Lula

"This is big, Lu, real big!" Vince was pacing in Lula's office, flipping through a folder that had been delivered earlier that day. "Look at these numbers! Have you seen these numbers?"

"Yes, I've seen them." Lula got up from her desk, making sure to keep a tight grip on her drink. "We don't need to talk about them, not now."

"Right, of course, we can put it away." Vince closed up the folder and dropped it on Lula's desk. "It's just, I think we're gonna win this!"

"We?" Lula turned to Vince with cold eyes and she saw him shrink back into himself a little. She didn't really want to do it, she couldn't help but stab at people with her words lately.

"Right, you! You're gonna win this."
Lula threw back the rest of her drink and held out the empty glass. Jing stepped forward and filled it without question.

"So, if you didn't wanna talk about the campaign why'd you call me in?"

"I have a meeting with Mariella today."

"What freaky thing is she working on now?"

"I don't know, something about a task force. It all sounds terribly boring."

"So what's she need you for?"

Lula finished her drink and held the glass out again. Without even pausing to consult with her, Jing took the glass and Lula moved to sit on a sofa along the back wall of the room. She patted the seat next to her and Vince sat down too. "There's something going on at ToCo, I can feel it. Something I'm not sure I wanna be messed up in."

"What is it? Lu, you can tell me anything, you know that."

"Mariella keeps telling me she's just trying to help people but I think she's only helping herself."

"We're all just helping ourselves, doll."

"I'm not." Lula turned her head to glance out the window. From her new office she could see the construction overtaking the portion of Capital City that had been lost by the inferno. "I'm helping Capital City. That's why the people love me, that's why I'll be mayor come election day."

"Hell of a rise, I'd say. From small town girl, to holostar, to mayor of the biggest and best city in the god damned world! I always told you you'd be big, didn't I?"

"Oh, please, remove your lips from my butt for a second so we can have a real conversation."

Vince stuttered but when he recovered he flashed Lula an uncomfortable smile. "Right, got it. So what makes you think the doctor's up to no good?"

"I talked to one of her patients. Nari, the one who saved me that night at the lake house. She seemed very unstable."

"Isn't that the problem with all this super power business? It turns people crazy."

"I'm not sure if that's how it works though." Lula moved closer to Vince and put her head on his shoulder. "I think Mariella's the one who's making them crazy."

"What?" Vince snorted. "That doesn't make sense."

"I mean, she started as a psychologist. She understands people's minds, she can bend them to her will if she wants to. I think she's probing these people too deeply, I think she's breaking them."

"Why would she do that?"

"I think it has to do with this task force she wants to talk to me about."

"Wait, just what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I think she's controlling these people, not helping them. Probably in order to create some kind of weapon."

Lula felt Vince grab hold of her hand. Even though she couldn't see his face she knew he probably looked concerned. Vince had always worried about Lula like a father. At first she thought it was because she was his biggest pay cheque but after a while she realized that maybe she did hold a special place in his heart. "Why would she want a weapon?"

"I don't know."

"Lu, I don't like this. I don't think you should do this anymore."

"What happened to my rise through the ranks? What happened to mayor of the biggest and best city in the world?"

"But if this doctor is manipulating people with crazy secret powers and trying to build a weapon don't you think... don't you think that if that got out people would change their minds about you?"

"It won't get out, not until I'm ready to let it out."

"What's that mean?"

"I need you to find me a journalist, a good one."

"Why?"

"We're gonna expose this ourselves. I'm gonna do everything I can to figure out what exactly they're doing and we're gonna tell the world before anyone else finds out."

"That way you'll stay a hero."

Lula lifted her head from the man's shoulder and smiled at him. "This is why you've been such a good manager over the years. You get me, you know?"

Vince winked and stood back up. He straightened his suit jacket and moved for the door. "I'm on it, I'll find someone good."

"You have anyone in mind?"

"Oh, I got a couple. You'll just have to wait and find out though. You got your own work to do, let me handle mine."

"Okay, I trust you'll do the job well."

"Like always, sweetheart." Vince left and Lula inhaled deeply. She could feel the overwhelming pressure of her plan crushing in around her. Two parts of her personality were clashing now, the part that only wanted to help people and the part that wanted fame and power. It was a strange dichotomy to contend with but she did it every day of her life so what should be different now?

Jing moved to Lula's side and she stood up off the couch. "We should get going," she said and they went together to her town car. He opened the door for her and she slid into her seat. The driver waited for Jing to get in beside her then pulled away from the curb. Lula listened to the sound of the hoverengine buzzing underneath her and let it soothe her raging nerves. They pulled up to Toro Corporation Headquarters and she remembered the first time she stared up at that building wondering what she'd find inside. She never stopped wondering, but back then it was an excited kind of wonder. Now it was the dreadful kind that made her want to turn and run. She and Jing moved through the lobby and the receptionist smiled and waved but Lula ignored her. They boarded the elevator and rode silently up to Dr. Whynn's floor.

"Ah, Lula, good to see you." Whynn was almost always waiting on the other side of the elevator doors whenever Lula arrived. Almost like she didn't want to risk Lula getting lost and discovering something she shouldn't know.

"You did summon me, after all."

The doctor smiled and turned to Jing. "Of course, you'll have to stay here again."

"When will you get one of those non-disclosure agreements for him?"

"I'm sorry, my office assistant is just a bit of a mess. She never remembers to print me off a new copy. We use them so rarely, since nobody is really allowed up here. We were happy to make an exception for Madame Mayor though."

"I'm not mayor yet, Mariella."

"But you will be." Whynn took Lula by the arm and led her down to her office at the end of the hall. Lula had long ago learned not to look through the windows of the rooms. The prisoners inside, and that's how she'd come to think of them, prisoners not patients, seemed too sad for her to look at.

"What do you want? What's this about a task force?"

"Come in and sit before we talk." Whynn led her to a chair and sat in one opposite from her. "I'm getting security reports that there's an uprising forming."

"Uprising?"

"The benders, that's what powered people call themselves, they're gathering en masse in a colony across the country."

"Why?"

"You've seen these people, these benders, they're crazy with power. Look at Rorrick Lahaye, the terrorist who nearly burned our city to the ground. Or Lee. The way he treated you? You have to know that people like that are dangerous individually but together they could burn down the world."

"So you're saying the benders are, what? Forming a terrorist group?"
"Oh, make no mistake. It's formed. From what we know, they may even be ready to mobilize soon."

"What do you plan on doing about it?"

"We're forming our own group."

"The task force you mentioned?"

"It's only small so far, just two members, but that's enough for a reconnaissance mission."

"What would they be doing?"

"Infiltrating the bender colony, reporting back what they find and when we're ready..."

"When we're ready then what?"

Dr. Whynn smiled but she didn't answer the question. "Would you like to meet the task force?"

"Fine."

The door opened then and Nari entered the office. "Our first member, and my first patient. You know her as your own personal savior."

"And who's the other member?"

"I need you to brace yourself for this."

"Mairella, who is it?" Lula didn't have to ask, she already knew who was about to walk in the door. She stood up and stepped behind her chair as Lee came in. He winked at her and blew a kiss. "No! You can't think I'd be okay with this."

"He's my second most promising patient, Lula. Nari and Lee are our most powerful operatives and they'll get this job done better than anyone else we have."

"He's crazy, he tried to kill me, twice!"

"Oh that?" Lee smiled and shrugged. "I'm over that. I got better things on the go now."

Nari glared back at Lee and Lula realized that she clearly had some sort of sway over him. He stopped speaking instantly but didn't stop smiling.

"I would think you'd like this plan." The doctor moved closer to Lula but Lula backed away. "He's going to be on the other side of the country, far away from you. Besides, he's been treated and medicated. He's the only one who can help get this done, right Lee?"

Lee turned to the doctor and Lula saw his eyes glaze over. "The only one?" He asked.

"The only one." Dr. Whynn smiled back at him.

"Fine, whatever, just get him out of here. I don't wanna see him anymore."

"Very good, you two go prepare for your mission, I want you outta here by morning."

Nari nodded and forcefully grabbed hold of Lee's arm. She pulled him out of the room but not before he winked at Lula over his shoulder.

"Why did you really bring me here?"

"I told you, to talk about the task force."

"I don't need to know that stuff, you brought me here to parade Lee in front of me didn't you? To make me feel weak."

Whynn stood up and straightened her lab coat. She glared at Lula and said, "Just remember who's really in charge here." Did she know what Lula was planning?

"Can I go now?"

"Of course, but keep your phone on."

"As always," Lula said as she left the doctor's office.