Tangled Intersections Read Online Free PDF Page B

dressed.
    Clothes were still strewn on the floor
where he’d left them, carnage from the previous day’s rage. He
studied them with a jaundiced gaze before plucking only the two
pieces he’d chosen, avoiding touching all the rest. As for socks
and underwear, he didn’t bother. Perhaps he’d order some from the
commissary and have them delivered to his suite. Thinking of
deliveries, he ordered a simple meal from the replicator in his
room and sat, prepared to eat it. However, once in his chair he
found the food on the plate had turned green.
    Sloshing his coffee as he rose, he
backed away from the nastiness. As he stood there swallowing back
down what little his stomach possessed, the soft tone of the
intercom dinged.
    Doctor Grison, you have a
message from first medical officer Ballantine.
    His eyes rolled as he muttered,
“Play.”
    Doctor Grison, hi, it’s
nurse Ballantine here. I need to speak with you in order to
finalize the treatment plan for patient Cornekus Rister. Could you
please come by security this morning? Thank you, Ballatine
out.
    “ Hmpf.” Grison had no
intentions of seeing Rister again in the flesh, but as his stomach
couldn’t handle breakfast, he might as well wander that way.
Besides, he possessed no clear plans for the day. Perhaps if he got
Ballantine out of the way, he would have a chance to see the ships
dock and unload. Presumably bearing drinkable beer… “Now that, I’d
like to see.”
    In a better mood already, he left his
quarters and traveled the four floors and two hallways to security.
Again, no one manned the desk, and he’d seen no precautions taken
as he entered the area. The weapons locker sat right in front of
him. True, it required a key code or a pass to access the goods,
but how hard would that be to come by? Those two rowdies in the bar
most probably had access. He could only imagine how easy it would
be to gain their entry codes once they were sufficiently
inebriated. Given their Neanderthal-like state, the duo would
doubtless to continue to drink the green ale even when proper
alcoholic beverages became available. The thought made Grison
shudder.
    Staring at the weapons lockers, he was
startled when the door burst open and Ballantine entered the
hallway.
    She pulled up short, right before
smacking into him. “Oh! Doctor Grison. There you are.”
    “ Yes. Everything all
right?”
    Ballantine bit her lip. “Well,
Rister’s been demanding we look at his school records.”
    His eyebrows rose. “School
records?”
    She nodded. “Yes, especially his later
academic stuff. He demands we scrutinize the files and take another
look at the data – specifically his yearbook pictures.”
    A heavy sensation settled into
Grison’s stomach. “Why?”
    “ Because the photos don’t
match.” Ballantine shook her head. “The photos on file for Maynard
Grison don’t look anything like they should.”
    Cold and numbness iced down his veins,
turning his thinking sluggish. When the fear hit his nervous
center, his brain kicked into gear. “They’ve been tampered with,
then?”
    “ Most likely. That’s the
only reasonable explanation.”
    “ Rister has done it. I can
assure you he has.”
    “ He seems adamant the
files are as they should be.”
    He stood straighter and brushed her
aside. “Let me talk with him. I’ll get this straightened
out.”
    “ But doctor,” she huffed,
trotting after him through the door, “he’s in a very combative mood
today.”
    Grison snorted. “Of course he is.” He
traipsed right up to the security screen and stared down at Rister.
“I heard you’re causing trouble.”
    The edge of Rister’s mouth lifted. “No
trouble at all. Just trying to set the facts aright.”
    “ They’re fine the way they
are.” He hadn’t meant to bellow, but sure enough his voice rang off
the walls. Beside him, Ballantine jumped.
    Rister came as close to the edge of
the cage as he could without being shocked. His demeanor menaced
even through the safety