Chapter XVII.
"Sprockets..." Lawainie said softly, clutching a now cold coffee cup as she watched her father's crestfallen face. "You don't do anything halfway, do ya Pop?"
"No...no, I suppose not. But I had very little choice in the matter, Princess-it was truly, completely love at first sight. I had never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire life."
He watched an uncertain shadow pass over Lawainie's face, and he took her hand in his.
"Please don't take that as an insult to your mother. Laurenda was a lovely girl, and in her time she properly bewitched me. I should never have taken the bait...but I have you after all of it, and I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world."
Breathing a sigh, Lawainie leaned over and rested her head against the timeworn flight jacket that surrounded his shoulders, thinking back across a seeming ocean of time.
"Thanks Dad. I know I always held it against you, before...but you were there when it counted. And I never did thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving me. All those years ago, in the volcano."
She lifted her eyes to meet his, and he read in them a depth of regret he'd seen in few creatures before.
"You could've just taken Gadget and left me, but you didn't. You risked your life to save us both."**
Smiling gratefully, she hugged him close, mentally willing the door of her memory to close, and turning the lock.
"That was the day I learned to trust you."
"An' that was the day I learned how much I loved bein' a father again. I do think your uncle Maliki would have taken a piece outta me though, if Hubba-Hubba's tribesmice hadn't shown up."
"He always was a bad seed," Lawainie opined. "Look at me, I should know."
"Don't sell yourself short, my girl. Maliki had his chance to come back, just like you. And you took your chance."
"Almost took the rest a' you with me, but yeah, I guess so."
Curled in a old, ratty armchair across the way, Blank watched the scene play out with what she realized was a certain amount of jealousy. She felt she should be able to remember her own father, but like everything else the memory was hazy, and ever just out of reach. Even at this however, she found herself thankful for the Rangers and their hospitality. Tammy had managed to concoct several metabolic suppressants that had stabilized her random changes somewhat, although she still felt the regenerative energies boiling just below the surface. At the least it had allowed her the first real rest she'd had other than fevered dreams, since the day she'd found herself with the Professor. It wasn't a permanent fix-Tammy had estimated her work might last a couple of days, maybe more, maybe less-but it would give her time. Time to study and to think, and it was to that end that the squirrel and her able lab partner Mariel were applying themselves at the same moment.
"There's gotta be a serum cure we can try. Somethin' to bend the cellular structure back into its' proper shape."
"I tell you, it won't work-we don't understand enough about the underlying genetic mutations. We could end up inducing a literal meltdown."
"Isn't that what we're looking at anyway, if we don't try?!"
Mariel sighed. She and Tammy had been debating for almost three hours, trying desperately to come up with a course of treatment for Blank. So far they'd had mixed results, but the two Rangers had reached an impasse beyond which neither seemed willing to go. Tammy had wanted from the beginning to attempt a chemical, medicinal intervention into Blank's problem, which Mariel had immediately vetoed. Anything they might try at this point needed to be researched, but yet research was the one thing for which they had very, very little time.
"Aunt Tammy, you've seen the test scans. If we touch off a chain reaction of the cellular energy bouncing around inside her body, we could destroy her as well as us."
"I'm perfectly aware of that! But we can't just-just-agree to stand here and do nothing!"
"And I'll agree on that! But I'd prefer to help in a way that won't kill us all."
Tammy sighed heavily.
"Fair point. I'm open to suggestions."
Twirling a strand of her dark hair around her fingers as she thought, Mariel stared up at the screen intently.
"What about...DNA replacement therapy?"
Blinking, Tammy rubbed her eyes.
"It's...a thought, I suppose. But I've never tried it, and we'd need a sample of DNA from a very close family member to extract the sequences we need for the transplant solution. That's a toughie, since we don't really know what corner of your family she comes from."
"I didn't say it'd be easy, but it might have the best chance of stabilizing what's happening to her."
"Also fair point. The lab technician in me just wishes we had more information...what we're thinking of doing is dangerous to her, at best."
"I think it's more dangerous if we don't try it. Have you seen the cellular numbers from the latest TruScan readings?"
Tammy nodded.
"The energy levels are rising."
"I thought you'd notice. They aren't just rising, they're skyrocketing. Great golly-poggles, but they are shooting up, and the rate of climb is increasing."
"Noticed that, too. Prognosis, Doctor?"
"Probably the same one you arrived at, Doctor. And it's a whole lot of not good."
Mariel touched several controls on the tablet screen, and with a sudden burst of light the image of the cell sample vanished.
"Molecular disintegration."
"That's about the same conclusion I came to, yep. And we still haven't answered the question of how this happened in the first place. I've never seen any phenomenon like this. Never in my career."
Falling silent for a moment, Mariel listened to her adoptive aunt drone on about other cases that she could relate to, as her thoughts drifted back over the preceding weeks. The more she reached for her own clues, the more mystified she became.
"Well-I can think of one incident that was similiar, achally," she interrupted, catching Tammy's gaze guiltily. "I should've thought of it before now, but we've kinda had our hands full. And I'm not sure how it would apply here."
"Doesn't apply? Whatta you mean, doesn't apply? What could you have possibly seen that's anything like this?"
"Well..."
Mariel bit her lower lip gently, her nose wrinkled as she reviewed all she'd seen. Tammy knew some of what had happened at the old cave,** but she didn't know all of it. They'd simply never gotten around to talking about the subject. The steamroller of events the Rangers had all been riding simply didn't allow for it.
"I've seen strange DNA mutations on this level in one situation before-the experiment Mom ran to restore herself, right before the big fight at Banastre's lair. The things she subjected herself to...I'd never seen anything like it."
Tammy was incredulous.
"Never...anything? And you didn't think to mention it?"
"Well I'm sorry, we haven't exactly been able to sit down for a family meeting, ya know."
"Trust me, I'm aware," the squirrel replied, somewhat mollified. "It's not your fault, Mariel. You're right, nobody's been normal lately."
"That's an understatement," Lawainie answered for them both, hopping off the upper deck ladder with a grim look. "What's the word, Doc and Doc?"
"Lousy," Tammy replied. "We've got a few ideas about treatment, but as far as figuring this mess out...I feel like we're right back where we started, and even little Miss Golly-Poggle here is stumped."
"Excuse yourself, Doctor. I am a fully grown up mouse, thank you."
"I dunno..."
Lawainie chuckled good-naturedly.
"You do swear like a Cabbage Patch Kid."
"That was not swearing, it's a spirited invective!"
"Isn't that kind'a what swearing is?" Tammy mused.
"You two are real, real cute," Mariel groused. "Could we serious up here and get back to work?"
"That may be premature, Miss Mariel. I am monitoring a development."
"KITT?"
The wall screen flared to life, the AI's red vocoder lines rising and falling rapidly as he relayed information in real time.
"I am reading a silent alarm triggered at Uptown University's sciences wing. A side door has been opened, and security locks have been bypassed."
He was silent for a moment, absorbing data from every network available to him.
"It is a robbery in progress."
Mariel sucked in her breath in alarm.
"They're making their move-they have to be!"
Rushing to the railing, she called down to Geegaw in a panicked voice.
"Where's Dad?"
"E's not back yet," Monty replied, shouldering his way past the curtain that separated the old communication station from the rest of the upper deck. "Said somethin' about havin' to dodge security patrols, when he last checked in."
"Must be beefing up their forces with the big Trifecta meeting coming up," Geegaw thought aloud. "Fine time for the boy to go shoppin'!"
Lawainie's face looked pained as she considered what could have gone wrong.
"It wasn't just that...we're about to be starved out of here, and there was some equipment I needed salvaged, too," she stated with some heat, irritation at her own malfeasance growing. "When did he last check in?"
"Two hours ago," Monty said. "Oi was gettin' ready to come an' get ya when KITT got the word, lass."
"He's overdue."
Fright borne of both affection and necessity burned in her brain, and she gripped the deck railing until it felt as if it might bend from the strain.
"Kauamaha maikai," she whispered. "He's never overdue."
Trying to put herself in Chip's mindset, Lawainie began to pace worriedly. They would have to move now-without a doubt, this was Banastre's final play in the game, the gambit with which he would gamble for victory. If Chip were present, the Rangers would be mobilizing by now, the team splitting into its' areas of expertise for the mission. As it was, everyone stood still as trees, all eyes turned to Lawainie, faces expectant and waiting.
"Aunt Lawainie?"
Mariel's voice broke the silence, and the older mouse jumped as she felt her niece's hand squeeze her arm.
"Aunt Lawainie? What d'we do?"
"Do? I-I dunno, what do you think we should do? Why're you askin' me?"
"Aunt Lawainie..."
The tone of voice was gentle, but carried a hint of reproach.
"You know the rules, the structure that Mom and Dad put in place with everyone. Mom's gone. Dad's in the field, we don't know if he's delayed or captured, and for better or worse, this is Ranger HQ now-and you're in charge. What do we do?"
"I-I-I'm not sure."
Tammy groaned in frustration, and Lawainie shot her an acid look.
"Gimme a break, will ya Red? I'm not hero material...I'm not even backup material. I'm not cut out for this, and Chip should'a known that!"
She ran a hand through her shortened hair, and the weight of years of training, reparation and regret settled firmly on her shoulders as she considered her options.
"Hit the radio and raise your dad, Mariel. If he's out there, he needs to be in the loop before I do anything."
"There's no time-the radio unit isn't warmed back up, and we're between check-in windows anyway." Mariel shrugged helplessly. "I know it looks like a lot, but...right now, you're the leader. You're the head of the Rescue Rangers."
Head...of the Rescue Rangers? Well there was a kick in the head, pardon the pun. It defied belief that she, Lawainie Lait, would have come so far, achieved so much, and learned to be loved by so many, that she now found herself here in this highly regarded and unenviable situation.
"I...Mariel, you do it. You were born for this, kid-your pop's a hero and your mom was the greatest genius I ever knew. And you've got all that an' more from both of them. This is what you were always meant for!"
"Maybe. Maybe I will be leader of the team one day, when all's said and done. But it's not my time yet."
Mariel took her aunt's hands in her own, squeezing them reassuringly. The look staring out of her starry blue eyes was so much Gadget, it made the newly minted leader of the Rangers' heart ache.
"This is your time. This is the time when we show the world that Lawainie Lait is a Rescue Ranger-and she's got it where it counts."
"Now you sound like your grandpa," Lawainie grumbled, sounding entirely unconvinced. Foxy touched down softly from above, landing between them and placing a wing around each of their shoulders.
"We should all be so wise," the bat said, looking down at Geegaw fondly. The old pilot stood at the lower ladder, gazing up at the events above with pride written over every line of his weathered face. The same pride Lawainie had seen so many times, when they had watched Gadget receive some award or accolade. That pride, she realized, shone just as brightly now for her, as ever it had for her sister. It was the pride born in a father's heart that was reserved for his little girl alone.
"Time's wastin', my loves," Foxy reminded. "Do we roll out...or not?"
Tammy looked at Lawainie, and shrugged.
"Well, fearless leader?"
Indecision and fear warred on the mouse's face. Geegaw's confidence meant the world to her, and she wanted badly to justify it. Her love for her father had grown by leaps and bounds through the years, and even beneath that, there was a warm, glowing feeling that peeked toward the light, pushing her toward the goal. It was a feeling she was unaccustomed to, and one that had blossomed more quickly than she had intended...but there it sat, and there it smoldered, pushing her drive to succeed from the depths of her. It was a growing ember of affection for Chip Maplewood, one that seemed to grow daily, and one that she couldn't betray. Perhaps Mariel was right...perhaps it was her time.
"Well what? Don't you all have jobs to do?"
Beaming as she watched the transformation that came over her friend, Tammy brightened visibly. No matter what anybody said, she'd always remember this day, the day that Lawainie took charge, and she'd always be proud that she'd followed.
"Tam, keep workin' on that gene therapy angle in your head for now-we're gonna need every hand on deck for this run."
"Roger, Chief!"
"Mariel and Foxy will be with us-it's a short crew, but we've been in worse spots."
"Oi'd loik to remembah one!" Monty boomed, taking a seat at the tablet station to monitor KITT's readouts. Lawainie crossed her arms.
"Hawaii, the Love's Little Luau Beach Resort, 1989."***
"Er...roight, roight. That's fair, it is."
Pausing to check her bearings, Lawainie gathered her thoughts, trying to put everything together as she knew her sister would have. There were so many angles, so many variables...but hang it all, she was a Hackwrench. If anyone could do it, she could.
"Stay on the radio, Unk-we'll be in touch, and I need you to raise Chip if you can find him. Tell him..."
She stopped for a moment.
"Tell him I need him."
Monterey caught the newfound sparkle in his adopted niece's eyes, and it warmed his heart knowing that now of all times, she had truly found something to fight for.
"Too roight, lass. An' if he doesn't come 'ol Monty'll be along in two shakes!"
Grinning widely, the younger mouse threw her arms around his neck, the tickling sensation of his moustaches against her cheek familiar and grounding in her memory, in the midst of all the chaos.
"I know you will, Unk. I always count on it."
Taking stock of her tiny lineup of troops, Lawainie skidded to a halt with a thought hanging at the front of her mind.
"Um, hold on a second...have we got anything that'll roll in this joint? I know there's a couple versions of the RangerWing in the hangar over there, but they're in pretty pitiful shape."
"That was gonna be my next point," Mariel said worriedly. "I don't think anything in this place runs-that's why most of it's here."
As if on cue, a roar split the still, damp air of the cavern with a full, throaty voice, announcing its' presence to one and all. Clapping delightedly, Mariel was reminded instantly of days long past, sitting alongside her mother in the workshop as she tinkered under the hood of the Rangers' favored transportation...the one iteration that had always been her favorite.
"I'd know that sound anywhere!" she squeaked. "Great golly-poggles, she did keep it!"
Out of the shadows, a long, lean, rakish form rolled, the powerplant within it beating a steady tattoo against the rusty wheel wells, exhaust leaking and carburetor running lean, but against all odds the original RangerBolt sang a song to the dimness, crying out that it had one more battle left to win. Behind the wheel, Blank looked out sheepishly.
"So I will admit, I got a little bored, and I'd been tinkering, which apparently I still remember how to do, for some reason. At least, I think I do" she said timidly, feeling the bumps and knocks of the old frame under her.
"Don't apologize kid, I'll take it!" Lawainie laughed. "I need all the help I can get, an' as we used to say on the Big Island, don't look a gift piranha in the mouth. Or was that a lobster?" she wondered. "Either way, I remember this old thing as a piranha, 'cause it had teeth."
"It might not have quite as many as you remember," Blank said apologetically. "There's one cylinder I know isn't firing. But I-I don't know how I know it."
"Instinct. Every time any Hackwrench I've ever seen puts their hands on a machine, it's there. Sorta like-"
"Muscle memory," Tammy finished. Lawainie nodded in agreement.
"You might not have your marbles," she said brightly. "But you still got your toolbox!"
"Well if that's the case...y'know, with the kind'a distinct shortage of hands around here..."
Blank held out her palms, and smiled gamely.
"I'm volunteering mine. Take me with you."
"Absolutely NOT!"
Tammy exploded like a fuzzy bottle rocket, spinning Blank around to face her as she drew up a full measure of what Chip called her 'angry doctor face'.
"I have no idea why you aren't falling apart into a furry dust cloud right now. You've had a fever that would kill any normal mouse, and somehow or other we've got to figure out how to keep you from melting yourself from the bones out, which my stopgap measures won't do. Doesn't that about cover it!"
She drew a breath.
"So tell me, please, why we should bring you along on a mission that my instinct tells me is our last chance, and risk losing the objective and your life, too. Tell me that."
"Because we need the help," Lawainie answered. Tammy swallowed hard, trying to understand exactly what she was hearing.
"Are you serious right now?"
"Absotively. Am I takin' a risk? Probably. Do I have a choice? Not a single one. Our backs are against the wall, Tam...I need everything I can throw at this."
She sighed.
"Look. I'd like to have a future to hand back to Chip when he comes back outta the field. An' if we don't stop this now...we might not get another chance. It's that important."
"Law, I know it's important, but-"
"It isn't just important Red, it's deadly important!"
Pointing up at the live readout on the screen, Lawainie indicated the flashing dots that had penetrated into the University laboratory.
"Those kids didn't ask for this. They're dependin' on us...on me, to get them out safe and sound. That's four, maybe six lives hangin' in the balance every minute we wait."
She looked Tammy in the eye, and didn't flinch.
"Are you with me Doctor, or not?"
"Rrrrrr...all right. It doesn't help that you know all the buttons to push. In sequence. And alphabetical order."
"That's why ya love me."
"That, or I'm waiting to inherit your wardrobe."
Lawainie gave a hint of her old trademark smirk, and then lost it, bursting out with laughter.
"You help get me outta this one Red, an' you just might."
Sliding into the rusty, creaking RangerBolt's driver seat, she gave Blank a necessary shove, pushing her to the passenger side.
"Sorry kid. You do nice work, but if we're gonna make it in time we need our best wheelmouse on this, an' right now...that's me."
"But-"
"No buts, now scoot!"
Obediently but with a glare that could cut glass, Blank grabbed hold of the passenger harness and strapped in. Into the back scrambled Mariel and Tammy, while Foxy opted to fly, since the University wasn't a huge distance. It freed up a seat, and as rotten as the old seats were it helped everyone avoid the springs. Lawainie hit the accelerator several times, pumping fuel up to the stuttering engine, and the smell of alcohol filled the bay. Somewhere inside the valve train a lifter was rattling, but the seven cylinders that were firing did so valiantly.
"One more run, big fella," Lawainie whispered, patting the dash. "Just one more run."
There was a dull, reverberating clank as Geegaw released the outer drainpipe cover, and along the rounded passageway a glimmer of daylight gleamed, the fading sun glowing red against the ancient brick-lined walls.
"Be careful," he warned, keying the 'Bolt's two-way radio link. "I'll have KITT link up communication with the car's onboard computer if it's possible, so you'll have encrypted communication-but that'll only get ya so far with this bunch. Use sparingly, Princess."
"Understood."
Lawainie shifted the gears, and as she let out the clutch she keyed the microphone link just once more.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"I don't ever tell you enough, but...no matter what happens...aloha wau iā ʻoe."
"I love you too, my darlin'. Now go get 'em."
The RangerBolt's engine coughed as she shoved her foot to the pedal, and rubber squealed as the rusty old kit-car blazed down the tunnel, for one final ride. Geegaw watched as the Rangers disappeared around the bend, and as the cracked tail lights vanished into the darkness, he exhaled roughly.
"Go make us proud, kids. You always do."
"So you're innerested in the classics, are y'now, marm?"
"Yes, quite a bit-something classy, fit for a front room parlor, with a fireplace."
"Classy we got-but cheap it ain't, if you'll pardon the parlance."
"Thank you, but I believe I can fend for myself, sir. My father left me well set, and I am determined to build myself a residence with the esprit de corps that my parents instilled in me...that being a great pride in my upbringing."
Recognizing the air of wealth that she was trying to portray, everyone on the premises had rushed to Acorna Ableheart's every whim with her arrival. From the moment she had entered the well-heeled establishment, she knew without a doubt that she had stumbled onto something...the feeling was there, the nibbling, prickling feeling at the nape of her neck that was always present when she had grabbed hold of the scent. The two tall, well-dressed packrats who were the proprietors of the little gallery-Joshua and Benson by name-had been complete gentle-creatures, since she'd arrived...but they had warned her up front.
"We cater to a particular type of clientele," Joshua said solemnly. "Them that's innerested in the finer things the world has to offer."
"Yiss," Benson chimed in, "Yiss indeed, the finer things. Did you have a style in mind, Miss?"
"Federal period suits my tastes," Acorna returned with a soft smile, and she was rewarded with a look of approval on their narrow faces. "Although...a friend of mine just furnished her offices with a complete set of vintage Edwardian, and it is absolutely darling. I might be interested in something like that."
A familiar light gleamed in the brothers' eyes, and after several years spent in the service of the legal branch Acorna recognized it at once-the look of pure, abject greed.
"I remember that set," Joshua ruminated, pulling his register book from beneath the counter. "Purchased it from the dollhouse it was original to, a little villa produced in 1906. Turribly expensive stuff."
Ableheart smoothed the jacket of the stylish, nicely cut business suit she had donned, and smiled demurely.
"Gents...as I said, do I look like I'm bothered by price?"
"Er, no, no of course not, yiss," Benson said apologetically. "It's just that, er, harrumph, we are accustomed to such large orders, sometimes we forget our niceties."
"Indeed we do, turrible thing that," Joshua lamented. "We do beg your pardon, madam."
"Yiss, yiss we do."
That's more like it, Acorna thought. String them along, girl.
"Think nothing of it. As highly as you fellows come recommended, I can excuse some...eccentricities."
"Eccentricities, yiss-we have those, yiss."
"So I gathered."
Playing the part of a well funded debutante was nothing new to Acorna, and she allowed herself to be led through the premises like a prized trophy, listening to the brothers spar over her needs with some amusement. Was their merchandise absolutely beautiful? Yes, without a doubt. Was some of it stolen, or creatively liberated? Well...there was that possibility too, given some of the clientele with which they associated. She'd cross the bridge when she came to it, but for now she contented herself with one crook at a time. Even after these few minutes her visit had been immensely enlightening, but the real answers lay concealed in Joshua's register book, which he had stashed beneath the front counter. The old-style record would maker her job more complicated-a computer only needed a few taps of the touch screen, but this would require more finesse.
"My dear Joshua, I do find myself attracted to a few of these pieces-they are very fine and I'd be proud to own any one of them, but-is this all you have, here in the showroom? I would not mind seeing a little...finer selection."
"Madam, it is a turrible thing, to be bound down to this small showroom when there is a collection like ours available. If you don't mind waiting, there are a few pieces that I believe would catch your eye, and I would be happy to bring a small selection for you to view."
Grabbing a long, flat cart from the front counter, the packrat waved to his brother, who had been quickly making a sale to another customer.
"Benson my boy! Come along, I'll need your help getting that Empire settee from the storeroom. I think it might be to the lady's liking."
"Ooh, yiss! Will she be taking the armchair and the secretary with it, yiss? Expensive taste she has, yiss yiss!"
"If you close your snout and help me, she might take them! Now come along!"
The bickering siblings hustled into the back room, and momentarily there was the sound of shouting as the two argued how to best load the settee. It was obviously going to be a few minutes before either agreed, and in the meantime the sales floor was empty.
Could I really be this lucky?
Acorna watched the swinging batwing doors, waiting for the brothers to emerge at any second with another set of questions-but when none were forthcoming she counted her blessings and padded softly to the front of the showroom, her eyes already searching the desk. Benson had left the ledger peeking out of the wide lower drawer after his last sale, and carefully, ever so carefully, she lifted it out and flipped the pages open.
"Good gracious," she murmured, reading down the list of receipts. The names in the front of the leatherbound book alone read like a Who's Who of the Park's upper crust. When the rats had said they catered to a particular clientele, they weren't kidding around.
"Let's see...Matchstem...Marigold...hmm, where-ah, there you are!"
Doctor Mariposa was apparently a frequent customer, as there was a wide star penciled by her name, and several notations regarding her tastes, her likes and dislikes. A frequent flyer indeed-and my, does she have an appetite for the highest quality, Acorna thought to herself. The ledger dedicated several pages to Mariposa's purchases alone, and as she did a quick bit of math in her head the prosecutor let out a low whistle.
"No wonder she insulted me-this is more cash than I pull down in a year."
The record showed not only the suite of office furniture that had caught Acorna's attention, but furnishings for a home, a vacation treehouse chalet in the Adirondacks, and a private office as well. Over the course of time, the amount of money was absolutely staggering.
"Staggering is one word...now where did you get it? Let's see here...sales slip...c'mon, show me a sales slip...yes!"
A small handful of sales slips was clipped to the final page, and Ableheart flipped through them quickly.
"Bank voucher was attached to a business account, drawn...on assets of Tarleton, Tarrant & Tobry, right here in New York. Well, well, well."
Making a mental note, she copied down as much of the information as she could, stuffing her notepad back into her purse and the ledger carefully into its' place, arranged as closely to its' original angle as was possible. Business-creatures tended to be some of the tidiest, most well kept of any if they were successful, and anything out of place might be noticed.
"Tarlton, Tarrant & Tobry...where have I heard that name before? It's something I feel like I should know."
Browsing the shelves of bric-a-brac and admiring the carefully catered collection, Acorna methodically unfolded all the facts at her disposal. Her memory wasn't photographic, but it was very, very good, and at a moment like this it stood her in good stead.
"Let's see now...random accusations of wrongdoing...respected bunch of oldsters commits breaking and entering...they get shot down like amateurs. They get locked out...by Mariposa."
This last bit troubled the chipmunk, just a little. Well no, a lot, actually. Even now, with the fugitive situation and all the rest of it, Tammy Reguba's name was a respected one among the rank and file physicians at RAS Medical, at least so the water cooler gossip went. Her accomplishments in field medicine were legendary, most of these coming from inventive necessity working on dangerous outings with the Rescue Rangers. Much of her career with the vaunted old team was spent treating breaks, scrapes, and their childrens' colds as the team's personal physician, but the big events had made a name for her that was not easily forgotten. She had been the first of their kind to propose cross-species transplants, using Professor Nimnul's metamorphosizer technology -adjusting the device to pair donors as a match with recipients had been widely seen as a stroke of medical genius. It's rate of success wasn't perfect, but it was high enough to make it a viable option, and the lives it had saved were innumerable. The fact that such a lauded researcher was simply...blown off as a nut, was plainly odd.
Focus, Miss Prosecutor, she reminded herself. We may be in the enemy's camp here, as it were.
"Have you found anything else to your liking?"
Acorna jumped, startled from her thoughts by Joshua's question as he rolled the cart across the carpeted showroom with softly padded steps. The nattily dressed packrat eyed her with some curiosity, and she gave him her best smile, trying to look appropriately pretty and helpless as she usually did in such situations. Was there a hint of suspicion in his gaze? It might be her imagination, but she would have to tread carefully.
"I'm sorry, just got a little lost in my own head, designing some spaces you know," she bubbled with breathy effervescence, feigning an air of interest over the pieces the brothers had retrieved. She didn't have to feign that much really, as their stock was truly exquisite, and the price was nominal for the inisights she had gained.
"I do love the settee," she mused with genuine admiration, running a finger across the finely polished walnut. "How much?"
"For the lady, a bargain, yiss," Benson said with a businessmouse's flair, shrugging as if the antique meant nothing. "We are happy to offer a boon such as this, yiss, to ensure a returning customer."
The price quoted was high, but not as high as she had imagined for an establishment such as this one. Rummaging in her purse, she produced a charge plate that was tied to an RAS Special Operations account, one that was well masked under an innocuous and innocent sounding name that would hopefully raise no eyebrows, unless these two were very, very well connected.
"Do you have an address for delivery, madam?" Joshua asked helpfully.
"Er, no-I will have my own valet arrange for pickup this evening. I do thank you though, my good sirs. It has been an...illuminating afternoon."
Gathering her effects, Acorna stepped out into the light and walked briskly to the small sports coupe she had driven. It was a pretentiously vain little vehicle, built from a human kit by Special Ops for just this sort of work. The small but powerful electric engine hummed with precision, and as she pulled out onto the Park greenway, Miss Ableheart was already awash in theories, exploring all the possibilities opened by what she had learned. If she had bothered to look into her rear view mirror however, she would have seen two sets of small, inquisitive eyes watching from the showroom window, regarding her with a curiosity that did not bode well for the incident. Whether she'd been made, only time would tell. Time, and the reaction when she made her play, whatever it might be, and began to pull the thread she hoped would unravel this tangled carpet once and for all.
(**The Return [2008] as RangerReady23, Acorn Cafe Story Board)
(***CDRR: Gadget Goes Hawaiian, [1989], Original Series)