The battle over, the "troops" made their way back into the Hospital; Shad battered but looking remarkably well, Lex leaning on his staff, Seth brushing sand from his forehead. "Race you to the coffee pot, Shad," Bliss grinned, "if you're not too bruised!""I can make it," he replied. "Can you?"
"TRY and keep up!" Bliss answered as she dashed up the steps, Shad laughing as he followed. Lex and Seth followed more slowly, discussing the actions of the Church soldiers they had just encountered.
Terra was sipping tea in the cafeteria as Bliss and Shad ran by. As everyone got their coffee and settled into chairs, Bliss summarized the events outside for the doctor.
Settled into separate groups, coffee drunk, Shad realized how late it was, and that he had to get back to the orphanage he and his sister ran. He said goodnight to everyone, Seth looking up in surprise as he said the name "Bliss." As Shad walked out of the front doors, he passed Caine coming in.
Seth walked over to where Bliss sat. "Excuse me, I thought I over-heard someone call you 'Bliss'?"
She glanced up at him. "Yes, that's my name."
"I see. Well, if that's who you are, then I have a message for you."
"And that would be...?" Bliss said, setting her cup down.
"Oh, well, it's personal ... perhaps we should step outside?"
"Nah; I'm comfy," she said, grinning slightly.
"Fine. Well, there is someone who wishes to see you, and it's my job to enable you thusly. I need you to travel with me, for a few days."
"Um, you want to try that in terms I understand?" She sent Caine a wave as he entered the cafeteria. "Who wants to see me and where?"
Seth squinted at her, and looked over at Caine as the man nodded to Bliss and made his way over to her table. "Commander Boyle needs to see you. I am here to bring you to him. At your convenience, of course."
She lifted a brow. "Commander Boyle knows where to find me."
"No, he can't come ... that's why I'm here, to take you to him. It won't be long, and I can wait for you to make arraignments."
"Meaning you want to take me to a Church encampment full of soldiers? Sorry Sport, but I do NOT have 'stupid' written on my forehead!"
Caine, who had stopped to say hello to Terra, glanced over at Bliss and Seth as he overheard their conversation. As a frustrated Seth tried to reassure an incredulous Bliss of her safety, Terra asked Caine about the type of research he did, and if he needed help. "Are you asking me for a job, Doctor?" he said, lifting a brow.
Terra considered her words carefully. "Well, perhaps I could ... help."
Caine looked back at Bliss as Seth said, "This is important, and I think the less you resist, the quicker we can both resume our lives."
Sierra Black, Caine's assistant, entered the cafeteria as Bliss heatedly replied to Seth, "I don't intend on having my life interrupted. I've got responsibilities here I can't just run off and drop. Not to mention people depending on me, so disappearing in the desert really isn't in my plans."
As Sierra approached Caine, the white-suited man told her, "Sierra, if our Church friend here," he nodded toward Seth, "tries to force Miss Lovejoy to do anything, including leave with him, put a minimum of three bullets into his brain."
Sierra pulled both pistols and leveled them at Seth. "Understood."
Seth straightened, a slightly surprised expression on his face; Bliss blinked, and said, "I don't see why..."
Meanwhile, Caine turned back to Terra, and said, "Now Doctor; where were we?"
Seth drew a deep breath and shrugged at Bliss. "I am sorry, you had your choice..." and then he left the table, heading toward Sierra.
Sierra's cold expression never changed. "You don't have to understand it, just know that I will do exactly what he said." As Seth drew near, she squeezed the triggers slightly, causing twin red dots to appear on his forehead.
Bliss whispered to herself. "Oh great; now they're gonna grab me the messy way."
Seth stopped two feet in front of Sierra. "An army will always fill in for those who fell. I think ... you have just activated that."
"Absolutely," Sierra replied. "But you won't be around to see it. Is it worth it?"
In the background, Bliss was considering how high the body count could get, all because of her. As Seth brushed past Sierra, Bliss let out a sharp whistle. "Hey! Soldier!" Seth stopped in the doorway and looked back at her. She rose to her feet, shooting looks at Caine and Sierra. "We need to talk for a moment..." She walked out of the door, Seth following. She told him softly "...and yes, they will shoot you without so much as blinking."
Seth shrugged. "Think I don't know that?" He leaned against a small table there in the back room. "Is that why you called me in here?"
Bliss tilted her head. "Believe it or not, I'm trying to keep people from getting hurt. If you try taking me somewhere against my will, it'll start a firefight that I don't want to see.
"So am I," Seth told her. "You and I both know that if I don't bring you back, they will roll in here and level the place, trying to take what they want."
"Not if I'm not here. Don't get to confident in your big guns, Sport; they can't shoot what they can't see."
He exhaled; glance rising to the ceiling. "Why are you so set against this?"
She gave him a small grin; "You're asking me to walk right into the dragon's mouth like a good little sacrifice."
"Alright, I see your point. What do you, or the hospital, want in return, to prove we are serious?"
"Nothing; even I know that asking for a volunteer of yours to stay behind as a guarantee wouldn't do any good, since all soldiers are expendable."
Seth ran fingers trough his hair. "Anything? There has to be something..."
"How long will this trip be?"
"A few days, two, perhaps three..." he looked at her, a sudden gleam of hope in his eyes. "Commander Boyle will personally make sure it will be swift and convenient for you."
She nodded slowly. "Ok, but I take my own transport, and don't even try to take my weapons at any time, cause I won't give them up without a fight."
He held up his hands, smiling. "That's fine ... take your own transport, keep your weapons, I will escort you; you will be back real quick. When will you be ready to leave? I take it you need to make a few arrangements?"
"Yes, arrangements to make ... I can be ready at first light."
Seth nodded, satisfied. "Perfect. Then I will meet you here at the hospital in the morning." He pushed up from the table, and made his way toward the door.
"Three days, Sport," she called, "and if I'm not back, there'll be hell to pay."
He turned slowly before stepping back into the cafeteria. "Thank you." Then he left; glaring at Sierra as he passed her on his was out of the Hospital.
Bliss headed back to her table, shaking her head slowly from side to side. She sighed and picked up her coffee cup. "Into the dragon's mouth I go..."
Meanwhile, Terra and Caine had come to an agreement; she would be able to use his labs for research, and in exchange, she would do the occasional "job" for him. As soon as the doctor signed the palm pad, he wasted no time in making his first demand. "Then I have your first assignment ready." He sat now, at Terra's table. "The girl, Penance. I want to know everything there is to know about her ... medical work ups, analysis, everything. I want her scanned, tested, and examined."
Terra was silent for a moment, thinking about patient confidentiality. "Penny interests you?"
"Yes. I want everything. Do you understand?"
"Of course I do." She gave him a look.
Terra sat for a moment, rationalizing. She thought, if she could get the research done that was being stifled here ... well, all great discoveries required sacrifice. Even if the sacrifice was a little girl.
"We can start with the records you have on her now, Doctor."
Terra snapped out of her reverie. "To help her..." she said, as if convincing herself.
They went out to the lobby to an Elliott terminal. Terra typed in commands, knowing that if anyone heard her request, that there would be questions. The computer beeped. On the screen were the words "file not found". Caine's smile disappeared as he heard the beeping. Neither noticed Bliss as she said goodbye to them, on her way out. Terra quickly tried another search, trying different terms. The beeping continued - "file not found." It seemed that as a patient, Penance did not exist. Frantic, Terra spoke. "Elliot, that's impossible ... Penny ... the one in the isolation ward..."
Caine listened, his displeasure growing. "I am not a fool, Doctor. I know the Elliot computer keeps files on all residents, especially full time hospital residents."
"Mr. Caine, I'm not saying you are ... the files are just not here!"
"How is that possible, Doctor?"
"I don't know." She shook her head. "Unless ... someone deleted them..."
"Which is against hospital regulations, isn't it?"
"I don't know ... well, sometimes, for a patients safety, which would apply to Penny... I will speak to Asche about this."
"And if the girl needed medical attention, Doctor? How do you treat a patient that has no information on file? How do you run tests on someone who has no file?" His fingers rose to pinch the bridge of his nose, he exhaled slowly.
"That is exactly why I will find out what is going on." She frowned, lost in thought for a moment, rising from her chair. She looked down at the man, a determined look on her face. "Caine ... I will check on this ... but it is between us." She left him, then; visions of research and great discoveries dancing in her head.