Chapter 2

My lawyer came to see me around two in the afternoon. I was still in considerable pain but I consoled myself with the thought that I was alive and I knew that with time the pain would pass. As Mr McMillan approached my bed I saw a genial looking round faced man of average height who was probably about ten kilos over weight. He pulled up a chair and sat down resting his brief case at his feet.

"How are you today my boy," he asked. "I have to say you still look a mess but you have a different look in your eyes. I think you are getting ready to fight back."

I looked at him in amazement. He cannot know about the change just from looking at me I thought. He must have been talking to my aunt.

"You have been talking to my aunt," I told him.

"No! No! My dear boy," he said. "She left a message on my answer phone yesterday telling me it was alright to come and visit you, though she did mention that you were looking a bit better"

"Then, how do you know I have decided to fight my way back to health?" I asked him.

"I told you laddie, it's in the eyes. I am a lawyer, and though I say it myself I am a smart one and a good one. Like the old gunslingers of the wild west you don't watch the hands, you watch they eyes. They tell you when your man is going is to draw. I deal with all sorts so over the years I have learnt to watch my client's eyes and I often get a feel for the man or woman."

I laughed. As a young boy Peter had never encountered his lawyer except perhaps to see him if his father took him with him when he went for a brief visit. Then he was left sitting outside on one of the waiting room chairs.

"I think I am going to like dealing with you Mr McMillan," I told him. "I hope you can read the opposition lawyers eyes too."

"Hah! You are sharpening up, I see," He said. "Your dad did say you were a very bright boy. So I think you and I will get along splendidly. Are you ready to start dealing with some necessary business?"

I told him I was and he reached down and pulled up his brief case and opened it to extract several documents.

"Let's get started then and the first item on the agenda is your Father's will. It is a sad business," he said, "But let me say this, because your mother was killed instantly as were your two sisters and your Father died on the way to hospital the line of succession is clear and unmuddied. This I means that I can proceed to the second and later will which I made your father prepare for just such a situation as this.

Apart from gifts to various charities, he bequeaths the vast majority of his estate to his surviving children. In this case, that means you are his sole heir. Do you have any Questions at this point?"

"Not so far," I told him.

"Then I will proceed," The lawyer said. You inherit a property worth £1.5 million. Your father and mother had personal insurance and personal accident insurances. These total another £750,000 and the balance of the value of their estate when all debts and death duties are settled will amount to approximately another £500,000 pounds. That means when the dust settles you should have a net worth of around £2,750,000. To add to this there will also be the settlement from the car insurance both for the vehicle and for those who lost their lives in the accident and of course for your injuries and your hospital care. I will be conducting negotiations on this with your insurers. Have you any questions at this point?

Again I shook my head to signify that I was following what he said and that I had understood.

"Good!" Mr McMillan said, "Now to the next part. You have suffered severe injury and grievous loss and it is clear that the owners of the vehicle were at fault. I would like with your permission to press for damages from their insurers on your behalf. Are you willing to let me initiate this action for you?"

I had already made up my mind that Peter's father had a lawyer who was a very sharp cookie and that my affairs would be in good hands if he was representing me, so I said.

"I will be more than happy to let you do so Mr. McMillan. I am sure that you will do your very best for me."

"I have to warn you from the outset that these affairs can be very protracted, especially if you set out to punish the owners of the vehicle for maximum damages. But bear in mind they will not be paying it will be their insurers. My suggestion is to push for as much as we can get without going to court which I assure you will be a considerable sum." Mr McMillan told me.

"Why would you not wish to go to court?" I asked.

"It is not that I am against going to court," he told me with a smile." But I feel if we were willing to settle for a reasonable but considerable sum, then we could shorten the length of time it would take to have the case settled by a considerable margin. I could point out to them that it would be in their interests to settle rather than face the costs and the likelihood that a jury would award you a considerably higher figure if it came to trial."

"I am in your hands on this matter, sir" I told him, "And I will listen very carefully to any advice you offer."

"Then I will proceed as I have indicated," He said. "I will keep you posted at regular intervals as to our progress and of any offers as they are made. Now do you have any immediate needs?"

I told him that there was little I could do at this point in time and could not think of anything other than essential toiletries and such. I said to him that my aunt would probably take care of these sorts of things. We spoke generally for a time about what was in front of me. He also informed me that my Father through his occupation had a health care insurance plan for the whole family and that this would operate for the length of my care.

When he finally left, I lay back and thought about my situation. All the signs were that I was going to be comfortably off for the foreseeable future. With the health care plan I should be able to get all the physiotherapy that I would need for my rehab. Once all these plasters were removed my primary concern would be to get my new body back into the kind of shape in which my original body was maintained. Then I would need to find martial arts school and take it up so that in due course I would be able to explain why I was skilled in that area if I ever needed to use it.

Over the next few weeks Isa was a regular visitor and she encouraged my new attitude towards life. As the day drew nearer when the leg and arm plasters were to be removed and the screws taken out of my legs and arms she arranged for the physiotherapist to come and see me. He talked about an exercise programme to strengthen my muscles. He told me we could start work on my arms but would have to wait for the body plaster to be removed before we could do much in the way of leg exercises and this would be another two weeks away at least. However he got me an electronic machine that when attached to the muscles of my leg gave them a gentle work out by shooting electric pulses to move the muscles without me having to physically move my legs.

Finally the day came when the body plaster was removed and I could begin to plan in earnest to get my body back into shape. I had made up my mind that while still in hospital I would let their physiotherapists lead the way and be patient. It was when I was finally released from hospital that the serious work would start. Then I would join a gym and in cooperation with their trainer work out a programme that would get me back into shape.

Another factor that was beginning to prove a problem was the reawakening of other bodily impulses. While I was in pain and having painkillers to ease this, I did not fully realise that I had a young teenage body. Now that the pain had eased I was wakening each morning with a woody. I was glad now that the plasters were off and I regained my feet I was able to dispense with bed baths. Since the removal of the plaster this caused me no end of embarrassment and provided the nurses with a source of amusement as my body frequently responded to their ministrations with an erection that was hard to hide. I consoled myself with the thought that when I got out of here I could at least take care of that with Lady Hand and her five daughters.

The other thing that had not occurred to me when I entered my new body was the fact that while I was in hospital and convalescing, I was missing schooling. The accident had happened in late January and since I was so handicapped it was not possible for me to keep up with school work. The other factor that worked against this was that I was in a hospital a goodly distance from the town where I went to school. Since all my family were killed it was some time before the school caught up with the fact that I was in hospital. When they did it was clear that I would not be returning there, but moving to a new school in the town where my aunt lived. Because of this I slipped through the educational net and nobody provided me with a work programme even when I was fit enough to resume my studies.

While this was not a problem for me as the adult I was in Peter's body, it would have been a problem for Peter and I would have to go along with that. When it finally dawned on my aunt and the hospital authorities that I was missing out on much of my education they entered into a discussion about how this should be tackled. I pointed out to them that because of when my birthday fell I had started school and been one of the youngest in my class. This meant that even if I had to repeat a year, I would only be the oldest in my class by a matter of a week or so. Since this would not be a noticeable problem or make me seem out of place, If I had to be held back this would not bother me. It would mean I could concentrate on getting better and study enough to be ahead of the class when I resumed my schooling. My aunt felt that this was the best solution all round and if I was happy with it then that is what we would do.

During this time in hospital, I was asked for permission to let the insurers, both my own and the other company to access my medical records to gauge the extent of my injuries, both Physical and mental. Several doctors from the other drivers insurance examined me and interviewed me. Having been through SAS training and having a degree in psychology myself and since I had Peter's memories it was not hard for me to react as the Peter I knew would have done in that situation. The medical prognosis of the hospital doctors that I might be months in rehab, I thought, would help my case considerably. If by my determination I speeded up the process, then my people could argue that this was down to my will power and not because the effects of the injuries were less severe than the records showed.

The great day arrived and I was finally allowed home. It was almost Easter and I had missed a whole school term and was likely to miss most if not all of the next as I worked my way back to fitness. I was still sore in many places and exercising increased the pain. But from past experience as my other self I knew just how far I could go without doing any damage and therefore prolong the time it would take me to recover. With my aunts consent I joined the same gym that she attended and this confirmed my earlier conclusion that she was a woman who worked out to keep herself in shape. I also persuaded her to let me join a local krav maga club. This is a form of self defence pioneered in Hungary to help local Jews defend themselves against Nazi Militias. When its founder moved to Israel it was taught to their special forces, to the police and to agents of Mossad. It is also taught to regular army units and can be used in crowd control.

Its general principles include counter attacking as soon as possible (or attacking pre-emptively)

Targeting attacks to the body's most vulnerable points such as eyes, jaw, throat, groin and knees etc.