Anti-man

hell were you doing, boy?' '
        I recounted the experience, went over it time and again from the moment Parnel had turned the light on me, until I had left him in the arms of the ranger at the main ranger station.
        "You did see that he got medical attention," Leonard said. "We can argue that this proves you did not intend to kill. But they are going to fight like hell to keep the bigger charge, 'cause it's their only way to strike back at you for all you've done. I'm going to talk to Parnel tomorrow. I'll try to talk him into dropping the charges to simple assault. He, being the victim, can do that whether WA likes it or not."
        Then they went, leaving me alone in the cell that night, the next day, the next night, and all of the following morning. But at noon on my third day in prison, as I was trying to concentrate on the melodic intricacies of a Lennon-extrapolated symphony that was playing in my wall stereo, Fenner returned with my bail papers, ushered me out to the desk where I signed another set of yellow sheets. From there, a WA clerk led us out of the prison complex, onto the roof of the building to the same landing pad that I had been brought in on, days earlier.
        "Wait a minute," I said, grabbing Fenner by the arm and towing him to the wall at the edge of the roof, away from the landing pad where there was a busy rush of arriving and departing officers. "What the devil is going on? I thought I was in serious straits. They don't issue bail to people in the maximum security cells."
        "You were put into maximum security only because the WA wanted to make a big issue of your apprehension. All of your crimes are bailable except assault with intent to kill. But I have talked with Justice Parnel."
        "And he reduced the charge?"
        "Not only that. He withdrew his complaint altogether."
        "What?"
        "He dropped the charges."
        "I shoot a man, send him to the hospital for a week or two, and he drops the charges?" I shook my head. "What was his price?"
        "You don't buy the Justice Parnel!" Fenner said.
        "Then who is your mutual relationship?"
        "You insinuate that I deal illegally to get my clients lighter sentences?" His tone of voice had changed. It bordered on anger now, was tainted with a sour, ugly streak.
        "Okay," I said. "It was done honestly. But, Leonard, how in hell did you do it?"
        He smiled and was his old, jovial self again. "I had a long talk with the Justice. I know his political leanings. I researched him well before I went to see him. I convinced him, without directly perjuring myself, that you had the same leanings and that your stealing the android that had been condemned to destruction was a manifestation of your political beliefs. I told him that I could not reveal all the circumstances behind the decision to destroy the android and behind your decision to rescue Him, but Justice Parnel was speaking warmly of you when I departed. He understood your ideals behind the theft, understood you thought he was a WA trooper about to shoot you when you returned fire. It was enough, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders.
        "You're fantastic," I told him.
        "Never. Just thorough. Now, can I drop you someplace in my copter?"
        "At the Cul-de-sac. Grid 40I. You know it?"
        "Best French restaurant in town," he said. "Of course, I know it. We lawyers are not necessarily slobs."
        At the Cul-de-sac, the maitre d' gave me a corner table in a dark section of the main room and left me to the top-heavy, young blonde waitress who gave me a menu, requested my wine order, asked if I wanted a drink of any sort, and went away to get my Whiskey Sour while I perused the menu. All in all, it was a delightful meal, and I managed not to think about anything but the taste of the food-and whether or not the young blonde's blouse-bulging attributes were real or silicone-induced. I had no compunction against marrying a girl with chemically-created allurements, so long as they were indistinguishable from the real thing. As far as I could tell, these were. I played a game with myself, trying to decide whether or not I should ask her to marry me. I listed what I could see of her faults and her virtues. In the end, I decided to come back in a day or two and look the merchandise over again.
        Outside, in the corridor, I boarded a pedwalk, one of the faster ones, and rode it a block and a half