’ We went into bar in the mall, got a table in the back and started catching up. Beth had dropped off the face of the earth because of a stalker at... college. He had followed her and threatened her to the point she had to drop out and move home. Even then he followed her back home, broke into her families home, knocked her out and tried to set the house on fire. She was rescued by her father who happened to come home unexpectedly and got her out of the house. The stalker had a close encounter. I am in good shape for being fifty four years old. I have a full head of hair, although it has this funny gray color in places. I’m not a hard body by any means, but at 5 feet 11 and 175 pounds and I still wear the same size I have my whole adult life. My body still does everything brain tells it to, it just may hurt a bit the next day. I have a life to live yet. It’s not that I don’t have an interest in women, I do, I had always enjoyed the female form. Kerry had elbowed my ribs many times. I still needed to do some more observation. Is this why my affinity control has always felt so stiff after I generated plasma? Because my energies were out of synchronism? FUCK! GOD DAMNIT! MOTHER FUCKER!”James opened his eyes. Then he made for the lab at a brisk pace.Skay was playing with something at a workbench as Lackey 1 painted array patterns, and Lackey 16 was carrying boxes of something out of the freight elevator they’d hooked up to level five’s storage to supply things to auto. I nodded and somehow managed to produce what I suspect was an embarrassing smile. “Here,” she said, smiling coolly and thrusting the lever arch file towards me. I nervously took it in both arms, holding it carefully into my body like a newborn baby. She glanced down at her wristwatch. “It’s been a long day. Let’s go and find somewhere quiet and comfortable, and have a chat, shall we, Lucy?” I followed Veronica through the reception area and out of the main office door, into the still stifling.