It felt like something of an out of body experience. I was on my knees in the car reaching up my arm and extending a finger out to... me? My outreachi...ng body collapsed to the floor. A senior pulled the emergency brake before the train even got going. My motionless body lay face down on the greasy subway car. "So this is death", I thought. Glancing down I came to an uneasy realization that this may in fact not be death. There was now a purse on my shoulder... A chill swept around my bare legs. .. not even a spanking just for fun. So intent was Gregg on his own work, that it was as if he barely noticed her ... and for the most part, that was the truth. For an Omega Xi, not being noticed was almost as bad a punishment as one could give!Headquarters was abuzz with activity. Despite the amazing food that E'dan and Rivkah provided, most everybody worked through their meals. And despite the grueling work, Gregg often had to force people to leave at 9pm. He couldn't be prouder, but neither. The Institute's president, Sir Bristow Merriweather, had been knighted for his work at Buckingham Palace East on the shores of the Indian Ocean after the completion of the Ganges-Indus Canalisation. He had steered the Institute to its current pre-eminence. His office was on the first floor, directly over the portico of the main entrance. Harwell and I sat waiting for our appointment in a comfortable ante-room.Exactly at the time agreed for our appointment, the door to Merriweather's office. Sleepy. Something's wrong, Rick. I need to go there." Not without me," I said. "Pack a bag ... enough for several days. We'll catch the shuttle out of Logan."I had withheld the information on Johnson deliberately so as not to upset Sally. I hadn't figured out what to do about it anyway, and to be honest with myself, I had stalled doing anything. By the sound of it, that time was past."I got the impression John wasn't at the apartment," I said as we hustled to pack and head toward Boston."Mom.