A Very Good Man (64 page)

  Bridget nodded and kicked her left foot, clad in small pink and white checked sneakers with no socks, until it touched Brian's leg lightly.

  “Yeah. If he has to go out alone to fight for some reason and the cops can kick his ass I guess he really doesn't have that long as far as that goes, does he? Not unless ..."
Taking a deep breath, Brian smiled at her and made a blubbery sound with his lips,getting her to grin a little.

  “Yeah, I'm pretty much already dead. The rest of this is just about what I can get done before I buy it and how many people I can help, if any...” He waited for her reaction, which was a single shrug of the shoulders.

  The tiny face went suddenly serious, but not dark.

  “That pretty much describes everyone I know, Brian. It's always about doing what you can, as best you can, until you die. Everything else is just an illusion.” She unbuckled herself, hoped up, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, aiming for a place that wasn't too messed up still, then scurried away back to where the others sat.

  Lancaster looked at him, a strange expression Brian didn't know how to read, worried, like he expected Brian to break or at least whine about what the girl had said. Instead he smiled at the man, getting a baffled look in return.

  Brian looked at the small girl, who'd gone back to wiggling again, some of the movements too fast for him to follow, even as she sat firmly in her seat. Doctor Tull watched him, also looking concerned, so he raised his eyebrows and smiled a bit bigger, then gave her a small wave.

  “She's right, of course. Death does come for everyone. I've even heard that in a movie or two I think. I was making it into some big deal in my head earlier, but... yeah. Everyone dies and it could come at any time. The only difference is that I have a rough time schedule. OK, lesson learned, schooled by the fourteen-year-old girl, don't get all caught up in my own bullshit.”

  Lancaster just grunted and passed him a copy of guns and ammo, suggesting he read it until they landed. The rest of the flight went by almost silently. Brian didn't even worry about dying again. He realized he didn't have time for that any more.