Page 100 of Homebound
Gemma turned to Dr. Delano with all the grace she could muster. She was tired and terribly dispirited. And she expected absolutely nothing good from Dr. Delano.
“Is this true? You’re here to see me?”
“As it turns out, yes.”
She had forgotten his eyes, those pokey sharp shards of gray with a hard glint. So intense they bordered on crazy. She was afraid she knew why he sought her out.
“What is it, doctor?” she asked cautiously.
He cocked his head and his orderlies flexed their shoulders as if getting ready for action.
“I heard an interesting bit of news, Gemma,” he began, soft and beguiling. “A prisoner escaped yesterday. Brazenly. He plowed his way out by tearing apart one helper, eleven guards, and a massive alien of Obu race. Conventional electric weapons couldn't stop him. A tracking device he was wearing hadn’t deterred him. Immediately, I was intrigued.”
“Intrigued,” Gemma echoed.
“It appears that the escaped prisoner is an alien himself,” Dr. Delano continued. “One that is clearly very strong. Very healthy. Veryalive.”
He paused, allowing her a chance to explain, but she didn’t.
“Your aunt tells me you no longer work at the prison.”
Gemma threw a loaded glance in Aunt Herise’s direction for sharing her private business with a stranger. But of course, Aunt Herise had no notion about Dr. Delano’s thirst for Simon. To her, he was a perfect doctor. She trusted him.
“That is correct,” Gemma admitted.
“The alien escaped because of you.”
Gemma remained silent.
Dr. Delano didn’t seem put off by her reluctance to converse. “What did he do to trick you?”
“Nothing. I let him out.”
That got a surprised reaction from the doctor and the rest of the listeners. They all stared at her.
“You let him…”
“We’ve always known she was simple, Doctor,” Uncle Drexel interjected and Ravi and Leena nodded vigorously in agreement. “A dancer, what more can you say? She’s a distant relation. We let her live with us out of kindness but if she goes around letting dangerous prisoners escape, she has no place in our home. No place. An alien! God have mercy.”
Aunt Herise folded her hands on top of the table and leaned forward, her body language signaling a perfect agreement. She looked at her husband with pride for finally standing up for the family.
“You let the Rix out?” Dr. Delano repeated, focused solely on Gemma.
“I did.”
“You allowed him to escape?”
“Not exactly. Since you seem to be so well informed, doctor, surely you know that the Obu alien attacked me but I managed to get to Simon’s cell to let him out. He fought with the Obu. I had it all reported with the prison officials.”
Dr. Delano’s creepy eyes acquired a peculiar glint. “Simon, huh?”
“Yes,” Gemma snapped. “Simon.”
“He defended you?”
“Hard to believe, I know. But there you have it.”
Jubilation made Delano’s voice reedy. “Do you understand how singular it is for a human to have a Rix defender?”
