13 Degrees of Separation (16 page)

“Thank
you for the loan offer, but the Navy is picking up the tab so that isn't an
issue,” she smiled politely.

“I
see,” he said, grinding his teeth ever so slightly. He'd hoped to be the
guarantor of the loan, using the equipment as collateral. If then something
say,
unfortunate
happened, then he or his associates would get the
equipment. That ploy was obviously out. “So, no talking you out of letting us
help the Navy out in this instance?” he asked. “I know their coffers aren't
bottomless, even though they sometimes seem that way...”

She
eyed him and then smiled politely. “No, this is something we as Federal
employees need to take on. The resurrection projects are something the admiral
charged my department with before his... departure.”

“If you
do hear from the admiral, please inform him I or my firm would gladly represent
him in any court proceedings, gratis of course. He's done so much for this
system. It's a pity he has left.”

“Yes,”
Thornby replied, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. The man pulled that off with
his usual charm, but she knew better. “I'll pass that on, if he ever does
return. I doubt it. From what I understand he has no intention of doing so.”

“Oh?”
Roland shook his head. “Such a pity.”

“Yes.
But if and when he does settle, I'm sure he will keep in touch. Are we
finished?” She asked pointedly, giving the insurance adjuster a look telling
him he'd better be.

The man
looked up from his clipboard and nodded.

“All
right then, let's get out of this young Marines rather short hair and back
where we belong,” the doctor said, waving to the Marine carefully watching
them. She smiled politely to the young man. “Private Fonzarelli right?” the
young man nodded. “What platoon?” she asked, making conversation.

“Recon
ma'am,” he replied proudly, puffing his chest out a bit.

She
smiled. “Good. I hear it is the best. Keep it up young man,” she said, seeing
Roland's flash of annoyance and jealousy.

“I'll
try Commander.”

“If you
see Valenko, tell him and Jethro they still owe me lunch,” she said, as they
passed him.

Fonz's
eyes briefly widened and then he nodded. “I'll do that ma'am,” he replied,
straightening.

The
doctor smiled to the heavy worlder Asazi standing outside the hatch. “Well, I'm
glad that's settled,” she said.

Roland
glanced at his gold watch, “It's a little early for lunch but...”

Thornby
frowned and instantly triggered her implants to get an emergency call so she
could back out of the unwanted dinner date. The lights flickered. “Doctor
Thornby, you are wanted in the central ER,” Smithy's voice said over the
intercom.

The
insurance adjuster, Marines, and attorney looked up and then to the doctor..
Thornby frowned and then sighed theatrically. “A doctor's work is never done.”

Roland
made a moue. “Perhaps some other time then,” he said bowing to her slightly.
She smiled politely and left at a trot, relieved the ploy had worked.

...*...*...*...*...

Later
that evening, the good attorney put a call in to a friend. It was an expensive
call, but he wrote it off as official business. He made certain to apply the
necessary encryption as well as secure his office. “Paul,” he said, smiling to
the image on the screen.

“Governor
Walker, Roland,” Paul Walker replied, eyes narrowed. “At least in public, or
using public channels,” he warned.

Roland
smiled politely. “Well, these are secure systems,” he said. “And this is a bit
of a heads up. You'll never guess what our dear doctor Thornby has been up to.
And what she's got. Some rather expensive projects...”

When he
tapered off with a smile Walker sat back and knitted his fingers together. “Oh?
Tell me more. I've got a few minutes,” he said, glancing away briefly.

“Well
then, since you have the spare time,” the attorney said and then started laying
out everything the doctor had been up to.

...*...*...*...*...

“How do
we play this?” Walker mused after he terminated the conversation with Roland.
Roland was a politician, obviously passing the little tid bit on and expecting
Walker to pay him back with a favor later on. At least he knew which side to
back, Walker thought. He needed something to help his slipping poll numbers or
he'd be in trouble come re-election time. His constant feud with the Navy was
dragging him down.

“Sir,
um...” Nelson squirmed.

“Spit
it out, I didn't hire you to waste my time Nelson,” the Governor said, eying
the aide.

“Sir,
if you go with the usual attack modis, it might backfire since this is
humanitarian in nature. Doctor Thornby is also very popular with her free
medical clinics and basic first aid training...”

“Another
black eye,” the Governor replied, tapping a finger against his lips.

“And
she is technically a member of the cabinet sir.”

“She
is,” he murmured. Thornby could be trusted to be absent unless something
medical in nature was on the agenda. She rarely left the Anvil station as of
late. Now he knew why.

“Sir,
if we instead backed the project, we could get an in there. You won't get your
hands on the equipment, but perhaps some of the data, and of course the public
good will...”

“Which
would be wasted on Thornby,” Walker replied. Slowly he rocked back and forth in
his chair.

“She
won't take it sir, most likely she'll say thanks but no thanks. But putting
yourself out there will look good in the long run, and if she does take a few
things, you can lean on her later.”

“You're
talking about getting her on the hook and then reeling her in slowly. We do
need her support, and I want someone better than that quack Oro. Witch doctor,
that's what my wife calls him,” Walker frowned.

“Doctor
Oro is the best we can get sir, none of the Anvil staff have bitten, no matter
what incentive we've offered.”

“None
of them? Well, perhaps we can change that. Let's see what we can do to grab...
I mean assert our proper place in the political credit for this endeavor. It's
a long term project right?” The aide nodded. “Right,” the Governor said. “So we
can use that. I wouldn't mind taking it from the Navy. It's not their responsibility
anyway.”

“Yes
sir,” Nelson replied, bobbing a nod.

“At the
very least we can get her to shit or get off the pot as far as the cabinet is
concerned. If she makes an ass of herself I'll be justified in firing her. So,
let's see what we can wring out of this and the proper way to do it to maximize
our benefits while minimizing our outlay...”

...*...*...*...*...

“What
the hell is he playing at?” Thornby demanded. She'd seen the news cast as well
as the public press conference where the dear Governor had waxed about the
projects, and how he was personally pledging to help with them for humanitarian
reasons. The clapping from the audience when he had finished had given her
mixed feelings. His talk of how the best medics in the system hadn't flattered her
as he'd intended. Nor had his statement that they will be having meetings about
the projects amuse her in the slightest.

“Politics
as usual?” Doctor Standish asked.

“Yeah,
well, he can butt out. We don't need his kind of help. They come with strings
attached,” Doctor Thornby growled.

“What
does he want? Have you asked?”

“I'm
wondering the same thing. Roland tried to get his slimy hands on the
equipment.”

“Why do
we need that anyway doc, can't we make it?”

“Not
without the admiral,” Thornby replied patiently. “Some of it, no. It's one of a
kind. I'm not even certain he can make it. The admiral didn't have medical
codes so... I doubt it.”

“Oh.”

“So
what is Walker up to?”

“Publicity?
Do you think he wants the good public relations?” Smithy asked. “To buffer his
low poll ratings?”

Doctor
Thornby looked up to the ceiling and then over to the AI's avatar. “It could
be. I'm guessing Roland or someone on his staff spilled the beans and violated
patient confidentiality.”

“You
didn't spell out what you wanted doctor in the plastic surgeries, or why, but I
think between that and the refugees it's pretty obvious. I am actually
surprised he's taking a kid glove approach to that. It's odd.”

“I was
wondering that myself. He's gone about attacking the Navy on every front,
either with frontal attacks or subtle jabs and power grab attempts... this
isn't his style.”

“Or not
his established pattern. He's changed tactics. More carrot and less stick.”

“More
bees with honey you mean?” Smithy asked.

“He's
building gratitude, okay, I get that,” Thornby replied. “And who ever taught
you expressions like that...” she tisked tisked. The AI spread his hands making
her smile.

“Sorry
doctor, I may have picked some of that up from Io or Sprite.”

“Io?”
Doctor Standish asked. “The ship?”

“Io the
AI. A daughter AI of Sprite. Long story,” Smithy replied waving a dismissive
hand. He turned to the two doctors. “How else can I help you here doctors?”

“I
think you two are right, he's playing nice. Either to cozen me, or to build
something so he can draw a favor later. I don't know. What I don't like is how
he did it publicly. I can't snap his head off over it.”

“True.”

“And
he's involving the system medical officer thing too,” Doctor Standish replied,
shaking his head. “I thought that was you doc?”

Thornby
frowned. “It's a political appointment. I've been sitting on it and wearing
that hat along with others, but I'm not a politician. I'm a hands on kind of
gal,” she said.

Doctor
Standish chuckled. “You mean you haven't sunk that low into politics,” he
teased.

“That
too,” the doctor said with a slight smile tugging at her lips.

“So, is
he buttering you up for that, or trying to get you to resign? Or what?”

“He
could want a doctor on his staff,” Standish said absently. “I heard a few
people were asked about it,” he said. “His wife doesn't like doctor Oro.”

“Oh?”
Thornby asked with a cooling tone, raising an eyebrow.

“Receiving
unsolicited job offers isn't a crime doctor,”  Smithy replied.

“No,
but if he leans on any of my people, or tries to blackmail them into
quitting...” Thornby replied growling.

“I
cannot get into details, there is a privacy issue there. You will have to speak
with the recipients if they come forward,” The AI replied.

The
doctor frowned ferociously. She started to demand the list of names but thought
better of it and settled down. She realized that the AI would balk on giving
her that list so it was pointless to ask. She would however put her own feelers
out there. She'd been so wrapped up in this project she'd failed to keep an eye
on the larger picture.

“He has
a medical staff. None of my people, but they are there.”

“Yes,
that's just it. Your people have the best training, the best equipment, the
best access to said equipment and facilities.”

“That's
not my fault. They can sign up for the college to train. Or apply for an
internship here,” she replied defensively. “Or with the Navy.”

“We
also have the exchange program, and the medical library,” Doctor Standish
interjected. “We now make all medical data available to all medical staff on
all the colonies,” he said nodding firmly.

“So
they have the knowledge available, but not the skills.”

“As the
Governor, he deserves the best medical care.”

Thornby
frowned. “Look Smithy, I know you're playing devil's advocate here, but he
already get's medical care. The same as everyone else. Probably a bump or two
above in grade, but we'll leave it at that. Having an entire hospital for his
high and mighty is a bit extreme. We need to provide for everyone, not throw a
lot of resources at one person and have it sitting there while it could be used
elsewhere,” she growled.

“True.”

“Glad
you agree.”

“But
having a medic on staff would be like having a spy in camp.”

“No, I
wouldn't open up a person to that kind of ethical problem,” Thornby said,
shaking her head. “No. We can figure something else out.”

“Besides,
we don't need his help. His offer of space is misplaced. Ssilli in a moon
colony like Vesta? Are you kidding me?” Doctor Standish demanded with a snort.
That got Thornby to settle down as she pictured that. Slowly she shook her
head.

“You
know, we can release images of the ensign in his habitat inside San Diego. With
his permission of course. That would put that plan on its' head. The
Malekian...” She shrugged.

Doctor
Martel looked up from what she'd been reading. She'd largely stayed out of the
political discussion, sitting on the sideline in her seat and doing her best to
pretend she wasn't there. She cleared her throat and held up her tablet as the
others looked to her.