This story started out entitled "Preemption" There have been a lot of major revisions since I first posted it, so if you've looked at it before you'll want to go back and read it again. Scenes have been moved from chapters and relocated so it will maintain a stricter continuity.
Chapter 6
Renata moved for the door. Leto stepped directly into her path and put his mountainous hand on her shoulder.
"He's all right."
She paused at the look of concern in his eyes. "I saw it with my own eyes, Renata. He's all right. Let them sleep."
Rather than jerk away and pivot around him, she placed her hand on his. She'd come to care so much for Foley in the years she'd been watching over him. Tonight he'd almost sacrificed himself to save them both. She understood in his heart he would have made the choice a thousand times over without an instant's hesitation. She wasn't that strong. She'd always thought to herself just how lonely he must be to stand when others turn away --to act when others hesitate. He wasn't careless or vain; he was the type of guy who would risk his life for a complete stranger without hesitating. She knew in her heart that he embodied the best parts of them all.
She wanted to see him. She wanted to see him with her own eyes and make sure that he was all right. She wanted desperately for him to see she was all right. She knew that he needed to know. She motioned to Leto that it was all right. She wouldn't open the door, but she approached it carefully and knocked lightly at the door. She heard stirring in the room.
"You did good tonight, kid." She said, instantly realizing that she sounded just like her father when she said that. She hid her emotions in attitude and sass. "We'll be here till morning. Then we talk."
She didn't wait for him to respond as she turned away. She knew that it was too much effort for him. With each step away from the door, she felt more and more of her drive and energy fade as the realization of what was going to happen next. There would be no rest for the wicked this night.
She plopped down next to the terminal on the far wall of his space and took the High density flash drives out of her coat pocket and jacked them into the port on Foley's terminal. The Center's computers were linked in a highly advanced shared computing environment. Each terminal provided complete access to all systems to certain users. She could work just as effectively here, as she could anywhere else.
As she was uploading the data, she heard the door open. She turned to see her father, Harlan Cole, enter the room. He still sported a rather severe, flat top hair cut -the same he'd had for the last forty years. If she didn't know any better, she'd have thought that his barber had been specially enhanced, too. The edges could cut diamonds. He looked at the room and walked slowly towards the door of it, silently bidding her to join him. She reached him by the time he'd passed the couch.
Leto didn't get up and try to step in his way like he did for Renata. Of all the people here at the center, Harlan Cole was legendary -not just for his record of service and his unwavering devotion to them, but for his reputation as an unshakeable leader of men. Plus, Leto knew that despite his enhanced size and strength, he couldn't do a thing to stop him from reaching the door even if he wanted to. Harlan Cole was just that good.
"They've remained in the room this entire time?" He looked her over briefly. His brow furrowed just a bit when he saw the cuts on her face.
"Yes Sir. Leto informs me that he feels that they should be allowed to sleep."
He turned to Leto. "I see no immediate reason to disturb the two of them."
Leto breathed a sigh of relief. Somewhere in the back of his mind, those old fears from his old life did not let go. He feared that any minute soldiers would appear from nowhere and he would never see his friend again. He wouldn't allow that to happen. Not to his friend.
"You sound like this is just a walk in the park. You do realize that she's from another planet, right?" Renata couldn't help but sound a little sarcastic. It irked her sometimes that he could maintain such calm. Like her mother, she was something of a firebrand.
He turned to Renata again, his face just as calm as before. When he spoke to her, it was never harsh, always professional but somehow she always managed to take it as though he were rebuking her performance.
"You would think I'd be more worried, but this isn't the first time that we've been faced with unusual situations before. Calmer heads must prevail. She has given no indication of hostile intent. That means for the time being she is our guest. Here at the Center we deal with unusual people every day. As far as I'm concerned, we watch, and we wait."
"They were very intent on taking her."
"I know. If they are on the level and we have cause to worry, I believe we will hear from them again through more formal channels."
"Formal Channels?"
"This isn't the first visitor from another world we've had to contend with. We've had our share of confrontations, but most of them were misunderstandings that could have been easily rectified, but instead were exacerbated by rash action."
"She healed him!" Leto blurted out.
"I saw the footage, Leto. Foley is our first contact in this case, so whatever happens he has point on this. We trust his call, until we have cause to act otherwise."
He turned towards the computer. Leto knew that there were cameras all over the center. Because of the nature of its inhabitants, everyone knew that and accepted it. There were many inhabitants of the center with dangerous, unpredictable powers, and constant monitoring was precautionary. Cole had ordered the cameras placed to be in every living space, but they were to be unobtrusive. He personally developed the training program for the watchmen who monitored them to be impassive and clinical. They were trained to watch only for medical episodes and disregard any instances of personal relationships. He made it very clear that they were people and this was not a reality TV show.
Anyone else would have hit the button on the interior monitor next to his door and looked inside. Not Harlan. He had a way of understanding what people needed in times like these. Renata needed to feel included, talking while standing and walking around made her feel like they were on equal footing. Leto had surmised that she was feeling badly about what happened and needed to feel more than ever that she was contributing to her duties.
Leto took a quick look at the enlarged watch on his wrist, and pulled the stylus from it. He'd taken a smartphone and turned it into a watch because he couldn't find a conventional watch that would fit him. He'd moved the digital camera to the backside of the watch so that he could use it for a video calling device. He'd always loved Dick Tracy's wristwatch. When Cole saw it, he asked Leto to build him an identical device for his top staff to utilize. Leto had jumped at the chance and built a system that surpassed his request -including voice recognition and bio scan technology so that the devices couldn't be used by anyone who wasn't authorized.
He tapped through a few keystrokes and soon he was into the video system of the Center, looking over all the common areas. Even with all the protocol and procedure-its residents usually knew when something was up. The ESPers alone would have started talking to everyone within earshot about it. He wasn't wrong. He could see center residents gathering in small groups in the common areas of the Center.
He liked the fact that he was now dead center in the action. He felt like an insider and he liked that. Soon they would figure by process of elimination, who was involved. While he was looking at his watch, Cole and Renata had moved over to the computer terminal again and were reviewing the footage, and talking with one another. He noted they both carried themselves in the same fashion. Though they didn't broadcast it, and Renata favored her mother more so than Cole, everyone knew they were father and daughter.
He absentmindedly walked over to the workstation and pushed a concealed switch on the wall next to the monitor. Servomotors whirred into action, as the panel behind the wall slid back and three more monitors appeared beside the first, expanding their display so that they could watch multiple views at the same time. Harlan looked over his shoulder at him.
"What?" He shrugged. "We have a lot of free time.."
He saw the director give him the barest hint of a smile. "Good job,
Son. I knew there was a reason we keep you around.."
Coming from anyone else, being called "Son" would seem impolite. But the director was from a different generation. Taken from him, it was the unofficial benchmark comment from the residents and students of the Center. Praise from Cole bore high marks, indeed.
*****
After a moment, she cast her eyes downward and turned away from him. At first he thought it might be shyness. He had to admit having his own share of that. Though he was nearly twenty, he'd had girlfriends; yet nothing close to this intimate contact. He'd spent his youth retreating into books because conversation was so difficult for him. They'd find it endearing to begin with, but the eventual frustration of communication would overshadow everything. He'd made peace with it, or so he thought. Morris, his cat, didn't care that he couldn't speak, and neither did Leto. He'd other friends, male and female, at the center; but until this moment, he didn't realize just how alone he felt.
He tentatively brought his finger to her chin and turned her back towards him.
Her eyes were glassy, like she was ready to shed tears. "Ahema, please..." She said and cast them down again. "You need to rest. There will be time for that later."
"That?" He thought. "What that?" She turned her eyes to him again and it dawned on him.
"Ohhh. Thaaat.. That wasn't what I was thinking. Well it was what I was thinking but that wasn't what I meant-"
She put a finger to his lips. It was as though they were having a conversation like two lovers after discovering one another after the first time.
"I like looking into your eyes. They're beautiful."
Even in the dim light of the room he could tell that she blushed. She had no shame or embarrassment at her own nakedness before him, but a compliment mad her blush. He frowned because thoughts unpleasant thoughts were now creeping through his mind. Would they be back? How long? He turned and sat up. Even though they weren't in immediate danger, he now worried fiercely about the troubles to come.
He needed to be sure. She propped herself up to a kneeling position opposite him. Even though he was only half sitting up against the pillows, her head came level to his as she leaned forward to meet him. He could smell her again, and the scent of lilacs filled him with an even greater sense of urgency. She pulled the sheet around her torso to cover herself.
"Can you speak for me?" He thought.
"I can speak your thoughts for you, Ahema."
"We need to get you something to wear." He went to his closet and looked for something that might do. He found a t-shirt that he'd shrunk by washing it In hot water one too many times. He returned with the shirt and a pair of loose fitting pajama bottoms for himself. She slipped it over her head quietly and took his hand. She held tightly while he opened the door and stepped out into his rooms.
*****
They all turned at the same time to see him emerge, leading a lithe young woman with Jet black hair and eyes of the deepest, dark blue. He moved slowly toward the loveseat in the living room beyond. Harlan looked at him the most visibly concerned, but also with a peculiar look on his face. Whatever was on his mind, he remained silent.
They sat together on the loveseat. She tucked her legs underneath her, so as not to show too much of herself, and cast her eyes downwards towards him rather than look directly at anyone else in the room. They were all accustomed to seeing Foley prepare to speak, and they took seats opposite them and waited patiently for him to form the words.
She squeezed his hand in both of hers, lending silent strength and support to his efforts. He frowned and closed his eyes. Inhaled deeply and blocked out things one by one in sequence in the room. He essentially had to shut down his senses in order to focus on the task at hand and the words in his mind. With his eyes closed, one by one he blocked out the sounds, the smells, the lights until there was nothing left but her touch, and he spoke slowly and clearly.
"Her name is Ithica. After.. The fall, She teleported us here. Still hurt. Okay. Not sure if we are safe. Telepathically linked to one another. Translate. Needs clothes"
He opened his eyes. They'd all been listening closely to what he had to say. When it took that much effort to speak, one develops a sense to be concise. Harlan kept his hands clasped together touching his chin.
"We can see to the clothing easily enough." Renata answered. "As soon as we clear everyone here, we can clear the rooms across the hall so that she can-"
Foley put his hand up, halting her in mid sentence. As soon as she said that, Ithica's body tightened in a way that made her understand there was something more.
".Joined."
"I'm not sure I follow what you're trying to say, buddy." Leto said.
He couldn't keep this up. Ithica was right. He did need to rest. He searched for the right combination of words that would convey the right idea to them all.
"Wife."
Leto's jaw dropped.