Three of Five, Chapter 44

[melo_annechen]

Chapter Forty-four

Madblood rose earlier than he usually did at home, but he had never been able to sleep past dawn in a bedroom with windows. Donning his robe and slippers, he opened the door to the central room of the suite and stopped in his tracks when he saw the androids tangled up together on the couch.

Sela raised her head and motioned for him to be quiet, then mouthed, "He's still compiling."

That was when he noticed they were sharing a data cable link. He backed into his room, closed the door and sank on the bed. He was to the point of getting dressed and leaving the suite in an attempt to find something edible at the dubious coffee shop in the lobby, if only to delay entering the main room of the suite, when there was a knock at the door to the rest of the suite. "Enter."

Arsène poked his head in the door. "Sorry about that, we didn't expect you to be awake this early. Coffee is on and Sela wants to know what you want in your omelet." He took in Lupin's expression, and then fully entered the room. "Are you that wigged out by us sharing information?"

"The protocol came as somewhat of a shock." They seemed to fit - no, don‘t go there. Lupin shook his head, banishing the thought. "I'll have just eggs this morning, with maybe some cheese." He entered the main room and crossed to the kitchen area to scowl impatiently at the coffee maker, as if that would cause it to finish brewing faster, not looking at either of them.

He therefore did not notice as Sela and Arsène shared a quick tight band communication behind his back. [Is he angry?] Sela raised her eyebrows.

[No, but he seemed off balance, said it came as a shock. He asked for cheese eggs this morning.]

[Comfort food, which means he's upset. What about the hypothesis?]

[I don't know - his reaction does seem to be a valid response for either of our theories. Want to test it further?] Arsène leered in a comical fashion behind the professor's back.

Sela plated Madblood's breakfast and handed it to Arsène. [No more poking the professor with a stick this morning.] "I'll check on Charlotte while you set the table." She knocked on the door before entering Charlotte’s room, and found her curled up in the chair by the window. “Omelets for breakfast this morning - what would you like in it?”

“Something to counteract the big bowl of stupid I apparently had sometime yesterday.” Charlotte mumbled.

Sela closed the door and crossed to the chair. “I’m not sure what you mean. We covered all the contingencies predicted. Dr. Pescados-Diablo was a wild card. Are you worried that this will not work, or that you will not be able to perform the role correctly?”

I’m worried I’ll get lost in the role, Charlotte thought. “I’m worried it will not work as predicted. Ines Pescados-Diablo is not noted to be a woman to give up easily. She may well take the Aquilan bishop's approach to the matter... too bad the professor doesn't actually turn into a wolf at night - that could help.”

Sela joked, "You haven't seen him at a party, have you?"

“Shaddup,” Charlotte responded. “Anyway, I don’t think he has any combat experience beyond pistol dueling, and I haven’t given you enough hand-to-hand practice…”

“You’ve given me enough to delay her if she wants to finish him off up-close-and-personal, and her ranged weapons of choice are hard to conceal, the smallest of which would be her crossbow harpoon rifle. Her profile indicates she would not have any surgically implanted weaponry beyond simple contact vector poisons. Between the three of us, we can keep him alive and well until we get home. If you’re still worried, we can still call in reinforcements.”

“What, the Mark I series, I thought they didn’t want to be involved?” Charlotte asked as she uncurled from the chair.

“What they tell us they want and what they actually want are two separate matters. Unit 5949 is on staff here at the hotel, and was on duty to see what happened in the lobby at check-in. He contacted us, and as soon as he got the story, the local Mark Is started signing up for back-up security for the event.” Sela smiled, “It appears that they are more worried about you than the professor, but are willing to cover him to keep you from getting hurt.”

“Did you brief them on your plan, and solicit ideas for alternates?”

“Ah, well, when they heard the plan, there wasn’t much objection to it.” Sela had the grace to look abashed.

“Fan-frinking-tastic, we are being guarded by a horde of killer robots who think it’s a good idea for me to be a - a greppeldel.” Charlotte put her head in her hands.

“Nr, enkel is zijn meisje.” Sela murmured.

Charlotte‘s head popped up, “What did you say?”

“We still need to work out the particulars. The opening ceremonies aren’t until tomorrow. Come out, have breakfast, and maybe we can work out another plan.”

>>>>

“So, tomorrow the only things we cannot sub for you are the opening ceremonies and the president‘s reception,” Arsène said as he refilled the organics’ coffee. “As the symposium progresses, we‘ll see what we need to circumvent other than the retina and fingerprint scans.”

“I’m just glad the hotel check-in didn’t require the same set-up. Registration will be bad enough with having to switch out.” Sela commented from the kitchen. “You aren’t eating, Charlotte. Do you want to switch to ration bars?”

“No, not yet, thank you Sela.” Charlotte’s subdued response did not include increasing her intake. “It’s just pre-eng… erm, battle-prep nerves, that’s all.”

Madblood cleared his throat and said, “Charlotte and I will need to engineer a smaller uhura to maintain contact with you, and therefore retain communication between the two teams.”

“Make a list of what you need, and I can pick it up when I go out to get the rest of the groceries,” Sela said. “We had a couple of close calls when Arsène snuck out on a supply run last night.”

The professor sipped his coffee, wondering how to broach the matter, and deciding direct questioning would be the best option. “Charlotte, are you going to be able to manage the crowds here?”

“You mean can I avoid maiming the other participants? This is a different environment than the mall.” Charlotte toyed with her breakfast, “I have met a lot of the people here through the Tinasky schools, and the family keeps dossiers on most of the big names, and usually manages to keep them up to date.”

“So your family knows you are working for me?” Madblood asked.

“Well… my older sister does.” Charlotte still hadn’t looked up from her plate. “She’s the one who maintains the archives, and has, hmm, neglected to advise my parents of the connection between my employment and your intern.” Charlotte chuckled, “and my younger siblings have found out during the year as well, but it is unlikely they would rat me out either.”

“Humph, it sounds as if you are embarrassed by your association with me.”

“No, it’s not that, sir!” Charlotte finally met his gaze, “It’s just that… I don’t think they would understand why I would need to study with you. I reached the maximum of my potential in their circle of associates years ago, and needed - more…” she ducked her head and resumed her half-hearted dissection of her omelet. “At any rate, this gathering is one where hypervigilance would be an asset.”

>>>>

The next morning, the opening address of the symposium required not only identification badges and retina scans, but palm and voice printing as well. “This isn’t going to cause you problems, is it?” Lupin asked as they scanned the ballroom for seats.

“Over here,” Charlotte gestured, “They have bad views of the podium, but that means the angle of fire will be bad as well.” When they were seated, Charlotte murmured, “Sister will be taking care of scrambling the data for me.”

The professor chuckled, “Like she did when we did your initial background check?”

“Ah, well, yes,” Charlotte answered as she thought, Oh crud, my initial background check?

>>>>

The opening ceremonies concluded with a minimum of mayhem. It was early in the week for anything major, and the flame wars were scheduled for late Wednesday. Charlotte guided the professor to a quiet spot on the concourse, “This looks like a good spot to wait for our doubles.” She turned to the professor, “So far, it seems to be a relatively calm group.” She clasped her hands in front of her, “Not that it would mean anything regarding the rest of the week, it could just mean they haven‘t had enough coffee.”

Sela said over the link “Start futzing with his tie. You’re supposed to be physically involved, remember.” The wireless earwigs were working better than expected.

Charlotte shyly reached out to follow suit when Arsène instructed - "Sir, put your hands on her hips."

Lupin tentatively followed instructions, and looked up at Charlotte's face in time to catch her blush. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, and when she finished adjusting his tie, she fussed briefly with his collar, and slid her hands over his shoulders behind his neck. "We're so pitiful," she said as she laid her cheek on the top of his head.

"Why do you say that?"

"The organics need coaching from the silicates on how to flirt."

He chuckled into her shoulder. "Yes, I suppose we could call it that."

Sela‘s voice came over the link “I’m thirty paces from the corner. I’ll meet you at the end of the hall."

Charlotte nuzzled the top of Lupin’s head. "Time to go; I see Arsène is on his way.” She disengaged from the embrace and crossed the atrium to meet the professor’s doppelganger.

Arsène caught her hand in his and led her to the conference hall where the discussion on the new laws on orbital platform designs and how to bend them to one’s purposes was being held. “As if you needed coaching - reminders, more like.”

“I just don’t want to embarrass him. I - I should not be involved with him, not without my true face. Though I seriously doubt he would want to be in the same city with me if he knew my birth name.” Charlotte’s voice was soft, with a tinge of regret.

“He may surprise you yet.”

>>>>

“She was reluctant to touch me.” Lupin said as they headed for the Rossum product demonstration.

“More likely she was nervous, or she didn’t think she had your permission. Consider that until yesterday, your relationship was professional; amicable, yes, but still within the lines of business associates who shared some outside interests. She may be worried you would take offense.” Sela slid her arm around the professor’s shoulders. “She could also be worried about how this will affect your working atmosphere when you return to the lab.”

“A reasonable explanation, but I don’t feel like being reasonable.” His contrary mood continued through the opening remarks of the demonstration.

“How unreasonable do you want to be about her reaction?” Sela whispered during a break in the narrative.

Lupin thought about the comment during the next product description. “I’m not sure what you mean,” he murmured.

“Is there an emotional response other than injured pride?” Sela whispered her response, lightly brushing his ear with the tip of her nose as she did so.

Lupin remained silent for the rest of the demonstration.

>>>>

They had no problems with the teams being in the same place at the same time, with the androids coordinating their movements. The only sticky part the first day was the trade off for the president’s reception. “Charlotte will be at the end of the hall in thirty seconds, so as soon as Arsène draws Ines off the main concourse, we can switch.”

“Charlotte seems so - tense. She was not nearly as bad as this at the FAIR meeting. I hope she gets something out of the symposium other than a migraine,” Madblood muttered.

Sela responded over the earwig, “It is a much larger gathering, and a longer session. The local meeting was a lightning raid, while this is closer to a siege. She is keying herself up for battle, I think.” Sela leaned over to whisper in his ear, “Ines is on the lower level, we’ll switch now,” and she squeezed his shoulder before heading to the women’s lounge.

Lupin turned in time to see Charlotte searching the hallway. He raised his hand to wave at her, and her face lit up as she, for the lack of a better word in his vocabulary, skipped to his side.

She took his hands in hers when she reached him. “Are you all right? You look as if someone has liberally applied lumber to the base of your cranium,” she teased.

No one was within conversational range, so he felt safe in commenting in an undertone. “I was just wondering who you think of to make your expression glow so brightly.”

She blushed, and ducked her head, answering at the same volume, “Someone who prefers something else in a companion.”

He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and led her to the ballroom. “Humph, I would not have thought you to be enamored of an idiot.” Since he was focusing on navigating the knots of researchers savaging the last lecture, panel or demonstration they had just seen, he missed Charlotte’s sharp glance at him. “Ah, here we are!” The professor ushered her into the queue for the retinal scanner, negating the chance for further covert conversation between them.

>>>>

“Right, fifteen more minutes, and we can circulate out of here,” Lupin muttered.

Sela, monitoring the event through the security camera network, warned them over the earwigs, “Sir, you may need to vacate earlier, as Dr Pescados-Diablo is headed your way.”

Charlotte bent to murmur in the professor’s ear, “I think you should slide your left hand under my jacket along the waistline. You want to remove the center item. Try not to hit the button until you have it clear.”

Lupin followed her instructions as he leaned into her shoulder and asked, “What is it?”

“My contact taser,” Charlotte chuckled, “I thought you might be more comfortable with that and you aren’t cleared for the Glock, yet.”

Sela reported, “She is circling, but still closing in. We need her to be aggressor if you want to be able to press charges, later.”

Arsène chimed in, “You will have to provoke her in a manner that cannot be considered threatening in court.”

Charlotte winced, “I had hoped…” she sighed, and murmured, “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Sorry for-” Lupin began, and was cut off by Charlotte gently lifting his chin and brushing her lips across his. He leaned into the current, but was thrown off-balance when Dr Pescados-Diablo screeched and tackled Charlotte. He had a momentary elation at the thought of catfight! before he realized he had the taser. Five seconds later, he was helping Charlotte out from under Ines, saying, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, the Faraday lining in the jacket caught most of it, but - could we leave now, sir?” Charlotte asked in a shaky tone.

Lupin surreptitiously replaced the taser as he put his arm around her waist in what he hoped was a supportive manner, “Yes, I think we should.”

Upon returning to the room, Sela took charge of Charlotte while Arsène attended the professor. Lupin said “I think we both will be staying in for the rest of the-” before he noticed Arsène had laid out his pajamas and robe. “Rather early for that, isn’t it?”

“You may want to change before the movie starts, sir.” Arsène said. “Sela noted the in-house movie selections were quite good.”

“What is the film?”

“The next showing tonight is the sequel, Revenge of the Triffids. I believe it is a favorite of Charlotte’s.”

>>>>

The professor had relaxed by the end of the opening scenes. Sela and Arsène had seated themselves outside his line of vision, and he lost himself in the movie. During the denouement, he heard a quiet sniffle to his right. He glanced over at Charlotte, who had curled up around a throw pillow in the corner of the sofa, and was surprised to note there was a tear running down her cheek. He touched her elbow, and asked “Charlotte, are you all right?”

“Hm?” she responded before she noticed where she was, and muttered, “Oh no, excuse me, please,” before dashing to her room.

“What just happened?”

“I’ll see what’s up,” Sela said as she followed Charlotte. After she closed the door, she asked, “You didn’t want to admit to crying at a movie?”

“Shut up,” Charlotte mumbled into the washcloth. With the evidence erased, she returned to the door, almost running into the professor waiting on the other side. “Oh - is there anything else you needed this evening sir?” she asked.

“No, but were you injured? Should we-”

“I’ll be fine, sir. I think I’ll turn in if there’s nothing else you needed.”

“No, not this evening,” he said, but thought, Nothing I will admit to needing, at any rate. “Go on to bed, Arsène and I can set the alarms.”

>>>>

Lupin called the lab to check in before sleeping, “How was your day, Lovelace?”

“Who are you and what have you done with the professor?”

Lupin chuckled, “I have been rather an ass, haven’t I?”

“Humph – I am fine, how are you and Charlotte doing?”

“I am unsettled. We were watching a movie, and she was – I thought she might have been injured when Ines attacked her-”

“She WHAT?” Lovelace interrupted. “Start at the beginning!”

“Ah, well, the plan was to divert Ines and…”

>>>>

Madblood completed his report of the day’s events, concluding with “… and I am still baffled by her behavior.”

"Um, sir? I wasn't told to not tell you this, but it's pretty personal. I think Charlotte doesn't think of herself as a lead researcher."

"That's not surprising; she was willing to be an intern with all the degrees she has managed to accumulate. She would either count herself as support staff or a professional student. What does that have to do with her reaction to the movie?"

"She has referred to herself as an epsilon, as well as a mistake in the equation and a lab accident."

That last one was a little too close to home, Lupin thought, shutting his eyes. He pushed away the memories of his heritage and commented, "The almost-but-not-quite negligibly small quantity; that would explain some of her actions, but why?"

Lovelace's voice simulation was quiet, "I think... she doesn't consider herself an equal with other researchers. It's almost as if she identifies herself as - an experiment."

He sighed, and leaned back on the bed. "You're probably right, but not everyone holds that opinion of her, and we shouldn't support that view."

“You don’t hold that opinion, sir?”

“I have considered offering her a permanent position when her degree is completed.” Lupin stared at the ceiling, thinking, For a start, if I can keep her in the lab, maybe...

Lovelace interrupted his reverie by asking, “Even if you don’t know who she is?”

“Perhaps, but I think I do know.” Lupin said, “If I am correct, we are going to have to overhaul the security protocols before we get confirmation of her identity.”

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Comments

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

...the sequel, Revenge of the Triffids.

Meant to compliment you on the clever tipoff there, using 'sequel'. :) Shouldn't the title be italicised or at least inside speech marks, though?

[annechen-melo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it should, and I forgot to code it as such. Thanks for the warning.