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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 15:30:24 GMT -5
"Alright," said Delfina, "Thanks for the heads-up, Doc."
*****
"Should I do that?" asked Freda, "I mean, Wood's Hole had been my home for over twenty years. It has a lot of memories for me."
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"He is," nodded Shale.
Ebony nodded, "Yep, the very same one. He was a Piston Cup racer before he became a doctor. He also coaches Lightning McQueen and is his crew chief now. Nobody really wants to mess with him."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 9, 2008 17:00:12 GMT -5
"No problem, talk to you later." Doc replied. "Bye for now."
Guy had stopped pacing now, and was reining in his temper. Robin and her mother were quiet and sombre.
"I can't tell you what to do, Freda." Stokes said, "I want you to follow your best judgement. I know it would be a big leap to take."
"Ah, I'll admit I don't follow much of racing." Greg confessed. "My big priority is our ladies here." he referred to the HH-65's as Bree nudged him amiably and he returned the gesture affectionately.
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 17:39:49 GMT -5
Delfina hung up and put her cell away. She let the energy ball grow in her palm. "That idiot Carl," she growled, "This is all his fault."
*****
"Let me think about it," said Freda.
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"Well, he must've found something important to have to require this," said Ebony.
Shale gave Bree a nuzzle as well.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 9, 2008 18:32:37 GMT -5
"He... poisoned her?" Sharon's voice raised an octave.
Guy, who was closest and had heard everything from the phone, took a deep breath. "Delfina, we are all in your debt. More than anything I want this morceau de merde who tried to kill my daughter, and I will be happy to be of assistance."
"I wouldn't want you to make any life-changing decision just because of me." Stokes said. "What I want is what really makes you happy."
"Y'know, an immunosuppressant would've done this, easy." Greg pursed his lips. "But they would've had to get into Bree's medical history. That means they've been into the records somehow. This whole thing is just getting bigger and nastier all the time." He went to the door to the administrative offices and shouted. "Who's responsible for receiving deliveries here? I want all the fuel receipts for the past three days!"
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 19:08:04 GMT -5
"Tried to, at least," answered Delfina with a nod toward Sharon's and Guy's direction, "But how he knew how it would affect her, he would've had to have access to her medical records somehow."
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"I'm happy right now," said Freda.
*****
"Aren't medical records personal and confidential?" asked Ebony, "It would've been pretty hard to get to them if they were. I know that only the patient or the police would have access to them for certain reasons."
"Yeah, they are," answered Shale, "On occasion, even Luke and I would hit a dead end when it came to that. It took a lot of persuasion from either of us to get access to them. Detective work isn't easy."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 9, 2008 19:27:23 GMT -5
"Our records, as far as I know, are all on a database." Bree added. "Someone would have had to talk their way in - difficult, but it's been known to happen - or just break in. They should be checking the systems to see if they've been hacked."
"They're probably doing that now." Greg returned from the offices with printouts of receipts and invoices. "I'm gonna call the company that's currently got the fuel contract for this station and see if they really DID make a delivery on Tuesday at 5AM. That when they got Bree's fuel mix and supplements, on the day that she got sick."
"And so am I." Stokes nuzzled Freda gently, "But I want to be sure that YOU'RE sure that this is what you want."
"They would have had to break in to get those. There would be no other way." Guy scowled. "The Coast Guard is very tight with its personnel records."
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 19:44:20 GMT -5
"This is starting to get eerie," said Ebony, "because, you know, I'm beginning to think what happened to me is connected somehow to what happened to you, Bree. This doesn't feel random to me for some reason."
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Freda returned the nuzzle. "Well, I haven't made the decision yet and I'm just thinking about it right now. Just give me some time, alright?"
*****
"Someone would've have had to break in then," said Delfina, "I smell a spy."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 9, 2008 20:02:32 GMT -5
"And who knows what else they got into?" the HH-65 was looking distinctly P.O.'d and her eyes were almost throwing sparks. She and her father may have been differing variants of the same breed, but the look she now had was definitely a trait handed down from "Papa."
Greg was now on the phone with the supplier in question, who was swearing up and down that they had made no such delivery that day, even though the rating who received the supplies professed that the delivery van had all the correct paperwork. He hung up and turned to the young rating again.
"Who was this van? Was he the same one that usually makes deliveries here?"
"Uh, no he wasn't sir." the rating was a Toyota pickup, but he seemed to shrink as Greg glared at him. "He was an older guy, late 70's model I think."
"You THINK.." Greg snorted. He wheeled about sharply and came back to the hangar door. "I think that settles one thing. The supplier says they made no delivery that day, and the Boy Genius over there doesn't think it was the same van who usually makes deliveries here."
"That's what I want you to do. Think about it long and hard." Stokes affirmed. "I wouldn't want you to make a decision that wasn't right for you."
"I would say this Carl has more than a few spear-carriers doing his bidding." Guy frowned. "The sooner we find them, the better the case against him."
A scent reached his nostrils among those of all the humans. It wasn't quite like the others, and made him wonder. But that wasn't important to him right now.
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 20:26:58 GMT -5
Shale looked at Greg and then at the rating. He slipped into detective mode, "What did this older model van look like? Color of his eyes, distinguishing features? Did he have a name?"
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"No worries, I'll be heading back to Wood's Hole anyway after the humans have no more need of me," said Freda, "Who knows, I might mention it to my mother if we're both in port at the same time."
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"Doc's already alerted the Coast Guard about it, so they'll probably be searching already," said Delfina.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 9, 2008 20:58:56 GMT -5
"He looked like one of those Ford Econoline types." the rating answered. "I didn't really get the color of his eyes, he was wearing a visor, and sounded like he'd had a bit of tuning, though he was green and white like the other vans from that food service and said his name was Sam something-or-other."
"His signature's probably on one of those forms." Greg rifled through them again, and scowled. "Just as I figured. Unintelligible." He held it out for Shale and Bree to look at and sniff. "And that's a bad color copy job on the form." He told the rating. "Might it have occurred to you to take a second look at that when it came in, Seaman Dammler?"
The pickup wilted once again under the NCO's gaze. "W-well sir, nobody thinks that when a delivery comes in, that it's some guy trying to poison the commander."
"Seaman, you'll never advance beyond that rank if you don't smarten up and realize that this is a critical operational security issue here." Greg snapped. "If something seems unusual or out of order, check it up! Never forget that!"
"Y-yes, sir!" the Toyota retreated. A senior NCO in a snit was a figure of terror to new ratings.
Greg turned back to Ebony and the helos. "My apologies, but I can never let the sun set on a rating who needs a lecture."
Stokes nodded, "We can still call each other and email. And I'd love to meet your mother."
"I figure they're ready to string some people up by their axles." Robin pursed her lips. "The coasties have no sense of humor about hackers. They might even call in the FBI to help."
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 21:15:22 GMT -5
"Well, I would've snapped at him too," said Ebony, "Never tolerated that kind of behavior anyway."
Shale nodded and glanced at the form. "I can barely make out that signature because it's smeared a bit in places. But I think you can still analyze for prints. See what you can turn up."
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"I think that could be arranged," said Freda, "but I'll give you my email address first."
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"Doc already took the liberty of calling them in," said Delfina, "I know a couple of agents there too."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 9, 2008 21:56:52 GMT -5
"It'll probably go into evidence." Greg carefully separated it out and put it in a plastic bag.
"You know that that paper smelled like? Candy." Bree remarked. "Like they'd been eating some before they touched it."
"Sure." Stokes nodded. "And you can get mine."
"We'll probably be seeing someone around very soon." Guy nodded.
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 22:11:16 GMT -5
"What kind of candy?" asked Ebony.
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Freda exchanged email addresses with Stokes. "I also got AIM, so if you want to chat with me real time, you can, no matter where we might be."
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"True," agreed Delfina, "It won't take them long anyway."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 9, 2008 22:40:43 GMT -5
"Oh, that would be great!" Stokes smiled. "Just a sec, I'll send you my ID."
"Gask-itts." Bree replied. "The ones with the cinnamon filling."
"Let's hope so." Sharon sighed.
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Post by ebonyviper on Nov 9, 2008 22:54:01 GMT -5
It didn't take long until Freda received Stokes' ID. "Good. Thank you."
*****
"Oh, those," Ebony blinked for a moment, "Falcon likes the cinnamon filling ones too."
"Not a very smart move for whoever it was that did this," said Shale.
*****
Delfina nodded, looking at Sharon and Guy. "So, you both know that I'm a user now, don't you?"
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