Chapter XV
Kelly took a look in the mirror on the bathroom door in the motor home. She straightened her hat and bolero tie and examined her reflection again.
"Passable," she shrugged and stepped out of the motor home into the evening air.
Kevin and Toni had already left for the arena even though they weren't part of the opening ceremonies. Kelly was however.
The PRA had a tradition that the competitors who had consistently ranked in the top five in their events six times put their names in the "hat" and before each rodeo names were drawn to see who would participate in the Grand Entry parade.
Kelly had been drawn to be a member of the color guard and carry the American Flag. It was her first time and during the run through earlier that day she found out it wasn't as easy as it looked.
The flag pole set into a specially made "cup" on the outside of the right stirrup. But the pole was seven feet tall and made of solid pine so it was heavy. The flag itself was a standard military size flag made of heavy duty fabric which added to the weight and also making the whole thing top heavy. To make things even more of a challenge the color guard didn't walk their horses into and around the arena..they came in and completed two laps around the arena at a full gallop, finally coming to a stop in the center of the arena close to the grand stands.
The color guard consisted of three flag bearers and two "escorts". One flag bearer carried the PRA's flag, one carried the flag of the state they happened to be in and one carried the American flag. One "escort" led them into the arena and the other brought up the rear. When they ended their "procession" the PRA flag was on the left, the state flag on the right and the Stars and Bars in the middle and an "escort" on each end.
In most cases the National Anthem was a John Philip Sousa tape played over the P.A. system, but there were times when the rodeo was part of a state or county fair in which a popular entertainer was performing and then it would be sung a Capella
After the National Anthem all of the competitors would gallop into the arena, complete one lap and line up behind the color guard. That's when the president of the PRA would present any trophies and/or awards. If it was a major rodeo (which was determined by the size of the sponsor, crowd and how many days they ran for) the reigning PRA Queen would enter the arena, complete two laps, stop just behind the color guard, dismount and join the president at the microphone and crown the new queen who was elected by the PRA members.
To be eligible to even be nominated, the young lady had to be single (and unattached), been a PRA member for a minimum of five months, competed in six consecutive rodeos and ranked in the top three in her events. (If she raced barrels and heeled in the team roping she had to rank no less than third in both events.) The PRA Queen wasn't picked for her beauty but because the members believed she was someone who could best represent the PRA as a spokesperson and icon. Their votes were based on the candidates' accomplishments, advocacy, contribution (non-monetary) and horsemanship.
The young lady who won the crown was also awarded $10,000 either in the form of a scholarship to the higher education institution of her choice or as a 401K, CD or Money Market Account deposit.
Since the Queen's reign was a short one (Unlike the beauty contestant queen who reigned a full year) her only other "perks" were the free unlimited (during her reign) use of whoever was their major sponsor's products.
Her only responsibilities as PRA Queen (besides reigning over the smaller rodeos until she crowned a new queen at the next major event) was to act as a spokesperson for the PRA and whoever was their sponsor at the time. She would assist the PRA's "Public relations"/event coordinator by "volunteering" her time on the phone scheduling appointments with city officials in preparation of an upcoming event, and, if time permitted, help with one of the PRA's three "pet" charities; the Pegasus Foundation, Mustang Spirit and/or Ronald MacDonald House.
Although the reign was short and definitely not as glamorous as Miss USA or Miss Universe (and that includes the monetary awards), and usually entailed some busy, hard work in a short period of time, being crowned Miss PRA was considered an honor by every member of the association and each young lady who had reigned as queen was proud to display the tiara and sash she was allowed to keep when her reign ended.
Kelly had not attended the voting banquet because Patches had been favoring his front right leg and, even though she could find no obvious injuries she stayed with Patches, rubbing the leg down with liniment. And since the PRA banquets usually ended late, Kelly had bed in bed when Toni and Kevin returned. The next few days had been busy as they were closing one rodeo and getting ready to travel to the next one and the subject of what had gone on during the banquet never came up. So Kelly had no idea who the nominees had been. And because she didn't consider the subject as important as the latest records in the barrel racing event being made by the top riders in the PRCA and IRCA she hadn't given it a second thought.
A PRA groupie (a local boy) who was working as a "stable boy" had already taken Patches out of the paddock and curried him until his coat shined like glass and his main and tail were combed. When Kelly walked to the "Set up" area, Patches was tethered to one of the horse trailers parked there for that reason, and he had been saddled and bridled in his "dress" tack.
Patches heard Kelly approach and cocked his head to the side so he could see her. He stomped his front hoof on the ground and snorted his greeting.
"Hey, Kelly," a cowboy covered in mud called out from nearby. "Lookin' so fine tonight," he complimented her and followed it with a loud wolf whistle.
Kelly blushed, tipped her hat and grinned at the man. When she saw the cowboy's disheveled appearance she laughed. "What the hell happened to you?" She called out.
From the horse trailer behind him suddenly appeared an equally as muddy lady. She was laughing and waving a big blue first place ribbon.
"Mud wrestling," she called out. "And I won."
"Good for you, June!" Kelly applauded and continued walking up to Patches.
"Wow, Kelly," another cowboy called out. "You clean up real nice." Then he called over his shoulder, "hey, Lance! Check out our Kelly."
From behind a big old lazy Brahma Bull with a sagging hump that was tethered to someone's pick up truck appeared one of the four PRA rodeo clowns.
"Don't she clean up good?" The cowboy called back and the clown crawled under the docile bull's belly, stood up, pinched his red clown nose so it honked and fell backwards to the ground as if he'd fainted. The bull looked down at him and proceeded to lick his face with its big wet tongue. The clown coughed and sputtered and smacked the side of the bull's nose with his beat up hat, rolled over and staggered to his feet.
Kelly was now completely embarrassed by all the attention, but deep down inside a part of her she didn't recognize was enjoying it.
And they were right. Normally clad in faded jeans or bib overalls, t-shirts and boots or moccasins, Kelly was dressed in a pair of lavender ladies western slacks and a white satin western blouse with lavender lace around the bodice and the cuffs of the puffy sleeves. She wore a silver belt with the belt buckle she had won two rodeos ago. Her hat was lavender felt with a white lace and royal purple ribbon as a hat band that dropped off the back brim and fell down to the middle of her back. Her boots matched her slacks.
Even Patches was "dressed" for the occasion. The boy who had curried and saddled him had braided a few lavender colored leather laces into his mane and tail so that he matched Kelly.
Kelly untied Patches and led him over to the long table where the PRA Vice President, Secretary and the owner of the fairgrounds were "issuing" the flags to the color guard and assigning everyone else their order for the Grand Entry.
"Hello, Kelly," the PRA VP, Maggie Coleman, said as Kelly stepped up to the table.
"Hi, Maggie," Kelly answered.
"You look wonderful," Maggie said as she got up and pulled the American flag out of a long box. She removed the cover as she handed it to Kelly.
"Thank you," Kelly said politely and took the flag. She moved away from the table and climbed into the saddle. She leaned the flag pole against Patches as she removed a pair of white leather riding gloves from her belt and put them on. Then she lifted the flag pole over Patches, placed the bottom of the pole in the "cup" and unrolled it so the flag was unfurled. She nudged Patches into their spot behind the Washington state flag and waited for their cue.
Methos had stopped on the way to the fairgrounds and picked up Joe. He pulled into a parking place and both men got out and walked to the gate where they purchased tickets and went inside. They found seats near where Methos had sat the day before only this time there were many people sitting around them. They waited in silence for things to start.
A Sousa march began to play over the P.A. system and the first two riders disappeared into the arena. Then the rider in front of Kelly galloped in and Kelly moved Patches forward. When she heard her music cue she leaned forward, gripped the flag pole and made a clucking sound and Patches galloped into the arena. As she made the turn into the straight-away that was in front of the grand stands she felt the buzz of an Immortal. She didn't look into the crowd until she was on the back side of the arena and then she glanced into the audience. At first she didn't see anyone that looked familiar but then she saw Methos whom she recognized from the day before. She managed to keep her focus as she made her second lap around and came to a stop in her position in front of the audience.
The National Anthem was played and the rest of the Grand Entry came into the arena and took their place behind the color guard. The President approached the microphone and introduced the reigning Miss PRA who made her entrance, did her two laps and took her place behind the color guard. She dismounted and joined the president at the mike.
"The Professional Rodeo Association is proud to announce," the president said, "our new PRA Rodeo Queen is..." He paused for effect then said, "Miss Kelly McKinney."
Kelly's mouth dropped open. She sat frozen in her saddle totally in shock. The audience and her fellow members were applauding, cheering and whistling but she was deaf to the noise. The rider next to her moved her horse sideways so she could take hold of Kelly's flag pole. Finally Kelly regained her composure and dismounted her horse and walked up to the mike. The reigning queen took a sash from the president and slipped it over Kelly's head and straightened it out. Then she took a tiara from the president and snapped it above the brim of Kelly's hat. Kelly managed a smile but she felt numb. She walked back to Patches, got back into the saddle and nudged him forward to trot the traditional lap around the arena. Then she took her position back, as well as the flag pole, and galloped out of the arena with the rest of the color guard.
Methos looked over at Joe who was writing something down in his notebook. He waited for Joe to say something and when he didn't, Methos finally spoke up.
"Well? What do you think?" Methos asked.
Joe put his notebook away and looked at Methos. "I'm not sure what to say," Joe said quietly. "But now I know why you're confused about it. Let me put it this way...if Caitlin had had a sister, this girl would be her."
Methos remembered something Duncan had asked him. "This morning Mac asked me if I would bet money on the fact that it was Caitlin."
Joe looked at him. "What did you say?"
"That if I had fifty bucks to throw away I would," Methos answered.
Joe looked into the arena and nodded. "Yeah...it's not a hand I'd bet the farm on."
They both sat silently and watched the rest of the rodeo.
That night after the party the members threw to congratulate her, Kelly crawled into her sleeping bag in the hammock outside of the motor home and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The day is warm and sunlight filters through the tall pines that reach up to touch a crystalline blue sky and there is not a cloud in sight. For a few moments the only sound is that of a waterfall dumping the winter's melting snow into a clear pond surrounded by fern covered rocks and the occasional call of Blue Jays and bark of a squirrel. The peacefulness is interrupted by the sound of horses galloping hooves in the distance but getting closer. The sound comes from a meadow filled with colorful wildflowers, some of which are being scattered to the wind as 2 riders, one considerably closer than the other, race across the meadow towards the tree line. The first rider to clear the meadow and come to an abrupt stop a few feet from a large flat, smooth rock at the edge of the pond is a young girl with long red hair lying loose around her shoulders. She is dressed in a pair of jeans and a western style shirt and a beat up straw cowboy hat. She dismounts, laughing. The second rider is a very attractive man with sun tanned skin, deep brown eyes and long black hair. He is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that shows off the muscles in his arms. He clears the meadow and comes under the canopy of pines just as the red haired girl strips off her clothes and dives into the pool. The man pulls his horse up next to hers, dismounts, also laughing, undresses and dives into the pool, surfacing directly in front of the girl. First he places his hand on the top of her head and pushes her under the water. Then, after she surfaces and has playfully splashed him a couple of times, he takes her into his arms and they kiss. The girl breaks away, laughing once again, splashes the man and swims toward the waterfall disappearing under the curtain of water. The man follows. Behind the waterfall is a ledge of smooth rock, carved by years of water. By the time the man clears the curtain of water; the girl has climbed onto the ledge and is lying on her side, propped up on one elbow water glistening on her already tanned body. She smiles seductively down at the man. He continues to tread water below the ledge, admiring her beauty, then he reaches up to the edge of the ledge, and with very little effort, pulls himself up and out of the water and onto the ledge next to the girl. Placing his fingers under her chin and raising her face to meet his, he softly kisses her. He moves his hand from her chin to the back of her neck as he gently pushes her onto her back. Cradling her head in his hand he begins kissing her neck. The girl responds by arching her back and entwining her fingers into his shoulder length hair. Behind the curtain of water, the two make love.
Kelly woke up and looked around. Even though there was no one around, she felt embarrassed by her provocative dream. She looked up at the stars overhead and thinks about the dream. She had dreamed about the red haired girl before...but other than that she didn't recognize her (Although deep down inside there was a strange feeling of familiarity) and she had dreamt about the man almost every night although she had no idea who he was (which confused her as to why she had experienced such a provocative reaction to dreaming about him making love to the red haired girl). She finally dozed back to sleep...unaware that she had a slight smile on her face.
Duncan woke up as the sun was barely lighting the sky. He wasn't sure what woke him, only that going back to sleep was no longer an option. He got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants then headed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Then he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Showered and shaved, Duncan went back to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He opened the front door and retrieved the Seacouver Times from the front porch. Taking a seat on the couch, he opened the paper.
Section A of the Seacouver Times covered world and national news. Section B covered local news, weather and entertainment news. Section C covered sports and the classifieds.
As was his normal morning routine, Duncan started by reading Section A cover to cover. By the time he had absorbed the events of the world and nation his coffee cup was empty so he got up and poured himself another cup and returned to the couch and opened Section B. He took a sip of his coffee and smoothed the paper out on the coffee table. He was just about to look at the picture that accompanied the lead article when the phone rang. Taking his cup of coffee with him he got up and went to the bar, sat on a bar stool and answered the phone, "MacLeod."
"Hey, your royal highness," Kevin teased from the picnic table outside of the motor home. "You' made the front page of the local paper."
"What?" Kelly said coming out of the motor home with a plate of pancakes Toni had just made. "Let me see that," she said as she set the plate in the middle of the table next to the bottle of syrup. Kevin handed her the Seacouver Times B Section. She stared at the image of her being crowned Miss PRA and another of her and Patches taking their ceremonial lap around the arena afterwards. The caption read, "Miss Kelly McKinney was crowned Miss Professional Rodeo Association before the rodeo being held at the Seacouver Fairgrounds. She will reign over the rodeo which runs through Sunday."
"Oh no," Kelly thought to herself. She wondered how many people outside of Seacouver read the Seacouver Times. She went on to read the short article that accompanied the two pictures.
Methos sat at the bar in Joe's, nursing a cup of coffee. Joe walked in from his office, went behind the bar and plopped the Seacouver Times B Section on the bar in front of Methos.
"Does Mac take the paper?" Joe asked as Methos scanned the front page.
Without answering, Methos grabbed his cell phone and dialed Duncan's number.
Robert Woods was concentrating so hard on what he was typing into his computer that he actually jumped when his secretary buzzed him on the intercom to tell him Mr. Conroy needed to see him. He rolled away from the computer and told her to let Mr. Conroy in. Seconds later a very large man strode into Wood's office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Wood's desk. As he sat down he tossed the Seacouver Times Section B on the desk.
Woods picked up the paper and a smile (more like a sneer) came across his face as he looked at the two pictures. Then he read the article. Mr. Conroy had highlighted one particular paragraph with a yellow highlighter pen and Woods focused his attention on that paragraph which read, "The PRA will be packing up and leaving Seacouver on Sunday and will be moving to Seattle where they will be busting broncs and roping steers during the King County Fair two weeks from now (see schedule on back page). Admission to the rodeo is free with Fair admission."
Woods looked up from the newspaper at Mr. Conroy. "Where the hell is Seacouver, Washington?" He asked.
"West of Seattle on the Puget Sound," Conroy answered. "We going to Seacouver to get her, boss?"
Woods thought about it for a minute then said, "No. We'll let her have her moment in the sun. We'll pick her up in Seattle." With that he buzzed his secretary. "Get me on the next available flight to Seattle. Make that two seats and book me and Conroy rooms in a nice hotel and we'll need a rental car." Then to Conroy he said, "Get in touch with our office in Idaho and have them send us a team, just in case."
"Right, boss," Conroy said as he got up and lumbered out of the office.
Robert Woods picked up the Seacouver Times and carried it over to the window. He held it in the sunlight and looked at the pictures of the smiling Kelly McKinney.
"OK, young lady," he said to the pictures. "You've had your fun. Now it's time to come home."
"Yes. Just saw it," Duncan spoke into the phone. "Is that the girl you were talking about?"
Methos said that it was and waited for MacLeod to say something.
"I wish it was a better picture. I can't really see her face that well," Duncan said.
"Yeah I know," Methos agreed. Finally he asked the question most important to him. "Mac? Are you OK?"
Duncan didn't answer right away. Finally he said, "Yeah. I guess."
"You want me to come over?" Methos asked and glanced up at Joe who was looking at him worriedly.
"No. I'm fine," Duncan said and got up, went into the kitchen and pouted himself another cup of coffee. "I don't need a babysitter."
"Call if you need anything," Methos said.
"Thanks," Duncan returned to the couch. "I'll talk to you later." He hung up and proceeded to read the article accompanying the pictures.
"How's he taking it?" Joe asked when Methos hung up the phone.
"He says he's OK," Methos answered. "Sounds a little down."
"damn," Joe said.
"How do you think he's going to feel, Joe?" Methos said. "He's still raw from it all and, WHAM! This is shoved in his face. I know how I'd feel. Hell, I know I do feel."
"Yeah? And how's that?"
Methos thought to himself, "I don't want to pursue it. I don't want to be sure. Because if it turns out to not be her it'll hurt all over again. And if it is her than God knows what has happened." But he said aloud to Joe, "Like it's time for a beer."
Joe sighed and fished a bottle of beer out of the ice bin and pushed it across the bar to Methos and said dejectedly, "Yeah." He turned and walked back into his office and closed the door.
Methos watched him and when the door closed he turned his gaze to the mirror behind the bar and stared blankly at his own reflection, opened the bottle and took a long swig while staring at the mirror
Duncan finished reading the article and staring at the picture for the hundredth time and sat back on the couch and laid his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. He was tempted to go to the fairgrounds and see for himself but something inside him advised against it. He went over and over it in his head for a couple of hours and finally he sat up and folded up the newspaper, stood, walked into the kitchen and tossed it into the trash can under the kitchen sink. He went into the bedroom and changed into his Hakama and took a rolled up bamboo mat from the shelf in the closet and went out to the front yard to work out and clear his mind.
Kelly didn't know why she turned on the almost invisible dirt road that ran through the forest but it seemed the most natural thing to do. Most people unfamiliar with the area would not have known the road was there or even noticed it because it consisted of only two narrow "ruts" created by the occasional car tire and those were nearly covered by ferns and other ground covering shrubbery. On either side of the narrow winding road was a dense rain forest of pine, spruce, oak and maple trees with a fern covered floor.
Kelly drove slowly along the road looking from side to side at the scenery. It was still early in the morning, the sun had only been up a little over an hour and a thin mist hovered about a foot off of the ground. At one point Kelly stopped her rental car, got out and wandered over to the side of the road and picked a sprig of wild lilac which she absentmindedly stuck in her hair above her left ear, then she got back in the car and continued on down the road. She had no idea where it was taking her but she felt drawn to whatever was at the end of the small dirt road.
Duncan opened his eyes and looked around at the dimly lit bedroom. The sun was just barely clearing the mountains to the east and casting long shadows in the bedroom. He was unsure what had awaken him. He didn't remember having a nightmare or unsettling dream and he didn't sense another Immortal. He listened to the morning sounds; birds singing, the house creaking with the changing temperature, a garbage truck off in the distance...all perfectly normal. There was no sound of an intruder.
He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat there for a few minutes while his circulation leveled out. He stretched and yawned then stood up and took his robe from the back of the chair near the foot of the bed. Slipped it on and headed for the kitchen and the pot of coffee started by a timer. He poured himself a cup of coffee, went to the front door and retrieved the morning newspaper from the porch and took it and his coffee to the couch where he sat down and proceeded to read the paper.
After he finished reading the paper he nursed the remaining half cup of coffee while;e staring blankly out the front window. Once the cup was empty he debated on whether he wanted to refill it or not. As part of his debate he thought about what he needed to do that day and what he wanted to do. All repairs on the house had been completed including any repairs he had started on the T-Bird so his "Need To Do" list was empty. He got up and walked over to the window and looked up at the now blue sky. A fluffy white cloud drifted into his view and a memory drifted into his mind.
Flashback
It's 1883 in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest
Duncan and Caitlin are lying on their backs in a meadow in a field of colorful wild flowers and looking up at the sky which is a brilliant blue. There are a few fluffy white clouds scattered across it.
Caitlin points to one of the clouds and Duncan moves closer and follows the line of her finger trying to see what she's pointing out.
"Look at that one," she says. "It looks like a turtle."
Duncan tries to see a turtle in the small fluffy cloud formation, but can't.
"Do you see it?" She asks hopefully
Duncan shakes his head. "No baby , I don't." It's his turn to point. "But if you close one eye it does look like Connor after he's had too much Scotch," he chuckles.
Caitlin laughs and playfully smack him on the arm. "I'm going to tell you said that," she teases.
"Oh you are, are you?" He rolls over and props himself up on one elbow and reaches across her and begins to tickle her ribs.
"Stop...quit...stop," she laughs trying to squirm away. She pulls up a handful of wild flowers and throws them at him. While he sputters she jumps up and starts running toward the cabin.
Duncan gets to his feet and chases after her. He catches up to her several yards from the cabin and grabs her around the waist and gently pulls her to a stop. He spins her around so that she's facing him, bends over and presses his shoulder against her abdomen He puts his arms around her legs just below her hips and straightens up into a standing position which lifts her off the ground into a fireman's carry, carries her into the cabin, her squeals echoing through the meadow. He carries her upstairs and gently tosses her onto the bed and proceeds to make gentle yet passionate love to her and she to him.
Present Day
The sound of a children's ice cream truck playing Camptown Races on the street ΒΌ of a mile from the house brought Duncan back to reality. As he became aware of his surroundings he also became aware that he was smiling but he had evidently curled his hands into fists so tightly that he had dug his fingernails into his palms, breaking the skin and causing them to bleed. He closed his eyes for a second and said under his breath, "damn it!" He went to the bathroom, turned on the cold water in the sink and held his hands under the running water and watched his blood wash down the drain. When his hands healed he turned off the water and stood up, dried them and turned to leave the bathroom.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of his reflection in th medicine cabinet mirror. He stopped and turned to face the mirror. Although his complexion wasn't the ashen gray it had been a few months ago, he definitely lacked any healthy color in his face and there were dark circles under his eyes. He thought about his sleep habits lately. He had definitely been having difficulty not only falling asleep but staying asleep. On the nights that he didn't have a nightmare or unsettling dream, sounds...no matter how normal or minute...would bring him fully awake.
"That's it, MacLeod," he said to his reflection. "You need to get away from the city...away from the throng of well meaning friends, and go somewhere where you can get some rest and do some serious meditation and work out without interruptions. You need to get back into shape. This feeling sorry for yourself enough to not take care of yourself has got to stop. It stops now!" He turned and walked out of the bathroom.
Duncan went into the bedroom and took a duffel bag out of the closet. He filled it with some clothes and dressed in a pair of jeans and a loose fitting sweater. He put his boots on and tied his shoulder length hair into a pony tail. He picked up the duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder and went into the living room. He looked around then went to the front door. He took his coat from the coat rack, his sheathed sword down from the sword rack and slung it over his other shoulder and his keys from the key rack, opened the door and stepped out into the morning air. He locked and closed the front door and headed for the T-Bird.
Duncan threw his duffel bag and coat into the back seat and put his sword on the floor between the driver's seat and the door, got in and started the engine. He pulled on the driveway, then out onto the street and headed for the freeway.
Robert Woods and Mr. Conroy boarded their commercial flight in San Fransisco just as the first rays of sun began to turn the sky from black to purple then orange. As the plane taxied the runway in preparation for take off, the sun was appearing above the eastern horizon.
"Why do you think she ran off, boss?" Mr. Conroy asked Woods as their plane began to lift off of the ground and go into a steep climb.
"I'm not completely sure, Mr. Conroy," Woods said looking out the small window at the disappearing city below. "She didn't take precautions to stay out of the lime light which, I think anyway, shows that she wasn't trying to hide. Maybe her memories of the death of her family got to be too much and she decided she needed some time to herself. You saw the way she acted at the airport."
"Or she didn't actually hide because she forgot us and doesn't feel anything threatening," Mr. Conroy said.
Robert Woods turned his head and looked at his traveling companion. Then he shook his head. "No I would rather believe my version," he said.
"You haven't gone and got soft on her, have you, boss?" Conroy asked.
I'll pretend you didn't just ask me that,"Woods mumbled and pressed the button that reclined his seat, lay his head back and closed his eyes.
"I'm just sayin'..." Conroy started then decided it would be better if he didn't finish his statement Instead he decided to change the subject. "How will you know if the treatments have worn off? Or are wearing off?" He asked instead.
"That's why I have some of the best scientists, researchers and practitioners on my payroll. They will make that determination," Woods said without opening his eyes.
"If the treatments have worn off will you be able to re-implement them?" Conroy asked.
Woods turned his head without raising it and looked at Conroy. "What's with all the questions?" He asked. "You've never been interested in this stuff before."
Mr. Conroy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just don't want to see her go the way the others did. I kinda like her. She's..." he thought a minute then said, "different," and laid his head against the back of the seat.
"Now who's turned soft?" Woods chuckled. He and Conroy had worked together since the beginning and although the big man had zero class and very little education, once you got past that and his gruff exterior, Woods found him likable enough to never leave the city without him at his side.
"I'm just sayin'..." Conroy mumbled sleepily. The last thing he heard before drifting to sleep was Woods saying, "You're always 'just sayin' something."
Woods turned his head and stared out at the sea of white clouds just below the plane. As much as he hated to agree with Conroy, terminating Kelly would be a great disappointment. She had taken to the treatments better than any of the others (once she had quit fighting the preparation process and "deprogramming"). She had proven to be an asset in the brief time with the Association as a cleaner. And her successful "reprogramming" had made Woods proud. Her termination would be seen as a failure and Woods hated to fail. But if she was reverting or even forgetting who and what Kelly McKinney was supposed to be, chances were that any attempts to "re-program" her would fail somewhere down the road and that wasn't good enough. "What a waste," Woods thought to himself and closed his eyes, also drifting off to sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED