elation, Todd opened the door.

Lights came on in the hallway, giving Todd a momentary start. Then he remembered the motion sensors.

This made the lights a cause for relief. They had a ten-minute delay, and only the ones above him were

on. He hesitated for a minute. Was the stairway to the left or right? He'd always used the elevator before.

A dim memory said to go right, so he strode down the hall, causing the lights to go on for him along the

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