Towards evening, Antoinette was awakened by a knock on the door. “Entrez vous,” she called. The door slowly opened to a man wearing medical whites. She sat up in the bed, twisting her torso to look at him.
”Hello, Miss Duval. I am Doctor Carter. Steve Carter. I’m a psychologist and I’d like to ask you about what happened to you at Blacksnake’s base.”
”‘allo, Doctor,” she said as she swiveled lithely to sit on the edge of the bed. “What would you know?”
“I’ve looked at the reports by Scott, Red and Jay. They tell in brief of how you were taken and how you escaped, but other than commenting on Blacksnake’s attempt to recruit you and later your torture, they don’t say much. Would you be willing to tell me in detail what happened?”
As she recounted her kidnapping, her kidnappers’ attempts to persuade her to join their group and subsequent torture after her refusal in harrowing detail, Doctor Carter listened, his mouth set in grim lines. Occasionally as she spoke, he would prod her with quiet questions, seeking details and clarifications of who she saw and what was said around her. Throughout it all, he watched her expressions as she spoke.
When she finished, he regarded her thoughtfully. She sat, hands clenched together, her chin resting on her knuckles as her forearms covered her nude chest. Before he could ask anything more, A nurse knocked at the door and entered with dinner on a tray.
He stood up. “We’re going to assign you permanent quarters on base for as long as you stay. I’d like you to come back in the morning and talk to me some more. You’ve had a rough time of it these last few weeks and I’d like to see how you’re holding up.”
”That would be all right with me, m’sieur,” she replied.
“Very good.” He turned to leave, then paused at the door. “There’s an entertainment center in the cabinet by the head of your bed. Feel free to watch or listen to anything you wish until somebody comes to take you to your permanent rooms. If you can’t find something, just speak out your desires and we’ll try to provide it.
“Thank you,
#
Shortly after dinner, Tracker, Red and Scott came to get her, collecting her possessions as well and took her back up to Magnum’s office. He rose as she entered. “Good evening, Miss Duval. Doctor Meckler and Doctor Carter both report that you have physically recovered remarkably well from your experience with Blacksnake, but Doctor Carter says that he still has some concerns about your mental health. He thinks that a little time with us would give you a chance to settle down and relax. When you arrived, I offered you the opportunity to stay and learn more about what you are. It’s still your choice. Do you wish to stay here for a while, or would you rather we dropped you off somewhere? If you choose the latter, I’d recommend it be far enough from here that Blacksnake wouldn’t think to look for you there.”
She looked at Magnum’s face, with the lines of humor and worry around his eyes and streaks of premature grey in his brown hair, and then at Tracker, Jay and Scott. I do not understand what is going on yet, but I trust them, she thought. They are not out for themselves only, as were the ones with Blacksnake, and I need someone to teach me to control the beast, if, indeed, it can be controlled. “Oui, m’sieur, if I may.”
”Very well, then. I’ll leave you with Scott. He’ll get you settled in. Tomorrow, we’ll start you on a training schedule as strenuous as you can handle. I want you to find out what you can do. Learn to control your tiger form, and communicate with your teammates while you are a tiger. I’m going to assign you to Scott’s team, since they’re the ones who found you and know more about you. If you have any questions or problems and you can’t find Scott, feel free to come to me.”
”Oui, m’sieur. Merci.”
Red picked up her bag and Tracker her guitar case. Just as they were about to leave, Magnum called out, “Tracker, may I see you for a moment?”
“Yes, sir,” he replied, instantly turning to approach Magnum’s desk.
“Scott, you know where to go. Tracker will join you in just a moment.”
“Aye, Magnum. Tracker, we’ll wait at the elevator for you.”
Tracker caught up to the group just as they reached the elevators. Scott punched for Housing on the comm panel beside the door. “Room assignment for Antoinette Duval, please.”
Almost instantly he received a response. “Room One-Seven-Zero-One, sir.”
“Thank you.”
He turned to Antoinette. “It’s going to take you a little while to learn your way around here,” he said with a grin. “This is Level Five, Administration and Security. Level Four is Medical and R & D, though some of the more extreme research is carried out elsewhere. Level Three is Housekeeping, consisting of everything but power generation, including most of our fabrication and in-house design studios. Anything you need can probably be found there. If not, they’ll order it for you.
“Levels Two and One are living quarters. Most of us live on One. That’s also where the dining area, most of the recreational facilities and the Plaza are. We call it the Plaza Level. Level Zero is the basement, housing the power plant, maintenance, and the Training Rooms. You’ll find out about them later.” The whole time he was talking, the elevator descended slowly past the indicated levels down to Level One, where it stopped. He led her down a long corridor broken every ten doors by crossing corridors and finally stopped in front of a nondescript door marked 1701.
