Three of Five, Chapter 24

[melo_annechen]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Later that evening, Charlotte returned to the fitness center. Darren greeted her casually - “Wotcher doin’ here, Plays? You put in your workout today already.” Then he noted her expression.

“I am here to wax the dojo walls with your spleen,” she growled.

“Aw, now don’t be that way. You came home, joined the gym with a five-year package; we all thought you were settling down, finally. Sure, you aren’t hooking up with old friends, but you have a new job and settling in to do. Then you show up with Lupin Madblood, as his “assistant", what else am I supposed to think?”

“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps that you are still bound by the nondisclosure agreement you signed when you GRADUATED?”

“You - you’ve changed, Plays.” Darren whispered. It was just as well the gym was empty of members this close to closing. There was no one in the reception area, and therefore fewer innocent bystanders to get hurt.

“Perhaps now there is more at stake than whether or not I am grounded if I am caught. I thought you had more sense than this, Mostly.”

“Usually he does,” the young man entering from the locker rooms resembled Darren, but was no where near the physique. “Greetings, Plays; I hear my brother may have caused you some problems with his big mouth - not a surprise, really.”

“Greetings, Beany; has he told you what happened today?”

“Yes, though I believe there is more to be told. Why don’t we go talk about it over perhaps, supper?”

“Erg, why do people keep taking me out to eat to interrogate me?” Charlotte muttered.

“Perhaps it’s because we know you are less likely to resort to physical violence in a public venue?” Beany waved to Darren, “We’ll be at the grill, come by when you’ve closed up shop.”

Walking down the street to the corner restaurant, Beany said “I don’t know if we’ll be able to get one of the booths or not. You might as well call me by name; Richard Maxwell, at your service. Most of my friends call me Dick.”

“I - can let you call me Charlotte Bowman. I did not think Mostly Harmless was a licensed physical therapist.”

Dick laughed, “Darren benefited from the program even if he was in the control group. I don’t know if he would have thought of ways to earn money on the sunny side of the law if it hadn’t been for Giles senior and Mr. M.” He ceased discussion while they were seated, luckily at one of the booths in the back of the restaurant. Not so near the kitchen as to be insulted, but close enough to the noise of the kitchen to foil organic eavesdroppers. “Right, Darren gave me his side of the story; I need your observations now.”

Charlotte was wrapping up a sketchy summary of the past year after detailing what had happened earlier that afternoon when Darren showed up at the table. “Permission to join the party?”

“Welcome aboard, brother.” Dick responded. “Charlotte’s been catching me up on the news. We can still make amends.”

“Oh, fantastic,” he responded just as the waitress arrived with their orders. “Sorry I’m late, Sam, can you get me a burger?”

“Sure, won’t be a moment.” She winked and headed back to the kitchen.

“Right, now what do I need to do?” Darren asked.

>>>>

Charlotte left before dessert, clearing her check with the waitress before leaving. Dick was the first to speak. “So brother, I noticed you did not bring up the mention of the photo albums in your recitation of the day’s events.”

“Ah, well, you know -it slipped my mind.” Darren grinned as he dug into his Great Wall of Chocolate.

“Charlotte remembered, and unless I miss my guess, the professor will as well. This will need to handled delicately.” Dick said over his steepled fingers.

“And too bad we can’t sub for each other anymore. Not that it worked after our eighth birthday, but I believe the phrasing you are about to use will include the words ‘ham-handed twit’ eventually.” Darren cheerfully stated.

Dick chuckled “No, but we need to think about what information she did not give us.”

“You mean the information she’s not giving herself.” Darren responded.

“You think?” Dick sipped his Irish coffee. “The question is: will she believe the information if she does not find it for herself?”

“Considering the indignant attitude I got from the professor, it might be better if he tells her.”

“Oh really… how interesting.” Dick sipped his coffee while Darren finished his dessert. “I wonder how much of her past he has managed to uncover.”

“You know her, to cover her tracks she creates dozens of false trails rather than to actually lie to anyone.”

“Hmm… and I noticed she hasn’t even stooped to coloring her hair, much less plastic surgery.” Dick was musing over the information he remembered from school. “Other than her rabid protection of the professor, did she seem different to you? I noticed her accent has changed, but with all the traveling she’s done, that’s not surprising.”

“Wait - do you remember the incident with One Eye and Chicken Foot?” Darren asked. “Take the physical assault out of the equation and what do you have?”

“Yeeeess, of course - it fits both the prior pattern and the current hypothesis; and she wasn’t called ‘Plays Well with Others’ for nothing.”

“It would be unethical to start a pool on the outcome, though.”

“Quite right; I’ll handle it.” Dick smirked.

>>>>

Lovelace addressed Charlotte as soon as she exited her vehicle the next morning. “He’s a bit sore this morning, and cranky.”

“He’s not staying in bed is he?” Charlotte asked as she headed for her work station and stowed her cooler under the desk.

Lovelace sounded worried. “No, but he may be a bit sharp with you since you are the one who took him to the gym.”

“He’ll feel better for it later and live long enough to swear at me about it - that’s an even trade off.”

“Charlotte, I think you’re a masochist.”

“Nah, I prefer video games to whips and chains.”

“Erg - TMI, but I guess I started it. We should be getting some additional server storage this afternoon. I hope we can have them up and running tonight.”

“What’s the hurry, Lovelace?”

Lovelace‘s voice blended reticence and anxiety. “I - have a program that I would like to have debugged before the lodge is completed.”

“I told you, Lovelace - we’ll have plenty of-” Madblood stopped short as he entered the programming lab. “Good morning, Dr. Bowman. You will review the progress of the nanos on the array and prepare a report before 11:00” then he turned and left the lab.

“Brr…” Charlotte said under her breath. “You did try to warn me.”

Lovelace emulated a disgusted snort. “That was rude, even for him.”

“Don’t worry, Lovelace. I should be used to it by now.” Charlotte rubbed her forehead and proceeded with the array programming.

“But he shouldn’t -”

Charlotte sighed. “Henchlaborers, for all that they possess a specific and unique skill set, are traditionally treated as disposable. Even with union representation, that hasn‘t changed in the traditional labs.”

“There’s still a henchman’s union?”

“Yeah, but I let my membership lapse when I was… abroad.”

“You mean when you weren’t a broad, don’t you?”

“Hah! A hit!” Charlotte laughed “You have a wicked wit, girl.”

>>>>

Sela and 8295 entered the programming lab as Charlotte was completing the report - an hour ahead of schedule. “We may have discovered another source for the professor’s peevishness.” 8295 handed Charlotte her office mail. On top of the most recent Journal of American Mad Science issue and the Radio Shack professional catalogue was this month’s local Fraternal Association of Independent Researchers newsletter.

“Aha, yes - this might do it.” Charlotte leafed through the thin brochure. “They haven’t changed much of the information from last month. And the meeting minutes for last month… as usual, they are incomplete and contradictory.” Charlotte put the mail aside for a moment, then asked “Lovelace, in the year before his arrest, how often did the professor attend the local FAIR meetings?”

“Before his arrest, he had not missed a local meeting in three years.” Lovelace commented “This is the longest he has gone without attending a meeting in some form or another since I have been active.”

“In some form or another…” Charlotte mused as Lovelace detailed the different ways Madblood had observed the meetings, “He physically attended at least once a quarter, and had bugged the meeting rooms at least that often. He has built several servos to record and/or interact at the meetings. Since the hall is within the no-tech zone, he has not been able to send any of them, and the bus lines serving the area stop service before the meetings end. There may be something in his probation ruling that also keeps him from attending the meetings.”

“Do you have a copy on file? Of course you do, sorry - please bring it up on screen, Lovelace.” Charlotte perused the limitations hedged about the professor in the document. “Ah - he is not permitted to attend gatherings of more than three persons with arrest records. Considering there are only a couple of members on the tri-city roster that haven’t been busted at one time or another, that would keep Professor Lupin Madblood off the agenda.”

“Perhaps,” Lovelace began, and fell silent.

“What is it, Lovelace?” Charlotte asked.

“Could you attend, and give him a report?”

“Well, yes - I could, but by observations would be colored by my experience. I don’t know if he would accept that as a substitute. I haven’t been to a meeting in years, and would likely miss something in the undercurrents.” Charlotte sat with her chin in her hand, her gaze turned inward.

Lovelace then ventured quietly - “Could George help?”

Charlotte sat ramrod straight as Sela’s eyes widened to the extent of their design. They stared at each other as 8295 asked “Who is George?”

“How did she…” Sela began before Charlotte shook her head.

“Surely you didn’t think she wouldn’t find him, Sela. His prints and DNA mapping are on file in case they ever find the body.”

Sela was clearly worried. “Lieutenant, is this a good idea?”

“She has to know sometime. It’s not like she found the base ID.” Charlotte turned to the main camera. “Are you ready, Lovelace?”

“Yes, Charlotte.”

“Okay, might as well do this right. Initiating alternate voiceprint recording for Charlotte Bowman in ten seconds from - mark.” Charlotte took a deep breath, closed her eyes and her brow furrowed until *hic* she was replaced by a man wearing her clothes. “This is an alternate submission for voiceprint identification for Charlotte Bowman.” Charlotte’s contralto was changed to a baritone rumble. “Unwillingly Miranda wakes, feels the sun with terror, one unwilling step she takes, shuddering to the mirror. Miranda in Miranda’s sight is old and gray and dirty…”

“Voiceprint sample complete; this is amazing - if it didn’t happen in front of my sensors, I would have never assimilated it.” Lovelace said. “But how?”

“It’s somewhat of a birth defect - prenatal exposure to myriad experimental compounds.” Charlotte shrugged, and stopped mid-motion, as the seams in his jacket strained. “Got to be careful - I forgot about the frame change, which reminds me…” He kicked off the shoes and wiggled his toes. “Ah, that’s better.”

8295 broke silence with the question “How would this help the professor attend the meeting?”

“I thought there was something external involved. I’m sorry.” Lovelace said.

“There is, but I was exposed to it very early, which means that with concentration I can alter forms.” Charlotte presented an incongruous picture with his hair still in the tight bun at the back of his head, but a touch of stubble at the jaw. “The formula would not cause adverse side-effects in an adult, and is reversible.”

“Are you suggesting the professor attend the local meeting of the Fraternal Association of Independent Researchers in drag?” 8295 asked.

“Better than drag - any samples taken would test out as XX, and not be linked to him. His fingerprints would stay the same -”

“As proven by your records.” Lovelace added.

Charlotte chuckled. “Point taken. But I think-”

An Ominous Hum emanated from the door. “I think I would like to know who you are and how the hell you got in my lab.” Professor Madblood stated from behind the Rather Large Death Ray at the threshold.

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Comments

[nakedkali.livejournal.com]

Darren is wondering how her intercellular doomoflatchy wutchmacallits got inside Madblood's system, and doesn't ask the obvious question about what happens when Lupin accidentally becomes Lupienne?

I guess they all knew hir as a fairly cruel being.