Once Upon A Time Traveler
Chapter Three
Somewhere In Nevada:
As Mina made her way through the morning Continental Breakfast bar laid out for those engaged in the morning briefing sessions, she eyed Ramsey as he appeared deeply immersed in conversation with Talmedge.
It'd been Talmedge's call that set Penn free from the Psychiatric Hospital, much in the same way Talmedge had gotten Frank Parker free to join the program.
"But, you don't understand, sir, she could be a risk now.", Ramsey was insistent.
"Nonsense Nate, I can't imagine that she'd be anything but a boon to our operation.", the elder scoffed.
This left Nate further out on the limb than he'd expected he'd have to climb.
"Honestly, not to impugn your methods or reasons, but, if you'd just –", Nate tried to implore of the Project Leader.
Talmedge held up a hand, halting any further debate.
"She stays, Nate, that's final. She's undergone enough training and proven herself more than capable."
However, he did feel obliged to toss the guard dog a bone, "Now, if anything were to happen to her – Well, that would be different."
A brighter light came on in Nate's beady eyes that gave Talmedge pause.
"But, that's not going to be a concern, now is it?", Talmedge wanted to be certain Nate didn't misunderstand the previous comment he'd made. The elder man reached over to clasp a meaty hand on the Head of
Security's shoulder, "Not with you overseeing every detail and making sure that we're all safe here – ", Talmedge made sure to make eye contact with Nate and hold his startled gaze, "Right?"
Talmedge's voice boomed with intent, just to be on the safe side'. Talmedge was uncomfortably aware of the government's current 'retirement program' and what kind of sacrifice it called for from the Pilot.
No one noticed as Mina was busy scribbling something down on her note pad. They also didn't notice that she'd intentionally pricked her finger and some of the blood spilled onto the notepad.
The door swung open and Olga was deep in conversation with Penn.
"But, I swear, nothing happened. Nothing that I can remember anyway." Penn appeared to be more confused rather than upset. "Well, you were due for a stress test later this week anyway. I say we do it after the meeting. Alright?"
"But, Olga – ", Penn nearly whined. Penn mimed 'sleeping', but, the high tech specialist in stress would not be swayed.
"Just to be sure.", Olga's decision was etched in stone.
Penn moved to get some coffee, then, saw the scowl on Olga's face.
"Fine!", and Penn, instead, reached for an orange juice. Opening it, she crossed to the long desk and made a face as the acidic beverage stung her throat. "Uegghh!"
Mina smiled to her friend, "Well, it could be worse."
"How's that?", Penn truly wondered.
"You could be on an all liquid diet.", Mina smirked, her pointed fangs peeking out from under the pigeon's blood red upper lip.
"Gimme a break.", Penn shot back, unimpressed with Mina's veiled insinuation.
"I say we start with Nate's shin.", Mina offered.
Penn smiled mischievously, and countered, "Nah… His bank account…"
Mina understood and enjoyed the joke. Penn further offered, "Ahhhhhh… I just love shopping, don't you?"
The girls giggled quietly to each other as the Head of Security was still attempting to get something else clarified.
"Olga, what did you do last night before you left the ob deck?", Nate now wanted to know just who had caused the lapse in the data being processed during Penn's sleep session.
"Well, I –", She began, as she cleared her throat and brought her mind back to the matter at hand.
She stopped however, thinking of the conversation she'd had with Mina, then, she looked to Nate's upraised eyebrows, "I don't know that I understand your meaning."
Nate decided that he knew the answer to the question that she seemed to be striving to hide,
"Oh, I can tell you what you did! You fried the circuitry so that we'd be more behind in our research than before!"
"Nathan, I'm just as concerned as you are to make this program a success!", Mina had been a fair actress in her time before this, and she was finding it most amusing to put her experiences to use here. In truth, yes, she did wish the program to be a success. But, she realized there were different 'levels' of success.
She wanted one that was far above the level that Nate's meddlesome 'shadow government' money men and women would be 'willing' to allow! They wanted to harness the capability of the sphere's power so badly that they would have effectively strangled it in the attempts to 'keep control' over the project. Too many bureaucrats would kill this sphere project.
It was going to be a success without manipulation of the facts, without degradation of the subjects being observed, and most importantly, without interference in the performance of the duties of the researchers! If that meant an 'unscheduled' interruption in the non-stop 'observation' of the Pilots in the program, then, so be it. Anything to allow them the 'feeling' of being 'free' even for a moment to bolster their morale. It made for a happier research subject, and kept the researchers on their toes and appreciative of those subjects they were there to study.
Penn wearily looked to Mina's Cheshire Cat grin, and wondered, as she whispered to her nocturnal friend, "What do you know about all of this?"
"Oh, not much.", Mina continued to smile. She passed the note to Penn, now that the grown-ups' were properly arguing amongst themselves, Talmedge having been roped in as referee.
"What's this?", Penn moved to open it, but, Mina put an icy hand atop the warm one, halting her friend from learning too much, too soon. "You look like you could use a vacation."
Penn frowned a smile to Mina, "Consider it your passport."
"What are you talking about?", Penn nearly hissed as she whispered.
Mina shushed her as the difficulty between the administrators was resolved. Nate now rounded on Mina. He was feeling a new wave of anger surging as he had seen out of the corner of his eye the Vampiress and the Pilot whispering together.
"Well, missy! I hear you were the one we have to thank for losing nearly four more hours of priceless data!"
"I apologize Nate, I must be more careful where I step.", she smiled, revealing only the tips of her deadly fangs. Her eyes also were going a bit red', indicating that Nate was the one who should be watching his step.
For a man who spends most of his time arguing with people, Nate had been careful up to this point to not anger
Mr. Harker's widow. He shivered as she smiled up at him in what would have ordinarily been an apologetic way. However, being that she was whom she was… Well, such was the vast difference between the way he treated Penn and Mina. The forward thinking vampiress simply sat, almost too still, however, he knew that in the flicker of an eyelid, she could be on him and draining him before anyone could have stopped her.
Nate cleared his throat audibly, looked down and pretended to smooth his tie, as he murmured,
"Well, just don't let it happen again!"
"I'll be most careful, in future, I assure you.", Mina smirked, happy to needle the Security Chief a bit more by getting the last word in. She detected she'd struck her mark as his face raised to hers with a most distasteful wince and one of the deepest blushes she'd ever seen!
On the Nautilus
Henry Jekyll stood on the con of the Nautilus, the blue sky the shaded of brilliant turquoise. He watched from afar as Dorian Gray continued his incessant wooing of the auburn haired vixen, and scientist, Mina Harker.
"Ain' she somethin'?", a disembodied voice came from within a long black leather coat and ridiculously wide brimmed hat. "What I wouldn't give ta have her teeth ticklin' my nether regions – "
Jekyll smiled to himself. "I've heard that men line up to give her a pint of their best to her, just for the experience."
From within him, the beast growled, "Give her anything she wants, Henry, just so long as we get what we need from her!"
Attempting a fake cough, Jekyll pushed his alter ego further into the dark reaches of his troubled mind, as an odd sensation of foreboding continued to nag at him.
