Three of Five, Chapter 26
Jun. 24th, 2006 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melo_annechenChapter Twenty-six
Madblood had returned to the lab much later than he had expected. His attorney merely had some questions for the latest round of patent defense hearings. The afternoon had disappeared with the chance comment of his probation officer. “I really should be getting back to the lab,” he had said three hours ago. Yet here he was, sitting drinking tea. Green tea, to be exact, which he could not remember ordering.
Earlier that afternoon, Officer Giles had spent thirty minutes in the office going over the normal procedures, and then had walked him out of the building. “So how is the internship thing working out for you?” he asked as they left the criminal justice center.
The offhand question had grabbed Madblood’s attention immediately. “Dr. Bowman has proven to be an adequate assistant,” he replied casually; as long as what happens in my head bloody well stays in my head, it will be fine, he thought.
“No signs of - irregularities, then? Very good, I had worried that adding her to your routine might cause problems. I’m glad to see that my fears were unfounded.”
“Irregularities, you say; what, pray tell, would you consider an irregularity that would fall in your bailiwick?” the professor raised an eyebrow as they came to the bus stop.
“Just that some of her past escapades might have caused issues with her current employment.” Officer Giles turned to the direction of the parking garage. “Well, see you next week.”
Madblood ignored the arrival of the bus, staring after Giles fifteen seconds before breaking into an undignified run. “Wait! What do you mean, ‘past escapades’? What are you talking about?”
Thomas Giles cruised to a stop, and waited for the professor to close the gap before speaking. “You ran a background check on her, yes?”
Madblood gathered his dignity, wheezing only slightly. “Of course; she has no history of arrest,” no lie there, at least for the Bowman ID, “and her academic background was scattered,” another truth, if you considered the number of identities, “but I see no reason to believe-”
Thomas held up his hand, “It was merely an observation, and apparently an inaccurate one. I will trouble you no further.”
Madblood stood staring after his probation officer, and for the first time in decades, made a decision that had no scientific basis. He caught up to the probation officer as he was about to enter the garage, saying the most difficult phrase in his lexicon - “We need to talk.”
Therefore, here he was, three and a half hours later, drinking tea he had not ordered, in a restaurant he would have never found in his normal traffic patterns, in a conversation he would never have admitted to his probation officer, with said probation officer. “I don’t think I have found all of her past. I cannot find anything I trust that is more than fifteen years old. It’s as if she did not exist prior to age thirteen, which was more than twenty years ago.”
“Have you asked her about her past?” Thomas said, sipping his Keemun and waving off the server with the tray of dainties.
“I have not. It would indicate a distrust of her.” Madblood stared into his tea, and missed Thomas’ start of surprise.
After getting himself under control, Thomas asked, “You know she has several identities and still trust her?”
“Of course not; but I should not give the impression I find her untrustworthy. It would spoil the effect when she turns on me.” Lupin sipped his tea.
Thomas chuckled, “I’d forgotten what it was like to discuss socialization techniques with a mad genius.”
“You have been in social contact with others? I thought you were just the parole officer who got the short straw.”
“Heh, not really. My supervisor thought handling your case would be good for my thesis.”
Lupin frowned, “What is the subject of your thesis?”
“Rehabilitation and redirection strategies within the standard corrections principles; although I admit, most of my work has been with those of average intellectual functioning. You wreck the curve, but the change has been refreshing.”
“I’m so glad to be entertaining,” the professor grated. “To get back to the other question, though…”
“Ah, well, hum; I had some contact with some of the mad geniuses in my generation. Dad was head of security for a specialized home school program. I, ah, managed to reconnect with some of them as adults, in spite of my chosen profession.” Now it was Thomas’ turn to stare into his tea.
Lupin pondered a moment - "A specialized home school - you were part of the Tinasky II program?"
“Not officially, I didn’t test out high enough for the control group, but you might say I was one of the assignments. During the school year, I attended my assigned school, but during the summer, the director of the program invited me to tag along on some of the projects. Mr. M said something about me helping to teach the hooligans to work with 'normals'. I think that’s the first time I realized that being really good in just one area could cause problems in the real world.”
“But you said you reconnected with some of them?”
“Um, yeah, I’m – dating a girl I met through the program. She’s one of the few I haven’t had to deal with in a professional sphere.”
The professor experienced a flare of jealousy, which he quickly suppressed. “Ah, good luck with that, then.”
The two men, having reached the end of what they were willing to admit, silently finished their tea.
>>>>
“Charlotte? Will this do?” Lovelace had let the intern stare through the door a few moments before interrupting.
“It will more than ‘do’, Lovelace. It’s as if the space was designed for Galen.” She took a few steps into the room, noting the electrical connections in the niches along the wall opposite the decontamination unit.
“Galen? You named your medical evaluation unit?”
“Ah - the designer did. It’s a Galen model 3006 series Prescott Medical Analysis Diagnostic Unit. It’s not an AI, but the voice simulations are mostly male.” Charlotte took a laser survey tool from her pocket and placed it in the back of the niche between the door and the shower pod. “Hm, should fit nicely here,” she said as she noted the readings.
Sela and 8295 stopped at the threshold, where Sela asked “So can we start loading in or do we need to prep the area?”
“Not as much prep needed as I originally thought; once we strip the wax off the floor in this area, we can begin installation.”
“I can take care of that while you three unload.” A small door opened beside the radiation cabinet, allowing a servo to glide out into the room. “Would you like to test the speakers in the room?” Lovelace asked.
Charlotte grinned as she headed upstairs “Sure, would you please cue up my ‘TCB’ play list?”
“Very good, ma’am.” Lovelace giggled, and the first strains of the guitars kicked in all over the lab.
Charlotte laughed, and joined in at full voice on the first verse as she entered the garage - “The mountain is high, the valley is low, and you're confused 'bout which way to go…”
>>>>
Lupin sat in the café courtyard, drinking the tea that kept appearing, long after his parole officer had left. His mind would not settle, his capacity for linear thought momentarily lost. He had not mentioned to Officer Giles that Charlotte had admitted to being in the study. The fact they were of an age meant they could have been classmates, or possibly even friends. He was dating a girl he met through the program, could it be Charlotte? Would he have mentioned that if it were? Madblood’s brow creased with his irritation. Not that it was any of his business what his intern did with her free time, other than staying away from rival labs, but dating his probation officer was probably against the law. Strangely enough, that seemed to be an argument against it, if his understanding of his intern's character was accurate. Charlotte rarely mentioned her private life outside the lab; he had merely assumed she, like himself, had few interests outside the work. He was still brooding when the server brought the sashimi to his table. It took him a few moments to realize he had been served, when the manager had stopped by his table.
“Is everything to your satisfaction, sir?” The Asian woman asked with an Anglican accent.
“I did not order this…”
“My apologies sir, we are not licensed to serve fugu.” She smiled, her hands clasped in front of her. “I hope we have provided adequate substitutions.”
“No, I had not ordered at all. There must be some mistake.”
The woman cocked her head to the side. “I apologize, I was not aware you were fasting, Professor.” She moved to remove the plate when Lupin stopped her.
“Who are you?” His grip on her wrist was not strong, but enough to keep the woman from leaving.
“A friend of a friend.” She smiled, and raised an eyebrow. “You are Lupin Madblood, correct?”
“Yes, but now you have me at a disadvantage.” He noticed his hand, and switched to clasping her hand in a gentle handshake.
She adjusted to the handshake seamlessly and responded, “I am Victoria Shan, the co-owner of this establishment. Your reputation precedes you, Professor. You seem shocked that you are a local celebrity.”
“It is an odd sensation to encounter someone with the reaction of ‘fame’ rather than ‘infamy’.” Madblood responded, releasing her hand, and readying himself to run if need be.
She chuckled, “Oh, to be sure, you’re as mad as a crate of flying monkeys, but you’re our madman, and gentleman enough not to make a mess of your nest, except, perhaps, when provoked.” She folded her hands again. “Now, as I said, I am the friend of a friend, who would be, hm, perturbed to find you had been skipping meals, and t’would be a shame to waste good Hamachi and Alaskan Sake.”
>>>>
When Madblood returned to the lab that evening, he was surprised to note Charlotte had not yet left. Her vehicle was still in the garage, and her cooler was still under her desk. A quick check proved she had either skipped lunch or gotten something while she was out for parts. He then noticed there were rhythmic sounds coming from the floor. “Lovelace, where is Charlotte?”
“She is completing the installation of the medical evaluation pod in the decontamination unit.”
“Has she taken a break in the past two hours?” Madblood asked as he headed for the stairs, where the sounds resolved in to faint music.
“No, sir. I think she’s been having too much fun.”
Madblood raised an eyebrow, “and she usually does not when she's here?”
“You’ll see.” Lovelace opened the door of the disused room, and the music volume increased exponentially. He was momentarily distracted from the new additions to the decontamination suite by movement - 8295 was in the midst of performing a boxcars/candlestick/waterfall combination with Sela.
Charlotte was head-down in a sarcophagus-like object, singing along with the music “… looking for a can of ale, Papa’s in the ice box looking for a can of ale, Mama’s in the back yard learning how to jive and wail.” Sela then assisted 8295 through a capoeira, which distracted the professor from the view of Charlotte’s posterior.
Having feet fly past your face will distract you from most any aesthetically pleasing views. "I don't suppose this would be the time to discuss your choice of medical equipment, woawk!” Sela, who had rather exuberantly caught up the professor in the dance, pulled him into a Lindy kip followed by a tomahawk. Having not danced in years, he flubbed the landing and stumbled backwards. He was not looking forward to the crash, when he was caught from behind.
“Sela, you should ask first, before you maul someone.” Charlotte chided. She looked down at the professor, “Are you all right, sir?”
Lupin realized where his head was resting. “Ah, well yes, just out of practice” He regained his feet, and realized he was out of practice for a number of things.
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