'No, I'm employed at Serotec Pharmaceuticals,' Nancy said. 'But my husband is at the university. He runs the physics department.'
'My goodness,' Cassy said. She was impressed. 'No wonder you have such a bright son here.'
Over the top of the Sellers's van Cassy caught sight of Beau turning into the horseshoe drive.
'Well, nice meeting you,' Cassy said to Nancy. Then turning to Jonathan she said: 'Thanks again for today.'
'It was nothing,' Jonathan insisted.
Cassy half skipped, half ran up to where Beau had pulled to the curb.
Jonathan watched her go, mesmerized by the motion of her buttocks beneath her thin cotton dress.
'Well, am I giving you a ride home or not?' Nancy questioned to break the spell. She was becoming concerned again that there was something going on she didn't know about.
Jonathan climbed into the front of the car after carefully depositing his laptop on the backseat.
'What was she thanking you for?' Nancy asked as they pulled away. She could see Cassy getting into a utility vehicle driven by an attractive male her own age. Nancy's concerns melted again. It was tough raising a teenager: one minute proud, the next concerned. It was an emotional roller coaster for which Nancy felt unequipped.
Jonathan shrugged. 'Like I said, it was nothing.'
'Good grief,' Nancy said, frustrated. 'Getting even a modicum of information from you reminds me of that saying about squeezing water out of a rock.'
'Gimme a break,' Jonathan said. As they drove past the black 4X4 he stole another glance at Cassy. She was sitting in the vehicle, talking with the driver.
'You look terrible,' Cassy said. She was twisted in the seat so she could look directly into Beau's face. He was paler than she'd ever seen him. Perspiration stood on his forehead like tiny cabochon topazes. His eyes were red and rheumy.
'Thanks for the compliment,' Beau said.
'Really,' Cassy said. 'What's the matter?'
'I don't know,' Beau said. He covered his mouth while he coughed. 'It came on me just before my marketing class, and it's getting worse. I guess I got the flu. You know, muscle aches, sore throat, runny nose, headache, the works.'
Cassy stretched out her hand and felt his sweaty brow. 'You're hot,' she said.
'Funny because I feel cold,' Beau said. 'I've been having shivers. I even got into bed, but as soon as I was under the covers, I felt hot and kicked them off.'
'You should have stayed in bed,' Cassy said. 'I could have bummed a ride with one of the other student teachers.'
'There was no way to get in touch with you,' Beau said.
'Men,' Cassy voiced as she got out of the car. 'You guys never want to admit when you're sick.'
'Where are you going?' Beau questioned.
Cassy didn't answer. Instead she walked around the front of the car and opened Beau's door. 'Shove over,' she said. 'I'm driving.'
'I can drive,' Beau said.
'No arguments,' Cassy said. 'Move!'
Beau didn't have the energy to protest. Besides, he knew it was probably best even though he wouldn't admit it.
Cassy put the car in gear. At the corner she turned right instead of left.
'Where the hell are you going?' Beau asked. With his head throbbing he wanted to get back to bed.
'You are going to the student infirmary at the University Med Center,' Cassy said. 'I don't like the way you look.'
'I'll be all right,' Beau complained, but he didn't protest further. He was feeling worse by the minute.
The entrance to the student infirmary was through the ER, and as Cassy and Beau walked in, Pitt saw them and came out from behind the front desk.
'Good grief!' Pitt said when he took one look at Beau. 'Did the Nile organization cancel your interview or did you get run over by the women's track team?'
'I can do without your wisecracks,' Beau mumbled. 'I think I got the flu.'
'You ain't kidding,' Pitt said. 'Here, come on into one of the ER bays. I don't think they want you down in the student walk-in clinic.'
Beau allowed himself to be led into a cubicle. Pitt facilitated the visit by bringing in one of the most compassionate nurses and then by going out to get one of the more senior ER physicians.
Between the nurse and the doctor Beau was quickly examined. Blood was drawn and an IV started.
'This is just for hydration,' the doctor said, tapping the IV bottle. 'I think you have a bad case of the flu, but your lungs are clear. Still, I think it best for you to stay in the student overnight ward, at least for a few hours to see if we can't bring your fever down and control that cough. We'll also be able to take a look at your blood work in case there's something I'm missing.'
'I don't want to stay in the hospital,' Beau complained.
'If the doctor thinks you should stay, you're staying,' Cassy said. 'I don't want to hear any macho bull crap.'
Pitt was again able to grease the skids, and within a half hour Beau was comfortably situated in one of the student overnight rooms. It looked like a typical hospital room with vinyl flooring, metal furniture, a TV, and a window that looked south over the hospital lawn. Beau was dressed in hospital-issue pajamas. His clothes were hung in the closet, and his watch, wallet, and the black mini-sculpture were in a metal valuables cabinet affixed to the top of the bureau. Cassy had programmed the combination lock with the last four digits of their home phone number.
Pitt excused himself to get back to the ER desk.
'Comfortable?' Cassy asked. Beau was lying on his back. His eyes were closed. He'd been given a cough suppressant which had already taken effect. He was exhausted.
'As comfortable as can be expected,' Beau murmured.
'The doctor said I should come back in a few hours,' Cassy said. 'All the tests will be available and most likely I'll be able to take you home.'
'I'll be here,' Beau said. He was enjoying the sensation of a strange languid sleep settling over him like a welcome blanket. He didn't even hear Cassy close the door behind her when she left.
Beau slept more soundly than he'd ever slept. He didn't even dream. After several hours of this comalike trance his body took on a faint phosphorescence. Inside the locked valuables box the black disc-form object did the same, particularly one of eight small domed excrescences arrayed around the object's rim. Suddenly the tiny disc detached itself and floated free. Its glow intensified until it became a pinpoint of light like a distant star.
Moving laterally the point of light contacted the side of the valuables box, but it didn't slow. With a muted hissing sound and a few sparks it traveled through the metal, leaving a tiny, perfectly symmetrical hole behind it.
Once free of the confined space, the point of light traveled directly to Beau, causing Beau's luminosity to intensify. It approached Beau's right eye and then hovered a few millimeters away. Slowly the intensity of the point of light decreased until it assumed its normal flat black color.
A few pulses of visible light traveled from the tiny object and impinged on Beau's eyelid. Instantly the eye opened while the other stayed shut. The exposed pupil was maximally dilated with just a bare band of iris visible.
Pulses of electromagnetic radiation were then dispatched into Beau's open eye, mostly in the visible light wavelength. It was one computer downloading to another, and it went on for almost an hour.
'How's our favorite patient?' Cassy asked Pitt when she came through the ER door. Pitt hadn't seen her until she'd spoken. The ER had been busy and he'd had his hands full.
'Fine as far as I know,' Pitt said. 'I looked in on him a couple of times, as did the nurse. Every time he was sleeping like a baby. I don't think he moved. He must have been exhausted.'
'Did his blood work come back?' Cassy asked.
'Yup, and it was pretty normal,' Pitt said. 'His white count was up slightly but only his mononuclear
