Chapter Nineteen

Andy

Amanda spent most of the day reading the extraction disk, going from intrigued to impressed to astounded at Jason's encyclopedic brain. In fact, she was so engrossed she never even heard him stir and nearly jumped out of her skin when he suddenly spoke.

"You've got a hellova lotta nerve showing your face around here, Andy," he said contemptuously.

"And good morning to you, too, Sleeping Beauty," came the cheery reply. "How's your head? Still a little fuzzy?"

"Clear enough to know who you are Xandora Legrand," Jason spat back, his eyes narrowing. "How the devil did you, of all people, get into the Argonauts?"

Amanda blinked. "Wow, you really are thinking clearer, aren't you?"

"No thanks to you and your father."

"Hey, I had nothing to do with your kidnapping," the woman Jason called Andy said defensively, rising to her feet.

"And you had nothing to do with drugging me senseless, either, I suppose?" the prince snorted.

"No," came the icy reply.

"Do you really expect me to believe that after what you said—"

"After what I said!" Amanda cut in sharply. "Why you highbrow hypocrite! You can't hold that against me after what you did, Lord Krystovan!" she snapped, making certain to emphasize his birth title. It was the very fact that Jason had concealed his identity as Crown Prince when they first met that formed the basis of the rift that eventually formed between them. "I said some pretty nasty things, I'll admit. But I don't remember ever wishing anything like this on you."

"That's right. Phew, what a relief," Jason sighed sarcastically. "I feel so much safer now."

"Why you ungrateful, self-centered, egotistical excuse for a sentient life form!" Amanda ex claimed. "I'll have you know I saved your life!"

"Yeah, sure," the unimpressed prince grunted. "And you tied me down to make sure I didn't fall out of bed. Right?"

"I tied you down to keep you from pulling every wire in creation out of yourself again."

"Almost believable."

Amanda let out a small growl. "Look. I didn't come here to fight with you—again."

"That would be a nice change, now, wouldn't it? What did you come here for? To practice your knot tying?"

The woman across the room glared at him, taking a deep breath to keep from losing her temper completely. "No. I came to ask a favor," she said as she crossed to the bedside.

"What!" Jason was incredulous. "You're joking?"

"They let me into the Argonauts because they think my name is Amanda Spencer. I need you to—Don't laugh at me!"

"You're Amanda Spencer!" the Alterran squeaked. "No wonder I couldn't put a face with the name. You go from Curtis Legrand's daughter to Evan Spencer's niece, and you don't think it's funny?"

"No, I don't."

"And they think I'm crazy." Jason laughed again. "Forget it, Andy. I saw you."

"Of course you did, you moron," Amanda snapped. "I've been your doctor for weeks now. Here, not at the Research Center. I was just as surprised as everyone when we found out Curtis—" Cutting herself off, another angry growl rose in her throat. "Why am I trying to justify myself to you?"

"I don't know. You tell me. I'm a captive audience. No, no, I forgot. I'm your patient. Isn't that what you said?" the Alterran shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The Medical Officer glared down at him. "Damn you, Jason Krystovan. You can be such a bastard sometimes. How dare you accuse me of having anything to do with this. Do you honestly believe I'm capable of something this cold-blooded?"

All of his instincts told him no, but even he was beginning to distrust himself. Drawing a deep breath, Jason said in a normal tone, "Okay, okay. But just look at it from my point of view. What am I supposed to think when I wake up like this?" He looked pointedly at the restraints still holding him firmly into place.

Amanda was forced to admit that he had a valid point and started removing the straps, much to his relief. "It's ironic," she said mildly, "I couldn't get you to stop separating my work from Curtis's before. And now, I can't get you to keep us apart. After four years, we're still fighting about the same thing. Only now we're on opposite sides."

This appallingly accurate assessment left Jason speechless and wishing he could think clearly. It was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with the complicated situation unraveling before him.

Apparently sensing the Alterran's sudden confusion, Amanda folded her arms and leaned back against the bed, her gaze falling on the computer, and reminding her of the one question she had been dying to ask. "Jason, what was Curtis after from you, anyway?" Looking back at him, she added quickly, "And before you say revenge, I think you should know he was being paid."

"Paid? By whom?"

"Heaven only knows."

Jason's face darkened. He had been trying not to think of the events following his abduction, and now that he was actually trying, he found it too difficult to retrieve anything pertinent in his jumbled memories. Shaking his head, he sighed helplessly. "I don't know. I'm not sure I ever did. I don't remember a lot of what happened very clearly."

"Really?"

The prince bristled, thinking she was being sarcastic. "Yes, really. These implants you designed did a good job of making sure I didn't remember anything."

"They almost killed you, too, if you really want to get melodramatic about it," Amanda snorted. "And I didn't design those, either. Curtis did." Crossing to the desk, she turned the computer terminal around, saying in a more normal tone, "That's not what I meant, anyway. Take a look at this."

Jason tried to sit up but found it too difficult, and had to raise the head of the bed in order to see across the room. His mouth dropped open when he saw his own memories flashing across the screen. "Where did you get that?" he gasped.

"Compliments of Curtis," Amanda replied matter of factly, going on to tell him of the dozens of other disks that had been found at the Research Center, the bulk of which were undecipherable. At least, undecipherable by Legrand's staff. Apparently the Doctor and Constance had had little trouble.

Seeing the type of information pouring forth, Jason, for the first time in his life, marveled at the shear volume of detailed information he collected in a single three second scan. If this was only from one disk, what was on the others?

"I don't know how you do it," the Amanda remarked admiringly. "I can't remember last week without checking my journal, and you remember everything you come in contact with without batting—" Cutting her off, she blinked, looking at the puzzled Alterran and then back at the computer screen. "My Lord, that's it, isn't it?"

"What? You've lost me."

"You remember everything you come in contact with. Everything you touch. No wonder you couldn't stand being touched by everyone. You must pick up information the way my scanner does. We were overloading your system."

Jason felt what little blood he had drain from his face. He was not sure if she were friend or foe, but here she was, Xandora Legrand, the only person who had ever managed to divine the secret of his scanning ability. The last thing in the universe he wanted her to know about. "Let me ask you a question," he said in an attempt the change the subject. "If you didn't know Curtis was behind my disappearance, why join the Argonauts? Why should you care if I'm found or not?"

With a laugh of irony, the woman across the room replied, "Constance asked me."

"Constance?" Jason repeated. "She has no idea who you really are?"

"Of course not. No one does. Except for you, that is. Do you really think Tolan would've locked me in here if he'd known?"

The mental image of the Commander discovering this made the prince chuckle. "Are you kidding? He'll have a coronary when he finds out."

Hesitantly, Amanda, now Andy asked, "Are you going to tell him?"

After an agonizing pause, Jason replied, "Can you give me a reason why I shouldn't?"