The Tesla Experiment

Chapter 9

In proper fashion to compliment the gaining madness in Lydia’s mind, aided by the strange empty mausoleum she took residence in, the heavens dressed in grey. Occasionally the flashes of the electrical charges therein lit up Lyon’s buildings and illuminated the beautiful winding Rhône that ran through the old buildings of the French city. She had recovered from her destructive act, but she was out of a personal mirror and had to explain the unholy mess in her room to Healy when he returned.

Lydia oddly felt obliged toward her butler. Yes, she acted as though he was her lackey, her servant and babysitter, but in all honesty she respected him a great deal. It was not that she was afraid of what he could do at all, but his silent and continuous loyalty was something she valued immensely. Often Lydia wondered what kind of lover he was, but she would never tarnish their perfect mutual devotion to find out. Besides, she was not half the alluring stunner she used to be and she would never expect a man like him to ever find someone like her desirable. Sometimes, when she watched him create order in the house from the hidden shadows Lydia wondered if he remembered how beautiful she was before… before the illness came.

The door clicked loudly, but there was no echo. A blunt sound died less than three centimeters away from the lock, yet Lydia could hear it with the aid of her ear pieces. Her heart jumped from excitement. She wondered if they procured the capacitor without incident from the CERN laboratory and made work of wheeling herself arduously toward the lobby.

Lydia stopped in her path when the door opened.

There was Purdue and Healy, but they were accompanied by a very attractive man about he own age, nursing a bruise on his cheek.

“And? Did you get it?”

“Yes, madam,” Healy replied, looking rather laid back as opposed to his usual stiffness. “This is Sam Cleave, by the way. He is a friend.”

“Says who?” she scowled. “I don’t know him!”

“He is a close friend and partner in crime, Lydia, of mine,” Purdue explained.

The dark eyed man with the wild black hair nodded courteously. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Professor Jenner.”

Lydia decided to like him.

“Sam, is it?” she asked.

“Aye.”

“Scottish?” she asked again.

“Aye,” he smiled. Lydia really liked him now.

“My husband was Scottish,” she winked.

“I’m Scottish too!” Purdue reasoned amusedly.

“Yes, yes. But he is… new,” she grinned.

Sam smiled and nudged Purdue mockingly. Lydia laughed, “Come on, Sam. We have a proper sick bay here in the manor. Let Healy treat that bruise for you.”

“Madam,” Healy began his protest, but to no avail.

“Healy. Take Sam to the infirmary and put something on that bruise that you no doubt caused!” she ordered. She knew her butler far too well. He obliged.

“Come with me, Sam,” he told the journalist, leaving Lydia with Purdue.

“How are you feeling, beautiful?” he smiled.

Lydia wanted to be cynical about it, but she had had enough of her own antagonism for the evening.

“I’m doing well, thanks Dave,” she winked amicably. “How did it go?”

“Easier than I thought. I retrieved a proper plate for you. Not the one you wanted…”

“Dave, I needed that specific storage plate!” she panicked.

“Hey, no worries, my dear Lydia. What I am trying to tell you is that I stole a higher aptitude device than the meager one you thought you needed!” Purdue explained boastfully. “Look.”

He showed her the capacitor he had obtained from the Alice detector when nobody was watching him raid their storage units. “See? High intensity, extra storage of higher energy than the one you directed us to at Alice. The good thing is, when we ransacked the Alice reserves we found Sam. And all that without Healy having to distract the gentlemen and ladies of the workforce based adjacent to us.”

Lydia felt better. Suddenly she felt as if she was surrounded by a whole army of allies. The men involved were all caring, intelligent and willing to help her. The only thing she lamented was the possibility of sacrificing them in the name of science. Not one, but all.

The latter would only be thwarted should she elect to end her own life instead, but Lydia was still reluctant to abandon her mortal vessel before she knew if the price was worthy of the reward. In her anticipation she could not imagine having to wait until morning, but she had to surrender to propriety and let the men settle in, get some rest and prepare for the tests of the new day to follow.

It pained her that she could not order them to march on down to the Voyager III at that very moment and prove to her, once and for all, that her capitulation to a greater force was not in vain after all. But as a good hostess she joined them in light banter in the drawing room after Sam’s cheek was given some ointment and Purdue’s curiosity was reined in in lieu of social interaction. He had to yield to the night and its relaxing activities and it was easier once he had made peace with the fact that he would have the run of the chamber and its curious components when he rose from bed the next morning.

Sam was just grateful that for once he was in a place of lodging with at least one familiar face and voice to put him at ease. Still he knew he had a good, diluted report to concoct to appease Richards and her foundation in the morning, but there were a dozen hours and an equal amount of whiskey glasses between now and then.