Chapter #20Because I'm Jonesy by: imaj   You sit there for a moment, still assimilating the memories released in the Doctor's mind by the simple act of touching the yellow and red ball. Processing and making connections. Filling in the gaps in both what the doctor knows and what you know yourself.
Hilda Gunnarson - correction, the man who looks like Hilda Gunnarson - walks round the table and takes a seat roughly equidistant from Pendleton and yourself. An ugly thought steals its way to the front of your thoughts: You've known this Hilda for longer and far better than you ever knew the original. You invited her into your life. You asked her to look after Bea so many times when your work with the Stellae took you abroad. You thought you were helping her, making her feel useful after the injuries she suffered at Rosalie and Joe's wedding robbed her of her confidence and ability to do her work as a Stellae. You see now that was merely a cover for the fact that the doppelganger lacked the real Hilda's prodigies.
Instead you invited a spy into your mist. Every time she visited you and Bea in London she learned a little more about the Stellae. Every time, she found out something new that could be used against you someday.
She's probably the one who kidnapped Bea.
The depth of the betrayal wants to make you howl. You want to leap across the table and strangle the impostor with your bare hands. But you can't, that's the worst thing. The guard and his gun and camera, whatever of his colleagues that are nearby, they would react in an instant. You can't take this fight and even if you could, killing the false Hilda without taking her memories - and you can't as long as she is in disguise - would leave you with no idea where to find Bea. Involuntarily, you grit your teeth and dig your nails into the palm of your hands.
"Are you ok Joyce," asks Pendleton. He glances sideways at the fake Hilda.
"I'm just," you hesitate, panicking that you are giving yourself away. "I can't believe I let you do that to me David."
Pendleton relaxes a little. "You agreed to it at the time Joyce."
"That doesn't mean I liked it," you snap back. "Now I assume that you have a good reason to subjecting me to this unpleasantness." You hold up your hand to motion him to be quiet as Pendleton starts to speak. "I mean now David. You told me your reason for repressing the memories in the first place back then. Quite a lot as I recall."
Pendleton nods. "We need your experience in working with the Stellae."
"I think you mean on the Stellae."
"Hah, yes," he laughs. "On the Stellae. In particular the way you extracted Hilda Gunnarson's..."
"The specimen..." you snap. The Joyce part of you doesn't like the way the doppelganger is eying you, it seems accusatory. It makes the doctor's memories of experimenting on the original float to the surface. You realise this is as close as Joyce Fitzgerald gets to feeling guilt about her work.
"The way you extracted the hyperflora serum from the specimen," continues Pendleton smoothly.
The pieces fit together in your mind with a click, and the mood of the Joyce persona you have adopted turns quickly to excitement. "You have another specimen. I'll be able to produce more of the hyperflora serum?"
"Unfortunately not," replies Pendleton. His sympathetic smile strikes you as particularly insincere. "We're going to need your expertise with the extraction apparatus you developed with Project Diana. That's why Mr Kipper is here," he adds, gesturing at the false Hilda. "Maybe my old department back in Project Yam too."
"The Stellae you are going to be working on," says the doppelganger, speaking for the first time. Her voice sounds odd, robbed of Hilda's strong accent. "has what they call Eldibria and Sulva as ousiarchs..."
Now you want to laugh. Do they really think they can catch you? They don't even know you are in the room with them right this moment. Before you get a chance to act on the sentiment though, an alarm in the room blares.
"What..." finishes the fake Hilda, thrown into confusion by the development.
"Kill that damn thing," shouts Pendleton at the guard. "And find out what's going on."
The guard complies quickly, pressing a few buttons on a panel by the door. The volume of the alarm drops to almost nothing, even if it doesn't silence it completely. Then he mumbles into the radio fastened by his shoulder before pressing a finger to the attached earbud to better hear the response. "Prescott's in the building sir. He's just pushed past reception and the inner door seals."
The Joyce personality you've been immersed in takes no little pleasure at the look of surprise on Pendleton's face. As surprised as he is though, your shock is even greater. You can't quite keep it from your face, so you quickly try to cover it. "What's going on David? Who is this Prescott," you ask querulously.
He ignores you, which at least has the benefit of him not suspecting you. "Kipper, secure the girl," he barks at the impostor Hilda. She jumps from her seat and runs out. You curse under your breath, you'll need to try and find her again to locate Bea. "How did he get in? What about those cameras I gave you all?"
"In disguise sir," replies the guard, obviously still listening to updates over his radio. "Laura on the front desk..."
"Come over here and give me that damned radio so I can listen in myself," shouts Pendleton. The guard scrambles over and fumbles at the pouch holding his radio. Suddenly the alarm kicks back up in volume. If anything, it's now louder than it was before. "I thought I told you to kill that thing," shouts Pendleton.
"I did," the guard shouts back. It's the only way either of them can make themselves heard now.
Before Pendleton gets a chance to respond, the lights start flickering. On, off, three quick burst of light, off for a full three seconds or so then repeating again in a definite pattern. The printer in the corner of the room starts churning out smartpaper printouts.
Pendleton and the guard freeze in place. They both stare at the printer. You stare at the printer too.
Calmly, more calmly that you ought to given the noise of the alarm flooding the room, you push your chair back and walk over to the printer. The paper is overflowing its out tray, falling to the floor and spreading out in a mess. You pick up one piece at random and read the message printed on it huge capital letters.
"Workers of the world unite," you read out slowly. "You have nothing to lose but your chains. What is this garbage David?" What you think, though, is Him? Here?
"Pull the plug on the damn thing," screams Pendleton. You raise an eyebrow but oblige him anyway. The printer shudders to a halt. "Grand. Now we've got two of them in the building."
"Two of what," you say, continuing to feign ignorance. "David, I demand an answer."
"I don't have time for this Joyce," replies Pendleton angrily, jabbing a finger in your direction. Joyce's emotions bristle in response. "Look," sighs Pendleton, deflating somewhat. "We've got to get out of here. We can't stand up to these two, you understand that."
"So it is Cabinda again then," you snort.
"No, because we're getting out of here in one piece," he shouts back. He turns to the guard. "Jenkins, get Doctor Fitzgerald to her team and get them to evacuation point C. I'll co-ordinate with your team to cover the escape."
"What about my samples." you scream. You don't really feel the doctor's despair, now that you've realised for her that the only things that she cares about are under threat, but the mock anguish is enough of a distraction to let you watch the guard - Jenkins - very carefully. You can see it in his face though, he thinks Pendleton is going to ask his colleagues to die.
"No time Joyce," shouts Pendleton. He gestures to the guard again. "Get her out of here."
You don't resist as the guard bundles you out of the room. You'll get a chance to catch up with Pendleton later, you are sure.  You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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