The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension

by Rodney Mountain

  Chapter 81 - A Plan

  Toria sipped on some water as she looked over Massimaferro. The Mullinix had stopped raving finally and had gotten a bit of sleep. She hoped it was a good sign, as there was little else that she could do for him. Now that Coblein was no longer there to continue the dosing of the dastardly drug the massive delirium had gone down to a dull roar.

  "Anything new, sis?" Miranda asked her, "You have a pensive look on your face."

  "Just watching now," Toria sighed, "The worst part for a Medico."

  "Nothing else you can do?" Miranda asked her.

  "He’s not delirious anymore," Toria told her, "Mostly just sleeping now. His body is hopefully burning it off."

  "Anything out of the ordinary?" Miranda wondered, "Other than the fact that it’s happening in the first place."

  "You mean this whole situation isn’t out of the ordinary?" Toria teased her, "Come now… How in the hell did you get wrapped up in this? You promised you’d tell me the story."

  "Well," Miranda told her sister, "Perhaps we should sit down."

  "Sure," Toria nodded, pointing her to chairs on the edge of the room, "I want to stay in here to keep an eye on him."

  "That’s fine," Miranda nodded, "He knows this story anyway."

  "So what happened?"

  "I met Medo and Simon at the big pub in the Centre," Miranda explained, "Simon was the outgoing one, pulling Medo along with him. This was before he’d been chosen and was going by his given name, Copeland Steele."

  "One of Travis’s relatives," Toria nodded, "I remember him saying that last night."

  "I think he’s trying to forget that part," Miranda chuckled, "Anyway, the four of us became friends after that."

  "Four?" Toria wondered.

  "Simon, Copeland, Stacy and Myself," Miranda said, "I wrote you about Stacy."

  "How did you get drafted and…" Toria said, "Wait… Stacy… The guard that came with you here?"

  "She’s got a bit of a different attitude right now," Miranda chuckled, "Has for a while since I found out."

  "Found out what?" Toria said, "I’m missing a few things."

  "Evidently I came within hairs of getting chosen for the job Medo was," Miranda explained, "Taliaferro was dying and they were watching a bunch of candidates. Copeland and I were high on the list. Rav Suvorov was watching Medo during that time as well. Stacy happened to be the guard watching me."

  "Not that I think you’re complaining," Toria said, "But how did he get chosen over you?"

  "His big mouth," Miranda grinned, "The day Taliaferro died our class, being headed by Massimaferro in disguise, was brought in to the chamber to watch session. Insegniferro held a question and answer session afterwards."

  "He asked something stupid?" Toria said, "Or supremely intelligent?"

  "A little of both, really," Miranda chuckled, "He asked Insegniferro what made him better than everyone else so much that he could pass judgment."

  "He didn’t!" Toria exclaimed, "That had to be the question that got him the job."

  "It was," Miranda nodded, "Both of us knew we were in consideration, but he was chosen when Taliaferro died a few hours later."

  "And you remained close to him?" Toria asked, getting up and taking a quick pulse check on Massimaferro.

  "Yeah," Miranda nodded, "Both Stacy and I have, though in different ways."

  "You like him, don’t you?" Toria said.

  "I guess so," Miranda said, "I think he likes me too, but…"

  "His position makes it a bitch," Toria chuckled, "Right?"

  "You got it," Miranda agreed, "I’d go for him in a minute, but he has all those girls at the palace to choose from. I know he’s not been celibate there by any stretch."

  "There’s a key difference between you and them, honey," Toria said, "I’m sure they’re all nice people, but you can probably offer a part of yourself that they never could in their position."

  "But would it be fair to either of us?" Miranda asked, "I mean I’d go for him in a heartbeat, but what can I do?"

  "Let it lead where it would naturally go," Toria told her younger sister, "The only thing worse than seeing a relationship fail is not having one for the fear of it."

  "It may be moot," Miranda chuckled, "He may not be able to do anything. It’s almost like he’s been avoiding me all day."

  "He might be scared," Toria told her, "Remember, he may be in that position of power, but he’s no older than you are. He’s probably as afraid of this as you are, maybe more because he would be putting you in an awkward position."

  "He might also have received some instructions he didn’t want to think about," Stacy said, entering, "Sorry, couldn’t help but overhear your conversation a little."

  "No problem," Miranda said, "Come on in, Stace."

  "What instructions?" Toria asked Stacy.

  "He spent a long time with Insegniferro," Stacy said, "They’d be idiots if they didn’t talk about the possibility that Massimaferro wouldn’t make it. You know who would be the unfortunate soul chosen if that happened soon…"

  "Oh man," Miranda said, her eyes popping wide open, "I hadn’t even thought about that!"

  "I wouldn’t want to tell you that news either," Toria agreed, "At least you know it isn’t personal now."

  "He lights up when you enter the room," Stacy told Miranda, "I think you should go for it. Even Marina was noticing that."

  "I thought Marina was close with him," Miranda said, "I mean, why would she want to give him up?"

  "Marina went through hell as a child, Mir," Stacy reminded her, "She doesn’t see things like we do a lot of the time. She has a certain flexibility in some areas that make her perfect for her job. She wants to see Medoferro happy and is bright enough to know that she lacks a few essential things that he needs for that."

  "Especially with him being as sensitive to power and feelings," Toria said, "I’ve seen his type before. He’d know if someone’s feelings weren’t as direct for him as they said they were."

  "It may be a moot point if I can’t do anything about it," Miranda sighed, "There isn’t much I can change about the situation."

  "I’ll be right back," Toria said, her mind churning as she went for the door, "Yell if something happens."

  Stacy and Miranda looked at each other and chatted for a bit about how things were going. It was nearly thirty minutes later when Toria walked back in the room with a large smile on her face. Stacy wondered just what no good Toria was up to, while Miranda was just standing there pretty well clueless.

  "You’re going to have your chance," Toria told her sister, "How does a nice, quiet romantic dinner catered by Mrs. Seville sound?"

  "You have something up your sleeve," Miranda said, "Dare I ask?"

  "She owed me a bit for the surgical procedure I did for her," Toria said, "I figured this would be an easy way for her to pay it off. She would have done it anyway for a chance to meet Medoferro, but it gives me an easy way to let her off the hook without her thinking it is charity."

  "How do you propose I get Medo to go?" Miranda asked her.

  "I spoke with your friend Simon," Toria smiled, "He’s arranging to bring Medo back out of the field in an hour or so. He thinks this is a wonderful idea as well and is going to help as much as he can."

  "Why do I feel like everyone is playing matchmaker?" Miranda wondered.

  "Because they are," Stacy chuckled, "You both could use it. It will help him for sure and it certainly won’t do you any harm at all."

  "Like I said," Toria said, "Go for it, sis. I can tell by the way you act that you want to go for him, despite the problems. It may not turn out to be everything you hoped when it’s over, but that feeling beats the hell out of the wondering what could have happened."

  "She’s right," Stacy agreed, "Trust me on this."

  "You and he have been on the go for quite a bit," Toria said, "Come six this evening I don’t want you two to even think about coming back here.
We can do without you just fine for tonight. I promise."

  A smile crept up on Miranda’s face. Those were indeed the words she wanted to hear.