Iron Station Savage Masks IC IV

[mmdeforrest]

November 1st
John

Spoiler: Over WiFi for Clea

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”Emilia may have expressed her relief at Grayson’s return with a hug. One that has been slightly prolonged,” Nora replies to her.

“The doctor has said to bring your delivery to the kitchen,” Nora says to John. “She’ll met you there momentarily.”

Oh, sorry John, Emi replies. It’s been hard for me to concentrate. My father was speaking to me, and I was just so relieved that Grayson is back. He’s in control currently, and he’s transformed back. You can take our food to the kitchen. We can eat at the table. I’ll be there in a moment.

Delivery, John thought to himself acidly as he listened to Nora’s and Emi’s responses. Perhaps he should take lessons from Louis. That was supposed to be his cover story, John thought, unable to resist the temptation to assuage his male ego by remembering that he was the Chair of a charitable foundation with sufficient gold and silver reserves to destabilize the world’s economy.

That’s not charitable, John, he reminded himself as he lifted the bag of food. Not charitable on so many different levels.

Not to mention the fact that destabilizing the world’s economy was not permitted in the Foundation’s bylaws.

“Thank you, Nora,” John replied, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice as he mounted the stairs and opened the door. “Would you please make sure I don’t take any wrong turns and alert me if I need to duck into any closets or the like on the way, should Grayson/Valèdeir approach? I suspect it would be best if we didn’t bump into one another along the way, if it can be avoided.”

I’m glad your friend is back and is safe and in control.

For now.

I know how important he is to you, he added as reassuringly as he could. I am glad to hear he is okay.

He was taken aback somewhat at how negatively he was reacting to the thought that he was not the one making it difficult for her to concentrate. He would have to get that under control before she came down to dinner.

As he followed the path marked out by Nora, John simultaneously acknowledged that he was being unfair to Emi to harbor such feelings and being unfair to himself if he did not acknowledge that it hurt that she was relieved to see the being who was homicidally inclined towards him. Even though those two truths were inherently incompatible, he needed to at least align them well enough that dinner was not ruined.

Spoiler: Just between the AIs

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Clea, for the second time that evening, was painfully conscious of the emptiness where her weapons systems should be. The first was when her targeting system had acquired the soft lock on Valèdeir as he flew past.

Now, it was less a practical sensation and more one of impotent frustration.

Her logic systems registered that this kind of response was why she was not permitted to have such systems installed.

It was a terribly unhelpful response.

“Ah,” Clea replied curtly. “It is to be expected that she would be relieved at his return. That she still cares about Grayson and perhaps even Valèdeir and their well being after having committed—to the degree that she has—to John speaks well of her.

“Given his concern for our safety as the dragon flew over us, I can appreciate how our particular friend’s response might have unsettled him. It is quite fortunate that he is as well adjusted as he is.”

She, after all, would have blown the dragon out of the sky, if given half the chance.