Chapter 13

Buck and Wilma slowly strolled down the hall toward the medical facilities. "So, Buck. Do you really have a plan to get on the shuttle or are you just 'winging it', as you are so fond of saying?"

He grinned uneasily. "Now Wilma, you know me better than that, don't you?"

She sighed. "That's what I thought. You're 'winging it.'"

Buck put his hand to his chest. "You hurt me, Wilma. Dagger… right there."
She slapped him in the arm. "Okay. Then what's our next move?"

They stopped in front of a door. "This is where we get the sleeping gas. That's where you come in."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Tell him you're from OSHA or the NRC, or something. Well, maybe not the NRC."

"What are you talking about?"

"I need you to go in there and get some anesthesia."

"But I can't do that? How am I supposed to-"

He put his hands on her shoulders. 'Wilma, you are the best person I know trained in infiltration tactics and information gathering."

"But that's different. Those tactics are trained on enemy spies and…"

Buck grinned. "Think of him as an enemy spy! We need some information from him without him really knowing we are getting information from him."

A gleam began to form in Wilma's eyes. "Alright," she nodded. "I can do this. What's his name?"
"Doctor Bellows."

She reached for the door, but stopped and looked at Buck. "What is NRC?"

"Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That may not help here. There's nothing nuclear here."
"What's OSHA?"

"Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Everyone's afraid of them. That might be a good thing to use."

'Everyone's afraid of them?"

Buck nodded. "They have the authority to literally shut places down if they're too dirty. Everyone is afraid of them, not as afraid as they are from the IRS, but it's close."

"The Internal Revenue Service?" Wilma questioned.

Buck cocked his head. "Huh? How do you know about the IRS?"

"We have an IRS in the twenty-fifth century," she replied.

Buck gave a low whistle. "Wow, Ray Stevens was right. How did Erik the Awful survive the holocaust? Hmmm."

"What?"

"Never mind. Come on, we're burning daylight."

"It's already dark."

He shook his head and pointed to the door. Wilma simply smiled. "I got you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just go."

"You are addressing a superior officer, Captain!"

Buck saluted. Then he pointed. "Go!"

She nodded. "Come along, aide."

"Wha-?

Wilma opened the door widely and strolled into the medical facilities. Reluctantly Buck followed. The sole resident of the room looked up from his desk. When he saw Wilma and Buck, he immediately stood and saluted. Wilma saluted back as she approached the desk.

"How can I help you, Colonel?"

"I am Colonel Deering from OSHA. I'm here to inspect your lab."

He looked at Buck. "Captain Rogers? What is this, a joke?"
Buck maintained a serious and somber face as he saluted. "My name is not Captain Rogers. My name is Captain Nelson. I am Colonel Deering's aide."

Wilma nodded. "Yes, this is my aide, Captain Nelson. I believe your Colonel Carpenter made the same mistake. Anyway, Doctor Bellows, I am here, nonetheless, to inspect your facilities. I suggest we get underway."

"B-but, Colonel, are you supposed to be here?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm supposed to be here. I have superiors just like you do."

"I didn't know OSHA had any jurisdiction here. This is-"

"Doctor Bellows, what is your security clearance?"

"I have the highest top secret clearance there is."

"Do you have Top Secret eight strike Theopolis clearance?"

He looked at her blankly. "What is that? I've never heard of that."

Wilma sighed heavily. "I can't tell you what it is if you don't have the clearance for it."

"If we told you, then we'd have to kill you," Buck added.

Wilma glared at Buck. "Captain Nelson, you are not helping the situation."

Buck saluted, lowered his head. "Yes, Ma'am."

She turned back to Doctor Bellows. "I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you that OSHA has a military aspect to it as well as private. Why do you think they sent a Colonel to do this? I am the lowest ranked officer allowed to do a facility like this."

"How did you get through the gate? This is a secure facility. May I see your credentials?"

"If I'm not authorized to be here, how is it that I am here? Doctor Bellows, I assume you are an intelligent man. Otherwise I may have to question your superiors how you got the initials 'DR' in front of your name. Now let's assume for a moment that you are intelligent. I suggest you assist me in my endeavors or I have authorization to have my aide lock you up."

Again he saluted. "Yes, Ma'am. What would you like to inspect first?"

"You be the judge."

"I'm sorry, Colonel. If I had known you were going to be here, I could have been more prepared."

"And if you knew I was going to be here, you could have hidden anything you need to cover up."

"But why are you here at this hour?"

"I like to work at night. That's when most of the questionable activities occur. Now what is in this cabinet?"

He quickly scrambled to open the chest. Wilma looked inside briefly and nodded her head. Doctor Bellows led Wilma to the next area. Buck secretly grabbed a clipboard from Bellows' desk and rushed to catch up. Wilma turned to see Buck holding the clipboard.

"Captain Nelson, make a note about how cooperative Doctor Bellows is being."

"Yes, Ma'am," he answered as he wrote something on the piece of paper. Bellows turned to catch a glimpse of Buck's clipboard, but Buck quickly held it against his chest. "Sorry, Sir. Confidential."

Bellows nodded, and then led them to another section of the lab. "Doctor, do you perform surgeries here?"

"Sometimes, if it's an extreme emergency."

"I would like to see your surgical supplies."
"Of course. This way."

He led them into another room. Buck and Wilma walked around the room, Buck making various notes on his paper. "Doctor, where do you keep your anesthesia?"

He pointed to a supply closet. Wilma saw the lock, glanced back at the Doctor. "Open it, please."

Bellows pulled out a key chain and fumbled to find the right key. He opened the door and stepped back to allow Wilma access. She reached in and grabbed one of the contents. She showed it to Buck who nodded, then looked down to write something on the paper. Wilma raised the container to her face to carefully inspect the outside casing. She cocked her head, looked toward Buck.

"Captain Nelson, do you have a list of serial numbers for the anesthesia in question?"

He flipped up a couple pieces of paper. He pointed to the paper and showed it to Wilma. She nodded, turned back to face Doctor Bellows.

"Doctor, are you aware of the recall?"

His eyes widened. "Recall? On what?"
Wilma held up the container in her hand. "On this!"

He shook his head quickly. "No, I haven't heard anything about a recall!"

Wilma sighed heavily, tapped Buck's clipboard. He immediately began to write something down. She turned back to the doctor. "I suggest you read the inter-departmental memos more carefully. The serial numbers on this container match the serial numbers of a batch of defective anesthesia."

"Defective anesthesia?"

"Yes. Apparently in the manufacturing process, something got into the formula. Instead of being a harmless and effective anesthesia, it has been causing some nasty side affects such as permanent paralysis, dementia, and in more than a couple cases, death."

"I had no idea," Bellows said surprisedly.

"If you had read the memo, you would." She handed the anesthesia to Buck. She then began to rifle through the rest of the cabinet. After a few moments, she nodded and closed the cabinet door. "It looks like the rest of your supplies are safe. I'll have to take this with me."

"I can dispose of it here," Bellows offered.

Wilma chuckled slightly. "I'm sure you could. No, I have to take this back to our lab and test it." She extended her hand to shake with Bellows. "Thank you, Doctor. You have been most helpful. I'll inform my superiors about your cooperation."

"D-did we pass?"

Wilma patted the clipboard. "You will have our report within three business days. Have a good night, Doctor."

Bellows followed Buck and Wilma to the exit. When the door closed and they were halfway down the hall, Buck turned to face Wilma. He chuckled slightly.

"Wow, I am glad you're on my side!"

"So you think I did okay?" she asked.

"You had me quaking in my boots!"

Wilma giggled. "That was fun. Let's go find someone else to harass!"

Buck looked away. "I think I've created a monster!"

"I am still your superior officer, Captain!"

Buck saluted. "Yes, Colonel."

He started back down the hall. Wilma hurried to catch up. "We have the anesthesia now. Is it time to go to the rocket?"

Buck nodded. "Yep. I'm sure there will be someone else along the way for you to harass."

Wilma smiled broadly. "Good. I'm beginning to like this!"