Chapter 18
"So, you guys teleported out to the stronghouse immediately after that, right?" I said eagerly once Wizzit had turned off the vid. "You switched on camouflage mode so she wouldn't see you and attack, and then you said, 'Lily, Special Order three-six-alpha-oh-five'?"
"Ah . . . right," Mike replied slowly, glancing at Shelley. "Er, more or less."
"Camouflage mode didn't occur to either one of us," Shelley explained. "I wish it had."
"As for the 'Lily' bit, it, um, took us a while to work that out," Mike added.
"So the two of you wandered in there in plain sight," Toby said, grinning, "and just blurted out 'Special Order three-six-alpha-oh-five', and then that she-devil turned around and started bashing your brains in, is that it?"
"No, it wasn't like that at all," Mike protested. "Shelley got a good grip on her and was able to hold her down."
"Barely," Shelley interjected.
"And I eventually figured out that you had to say her name to get her attention before giving her the order."
Shelley laughed and shook her head. "Actually, Mike, I think what you said was, 'Goddammit, Lily, Special Order three-six-alpha-oh-five!'"
"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Mike said, shrugging off the general laughter. "I don't think any of the rest of you could have done any better!"
"Except Trevor," Trina said, smiling.
Prime Commander rubbed his chin. (Actually, I think he was trying to wipe off a grin, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt here. I know he considers it his job to be the sanest, soberest member of our little group.) "Well, it certainly appears that Trevor's extended experience with Lily and JB Swift has given him a certain amount of insight," he said carefully. He turned to Shelley. "Consult with him next time you deal with her?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Shelley agreed. "It would have saved us a lot of bruises last night." She turned to the rest of us. "Lily calmed down immediately after that. Mike gave her the self-heal order, and she appeared to go to sleep. We watched her for a while and then came back here. Before we left, though, we installed a microsensor package in the stronghouse so that Wizzit can keep a close eye on her."
"Subject is currently lying passively on the floor of the stronghouse," Wizzit reported. "My scans indicate that her various injuries are healing at an accelerated rate. Not as fast as with a healing coma, but remarkable nonetheless. I'll let you know if there's any change."
"Yes, please do that." Prime Commander looked around at the five of us. "Unless anyone has anything else to say, I think we're done here."
Shelley touched my arm as we stepped out into the hallway. "Hey, Trev," she said quietly, "you're cool with this whole Junior Prime Pink thing, right? About Trina being Angie's minder and all that?"
"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"
"No reason. I just thought you might insist on doing the job yourself, that's all. You seem awfully protective of her."
I grinned. "Of course I am. She's my kid sister, isn't she? It's my job to be protective of her. But like my old pal Harry Callahan said once, a man's got to know his limitations. The truth is, I'd be a lousy minder for her, and I think everyone knows it."
She nodded. "Yeah, you would." She smiled and squeezed my shoulder to take any sting out of her words. "I'm just glad you realize that. Do you think she would be willing to help us out again? I mean, if it turns out we really need her?"
"Are you kidding?" I exclaimed. "She'd jump at the chance! Of course, she's pretty busy at the moment, what with marching band and tennis. That should all be over in a month or two, but then there'll be Tae Kwon Do and jazz band and show choir and Christmas concerts to prepare for, and she'll probably be in the musical in the spring and then there's prom and final exams and graduation after that and . . . well, you know how crazy high school can be."
Shelley gave me kind of a funny look. "Actually, Trev, I don't. My dad pulled me out of school after seventh grade when I joined the Primes. I was homeschooled."
"Oh." Oops -- awkward! Sometimes I forget just how much of her life Shelley has dedicated to the Primes. I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Anyway, um, yeah, I'm sure she'd be happy to help out whenever she can, even if we don't really, really need her. But there will probably be times when she can't make it because she just doesn't have the time."
"That's what I thought. Thanks, Trev."
"You bet."
Attack Doll 2: Junior Prime Page 18