The Redemption of Arania

[Just Old Al]

Al was headed back to the AHI plant. Today had been a damn annoying day, and he was tempted to just stay home and lie down – but that wasn’t going to happen. He had the reports to get out, the sample sections from MIB to work through, the repairs in the front shop and the centaur hand weapon work Greg wanted to argue through.

Sigh. He needed a day out – maybe Daisy would like to go back to London for a day, or perhaps the Greek Isles.

His phone connection rang on the car’s panel – not a number he recognized. He touched the accept button, and got a loud connection – Diesel engines, people shouting, and Greg in the middle of it going “Hello, AL – Can you hear me?”

“Yes, Greg – what is Hades is going on? I can barely hear you for the noise. Where are you?”

“Building 2. There’s been an emergency – major radiation leak. It’s contained, but there was a casualty. Ari just got taken away by the paramedics.”

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?”

“Sample 24 from the shipment yesterday went bad in a big way. Ari went in dressed in your rad suit. Got the sample contained and contained the leakage as well. There’s a minor amount still on the floor but nothing that can’t be dealt with.”

“WHY IS SHE A CASUALTY! TALK TO ME, DAMNIT!”

“Supplied air – she didn’t turn it on. She got the sample contained, got the containment locked down to where the room could be entered safely, exited the clean room and went down cold. By that time I’d locked through into the clean room (which is going to need to be recertified) and saw her go down – got her helmet off and she revived. I thought it was the radiation…that would have been it for her.

Both of us ended up in the rad shower – her for the contamination, me for handling her suit. This phone is borrowed – I’m glad you picked it up. Mine is done. Al, that girl’s got solid brass cohones – she jumped in and went for it where anyone else would have been pissing themselves.”

“I know – believe me I know. I’m going to let you go – I need to call MIB. This situation is intolerable, and I am tired of being their garbage dump. Clear.”

Al touched the Vanquish’s panel and said “Brandi Oduya – office” The phone connection burred once, then twice, then Brandi’s secretary picked up.

“Director Oduya’s office – can I help you?”

“This is Al Richer – Richer Engineering. Please ask Director Oduya if she can speak with me – there is a matter of serious import I need to speak to her on.”

“One moment please.”

Al pressed the accelerator down and then backed off. Greg had the situation in hand – taking the Vanquish to speed would not save anything and would likely end him in jail. The phone clicked, and Brandi picked up.

“Al, hi! What’s up – it sounded serious.”

“Director Oduya, twice – TWICE in the past 48 hours there has been an emergency in my facility because of sloppy work on the part of your technical types. TWICE.”

Al went on to detail the issues of the first problem and the results of it – leaving out the sphinx issues, and then hit his stride on describing the second.

“I was out of the facility dealing with a problem in Maple Grove and the containment on a highly radioactive sample shipped in yesterday went spectacularly bad. My chief of security went in on it, and secured both the defective sample and the mess it left in the original containment. In the process she was subjected to the radiation level in the room, and a short-term but high dose when she swapped the containment and locked everything down. She is on the way to the hospital as we speak – and the ONLY, ONLY reason that this is not a bigger disaster is because of the fast thinking of someone who is “just” a low level security person.”

“Gods, Al…The hazmat people are on the way – the real ones – and they’ll be at the facility in a half hour. MIB doctors will be at the hospital to deal with your employee.”

“Two things, Ms. Director. I want this cleaned up, and cleaned up now. Secondarily, my facility is closed to all hazardous materials until I see a report from MIB that they have reviewed and dealt with their containment protocols and packaging procedures for same. This is simply intolerable, and if I have to stop working with MIB to protect my employees I will consider doing so – am I understood?”

“Perfectly. The irradiated materials in the room and the containments will be replaced and the facility repaired. Your employee will receive the best care we can give – and you know how good that is. You also have my personal assurance that the procedures will be modified – this is simply unacceptable.

I also completely understand and concur with your stance on the hazardous materials. I will have all of the materials currently at your facility withdrawn and inspected before they are returned – and this will never happen again. I will…personally… see to it.”

Someone was in serious trouble... Al recognized that tone of voice…

“I’m at the plant – I will check back in with you if anything is needed. Brandi, you really need to clean your house – this is going to get someone killed – and I don’t want it to be me or one of mine.”

“Understood, Al. Odyua out.”

[Just Old Al]

One more phone call, then out.

Al touched the Vanquish's panel again and said "Daisy". The burr noise soudned, then a cheery, "Hi - how are your ribs?"

"My ribs are not the problem - you'll likely hear this from Buck in a few minutes, but there's been an emergency at 2. Radiation leak - contained - but Ari got hurt."

"WHAT?"

Yes. I need you at whatever hospital they're taking her to - check with AHI medical. The MIB doctors are on their way - this was their damned fault and they are going to by damn fix it or there will be hell to pay. I need you to make damned sure the kid gets everything she needs to get better - Can you do that?"

"Yes. I'll get two-legs and get there ASAP. Take your phone - I'll check in as soon as the doctors have seen her and we know what's going on."

"Love you - thanks - this kid is special to me - don't know why."

"You mean other than the fact that she tried to roll your bones - then gnaw them? I can't POSSIBLY understand why. " The slight bit of sarcasm was welcome - if Daisy could joke she was on the job.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Al hung up and exited the car. This was turning into a Very Bad Day....

[jwhouk]

---

Arania could hear the beeping - the infernal beeping of some machine, located just to her right.

She was alive - thank the gods - but she wasn't alone.

She heard the murmuring.

"...don't even recognize her. Looks like someone from management, or the main office..."

"...You hear about all the government types who were in here? Looked like an FBI reunion..."

"...What time you have to be back to Target? My afternoon shift starts at two..."

Oh, for crying out loud, they were worried about their jobs...

"Not... not even... a hello... to me?..." she squeaked out.

Their voices stopped. She dared to open her eyes. She was in a hospital room - typical off-white; and she was attached to some machine that was monitoring her vitals.

"Ari!" one of them - Dreyali, it sounds like - squealed out.

"Drey - be careful!" the other voice - Morbidia - called out. "They still don't know what kind of radiation she was exposed to!"

She looked up - and into the face of Dreyali. Her sister...

"Hey," she said, gasping a bit. "You... you look... like hell..."

"You don't look much better, Ari," she replied with a half-smile. "Docs say that you nearly asphyxiated yourself at work..."

"Oh... is that... what they... call it..." Her throat didn't feel like she'd been choked - but she was still woozy.

"You also got a really high dose of radiation from whatever you were working with - why didn't you tell us you were working at a government lab?" Mori added, sidling up carefully to the other side.

"It... it was... a stupid... security... job..." Ari got out. She couldn't keep her eyes open more than a little bit at a time, but she could see that Morbidia looked different, too.

Both of them. They looked... worn down. Distracted. Defeated.

"Well, maybe you should consider something less dangerous," Drey added. "Mor and I can't be coming over here to Abbott Northwestern to visit ya all the time."

"Hey, just so you know - we got the car back from the body shop yesterday. They had to use nearly half of another wrecked car to replace stuff, but they did it." Mor looked over at Drey. "And hopefully we didn't park in a no-parking zone again like we did last time we came up here to visit."

"That wasn't my fault!" Drey argued. "I didn't see the handicap sign on the ground; it was covered with snow!"

"How... how long have... I been out?" Ari asked, getting a little bit of her bearings back.

"You've been in here for about a week now, on AHI's dime - or so it sounds," Mori said. "No one's given us any other info, even though we told them who we were."

"Probably... don't trust you..." she replied.

"DON'T TRUST...?" Ari was stunned. "What do you MEAN? We're your SISTERS, Ari!"

"It's complicated... Those who I work for... don't trust people... for a living..." She explained.

"Hmph. Fine," Mori motioned to Drey. "We need to get going off to work." The two of them turned to head out.

"Be well, sister - if, of course, you still are our sister..." Drey said as they walked out of the room.

Arania lay her head back on the pillow. Idiots, she thought. Why I ever let them talk me into challenging her over...

Suddenly, her head started to throb. She tried to finish her thought: challenging... challenging who? What was I doing? Who was I? Where was I...

She fell into a deep sleep.

[FreeFlier]

So the conditioning is wearing thin . . . or is being phased out by . . . higher?

--FreeFlier

[jwhouk]

So the conditioning is wearing thin . . . or is being phased out by . . . higher?

--FreeFlier

No Bieber.

[Just Old Al]

The atmosphere in the alcove was tense. Al sat in his usual spot, with Daisy and Buck in the wing chairs – which had been pulled up close to the table and couch.

Buck spoke, underlining his thoughts again for the third or fourth time. “Al, you have to understand our point of view here. Over and above the fact that she violated protocol for the emergency, she damn-near killed herself by not turning on that supply bottle. If she hadn’t made it out of that room she wouldn’t have made it at all.”

Al spoke up angrily. “If she hadn’t done what she did, you know as well as I do what a hideous mess we’d have had. The whole of Building 2 and its environs would have been a polluted mess for the next 25,000 years or so, and AHI would be out of business. Would you prefer that to her protocol violation?”

Daisy added her thoughts. “Love, to be honest you have to admit she’s wasted working for you as a security guard. She’s a bright kid, and deserves a lot more than AHI can offer her. You said yourself that she’s done a fantastic job for you as a facility manager – she’s kept track of things while you did your work. AHI can’t offer her this position – she hasn’t got the education or the background to qualify for the position with AHI’s job descriptions. We can’t give her the opportunities she needs to grow.”

“Neither of us likes it, but it’s got to be done. Trust me. Momma and I don’t like this plan at all and wish there was any way around this – but it’s got to be done, and you have to do it.”

Al nodded. “I know. It galls me to say it, but she can’t continue in that position with AHI much as I’d prefer it if she did. Very well – are those the papers?”

Buck handed him two folders. “Here's the AHI termination papers, along with a check for a month’s pay and what benefits she’d accumulated. Hopefully it’s in order.”

“I’ll check them both before I meet with her tomorrow. I’ve already set an appointment for it in her calendar.”

[Just Old Al]

Arania stepped into her office. She’d been back a week or so, and frankly glad to be back to work. Sitting in the hospital once she’d woken up had been boring as Hades, and the few days she’d been home even worse. The fact that AHI was covering everything including full pay was a really big help, though – she was able to keep up with everything and still think about buying a car.

Even the Bieb hadn’t been any help – she was getting kinda tired of his repetitious lyrics and monotonous beat.

She hung up her coat, and went to the key locker to get her equipment. Ever since having to dive into the back lab when that container let go she’d been particularly careful of getting her dosimeter and the test strips for gases and such she was supposed to wear. Things were better now – she’d heard from the mechanics on the floor that Al read MIB the riot act over what happened to her – and threatened to break ties with them if they didn’t get their act together.

Back at her desk she keyed up her email, and received an appointment. Al – 10:AM – Status. That was weird – they usually did daily status over coffee when he wandered in about 9. Why an appointment?

Ari had a horrible feeling. Since she’d discovered that she keeled over due to her own mistake of not activating the suit’s supplied-air bottle during the emergency she’d had a horrible feeling that they were going to talk to her about it.

Looked like today was the day.

She spent the next two hours in an agony of nervousness. She couldn’t focus, and what little work she had to do was done in thirty minutes or so. There was nothing in her inbox to be handled either, which was another indication of her fate.

To make it worse Al came in, dressed in what he called his “manager” suit. He went straight to his office, not stopping to examine the goings-on on the floor as he usually did. The lights went on in the office, and that was it – the blinds over the windows stayed drawn.

The minutes ticked by, till at 9:56 she got up, and feeling like a condemned man walked the steps to the door of the office. She knocked, and Al called “Come In!”

She walked in, and as directed sat in the chair in front of the desk. Al, looking massively uncomfortable, looked at her over his steepled fingers.

“Ari, it pains me to have to tell you that you are being terminated by AHI from the security position you are in. I have your papers here, and you will be done in that position at the time you sign them.

You are not being let go for cause – it is more because of the way you handled the emergency. AHI management believes that hiring you for a security guard was a serious mistake on their part and they feel the need to rectify that mistake.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“What the Hades did I DO? I solved the problem, and put myself in the hospital doing it. WHY do I deserve to get fired for that? It’s not fair!”

Looking hideously uncomfortable Al reiterated “You are not being dismissed for cause. This is not punishment, and should anyone ever call here for you for a reference then you will get an excellent one. That is all I can tell you.”

The next ten minutes were spent signing forms and letters on the termination paperwork. Through it all, Ari angrily kept herself under rigid control – refusing to let that Brit bastard behind the desk see her cry. Screw him and his job – she’d do fine without it.

Then, it was done. Al took Ari’s copies of the paperwork and put them into a manila folder, gathering AHI’s copies into another folder and putting them into an interoffice confidential envelope.

Al sat back in his chair. “Now, Ari – what are you going to do moving forward?”

She sat dully, looking at the floor. “Move back in with my sisters, I guess. I’ll need to find another job, and the check you gave me won’t stretch too far.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that will be necessary.” With a flourish Al handed a folder across his desk.

Ari flipped it open. On Richer Engineering letterhead read the following letter:

To: Arania Wardoff:
From: Allan Richer – CEO Richer Engineering:
Subject: Employment Offer:

Richer Engineering is pleased to be able to offer you the position of office manager for our Building 2 facility, position to begin immediately…

The listing of benefits was as good or better than those available at AHI, and the vacation and compensation approximately double that she was getting as the security officer.

When she looked back across the desk Al was grinning broadly.

“Let me explain what happened here. It was obvious to all concerned that you were massively overqualified to be a security guard. The problem was that you did not have the qualifications on paper either educationally or through job experience to do what you were doing.

Because of that, you could not stay with AHI and grow. There was also, honestly, the matter of the emergency. You saved the day, but you damn-near killed yourself doing it. It was the right move at the time, but AHI can’t be seen encouraging that type of dive-in-damn-the-protocols attitude in an emergency.”

Ari nodded. “What else is there?”

“Perceptive. To be honest you are the first office manager/personal assistant I have ever hired. I’ve hired many mechanics like Smokey and John down on the floor – but never a manager. I had to be strong-armed into this and tried as hard as I could to keep you on AHI’s payroll – but this was the only way we could get this to work. It was not that I didn’t want you working for me – gods forbid – but I hate having anything between me and direct control of my business. I hate having to reply on other people – but at my age it’s about time I start to.

Also, to be honest, the backing on this was not all positive. Ms. Alexander is still none too comfortable about me having you as an assistant – I think the whole attack thing is still in her mind. Just be aware of it. “

Ari nodded again. This was going to require a light step at least until Ms. Alexander got used to her being Al’s assistant.

“Your title is office manager – this does not mean that this will be your only duty. You are going to be my majordomo – you get to run the day to day items so that Greg and I can concentrate on the engineering in both the front and back shops. You’ll handle scheduling, ordering, customers, reports to the boys in the suits and everything else. I am going to work you till you’re sick of me, and then work you some more.”

“So, interested?”

“Got a pen?” When Al presented his Cross pen, she signed the offer letter with a flourish, and handed it back over the desk.

“Very well, then. “ Al was now all business. “Go back to the locker room, change and turn in your uniforms to the security office here on campus. After that, come back and you’re going to spend the rest of the day filling out paperwork to get you benefits and deal with all the employment aspects. I’ll have to re-apply for your security clearance, but that should be little more than a formality.

The office here at the back is yours – get with AHI Facilities and see what’s available for furniture. With luck they’ll have some nice antique furniture from the main offices available – tell them I asked for it so the suite stayed matched.”

Al walked around the desk and held out his hand. “Welcome aboard, Ms. Wardoff. I hope you’ll be happy here.”

[FreeFlier]

Ah so . . . a convenience-of-the-government discharge.

For those that don't know, you cannot be promoted from enlisted to officer (at least in the US military) . . . so if that becomes desirable, the person is given a discharge for (or at) "the convenience of the government", then commissioned. So they didn't commission an enlisted person, they commissioned a civilian.

--FreeFlier

[jwhouk]

---
Ari dove in to her new role, relishing every challenge that came her way. She had Richer Engineering running at peak efficiency within a week; Al's schedule was set so that he could take on projects and yet still have time to sit back and argue with Greg about things like Lanthian artifacts, gunsmith metallurgy, and the baffling question of Joe Mauer's seeming batting woes for the Twins.

Okay, maybe that was her personal issue; she had a thing for Mauer's looks.

As she had worked at aligning everything, from inventory to projects to accounting, she noticed that she was relying less and less on her "Bieber fix" – and, for some reason, she was becoming accustomed to the eclectic rock music selection that Al routinely played over the speaker system in the plant. There were a few times where she'd had to ask some of the line workers – or even Al himself – what exactly a particular song was.

There was one in particular that had intrigued her: "Heart Like A Wheel". The refrain – "Let me roll it, let me roll it to you…" had been a joke between her and the guys on the floor when they had teased her about a milled steel roll that had been delivered for a framing project. It was actually a compliment; the foreman had issues trying to get the rolls moved, and she had simply given them a nudge. The roll had done exactly as advertised – but also found its way exactly to where it was needed in the plant.

When they started serenading her with the song, she did some digging around into the band's music catalog. She ended up playing Wings songs as constantly as she'd been a Bieber-holic. Pretty soon, all of Richer Engineering had taken to calling her the "Wings Woman."

By mid-spring, she'd earned the nickname "Wing Woman" – and, at the Memorial Day picnic at the Alexander Estate, she clinched the title by winning the buffalo wing eating contest.

[jwhouk]

A Few Months Later…

"Okay, just one more signature here, Miss Wardoff… and, thank you very much! Here's the keys to your Mustang – please remember, you do have a lot of horsepower under the hood…"

Arania chuckled a bit at that comment, but gladly took the keys. She had worked hard and long for Richer Engineering since her "new hire" back in January, and this little GT had caught her eye the moment she'd seen it on the lot at Twin Cities Ford. It was an "executive driven" model – a 2015 with a bit under 10k miles already on it – but it was in the perfect shade of blue and white.

And she'd read all about that lovely 5.0 engine under the hood. Taking it out onto American Boulevard, she had to keep herself from flooring it.

She'd thought about buzzing past the old Abbott Apartments, or seeing if the two girls were working at the store or Starbucks. Those thoughts, however, quickly disappeared. She hadn't seen Drey and Mori in months, and for some odd reason – she didn't feel the need to see them.

On a whim, she tapped on the center GPS console. She knew exactly who she wanted to show off the car to – and she also knew where she'd likely find them. Only problem was, she didn't know where this place was located.

"Find Minneapolis coffee house Mucho Mocha," she said, holding the button down on her steering wheel. The center readout pointed to a place that appeared to be near Franklin and Lyndale, just east of Uptown.

Heh, my old neck of the woods, she thought as she guided the 'Stang onto I-494. She got the car up to speed, and surprised even herself at the pickup of the V-8. This almost feels like flying, she thought. Glad I got those vanity plates…

The Mustang took the cloverleaf onto I-35W North into Minneapolis with ease. Most of the traffic which she was easily passing only saw a brief look at said plate:

WNG WMN.

[jwhouk]

"…But what I don't think you truly understand, Sargent, is that we are experiencing a dearth of qualified centaurs, none of whom would actually want to try to fire the bloody thing…"

BARRROOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM…

The air outside Tina's shop was shaken by the sound of the rumbling engine.

"Heck was that?" Greg asked, looking out the window with curiosity.

"I don't rightly…" Al tilted his head, then chuckled. "I do believe that my majordomo made good on her threat she made the day I hired her." He rose, motioning Greg to join him.

"What, buying a Harley?" Greg took a quick slug of his caffeine concoction and headed out to see what had Al's interest. Tina only had a brief smirk as the pair went past her to the main entrance.

Al saw it right away, and immediately gave a clap in approval. "So you did it. And in old Shelby racing colors, too."

Greg emerged onto the street just in time to see Arania climb out of the Mustang, moving around and onto the curb.

"She runs like a dream!" she exclaimed. "It feels like I'm flying! I had to rein in my enthusiasm because of traffic on 35W, on my way up here!"

"It fits you well, Ari." Al smiled.

"I… I really wanted to show it off, and I didn't have anyone else to show it to, and the navigation system told me where this coffee place you're always talking about was…" She trailed off a bit, then looked at Al – almost like a child wanting her parent's approval.

"Did you get it with the stick or an automatic transmission?" Greg asked.

"I… don't know how to drive stick, so… is that a bad thing?" Ari was just a bit confused.

"Naw – most new cars don't have manual transmissions; don't feel bad." Greg wandered to the back – and saw the vanity plate. "Heh, how fitting."

"You didn't just get this because of the obvious connection to my dam and her family, did you?" Ari rolled her eyes at the comment.

"No, sir – to tell the truth, it was between this and a Z28, and this was more in my price range." Her face dropped a moment. "And I couldn't have even thought about getting it without your generosity – and help." She gave Al a half-hug. "Thank you."

Al was a little uncomfortable with the affection – especially after what happened while she was still working for AHI.

"Easy now, you haven't made your six month probation period yet," he said. She immediately stepped away.

"Sorry, Al," she replied, blushing a bit. "Is this the place you two always talk about?" She motioned at the elaborate façade.

"Yes – Tina has a way of finding the prescription for what ails you," he replied, holding the door open for her.

Greg motioned ahead. "Ladies first."

---

"Mister Al! So this is your majooooohhhmygoodness!" Tina had started out friendly enough, but suddenly recoiled in fear as she saw Arania walk up to the counter.

"Something wrong, Tina?" Al asked, confused.

Tina looked at him, terrified – then at Ari again. Then, back at Al.

"Uh… uh… just – startled me. Yeah. Think I need to dial it back a bit on my espresso… uh…" She looked at Ari again. "Uh, a Sumatra Americano with an extra shot of espresso?"

Ari's eyebrows shot up at this.

"Usually I just go for an Americano with an extra shot, thanks," she said. Tina nodded furiously and started working her magic on the coffee machines.

"That's odd," Greg noted quietly. "Tina usually gets someone's order right on the first time…"

[jwhouk]

The guys in the Richer Engineering shop were just as impressed with Ari's new ride – and they were even more eager to install the comm link that would allow her to stay in touch with the shop, via the shared AHI/RES system (the acronym is pretty much self-explanatory: AHI and Richer Engineering Satellite).

While they were playing with the 'Stang, Ari took the opportunity to pop in to her office to check on some e-mails and statuses of a few of the projects that were still outstanding. The only thing new she saw was a bid on the fire suppressant system for the new North wing of the Alexander estate.

The last she'd heard, repairs were coming along well. Kronwulf had finished out the interior, finally, and his design team had really kicked things into high gear. She was looking forward to the company picnic at the estate in August, just so Al could show off his new home shop.

She trundled back down the stairs to the main shop floor. The stair well creaked a bit as she turned at the landing; the old, somewhat rickety fire escape stairs weren't meant for the amount of use they were subject to since RE had taken over Plant 2 from AHI. She made a mental note to have Portnoy from mechanical see about reinforcing them.

When she got to the main floor, she looked back up to see if she could determine where the supports might need fixing. She was so engrossed in this that she didn't see someone who was heading toward them.

"Oh! I'm sorry… Oh, Mrs. Alexander!" Ari turned about twenty shades of red as she realized she'd plowed right into Daisy.

"WOULD YOU WATCH WHERE… oh, it's you," she said, stepping back and dusting herself off momentarily.

"Sorry, ma'am, it's just these stairs are creaking something fierce…" Daisy shot her a very annoyed look.

"By any chance is my husband up in his office?" she asked. Ari shook her head in the negative.

"He was still over at Tina's, arguing something about those .50 caliber hand cannons with Greg," she replied.

"Good. I wanted to go up to take a measurement of his office chair. He's been looking at this one over at Podany's, but I didn't know what his current one came in at for size." She started up the creaking stairwell.

"You have the card for his office?" she offered.

"Yes, thank you," was the curt reply.

Mrs. Alexander continued up the stairs. Her relationship with Ari had been strained – obviously – since the whole incident with Al just after she was initially hired. She'd come upon the tape of the whole incident by accident while poking around on the internet one boring afternoon – it was posted on a message board, jokingly referred to as Sphinx Porn. (She was still trying to figure out what that meant.)

As embarrassing as it was to watch, she had slowly come to realize that any feelings she'd had for Al had disappeared. She truly did see him as a boss, a mentor, and as a confidant – and one hell of a leader.

She went back over to the bay where the boys were putting the finishing touches on the AHIRES. It was going to make her job that much simpler – she could get Al's day organized on her way to work, even as she took that detour to get breakfast for the plant workers. Or, if the cup she'd already downed was any indication, that yummy coffee from that Tina character…

She was the first to sense something was wrong. Daisy had started back down the derelict staircase, and had just about reached the landing when there was a metallic popping sound. Though Ari's experience with metalwork was limited to what she'd picked up on the job, she knew that something had just come loose from the stairwell supports – and the whole structure was about to come down.

And Daisy was going to be coming down with it. Hard.

[jwhouk]

---
She launched herself forward, and found herself leaping up to catch the wife of her boss by the arm. She'd somehow made the leap to the disintegrating landing and propelled herself onto the upper staircase, holding on to Daisy's arm for dear life.

Daisy's momentum, however, had pushed her forward – and she was now dangling precariously over the edge of what used to be the landing.

She had been rendered speechless – the combined level of surprise and terror had taken her voice away. Ari held on to the woman's arm, then slowly anchored herself on the remnants of the upper stairs.

"Give me your other hand, I'll pull you up," she said, firmly. Daisy's wild eyes didn't trust her.

"Come ON, this damn thing is about to collapse on BOTH of US."

The two women exchanged a long glance. Ari with determination, and Daisy with fear.

Daisy reached up and grabbed Ari's other hand. Her husband's majordomo then pulled her up the suddenly mangled remnants of the upper stairwell, and then slowly up to the safety of the upper floor.

Both gasped as they finally reached solid ground. "What on earth was that all…"

There was a sudden, echoing CRASH as what was left of the upper stairwell finally gave way and crashed down into a pile of twisted metal and broken rivets.

"Oh, boy, Al's going to be soooo pissed…"

---

The factory surveillance cameras caught the whole collapse. One of the support bolts sheared off as Daisy had stepped down on the landing – they found the sheared pieces had been launched into one of the brick walls adjacent to the old staircase. The rest of the structure was not long for standing, and actually collapsed faster than what either Ari or Daisy remembered.

What had caught Al and Daisy – and Ari – by surprise was how fast Ari had responded. And by how high Ari had managed to launch herself while the stairs collapsed. She had literally swung herself around Daisy, specifically so she could pull her up to safety.

The fact that Daisy had only suffered a sprained hoof – and Ari a few bruises and a small cut on her arm – was nothing short of amazing.

"Those stairs were never meant to handle the traffic we've been punishing them with over the last few months," Al stated while holding his chin. "So glad you weren't hurt badly, me ducks." He gave his wife a hug of comfort.

"I… I had a brief flashback to that fight on the stairs at Pillsbury," she said. "And then your little angel here just appeared out of nowhere."

"Not sure how it happened, ma'am," Ari said, still shaking a bit while seated on the couch in Al's office. "I saw the stairs started to collapse, saw you, and just… reacted."

"You performed exceptionally – again, I might add," Al pointed out.

"I was doing my job, sir… I mean, Al." She blew out a sigh, and looked at the live video of the plant floor. The workers were already taking out the wreckage, and getting photos of the damages – all likely for insurance purposes.

Ari had a sudden thought.

"That reminds me: the bid for the fire suppressant system at the Alexander estate? It came in at the level we wanted. I already accepted the bid for you, since I know that… Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry, Ari – I just find it amusing that even after an event where life and limb were at risk, you're still focused on the job. Bravo that, by the way."

"Yes – you saved my life, dear. Thank you." Daisy couldn't easily get up to hug the woman, but she did grasp her hand in appreciation.

"Now comes the truly hard part of the day," Ari stated. "That stairwell was the fastest way down to the shop floor..."

[Just Old Al]

Sitting at his desk in the back shop, Al ran the security footage on his screen, frame by frame. Using software nominally designed for ballistic analysis he checked the reactions of the individuals on the screen – and their relative velocities as best as could be determined with the dismal video.

The answers he got did not please him.

So he did it again. And again.

The answers did not change.

Finally he sat back, utterly perplexed. In short, there was no way in the known universe that an un-augmented human should have been able to react like that. The muscle fibers simply couldn’t react that fast, the power of the leap and the control…no.

Unless….

Al toggled a set of keys on his keyboard and his address book opened He slipped on a headset and selected an entry that was becoming far too familiar of late. The phone rang once, twice, then Phix picked up with “Hi, Al. You do realize you’re the only person who actually calls me, right? Why don't you just drop by - it's not like you can't find me.”

“It’s the claws…I’m utterly terrified.” Both laughed, then she asked “What can I do for you?”

“Simple. I assume you heard about the latest incident out at 2 – the stair collapse?”

Phix answered, “Yes, I did. Damn good thing Arania was there, or Daisy would have been badly hurt if not killed. I’m almost reaching the point where I can tolerate her existence.”

“That’s actually why I’m calling. I was going over the security video of the incident, and the numbers I am getting for Ari’s movements simply don’t look right. How much stronger and faster is a humaniform Sphinx than a human?”

“Al, she’s not a humaniform Sphinx – she’s human, essentially. Stronger, to a certain extent yes. Faster, some but not all that much.”

“So, we’re not talking multiples of human capability?’

“No, not happening. Some, yes, not that much.”

“What about a Sphinx? I know you lot are faster and stronger.”

“Yes, but not in human form. Again, some, but not full capability. To get that we need to go feral – and she has no way to do that. From the speeds you’re implying, frankly I wonder if I’d have been able to do it surprised.”

“ OK, Thanks – you’ve been a great help. Love to Neil and Dixie.”

“Aeternia – her name is Aeternia you miserable…” Laughing, Al hung up.

Once he doffed the headphones his mind went back to the numbers on his screen, and the video image. The picture at present was Ari, anchored off on the disintegrating upper staircase, hauling Daisy up the steps on her back toward the office door.

“Well then, my lovely, what are you?” Al breathed, more as a benediction than an actual question.

[FreeFlier]

. . . “Well then, my lovely, what are you?” Al breathed, more as a benediction than an actual question.

An enigma wrapped in a conundrum?

And he'd better not let Daisy hear him referring to Arania as my lovely . . .

--FreeFlier

[ShneekeyTheLost]

. . . “Well then, my lovely, what are you?” Al breathed, more as a benediction than an actual question.

An enigma wrapped in a conundrum?

And he'd better not let Daisy hear him referring to Arania as my lovely . . .

--FreeFlier

It's a British thing. Although the possibility for misinterpretation is there...

Just like the phrase 'When should I knock you up, mum?" simply is inquiring when the wake-up call should be over in the UK. Over in America, however, to knock someone up is to get them pregnant.

[FreeFlier]

. . . “Well then, my lovely, what are you?” Al breathed, more as a benediction than an actual question.

An enigma wrapped in a conundrum?

And he'd better not let Daisy hear him referring to Arania as my lovely . . .

It's a British thing. Although the possibility for misinterpretation is there...

Quite so . . .

Though I've heard it and variations used by americans too.

Just like the phrase 'When should I knock you up, mum?" simply is inquiring when the wake-up call should be over in the UK. Over in America, however, to knock someone up is to get them pregnant.

And a british rubber is an american eraser . . . very embarrassing mistake for a lady to make in a business meeting.

--FreeFlier

[Warrl]

Then there's clothing...

When a young American man is wearing pants and suspenders, he might be driving a tractor or herding cattle. When a young British man is wearing pants and suspenders, he might be dancing in front of the screen at a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

A few others I know are that a British waistcoat is an American vest, while a British vest is an American undershirt; an American sweater is a British jumper while an American jumper is a British... um, I forget, gotta look that one up... pinafore.

And in the course of looking that up I learned that if you invite some Americans and some Brits to a fancy dress party, the Americans are likely to arrive wearing tuxedos and formal gowns while the British folk will show up dressed as pirates, wizards, bees, and what have you.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

One of my teachers, back in the day, was given the name Randalph, shortened to Randy. You can imagine the reaction when he introduced himself on his trip to London...

[DinkyInky]

Just like the phrase 'When should I knock you up, mum?" simply is inquiring when the wake-up call should be over in the UK. Over in America, however, to knock someone up is to get them pregnant.

And a british rubber is an american eraser . . . very embarrassing mistake for a lady to make in a business meeting.

--FreeFlier

I have also heard rubber used as an English term for a card game.