Doc's Place

Chapter 22 | Part 4

Friday, October 26, 1984

Stephanie opens the door. She wears a black skirt and white blouse as simple and efficient as my slacks and blouse. "Good morning, Jill. Come in. Breakfast is on the way."

"Thanks, Stephanie." Follow her to a nook with bright sunlight streaming through the windows. The eastern Sierra Nevada Range seems so close that I can almost touch it. Although the sky is bright and blue, dark clouds gather on the horizon.

She guides me to a breakfast nook and says, "Please sit," as a knock comes at the door. "That's our breakfast," she says, handing me a folder. "You'll want to read and sign this."

Sit and read while the waiter sets our table. Peter has replaced all references to my work hours in my contract with a statement that I work whatever hours I deem necessary to accomplish my objectives. Keep the two months vacation at the end of the eighteen-month term. Peter has already signed it.

Stephanie sits beside me as I sign. Checking my signature, she signs as witness. "I'll mail you a copy at home," she says. "Shall we eat?" Follow her to the table where we eat as we chat. She tells me about her life in Las Vegas, which is full of movie stars, musicians and professional athletes. As we finish breakfast, she hands me the package I mailed to Peter.

Peter has noted where he wants each photo to appear in the supplemental issue. He has left the text as it is.

Shrug and look at Stephanie. "Seems clear. Any verbal instructions?"

"He told you to delay release until January?"

"Yes."

"That's it then. Would you like to join me for a tanning session, a swim and a massage at the spa? I have reservations starting at eleven."

Look at her, trying to picture her in a bikini. "Sure Stephanie, I'll join you. I didn't bring a bathing suit, though."

"Oh, don't worry. We can go nekkid. I've reserved the private pool until two. The only staff will be the masseuse and one attendant," she says with a devilish grin, which makes me smile.

"Let's go," I say.

She leads me a huge bathroom and begins stripping off her clothes. "Robes and extra toothbrushes are in the cabinet there. Get comfortable," says Stephanie. In less than two minutes, she's standing naked at the sink brushing her teeth, so I do likewise. We put on robes and she hands me a spare room key. "In case either of us finishes before the other," she explains. Stephanie calls room service and tells them to clear the breakfast stuff while we're at the spa.

In the tanning bed, I doze off for ten minutes and awake refreshed. Stephanie has already left the room so I walk out in my robe.

She's standing naked on the high dive. "Isn't it great, having this to our selves?" she cries. Without waiting for a reply, she dives perfectly, barely making a ripple.

Open my robe, let it fall, dive in and swim over to her. "Was this your idea?"

"Reserving the spa?" When I nod, she says, "Oh yes, I always blow the expense account nowadays. I learned it from you, Jill. Do you like it?"

"I do," I tell her.

"I'm so glad I met you," she says. "I enjoy myself like the queen of the Nile now. Live for today!" she cries out, laughing.

Laugh with her and say, "I didn't tell you any of this."

"Oh, but you did. I've never met a more free and powerful woman, Jill. Come on. Let me see you dive."

"Okay, but I'm not as good as you are, Stephanie." Climb out of the water, as does she. While Stephanie sits on the edge, grinning and hugging one knee like a water nymph, I climb the high dive and jump. Remember to extend my arms and duck my head, but I can still hear a terrific splash. Swim to the opposite end.

When I look back, Stephanie is on the high dive. She jumps in with a whoop and follows me. We spend a half-hour playing in the water.

When we climb out at last, two women lead us to the massage area. Stephanie elects to take a shower and get a massage. Choose a soak in the hot tub. The attendant washes and rinses me thoroughly and I ease my body into the heated water, and relax. When I climb out, Stephanie is gone. The masseuse helps me on the table and puts me into another doze with her attention.

Later, return to the room and find Stephanie in bed, sound asleep, so I climb in beside her and close my eyes, relaxing. Here it is after noon on a Friday, and I haven't done a lick of work all day. Well, I signed an agreement and reviewed written instructions. I guess that's work to some people.

"Are you asleep?" asks Stephanie.

Opening my eyes, I look over at her. "No, I'm thinking that I'm supposed to be working."

"I know. Isn't it great? I don't fly back until tomorrow." She sighs and places her hands behind her head, looking at the ceiling. "Would you like to have sex with me, Jill?"

"Yes, Stephanie, I would."

"Great," she says, kicking away the sheet and rolling to one elbow, looking at me. "Close your eyes," she says, so I do. She begins to kiss me gently. "Some day," she murmurs, "I want to hear how you received these terrible wounds, Jill."

Sighing, I relax.

At three-thirty, I walk into my office, thoroughly relaxed and refreshed. On my desk are six rolls of 100 ASA color print film, which I lock in the cabinet. Phone Joe Rourke at the printer. "Just confirming that we'll see the issue Monday morning, Joe."

"Consider it confirmed," he says. "We always drop it off in the Personnel offices. Now, let's move on to the important business. When can I have that Thunderbird?"

"Soon as you hand me the cash, Joe."

"How about in half an hour? I can meet you anywhere you want."

"I'll pick you up at work and you can drop me off at home. I'll hand you the title and you can hand me the cash."

"Deal."

Hang up, shut off the light and tell Annette I'll be gone the rest of the day. She says that Louise wants to see me, so I walk up the hall to her office.

Louise looks at me and says, "Jill, where have you been? Dick is furious. He said that he told you to meet him in his office to review his comments."

"The printer will bring in the first issue Monday morning and we start training executives and managers on Wednesday, right?"

"Well yes, but. . . ."

"I'll tell the little guy to quit worrying," I say, standing. Walk up the hall to Dick's office and wink at Kelly. Anna watches me but says nothing.

Larry Witty, the new VP of Finance, is standing beside Dick as they review a single sheet of paper on the desk before him. Both of them look at me wide-eyed.

"Hi Larry. Hey Dick, we'll discuss your comments Monday. Have to get an early start on the weekend. `Bye." Turn and walk away.

The day has gone dark and cold so I switch on the headlights as I drive the T-bird over to the printer. Joe's as happy as a little boy with his first bicycle. Tell him about the car as we drive home. There, I turn over the title and he counts out 120 hundred-dollar bills. After Joe leaves with his new classic car, I lock the cash in my safe.

When I logon to my terminal to check messages, I find one from Louise at four, `Please call before five regarding interview comments.' Delete that one and read the next from Heather just a few minutes ago, `Please call.' Call and invite her to go hiking to the top of Mount Rose on Sunday.

"Uh, have you seen the weather reports, Jill?" she asks. "It's supposed to snow above five thousand feet."

"That's why DuPont invented Kevlar, sweetie," I tell her. "Pick you up at five."

"Wait," says Heather. "Want to hook up tonight, Jill?"

"Nope," I tell her, "already got a date."

Call Sara and ask her about hiking too. She asks if I'm nuts. Says she'll see us when we get off the mountain. No problem, I tell her. Call Tan. He agrees readily, so tell him I'll pick him up after five. He asks if I want to hook up this evening. Nope, got a date. Send Le an email about the T-bird sale and my plans to purchase another classic car, because she keeps my personal accounts until she hires someone to replace Mei.

Stare at the zero on my keyboard for a moment, type it and a question.

any threats

no, blocking enemy searches on you

define enemy

stranger and suspected/known hostile

status Linda Peterson

unchanged

status Susan Walsh in Montana

finances, health stable as of september 1984

s: capitalization unnecessary; doing tonight?

stephanie at grand

s: have fun

Log out and shut down. Tell Soji I'm out for the weekend. Grab the Buick keys and head for the door. A block down the street from the Baron Ranch entrance, see Lucy sitting in her car. She tries to follow me but a slow cab gets in her way and I ditch her quickly.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

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Doc's Place Chat
© 2008, Michel Grover.
Chapter 22 | Part 4
Spring 2012

Lucia :

Mic has posted in the left frame paragraphs from Doc's Place, one of his copyrighted stories. I'm moderating chat here in the right frame. I post every day, but I don't post everything. I have formed a secondary group from which I may also post comments.

Ian :

Mic, that cab that slows down Lucy as she's following Jill, is that Page?

Mic :

Probably, but I have never able to confirm it. Sorry, Ian.

Jules :

Looks like I may have been wrong about Tan as far as seeing Jill naked again, but I still contend that he'll be on the shit list soon. For one thing, Jill's had sex with him several times, and that's the kiss of death right there. For another, he's starting to get clingy.

Alan :

Picode's behavior is uncannily similar to Jill's in this segment. I am guessing that it's adapting to Jill as it experiences more interaction with her.

Lucia :

Jill is adapting to picode with experience as well.

Benny :

I wonder if Jill trusts picode when she learns that picode detects no threats. I suppose that means no threats to either Pere or her.

Raj :

Sui will tell her and Donna if she detects any threats. The alacrity and relish with which Jill responds and retaliates to threats has stifled any will to maintain them, regardless of the source. Threatening Jill or Pere is simply too expensive and dangerous.

Alan :

Tell us more about your time with Jill, Stepanie. Did Mic leave out anything that you think we should know?

Steph :

We have discussed the feelings of safety and peace I felt in Jill's presence. The strength and sense of security Jill radiates is compelling and unforgettable. By far, I remember this feeling more than any other from the time we spent together. An obvious example was Heather's willingness to go with Jill. I can't tell you what men feel around Jill, but when Jill was in close proximity, I wanted her to envelope me. I wanted to give myself to her, completely. Now, years later, I still want that.

Similar, but different, are the feelings of liberty and power I experienced from Jill's presence. I've discussed this in some detail and so has Bill, Jr., so I'll use Annette's explanation to Jill in dp22:2. To Jill's face, Annette called Jill "a forceful, energetic woman," and described her effect as "an inspiration to me and other women." It's difficult to explain but tangible. I'm certain that most women in Jill's presence have experienced this sensation. I'm just as certain that Jill has no idea that she has this effect upon others.

Jill is the most exciting, most unrestrained lover I've ever experienced. Under different circumstances perhaps, I'd like to participate in a chat forum with Jill's lovers. We would no doubt discover that many of Sun Tzu's principles of war regarding power, patience, and timing apply to lovemaking as well. Striking with overwhelming force takes on a new meaning in sex, but it's nonetheless appropriate.

I had forgotten how many wounds Jill had, but reading this part reminded me. Playing in the pool naked revealed multiple wounds and bruises. Once I began inspecting her body closely, as lovers do, I found scars from many more. Some wounds obviously had come from years before. For example, Jill's legs looked smooth, slim and silky from a few feet away, but up close, where I could run my fingers over the slight bumps and patterns, I could see subtle evidence of punctures, slashes and stitches. At one time, burns must have covered most of her lower body. The surgeons had done a fair job of stitching her up, but my god, the woman had been through a firestorm of violence.

Alan :

Jill never told you any more about her wounds while you were seeing each other?

Steph :

No, but our fling was brief. We didn't talk about her past. She tends to deflect personal questions, as you know. She directed the conversation my way. Sorry I didn't do a better job of gathering information.

Alan :

Forget it, Steph. Jill's experienced at deflecting personal queries. You wouldn't have gotten much before she withdrew, anyway.

Carlos, you described the feeling from being in close proximity to Jill in dpc8:3 thus, "I love Jill the way you love a comrade in arms, someone who is so competent, aware and powerful that you feel safe with her, as Stephanie put it." Would you add anything now?

Carlos :

No, but I would qualify the safety I felt with Jill as less that she provided protection and more that she `had my back,' as we say in the military.

Amalie :

Please expand on that, Carlos, and tell us what you mean when you say you love Jill.

Carlos :

Jill has qualities and experience that any combat veteran seeks. If you're on patrol with her, she'll stop the patrol if something doesn't look right or shrug if a situation poses no danger. If you're out in the wild at night and wake up Jill to take over sentry duty from 2 to 4am so you can sleep, you know with absolute certainty that she will not only stay alert but also know which situations allow everyone to sleep and which situations demand that she awaken everyone to prepare for a tussle. I didn't experience those things with Jill, but I know it about her regardless.

When you serve with people like Jill, whom you know will fight effectively and die to protect you and the rest of the team if necessary, you love them with a fierceness that squeezes your heart, chokes your throat and burns your eyes. You will fight, kill and die for them without hesitation—right or wrong, good or bad.

Let me share with you two lessons I learned while working with Jill, Amalie. I have discussed these with my wife and she agrees. The few months I worked with Jill at Doc's Place, decades ago, provided me one of the cleanest and clearest work experiences I've ever had. That experience taught me that just working with Jill makes you better. It also taught me another lesson. If I pick up the phone, day or night, and ask Jill to come now, ready to fight and possibly die, she will arrive more quickly than I thought possible and, with terrible resolve and efficiency, she will help me set things right. Do you understand these things, Amalie?

Amalie :

No, I do not understand them in the sense that you do, Carlos, because I have no experience with such things. I have a limited idea of what it's like to work at Pere but again, since I've never worked anywhere but Pere, I do not truly know. This is why I ask for detail.

Alan :

I've pulled every shift—day, swing and graveyard—with Jill. She's always at work when required. She knows her job as well or better than anyone does, even those a couple ranks above hers. As an analyst, she constantly walked the rows of operator stations, looking for meaningful patterns in the intercept. As a reporter inside the map area, with analysts posting position reports every few minutes or so, she watched attentively, looked up references and history of similar patterns and consulted with other seasoned veterans. As a supervisor, she checked work, made comments, explained details and larger concepts when necessary. She consistently received any available awards, medals and promotions. While doing her job, Jill carried her end of conversations and always kept the discussion stimulating and challenging. I remember the guys saying frequently that they could feel the power of her intellect.

Cyril :

I've been researching this US Air Force Colonel Browning, but I've found only sketchy information on him. Sara brought him up with Jill in dp21:3 over their steak dinner that Sunday afternoon in October 1984. Sara mentioned that ten years earlier, Colonel Browning had been Jill's control in the Far East. Let me clarify first by saying that Jill's and Alan's full-time Air Force jobs were radio intelligence analysis and reporting. During her free time and unbeknownst to Alan and her other workmates, Jill occasionally worked for Browning as a contract killer throughout the Far East as I mentioned in dpc9:3.

As Sara mentions to Jill over steak dinner that October Sunday in 1984 that Browning ran "a string of cathouses near US military bases as well as a network of spies and cutthroats throughout the Pacific Rim." Browning has long since retired and died years ago, but back in 1972, Browning and his associates owned Ume as a sexual slave near Jill's air base in northern Japan. Sara told Jill that Browning "transferred ownership to you and you gave Ume her freedom."

Ironically, Browning ends up working indirectly for Ume, the slave girl he once owned decades before in Japan. It's also ironic that Browning works for Jill, who once worked for him, doing the same work.

Alan :

I remember that name. Why didn't we discuss it, Cyril?

Cyril :

I'm afraid that's your fault, Alan. You monopolized that entire chat session and most of the next with your exegesis on humanity becoming one with the universe.

Alan :

Ah yes, of course, I remember now. You said that you've found little information on Browning, so he's a mystery.

Cyril :

Browning is a mystery, I'm afraid. Mic, will you be writing about Browning in the future?

Mic :

Yes, I will. He appears in the story about Jill's years just before, during and after her US Air Force enlistment from March 1971 to March 1975. Her age was 23 to 27 years.