“Directly across from her is Captain Bhandari from JAG.” That one she understood and could work with. If there was going to be any decision made, it would have to involve their office and she was relatively confident in her ability to influence the outcome with her connections.
The doctor was feeling a little outnumbered.
“I see you have a number of attorneys here to serve whatever purpose you’re trying to get at. Should I be calling mine now?”
The JAG officer spoke.
“That is entirely up to you, Ms. Gault.”
“Doctor, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, doctor. We will not be discussing any criminal charges at this time, so the need for personal counsel will not be needed. This is a mediation meeting to determine the proper placement of this young lady. If you insist on having your counsel here, we’d be happy to wait.”
Dr. Gault’s brows drew together in thought. Two things caught her attention. The first was that they would not be discussing any criminal charges, ‘at this time.’ That was ominous, but everything she’d done was done hand-in-hand with Admiral Ricks and the contractor. If there was anything underhanded, she was far enough removed to be insulated from any prosecution. Still, it would be a hassle she didn’t need. Easily fixed with a few well-placed phone calls. The second thing was that this was a mediation meeting. She was somewhat familiar with the term, having gone through a divorce. She understood it to be a meeting where all involved parties gathered in an informal setting to hash out the details to a legal agreement that would later go before a court. This felt like a set-up and she was not going it alone with everyone in the room against her; certainly not if there were going to be any binding agreements made.
“I want my counsel here. I’m not entering into any type of negotiations without them.” She pointed her finger at the girl, ignoring the return snarl. “That girl is under my care and I will not agree to anything that involves her being removed from my custody.” Dr. Gault just barely managed not to say, “the girl is mine.” Semantics were important when dealing with legal drones, and while it might be true, it wouldn’t endear her to anyone in the room.
“I assumed as much,” said her ex. “I hope it wasn’t presumptuous, but I anticipated your request and asked them to attend.”
This was definitely a setup. She could feel the pieces being moved on the board, but couldn’t see the final outcome yet. Jason wouldn’t bring her lawyers into this unless he had something up his sleeve. She glared at him, trying to bore through his skull to see what half-baked plan lurked inside. He should know better than this. There was not a single argument he’d ever won, and their divorce had been a total rout. Leaving the system was the smartest thing he’d ever done, and trying to take her on was about to be the stupidest.
The JAG officer had gone to a side door and made a brief request to the secretary outside. Several minutes later, Dr. Gault’s attorneys filed through and took their places next to her.
“Hello, Elizabeth.” The greeting came from her personal attorney, Janet Friaz. The woman had handled her divorce and was a hell of an attorney, to which her ex could attest. She’d gotten pretty much everything in the divorce, and anything that went to her ex were things she didn’t want. “I tried to call you, but couldn’t get through.” The doctor had been ignoring her calls all morning while she hovered over the tech’s shoulder waiting on information about her escaped test subject.
“Sorry,” she replied. “I was in the middle of work.” She patted the woman’s arm. The man on her other side was the corporate attorney for the lab. She was only vaguely aware of who he was as their paths didn’t cross often. The lab was attached to a multi-billion credit company, so he had to be decent. Feeling property armed and ready, she turned back to her ex, “Now, why don’t we get on with this so I can collect my test subject and get back to work?” The comment drew a frown from the Child Services attorney.
Her ex motioned to Cpt. Bhandari.
“I believe you were going to lead the meeting. Why don’t you go ahead, Cpt. Bhandari.”
“Thank you, Cpt. Gault.” Dr. Gault rolled her eyes. If this was their version of informal, she was going to die. “I believe we are all aware the purpose of this meeting is to determine the placement of this young lady.” He motioned toward the girl. “I have it on record that her full name is Rayne Sunset Harper.”
That was new. Dr. Miller’s records had been absent that information. Dr. Gault assumed the doctor had withheld it in order to prevent the girl from being transferred out of system. It had been on her list of things to have someone do. The captain read through the girl’s personal data: birth date, system of origin and parent’s names, blah, blah, blah. Get on with it already, she thought.
“Is all the information accurate, Cpt. Gault?”
“Yes.”
“Can you briefly summarize how you came into contact with Ms. Harper? I’m pushing your detailed account to everyone in the room.” There was a short pause as the participants read over the information. “Go ahead, captain.”
Dr. Gault listened as her ex spent the next ten minutes recounting his scouting mission to the Ross 614 star system, where he had received a distress call. He told them of his shock to find the lone T80 on the planet and the subsequent rescue. He further related Rayne’s removal from the combat suit and subsequent attempts by the station to treat her. It was dry and monotone, and Dr. Gault‘s lids began to droop until Cpt. Bhandari spoke again.
“Can you tell us what you discovered regarding the girl’s identity?”
Dr. Gault was beginning to get impatient, and voiced her disapproval.
“What does this have to do with anything regarding her placement?”
“You’ll have your turn to speak, Dr. Gault.”
These people were messing with her work and making a game of it. She was determined to end this now.
“Look. The captain,” she said with as much sarcasm as she could manage, “has already pointed out that she is military personnel using military equipment, rescued by military forces, and then subsequently treated by military facilities. That puts her soundly under the authority and responsibility of the military.” The attorneys at her side nodded their agreement but didn’t interject while the doctor was on a roll. “I received personal authorization from Admiral Ricks to take over the treatment of the girl. In fact…” she sifted quickly through her data files and pushed her procurement order to everyone in the room. “…here are the orders signed by the admiral himself.” She sat back in satisfaction as the attorneys in the room scanned through the document. The girl maintained her predatory gaze, and if the doctor weren’t worried she’d blacken her other eye, she’d have told her to sit back and keep her freaky eyes to herself.
“Thank you for your input, Dr. Gault,” Cpt. Bhandari responded after he’d finished reading the document. “Captain, would you please continue with regard to why you chose to remove the girl from the station’s care?”
“Oh, really? Do tell, Jason. You have a history of hi-jacking government property?” Once again the attorney from Child Services grimaced. Why was she here again? Her personal attorney put a hand on her arm and spoke quietly.
“Let him speak. We have the high ground. Let’s see what they have.” The doctor sat back and listened as her ex droned on about how the girl had supposedly been brutalized by station security and then subjected to a psychological test that was well outside the bounds of what he termed normal, reasonable or necessary. Oh, she wanted to puke. He used that phrasing so often he should get a patent.
Dr. Gault couldn’t contain herself.
“So let’s make sure everyone understands. Based on unverified testimony that this girl was ‘brutalized.’” She made quotation marks with her fingers to emphasize the word, and then continued. “You made a decision based on your extensive medical experience that this girl should be removed
from a Fleet treatment facility.” She laughed loudly. “That’s rich, Jason.” Her attorney licked her finger and chalked a ‘1’ in the air before her. The lab attorney smirked at the obvious point for their team.
Her ex turned his gaze toward her and answered.
“First, not unverified. You will see attached to my report the affidavits of a number of Procyon Naval Station personnel attesting to that fact. Second, the decision was made in concert with my ship’s doctor, since as you alluded, I don’t have any medical experience. But more importantly, I acted as one human being would to another. Do you remember what that’s like, Lizzy?”
“Don’t lecture me, Jason. The girl needs treatment…”
“Don’t give me that crap about treatment. You know that’s not what you’re after.”
“Please!” Cpt. Bhandari held up both hands for quiet. “Let’s try and keep this civil.” Seeing that he’d gotten the cooperation he wanted, he put his hands down and straightened his uniform. “What kind of treatment needs did the girl have?”
“You have the medical reports before you, but the initial physical injuries were dealt with fairly competently. The psychological issues were the ones that needed addressed, and the station seemed ill-equipped to deal with them. So I removed her from their care with the intention of finding more competent treatment on one of the system’s planets.”
Cpt. Bhandari looked confused.
“I’m sorry, but isn’t Athena pretty far out for seeking psychological treatment? That’s what, ten light years?”
Her ex turned to her.
“Why don’t you explain that one, Lizzy?”
She shifted uncomfortably in her chair as all eyes turned her direction. “I got a message from a Dr. Miller on Procyon Naval Station. She sent me the patient’s file and asked for my assistance.”
“What kind of assistance?”
“Medical assistance. You wouldn’t understand,” she answered dismissively.
Cpt. Bhandari scowled.
“Why don’t you break it down for us in the simplest of terms?”
She returned his scowl. She was beginning to dislike him.
“The girl has some anomalies in the structure of her brain that are of some scientific interest. The doctor asked that I look into them.”
“So you arranged to have Captain Gault’s ship re-assigned to this system?” he asked incredulous.
She smirked at his response and her attorney put a hand on her arm, whispering for her not to answer. She ignored the advice. She’d done nothing wrong. She’d simply made a request to a certain admiral. The responsibility was his, not hers.
“Of course. It was hardly practical to move my lab there.”
Her lab attorney took advantage of the silence that followed to speak.
“Look, this is all very interesting, but I fail to see how any of this prevents Dr. Gault from taking custody of her patient right now. Maybe Procyon Station personnel were incompetent. So what? Dr. Gault, as anyone who is familiar with her reputation will attest, is not.”
“I beg to differ.”
“What?” Her head snapped toward her ex. She looked about for something to throw.
“The first thing she did when we came in-system was to send out a bunch of thugs with stun guns to take her down.”
The Child Services attorney looked up in shock. What was she doing here again?
“You used stun guns on her?”
“They were hardly thugs and, yes, stun rounds were used in the eventual recovery.”
Cpt. Bhandari had a look of concern on his face.
“Maybe you should explain.”
“I fail to see how that has any bearing on this proceeding,” said her lab’s attorney.
“Humor me,” replied the captain. He turned back to her expectantly. “Dr. Gault?”
Fine, she thought, let’s see if we can get that crappy ex of mine in a little hot water while we’re at it.
“I strongly suspected Cpt. Gault was keeping the girl from me. Instead of handing her over, he sent her off with those marines of his. He wouldn’t give me information on where she was so I could begin treatment, so I was forced to have her traced and retrieved using a military contractor specifically for that purpose.”
Captain Gault interrupted.
“For those in the room that aren’t familiar with the contractor she’s referring to, let me enlighten you. Lexington Tactical Services is a government contractor specializing in hostile retrievals. They accept contracts in everything from black ops, and government-authorized kidnappings, to standard surveillance and dignitary protection. Their members are comprised of ex-special forces operators and have a reputation for being a hard-hitting, get-it-done group.” The captain swept his gaze across the room. “And these are the guys she sent after a psychologically traumatized young girl.”
Dr. Gault couldn’t help herself, and laughed out loud.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Jason. It was hardly all that.”
“No? Every one of my marines were tracked down by this group. Four of them were subjected to enhanced interrogation, and one was hit with a stun round.”
She tried to interject, but he talked over her.
“And to finish it off, they engaged in a chase that nearly resulted in stampeding the holiday festival, several civilians being struck with stun rounds, and Rayne herself being pummeled by this group of contractors trying to kidnap her!” He finished the last at full volume. Captain Gault calmed himself with a visible effort. “Here, why don’t we watch the video?” He pushed the video file to the large data screen for everyone to see. It showed the final takedown with the girl going down under a pile of muscle and swinging fists, finally succumbing to the stun round and neural block.
Everyone in the room was shocked. The Child Services attorney was practically hyperventilating. Dr. Gault was a little shocked herself. She didn’t get to see the end result when she sent one of the teams out for a job, and the ugliness of the retrieval was disturbing. But that wasn’t her. Not her fault and not her responsibility. She was, however, beginning to see her ex’s plan of attack unfold and it was time to put an end to it before it gained any more traction.
“I’m sorry that happened. It was certainly not my intention to have the girl hurt.” She latched quickly onto a sudden spark of genius. “In fact, I’ve already red-flagged that contractor for their brutal tactics. I would never condone that kind of action toward one of my patients.”
“Oh, really,” her ex shot back.
“Yes, really.” She put on her most humble and kind expression. Not one she used often, but still good nonetheless. “You know I’d never hurt anyone.”
“Let’s listen to what the good doctor has in mind for Rayne,” he said, addressing the room. “Shall we?” He pushed an audio file and played it over the data screen. “This is a conversation between me and Dr. Gault last week in which she stated her intentions.”
Dr. Gault felt the color drain from her face as the recording began.
“They’re going to find her anyway.”
“You know that, right?”
“Quit being a poor sport. I won. Just like I always do and just like I always will. You should be used to it by now.”
“She’s mine, Jason. She’s my test subject and you shouldn’t have gone messing around where you don’t belong.”
“I’ll do whatever I want with her.”
“I’ll scan her, poke, her prod her and put her in a cage, and when I’m satisfied I’ve gotten everything I can from the outside, I’ll dissect her into little bits and analyze those too. There’s not a damn thing you can do to stop me.”
The room was stunned into silence. After several long moments, Dr. Gault regained the ability to speak.
“That…that…was taken out of context,” she began, but couldn’t find the words to continue. Fortunately, her lab’s attorney was still in th
e game.
“I recognize that last bit was pretty ugly. Undoubtedly, it was said in the heat of the moment, and I’m certain the doctor has no intension of committing the monstrosities she alluded to. I’m also certain none of us would want to be held responsible for every careless word we’ve said while angry.” He looked around the room to gauge his audience’s response. Dr. Gault silently thanked whoever had hired the man to represent the lab. Damn, but this guy was good. “While I understand and even sympathize with Cpt. Gault’s appeal, I’m afraid it does not affect the legal aspects of who has ultimate authority on the patient’s treatment. I believe we have established she is, if not military property, at least under military control and subject to its whims, regardless of how unsavory.”
Captain Gault interrupted him.
“I’m afraid you are mistaken, sir.”
“How so, captain?”
“Rayne Sunset Harper is not, and never has been, a member of the military. Furthermore, in case you failed to note, she has yet to reach the age of eighteen.” He took a moment for that to soak in and to allow everyone to check the file.
Dr. Gault closed her open mouth as she began to think through the legal ramifications. That would explain why the Child Services attorney was here. She thought quickly. There was still an out and she jumped on it quickly.
“Nice try, Jason, but she’s an orphan, as you’ve already pointed out.” She looked across the table in triumph. “And, since she was recovered by the military, I believe her disposition and treatment is the responsibility of the military as well. Tell me that’s not true, Mr. Procedure.”
Her ex smiled back at her. It wasn’t a necessarily friendly smile, and she wondered what she’d missed.
“I see something of me has rubbed off on you, or have you been studying?” He shifted through the documents on the data screen in front of him. “You’re quite right, Lizzy, but I’m afraid you missed a few details. Let me push the full text to everyone so you can follow along.” ‘…the placement of juveniles will be made at the direction of the commanding authority, unless a legal guardian can be found. In which case the legal guardian shall have sole responsibility…’ he read through the text and stopped.