They arrived at the Med Center early next morning for their physical and psychological examinations. Towards the end of Tracker’s psychological tests, Antoinette noticed a new wary tension in his examiners. A few minutes later, a burly orderly came in. He was dressed in med whites, but he carried himself like Security.
After several hours, they went back to Colonel Carfield’s office. An aide took Antoinette into another room while the colonel continued to detail Tracker’s debriefing. Just after noon, they went to the cafeteria for lunch. They met Jay and Red at the cafeteria door.
“Jay,” Antoinette said, “thank you for distracting Animal yesterday.”
Jay shrugged. “He’s an ass-hole. And he’s not even one of our ass-holes.” Red laughed.
Antoinette smiled, “Thank you anyway, Jay.”
Jay grinned. “No problem.” Red held the door for Antoinette as she and Tracker entered the dining room.
Again Tracker chose barely-cooked meat, two hamburgers, very rare. She watched with uneasy disquiet. It is so different from what he used to eat, she thought. It can not be good for him. She put a glass of milk on his tray, along with a large piece of cheese and an apple. After a leisurely meal, they strolled over to the pool to relax before going back for the in-depth portion of their exams.
“Tracker. Antoinette. How are you two doing this afternoon?” Steve Carter, their psychotherapist, greeted them.
“We are fine, Steve,” Antoinette replied. “We are here for the examinations that Colonel Carfield wanted us to take.”
“Yes. I was expecting you. Because of what you’ve been through, we’ve decided to run a special battery of tests on each of you. If you’ll come with me?” Steve led them down to the Psych Labs where they were each taken into a different room. “I don’t know how long these tests will take,” he said before leaving them, “but I don’t want you to worry. We just want to make sure that your experiences didn’t affect you adversely. Okay?”
“Oui, Steve,” she replied, following the internist into the lab. He ran her through battery after battery of tests. These are the same kinds of tests I had when first I joined the Defenders, she thought as — among other things — they tested her strength of will and temper.
Four hours later, the internist turned off his computer terminal. “All right, Mrs. Redd, we’re done with you. You can go now,” he said.
“Thank you,” she replied, rising to her feet. “Do you know if Tracker is finished yet?”
“I couldn’t say. Why don’t you ask the nurse at the desk? She may know.”
“Thank you. I will do that.”
She walked out to the small central waiting area and went over to the nurse seated at the operations desk. “Where is Tracker?”
“He’s still in Testing,” the woman replied. “It shouldn’t be much longer, though.” Antoinette walked over to a chair and sat down, picking up a magazine. As time went by, she began to grow restless and hungry, then angered by the delay. Finally, nearly two hours later, she stood. Fear and anger vibrated along her nerves. “Where is Tracker? What is wrong?” she demanded.
“I don’t know. Let me check,” the nurse replied.
A few minutes later, a man came down the hall. “Mrs.Redd. Sorry you’ve had to wait so long. We’re about finished with him now.”
“What is taking so long, m’sieur?”
He shrugged. “He was in Castile’s control for over a week, and they’re old enemies. We wanted to be certain that he was all right. Have you noticed anything different about him? Is he, oh, quicker to get angry, for instance?”
“Why do you ask, m’sieur?” she countered. He does get angry more quickly, she thought. But why do they want to know? What will they do with him? Her mind flashed back to their loveplay the night before, his unusual intensity, his almost savage lust. He is mine, I will not give him up! The doctor was looking at her shrewdly, reading her body language.
He is guessing, she thought, guessing what I do not want him to know! She let her anger and anxiety rise to the surface, masking her fear for her husband. “I want Tracker!” Her chin rose, her accent growing thicker with her anger. “It ‘as been two ‘ours that I ‘ave been waiting! I am ‘ungry and I want my ‘usband.” Her agile gestures emphasized her words. “I want ‘im now!” She raised clenched fists and shook them.
He made placating motions with his hands. “I’ll see if they are done yet,” he said, turning away. A minute later, Tracker came down the hall, followed by the doctor.
“Tracker,” she cried out, running to him and embracing him. “May we go now?” He held her, looking silently at the doctor.
“Yeah, sure. But come back tomorrow morning, Mr. Redd. We need to do some more tests.” As they were leaving, the nurse handed her a note to report to Magnum’s office.
“Hi,” Magnum said, rising to his feet as they entered. “Need your signatures here, and then Phillipe and Marie are officially Redds.”
He touched his desk comm. “Doris, I need you to witness some signatures, please.”
“Coming, sir.”
Magnum took a set of documents from an envelope on his desk and opened them. Excitement and anticipation showed on her face as she picked up a pen and, in her careful, bold penmanship, wrote her name in the blank he pointed out. Tracker carefully read the forms before scratching his signature beneath hers. Magnum and the secretary signed as witnesses, then she left as Magnum gathered the documents into two piles.
Antoinette clutched her copy of the birth certificates and adoption papers to her breasts. “And this means that the little ones are ours now, and no one can take them away?”
He shrugged. “Unless you abuse them or neglect them, they’re yours.”
