choosing friends wisely
Suzanne made an accurate guess as to who he was partly because he was as divorced from what surrounded him as she was.
The Hub was awash with noise, still a sea of jubilant faces happy that hope had been reborn, that they might actually have a new home to go to, warm, blue and friendly amid the cold awesome terror of space.
In a few hours, Suzanne had worked her way into a trusted position at MedLab. This day she was feeling somewhat noble, having surrendered her luxurious quarters to Aggie and Rails for what she accurately gauged was a long-overdue consummation of their love for each other.
It was less a gesture of friendship and understanding than a strong desire to rid the facility of the tedious sexual tension between two people who weren't Suzanne herself.
The man arrived at the entrance way. "I'm Dr. Peter Stormer."
"Good to meet you, I'm Suzanne."
"Pleased to meet you." He looked around. "No Aggie or Lori?"
"Shagging, I sincerely hope, down in my suite." Suzanne looked at him and brought out a faint smile.
"Oh, thank God!"
She laughed. "I know, I shared your pain briefly. Air Force has the shift all day until 0730h tomorrow so they could get a break." She smiled at Stormer. "I suspect the AirForce C/O has a certain empathy for their situation."
He made some odd movements of his head, some strange sounds as if thinking deeply on how to respond to her. She found them slightly off-putting. "Can I help you with anything in particular?"
"An assessment."
"Mr. Leon Freedman?" Suzanne was taking inventory on meds.
"Yes, I can see him?" He knew he didn't need her permission for anything, but Suzanne had caught his fancy.
She sensed that. "Immediately, c'mon through."
She resealed the bottle she had been counting, stowed it in the steel cabinet behind her and did it so efficiently Stormer knew he was being ushered unceremoniously from her presence.
She led him through the curtain and walked up to the bed.
To Stormer's surprise, she changed attitude as she got to Leon Freedman.
"Leon? Mr. Freedman? Are you awake?" She said it softly, a gentleness and respect about her, as if she knew to whom she was talking.
Leon mumbled incoherently and remained otherwise peaceful and still.
Suzanne turned to Stormer. "He's pretty groggy. I have your vox number at the desk, I can call you when he's slept out."
Stormer watched her body language with interest. He managed a smile. "That would be fine, yes, thank you."
He said it as she had done, so as not to disturb Leon Freedman with his doctorly self-importance.
She tilted her head to one side a bit as he ducked out through the curtain. "Dr. Stormer?"
The last thing Peter Stormer looked like was a man who was about to have the single most important conversation of his life. "Yes?"
She came though the curtain herself. "I'm no Doctor, Nurse or MedTech, but may I ask if you were the one who diagnosed him as paranoid schizophrenic?"
He smiled. "No I did not. I had Leon under observation precisely because I suspect the diagnosis to be incorrect."
She crossed her arms without seeming hostile. "May I ask what you suspect?"
All his well-devised defenses dropped away. He felt like she had seen or heard something as he had.
He dropped his voice a bit and sat on a stool. "How long have Aggie and Lori been gone?"
She laughed at what seemed to be a clumsy attempt to be sociable and change the subject altogether. "They went off to snuggle a little while ago."
"And Leon got his injection? The prolixin?"
She realized she'd misread his intent. "Yes, Lori gave it to him after he siezed."
Stormer had been informed of that. "I heard. So you ...." He waved his hands to encourage her to fill in the blanks.
She gave him nothing. The crossed arms looked a little more hostile suddenly.
Stormer encouraged her as best he could. "Aggie and Lori turned emerge over to the Air Force teams, and you .... ?"
His voice was low, conversational, matter-of-fact. He reminded her of a man she loved.
She pulled a stool of her own across, and sat on it. "After the lovebirds flew the nest and the Air Force people came in - nice coup, by the way, we need whatever they can do - I sat with Leon while he fell asleep."
"And he talked?"
Suzanne Devereaux made few mistakes in life, but they never lasted long. She reached in her pocket and pulled out her iPhone. "It's on here."
"Tremendous!" Stormer was animated. "May I hear it, please?"
She reached over the desk and fished her charger out of her bag. "I've listened to it three times."
"I would like a copy, if I may .... Suzanne ... ?"
"Devereaux."
Stormer looked stunned. "Cyrus's wife?"
She smiled. "Widow now."
"I'm sorry he wouldn't come."
"He was pragmatic ..... " Something flickered across Suzanne's face, a memory of words as she and Cyrus parted. "You're AnnoMax."
Stormer nodded. "And that's our little secret, as you no doubt know."
Suzanne knew all the rules. "Aggie? Rails?"
He shook his head. "Not yet, but they will soon now we have a planet."
"You'll let me know when that happens?" She looked at him as he inserted her SIM card into his iPad.
"I will, yes." He started transferring the WAV file.
"Getting back to Leon ... "
"Sorry?"
"Leon? Mr. Freedman?"
Stormer could see she was having a momentary doubt or two about his own sanity. He leaned down low on his stool and whispered it.
"We never left the subject of Leon." The copy was finished, and Stormer rose, handing her back the SIM. "If I remember, you're from New Orleans, right?"
She looked thoroughly baffled now. "Yes, I am, but what does ... "
"Then you're familiar with the colourful history of the Crescent City and the great State of Louisiana?" He was smiling.
She succumbed to his awkward charm. "What Southern woman isn't?"
Stormer took a little step towards her. "I always heard Southern women deserved a little extra special treatment."
She finally broke out into a grin. "But of course we do!"
He backed away a little, satisfied with a chink in her armour. "Remember the Louisiana Purchase?"
"Of course, silly." She was certainly being kept off balance.
He leaned back in very close to her ear. "Ask Leon about it." He pulled back immediately.
"Sorry, what American doesn't know about the Louisiana Purchase?" She looked perplexed and not amused.
He looked at the ceiling. "His story of it is different than most."
She frowned now. "Why? In what way?"
He quickly darted back to the Devereaux ear with a whisper. "Because his master signed it."
He backed away, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at the sight of Suzanne Devereaux, eyes wide, mouth slightly open in amazement.
The Hub was awash with noise, still a sea of jubilant faces happy that hope had been reborn, that they might actually have a new home to go to, warm, blue and friendly amid the cold awesome terror of space.
In a few hours, Suzanne had worked her way into a trusted position at MedLab. This day she was feeling somewhat noble, having surrendered her luxurious quarters to Aggie and Rails for what she accurately gauged was a long-overdue consummation of their love for each other.
It was less a gesture of friendship and understanding than a strong desire to rid the facility of the tedious sexual tension between two people who weren't Suzanne herself.
The man arrived at the entrance way. "I'm Dr. Peter Stormer."
"Good to meet you, I'm Suzanne."
"Pleased to meet you." He looked around. "No Aggie or Lori?"
"Shagging, I sincerely hope, down in my suite." Suzanne looked at him and brought out a faint smile.
"Oh, thank God!"
She laughed. "I know, I shared your pain briefly. Air Force has the shift all day until 0730h tomorrow so they could get a break." She smiled at Stormer. "I suspect the AirForce C/O has a certain empathy for their situation."
He made some odd movements of his head, some strange sounds as if thinking deeply on how to respond to her. She found them slightly off-putting. "Can I help you with anything in particular?"
"An assessment."
"Mr. Leon Freedman?" Suzanne was taking inventory on meds.
"Yes, I can see him?" He knew he didn't need her permission for anything, but Suzanne had caught his fancy.
She sensed that. "Immediately, c'mon through."
She resealed the bottle she had been counting, stowed it in the steel cabinet behind her and did it so efficiently Stormer knew he was being ushered unceremoniously from her presence.
She led him through the curtain and walked up to the bed.
To Stormer's surprise, she changed attitude as she got to Leon Freedman.
"Leon? Mr. Freedman? Are you awake?" She said it softly, a gentleness and respect about her, as if she knew to whom she was talking.
Leon mumbled incoherently and remained otherwise peaceful and still.
Suzanne turned to Stormer. "He's pretty groggy. I have your vox number at the desk, I can call you when he's slept out."
Stormer watched her body language with interest. He managed a smile. "That would be fine, yes, thank you."
He said it as she had done, so as not to disturb Leon Freedman with his doctorly self-importance.
She tilted her head to one side a bit as he ducked out through the curtain. "Dr. Stormer?"
The last thing Peter Stormer looked like was a man who was about to have the single most important conversation of his life. "Yes?"
She came though the curtain herself. "I'm no Doctor, Nurse or MedTech, but may I ask if you were the one who diagnosed him as paranoid schizophrenic?"
He smiled. "No I did not. I had Leon under observation precisely because I suspect the diagnosis to be incorrect."
She crossed her arms without seeming hostile. "May I ask what you suspect?"
All his well-devised defenses dropped away. He felt like she had seen or heard something as he had.
He dropped his voice a bit and sat on a stool. "How long have Aggie and Lori been gone?"
She laughed at what seemed to be a clumsy attempt to be sociable and change the subject altogether. "They went off to snuggle a little while ago."
"And Leon got his injection? The prolixin?"
She realized she'd misread his intent. "Yes, Lori gave it to him after he siezed."
Stormer had been informed of that. "I heard. So you ...." He waved his hands to encourage her to fill in the blanks.
She gave him nothing. The crossed arms looked a little more hostile suddenly.
Stormer encouraged her as best he could. "Aggie and Lori turned emerge over to the Air Force teams, and you .... ?"
His voice was low, conversational, matter-of-fact. He reminded her of a man she loved.
She pulled a stool of her own across, and sat on it. "After the lovebirds flew the nest and the Air Force people came in - nice coup, by the way, we need whatever they can do - I sat with Leon while he fell asleep."
"And he talked?"
Suzanne Devereaux made few mistakes in life, but they never lasted long. She reached in her pocket and pulled out her iPhone. "It's on here."
"Tremendous!" Stormer was animated. "May I hear it, please?"
She reached over the desk and fished her charger out of her bag. "I've listened to it three times."
"I would like a copy, if I may .... Suzanne ... ?"
"Devereaux."
Stormer looked stunned. "Cyrus's wife?"
She smiled. "Widow now."
"I'm sorry he wouldn't come."
"He was pragmatic ..... " Something flickered across Suzanne's face, a memory of words as she and Cyrus parted. "You're AnnoMax."
Stormer nodded. "And that's our little secret, as you no doubt know."
Suzanne knew all the rules. "Aggie? Rails?"
He shook his head. "Not yet, but they will soon now we have a planet."
"You'll let me know when that happens?" She looked at him as he inserted her SIM card into his iPad.
"I will, yes." He started transferring the WAV file.
"Getting back to Leon ... "
"Sorry?"
"Leon? Mr. Freedman?"
Stormer could see she was having a momentary doubt or two about his own sanity. He leaned down low on his stool and whispered it.
"We never left the subject of Leon." The copy was finished, and Stormer rose, handing her back the SIM. "If I remember, you're from New Orleans, right?"
She looked thoroughly baffled now. "Yes, I am, but what does ... "
"Then you're familiar with the colourful history of the Crescent City and the great State of Louisiana?" He was smiling.
She succumbed to his awkward charm. "What Southern woman isn't?"
Stormer took a little step towards her. "I always heard Southern women deserved a little extra special treatment."
She finally broke out into a grin. "But of course we do!"
He backed away a little, satisfied with a chink in her armour. "Remember the Louisiana Purchase?"
"Of course, silly." She was certainly being kept off balance.
He leaned back in very close to her ear. "Ask Leon about it." He pulled back immediately.
"Sorry, what American doesn't know about the Louisiana Purchase?" She looked perplexed and not amused.
He looked at the ceiling. "His story of it is different than most."
She frowned now. "Why? In what way?"
He quickly darted back to the Devereaux ear with a whisper. "Because his master signed it."
He backed away, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at the sight of Suzanne Devereaux, eyes wide, mouth slightly open in amazement.