"Good. If anyone... and I mean anyone other than Mr. Stalling comes in here to ask about this little episode, you are instructed to tell them nothing. This meeting did not exist. Mr. Stalling has some concerns about the reliability of a few of his security personnel and Homeland Security. We're trying to determine who has been leaking top secret information."

"Wow! That serious?"

"Yes, that serious. If you were to disclose any information about my visit or even hint of anything out of the ordinary, well, I'm not sure we could get to you and protect you before something happened."

Timmons swallowed.

"I... I see what you mean. Tell Mr. Stalling he can count on me."

"I believe you. Thank you again Mr. Timmons. You have no idea of the importance of the service you've just provided. I'm sure after all this is over, you'll be amply rewarded for your help."

Giving him a polite smile, Solaria left. The information she needed was now stored in one of her processors. She would retrieve it later when she had time to review it more thoroughly.

CHAPTER 20.

JAIN SIGHED AS she locked the library door. Feeling slightly nervous, she glanced up and down the street to see if the Company's men were still hanging around. The black vehicle parked a short distance away gave her the answer.

Pretending to ignore it, she walked to her car and unlocked the door. Deep in thought, she didn't hear the quiet footsteps approaching from behind until a male voice made her jump.

"Excuse me, Ms. Plaine. May I have a look at your handbag?"

Swinging around, Jain clutched her chest and leaned against her car.

"You scared me!" she accused, gasping for breath. "Who the h.e.l.l are you?"

A badge was flashed near her face.

"Homeland? Again? What's with you guys? You've already taken the library apart and apparently didn't find whatever it is you're looking for? Now you scare the beejesus out of me and want my handbag."

"I need to check it!"

"For what for Christ's sake?"

When the man just stared at her, she sighed and shoved it at him.

"Here, but don't ruin any of my makeup. It'll cost a fortune to replace it."

She watched with interest as every article in her handbag was removed and closely examined. Once he was done, he handed it back to her and walked away.

"That's it?" she yelled at him. "You sure you don't want to take my clothes off and strip search me?"

When he turned and gave her a cold stare, she thought she had gone too far. Giving him a sheepish grin, she raised her hands apologetically.

"I don't think that's necessary," he replied, his eyes roaming distastefully up and down her plump figure and then left.

Ha! Your loss!

Reaching down, she pretended to scratch her pubic area.

Still there!

Before leaving the library, she had taped the small memory chip to her inner thigh. Being fat had certain advantages when it came to macho men. The thought tickled her and she giggled as she climbed into the car. The drive to her condo took about thirty minutes. Every day for the last week, she and Solaria met there to discuss their latest discoveries and decide what each would do next. Apparently Homeland didn't think Jain was a threat since Solaria found no signs of surveillance around the complex.

Although neither wanted to attract attention, Jain was amused when her neighbor approached her about her new friend wanting to know if she and Solaria were an item. Jain had tried to explain that they were just friends.

"Yeah, yeah," Tilly said and handed her a small piece of paper with a phone number written on it. "Ummm, could you give her this then?" Rolling her eyes, Jain tucked the paper in her pocket and promised that she would. "Thanks," Tilly said, giving her a hug. "She's a real babe!"

"That doesn't mean she's a lesbian," Jain cautioned, having no idea what Solaria's s.e.xuality was.

"Oh, she just has to be! That's just too good to waste on a p.e.n.i.s."

"Really, Tilly! As far as you're concerned any woman is too good for that. I've never met someone so anxious to bed every female they b.u.mp into"

"Hey, I haven't hit on you yet?" Tilly replied indignantly.

"Okay. Everyone except me, but that's only because you know you'd be wasting your time."

Tilly giggled.

"I wouldn't say it would be a waste but I know what you mean. Just give it to her. A girl can always dream, you know?" Waving good bye, Tilly disappeared into her own unit.

Jain understood dreams better than anyone else. Most of her entire life was spent traveling between reality and fantasy. Dreaming was her best escape from the mundane existence she led as a librarian. She had already experienced several about Solaria.

Unlocking the front door, she was surprised at the smell of pizza wafting through the condo.

"h.e.l.loooo!" she yelled, throwing her handbag on the light stand and walking into the kitchen. "Smells good!" she added, giving Solaria a friendly smile. "Obviously you didn't have any problems finding the place."

Thinking it safer for them to meet up at Jain's condo, the librarian had given Solaria her address and lock combination during their last conversation.

"I hope so. It's one of the recipes I found on the Internet a few months ago. I have always wanted to try it out to see what pizza tastes like."

"You've never had pizza?"

"Along with most things, no. It was never on the menu."

"Wow! I can't think of anyone I've ever met who hasn't had pizza. It's a universal addiction."

"So I've noticed. Now, sit and we'll see if I did this correctly."

Doing as she was told, Jain's mouth watered at the site of the huge pie being pulled from the oven. Piled high with meats, veggies, cheese and tomato sauce, it was a visual feast.

"Yummmm! It looks wonderful!"

Already she was holding out her plate, anxious to taste Solaria's treat.

"Careful, it's hot!" Solaria warned and then laughed when Jain started fanning her mouth after taking a bite.

"Ho..ho..hot!"

"375 degrees hot to be exact. You should let it cool down some before eating it."

"Thas... goo... avice!"

Grabbing the gla.s.s of water next to her plate, Jain took two gulps and then sat back.

"Phew! That was painful."

"Did you burn your mouth?"

"A little but it's not the first time... and it's not going to stop me from eating a couple of slices of pizza. This is great!"

Smiling her satisfaction, Solaria picked up a slice and bit the end off.

"Hmmm. It definitely tastes interesting. I can see why it's so popular."

Jain agreed and took another bite. Several slices later the two leaned back, happily satiated.

"I have to admit, it has a pleasant flavor," Solaria said, eyeing the last piece lying pitifully on the platter.

"Go for it!" Jain said.

"Well, if you don't mind. My body needs a lot of carbohydrates and protein to function properly."

"I can imagine."

Jain had already guessed that Solaria was more than what she appeared to be. Although she looked human, there was something about her that made her too good to be true. The way she moved was fluid and yet held a slightly stiff quality almost like someone who had overworked their muscles to the point of soreness. At first, Jain had a.s.sumed that Solaria was into heavy duty exercising or sports but soon learned the woman did neither. Then there was the sharp mind and her ability to discuss in great depth topics normal people wouldn't normally know about. Even the little things spoke volumes. As knowledgeable as Solaria was about the sciences, politics and world issues, she seemed almost innocent when it came to human relationships and emotions. Jain found one conversation two nights before extremely revealing.

It had started innocently enough when Jain commented on two of her friends having problems coping with their first child, a baby girl.

"I'm glad it's them and not me."

"You don't like children?" Solaria asked, giving her a quizzical look.

"Oh I like them well enough. I just never wanted any of my own."

"I was under the impression all women wanted children."

"Pfffft! Not even close. We have too many options nowadays. I like my life just fine without the pitter patter of little feet."

Solaria found it interesting that Jain had expressed the same reluctance to have offspring as Carley. Biological imperatives had apparently been altered in some way as humans evolved. In most species this would eventually leave to extinction.

"If women continue to have fewer children like they have over the past one hundred years, humans will eventually cease to exist," voicing her thoughts.

Jain snorted.

"As far as I'm concerned it wouldn't be a great loss. Look what we've done to the planet. Now we're in s.p.a.ce and trying to set up habitats on Mars and for what? To spread our pollution and genes somewhere else?"

Solaria was confused. Humans were biologically predisposed to insuring the success of their species. Wanting the opposite wasn't logical.

"You want humanity to become extinct?"

"Well, not really. I happen to like my life. I just wish we took better care of our world and each other but sometimes I think we're doomed to extinction. Anyway, it's not like I had a b.u.t.ton that I could push that would just make us disappear."

"You would push it?"

"Probably not. Sometimes though, I think I would, but I doubt if I'd really have the guts. Now, how did we get onto such a depressing topic?"

"You were talking about your friend's child."

"Oh yeah. Listening to them, you'd think Tess and Mary had given birth to a genius. Parents always think that."

"They are lesbians?"

"I guess I forgot to mention that. You don't have a problem with that do you?"

"No, I've just never met a lesbian. At least I don't think so. Carley may have been one but she was rather vague about her s.e.xual preferences. I tried to talk to her once, but she didn't seem too eager to discuss it at the time."

"I can imagine. Even though it's pretty much accepted now, there are still some who like to keep their personal lives... well, personal. She struck me as the type who would be that way."

"You knew Carley? I remember you mentioning her being a guest speaker at your university. Did you get to spend much time talking with her back then?"

"Not really, but she was quite inspirational. For awhile I followed her career but eventually lost track of her. I take it you two were close."

Solaria nodded slightly.

"She was my mentor."

"That's it?" Jain asked, perceptively.

"No, she was more. She saved my life."

"Dr. Branson didn't strike me as the hero type. She was so cerebral."

"I know."

Solaria grew silent thinking about her last few minutes with Carley. It brought up uncomfortable feelings she wasn't ready to deal with yet. Watching the emotions playing across Solaria's face, Jain decided to change the subject and successfully diverted her attention to other things.

After finishing off the pizza and cleaning up, Jain invited Solaria into the living room to discuss the day's events.

"I managed to get into Future Dynamicon's top secret files today. I can't believe it took me this long to get back in. I must be getting old. Anyway, they put up a few more firewalls. I had to be even more careful."