Theodore (5 page)

Theodore gritted his teeth as they climbed the third flight
of stairs of the Student Union and entered the canteen.  He'd been there a few
times before with friends for a quiet place to relax, but there was nothing
quiet about the room this evening.  Both fencing teams were there plus another
thirty or so regular students enjoying the party-like atmosphere.  He didn't
mind
parties, it was just there were so few people he knew well and this crowd
tended to party a little harder than he really cared for.  There were smiles
all around, even for the visiting team that ended up losing two of three
tiers.  What caught him completely off guard, however, was the smiling form of
'Cadet Burges', his opponent from earlier match.  He wore a bright and honest
smile as he approached Theodore and offered his hand.

“Sorry I was a jackass earlier today.  It wasn't my finest
hour... Bill Burges, is the name,” he apologized with a grin.  “Care for a
house pint?”

“Theodore Blackford,” he smiled back, happy for the change
in attitude.  “I appreciate the offer, but I don't drink.”

“Well what would you like instead then?” he offered with a
smile.  “Just please don't make me order a milk in front of all these
people...”

Theodore laughed, “Lemonade, if you would please.”

Bill rolled his eyes and laughed, “A lemonade for my worthy
opponent, if you would please!”

There was a small cheer as the rest barked out their
approval at seeing Theodore arrive.  There were a few grins and minor laughs as
to the drink, but Bill let it roll.  “I'm sorry again for how I acted, I was
just caught completely flat footed.  I'm used to playing a rough game in the
Open Class... you know, throw my weight around... heck, even the Shukurae like
that!  I
should
have reviewed who you were before I stepped out there. 
Coach always said to do that, but, no, I got cocky!  There was no way I was
expecting an ambidextrous, lightning fast, cat fighting with two rapiers!  I'd
try to throw my weight and presence around and you just,
zooop!,
sidestep
and tag me.  By the third set, I was
beyond
flustered.  Coach said he
would have questioned that third or fourth point... pshaw!  You nailed me!  I
should have fought a range game with you and then try and press hard on the
parries, but no!  Once I lost my rhythm, I lost my cool and then I was toast! 
Live and learn.”

 “If it helps your feeling any, on the second round I was
feeling a lot of pressure from you.  Your parries were
savage
and your
follow through was perfect.”

“Yeah, but you were just a lot better and faster than I
was!”  Bill laughed.  “I was about half a step away from a technical foul that
entire second match: my strikes were out of place!  I was almost  chopping! 
That isn't right!”  He grinned as he accepted the lemonade and passed it to
Theodore.  “Seriously, though, you've been fighting rapier since you were eight
years old?”

Theodore grinned, “Sword, long sword, side sword, rapier,
ax... you name it.  I had the advantage that my father both taught me the
basics and he was also the advanced instructor for the town.  He is
very
good! 
I've only been doing sport rapier for a year.  My first semester they tried to
get me to fight épée.  That... that was just silly!  That's a game not a
sport!  I was sixteen so they were worried about liability and all if I fought
rapier.  That made my dad laugh.”

 Bill grinned, “I'm pretty sure next week the Major is going
to give us a long and glorious lecture about Live Steel!  Apparently, you Taiks
made quite an impression on him earlier in his career.  He served in the 798
^th
 CSOG--Combined Special Operations Group with the Shukurae.”

“My father never served off planet.  He'd never even left
the Highlands until my family visited me at school a year ago.  I've a few
distant cousins that served off world, but no one that I ever really knew
growing up.”

“Never left planet...”  Bill grinned, “To me that sounds
quite odd!  I've bounced around so many different planets, I can't even keep
track.  Must be a very different lifestyle.”

Theodore shrugged, “Eh, it's about the same most places: get
a job, raise a family...”

Bill shuddered, “Don't say 'raise a family' too loud, my
mother might hear!   And she's 200 light years away!”

Theodore laughed, “See, things aren't so different after
all!  My Second Mother keeps pestering me to find a nice girl and at
least
be social...”

“Oh, he's
found
a girl,” smirked Maurice over
Theodore's shoulder.  “She's...”

Bill drew himself up to his full, and quite substantial
height and glared at Maurice who suddenly went very quiet and dismissed
himself.

“Wow!  I think that's the first time I've ever seen him shut
up quite so quickly!”

“You're welcome!” grinned Bill.

   “Excuse me,” interjected an older man in a rather elegant
business suit, “but you
are
Theodore Blackford that fought so well at
today's fencing match, aren't you?”

Bill rolled his eyes and laughed while Theodore just smiled,
“Yes, sir.  I am.  What can I do for you?”

“I have a business proposition for you... Now, yes, I know
you are a minor and any official business arrangements will require involving
your father, but I think you will be very interested in what I have to say,” he
finished with a grin.  This human was a consummate professional: sharp and with
a polished grin that was hard to read.

“My First Mother will be more interested in the final
details than my father,” grinned Theodore.  “But I'm perfectly willing to hear
what you have to say.”

“Excellent!  If you would please, I have a table by the
window,” he gestured to the far wall and lead the way while still bantering on,
“You have poise, presence, speed and skill.  Top all that off with an old world
charm and humility... Oh dear...  'Humility' doesn't come across as too
race-centric does it?” 

Theodore smiled as he shook his head, “We are working across
languages and cultures; I find no offense in the word.  In fact, just the
opposite: it implies a level of comfort of association not normally offered to
outsiders.”

“We will have to add 'eloquent' to that list,” he replied
with a broad smile.   “Sit!  Sit!  Relax while I try to bring you up to speed.”

Theodore smiled as he sat in the seat opposite to the man,
“But, if you could please... You
do
have the advantage of me...”

A good gut laughed came as a reply, “There is that old world
charm I mentioned!  And yes, bad my manners:  my name is Alexandre Phebeson.  I
would offer you a drink, but you hardly seem to have put a dent in your present
lemonade.”  He paused as he collected himself, “You are a unique young lad; you
are an off-worlder with both scholastic and athletic talents far in advance of
your age.  You are in the unique situation to act as a goodwill ambassador
across a great many star systems.”

“If this 'offer' of yours involves much travel, I'm going to
have to decline.  My first priority is my education.”

Alexandre grinned slyly, “Well, it does involve a small
change to your current routine.  You return home to Afon and never come back.”

Theodore didn't know what to expect, but that certainly
hadn't been it.  “Excuse me?”

Alexandre's grin became more sinister, “We don't want any
trouble, and we are far less draconian than the Bella-Shoana.  No violence, no
fuss.  You just go home and stay there.”

Theodore's mind raced as he tried to soak it all in.  After
such a cordial opening, the turn of the conversation was still a shock to him. 
Apparently more of a shock than he realized as when the pair looked up, both
fencing teams had closed in on the pair at the table with Bill Burges and the
Major front and center glaring down at Alexandre.

“I don't know who you think you are, but no-one tries to
rough up the kid.  Not you, not now, not ever,” growled Bill.

“Do you have any idea who I work for?” sneered Alexandre.

“No clue!  Let's find out; hold him until the Federals get
here!”  barked the Major.

That was obviously
not
what Alexandre had in mind as
his sneer vanished in a flash... literally.

Theodore reeled in pain as his eyes and ears were overloaded
at the detonation of a flash-bang grenade.  His armor was up fast enough to
soak the secondary concussion wave, but not fast enough to protect from the
light and initial sound.   His armor extended, his weapons instantly followed,
but he was unsure where to direct them, he didn't want to stab at where he
thought
Alexandre was out of fear of hitting any of the bystanders that had
surrounded the table.  Confused and befuddled, he held is ground and refused to
move until he could make good use of his senses again.  That, it turned out,
was quite a while.

A uniformed officer waved his hand in front of Theodore's
face.  Vision slowly returning he nodded and snuck a quick look around. 
Several of the fencing team were being treated by first responders and a small
army of police, local and federal, were fanned out across the room with three
standing cautiously in front of him.  He sighed and relaxed, just a bit, and
let his armor fold away in its comforting blanket of sparks.  “I was too
slow... If I raised my armor earlier my eyes and ears wouldn't have gotten
hurt...” he murmured to no one in particular.

“Theodore Foxdale?” asked one of the agents carefully.

“Theodore Foxdale-Blackford, yes...”  His head hurt, a lot. 
He all but collapsed back into the chair, unaware that he had been perching on
the back of it the entire time.

“Can you explain what happened?  This 'business man,' what
did he say to you?”

“He told me I ought to go home, right away.  That his
associates were more obliging than the 'Bella-Shoana' or something...”

“'Bella-Shoana?' Is that what he said?  Did he provide his
name by any chance?”

“Yeah, that is what he said... name... Alexandre Phebeson...
assuming that was his real name...”

The two coaches approached and the Major spoke, “We saw the
conversation going down and then Theodore here, his fur spiked, so we came
en
masse
to check on him.  He tried to name drop, that's when I called on my
boys to hold him until you Federals got here.”

“And that is when the stun grenade went off...” finished the
agent.  “Theodore, son, what in the world do the Bella-Shoana want with you?”

“Apparently they want me dead,” Theodore half laughed half
cracked.  “Who are they?  What are they?”

“The Bella-Shoana are a very large and well financed
organized crime syndicate. They have their meat hooks dug in on over twenty
systems.  They are a minor influence on this planet, but they are gaining
strength and presence...”

“So who was this Phebeson character?” barked the Major. 
“Who is he with?”

The agent shrugged, “We are running his face through the
system as we speak.  We got a marginal DNA sample from his drink and are
processing a blood sample from the balcony below.”

“Balcony?” asked Theodore as he looked out the window.  Sure
enough, just one floor below was the open air mezzanine for the Student Union
courtyard.  “Crap.  Why couldn't he have picked a table with a three floor
drop...”

“He probably chose this seat for that very purpose.  He
seemed quite prepared.  Well, he didn't quite seem prepared for all of your
friends to suddenly back you up.”

Theodore fired an inquisitive glance at the pair of coaches,
“How did you know I was in trouble?”

The Major laughed, “You are an
excellent
fencer, lad,
but you would be terrible at poker: all your fur shot right up on end.”

He laughed to himself as he looked down at his fur coat, “Yeah..
well... I do that a lot it seems...  At least it served me well
this
time.”

“I think we need to go ahead and move you into protective
custody, Theodore.  Give us a few days to sort things out, and then we'll see
if we can safely get you back to your dorm and regular classes.”

Theodore sighed to himself, “I think... I think it may just
be a whole lot simpler if I just go back to the Highlands.  If I can get a
waiver on my scholarship and try again next semester, so be it.  If I can't,
well then I'll just stay back home.”

“Hey kid,” began the Major, “there is no reason we should
let these people push you around!  You have every right to be here and there is
no reason you should have to bend to the will of these monsters!”

Theodore shook his head, “I'm a stranger in a strange land. 
My presence already got some people killed on a different world.  There is no
reason to put people here in jeopardy.”

The agent smiled, “I appreciate your nobility, but I'm kinda
with the Major here... I don't want to see you being pushed around... not on my
turf.  How about this: give us a couple days to figure out what is going on
with you in a safe house and then we will go from there.   Push comes to shove,
I'm pretty sure the university will work with you on your scholarship.  If not
next week, then next
semester
I expect to see you back here.  Does that
sound all right by you?”

Theodore nodded, “Yes, sir.  I appreciate the effort you are
going through for an outsider...”

“You're not an outsider, kid, you go to school here.  That
makes you one of us.  Come on, let’s get a patrol car for you,” he smiled back.

Suddenly a local police officer approached the group,
“Special Agent Telmark, there was just word from the university.   Someone
broke into the kid's dorm room...”

The agent snarled and cut loose with a few expletives that
Theodore didn't recognize, “Okay, I want three squad cars here, now!  Armor up,
look alive, let's get the lad to the Federal building downtown.  Now, people! 
Move!”

While the division of authority was quite clear between the
federal and local law enforcement, everyone sprang into action: the path was
clear and obvious, now was not the time for bickering.  Good ideas, however... 
“Agent Telemark, we have three cars here now, but in five minutes I can have
nine.  That could give us three separate rabbit trails.”

“Let's do that then; I like the obfuscation!  Last thing I
want is some pansy, cheap shot going down,” the agent barked back.  “Theodore,
I have no idea how much that weird armor thing of yours wears on you, but if
you think you can keep it up until we get you downtown...”

“It is uncomfortable, sir.  It doesn't run me down or make
me tired...” smiled Theodore back as he invoked his armor.  The few police
officers and members of the fencing team that didn't get a chance to see his
armor come and go before, watched in awe as it instantly engulfed him once
more.

The team and coaches called out their goodbyes as Theodore
was escorted down to the parking garage.  The local police were true to their
word and in well less than five minutes three groups of three squad cars
arrived.  They were all repulsar cars, floating effortlessly 30cm off the
ground.  Theodore was a sucker for old fashioned wheels, but these cars could
move far faster and turn far sharper, their utility was obvious.  He climbed
into the back of a squad car and laid down in the back seat.  He didn't know if
he was supposed to lay down, but it made sense to him and he definitely didn't
want to draw attention to himself.  For the first time in his life, he was
ashamed of himself.  He didn't know why, but there was now a trail of death and
destruction following him and... well... it just didn't make sense...

That air of shame and dejection still hung over him as he
sat in a plush chair of a lavish apartment.  The windows were frosted white...
for safety... the whole place had one thing on its mind: safety.  Well, that's
not true, a visiting dignitary would have felt at home.  Theodore just felt
worthless...

There was a knock at the door and Agent Telmark entered with
two others, “If you are feeling up to it, we'd like to talk with you.”

Theodore just meowed at them and hung his head.  That wasn't
proper etiquette and he knew it.  He just didn't care.         

 Agent Telmark started to excuse himself when the third man
spoke up, spoke up in the Highland Old Tongue, “Theodore, I know you are upset
and dejected.  We just want to help.  None of this is your fault, don't blame
yourself.  Blame lands squarely on the shoulders of the Bella-Shoana.  Not you;
them.”

Theodore rolled over and sat upright.  He didn't feel like
talking, but he really didn't feel like being alone and it was
so
comforting
to be able to speak in his native tongue.  “Come in and sit.  Sorry for my
manners, I'm not feeling much like a host today...”

“I'm Alec Rhys, I'm a consultant for the Federal Special
Services.  You've meet Agent Telmark, the other here is Agent Falstaff.”

“Sir John Falstaff?” asked Theodore with a grin.

Alec shook his head and grinned, “No, Robert.  And I'm
certain
he's never heard that joke before.”  He sat smiling and continued, “
Robert
works in the Organized Crime Division.  We all have questions... You as well as
the three of us.  You are asking yourself  'why me?' and we are here to try and
help you figure that out.”

“Where are
my
manners...” murmured Theodore as he
shifted languages.

Alec grinned, “No!  Stay in the Old Tongue.  I don't want
you to have to think about things across the language barrier.  I've spoken
this language since I was five, I'm perfectly comfortable with it, and I'd rather
you be as comfortable as possible.”

Theodore nodded and watched as Alec produced a small
keyboard and feverishly started typing as he talked.  “We are going to record
this conversation as well.  Are you comfortable with that?”  With Theodore's
nod he continued, “We've pulled the records from the problems a month ago and
started running things anew today.  Your dorm room was broken into, you heard
about that, yes?”  Theodore nodded again and Alec continued, “First of all,
stop moping: you did nothing wrong!  Don't blame yourself for anything; we are
here to find out why you are so popular.  You have a squeaky clean slate and
your tail is bright and combed: you are a model citizen.  When model citizens
get under the microscope of organized crime, it is usually because of something
they know.  Something small, some accidental encounter that makes the bad guys
nervous.  The other reason that comes to mind is you may be getting ready to do
something, something that would upset them.”

“But I haven't
been
anywhere, seen anything out of
the ordinary, nor am I planning on doing much of anything!  I'm just a kid at
the university who's...”

Alec tutted and smiled, “Hey, we know, we know!  Oh, by the
way, we have food being brought up... Care for Annescalt dumplings?”

Theodore would have made an excellent running for one of
Pavlov's dogs as he instantly started salivating!  He hadn't had those since he
left home!  “Actually, yes, please!”  Suddenly a thought flashed across his
mind, “You are a consultant you said... anthropologist, I assume?”

Alec nodded, “One of many titles... does that bother you?”

Theodore shook his head and laughed, “So long as the
dumplings are hot, you could be the town fool!”

They all laughed at that and soon both the smiles and food
flowed freely.  Alec was a wonderful man to talk to, and while he did prod and
poke with a few more embarrassing questions than Theodore would have normally
felt comfortable with, Alec did so more like a concerned uncle than a man in
law enforcement.  Theodore needed that... the comfort of family...

Three hours passed and passed well from good company. 
Theodore didn't realize he could talk so much, but there is was.  Finally he
had a simple question of his own, “If I leave presently, is there any chance of
picking my scholarship back up once this has all cooled down?”

Alec just grinned, “Normally, no.  The TetzWeyr Foundation
is very strict about such things.  Fortunately, the head of the Foreign Office
is also one of the chairs for the foundation.  Exceptions have been made!  Not
that they were ultimately necessary,  Major Riggs of the Mikaer Military
Academy has also arranged to sponsor you on behalf of the alumni of the
Shukurae's 798
^th
CSOG.  You have good friends, lad!  Be grateful for
them.”

Theodore just smiled, “Everywhere I've been, I've meet
wonderful people.  That's what makes this all so... well...”

“Confusing,” Alec offered.  “There is a ship that can pick
you up in the morning, if you'd rather head back presently.  No shame in that:
wanting to protect your friends and classmates.  Just promise that you will
come back.”

“Thank you sir.  Yes, I would love to leave tomorrow.  And
yes, I
will
be back!”

“Good lad!  Finish up your supper, and good luck on your
trip!”  They all smiled and smartly departed.

Theodore started to polish off the rest of the food that had
been so lavishly laid out for him, it was all perfect!  Not only was it food in
the style of the Highlands, it was also consistent with food from the region he
was from.  Alec had really done his research... Suddenly he broke out laughing
at the obviousness of it all, Alec wasn't
just
an anthropologist, he was
probably a psychologist as well!  He had played Theodore perfectly!  That
should have made him feel indignant, but no... he
needed
Alec as a
perfect friend and host... even if it was an act.  No, it probably wasn't an
act.  Alec was trying to help everyone...