Thoughts

Posted on Thu Feb 9th, 2023 @ 5:59pm by Duke Drake & Rebecca McMillen

1,428 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: 1. Year One
Location: Dr Duke's Office
Timeline: Friday August 28, 1992

Dr. Duke looked over the notes from his meetings. He had completed the schedule that he and Rebecca had planned for that morning. Now that there was a break in the schedule decided to have a quick meeting to share first impressions. With a deep breath he opened his office door and spoke in that clinical no-nonsense tone that doctors are notorious for, "Miss McMillen please."

Rebecca was near her desk, organizing a few papers into a filing cabinet. Tail free and swishing about happily, this was a very happy Critter. "Please hold, I'll connect you." she called out, before rushing to her desk and giving a nod. "Miss McMillen will see you now." and then she giggled.

"Please Doc, sit down." she motioned. "And what's with the formality, you call me Rebecca more than I do."

Dr. Duke laughed as he entered her office and closed the door behind him. "With all of the formality of the meetings this morning, I just wanted to touch base with you and see what your first impressions were."

She gave a smile, leaning forward in her chair slightly. Mostly to give her tail some room. Someone ought to design these chairs with special needs in mind. "Honestly I like the folks we got so far. Mixon strikes me as someone who's looking over his shoulder a lot, but he strikes me as a good soul." she started.

"Shtorm seems alright. Lot of history there. Also, for the record, a lot of these folks are TALL." she motioned above her head, "And yeah, I know, everyone's tall to me. Ha. But no, Shtorm is tall, Mixon is REALLY tall. So, just bear that in mind, chandeliers might be a no no." she paused. "But Shtorm is very open, very friendly. Not from around here, but yeah."

She paused, "Anthony is... okay, he's a bit of a flirt. Actually, he's a LOT a bit of a flirt. But I think he'll get along very well not just with the children but with the other members of the faculty." she hid her face behind some paperwork at the memory. Cute, indeed.

"And then there's Sakura. She and I were pretty much fast friends immediately. I, I might have even sat in her hand for a while. She seemed very friendly, and I trusted her enough to hold me." she offered.

"So yeah, I think we're doing good so far."

"Sounds like a good group so far, I'm surprised you sat in Sakura's hand. Speaking of ladies we have an interview with Miss Lindstorm next, an English teacher with a unique background," Duke said.

"You know, that surprised me too. So I was taking them for some coffee and my tail came out, not that it doesn't do that this is a comfortable space. I feel safe here. So, tail slips out, right, and she makes a squeaky sound. Like a happy, gleeful squeak. Caught me right off guard, and down I go. Then, she kneels down and, well... we have a chat right there on the floor." Rebecca giggled, brushing a few errant strands of hair out of her face.

"I think that seeing someone in such a, well, a vulnerable state... made them a little more open to conversation. They could open up about anything. So we kinda just had a chat. Introductions, and then I let her carry me in her palm. After that, it was coffee and she opened up about her talents."

"I think we accidentally became best friends." she admitted with a smile. "So, tell me about this English Teacher?"

Duke laughed as she told her story before answering her question, "She has a telekinesis ability, but what's interesting is her parents were both involved in black Ops, one was a spy the other a special commando. So she grew up around that and as the saying goes she went into the family business for awhile."

Rebecca mulled that over for a bit. Perhaps a bit longer than expected. "D... do you think she's still a spy?" she asked, before jumping back in. "I .. I mean, like not like a spy spy, but more, do you think she's here to keep tabs on us? On the students?"

"Good question and the answer is, I don't know, Rebecca. This is also why I wanted to talk to you about it and give you a bit of a heads-up. Let's play these cards close to the vest, and be careful what we give away. None of these teachers will enter the sub-basement until we both feel they are ready and can be trusted." Duke paused before continuing, "The sub-basement is off limits for everyone, it also means we won't be going there to practice our powers and fighting, we will have to be careful."

She gave a nod, "I'll stay on my toes." she offered, "Wait, the basement basement? There's a basement basement? I've seen the basement, but..." she paused, "There's a basement basement?"

"Yes there's a submasement, or more like a lair from a comic book, it's mostly empty right now other than a computer system and a training room. The entrance is in the pantry, one of the shelves opens up if you touch the right place. It has an indoor shooting range, and an exit that comes out in the woods. Ya know what hold still for a second, " Drake made sure the door was closed and no one was nearby before resting a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. *Bampf* The office disappeared and in its place was a room with a large computer screen and radio equipment. The walls were shielded aluminum, and polished to a shine. "With everything else going on, I guess I forgot to show you this. It's in case we ever have to defend ourselves or go on missions."

Rebecca held still as Drake approached and put a hand on her shou - *BAMPF*

When Rebecca returned to the physical world, she shivered a bit and clenched her stomach. "Oooo... yeah that.... oh man, might .... might vomit. Hold on...." and she did the age old 'Breathe to Not Vomit' exercise. Breathe, hold, release, hold, release....

"Okay, okay that.... that felt weird. You've.... you've never done that with anyone else, have you?" she inquired. She wasn't upset, or cross, or anything. She'd rather he do this here, in safety. She'd feel terrible if someone else had to be the test subject.

"Okay, okay so, this... this is the basement basement. It's... it's nice. Spooky as hell, getting a haunted hospital vibe from it..."

"I've done it before with Mary Beth, but that's another story. There's a closet for costume storage, a rack for weapons,a small hospital room that's underequipped, and then there's this guy." Drake stepped into a room with computer screens filling one wall, a bank of televisions on another and various radio equipment.

"Must have a weak tummy." Rebecca offered to quell the concern. She looked around in awe. "Weapons, hospital beds, costumes?" she moved about slowly, taking it all in. "I... I know we have to be ready for some violent fallout. I know we need to be able to protect the children that are going to be in these walls." she turned, and looked up at the Doc.

"Tell me we're a defensive force? Tell me this..." she motioned about, "... isn't to start trouble, but to oppose it."

"Do that, and I'm in."

"We don't have costumes yet but we will after tomorrow, and we are a defensive force for the school, our first priority is these kids and school," Drake explained. "That hallway right there leads to the exit outside the manor, and the opposite hallway, there opens into the storage room. Consider this place classified for now. It's a remodeled bomb shelter from the Cold War."

She relaxed, a soft smile on her features. That was really all she needed to know. "You know me, doc. Quiet as a mouse." she offered. "So, on with the tour?"

He led her through a few more rooms with long term food storage, bunk beds, and a lavatory. "That's basically everything shall we return to your office?"

She gave a nod after the tour. "Sure. Hold on." she took a few deep breaths, to get her stomach settled, "Okay, let's go."

With a nod Dr. Duke put his hand on Rebecca's shoulder and they appeared back in her office. "Tour complete and meeting adjurned," he said with a grin as he exited her office.


#The End

RSS Feed