Written by Elleran Field-Lagn.

Released on Issuu.com July 2012

All content copyright of E. Field-Lagn.

Pud took an unusually long time to return with formula recipe. When he

returned he wasn't exactly willing to hand it over.

“I've been thinking,” he started as he walked through the door, “The results I'm

experiencing are almost exactly what I've been aiming for. Increased physical

performance, co-ordination and speed means I'll be able to intervene in

muggings and the like. Yes the results are a bit chaotic right now. What

formula doesn't need tweaking in its early stages?” He finished puffing his

chest slightly and raising his chin in a pose similar to superman, except a much

older, scrawnier version.

Thud! Ruby threw her shoe at Pud's head and it bounced off the wall behind

him.

“Now don't you give me nonsense brother of mine, I will not stand for it.

How much 'tweaking' have you done already? Far too much. It doesn't work. If

you don't hand the formula over to Studio right now, the next formula you will

need to work on will be one to regenerate flesh after I beat you silly.” Ruby

finished adamantly throwing her other shoe at Pud.

“Come on Pud, give me the formula,” Studio took a couple of small steps

towards Pud and continued in a soft voice. “I'm not saying don't take the

drink.”

“I am!” interjected Ruby loudly. Pud started backing slowly out from the

room.

Studio continued, “I'm not even saying don't continue working on the formula.”

“I am!” interjected Ruby again, yelling this time. Studio said quietly in

her direction “You're really not helping.”

“I've already thrown both my shoes, what else can I do? Throw my bra?”

muttered Ruby to herself. Studio turned back to Pud , “I'm just saying lets

work on it together. You and me. Side by side. Together.”

Pud's expression said he felt unsure about the proposition. Studio

worried he may run at any moment and hole himself up in a room, only to

emerge in a trance. Like some geriatric parkour superhero to terrorise the

imaginary muggers in the building.

“You always said when I was a kid when we lived in the cabin, you'd love

for us to work together on something one day. How about now? How about

this?” Studio took a step towards Pud placing a gentle hand on his shoulder

“Go on, we can do this. Together.” Pud nodded in agreement and cast his eyes

down to the floor, embarrassed at his earlier show of bravado. “Yes, you're

right.” he said raising his head to staring Studio in the eye. “It will be our

adventure, together.” Studio patted him on the arm and smiled before taking

the copy of the formula out of his hand.

“Would you like me to get ready and we can start on it tonight?” she

cajoled Pud.

“Great idea!” Pud exclaimed, his enthusiasm re-invigorated. “I'll come

and get you when I'm ready to start.” He smiled a smile that would put the

Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland to shame before disappearing into the

hallway.

Studio let out a massive sigh. She turned to face Ruby, who was slumped

down in her chair with her hands around her throat like she was strangling

herself.

“Wow! I really didn't think he would agree.” Studio said relievedly “When

he took such a long time to come back I almost thought he wouldn't return.

Then when he declared he thought it did what he wanted it to, I was at my

wits end.”

“At your wits end?” asked Ruby starting to perk up into her usual fiery

self. “At your wits end? What on earth do you think I am? Singing in the rain?”

asked Ruby doing a Gene Kelly impersonation in her chair, “How will I be after

however long it takes for you to decide to let him carry on this nonsense? I

won't have a wit left to be on the end of.”

Studio chuckled at her “Don't be silly,” she laughed retrieving the shoes

Ruby threw earlier, “If it gets to bad I'll just confiscate all the stuff he uses to

make it. I'll just pull the plug. Simple. In the mean time we could always move

your living area to a lower floor if necessary. Or you could have my room, or

even one of the other buildings' Pud owns has room for you I'm sure.” Studio

began helping Ruby put her shoes back on. Ruby suddenly became indignant.

“What? And miss all the fun?! You've got to be joking. I'm not going anywhere.

Your room will suffice nicely thank you very much.” Studio spent the rest of the

evening swapping items and furniture between her room and Ruby's, unsure

how long the tweaking would continue for.

Studio was moving the last of Ruby's things when Pud suddenly

reappeared declaring himself ready to start working on the formula with

Studio.

“All set to go!” he said to Studio as she walking from Ruby's old room.

“Ready to begin?” he asked looking as excited as a kid about to enter the

biggest lolly shop they'd ever seen.

“Yep, let's get to it.” Studio replied as she closed the door. Studio wasn't

even sure what floor the lab Pud had been working in was located and followed

Pud blindly. They headed towards the lift, then ended up going down the fire

stairs instead. Studio began to wonder what was going on. She started hoping

to herself this wasn't some trap, where Pud would rip off his lab coat to reveal

his torn lycra suit and pyjama superhero cape, proceeding to bounce

off the walls.

“Um Pud, where are we going. Why didn't we take the lift?”

Pud continued down the stairs. “Well given the secret nature of some of

my experiments I have stopped the lift accessing certain floors of the building,

containing certain labs. Have you ever wondered why if you count the buildings

floors from the outside there is 117 floors, yet there are only 75 buttons in the

lifts? Oh and the penthouse floor, the top floor we live on as well, so 76

floors.” Studio hadn't noticed at all. When they moved here when years earlier

she found the city so overwhelming, a four story building would have been

overwhelming to her, let alone a high rise building, so she never checked. She

just assumed the lift buttons were accurate.

Pud continued talking as he walked further down the fire stairs, “Have you ever

wondered why, since we moved in I've had the lifts serviced so regularly? Did

you ever noticed after each service a button or two went missing?” Studios

eyebrows raised, her eyes grew large as she shook her head. She hadn't

noticed. She presumed the ongoing maintenance was to prevent a repeat of

the dust yeti incident she experienced on the day they arrived, and for obvious

safety reasons. She felt incredulous she could have missed it. She was also in

disbelief and awe Pud could be capable of such things under her own nose.

Old, sweet, honest Pud, was in fact capable of being sly and shifty.

Pud stopped at a door that said floor “77”, and put his hand on the latch.

Studio stopped dead at the bottom of the stairs in front of him.

“Hang on, I thought you said the lift has only 76 floors.”

“It does,” replied Pud a knowing smile spreading across his face, “But

this isn't a lift, now is it?”

Studio began shaking her head again, further amazed at Pud.

“If you noticed,” Pud continued into the area around where the lifts should

have been and began turning on light switches, “The floors above us have no

numbers at all on the doors. Why? Well you use the lift. Ruby, well she can't

use stairs, so I'm the only person until now who needed to know the floors the

labs are on. This way, we're nearly there.” He began to lead Studio down

corridor after corridor, similar in fashion to the corridors and hallways in the

penthouse they inhabited. Although this floor had floor to ceiling white tiles,

airlocks and thick plastic flaps instead of doors. There were no window she

could see.

“Pud where are the windows?” she asked almost scared to get the

answer for fear her head may explode.

“Oh, the windows are there,” Pud continued as he led her further and

further into the labyrinth of hallways and corridors, “You can't see them

because each of the floors with labs on it has what I like to refer to as dummy

rooms. The outside windows are still there. Five feet inside the windows they

are set out a rooms, for all intents and purposes. But the doors don't work. So

there's no access to hallways from them or to them from the hallways, and the

walls of them are steel lines and impenetrable. In case of attack.”

Studio felt like she was listening to a Martian talk another language. Dummy

rooms? Pud came to a door and began punching in long codes of numbers to a

key pad.

“Um Pud, we're 77 floors up, no one can see in.” Studio whispered, afraid

the old man standing in front of her wasn't Pud at all but an imposter.

Pud stopped punching in keys, turned to Studio, lowered his glasses, leant in

and stared her straight in the eyes with a very intense demeanour.

“My dear, I think what you mean is that people can't walk past when

we're 77 floors up. People are very able to see in, in many different ways. My

work is of the most sensitive of natures. Some of my work is much coveted by

governments and other power hungry people. One can not be too careful.” Pud

took a deep breathe and replaced his glasses, as though replacing his glasses

replaced his normal disposition. “Well now, almost in one step to go,” he said

cheerfully pointing at a silver pad on the wall.

“Fingerprints?” asked Studio, nervous and scared by this stage.

“Not quite.” continued Pud. He walked to the pad, pressed his ear to it, it

beeped. Then he formed a fist with his hand and pressed his knuckles into it.

The pad beeped again. A small silvery speculum popped out from the wall. Pud

bit it the speculum and it beeped again. A tiny silver cup popped out next to it.

Pud spat in it, pulled out some of his hair and put the hair in it too. After a

brief wait the pad beeped again. The door air lock opened with a whoosh. Pud

ushered Studio into the airlock. The door closed. Cold air blasted them followed

by a fine mist of something to decontaminate them.

“I hope you don't have your mobile phone on you,” Pud said as the mist

finished. Studio shook her head. “Oh good, the electronic waves are about to

start. They permanently disable all electronic devices.” A funny buzzing noise

started and the airlock room grew warmer. Studio felt a tingling sensation

running up her body. She felt as though she was standing on a vibrating

platform.

As soon as it started it stopped. The airlock door leading into the lab opened

with a whoosh. Pud stood in the doorway with his hand gesturing into the lab.

“After you.” he said with a smile.

Studio wasn't sure if she wanted to enter the lab. So many things were

going through her mind. Was this Pud? The Pud she'd grown up with? Was he

evil? What else was she unaware of? How many secrets did he have? Where

people watching them? She really didn't know what to think. She felt like she

was stepping into a crocodile enclosure as she entered the room. She found it

blindingly white. And so clean it oozed a funky disinfectant type smell.

Multiplied by a thousand times. None of the clutter she'd come to associate

with Pud was evident. Just lots of scientific equipment. She stood just inside

the airlock and gazed around the room.

“Studio, over here.” called Pud from the other side of the room as he

stood at a stainless steel bench covered with all sorts of what seemed to be

distilling paraphernalia. “This is what I have been working on. Here is the

formula.” Studio could tell Pud was as proud as punch. Not only to show her his

work, but to share it with her. Studio watched the liquids and plant matter

bubbling and gurgling away. She watched steam of various colours rising from

various parts of the elaborate set up. She didn't know what to say. The

disinfectant was burning her nostrils.

“Are you ok?” Pud asked, “Ah, the disinfectant smell, yes, yes. I got the

smell piped into the lab. The formula smells horribly bad cooking away, even I

wouldn't last 30 seconds in here otherwise.” Studio nodded while pinching her

nose shut. “Unfortunately I... we don't really have any time to work on any of

it tonight.” Pud lamented. “Its getting late and well, you know, I have to get

some sleep. And drink the formula of course.”

Studio didn’t think Pud taking the formula before they completed any further

work on it would a good idea. She went to say so, but the second she removed

her hand from her nose the smell of disinfectant made her want to gag.

“Perhaps on a day when you aren't working we could make a start to it

all.” Pud said cheerfully patting her on the back. “When your more familiar with

everything, I'll arrange to give you your own access code to work in here on

your own if you want.” Pud tapped his hands on the bench to emphasise his

happiness and excitement. Then turned heading towards the airlock.

Pud and Studio started walking up the fire stairs back to the top floor.

Studio couldn't help wonder what her access code to the labs would involve.

Foot prints? Ear wax? Snot testing? Thinking about it made her relax

somewhat about seeing the other side of Pud for the first time. The intense,

deeply serious, darkly cautious Pud she never even suspected existed. She

noticed the lack of door numbers on the way up the stairs. She had never

noticed floor numbers in the building before. Her abseiling and rock climbing

floor was only two floors down from the top floor. The night she followed Pud

down the stairs she knew which floor he exited on. She felt she must talk to

Ruby as soon as possible. She had to find out if anything else she didn't know

was being hidden.

Studio found Ruby next to her scanner in the sun room as usual,

listening intently while gazing out the window with her binoculars. She sat

down on the arm of Ruby's chair.

“Ruby, what do you know of floors with no numbers?” Studio whispered.

“Hey?” asked Ruby not looking away from the window.

“Lifts without access to certain floors?” Studio continued to prod.

“Oh, I don't know.” said Ruby still not looking away from her window with

her binoculars, turned the volume on her scanner up.

“Ruby” said Studio firmly, “Dummy windows?” she turned the scanner of

to get Ruby's full attention, “I know you know something. Tell me what's going

on.”

Ruby put her binoculars down as she turned to face Studio, “It's all nothing to

worry about. I guess you'd to find out sooner or later.” she picked up her

binoculars, turned back, switched the scanner back on and turned the volume

up louder than before.

“You knew! Is he paranoid? Are we in some trouble? Who does he think

is watching us? What does Pud do exactly? What else don't I know about?

Would you ever have told me? Is Pud evil? ” Studio rattled of questions quicker

than machine gun fire. Ruby chuckled, turned the volume on the scanner

down, put her binoculars in her lap and turned to Studio.

“No, no danger. Silly Pud not explaining things. Look when he goes to

bed, come to my room, I mean your room, I mean you know what I mean and

I'll fill you in. Trust me though it's not as exciting or dramatic as your

imagination is making it seem.”

Studio was placated for the time being by this answer but couldn't wait to find

out what was going on. Pud entered the room and went into the kitchenette to

make his final cup of tea before bed. Ruby picked up her binoculars, turned the

volume up louder so it appeared as business as usual.

“I'll explain everything later.” She whispered to Studio before turning

back to the window.

Later that night after Pud drank his gloop and went to bed. The nurse

put Ruby to bed and finished for the day, Studio crept through the hallways to

her room Ruby was staying in. She eagerly hoped Ruby would be able to fill in

all the blanks that emerged throughout the course of the day. She opened the

door. Ruby was sitting up in bed reading. Ruby glanced over the top of her

glasses and lowered her book.

“Come to find out all the conspiracies?” She laughed as Studio sat on the

side of the bed.

“Ruby what on earth is going on? Its like a whole different world down

there complete with a totally different Pud!” Studio exclaimed shaking her

head in amazement.

“Many years ago, before the mountain cabin and certainly before you,

some people broke into one of Pud's labs to steal some information. They

succeeded and sold it on the black market. I can't tell you what the information

contained, because of its top secret nature. All you need to know is that it was

a must to keep it out of the wrong hands. These bumbling fools sold the

information to a foreign government, who then realised half of the research

information was missing. The thieves only took part of the file of information.

Pud had the other half in his possession to read and work on at night before

bed. Well this government, Pud didn't know they were the ones who arranged

for it to be stolen at the time, tried everything to find this information.

Surveillance, spying, bugging the building, following Pud, myself and Pud's

employees, breaking into various buildings and labs owned by Pud to try and

find the missing pieces.” Studio's brow furrowed. She was unsure whether or

not Ruby was telling the truth or if she might be pulling her leg. Ruby nodded

at Studio as if recognising her uncertainty, “I know, I know, far fetched yes.

Unbelievable, for sure. True, most definitely. After a while a foreign

government contacted Pud.

The same foreign government had bought half the information originally from

the thieves. They claimed that Pud's file had been handed to them willingly.

They failed to mention that they paid for it. After getting experts to read

the file, they were very interested in helping Pud finish his research.” Ruby

went on to describe to Studio how Pud had soul told the Government he had in

fact finished his research, that the information that they only had half the file.

Pud declined their offer. Ruby said the Government then refused to hand the

information they had paid the thieves for back to Pud. The Government started

contacting Pud constantly making all sorts of offers to purchase the rest of the

information from him. Cars, Planes, millions of dollars, they offered it all. And

Pud, knowing how dangerous this particular research could be in the wrong

hands, refused. For years and years this went on until one day they sent Pud a

video presentation to watch. The government claimed that Pud's discovery

could help millions of people. They said they possessed the desire and the

money to make it work and they would back him all the way. They claimed

they would also help people in their neighbouring countries with his discovery.

Ruby sighed long and deep. “In the end they said if he refused to help

them in their altruistic mission he would be responsible for the suffering of

millions of people. Pud didn't take this too well. The video presentation was full

of pictures of suffering sick children, it really affected him.”

“Hang on, which Government? When was this?” asked Studio trying to

put the pieces together to make sense of it all, desperate to google it later on.

“Never mind about details, let me finish.” Said Ruby huffily, “Now where

was I? Ah, yes. Pud didn't sleep for weeks worrying about the children in the

video, tossing up whether or not he should help this Government in what they

had painted as a selfless mission to better help humanity. In the end,

emotionally exhausted Pud accepted their offer. He flew to their country to

pass on the remaining parts of the information he had. Poor trusting Pud was

met at the Airport by what I can only describe as military strong men. The file

was taken from him. His visa was torn up. He was turned around on the spot

and put back on a plane back home. They had lied. They never wanted to work

with him on it all helping people. They used it on their own people and the

people of their neighbouring countries, not in the way they had led Pud to

believe. They caused a lot of death and destruction by misusing what could

have been an outstanding forward propulsion in to wiping out illness in the

world. Over the years they modified Pud's research so no good remained

in it. It became a weapon of destruction.” Ruby sighed .

Studio was overwhelmed by what Ruby was saying and desperately

wanted to know more details, but she didn't want to push her luck, there

would be plenty if time to pick Ruby's brains later on.

Ruby continued.“Pud didn't cope very well with the knowledge he had

developed something that was utilised to bring pain to people when the very

reason he went into science was to heal and improve life. He didn't cope very

well with it at all. He held himself more responsible than the foreign

government or the thieves. Different groups of people also blamed him, and

other good people started trying to break into his labs to see what else he had

developed they might be able to use to their own ends. Pud couldn't take it.

One day one of his assistants was kidnapped and held hostage by an extremist

military group hoping to find out information on another of Puds discoveries.

That's when Pud drew the line. He fired all his assistants. Sealed all his labs

exactly as they were. He took a couple of bags of books and left for the

mountains. It didn't take long for word to get out and for people to realise

something had happened. Most presumed he had been killed by someone he

had refused to sell a discovery to. He lived in those mountains alone, cut off

from society for many years, hiding from guilt. Years later he saw your parents

plane crash. I think perhaps he saw the opportunity to redeem himself in his

own mind if no one else's. You know the rest.” Ruby picked her book back up

and returned to reading.

“Hang on, hang on.” Started Studio, “Dummy rooms? People watching

us? Spit samples to get into rooms?...” Ruby put her book back down.

“Yes, now he's a tiny bit paranoid. Dummy rooms, so to the outside

world it looks like no labs exist, extravagant access codes, yadda yadda. Do

you really think you or I would be here if he thought we were in any danger?

That's it, no drama, no danger. Just guilt and fear it may happen again. But it

wont, don't worry. It's late, goodnight.” Ruby put her book on the night

stand,lay down pulling the quilt over her head with one hand and turning out

the lamp with the other.

Studio got up from the bed and left the room. Her mind was swimming

with more questions now than when she had gone in. As she got back to

Ruby's room to sleep and closed the door she heard the all too familiar noises

of a tranced out Pud starting to come from his room and she desperately

hoped he would go down to the abseiling and rock climbing floor so she could

get some sleep.

Studio slept the entire next day until the time came for her to go to work

that night. At work she was thoroughly preoccupied trying to figure out which

foreign government Ruby was referring to. How long ago did it all happen?

Surely Pud knew now it wasn't his fault? A young taxi driver who came in

often, had taken to sitting near the service window noticed her distracted

state.

He leant over towards her “Rather be someplace else tonight, hey? I

know I would.”

Studio snapped out of her daydreaming “Um..sorry? I guess.” She stammered

shrugging her shoulders. She then pretended to busy herself at the grill

cooking an imaginary order, for a non-existent customer, hoping he wouldn't

say anything else to her.

“Sounds like a yes to me.” the taxi driver chuckled, “Don't worry, you

won't be here forever. I'm only driving taxis until I get discovered. I'm a writer

you know.” he smiled at her before walking over. “I'm, well people don't really

call me by my real name. I'm Taxi. People just call me Taxi.” He put his hand

over the service window as if waiting for her to shake it. Studio was affronted

by his assumption she didn't like working there, she loved her job.

“Oh no, I love working here. One of the good things about my job is it means I

don't have to deal with customers.” she said dryly before turning away,

pretending to wash dishes. Taxi shrugged his shoulders and walked back to his

stool at the counter his coffee. Standing over the empty sink, Studio continued

to pretend to wash dishes. She was confused as to why he had spoken to her.

Was he a spy? Sent to infiltrate Pud's research through her? When she finally

tuned back around he had left. She could see him through the front window

getting into his taxi and driving off. “Oh God! Thought Studio to herself, I'm

getting as paranoid as Pud!”

The next couple of nights at work turned out rather uneventful for

Studio, with most of her time taken up thinking about what Ruby had told her

and trying to figure out how much was true- Ruby occasionally stretched the

truth before. If Ruby was being accurate what did it mean to Studio? What if it

all happened again? Studio decided she needed to get her blacksmithing tools

out at the next possible chance and start working on some hand and leg

attachments for defence just in case.

A week later she had time to work with Pud back in the lab again.

“I've got a surprise for you! Pud said while entering the lengthy access

code on the keypad outside the airlock door “I'm not going to tell you though,

you have to guess when we get in there.” Pud seemed as excited as a kid at

Christmas.

When she entered the lab behind Pud she couldn't see anything different or

unusual. But she could smell a terrible, terrible smell. Gone was the smell of

disinfectant, but it had been replaced with a terrible floral smell that burnt

Studios nose. Like a cross between cheap car deodoriser and cheap lavender

soap that your great-Aunt Doris would use. Her eyes feel like they had been

syringed full of chilli oil.

“Well?” an excited Pud asked turning to her, his jaw dropping to the

ground.

“The smell?” Studio asked holding her hands over her nose with tears

streaming down her face from her watery, burning eyes.

“Oh no!” exclaimed Pud, “It seems you are having an allergic reaction.

Your eyes are swelling up.” He turned a tap on full over one of the sinks

thrusting her head under it. Studio couldn't stop him because it would have

meant removing her hands from her nose. But that would mean breathing in

the putrid smell again. “Stay under the water until I turn it off.” Pud said loudly

hoping Studio would be able to hear him over the sound of the running tap.

Pud located a switch on a wall a flicked it before returning to pull Studio out

from the tap. “There we are.” he said “I just though you hated the disinfectant

smell so much, I would put a nice girly smell through the room instead to mask

the smell of the formula.”

Pud had never really had much to do with girls, females, or women in general

apart from Ruby and Studio. He obviously had no idea what constituted a girly

smell.

“I just thought this may be better. I tried to make it smell nice and

comforting like my Grandmother.” He handed a sodden, dripping, swollen and

puffy eyed Studio a gas mask, “Here you'll have to wear this then.”

Studio jammed the gas mask on as fast as she could before the smell of the

formula seeped through the noxious floral sent lingering in the air. The mask

didn't fit her very well because of her speaker section of skull and ear. Pud

rolled up what looked like a hand towel and tucked it into the side of the mask

so it would sit properly. By this stage Studio was completely underwhelmed,

standing there dripping wet, puffy and swollen eyed with a towel strapped to

the side of her head wearing a gas mask. “Oh joy.” She thought to herself,

“Now I look like a lab experiment.”

Pud could tell by her stony expression she was finding it all less than

enjoyable so he tried to take her mind off what had just happened.

“Here,” he said pulling some rolled up material out of a cupboard, “I got you

your very own monogrammed lab coat!” He passed it to Studio and went to the

other side of the lab getting out papers ready for them to start working. Studio

started putting it on. As she went to swing it onto her shoulders she noticed

that as well as her name monogrammed on the chest pocket, inside the back

of the neck it has stitched “Love Pud”. In the twenty plus years Pud had raised

her it was the first time he put “Love Pud” on anything. He had always been so

formal and unemotional to her. She couldn't help herself she went and threw

her arms around him.

“Thanks Pud! I love it! I really, really love it!” Pud, taken aback and not

knowing how to respond stood as rigid as a wooden plank.

“Now be careful you don't get your arm in the Bunsen burner flame!”

Pud said exasperated, as he wriggled free. Studio held up her 'lamp' arm as if

displaying a pair of car keys thought to be lost that were in plain sight.

“It's okay Pud.” she smiled as they set to work.

They spent the rest of the day tinkering and tweaking Puds formula.

They finished for the day and began walking back up the fire stairs to their

living area.

“Of course we won't really know what affect any of this will have until I

take it again tonight.” said Pud. Studio nodded.

“Yes, I know. I was thinking maybe we should complete further research

into the ingredients perhaps hold off on actually changing the formula for now

until we have some more information on what may be happening when you

drink it.”

“Good thinking.” said Pud holding the door to the top floor open for her

with one hand, ruffling her still wet hair with the other “I always knew you're a

smart cookie.”

That evening Studio went into Ruby in the sun room.

“Have you figured it all out?” Ruby demanded.

Studio chuckled, “No not yet Ruby, give it time.”

“Bah!” exclaimed Ruby, “I'm not getting any younger you know.” They

laughed together.

“Ruby,” Studio started apprehensively, “Can I just ask something?”

“Oh here we go.” sighed Ruby looking at Studio side on.

“No,” laughed Studio, “I was just wondering..”

“I was right,” Ruby teased, “Go on, ask.”

“Well what government was it? Can you give me a year even if you won't

tell me who? Do you really think they all think Pud is dead?” Studio rattled off.

“Girl, you are safe.” Ruby declared looking her directly in the eye. “You

don't need to go digging up corpses of battles long since finished. In fact to do

so would be to jeopardise your safety. Mark my words, there's not as much

drama or danger surrounding the whole situation as your imagination would

have you believe.”

“Yes, but..” Studio began in her defence before being interrupted by

Ruby.

“No buts.” said Ruby adamantly turning back to her scanner. “I always

have this old guy here in case anything strange happens in the city, right?” she

said patting the black box.

Studio's mind starting whirring. “I thought Ruby got the scanner after her

heart attack? Does she really have it for surveillance of the area to see if their

safe? How did Ruby have her heart attack? Was it fighting off more spies?”

“So do you really have the scanner because...” Studio whispered.

“And no more questions.” said Ruby with a halfsmile on her face as she

turned the volume on the scanner up. Studio sat silently in the sun room with

Ruby listening to the scanner until she went to bed. Then stayed up listening to

it on her own on the off chance she may hear something about suspicious

people in the area. Or indeed wayward Taxis.

5th instalment out by 10th August 2012.

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