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The Life of Another - Chapter 40

© Jake Atkinson

P.O.V. - Mr. Forester (Roger's second counselor)-Staff Meeting

And here's ever-late Nigel Burwell now, in a new suit yet again! Heh, if I keep winning these bets Sarah might start to think I'm cheating.

I glanced at my fellow counselor, the faintest sign of a triumphant flip in my tail.

"He must have a closet the size of my house!" huffed Sarah.

"Perhaps he has a second job as a game show host?" I commented off-handedly. "They never seem to wear the same suit twice either."

"At least you're gracious in victory." she replied with a sigh of resignation. "And you always pick outstanding restaurants. Anyplace particular in mind for supper tonight?"

Before I could respond, Nigel rapped his knuckles on the tabletop to get everyone's attention. "Alright, quiet down. The faster we get this meeting started, the sooner we can enjoy our version of Spring break along with the students."

"If you had been on time, we'd be half done by now." muttered Jack in a less than subtle tone.

Nigel narrowed his eyes at the Wolverine. "I just finished a call with Roger Evan's Aunt. It seems her employer was less than understanding about her needing to leave on short notice. She had to quit. If only someone had done a better job at the gate..."

"I shouldn't even be doing that sort of work and you know it." countered Jack. "It's about time we hired some support staff. And not just security guards either! Laura shouldn't have to play school nurse just because she's a doctor."

Knowing the two of them could go at it indefinitely, I interjected. "If I may." I said, raising my hand. "That's on the agenda for the Friday meeting. This meeting was scheduled to start with the Roger Evans situation. Exactly where are we with that?"

Jack mumbled and crossed his arms over his chest while Nigel cleared his throat. "Yes, about that," began the Lion. "Considering the substantial liability Roger's antics have exposed us to, I believe it's in our best interests to remand him to the care of his Aunt, Mrs. Vaughner."

"What about Roger's best interests?" I inquired.

"At this point," replied Nigel. "Our choices appear limited."

"Have you considered the long-term consequences?" I said. "Roger will likely run away at the first opportunity. After that, he'd fall back on selling his ability to alter people's metabolisms, which wouldn't take long to bring him into contact with various organized crime syndicates." Looking around the room, I could see who was planning to vote for expulsion and focused my efforts towards them. "Given that his personal sense of justice often takes sway over established law, he could easily become a formidable member of the very elements that we work to contain."

Nigel smirked. "Be that as it may, Roger has proven that he lacks the self-control necessary to be a part of our organization. What if he had an incident on the plane? He could have killed everyone on board! And for what? A week of fun at a friend's house?!"

"But there wasn't an incident on the plane, or anywhere else." I responded. "We've all seen Kathryn's reports. Her remote viewings made it clear that he intentionally dosed himself with valium so he could travel safely. Not that I find such behavior excusable by any means, but it does show substantial empathy. It's quite clever really, in such a state he couldn't have used his talents even if he wanted to. There's no way an emotional connection could be focused under such circumstances."

The Lion appeared unmoved, his tail visibly tossing behind him. "Those issues aside, I have to consider what's best for the school as a whole. While liability waivers may offer protection while he's here on campus, we do not have such legal luxuries when he's gallivanting about on his latest whim."

I leaned back, but kept my hands on the table. "So you're ok with Ahmet recruiting him then?"

Nigel's ears flicked. "We have no idea what Ahmet's intentions were. Their meeting could have been nothing more than coincidence."

"Sure," I chided playfully. "The head of the Solak family often goes about searching the phones of minors. And don't forget the wad of cash, although I doubt that was enticing to Roger at all." Realizing my sarcasm was only serving to rile him further, I reined myself in. "I apologize, my tone was uncalled for. However, I believe we can solve all of our Roger Evans problems, and even an aspect of our staffing shortage, with a bit of ingenuity."

To his credit, while I could tell Nigel was angry, he nonetheless measured his response. "As much as I would like to be done with this matter, I realize we designed these meetings to foster multiple options." He took a controlled breath. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"Thank you." I said, composing myself. "Seeing as how Roger's actions have indirectly caused the loss of Mrs. Vaughner's job, why don't we hire her? If we make her eligibility for employment based on Roger's enrollment, I'm confident that we could... help him mature. And of course there would be other conditions, namely continued counseling and a GPS monitor strapped to one of his hocks."

Dr. Tamner cleared her throat. "He could disable the GPS monitor on a whim, but I assume that an alarm would be triggered if it stops transmitting?"

I nodded.

"And what would we accomplish by employing his aunt?" she asked.

"I believe Roger doesn't care about himself nearly as much as he cares about the people close to him." I said, shifting in my chair to face her more directly. "And by making the well-being of his Aunt dependent on his compliance, I suspect we'll have better luck altering his behavior patterns."

Jack chimed in from his chair beside the doctor. "I know Roger. If we push him, he'll push back."

"I admit, that is my greatest concern." I acknowledged, tilting my muzzle towards the Wolverine. "If we give him the feeling that he's being confined, he'll rebel purely out of instinct. We'll have to dance a fine line."

Nigel drummed his fingers thoughtfully. "It's a difficult choice. Granted, Roger has only been here a couple weeks. It's unrealistic to expect him to be reborn in such a short time, but the risks associated with his continued presence are mounting. I'm not even sure how we'd get him back here safely, short of using our modified private jet."

He turned his attention towards his assistant, Kathryn Patterson. "Has any new information come to light?"

The Black Panther glanced at her notepad, ticking off points as she spoke. "At fourteen hundred hours, his time, Roger was in a deli with Nick's mother. Other than Roger ordering a spicy Italian sub with extra jalepeños and buffalo sauce, nothing remarkable happened. At fourteen-thirty they arrived at Nick's home and discussed their plans for the week. Of note, they intend to go to at least two theme parks. Oh, and Nick's father has also spoken of taking Roger to a car show later in the week. As for Ahmet, per his usual, he sensed my presence whenever I tried to remote in and created interference. The best I can tell you is that at ten this morning he was in a bathroom, where he waved at me in the mirror before pushing me out. And at eleven I managed to hear the sounds of traffic interrupted by sirens and an accelerating bus." She flipped her tail in irritation. "If only I had a more recent fur sample..."

Nigel nodded. "Ever since Ahmet discovered that to be your path of connection, he's been most meticulous about his grooming. Nonetheless, we are working on it. Getting back to current matters, it looks like I made the right call in sending Mrs. Vaughner to Coronado. We certainly can't have Roger hurling about on rollercoasters!"

"To be fair," commented Kathryn. "Roger said he'd have to avoid those. They're apparently just going to stroll the park, paddle a canoe, take some pictures with a few cartoon characters... that sort of thing."

"Even so," replied the Lion. "The potential for disaster in such a setting is far too great. Luckily, Mrs. Vaughner will arrive there soon. At least she's willing to cooperate, unlike Nick's parents."

An awkward pause followed, one which I filled. "So, to settle things, will Roger be heading home with Mrs. Vaughner? Or will they be coming back here?" Lifting my arm, I asked, "All those in favor of Roger's return to school, raise your hand."