By David C. Daoust
Margo was equally surprised at what had just transpired as Colin clearly was, especially since they had just had the same thing happen to them, in their inn across town. Margo thought something was funny about the way they had to clear out all quiet like, though it was in her programming to be trusting, she felt maybe Colin was a big fat liar. Now though, that she had witnessed almost the exact same thing happen to the small blond woman, she thought maybe she owed Colin an apology.
Having just dealt with the same situation with Colin, she decided she should offer the same assistance to the angry blond that had just stormed out of the hotel. Margo quickly followed her out as Colin dealt with the large, unhelpful, woman at the desk.
Margo quickly found the woman pacing outside on the sidewalk before the huge double doors of the ritzy hotel, ritzy for Twin Crown anyway. The cane gripped tightly in both hands, as though she may snap it in half with the frustration that clearly showed on her face.
“Hello!” Margo said to the woman, apprehensive at the woman’s demeanor though still interested in helping.
The blond looked at her funny, and the anger was replaced by disbelief.
“I think maybe there is a racket on this moon,” Margo announced, using the expression she heard the blond use in the lobby, though unsure how to breach the subject of helping her, “We had almost the exact same thing happen to us, in an inn across town!”
“Really?” the woman asked still studying the small girls face.
“Sure!” Margo continued, “They told us we had to go! And they were going to keep our stuff and everything!”
“My friend Colin wasn’t having none of that,” Margo explained, then roughly embellished her previous encounter, “I scaled the wall and grabbed our stuff without them dummies even knowing about it though.”
The small blond narrowed her eyes, as she continued to study Margo.
“I’m Dakota,” she said, “You wouldn’t happen to go by the name Elma would you?”
Margo beamed at the reference to her human.
“No,” the small girl laughed and Dakota just smiled, “I’m her stunt-bot! Or I was, tell the truth, I snuck off into the night…”
“You’re a bot?” Dakota asked, the disbelief clear on her face, “That’s amazing!”
“So…?” Margo asked, “Want my help getting your stuff?”
“I don’t know,” Dakota said, “My room’s the penthouse, it’s about ten stories up….”
“Psht…” Margo waved that away, “I been up higher than that.”
“Did you see the movie ‘Clutchers’?” Margo asked, as she led the pair behind the ten story building, “It was my eleventh movie…”
“…About the mountain climbing pioneers of ‘Queen’s End’?” Dakota asked, as Margo studied the side of the building, “Was that real?”
“For me it was.” Margo said simply, “Little Miss Elma Parks never left the green screen. I, however, plunged into that canyon seven or eight times before they got a shot they liked. Of course, she got all the rewards and accolades for falling to her death…”
“There are awards for that?” Dakota asked.
“Sure!” Margo said, though may have assumed that part, and she didn’t want to seem like she didn’t know what she was talking about, “They got awards for everything… they just want to have something to talk about mostly, you know so the names get out their… helps to sell movies I guess.”
Margo was happy with that, she felt as though she’d sold the part about her being in the glamorous movie business, and knowing how it works! Truth was, she just got beat up a lot.
“Which room is yours?” Margo asked as she began to climb up the wall.
“Any window on the top floor will lead into the penthouse,” Dakota answered, “the whole floor is just one big hotel room.”
“Wow,” Margo said, “you must be rich huh?”
“I do OK,” Dakota answered simply as she glanced back and forth to make sure no one was watching, Margo didn’t press. “Really, I just need my Holo-Pads, everything else is replaceable…”
“And listen…” Dakota tacked on, “There may be private security up there… if you could maybe not let them see you…”
“Ok,” Margo called down as she had already started her climb, “I’ll be back in a jiffy!”
Margo moved unnaturally quick up the wall, leaping from hand hold to hand hold she very rarely needed to even plant a foot as she scaled up the side of the hotel. Her time on Queen’s End, which was basically one giant canyon of a moon, had taught her to climb. All those free falls to her character’s death, were followed by her having to climb back to the top… mostly just so she could ‘fall off’ again.
