Purple Rain, Part 2
Demetrios' office - December 25, 1994, 10:00 AM
Anders and Magda sat in Demetrios' office as Demetrios looked at his reports and charts.
"Look, Demetrios," Anders said, "I'm sorry for last night. I may have been a little drunk."
"Alright, you're lucky I decided not to press charges or get a restraining order, Anders," Demetrios said, "I like to forgive people, but you're making it very hard for me. Even with your uncle around to clean up your mess."
"Boys, let's put this aside," Magda said, "How's Angie?"
"Presently, we have Angela listed under critical condition, comatose," Demetrios said, "There is complete unawareness of self or environment. There is no evidence of language comprehension, no evidence of voluntary responses to external stimuli. My apologies but... no one here can determine how Angela arrived at the hospital, administered and how she was attended to in such critical condition. Um... because of the absence of Angela's recent medical history, I am at a loss for prognosis. I can’t determine with certainty how long she’s been in this state."
"You haven’t told us why she’s like this," Magda said.
"We just don’t know, Frau Hansen," Demetrios said, "There are no indications of acute injuries, traumatic or non-traumatic, I can’t find any signs of degenerative or metabolic disorders. We have conducted every test possible."
"I’d like her examined for trace evidence," Anders said.
"She was bathed and cleaned before her admittance," Demetrios said, "Also, there is a situation which I don’t know if you’re aware of. The Athanatoi has notified us of the terms of Angela's living will."
"What did she say?" Magda said.
"Well, Angela is a doctor, like me," Demetrios said, "Her criteria for terminating life support is quite specific. She states that, um... if her Glasgow outcome scale lists her..."
"She doesn’t want to live in this condition," Anders finished.
"Both of us signed the will as her witness," Demetrios said.
Magda put her head in her palms. "Damnit, Angie."
10:30 AM
Anders found his cousin Melissa standing next to Angela, holding a crystal over her. She quickly noticed Anders’ arrival and moved to make room.
“I’ve been told not to call you Spooky,” Melissa said.
“By who?” Anders asked.
“Angie, just now,” Melissa said.
“Angie talked to you just now?” Anders said. “If she talked, the EEG would have moved.”
Melissa laughed. “Her soul is here.”
Magda walked over, and Melissa hugged her sadly.
“Hi Mom,” she said.
“I’m glad you could come, Melissa,” Magda said.
“Angie’s choosing whether... whether to remain or move on,” Melissa said, putting her hands over Angela’s body, “You can feel her. Here.”
Angela heard what they were saying. She saw Anders and Melissa standing on an island. She stood on a bridge that led to the island. The island was in the middle of the Danube. Behind her, Vienna was in flames. Ahead of her, helicopters circled the abandoned UN Headquarters. The bridge was rigged with explosives. Angela had the detonator in her hand.
“She’s not here,” Anders said.
“Anders, your anger and your... your fear’s blocking...” Melissa said. “...any positive emotions she needs to feel.”
Anders sighed. “Melissa, I need to do more than just wave my hands in the air.”
He left the room. Angela watched as he disappeared behind the buildings.
Arcadia Bar and Restaurant – 9:00 PM
Anders downed another bottle of beer, while Demetrios leaned back and burped awkwardly.
“Pardon me,” he said, “Look, I may have been a bit hard on you today—”
“It’s fine,” Anders said, “If my aunt says leave it, we should leave it.”
“Agreed,” Demetrios said, “Things have gotten so crazy these days, huh?”
“Tell me about it,” Anders said, “This is the weirdest Christmas I ever had.”
“Same,” Demetrios said.
“The only thing that would make it weirder would be if the Crown Princess dropped by,” Anders said.
“She’s planning on dropping by soon,” Demetrios said, “But she’s currently busy volunteering at an AIDS clinic in Cologne.”
“Well, looks like my Christmas can’t get any weirder,” Anders said.
Demetrios raised his glass. “To Angela’s recovery?”
Anders smiled and raised his glass too. “To Angie’s recovery.”
They clinked their glasses and drank. Almost immediately, Demetrios lost balance and slumped against his chair. Anders helped him sit up.
“Alright, I think that’s enough for me,” Demetrios said, chuckling, “You know, Angela would’ve lasted at least five more drinks.”
“That’s Angie for you,” Anders said, “Tough at everything, for reasons I don’t understand. She’ll make it through this, I’m sure.”
He got Demetrios out the door and called a taxi, helping him get inside. He handed a twenty mark bill to the driver, telling him to keep the change.
“Hey, thanks,” Demetrios said.
“I should be thanking you for helping Angie,” Anders said, “I know she’s in good hands with your team. Let me know if anything changes.”
“Will do,” Demetrios said.
Anders took off his jacket. “Oh, and here’s your jacket back.”
“Actually, you keep it,” Demetrios said, “Looks better on you.”
The taxi drove off.
Anders drove home and got out some masking tape. He tore off two pieces and put an “X” on his window, shining a lamp through it. He sat down, put on headphones, and pressed the play button on Angela’s Walkman, cycling through all of her tapes as he waited patiently. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but he remembered waking up in the morning to sunlight streaming through his window. He turned off his lamp and went to the door to pick up the day’s edition of
Die Zeiten. There was nothing inside from X. He tossed the paper away, ripped the tape off, and slammed his fists on his desk. Guess it was time for Plan B.
St. Eudokimos Hospital – December 26, 1994, 2:00 PM
Rudolf Froniker walked into the hospital, wearing a suit and bowtie, carrying flowers. He approached the nurse’s desk. The nurse had to stand up to see him.
“May I help you?” she said.
“Uh, Angela Hansen, please,” Rudolf said, trembling, “She’s my second cousin twice removed.”
“Froniker?” Anders asked through his earpiece. “You okay?”
The nurse took Rudolf’s flowers and led him to Angela’s room, where Rudolf saw Angela lying on her bed. While the nurse was distracted, Rudolf took a look at the charts.
“Hey, Anders,” he said, “This is some bad frakking juju.”
Lone Gunman – 3:00 PM
Ragnar Biers sat down and read the charts. Anders sat at another desk, staring at Angela’s Walkman again, while Rudolf stood and Reinhard Lander sat behind Anders.)
“Good work sneaking out these charts,” Ragnar said.
“Snuck ‘em in my pants,” Rudolf said.
“There’s plenty of room down there,” Anders joked.
Rudolf glared at him and sat down on the desk next to Ragnar.
"You look down, Anders,” Ragnar said, “Tell you what, you’re welcome to come over Saturday night. We’re all hopping on Usenet to nitpick the scientific inaccuracies of ‘Earth-616’."
“I’m doing my laundry,” Anders said, “And there’s Star Trek on, as always.”
“The chart shows abnormal protein chains in the blood,” Ragnar said, “The amino acid sequence is in a combination I’ve never seen before.”
He spun his chair around to a computer. “I’ve downloaded Angela’s medical data to the newest Lone Gunman.”
"Her name’s Skye, but she goes by the name ‘The Thinker’," Rudolf said.
“She’s a hacking genius,” Reinhard said, “Legend has it she’s close friends with Microsoft founder Melinda Saxberg, and the two of them hacked into the Tesla Dynamic mainframe.”
On the screen was a picture of Walter Scheel with phrases like "I am not a crook!" and "Let me make this perfectly clear..." The screen flipped to one that has a 3-D image of Angela’s DNA, as well as two other charts with DNA coding. The computer beeped twice, and sentences appeared in a chat box below. Ragnar and Reinhard read it and turned to Anders, worried.
“What?” Anders asked.
“The Thinker reports the protein chains are a result of branched DNA,” Ragnar said.
“Branched DNA?” Anders said.
“The cutting edge of genetic engineering,” Reinhard said.
“A biological equivalent of a silicon microchip,” Ragnar said.
“This is way beyond cutting edge,” Reinhard said, “This technology’s fifty years down the line.”
“What’s it used for?” Anders asked.
“Could be a tracking system,” Rudolf said.
“Developmental stages of a biological marker,” Ragnar said.
“You mean a high-tech identity card?” Anders said.
“Or something as insidious as grafting a human into something... inhuman,” Reinhard said.
The computer beeped again.
“Good theories, gentlemen, but all for naught,” Ragnar said, pointing at a protein data map, “This branched DNA is inactive. It’s waste product. Whoever was experimenting on Angela is basically finished. Now it’s nothing more than a biological poison.”
“Will she live?” Anders asked.
Ragnar looked at Anders and then Reinhard, who looked back solemnly.
“Um...” Ragnar said. “Her immune system has been decimated and, uh... I doubt even a healthy human body has the ability to fight this. Anders, there’s nothing you can do.”
St. Eudokimos Hospital – 9:00 PM
Angela sat on the bridge, the detonator still in her hand. Behind her, Vienna remained in flames. She heard bombs falling and guns firing. The gunfire gradually drew closer, and her thumb closed around the red button. On UN Island, she saw Elisabeth Alexandra facing her, wearing a light blue dress and a tiara.
“Angie?” she said. “Angie? I know you can hear me. It’s your friend, Alex. I’m here to watch over you. Help you find the way home. I know you’re far away from home tonight and that where you are is peaceful. It would be nice to stay, but Angie, you must leave here only when it’s time.”
Elisabeth Alexandra hugged her as Anders appeared.
“I’ll be here when you need me,” she said.
She turned and left. A nurse walked in, carrying a machine.
“Excuse me, sir,” she said, “I’m going to have to take some blood.”
She started taking blood from Angela.
---
Anders looked into an adjacent room, where he saw a man in an overcoat standing over a comatose old woman. The man looked back at him. The nurse put down a vial with Angela’s blood on the counter when a long beeping sounded from the other room. She looked up and saw the old lady had flatlined. The overcoat man was gone.
“Code blue crash cart!” she shouted, rushing to the old lady’s side with a few doctors.
“Red wave coming in!” shouted a male nurse.
“Let’s go!” the nurse said.
“Alright, let’s get an airway in!” a doctor said.
“B.P. 80 over 60 and dropping,” the nurse read.
Anders looked at Angela. The nurse closed the curtains around the old lady.
“ Alright, give me the paddles,” the doctor said, “200 joules. Clear!”
“Clear!” the nurse said.
The defibrillators went off. Anders noticed the vial had vanished.
“What do we got? … Let’s go again, 260, clear!” the doctor said.
“Clear!” the nurse said.
“Come on!” the doctor said.
He pulled back the curtain and saw the door to the outer hallway closing. The doctors and nurses, focused on restarting the old lady’s heart, didn’t notice as he ran down the hall and after the overcoat man.
“Hey!” he shouted.
The overcoat man jumped into an elevator and closed the door before Anders could stop it. He tried prying open the doors and pushing the button, but it was no use. He ran down the stairs and into the parking lot, where he saw the overcoat man turning a corner. Taking out his gun, he moved silently around the wall, but X ambushed him, pinning him to the wall and pressing a gun to his head.
“Didn’t expect you here till after visiting hours,” X said.
“There was a man,” Anders said, “He took Angie’s blood.”
“Forget him,” X said.
“Get that gun out of my face...” Anders said.
“This high-capacity compact Sig Sauer .40 caliber weapon is pointed at your head to stress my insistence that your search for who put your cousin on that respirator desist now!” X said.
“You ignore my call for help and then you expect me to do what you say?” Anders said. “You go to hell!”
“You got your uncle killed!” X said. “You got her killed. That’s not going to happen to me. You’re my tool, you understand? I come to you when I need you. Right now, you’re heading in a direction that can lead them right here.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Anders said.
“You’re not supposed to know,” X said, “That’s the point.”
“I owe her more than just sitting around doing nothing,” Anders said.
“She was a good soldier, Humboldt, but there’s nothing you can do to bring her back,” X said.
“She’s not dead,” Anders said.
X laughed. “ Listen to you. Listen. You’re a damn schoolboy, Humboldt. You have no idea. No frakking idea!”
“Okay, then tell me,” Anders said, “Tell me!”
They stared at each other angrily. Then X loosened his grip.
“I used to be you,” X said, “I was where you are now, like your grandfather and great-uncle before you. But you’re not me, Humboldt. I don’t think you have the heart. Walk away. Grieve for your cousin and then never look back. You will be able to live with yourself, Humboldt... on the day you die.”
A door closed, and X looked to the sound. Anders ran in that direction before X could stop him. He saw the overcoat man and drew his gun.
“Imperial agent!” he shouted.
The overcoat man shot at him. Anders took cover behind a column. The man ran and opened a door to escape. Anders followed after him and turned down a hallway. Hearing a noise, he entered the laundry room and pointed his gun at the man, who had his back turned.
“Imperial agent,” he said, “Don’t turn around. You know I’m armed. Put your gun very slowly on the ground.”
The man did so.
“Put your hands behind your head and interlock your fingers,” Anders ordered, Turn right towards the machine and put your head on it.”
The man did so. Anders reached into his pocket and took out the vial.
“Face me,” he said.
The man turned around. Anders held up the vial.
“Who wants this?” Anders asked. “Who wants it?”
The overcoat man didn’t answer. Anders sighed.
“Alright, let’s go,” Anders said, “This way.”
They started walking. After a few steps, the overcoat man grabbed a cart and slammed it back into Anders. He then grabbed a metal pipe and beat Anders with it, forcing him to drop both his gun and the vial. The overcoat man grabbed the vial and prepared to run, but X appeared from behind him and twisted his arm, breaking it. He screamed in pain as Anders got to his feet.
“Stay there,” X ordered.
He pushed the man forward. Anders struggled to remain standing.
“Wait!” Anders shouted.
X pulled out his gun and shot the overcoat man in the arm. The overcoat man groaned. X looked at Anders again.
“You want to see what it takes to find the truth, Agent Humboldt?” X said. “You want to know what I know?”
X shot the man in the head and let his body fall to the ground. He handed the vial back to him.
“I’ll attend to this,” he said.
10:00 PM
“Discontinuing the respirator does not necessarily mean pulling the plug or ending her life,” Demetrios said, “Karen Quinlan lived for nine years after cessation of mechanical ventilation, though that is an extreme case. In my honest opinion, I do believe, however, that this is not the case with Angela, Frau Hansen. My guess is that she’s been in this state since her disappearance and will not improve.”
“Is she below the criteria established in her will?” Melissa asked.
“It’s possible branched DNA can be treated with designer antibiotics,” Anders said, “I think Wal
–er, my dad
–wrote a few papers about it.”
Melissa, Magda, and Erich stared at him.
“Anders, I don’t know where you developed this bizarre diagnosis, but I do think you should let us do our job...” Demetrios said.
“Demetrios, you’ve never provided an answer as to why she’s here or what’s wrong with her,” Anders said, “We need to study her.”
“Anders, Angie’s not a piece of evidence,” Melissa said.
“She’s here because of unnatural circumstances,” Anders said.
“She’s dying,” Melissa said, “That’s perfectly natural. We hide people in these rooms because we don’t want to look at death. We have machines prolong a life that should, that should end. That’s a much more unnatural circumstance than any cause of her death.”
“Melissa, that’s very politically correct,” Anders said.
“That’s very human,” Melissa said, “We love her. This is right.”
“Angie has made our decision for us,” Erich said, “Anders, your relationship with your cousin is built on respect. Now, in the last year...”
Erich stood, almost crying. “I lost my dad. And God knows I don’t want to lose my baby girl. But like you, I have always respected her.”
He walked to the door and turned back. Magda joined him.
“Anders, is a moment for both of our families,” Magda said, “Join us.”
Anders shook his head. Magda, Erich, Melissa, and Demetrios walked out.
---
Angela noticed Elisabeth Alexandra standing on UN Island. The princess smiled sadly.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “But it’s time.”
Angela pressed the detonator, and the bridge exploded.
