At the lab, Astrid called Quo's attention to some samples in a microscope, allowing us to duck into a corner behind the shield of some high lab benches.

"I have some... calculations to complete, while you're... uhhhh, checking those samples," with a dramatic nod of the head and glance for our benefit in the direction of a comp unit, Astrid headed right over.

Could Astrid have been any more obvious? It's a wonder Quo isn't laughing out loud at the pathetic attempt at subterfuge.

Quietly, hoping not to draw more attention to Astrid's suspicious behavior, I asked Astrid what was next.

"I have more than enough serum ready for you." Astrid spoke softly, facing away from Quo on the far side of the room. "Once Medic Quodis leaves, I will take you to the sample vault, where I will administer the serum."

"Where is the sample vault?" I whispered, sensing a hitch in this plan.

Astrid paused, realizing the difficulty, fingers hovering above the softly backlit console, "Three buildings over, and two floors down."

"We have to ditch the Medic soon then, so we can make it over there before workers start arriving!" Sabeece's eyes widened. "We don't know how many people are after us, or how closely they're following."

"...Or why they're after us, or how they even tracked us to your office. What if they only want to help me?..."

They sure hadn't acted like they were on my side so far.

"I'm alert now," Sabeece reassured me. "If they found us earlier by tracking your thought patterns, I'm covering them now with a steady stream of minutia. It would take a very competent Counselor to shift through it, and by the time they do, you won't be broadcasting enough biosigns for even the most advanced Counselor to triangulate your true location."

"Okay, I'll have to take your word for it. So, how do we shake the Medic and get - "

I was interrupted by a familiar voice from behind me, "Who's shaking Medics?"

Uh oh!

"Quo, uh nice seeing you again, ummm so soon," I stammered.

How to explain...

"This really isn't a good time, Medic Quodis," Sabeece tried steering Quodis toward the frosted glass doors to the laboratory, saying something about having misheard.

Quodis was having none of it though, "This wouldn't have anything to do with Grayce's visit to my clinic yesterday, would it?" That brought us all to a stop. Sabeece paused mid-pivot to the doors.

"What do you mean? Uhhhh, why would you think that?" My brow furrowed, trying to figure out how the Medic would have made that connection, correct though it was.

" 'Cuz it couldn't have been 15 ticks after I logged my notes from your appointment, that I was visited by a pair claiming to be Medics. They were asking about any 'late Bloomers' for a research project they were recruiting volunteers for. They asked if I knew anyone who might be interested. It struck me as too much of a coincidence. I didn't recognize their Bloom-marks - they were like nothing I'd ever seen." Quodis trailed off, looking down and to the right, frowning at the recollection of the strange Bloom-marks. Sabeece must have sent an inquiring thought - their eyes connected briefly. Sabeece's eyes went wide in what must have been in response to the Medic's reply. I made a mental note to ask Sabeece about their exchange later.

It's times like these when I feel most cut-off from the collective. Being able to send discrete thoughts to others, and not just passively receive what they choose to send me, was one of the things I was most looking forward to about Astrid's promised attempts to trigger my Blooming.

Finishing the silent exchange with Sabeece, the Medic continued, "Where was I? Right... when I asked for more details about their project - you know how excited I get about Developmental Theory," Quodis winked at me, "They couldn't answer even the most fundamental questions, such as the control conditions and variables they would be testing, let alone how their research would further the field."

"They scrambled out of my clinic when I offered to share the findings of my senior Apprenticeship project. Hahaha!" The sound of the Medic's laughter echoed around the laboratory. None of the rest of us so much as smiled.

I realized I'd been holding my breath and tried to focus on steadying my now shaking hands on the scratched dark grey counter-top. The feel of the solid, cool surface helped steady my nerves.

"Anyhoodles... When they left, I started looking for any recent research on late-Blooming. Anything I could find was listed as 'Unavailable at this time. Please provide your preferred method of contact to be notified when available again.' "

Sabeece and I exchanged a worried glance at this, but neither of us interrupted.

"I'd actually started inputting my info when I started having misgivings. Instead, I sent you a comm asking you to contact me immediately. The message bounced back as 'Recipient not found,' so once I'd finished with my last patient, I decided to walk past your place on my way home."

"Recipient not found...?" I don't like the sound of that.

Resigned to the Medic's involvement and quick-thinking as ever, Sabeece had flipped the switch activating the 'Research in Progress - Do Not Disturb' sign outside the lab and locked the door before joining the rest of us on high stools around the nearest lab bench. Astrid's head was down on the counter, resting on a folded arm. Soft regular snores could be heard over the hum of equipment.

Must be exhausted. At least Sabs and I got some rest before the excitement started.

"So you decided to look for me?" I prompted, dreading what I would hear next.

"Ya, I still had your file up," Quodis shrugged. "Your place is only a short walk from the Clinic, so I detoured on my way home. But, when I got there, light shone out of every window and I saw at least two people moving around. I didn't want to interrupt if you had guests over, but I was really starting to worry about you, Grayce," Quodis gave me a playful elbow to the side.

"As I went up to your place, I saw the door was slightly ajar. I peeked through the crack and saw same pair from the clinic, the ones I scared off with my questions about their bogus research project."

Sabeece inhaled sharply at this, which was my first clue that Quodis hadn't shared those details to the Counselor already.

I guess true surprises are a rarity for Counselors, given how accustomed they are to having full access to the thoughts an memories of those around them at any time. Welcome to my life.

Realizing the Medic must have a way to block intrusions into memory gave me pause.

One more mystery in this life that, until now, I thought I'd understood so well.

"Ya, they were going through the place, opening doors and drawers."

Addressing me, Quodis continued, "Either you're a complete slob, or they weren't putting anything back. You're gonna have quite the mess to clean up." Quodis guffawed at this.

I fail to see the humor.

"Seriously though, they seemed to be looking for something," Quodis paused for effect, "or someone... Boo!"

I jumped, nearly falling off my perch on the stool, "Quo!" I exclaimed, feigning a swat at Quodis's goofy grin.

"What'd you do that for?" Sabeece demanded, head cocked and hands on hips, ready to defend me.

"Awww c'mon Sabs!" Quodis managed to get out between bursts of belly-laughs, "Lighten up!" Gasping, "Did you see the look on Grayce's face? Ha ha ha!"

"You got me good, I'll give you that," I responded, settling back onto my stool a little more securely before giving Quodis one last not-so-playful shove.

"I will get you back - you watch for it."

"Bring it," the Medic agreed, still grinning ear-to-ear.

"Seriously though, Quo, was it really the same people at Grayce's place who were asking questions at your clinic?" Sabeece asked.

"Ya, no question. It was them. I got a good look at one of them and saw the strange Bloom-mark before they sensed me. I turned my shielding up," Quodis gestured off-hand at the band all Medics wore.

A groggy voice piped up from near my right elbow, "Your shielding?"

Looks like nap time is over.

"Oh! Sorry if we woke you, Youngling!" Quodis was startled by Astrid suddenly re-joining the conversation.

Yawning and stretching, Astrid ignored the apology, focused on the technology, "You were saying about shielding?"

"Ya, it's standard Medic-issue," Quodis explained. "We don't have the same abilities to dampen our thoughts as Counselors do, so our wristbands help us keep patient info to ourselves. They're not really designed to avoid detection by phony researchers ransacking homes hunting down your friends, but hey, "Need leads the invention," right?"

Friends...? Is that what we are now? The way things are going, I can sure use all the friends I can get!

"I would be interested in examining this technology when we have time, Medic Quodis," Astrid stated in the typically formal way of the Youngling Researcher.

"Uhhhh, ya sure, Astrid," Quodis dismissed the request, returning to the story.

"They looked around a bit, but I was clearly not their main objective. When they went back to tearing Grayce's place apart, I snuck away." Quodis shrugged.

"I had an Elder patient to check on, then I was gonna look for you again before my next shift at the clinic. Luckily I ran into our Young friend and been saved the trouble!" Quodis tousled Astrid's already messy hair while saying this.

"The thing is, Counselor," the Medic said with a significant look at Sabeece, "I couldn't pick up any biosigns. None."

I felt a chill run up my spine. Even a relatively new Medic like Quodis should have been able to get a read of at least basic health status of anyone who was that close to them.

Who ARE these people? And what do they want with me...?

______________________
A/N - posted Jul 12, 2018

Dum Dum Dum! What COULD those bogus researchers want with Grayce? What's the significance of their lack of biosigns? Stay tuned to find out 😉

This week has been pretty mixed up - a friend visiting from across the country and still recovering from the road trip last weekend. Was able to get a lot of judging done for the Sunset Awards during the trip, but not as much writing as I would have liked. Here's hoping for more writing time soon!

Remember to vote ⭐️ for the chapter if you're enjoying it so far (and comment HERE if you aren't and why lol 😜)