"Well, in that case, Doctor, it's fortunate all I've to offer are kind gestures." Doc Painless raised an eyebrow at that. The implication seemed to be that Ivory wouldn't be
making any big promises... but he was already thinking back to Stroud's earlier words:
"I can promise you this, Doctor: No violence will befall these people, so long as The Family is present." "We'll see," he replied, smiling tightly.
"Promises that seem small at first, well, they often turn out to be harder to keep than we expect." He looked down the long, long line of people waiting for food, and at the line now gathering for frostbite aid in his absence.
"If that weren't so, we'd have a better world by now."
He thought of that little group of senate idealists on distant Coruscant, promising to pass legislation to reign in CorpSec.
That had been a much bigger undertaking than they'd expected. A harder promise. And in the end, one left unfulfilled.
"Thank you for your help, and your advice, Doctor." The Doc mimed tipping a hat he wasn't actually wearing, eyes never leaving Stroud as she spoke.
Of course her men would stick around until he was done; the Donna needed them to be seen during the whole giveaway. If the locals didn't connect her and her syndicate with the charity they were getting, that would defeat the whole purpose of the PR venture. The Doc just hoped that no trouble started between the Family goons and Alichos's thugs while the boss was away, because he had no authority to reign them in if things got heated. No point bringing it up, though. She'd trust that
her side would have the discipline to avoid trouble.
Hopefully Mercy could keep
hers in line, too. So far, so good on that, but you never knew for sure.
"Best of luck, Doctor." He nodded again.
"You too. Hope you can get this fixed."
His eyes were thoughtful as he watched her go.
"Best thing that could happen to the giveaway is to stop needing it."
It was a simple enough comment, but there was a deeper message hidden within it. The Doc would certainly take whatever help he could get. He didn't
trust Ivory or her motives, but that didn't necessarily mean he'd turn down a partnership, now or in the future. He didn't ask for clean hands or righteous reasons in the people he worked with; if people did the right thing for all the wrong reasons, he could live with that, so long as any folks that got hurt were folks who deserved it. But this charity work was a bandaid over an opened
artery, a one-off dose of painkiller for a patient who needed weeks of physical therapy. Denon needed bigger, broader change than what they were offering here.
If Ivory and her crew fixed the atmo controls, she'd be District 9's hero for today...
... but the Doc didn't want this place to keep
needing heroes.
Especially the kind looking for something in return.
Doc Painless watched Stroud leave, piling into her speeder with two of her guys and taking off, presumably toward the utility station.
Take what you can get, he reminded himself... and if he stayed on Ivory's good side, didn't question her motives or methods too much, she could clearly get a lot
for him. He just hoped he'd know the moment at which the cost would become too high, and that he'd have the strength to turn away when that moment arrived. With a sigh, he turned back to the tent, heading over to the little first aid station he'd set up inside. A little Mirialan girl was at the front of the line, her tiny fingers stiff and pale, the tip of her nose almost blue.
"It h... hurts," she told him.
"I know," he said, bending down on one knee to get level with her.
"I'm sorry. But I'm going to make it better."
He uncapped the frostbite gel, dabbed it onto gloved fingers, and got back to work.
