"And the Phantom pops out! Nearly gave me a coronary!"
Topher can practically hear Boyd's disapproving expression through the phone when he responds with, "Wait a minute, you got Dr. Saunders involved?"
"She crept up on me!" Topher says defensively. "And, no, I totally played her. I got her ranting about her precious pro bonos."
Boyd sighs, "I don't get what your beef is with her."
Topher freezes for just a second. Well, she's programmed not to like me, but sometimes I forget about that and our arguments wind up getting kinda intense, while the truth, isn't exactly something he can tell any handler who happens to wonder why they don't get along. "Uh, she's creepy?" he offers, making it sound like the obvious answer. Then, because he knows it will change the subject, he adds, "Come on! I mean, she could have something done about those scars."
Boyd takes the bait and says, "Maybe she wants to remember."
Topher can state without absolute certainty that, yes, that is one of the reasons Dr. Saunders wants to keep her scars. "Remember?" he prods, feigning ignorance.
"Alpha."
Topher immediately latches onto that train of thought. He could talk about Alpha for hours if he needed to, even if the subject does still make his heart race and make something like guilt twist in his stomach. It's still preferable to dwelling on Whiskey.
When Boyd hangs up suddenly a few minutes later, he assumes it's because he's gotten annoyed. That's usually why he hangs up. Topher shrugs and disconnects his headset, moving back to lean against the window and look out over the main floor of the Dollhouse. From this vantage point, he can sometimes see if there's movement in the doctor's office. He'd never really paid attention to this fact before, because the old Dr. Saunders, while a nice enough dude, hadn't really been all that interesting. Now, though...
It's probably a habit he should break. Straining for the slightest glimpse of your female fellow employee is suspect at the best of times, but if she ever caught on to the real reason for his fascination, it could be disastrous. Of course, she's already all but told him to his face that she thinks he's a creep – loathsome swine was the latest remark – so she most likely wouldn't think anything worse of it if she caught him staring. In fact, because of the self-conscious streak he knows she has, she'd probably assume he's looking at her scars, even months after Alpha.
He just can't help but be a little obsessed. Her imprint is essentially permanent, and he'd never done something so complex and long-term before. Watching her evolve is enthralling and terrifying.
He made her distrustful of the Dollhouse so that she would be all the more thorough in her work, but her desire to change it from the inside came from somewhere else. Proposing pro bono engagements is outside her programming.
There is a physical need for something other than fulfilling the whims of the rich.
Supposedly, all the Actives performing altruistic acts are improving. Maybe he should check their cognitive response a little closer. Of course, he'll never get to see the effects on Whiskey's brain.
As if his thoughts had summoned her, the door to her office opens, and Dr. Saunders steps out. He sees her glance upward and watches her face darken when she catches sight of him. Topher averts his eyes and leans away from the window with a shudder.
He wasn't completely lying to Boyd; she does creep him out. He made her disagree with him on almost every point they might discuss, but he's pretty sure she shouldn't hate him quite that much. It's almost impressive, how strongly her brain responded to the subtle indicators he placed, the impression he gave her that Topher Brink is not a good person. It's also alarming.
Topher decides to stop calling her the Phantom, at least where other might hear him. He needs to ease off the antagonism before his programming backfires.