Chapter 114

Phillip and Dessie Albright (Selina's parents) returning from skiing, were invited into Helen's school while class was in session. "We would like to talk with you in private, if we may," Phillip said.

Later, when their conference was over, Helen smiled at them, "Our new classrooms were completed yesterday, but we're going to wait until the weekend to begin moving everything. Would you like to see them, now that they are completed?"

Phillip and Dessie exchanged glances, then he responded. "No, thank you. The helicopter is waiting and we need to get to the airport. We're on our way to France day after tomorrow and we have a few things to do before leaving."

Selina hugged her parents, and she, Arlene and Ann went with the Albrights to the helipad. A strangely subdued couple kissed their daughter goodbye as they boarded, then waved again from the helicopter as Reed circled the Retreat before heading over the mountain.

As the girls came back into the Retreat, there were tears in Selina's eyes that she tried to hide. Diana met them in the hallway just inside the door to the garage, and encircled Selina in her arms. "You can call and talk to them anytime you wish, for as long as you wish. If you want to see them, tell them so. You might be surprised at their reaction."

"Thank you, My Queen. I am somewhat startled to realize that I will miss them," she said, her voice breaking, much to her disgust.

Diana hugged her tightly. "Baby, I think they love you very much, and they have probably realized that you're very, very smart. They didn't fully understand about your true intellect, but I think they were receiving mixed signals from you. I suspect your intelligence slipped through on occasion, whether you realized it or not. Then you would change and act like a little girl again. They didn't know what to do with you. Now, suddenly, you're entirely different and no longer hiding your true self from them. I know you've been talking to them a lot on the phone recently. Those conversations with you being yourself were probably a shock to them."

"Yes, My Queen. I decided to no longer use the child persona with them. They were rather surprised when I talked with them on the phone."

Diana smiled at the six-year-old. Yes, I imagine they were, the Queen thought as she kissed Selina's cheek and stood.

They were almost back to the classroom when, "Mmmeeeooww. Mmmeeeooww. Mmmeeeooww. Mmmeeeooww..."

A tiny ball of fur came bounding around the corner of the hallway and started toward them. "How did you get out of our suite, Billy?" Selina asked as she knelt.

When the cat reached the kneeling child, he jumped into her arms. As Selina stood with the kitten, she addressed Diana, "Do you think Doctor Boswell would mind if Billy visited for a few minutes?"

"I think a short visit would be okay with her, but you must ask her permission. And remember, there isn't a litter box in there."

"Thank you, My Queen. I shall ask her permission." Smiling, Selina opened the door and went into the classroom with her pet.

FBI OFFICE, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Grigsby had been called to Whatley's office. (Whatley — Atlanta SAC. Grigsby — the second in command.) Grigsby set a cup of black coffee on Whatley's desk, then took a seat as he sipped from his own cup.

"Thanks," Whatley said, picking up the coffee and taking a swallow. "Crap, it's hot," he blurted, blowing on the beverage.

Grigsby relaxed and crossed his legs. "So, is my idea going to fly?"

"I think I burned my tongue," Whatley complained, touching the end of his tongue with a fingertip.

"Yeah, the coffee is freshly made. I had to wait for it to finish."

The SAC got down to business. "I have just gotten off the phone with the hospital administrator. I asked about using one of the VIP suites when Hanes leaves SICU. He thinks that would actually make things easier on hospital personnel. We both know that security would be a nightmare with Hanes in one of the regular rooms. The suite, on the other hand, has a patient room, a bedroom and a fair-sized sitting room. The way the suite is situated at the end of a hall will also make it a lot more practical security-wise. In the ICU, there were nurses, doctors and patients' families going in and out of the unit. Not only did we have to post two agents at the main door of the unit, we had to have an agent in the room with Hanes, as well. With the VIP suite, only the nurses, doctors and other personnel directly associated with Hanes will need access to the suite. A whole hell of a lot less people to worry about. Not only will we possibly save a little on personnel time, but the administrator is going to give us a discount for the suite. Truth be told, I think he is very pleased to get us out of that intensive care unit."

"What did he say about the nurses?"

"Those two will get the same pay either way, and the ICU patient census is down at the moment, so losing a couple of nurses for a while won't hurt the unit. Hanes still needs IV antibiotics, pain meds, etc., but all of that can be handled anywhere in the hospital now that he isn't critical anymore. The doctor was going to move him to a med-surg floor today, anyway. Also, the beginning of his physical therapy can be done in the suite. The administrator hinted at a pretty big favor. I had to pull some strings, but I got it done for him. Now, he owes me and he knows it."

They were quiet for a moment as both men thought, then, "You have had far more contact with the nurses than I have, so if you think they are the two we need, I'll leave it to you to get the ball rolling. If they agree, let me know and I'll inform the administrator." Whatley sighed. "As you're aware, Hanes has to be one hundred percent in six months, or he'll be forcibly retired on disability. He's facing a lot of physical therapy before he's back up to speed. He almost died to save that girl, and we are not going to let him down on his rehabilitation. The Bureau has had several widely publicized fuckups lately, but what Hanes did in that room to save her will provide some badly-needed, good PR for us. That said, this is still going to cost a shitload of money in personnel time to protect him, and the hospital administrator reminded me that Hanes will need to go to an extended care facility when he leaves the hospital. It scares me to even think about security at one of those places. The hospital used an alias for Hanes on their records, as is their standard procedure for their patients involved in violent crimes. But all it would take for someone to find him would be to walk through the hospital. Once they saw the two agents sitting outside SICU with that metal detector..."

"Well, according to Stevens, both nurses had tears in their eyes about losing Hanes as a patient. Those young ladies are sharp, and I like them. If they agree to do this, we'll have to back up and punt. It's obvious that Hanes is going to need some help after he leaves the hospital. With a hip and a shoulder damaged, not to even mention the kidney operation, he's not going to be able to function on his own for quite a while. We'll see. I'll get on this as soon as I leave here."

Chuckling, Whatley dismissed Grigsby with his ritual goodbye: "Then get the hell out of my office and let me get to work."

"You must be talking to yourself, 'cause I'm gone," Grigsby said, as he tossed his empty Styrofoam cup in the trash and walked out the door.

Grigsby spent an hour with the first detailed debriefing of the injured baby agent. By that time, Art Hanes' eyes were drooping. Bobby put a gentle hand on Grigsby's shoulder. "I know what you're doing is important, but Mr. Hanes needs his rest. Could you please continue later today?"

"Yeah. Sorry," Grigsby said. After telling Hanes that he (Grigsby) would check on him later in the day, the ASAC motioned for Bobby to follow him. Outside the room, he turned to her. "I need to talk with you and your sister, and we need a few minutes in private where we won't be interrupted by your having to take care of patients."

"You look serious," Bobby said, worrying it was a complaint.

"Look, we really need an answer right away. I've spoken with your charge nurse, and she says you can take your lunch break anytime you wish, and if we need more time, she'll take care of your patients until you get back. And stop worrying, I just need to talk with both you and Sandra at the same time. When do you think your sister can be here?"

What is he talking about? He has complimented us to our charge nurses and our unit manager. What does he want? Aloud she said, "I rented a room here last night, and Sandra is sleeping there now. Let me call and wake her. If it's okay with you, we can stop by the cafeteria and pick up some food, then go to the room to talk."

Grigsby hesitated.

"Come on Mr. FBI man. Are you afraid to be alone with two women?"

"I would rather..."

Bobby interrupted. "I need to eat, and Sandra is asleep one floor up and a few hundred feet down the hall. We work opposite shifts, as you know, and we've both lost sleep lately. That's the best I can offer. If you have a complaint..."

"No, no," Grigsby hastened to answer.

"Then I promise not to rape you," Bobby said, her eyes sparkling with amusement, "but you're on your own with Sandra. She's not going to be in the best mood in the world when I wake her," Bobby finished, laughing. Then turning serious, "What's this about?"

"Your patient."

"Okay, let me check with my charge nurse, then I'll wake Sandra."

When Grigsby and Bobby left the cafeteria, Bobby was holding two Styrofoam containers, while Grigsby held a third, plus a tray with three drinks.

"You didn't have to pay for our lunches," Bobby said as they stepped into the elevator.

Grigsby chuckled as Bobby pressed the floor button. "Well, if I buy your lunches, the FBI will pay for all three when I turn in my expenses. I guess you could say I'm taking my clients out to lunch; besides, with your discount..."

When the door opened and they got off, Grigsby followed as Bobby turned to the right and continued down the hall. "It's this way," she directed, then continued with, "The hospital went to a catering service for our patients' food. That lasted for three years or so, and was probably saving the hospital some money, but we had so many complaints from patients and their families about the lousy food that administration caved, brought a chef in, and went back to hospital personnel preparing the food."

"So the patients get the same food we're eating?"

"Well, unless the patient's doctor has him or her on a restricted diet of some kind. Even if that's so, the food is so much better than that damn catered stuff. Sorry, but we all hated that crap."

Bobby stopped at a door. "Let me peek in and make sure she's dressed." She swiped the key card and eased the door open a crack, stuck her head in for a second, then pushed the door open. "Come on in. She's dressed."

Bobby and Sandra hugged. "Take the chair. Sandra and I will sit on the bed while we eat," Bobby said. "Now, what's this all about?"

With Sandra at the head of the bed and Bobby at the foot, they rolled Art Hanes' hospital bed down the hallway toward the elevators. Two agents preceded them and two took up the rear, with Grigsby following. "This feels really odd," Hanes complained.

"Why?" Bobby asked.

"'Why?'" he repeated. "I'm wearing a hospital gown that is open down the back, and all I have covering me is a sheet." He hesitated as two women and a man, obviously looking for a patient's room, walked by going in the opposite direction. Art waited as the nurses negotiated a corner with his bed, then, "I feel like everyone we meet is staring at me."

Both nurses laughed. "And how many times have you been in a hospital and seen someone pass by on a hospital bed, and ... not thought a thing about it?"

"Well ... I've only been in a hospital a few times in my life, but I guess I didn't pay much attention. Still, it's me this time, and it's kinda like having strangers walk through your bedroom, or something."

"This is the fourth time you've done this," Sandra said. "Once as you went to Surgery — of course you were unconscious then. The second time was when you left Surgery to go to Recovery. The third time as you were brought from Recovery to SICU, then this time."

"Yeah, but this is the first time I've been fully conscious out in the hallways, and I feel like a fool."

They had to wait at the elevators while two of the agents went to the fourth floor to make sure everything was safe. Shortly, all of them were back together moving down the long hall toward the VIP suite.

One agent held the door open as the women pushed the bed through, then on past the sitting room with its couch that folded out into a bed and a recliner that made a second bed. The men stood aside as the nurses expertly maneuvered the bed around corners until it was parallel and against the bed in the patient room.