THE ZETA PROJECT
SEASON THREE
Disclosure: Please don't sue. All my money is going to my overpriced college. Feel free to find something to sue them for. The amount of tuition they charge should be some kind of a crime capable of suing them for…
I started writing this fanfic late, and I went on vacation, and I just started my third quarter so sorry about the fact that it's more than a month ( or two, or three, or four… ) later than the last one. If you like my work, please leave feedback at If you don't like it then watch out--because I'm going to send elf ninjas to your house. ;D Oh, and while Bucky has had more appearances in my episodes, as of late, I don't plan to keep it that way. This is not supposed to be a Bucky, Ro, Zee fanfic. And sorry this is so long! Consider this a "Kim's WB road trip episode". Let me know if you like reading long stories, though… I'm going to try and post this in chapters because it's so long.
CHAPTER 5 NOTE:
Originally I had a question posted with the answer in my biO. To shorten my lengthy bio I'm posting the original question and the answer here.
Just as a fun quiz: If you think you know what "LLL" means, put it in your feedback for the chapter "Day 6" or somewhere.
Answer: (Paraphrased from the Boy Scouts of America "Emergency Preparedness" Merit Badge Handbook (C) 2004 )
LLL means "Operation Complete" (More formally used for Ground-Air Visual search parties, though...)
" Hot White " Ep. 5 Season 3
"Okay, now if you'd please put these on before we go any further," Bucky said, handing them each a colorful handkerchief. The handkerchiefs were dark in color, and opaque. One was black, the other navy blue. He'd picked them up for only a few creds at a discount store. It wasn't important that the design on them was hideously ugly. It only mattered that they were dark, and someone couldn't see through them.
"You want to blindfold us?" Ro remarked, sounding rather put off and offended. "You don't trust us?" she asked, in a pitiful tone, trying to play on Bucky's guilt.
"It's for your own safety," he insisted, determined not to let her convince him to change his mind.
"I'll be able to walk better, if I can see where I'm going. Walking around in the dark doesn't sound very safe to me," she continued to insist adamantly.
"Geez! Haven't you seen those movies? It's best that you don't know where you're going or where you've been in case the Feds ever do catch you. You wouldn't want to be caught with such information in your possession."
"Yeah… If we get caught, the first thing they're going to want to know is where you and your geek friends have been hanging out," Ro said sarcastically. "In other words you're just covering your own butt."
"No, really! It's solely for your protection!"
"Uh-huh, yeah sure, we believe you," Ro said sarcastically again, looking to Zee for support.
"While it does seem, unlikely, it may be best to take the precaution, just to be safe," Zee commented. In another instance Bucky might have sneered at his victory of wills over Ro, but now wasn't a time to be gloating that Zee had sided with him and not her.
Zee wondered if he should mention to Bucky that with his built in GPS guidance system, it wouldn't matter if he wasn't blind folded. He'd be able to find his way to Bucky's home again, with his eyes closed.
"You know that I'm going to have to have to ask you to turn of your GPS system, just to make things fair" Bucky added, looking at Zee. "I could place a magnet on the top of your head, but it would look weird and it could damage some of your other files so I'm just going to ask you to do this under the honor system."
Bucky had obviously realized this as well. While the honor code reflected a person's integrity, was it really worth it? What if they ever did need to find Bucky and they couldn't reach him by phone? Knowing where he lived might be really helpful. But Bucky was doing them a favor by taking them to his home in the underground network and it wasn't just his life that would be at risk if anyone else found out where they lived… Satisfied with his decision, Zee's eyes glazed over for a second as he turned off his GPS system. "Done." He reported.
"Good. Now do you need help tying these on?" he asked.
"I can do it by myself!" Ro replied gruffly. She didn't want Bucky to accidentally catch her hair in the bandanna or to make it too tight. Zee was too tall for Bucky to even properly tie it on if he'd wanted to, so he did it himself.
He held four fingers up in front of Ro's face and asked her how many fingers he was holding up to check if she could see through the bandanna. "Do you think I'd tell you if I knew?" Ro snapped back. She felt incredibly embarrassed, and he wasn't helping. She couldn't wait to get there as soon as possible so that she could take this dumb bandanna off of her face.
"It'll have to do then," Bucky said. If they wanted to peek there wouldn't be much he could do to stop them, unless he wanted to put bags over their heads. That would look even more strange than the rolled up handkerchiefs over their eyes. There was just one more test that he could do to see if either was cheating…
He swung his arm back as if to strike Ro in the face, right near her eyes. She didn't flinch or move. She wasn't cheating. He wasn't going to bother to test Zee. Bucky then took each by the arm and guided them down the street, being careful not to let either of them walk into a trashcan or street post. They were getting strange looks from everyone that they passed by. Ro could only imagine the strange looks they must be giving them. Maybe it wasn't as bad for her as it was for Bucky, who actually had to look these people back in the eye?
He led them down to the corner, then carefully across the street. He went down another block and over two blocks then stopped at the bust stop. Unbeknownst to him Zee was counting the number of strides they took. Being a robot, he could make his foot steps the exact same distance, allowing him to perfectly keep track of the distance they'd traveled. 24 steps North of their starting point, then a left turn, and 39 steps North from that new direction… Until they arrived at the local bus stop.
Ro didn't need to be tracking the steps they took to know that they were at a bus stop. She could hear the large vehicle pull up, and the sound of people getting on and off at this one point. But they didn't get on this bus, or the next one. She wanted to ask Bucky why they were waiting here for what seemed like twenty minutes. It's not like more than one bus came by this route on a regular basis…
Zee's internal clock was marking the time that each bus stopped. There was one about every eight minutes. The current time was 10: 38 a.m. So far they'd had two buses stop, then move on without them getting on. Finally when the third bus pulled up Bucky told them, "This is it. Step up two steps."
He paid the bus driver the fare wages, and to prevent the bus driver from thinking that he was holding up Ro and Zee or something, he told him a lie to satisfy his curiosity, and anyone else who might give them strange looks on the bus. He whispered to the driver, "I'm guiding them to a surprise party."
The bus driver, disinterested, closing the doors to the bus, then pulled away from curb and didn't think any more on the matter it as it wasn't his business.
Bucky quickly ushered Ro and Zee to have a seat near the back of the bus before it pulled away from the curb. The most likely time someone was to become off balanced on a bus or train would while it was slowing down or pulling out.
Ro tried to count the stops until they got off, but eventually lost count. Sometimes they were stopped at a red light, and other times they were at an official stop. Zee was more careful in his listening as he kept a tally of each time they stopped, and another tally of each time they stopped and the bus doors opened. Having a memory of a computer, this was simple enough. Luckily the bus driver was required to open his doors at a stop, even if no one was waiting, to keep his tally correct.
After riding the bus for what seemed like an hour, Bucky finally told them that it was time to get off. Zee counted the number of steps they were taking and carefully noted each turn they made. He felt comfortable keeping track of where they were going, as he could rewrite the direction notes in code, rather than something as blatant as a map from a directional satellite guide. Things became interesting when Bucky had them start climbing a flight of stairs down, after having entered a very draft building. They stopped walking, and Bucky told them to wait for just a second. He went up and started knocking a rhythmic pattern on a wooden door. Zee recorded the sound. The door opened, and Bucky beckoned them to follow him inside. The door shut behind them. "You can take off the blindfolds now," Bucky told them.
"Finally!" Ro sighed. Despite her efforts, her hair was still a little ratted by the bandanna. The room was brighter than what she'd imagine an underground network to look like. The glow of the dozen monitors illuminated the room with a bluish, whitish tint. There was about one person per every two computers. Each person also seemed to be making use of both computers at once rather than letting them sit idly. Her eyes felt a little sore from having to adjust from being in complete darkness for the past hour and a half, to this bright room. She yawned loudly, and began to stretch. It had seemed like a really long ride.
"Why were you telling people that you were taking us to a surprise party?" Zee asked, now that they weren't in public. He'd heard Bucky tell the bus driver this, but didn't know why. Wouldn't it have been best not to say anything at all?
"I was getting weird looks. I didn't want them to think I was kidnapping you or something."
"This has got to be one of the most embarrassing days of my life…"
Zee was going to remind her of the time that she had been dressed up as an attendant in the Hub, but stopped himself before he could speak. Last time he'd brought up an embarrassing memory, she'd told him to delete it. He couldn't remember what that memory was, but he didn't want to risk mentioning the incident and having her tell him to delete that memory as well. He was unable to resist her wishes and will, and even though he didn't want to, he'd do it if she asked him to. It would be best not to risk it, but not mentioning it at all.
"Hey, you're here now, that's all that matters," Bucky tried to tame her frustration.
"Here, I'll show you around and introduce you to everyone," he offered.
She started to take a few steps forward, but found herself losing her footing as her foot was tangled in a computer cable. "Whoa!" she said, stumbling. Zee reached out and caught her before she fell on the ground and pulled out the cable with her.
"Be careful!" Bucky scolded her.
She shook her leg free of the cable, not feeling appreciative for being reproached. She looked around the room, and on the floor. It was a jungle of multi-colored vines connecting the computers and all of the hardware and other gadgets attached to them. It was an absolute mess! How could he blame her for not finding a place to put her foot? There were skinny wires, large power cords, and several wires strung together to make one large cord. With all the wireless technology they had she found it hard to believe that he still needed this many cords to hook up the computers.
Bucky went up to the first computer. The guy sitting behind it looked older than Bucky, but not by more than three years. He was deeply engrossed in his work and didn't even seem to care that they were in the room, as well as the other young boys at their computers. Bucky must have let them know they were coming, as shown by their lack of alarm or surprise. "Hey, these are the guys," Bucky said to the guy.
'These are the guys'. It almost sounded like they were being turned in. The guy at the computer looked up, and made eye contact with both of them, then said a brief, "Nice to meet you," and returned to his work.
"So which organization are you wreaking havoc on now?" he teased him, while looking over his shoulder.
"I've got the final draft for Popular Techtronic's "top games of the year" list for their next issue. They gave "Cosmic Alliances" a 3 star rating!"
"What?! No way!" Bucky shouted indignantly. It's preposterous!"
"Exactly why I'm going to change it."
"Does it deserve a higher ranking?" Zee asked. He was venturing into a conversation that neither he nor Ro knew anything about as neither had played the game. Being on the run more than ever now, Ro found that she didn't have time to catch up with every game that hit the market.
"Higher? The game has your character walk down ladders head first! I'd give it half a star at the most! What kind of authentic first person perspective is that?"
"How's the rest of the game then?" Ro asked.
Bucky and Bryan shuddered, and seemed unwilling to talk about it. Bucky then left Bryan to finish up with his work, and introduced Zee and Ro to the rest of the members of the underground network, or at least the ones that were present. "This is Jerry, but we call him 'The Black Knight'."
"And what are you working on?" Ro asked him.
"You know that virus that was going around last month--the one wiping out the computers of those anti-file sharing activist companies?"
Zee remembered it well. He'd come across an article on it on the net when looking for information on Dr. Edmund. "The Excalibur virus, wasn't it? They just released a patch for it a week or two ago."
"I just released a patch for it a week ago." Jerry corrected Zee. "Now I'm writing another virus for the loophole I left in the patch."
The third person they met was writing another computer virus called, "Pandora's Box." His specialty, however, was modding online computer games.
"You guys are just too much," Ro sighed. With such computer skills, why didn't these people put their knowledge to good use and get a real job? They met several more of Bucky's friends, who all seemed to be working on similar projects.
After Bucky had introduced them to the last of his friends, he sat down at his own computer. "You still haven't forgotten what we're here for?" Ro asked.
"Course not! He answered, as he began to hack his way into the NSA files." He made it look so easy-like anyone could do it. Zee began to think that he could do this much faster than the rate at which Bucky was searching through the pages, but it wasn't like looking for information at the ground wire. There would be times that Bucky had to decode some encrypted security file lock, then would suddenly dive into a program that was full of java script. It looked like absolute gibberish, but from reading through it Bucky would be able to pick out select information and use it to find his way into the files.
To Ro, it didn't look like they were making any progress. However, after about two and a half hours, it seemed like they'd made a break through of some sort as Bucky pushed the keyboard away. It turned out not to be a victory for them, but a defeat. "Nothing!" he declared.
"How can that be?!" Ro asked.
"You're asking me?" Bucky remarked. "How should I know!"
"We saw him less than two days ago. Someone must have some information about this!"
"If they did, they certainly didn't post it on the internet. This is the list for all of the reports that were filed within the last week. None of the headers say anything about Dr. Edmund."
"Of course they wouldn't! Even the NSA has to keep secrets, right? Maybe they're using a code name for him?"
Bucky sighed, "You'd have to read through all of the memos to find out if they're the right ones. There's at least a hundred, here and I'm not going to be the one to go through them all."
It was his cue, "I'll do it," Zee offered.
Bucky turned the flat computer monitor towards Zee, and handed him the wireless keyboard. However, Zee didn't take the keyboard, but interested his cable out of his hand into the jack spot on the computer. Amazingly, with all of the other hardware Bucky had hooked up, there was still a free one for Zee to use. Zee then began to scan through all of the files, searching for any parallel stories of what had happened two nights ago at the Japanese restaurant. "Bucky's right. There's nothing about him."
Ro's heart sank. Why did it seem that the powers of fate were stacked against them?
"Is it likely that they haven't filed a report yet?" Zee suggested.
"It's always possible, but these guys are usually on top of things. It's not like them to file something like this late," Bucky replied.
"Perhaps they filed it manually, rather than electronically?" Zee suggested.
"ZEE!" Ro scolded him. It was a pessimistic thought: one that she was not in the mood to hear. He looked at her humbly. What did he say this time? It was a logical possibility. "The information has to be there. You're just not looking in the right place, Bucky!" she insisted. "There's no way that the NSA could not have anything on this case!"
"They could very possibly have information on this case. But they may be choosing not to make it accessible on their website for security reasons."
"What about reimbursement payments to the restaurant for loss wages or for the back of the train car Lemack ruined when he shot at us. Can you check for those?"
"While I don't think that kind of thing is usually posted online, I'll check just for you," he sighed, and began to search through the NSA data base for such files. In another half hour, he brought up a few purchase orders. "Here's the one for the restaurant, and for the street trash can, and for the train car, but they don't mention anything about the case that was related to the damaged incurred. This isn't standard policy for them to leave such information out… It seems to me that they're trying to keep things quiet about this."
Ro stared at the computer screen, angry. She was not ready to give this up yet. "So do you need to be looking in files with a higher security clearance then?" Ro asked.
Or what about personal email, or specifically, Bennet's personal email? Can you check that?"
"I'd have to find out what the ping number is for his ISP on his computer."
"ISP?" It was not a term she was familiar with. Nor was "Ping".
"Internet Service Provider," Zee said. He had some knowledge of computers even if he wasn't as good at getting around the internet as Bucky was.
"And how can you find out about their personal email by finding out their ping?" Ro said, hoping he'd explain what ping meant in his explanation so that she didn't have to sound stupid by asking.
"If a person has their computer on, and hooked up the internet, there's a specific signal or ping that their computer sends out to the company who they get their internet from. If you can find out what that number is, you can use it to access the files for that particular computer from another computer. It's like having your entire computer online. Not just select files on a webpage, but the entire thing, including hidden files."
"So how do you find out this ping number? Can you get it from the internet provider?"
"I could get a list, but I might not know which one that Bennet was specifically using on his computer. The other problem is if he doesn't have static number, but if it connects to a different one each time…"
"Then how do you find out?"
"I could get the list, then I'd have to track him online. It takes a while to isolate a single pin so he'd have to be on a long time, or I'd have to track it over several days."
"Well, we have the time, don't we?"
"You do, but I don't."
Well of all the selfish things! Didn't he know how much they needed his help? How could be turn them down like this! "Well maybe if you hadn't spent so long taking us here, you'd have time for it!"
"Ro, calm down," Zee tried to repress her anger. "He's doing us a favor as it is…"
Bucky could feel he was in hot water, and for once, he didn't deserve to be. "No, no, it's not like that! I don't have the time because I'll be going away to an all boys Science Camp for the next two weeks. When I get back, then I'll have more time."
Ro's anger melted from her face. "Science camp? You?"
"Yeah. I go every year. It's a lot of fun too. I'd invite you to come with, but the first day is tomorrow and the reservations are closed."
"Tomorrow? Why didn't you tell us you were going away? Where is this camp?" Ro asked.
"I didn't tell you because you didn't ask. The camp is only three hours from here, up in the mountains. Despite its remote location, they still have a satellite up there, so there's still internet access. If you want I can try to budget in some time to do some internet monitoring up there.
"Only if it doesn't get in the way of your other activities up there," Zee said politely. While it would be noble of Bucky to forget about himself and do them this favor, he didn't feel right in asking him to go out of his way for them.
"It should be fine. I can email you anything I find. Or…" he said, trailing off. He seemed unsure if he wanted to propose his next thought, but decided to do it anyway. "There's a girl's camp across the lake from us. If Ro wants to go there for a week, we'd be in the same vicinity."
Ro thought about it for a second. "It could be fun," she said. While she preferred nice hotels, spending a week or two in the outdoors might not be so bad. "But what about Zee?" she asked.
"If there's an opening because someone didn't show up, he can come to science camp with me. If not, he'll have to go with you."
"Didn't you say it was a girl's camp, though?" Ro asked for clarification.
"I did. Zee, you'll need to go shopping for a new wardrobe, and you'll need a new name," Bucky teased him.
Ro felt stupid. For some reason the fact that Zee could change appearances, even to become a girl, had completely slipped her mind. She didn't know when it happened, but she now always regarded him as male, even as a male robot. But weren't robots gender neutral? When had it started that Zee seemed to even regard himself as a male? Whenever he holomorphed into someone else, it was usually always a male figure, so she knew he preferred the gender. She knew that she preferred him as a male because the first time she saw him he was disguised as a male, and his voice was in a lower ranger than most women's voices. But why did he prefer himself as a male? She was sure that it could be blamed on whoever synthesized his natural voice in the lower pitch range. So from the beginning, he must have always been a little more masculine than feminine. It would be fine for him to become a girl for a week or two, as she was sure that he'd prefer to return to his masculine form when they were done. Besides, he was having enough time trying to understand the human nature as it was in the form of a male. To try to do it from a woman's perspective would overload his circuits.
"If the camp runs at the same time, won't it be full?" Zee asked.
"Nah. There are more boys interested in going to science camp, than there are girls interested in going to girl's camp. You can check online to be sure that there's room," Bucky said, as he closed all of the windows that he'd had open on the NSA website to begin a new search.
Ro groaned. They'd spent hours looking up the information, and he'd just closed the windows! While there hadn't been anything important that they'd found, she hated to think that they'd have to waste all of that time, looking for the same information again. Bucky opened the website for the girl's camp. There was a much higher fee for last minute reservations, but they were still accepting applications the day before. Apparently they really needed people to come so they could meet their minimum costs. "Well, I'm not going to camp in the middle of nowhere, alone. Sign up both up," Ro instructed.
Bucky began to fill out the forms for both of them to go in camp. "You'll have to pay for it in person," he let them know, after he sent in the paper work. "They're not accepting online payments at this time."
"That's fine," Zee said.
"I have to pay in person too," Bucky grumbled.
"What's wrong about that?" Ro asked. It didn't seem like too much of an inconvenience.
"They've gotten smarter this year."
"How's that?" Zee asked.
"Well, they've realized that several of the people going to the camp are very good with computers, and know how to get into their financial records, and clear themselves for having been financially cleared when they haven't paid anything."
"Isn't it dishonest not to pay?" He didn't like hearing that Bucky was someone who took advantage of someone else. It seemed very wrong.
"I always paid, but other people I know didn't. But the way I see it, they confiscate enough equipment, from us, which they don't return, to cover for the expenses."
"I don't blame them!" Ro stated, "If they didn't pay I'd want to collect from them anyway I could!
"It's not just the people who don't pay. It's everyone. You see…there's this running tradition, to play pranks between the different camps during the night, and day, and between the other cabins. If they catch you they take whatever you've got on you."
"So they're going to take a bunch of rolls of toilet paper?" Ro laughed. She could imagine a group of guys going to go TP someone, then having it confiscated.
"Well, the thing about that is you have to do it with colored toilet paper, which is a little more expensive than plain white paper. That way they know you're not using the camp's supply. But they won't make money off of selling toilet paper. The stuff they take is night vision goggles, radio transmitters, remote control operated rovers…"
"I don't think I want to go anymore," Ro said. "Not if I'm going to be bombarded with practical jokes concocted by adolescent boys."
"It's not really that bad, Ro. Both sides do about an equal amount of pranks on the other."
"If you've got electric rover equipment, that doesn't sound very equal to me."
"That was just for spying on them. You know, even though they're girls, they can think of some really cruel tricks to play on us as well. Like, last year. They tricked one cabin into walking through a forest of poison oak!
"And how they'd manage that?" Ro asked, incredulously.
"They dropped a fake 'secret meeting place map' and so the cabin followed it, hoping to eaves drop on them. When they got to the destination, they realized that they'd been tricked."
Ro bit her lip. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to go through with this anymore. But she had to admit, the practical joking did actually sound amusing. "The activities in they day are a lot of fun, especially on the last day. They have a big competition between the two camps."
"What kind of competition?" Ro asked.
"Outdoor sports mostly. Canoe races, archery contest, mini-Olympic sports…It all evens out because those of us who go to science camp aren't generally athletic, and girls aren't generally as athletic either. And you have plenty of time during the week to practice canoeing, or swimming. I really think you'd enjoy it if you went. And I did just send the forms in… But then it's nothing to you if you as you haven't paid anything yet, or even if you'd paid."
"You know I can stay up late to watch out for such jokes…" Zee said, supportively.
"Sure, why not," Ro conceded.
"You know, there might also be some other people with talents like mine… They might be able to help out too."
"I don't think it would be wise if we involved them," Zee noted wisely.
"That's fine. Here, let me print out the list of things that they said that you'll need. You only have a few hours to buy the stuff because the first day of camp is tomorrow as well, and I need some time to get you out of here, and to pack myself."
"Not another hour and a half bus ride," Ro groaned.
"More than a half hour. I took the short way to get here, we'll be going the long way home."
"The long way?" Ro pouted. "I think this obsession that you're being followed is past normal concern. I think you've moved onto being paranoid…"
"Ro," Zee tried to calm her down. Having him mention her name was enough. He was being patient and was taking these indignities calmly, so she might try to learn from his example as well.
With the list Bucky had printed, in hand, Zee entered into the large camping store. He'd told Ro that he would be fine without her, and suggested that she go into some of the stores and find some clothes that she wouldn't mind camping in. She had actually been the first to suggest that she needed a new wardrobe as her regular outfits were inadequate for such a terrain. She'd said the same thing whenever they tried some new sport or went somewhere with a new climate. The plan was for her to return to the store he was in after three hours of shopping time, then together they could revisit each store that she'd been in. Then Zee could purchase anything that she'd asked to be put on hold for that store. It seemed like a very efficient plan, except for the fact that Ro hadn't been sure if she wanted to leave him all by himself in the store. "Ro," Zee had said, "Don't worry. If worse comes to worse, I'll just hand the store clerk the list, and let him pick out the things we need."
"That's what I'm afraid of. Give them an opportunity like that and they'd take you for all you've got."
"But you know I've got an unlimited cred card…" He had protested.
"Who knows? One day, you might not have it. Then what would you do? Just try to use common sense. Don't let him sell you any bridges…"
"This is a camping store. I don't think they sell bridges here…"
"Just go ahead inside. I'll be fine. I'll meet you back here in three hours," and with that, she had left.
The sales clerk looked up from the cash register as Zee entered the door and smiled as Zee walked in. Zee nodded in return, the headed to the back of the store where the tents were. A tent, was the first thing on the list. Some of the tent models had been removed from their packaging and were out on display. Others were represented by a small scale miniature replication. These replicas looked like small doll tents.
He reached out for the tent that was closest to him, but then realized that the model he'd selected came in several different sizes! And was this even the right style to have chosen? He began to regret having let Ro leave him here alone. If only she were here as well… She wouldn't have a problem finding the right one. The list didn't specify what size or style he needed. It merely said, "1 tent." At least he knew that he didn't need two tents.
He selected a medium sized tent that could accommodate him and Ro, as well as their baggage. It was also a decent height that Ro should be able to stand up in it. While they had the traditional, old-fashioned pole tents, Zee chose one of the newer self-inflating tents.
From the back of the store Zee continued to browse around. While checking out the outdoor canopies, to see if those might be better than a tent, he came across a circus-tent type object that was hanging from the ceiling. It was made out of a fine mesh material and despite the fact that the store's ceiling was very high, there material had so much drapery it touched the floor and spread out into a small circle. After finding the descriptive caption, he learned that this was a large mosquito net that could drape over and cover an area with a fifteen foot radius. The packaging said that it was ideal for sleeping out under the stars, or for extra protection against bugs getting into someone's tent.
While he wasn't susceptible to getting bit, he could imagine how mad Ro would be if she were to be attacked by the blood-sucking mosquitoes. Zee stared at the net. He could imagine Ro scolding him for buying it, but then later being grateful when she's the only one who doesn't get bit. Not even bothering to look at the price, he picked up the net. He then realized that he would probably need a hover cart to carry all of the stuff he was going to buy, and got one from the front of the store and continued shopping.
Even with the assurance of the mosquito net, Zee selected an assortment of bug repellent, lotions, and creams as they were on the list as well. After loading up his cart with plenty of Cutter products, as it was the brand of repellants available, he went to select the sleeping bags he and Ro would be using. While it seemed wasteful to be buying something he didn't have need for it would seem strange to have his sleeping bag disappear during the day when he wasn't in it.
Judging by where the camp was being held, Zee knew that he didn't need to buy a mummy bag that would be good for -40 degrees. But, as they definitely proved to keep warmth in better than the generic brands, be bought two that were good up to -10 degrees. He easily found the rest of the items on the list, but for some reason, had a hard time picking out a flashlight for Ro. There were personal flashlights, head lamps, candle lanterns, and lantern and area lights. These had different power sources, and then there was always the "candle power" to consider. A light with candle power with 40 candle power was said to be forty times as bright as a single candle flame. He didn't want Ro to be blinded, but he didn't want her to wander around in the dark with a yellowish light.
But why did she even need a flashlight? He had a very luminescent headlight in the middle of his chest, which shown far brighter than any of these other lights. He didn't opt for a head flashlight, as he knew Ro would think it looked dorky, got her a regular hand-held one. "I shouldn't have to though… Wouldn't my light be enough?" No, because he couldn't allow anyone to see that he had a light in the middle of his robotic chest.
His internal alarm clock went off, and he realized that he'd somehow managed to spend three hours in the store. It would be smart of him to start looking for Ro in the store somewhere, then. But he shouldn't worry too much if she wasn't here now. It would be easy for her to become delayed in a dressing room. He could picture her looking at her watch, then realizing it was two minutes before the third hour, then telling herself that she could still try on the half a dozen outfits she had left in that time period. He could always grant her more time to shop later, but if the outlets closed, he would have no control over that.
Having two cartfuls to carry all of the items that he was going to buy, he proceeded to the checkout. He surmised it would take the cashier at least ten minutes to ring all of his purchases up. That would give Ro some time to get here as she wasn't in the store at the moment. The clerk seemed amazed at all of the items Zee was buying. After ringing up the total amount, Zee swiped his cred card through the teller to pay for it all. The clerk was amazed with the large quantity of Zee's purchase. Just from this one man, they'd met their month's quota already.
"Do you need any help out to your car?" he asked Zee, eyeing all of the bags that Zee might have to carry.
"No, I can make due," Zee replied, then began to pick up the bags, one by one, sliding them onto his arm. He would be fine as long as the bags held. While he had bought a lot of stuff, only the sleeping bags, the tent, and the net had a lot of bulk to them. The rest of the smaller stuff was easily crammed into one bag.
As he was coming out of the store, he saw Ro coming toward him. She had a bag in her hands, "Ro, I thought I told you that I could buy anything you needed when I was done shopping here," he told her.
"I know, but aren't you wouldn't want me to become too dependent on you, now do you?"
As long as they were together, he didn't mind if he spent the rest of his life taking care of her. But with his current position with the NSA, it was wise for Ro to be concerned that one day she might be on her own if he ever got caught. "Right," he agreed with her. If she had any opinion on anything, he usually agreed with her.
"Let me help you put those in the car," she offered. It seemed like an unselfish offer of one's self, until she added, "You're going to need both hands free for the stuff I've got on hold."
Rather than remind her that she might not need so many outfits, he smiled to himself, as he handed Ro the smallest, lightest bag, to carry out to their car. Despite that his arms were loaded with bags, he still found a free hand to unlock their car with. He began to stuff the larger items into the back of the trunk, past Ro's scrutinizing eye. She didn't comment on the individual items, but commented, "You sure bought a lot of stuff!"
"You think so? I got everything that was on the list." It almost hurt that he had bought all of this stuff, and they would only be using it once.
"That's a mistake that first time campers always make. They pack too much so they have this big bag to carry around. But I guess it doesn't matter for you. You can be the one to carry it all," she laughed, still holding onto the one bag that he'd handed her. He was almost done loading his bags into the car. When it'd seemed that he'd finished, Ro brought her bag forward. She opened it to peer inside. "Zee, what's this?" she asked, holding up one of the objects.
Of all people, Ro would be the last person he'd think to be ignorant enough to recognize cord when she saw it. "It's 200 ft of cord," he replied. "It was on the list…"
"This isn't cord, it's rope!!!" He voice was raised, but not in anger or frustration. It was more in an incredulous tone. "Let me see the list," she requested.
Zee handed her the list. It seemed like he'd really messed up now. Ro looked over the list for what Zee had confused rope and cord with. No where on the list did it remotely imply that they needed anything remotely resembling to rope. It did just simply say, "Cord".
"Zee, cord is used for outdoor clotheslines, or for holding down your tent roof, or for small arts and crafts projects. What you have here is mountain climbing rope! And 200 feet of it!"
"Well, now that I now what it's intended utilitarian purpose is, I guess it is a little too much. I was thinking that we'd need something with a higher strand count that what's in standard cord, and as it didn't specify what length we needed, I got 200 ft to be prepared. I guess I messed this up… Should I go return it?"
His words were so humble and meek… They made her feel bad for even having raised her voice a little. "No, this will be fine. At least this way, we know our clothes aren't going to sag into the dirt on a weak clothesline." Zee seemed to smile a little bit more, glad to hear that things would work out after all. "Is there anything else you want to ask me about from that list?" she asked.
"If anything, we'll be over prepared, rather than under," he replied.
"Good then. The outlet closes in an hour, and there are several stores we have to stop by again, so let's get going!" she said, excited, pulling his hand behind her. He quickly closed the door of the car, then followed closely behind her. While others might think he was strange, he was really having a good time.
An hour later, they returned to the car, Zee loaded with more shopping bags. "Well that was nice," Ro commented, throwing her share of the bags into the back of the car, then seating herself comfortably in the front passenger seat. Zee finished up loading the car, then sat down in the driver's seat. Looking over at Ro, he could see that she was tired. In fact, she wasn't awake more than ten minutes, before she fell asleep against the window. Zee looked over her and smiled, she always looked so peaceful when she slept. She never seemed worried that if she fell asleep there wouldn't be someone there to watch over her, or that she might wake up in unfriendly company. That kind of reassurance is worth almost anything.
