Chapter 10 Chapter nine

"What if I don't show up at your house?" Acland asked Susan in the taxi. "Everyone of you seems to be very interested in my affairs. What would you do if I didn't come?" "There's nothing we can do. None of us know where you live. Jackson thought if you realized Robert's card was stuck in a different place, you might contact him. But Robert was less sanguine, saying you would I feel ashamed." "Did either of them call my parents?" Susan shrugged, "I don't know. All I know is that Jackson spoke to Robert last night around 11 o'clock, and he called me this morning and gave me Jackson's phone number. When I called her, you Gone." She saw him curl up in the corner of the seat. "We didn't gossip about you, Charles. Jackson told me what happened, and told me that if I saw you, repeat Her proposal. That's all."

"You said she told you I needed a kick in the ass." "I'm not denying her sense of humor. Would you rather she use a more professional and programmed expression, like 'Charles needs to refocus and learn agency skills'? She strikes me as a very down-to-earth woman— To be blunt, I share your distaste for gossip. Have Robert and I misunderstood you on this point?" "No." "So what's the problem?" "You're making decisions for me. The only reason Jackson welcomes me back is because she makes money, but that doesn't mean I'm happy to agree."

"Have the taxi stop then," said Susan reasonably. "You're free. Go back to your apartment." He ignored Susan and sank deeper into the seat, "All I need is a bed for one night's sleep." "You need help," she retorted mildly, "and that's what I want to give you. Last night, you attacked someone...and, according to what you said, you almost did it again this morning at the bank. That sort of thing...not to mention pissing off the neighbors. You've given yourself a series of scares. That's why you came to me." "Then why did you take me to Jackson's? If I wanted her help, I'd have gone straight to her Bell's."

"Would you? That's not the impression you left on her. She said ten wild horses wouldn't be able to drag you back unless I come with you." Susan looked at his rebellious expression with a smile on her face, "I'm here Do what you want me to do, Charles. If I'm not," she nodded at the driver, "you should tell him where to park." Akram stared out the window, "If you say that again, I might actually ask him to stop." "Are you making things difficult for me, or are you making things difficult for yourself?" He sighed and turned back, "Have you seen Jackson?"

"No." "You know, she's a pretty scary person..." He stretched out his arms and gestured, "Over 6 feet tall... so wide, she looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger. She made her girlfriend do all the work." Work, she eats like a pig, and sits in piles of cash that's been wrung, bullied, and squeezed out of customers. Why would I rather be with her than with you?" Susan pretended to think.She had asked Robert a similar question in the morning: "Why are you so keen on sending Charles to Dr. Jackson? Shouldn't I try to enroll him in one of my rehab classes...or better yet, convince him Back to Birmingham so he can re-enter your classes? Do you know her?"

"Henry Watson knew her when she was in Middlesex. She was working as a GP in a relatively deprived area of ​​East London. She provided some insight into adolescent depression for his research paper based on her own practice. Comprehensive data on morbidity. He was very impressed with her. She designed an early warning system for at-risk children and convinced local schools to use it. Statistics in her area have since shown a significant improvement improve." "But Charles doesn't trust women at all. Does Dr. Jackson know?" "She seemed to know him better than we did, Susan. He talked to her nonstop for over half an hour, and yet, she said it was obvious he probably didn't remember himself." He paused, "I've always thought female doctors would suit him better...that's one of the reasons I asked you to take him in when he went to London last time."

"It didn't work," Susan reminded him. "He doesn't trust me very much." "I know." Another pause, "Henry called Dr. Jackson 'Jackson.' He said she didn't have a baptismal name—or if she did, she didn't admit to it—she looked as if she could challenged and beat Mike Tyson in his prime. He also said she didn't know how to pamper and please anyone, always told the truth and refused to tiptoe around rigid and sensitive people, so she won Respect ... especially from teenage boys. Henry thinks she's really good." "But Charles isn't a teenager, Bob."

"He had all the hallmarks of a teenager... alienation... denial... mistrust... violent reactions when angry." "Then he should be in rehab all the more. What if he calls Dr. Jackson?" Willis hesitated. "I've given her all the information I could. There's nothing else I can do because he's no longer my patient. Not yours. Only when he Contact us so we can make an impact ... I'm inclined to recommend that he accept Jackson's offer." "What if I disagree?" "Just don't make a decision until you've talked to her." Susan thought she could hear him taking off his glasses and cleaning them out of habit. "She said Charles was so malnourished that there was no way he would stand a chance against her, but she believed he would only show up again if he was willing to accept her terms."

Because Susan didn't answer his question immediately, Akram asked in a different way, "What makes you think I'd rather stay with Jackson?" "Impromptu thought because you'll feel safer with her. She's big enough and tough enough to hold you. If you throw a tantrum, the chances of you hurting her are low... if you attack her , she'll subdue you or report it to the police without guilt." She glanced at him and smiled derisively, "Plus, she's not interested in you as a sexual partner, she's not a motherly woman, she'll heal Migraines, she helps tend to the sick, cleans their messy rooms...even washes and irons their clothes. What more do you want?"

"Daisy is doing it all." "how do you know?" "Jackson said...but it's obvious anyway. You just have to look at them. I can't imagine Jackson waving a mop. Her only interest is lifting weights." "So, Daisy is the F she raised?" "What is F?" "Lesbians who play the role of wife...a beautiful gay girl who is attractive to both sexes. Straight men find them incomprehensible. When they are not playing the role of sexual partner, the F is relegated to a secondary status, playing The role of a wife, and was given the attributes of a woman, such as willingness to clean, etc. Her B partner is the opposite. B looks more like a man," she glanced at him again, smiling playfully, "so she was Seen as a husband, masculine, masculine, like having no idea where the cleaning equipment is.”

Aclan was silent. "From what I understand, Daisy is running the bar and Jackson is an after-hours doctor's surrogate. They've been together for ten years, and they used their savings to buy Bell's five years ago. Daisy's area of ​​responsibility is the front field, That includes the bar area and the restaurant, and Jackson because of her agency work, focuses on the backcourt, their private quarters. They have staff, so they don't have to do everything themselves. But I wonder if Daisy meddled with you last night Things are doubtful. If she was on the night shift, she wouldn't have the time." "So why did Jackson falsely claim she did it? And I'm not making any lesbian comments. I'm careful about that. I just said that Jackson doesn't look like a doctor ... she doesn't. She Lycra shorts and tank top, oversized high boots." "What do you expect her to wear? A white coat?" Susan laughed. "If it's a baker who's giving you your medication, God help you." "I didn't expect a fat giantess who looked like she'd had 25 testosterone injections a day," Acklan retorted petulantly. "How many female doctors have you seen who looked like Arnold Schwarz?" Singer?" "None," said Susan bluntly, "so I guess Jackson is unique. Sounds like she's against your discrimination and throws you a rope to hang yourself. You should know better not to judge by appearances , Charles. When this kind of discrimination happens to you, you will also be very disgusted." "I didn't show her any discrimination. If she thinks I do, then she's being aggressive...and I'm not." Susan shook her head. "You attacked one of her customers because he looked like a Muslim. Isn't that discriminatory on your part?" Two police cars whizzed by in the middle of the road, and soon the taxi joined the long line of stalled traffic, its blue lights flashing, indicating that the road was closed about 400 yards ahead. "Looks like there was an accident," the driver said through the gap in the safety window, "would you like to walk over here? Even if I take the side road the traffic is just as bad. Two lanes are closed and it may take hours to ease come over." "How far are we?" Susan asked. "Half a mile at most. Just go straight on. Bell's is just around the corner from Murray Street." They choose to walk.Akland paid the fare, and the taxi driver turned around after another police car passed. "Looks like I can't set foot in this place without calling the police," said Ackland sarcastically, slung his travel bag over his shoulder. "Maybe it's a meaningful coincidence. It seems like you've had one or two in the past 24 hours." They walked on the sidewalk, and Acklan slowed down to keep pace with Susan. "Like what?" "Sick in a bar where the lady boss happens to be a doctor...somebody offers you a bed the very same morning you find yourself homeless...you ring the bell just after I finished talking to Jackson through my door." "The first two may be coincidences, but the last isn't. You're the only person in London I know enough to ask for a bed...and you're a friend of Dr. Willis's. As for saying he put you in touch with Jackson, It would have been possible." "Have you heard of Jung's theory of synchrony?" She moved off the sidewalk to avoid oncoming people. "No." He joined her, hurrying past the motionless vehicles. "It brings up the notion of meaningful coincidence, say, the first time you encounter a word, you encounter it again two hours later. Why you never noticed before that you encountered it within two hours Twice? And, why would you meet it again a week later?" "Because your eyes ignore it until you discover what it means. Once you recognize it, it becomes part of your vocabulary." "That's the logical explanation. There's a mystical element to synchronicity, and it talks about people, places and things being attracted to one's soul and gaining significance as a result." Ackland was immediately skeptical. "I'm not attracted to Jackson." More and more people gathered around the scene of the incident to watch the excitement. Susan slowed down and took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag. "Maybe, not on the conscious level, but subconsciously you are strongly attracted to her." She said, opening the cigarette case, took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, "Maybe I was wrong." She flicked the lighter, " But I daresay she has earned more respect from you overnight than anyone else since your injury. You may not like her, Charles...you may find her ugly and weird...but you Admire her. She has the guts to intervene in a fight, not many women have that kind of courage." "And if I do? How is that explained by synchronicity?" They stop. "It depends on how you interpret meaningful coincidences. You gave me a perfectly logical explanation—from cause to effect—for the odds of encountering the same word in a two-hour period, suggesting that one has a good understanding of what happened in What happened to him had some implications. But the synchronicity theory makes the opposite argument — from effect to cause — that if one looks for meaning in coincidences, one is likely to find it.” Akram looked over the crowd, toward the flashing blue lights, trying to see where the accident happened. "That sounds like gibberish. Are you telling me that Jackson is my soul mate?" "No, just the coincidence of your quarrel with your neighbor may mean that you are doomed to accept Jackson's proposal." "Is that why you refused to give me a bed...because you believe in that stuff?" "Not necessarily. Can I give you a more logical explanation for why you came here?" "of course can." "Consciously or subconsciously, you started a war with the woman upstairs to give yourself an excuse to flee the apartment, and then you approached me pretending to ask for a bed for the night because you knew I could get you back in touch with Jackson. " "I don't need this kind of help. Because I know where she lives." "But you won't lose face this way. With me here with you, everything will be justified." Akram glanced at her, and a small curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, which was the closest she had ever seen him to a smile. "Why can't you just say that something bad happened and you're the only person I can think of who can take me in?" "You're so clever," she told him, "that you'd be sleeping in front of a store if that explanation suited you better." "Not at the door," he said. "People who sleep in the door are easy to lose. I saw an old man get beaten up by a gang of drunk boys not long ago. It was about two o'clock in the morning. They all flexed their muscles. One of the boys pissed on him." "What did you do?" she asked curiously. "Walk him to Covent Gardens, where there is a 24-hour men's room where he can wash up. He's worried about the kids coming after him, so he's not really willing to go by himself. Then he asked me to take He took him to a pub on Caroline Street. He said there was a hot air exhaust at the back of the pub to dry his clothes. I helped him climb over the railing on the side of the house." Susan's curiosity increased, and this friendly demeanor seemed very out of character for Charles, "Who is he?" "Nobody." Acklan shrugged abruptly. "Well, he's a...a veteran, I guess—he saluted and called me sir—but I didn't have much choice. He was dead drunk. It's like mud, it smells like hell, and it's still unwilling to let me go." "How did you deal with those idlers?" "Scared them a bit," he said curtly. "Why are you scared?" She looked at his unresponsive face, realized that he was not going to answer, and changed the subject again, "Why didn't you leave? What's going on?" "The road is blocked off by a median, but I don't think it's a crash. There's no sign of any damage." "I heard that the police found bomb-making equipment in an apartment building," said a woman next to Susan. "The police have put a curfew on the roads to prevent an explosion." Ackland shook his head. "We're too close. If that's the case, they'll stop us 500 yards away." He raised his chin, looked around at the houses and offices, "There are people in front of all the windows. If The police told them all to evacuate the building fearing there would be an explosion, the exploding glass would be more destructive than the shrapnel." "It's a crime scene," said a young black guy leaning in front of his BMW. "I've seen it on TV. The cops were collecting evidence in white overalls. I bet there was a murder." "How do we get through?" "I don't know, man," he said kindly, "but you're better than me, at least you're walking. And my car can't move an inch now." He pointed across the road, "You can turn right before that median ...but you still have to cut your way. This kind of thing attracts more people than the 'Live Octagon' charity concert in Hyde Park." "thanks." "You're welcome. If you see the police, do me a favor and tell them to stop wasting their time on trivial matters and get down to business. There's a lady waiting for me and she'll slap me if I'm late again Slapped." "Do you want to call her?" Susan asked when Aclan led Susan between the BMW and the car in front, "I can lend you my mobile phone." "I already called." The young man opened his hand to reveal his mobile phone, "She said I was a woman—" He paused, grinning at Susan, "A liar, my girlfriend is not Trust me too much. I hope this is big enough to make the news." Susan and Acklan crossed the street together. "If he thinks his girlfriend will let him use the news as an excuse, he's living a delusion. She'll say he heard it on the radio and slap it harder," she laughs. . Aklan stopped on the side of the road, "Do you think this is ridiculous?" He asked curiously. Susan threw the unfinished cigarette into the gutter by the side of the road and crushed it with her heel. "I guess that hippie smile shows he's joking." "Not necessarily. Five of the drunks beating up veterans were girls...and they were very vicious. The worst thing the boy did was piss on the poor fool, and he did it because some girls egged him on Yes. Disgusting." "How did you scare them away?" Susan asked again. "I took off the blindfold, they don't like my face," he said, observing the crowded sidewalk, "You better come after me and tighten my jacket. That guy wasn't kidding when he said he was going to cut a path. " Reuters for BBC big news.big news.breaking news August 10 (Friday) 17:17 Bermondsey man brutally attacked An 82-year-old retiree from London, Walter Tardin, was brutally attacked in broad daylight today, leaving him with serious head injuries and life-threatening injuries.He collapsed in front of an empty shop on Gainsborough Road in Bermondsey West and was taken to the intensive care unit of St Thomas' Hospital. Hospital authorities described Mr Tadin's condition as "critical".It is not yet known whether he will be able to give details of the assailant. Workers who were furnishing the store at the time, Jim Adams, 53, and Barry Field, 36, found Tadin lying in the doorway when they returned from lunch. "He looked terrible," Jim Adams said. "We were shocked that no one helped him. Passers-by must have thought he was drunk." Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.A spokesman said: "There must have been witnesses to the violence that took place at lunchtime. We believe Mr Tadin crossed Gainsborough Road before falling in front of the shop. Passing motorists may have seen him .” The spokesman declined to comment on whether police were linking the attack to three recent murders in the same area.Harry Peel, Martin Britton and Kevin Atkins all died of severe head injuries. Gainsborough Road was blocked while the police took fingerprints at the scene, and the traffic was paralyzed for a while.Witnesses said police found bloodstains in an alley across from the store where Tadin passed out.The alley leads directly to Mr Tardin's house, which has been cordoned off pending inspection. Mr Tardin is a widower with three children and seven grandchildren.Currently nursing at the hospital bed is his 53-year-old daughter Amy.