Tossing her hands up, Mandi softly exclaimed, "Okay. I give up. What the
hell can I possibly do to make this terrible thing I've done up to you, Ed?"
"Nothing, really," said Cade. "If something that big is coming, being as
much like you as possible will probably increase my chances of survival. I just
wanted you to know how I felt before you pulled the same 'oh, he won't mind'
trick on someone else."
The waiter arrived with food as Mandi sat staring at Cade. When the waiter
finished placing food on the table, Cade told him to bring another lunch
special. The waiter thought he meant for Mandi and smilingly nodded at her. Cade
then told him to also pack one to go.
"To go, sir?"
"Yup. It's going upstairs with me."
"Yes, sir. One more to the table and one to go."
"You got it. Thanks."
When the waiter had left, Mandi smilingly asked, "Why didn't Beth come down
to lunch with you?"
Digging into his food, Cade said, "She needed a nap. Why were you watching
us last night?"
Startling imperceptibly, Mandi thought, 'He DID know!' then she said, "When
you didn't come back to the room, I thought maybe you'd gotten into more
trouble."
Around some steak, Cade said, "Uh, huh. Glad I'm wearing boots, ma'am." He
cut another piece and said, "Got a question. Am I just processing mass into
energy?"
"Partly. You're being restructured, which requires quite a bit of both mass
and energy."
"So I could probably just drink a lot of water or eat a phone book and it
wouldn't matter a damn to the process?"
Mandi snickered and asked, "A phone book?"
"Bulk. Mass. Something to convert. It doesn't necessarily have to be food,
right? Just a steady supply of mass."
"I suppose so. Will you want gravy on your phone book?"
"Probably wouldn't be a bad idea. You seemed surprised that I squashed that
rail in the stairwell. Why? Am I ahead of schedule or something?"
Nodding, she said, "It would seem so. A little, anyway."
"Why would that be?"
Mandi shrugged. "Your system is accepting conversion easily and you're
having sex with Beth."
"What does sex have to do with it?"
Filching his tomato slice, she said, "All human bodily functions are closely
tied to the reproductive system. Stir things up and the process can speed up
considerably."
"Speed up only, or also enhance the process? Could I wind up being a bit
more... 'super'... at the other end?"
"Yes, you could. Others have, for the same reason."
With a nod, Cade met her gaze and asked, "Do you want optimum conversion, or
would plain old average do?"
"Optimum would be nice, of course."
Cade sliced off a chunk of meat and ate it, then said, "I think so, too,
also of course. There's nothing quite like knowing your support people are as
good as they can possibly be. Beth is good for another few hours, then she'll
leave for D.C. or I'll become too much for her. Doesn't matter which; that'll be
the end of it. If we're going to try to optimize me, I'll need someone to take
her place."
"Her name is Andrea. I've already talked to her."
"Why not you?"
Mandi sighed and said, "Sorry. You're still several days away from being
able to make love to me, Ed."
Another chunk of steak later, Cade asked, "So this Andrea -- who's never
even met me -- is willing to take over for Beth in my bed, huh?"
"If she likes you. She's very fond of sex. If she doesn't like you enough,
she'll simply supervise your normal conversion."
"I'll need supervised? It won't just happen on its own?"
Sighing again, Mandi said, "Yes, of course it would, but there are ways --
that don't involve sex -- to heighten the effect a bit."
"What ways?"
"Hard exercise and energy infusion can help."
"Energy infusion?"
"Direct transfer from one of us to you. That couldn't happen for another day
or two, though. It would kill you."
Filching his other slice of tomato, she said, "Andrea is taking a week off
to help you through this. John says you have a three-bedroom house."
"It would be if I threw out two rooms'-full of ceramic molds and computer
gear."
After a pause, Mandi said, "Oh."
Cade chuckled. "Yeah. Oh. The place is a factory, too. But don't worry about
it. If we don't get along well enough to sleep together, I'll take the couch for
a week. Think she'd like to go to Disneyworld and some of the other tourist
traps?"
Smiling, Mandi canted her head and said, "I really don't know. I do know she
shoots pool fairly well."
Returning her smile, Cade said, "Well, that's a plus."
He'd just put the last bit of steak in his mouth when Mandi said, "Slide
your plates over here. John's coming."
Shoving everything to her side of the table, Cade asked, "Why doesn't he
know about this, Mandi?"
Giving him a firm look, Mandi said, "He's not in the loop."
"I've known him for ages. He'd be cool with it."
"Okay, he probably would be, but you weren't supposed to happen for a while
yet. Quiet. Here he comes."
As John walked up to the table, Cade thought, 'Not supposed to happen for a
while yet? What the hell?'
"Hi, all," said John, taking a seat beside Mandi. "Good news. They found
Kahlil this morning. The company is saying this op is finally over."
More strangeness. John had referred to 'the company', which the NIA most
definitely wasn't. Only the CIA was referred to as 'the company' by anyone who
knew the difference, and John definitely knew the difference.
Cade said nothing and gave John a slightly puzzled look as Mandi agreed that
it was good news, indeed. John gave Cade the old-days hand sign that meant
'later' and talked to Mandi as the waiter brought the other steak dinners Cade
had ordered and asked John if he'd like anything. John ordered coffee.
'Great,' thought Cade. 'Settle one problem and up pops a new one. Get
through one puzzle and another one will fall into your lap pretty much
instantly.'
He started in on the second dinner as Mandi and John chatted and talked
about wrapping things up in the ops room. Cade kind of hurried through his steak
and John asked him why he was in a rush. Pointing at the 'go' bag, Cade told him
that was for someone upstairs and that he didn't want it to get cold.
"Would it maybe be for Beth?" asked John.
"Can't let her starve. She's NIA property."
"Thought so. Carter says you've been spending a lot of time in her room."
"Someone was using my room." Meeting John's gaze, Cade cautioned, "Beth
doesn't know -- or maybe she just doesn't want to know -- that anyone else
knows, you know? I don't really know why it matters to her, but it does."
Mandi grinningly crossed her heart and zipped her lips like a schoolgirl
taking a pledge of silence. John chuckled and nodded as he spoke.
"No sweat. Like it or not, she knows we've been monitoring the hallways, so
this has to be a personal preference. I'll mention to Carter to keep it quiet,
okay?"
"Thanks. Word'll probably get out sooner or later, but it doesn't have to
happen today."
As he finished up his steak, Mandi said, "I'll see you later, Ed. Give me a
call around seven or drop by the room."
"Seven. You got it." Cade stood up and picked up the bag and the bill, then
said, "Later, all. I'll tip the waiter when he makes my change," and headed for
the register.
After paying the bill, Cade took the stairs to save time and reached Beth's
room in moments. He let himself in, put the card on the desk, and went to the
bed. Beth seemed to be in deep sleep, but as he turned away, she spoke.
"Hi, there."
"Hi, yourself, lady. I brought you some food."
Smiling drowsily up at him, she said, "Such service. Maybe I should keep
you, Cade. What do you think about that?"
"I think you'd be disappointed, ma'am. I turn into a plain ol'
inconsiderate, garden variety man on weekdays and I get downright mean on
holidays. Hope you like steak for lunch."
Sitting up, Beth said, "Steak is fine, Ed. I'll bet you don't change at all,
really. I'll bet you're like this all the time."
He shrugged. "Maybe so. Doesn't matter. You have to fly back to D.C. tonight
and I'll be in Florida by tomorrow. Let's just play some more and make the best
of our time together."
Tossing the sheet aside, Beth stood up. Cade eyed her nakedness as she
walked over to him and embraced him for a moment, then kissed him.
"You're a nice man," she said quietly. "You're good in bed, too. I could do
a lot worse, I think, if you were up for it."
Kissing her, Cade said, "Thanks, milady, but you're still too young and
beautiful to settle for less than you deserve. Try me again in a few years if
you can manage to stay single."
With a sardonic chuckle, she said, "Well, hell, I've managed this long,
haven't I?" and opened the restaurant bag to begin unpacking it on the desk.
As she sat down to eat, she eyed Cade and asked, "Am I going to be the only
naked person in this room?"
Pretending vast surprise, Cade said, "Oh! Yes'm, I'll get right to that.
Very sorry, ma'am. I was so wrapped up in eyeballing your gorgeous bod that I
just completely forgot. You know how it is, don't you?"
Laughing, Beth said, "Yeah, sure. I know how it is," and dug into her food.
A few bites later she asked, "Hey, Cade. If I'm so gorgeous, how come all
the other guys don't act like you?"
"Simple ignorance, ma'am. They don't know how."
"So how did you become so knowledgeable?"
"I had a good teacher early in life."
"Who was she?"
"One of my teachers in high school."
Glancing up incredulously, Beth asked, "Really?"
"Yup. I was sixteen. She was twenty-six and kind of pushy, just like you. I
learned a lot at that lady's knees."
Beth nearly choked with laughter. "At her knees...? Uh, yeah, well, I
suppose... That's where you'd have been..."
Patting her back, Cade said, "Yup. Most of the time, too, as I prefer to
recall. Just try to breathe for now, Beth. Talk later."
Beth managed to eat most of her steak and Cade finished what she couldn't,
then they spent the rest of the afternoon like newlyweds on a honeymoon.
At six-forty-five her ride to the airport pulled up at the front doors and
-- to Cade's surprise -- Beth hugged him and kissed him long and hard.
Holding her close, Cade whispered, "Somebody might see."
Snickering, she said, "Screw 'em. There were cameras in the halls, anyway.
Everybody who doesn't know now will know by tomorrow. I'll deal with it."
"Would saying 'thank you' sound trite, ma'am?"
"Not if I say it first. Thanks, Cade."
Then she made a show of glancing at her watch, making an apologetic face and
an excuse about long check-in times these days, and hurried into the waiting
car.
They waved good-bye as the car rolled down the ramp, then it turned left at
the street and she was gone. Cade sighed once, then turned to go back upstairs.
A tall, thirtyish, brunette woman in a sharp, shades-of-green skirt and
jacket business ensemble asked, "Your wife?"
Stopping to meet her gaze, Cade said, "No. A friend." After a short pause,
he added, "A very nice lady."
The woman had ice-gray eyes like fine gemstones that were nearly on a level
with Cade's. Her face at first seemed rather plain, or perhaps she simply wore
no makeup, but her strong character shone through her features like a beacon. A
very impressive woman.
Her full lips parted and Cade realized she was speaking again as she said,
"Are you all right?"
Shaking off her spell, Cade said, "Uhm. Yes, ma'am. Sorry. You have...
unique eyes. They're a color I don't see often enough. Very lovely." With a
grin, he added, "I guess they kind of shorted out my little brain for a few
seconds. Excuse me, but I have to be somewhere shortly."
Taking his cell phone out of his pocket as he left her, he dialed Mandi's
number, even though he'd felt her watching since Beth and he had left her room
with her luggage.
Mandi answered, "Hi, Ed. Andrea's here. I've filled her in. Come on up to
the room."
"On my way, milady."
A toddler on a leash managed to get loose and came running Cade's direction
as his mother tried to call him back. When the kid neared him, Cade's arm
flashed out and snagged the kid's collar. He constrained the thrashing little
beast at arm's length as he continued talking to Mandi.
"Gimme an extra few minutes, ma'am. I have to return something to someone
down here."
Laughing, Mandi said, "So I see. Good collar, Officer Ed."
The woman arrived to collect her child and Cade got underway again. On the
fourth floor landing, he thought he heard voices and looked up and down the
stairwell. Nobody either way.
He turned a bit and listened a little harder. Some guy was trying to arrange
a rental car. The other voice he heard was apparently that of a rental agent on
a phone, and the voices seemed to be coming from the other side of the fourth
floor hallway door.
No, not the door; to one side of it. Cade stepped that direction and clearly
heard the agent tell the guy that the kind of car he wanted would have to be
brought in from the airport.
The agent's voice was much fainter than the other one, so he probably wasn't
on a speaker phone. That seemed to mean that Cade was listening to both sides of
a conversation over a regular phone or a cell phone.
"Look, I'm in a hurry," said the guy. "I'll head down to the lobby and get a
cab. You just tell me who I have to see what all I have to do on the way, okay?"
Cade instantly opened the landing door and stepped into the hallway. The
door to the room on his left opened and a guy with a suitcase in one hand and a
cell phone to his ear hurried out of the room and down the hall.
'Damn,' thought Cade, suddenly far too aware of a myriad of sounds in the
hall. 'What other changes could he expect?'
Mandi's idea that he might need supervision made more sense as he tried
vainly to filter out some of the useless noise around him. Training was what
he'd need.
As he approached his room, he stopped walking as he heard Mandi say, "Ed has
been a bit difficult, Andrea. More than a bit difficult, in fact. I hate to say
it, but converting him may have been a mistake."
A familiar woman's voice responded, "Oh, he didn't strike me as being all
that terrible. You heard what he said about my eyes, didn't you? And the way he
said it? And he was so polite when he excused himself and moved on. He called me
'ma'am'. Jerks don't act like that, Mandi."
"Uh, huh. He'll call you 'milady', too, but don't let it go to your head.
You know that horse you call a 'hardmouth'? The one who sometimes decides to go
where he damned well pleases? You may come to think of Cade as a hardmouth,
too."
With a snicker, Andrea said, "Well, if I do, I'll be sure to let you know.
But if he's no worse than what I've seen so far, he'll max out just fine, 'cause
I'll bang his brains out all week."
Laughing, Mandi said, "Yeah, sure. More likely he'll tickle yours loose
first." She took a breath and intoned solemnly, "Be warned," then burst out
laughing again.
Laughing with her, Andrea said, "If he's that good, more power to him.
What's keeping him?"
'Uh-oh,' thought Cade, getting underway again just as he felt Mandi's gaze
locate him.
A few steps later he tapped on the door as he used his keycard and let
himself into his room.