Chapter 15 - A Meal with a "Friend"
Minerva emerges from her room a short time later with Eidolon’s Ward. She is wearing a lovely black skirt and matching high heels. Cherry calls out to Arc.
“Sorry for the wait.”
“It’s fine. But what’s with the outfit?”
Minerva blushes slightly. “Oh, um… Cherry said it would be nice if you and I matched.”
Cherry giggles. “You’re both wearing all black after all.”
Arc sighs. “I suppose so. Well then, shall we be off?”
Minerva nods. “Yes. Please follow me.”
She walks over to the door as Arc turns to Eidolon’s Ward.
“We should probably stay hidden.”
“Oh?”
Minerva looks back. “I don’t mind being seen with you.”
Arc frowns. “Well, it might draw unwanted attention from certain… individuals.”
“Like the Marshal? Don’t worry about that. I have journalistic immunity. Worst case scenario, I’ll just say I’m interviewing you.”
“Would that work, Hero?”
“Probably. But I’m not too worried about Marshal Raynor giving us trouble. However, Diva and her ilk are another story.”
Minerva gulps.
“I… understand. Do you think…”
Arc nods. “We’ll stay out of sight in your car.”
Minerva breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
As Minerva puts a hand on the doorknob Arc puts a hand on Eidolon’s Ward and recalls the armor to his ring. Minerva looks worried.
“Um… Cherry?”
“I’m still here. Just in the Hero’s head right now.”
Arc nods. “Right. Now, we’ll cloak and follow you to your car. “
“Alright.”
They leave the apartment and make their way to the garage. Arc looks around for a few moments before getting into the passenger seat. Minerva looks over.
“You in here?”
“Right next to you.”
Minerva nods, starts the vehicle, and drives out of the parking ramp. Arc clears his throat.
“Do you know the way?”
“I do.”
They drive on for some time in silence. Eventually Minerva breaks it.
“So… you ARE there, right?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry. I thought, since you were so quiet…”
“I’m not feeling particularly chatty today.”
Minerva sighs. “It’s fine.”
A short time later they arrive at Roberto’s Pizza. Minerva parks the car as Arc speaks.
“Just head for the same room you interviewed me.”
“Sure. Um… do you want me to hold the doors open for you?”
“No. I’ll meet you inside.”
“Okay. I just…”
There is a tapping at her window as Arc opens the car door for her.
“I’m out here now. Meet you inside.”
Silently, Arc turns around and walks stealthily around the building. Minerva does as she is told. Entering the pizzeria she looks around to see nearly every booth filled. Roberto calls over to her from the counter.
“Welcome to Roberto’s Pizza! Just one today?!”
“Oh! Um… I’m actually meeting someone here in one of your private dining rooms.”
“Ah! Head on back then!”
Minerva nods. “Thank you.”
She slowly walks toward the door, Nervously she puts her hand on the doorknob and takes a deep breath.
“I… I can do this.”
Gathering her courage, Minerva slowly turns the knob and opens the door. The lights dimly illuminate the room as she steps inside and closes the door behind her.
“H-hello? Cherry? Hero?”
Arc decloaks behind one of the chairs.
“Right here.”
Cherry calls out. “Why don’t you have a seat, Minerva? You look tired from work.”
Minerva nods and slowly walks towards Arc as he pulls out the chair. As she sits down he walks around the table to a chair directly across from her. Looking toward the buffet table across the room he raises a hand. A large pizza pan slowly levitates over to the table. Minerva gasps as it passes her.
“What the…?!”
Arc turns to her as he picks up a slice with his magic and sets it on a plate in front of her. “I hope you like plain cheese. It occurred to me when I placed the order that I didn’t know if you were a vegetarian.”
“I… I’m not, no. This is fine.”
Arc nods as he takes a slice for himself and levitates the pan back over to the warming lights.
“Pretty much everything Roberto makes here is top rate. You’d be hard-pressed to go wrong.”
Minerva looks steadily at Arc as he raises his mask just enough to expose his mouth. Looking over he meets her gaze.
“Is something wrong?”
Minerva looks away nervously. “No, no! Nothing!”
“You were hoping to catch a glimpse of my face, weren’t you?”
She sighs. “Yes.”
Cherry gasps. “Minerva!”
“Like I said before, it’s my journalistic nature. Knowing the unknowable. Exposing the truth.”
Arc shakes his head. “Some things are best left shrouded in mystery, Miss Moore.”
“I know that’s true. But I can’t really help it. Reporters are naturally curious. At least the best ones are.”
“Well, that doesn’t change anything from my point of view. But it would make my job a LOT harder if I didn’t have a secret identity to fall back on.”
Cherry sighs. “We need to be able to hide in plain sight.”
“I… understand that. But…”
Cherry calls out. “Minerva, I trusted you with who I really am because I believe you’d do the right thing and keep it to yourself. Can’t you do the same for the Hero?”
“I’d like to say yes. But… if I knew for certain who he was, I’m not sure I could keep it quiet.”
Arc frowns. “It would certainly further your career.”
Minerva looks away. “I guess so. But ever since I met Cherry, I’ve been questioning everything I thought I knew about myself.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Like what I really want out of life. Suppose I do make it to the top. What then?”
“What did Walter Cronkite do?”
Minerva shrugs. “I don’t know. In my mind at least, I always imagined he led the most amazing life. That’s what the history books state anyways.”
Arc frowns. “But you don’t believe that.”
Minerva sighs. “I don’t know anymore. Sometimes I lie in bed now and wonder. He didn’t publicly have any friends. At least none that I ever heard of.”
Cherry giggles. “Maybe he kept them secret to keep them safe.”
Arc nods. “Yeah. His fame would have certainly made them targets.”
Minerva frowns. “True. But that’s not what I meant. Usually people have friends that are befitting their station.”
Cherry sounds confused. “What does that mean?”
“Minerva’s saying that the powerful don’t usually mingle with the common citizens.”
“Why not?”
Minerva looks away. “Because they’re on another level entirely. Sorry if that sounds elitist.”
Arc nods. “It does. But I can’t deny that’s how things work on Earth. Back home as well, Cherry.”
“What?! But! But then why did you… I mean… ah…”
Cherry’s voice trails off as Arc sighs.
“Do you mean why did I want to marry you, Cherry?”
“Yes.”
Minerva looks to Arc, evenly. “I knew you two were engaged once before. Were you of a different social status, Hero?”
Arc nods. “Yes. As you know Cherry was a farmer and I was… um…”
Cherry interrupts. “Let’s just say he was MUCH higher up the social ladder than I’d ever be, Minerva.”
Cherry is silent for a time before continuing.
“So tell me. Why, Hero?”
Arc smiles and leans back in his seat. “Because you were perfect.”
Cherry sighs. “A dirty farm pony?”
“Yes.”
“How?!”
“You were… are… the kindest, loveliest, most generous individual I ever met. No one else even comes close.”
“Thank you. But you asked me to marry you long before you learned of the Transmogrification Spell.”
Minerva raises an eyebrow. “The what?”
Arc chuckles. “It’s a rather interesting spell that allows a magic user to change a target into another creature and back again.”
“You were willing to marry a… mare, Hero?”
“Yes.”
Minerva shakes her head. “No disrespect to you, Cherry. But that’s a little… weird by human standards.”
Cherry giggles. “None taken. Truth be told, the same is believed in my culture.”
“You mean…?”
“Yes. Ponies marry other ponies. Not different species.”
Arc nods. “Yes. I checked with the Royal Archives in Can… the capital. Apparently there’s no record of a pony ever marrying a non-equine.”
Minerva grins. “You two would have made history!”
Arc shrugs as he goes back to eating. “I guess.”
“Is that legal over there?”
“Probably not.”
Minerva raises an eyebrow. “Then how were you two planning on…”
Cherry interrupts her. “The Hero is above the law in our homeland.”
“Above the… that doesn’t make sense!”
Arc clears his throat before swallowing. “The land Cherry comes from was originally ruled by two monarchs. Many years ago, one of them went crazy and tried to oust the other.”
“A coup?!”
Cherry sighs. “Yes. Our history books state that fact very clearly.”
Minerva nods. “I see. But what does that have to do with the Hero?”
“After that incident, the remaining monarch decided that such an event could never again come to pass. She made provisions for a very special rank to be formed called the ‘Hero of Light’. It was their job to protect the land, but without having to wade through red tape. However, that was not their true purpose.”
“Oh? A secret objective?”
“Yes. In the event a monarch ever lost their minds and threatened to conquer the land, it would be the Hero of Light’s duty to challenge, and if necessary… kill them.”
Cherry sighs. “The Hero of Light is the only one with the means and authority to do this.”
“I see. A failsafe for the betterment of the kingdom?”
Arc shrugs. “Something like that.”
“What if the last monarch needed to be taken down? What then?”
Arc takes a drink. “The Order of Succession would be followed until a new monarch could be crowned.”
Minerva nods thoughtfully. “So a duke or duchess would rule the land?”
“I’m not sure how far down the line they could go. But the first in line after a monarch would be… um…”
His voice trails off as he looks away. Minerva looks to him, concerned.
“What’s wrong?”
Arc sighs. “The next to rule the kingdom is… me.”
Minerva gasps. “So, you’re ROYALTY?!”
Arc shakes his head. “No. But the Hero of Light is always very honest and trustworthy. It makes sense that they’d be next to lead the nation.”
“Has this ever happened?!”
“Once, yes.”
Cherry speaks up. “Our leaders were very ill and unable to lead some time ago. The Hero stepped in and filled their role while searching for a cure.”
She sighs.
“It was a very… lonely time in my life.”
Minerva looks confused. “Why? I would have thought you’d have loved to live in a castle with the Hero.”
Arc shakes his head. “She wasn’t there.”
“Oh? But where would she be?”
“Working my family’s cherry farm.”
Minerva raises an eyebrow. “The Hero didn’t send for you?”
Arc shakes his head. “I couldn’t, as I didn’t have time for love back then. Our land was surrounded by foreign nations who were looking to invade. Back then we walked a very fine line between peace and all-out war.”
“How did you do it?”
“It’s complicated. Maybe one day I’ll trust you enough to talk more about this.”
Cherry clears her throat. “We should probably get to the matter at hoof.”
“Not quite. First there’s something else I need to do.”
Minerva looks to him nervously. “Wha… what is it?”
Arc holds out a hand. A pan levitates past Minerva.
“I wanted to try Roberto’s lasagna again. It’s been quite a while.”
Cherry sighs. “Always thinking with your stomach.”
Arc serves each of them a large portion of pasta before continuing.
“Ah! Still as tasty as I remember it.”
“Now can we get down to business?”
Arc shrugs. “I suppose we should, Cherry.”
He reaches for his ring and pulls out a pad of paper and a pencil.
“I’ve been investigating something for a friend of mine. He was recently hospitalized with some very… strange symptoms.”
Minerva nods soberly. “And you want me to see if my contacts can get his file from the hospital?”
Arc shakes his head. “That will not be necessary.”
Cherry giggles. “The Hero already did that.”
“Yes. I took the file to a trusted doctor of mine and had him look it over. Without going into detail, what he found was rather disturbing.”
Minerva raises an eyebrow. “In what way?”
“The file didn’t list drug names, strengths, or a detailed list of the patient’s treatments.”
“Sounds like someone’s trying to hide something.”
“Agreed. I’ve already helped my friend hide from those whom are certainly looking for him. However, he cannot stay under wraps forever.”
“What can I do?”
“I need information on the physician whom was supposed to be responsible for his recovery.”
“What was his name?”
Cherry calls out. “The patient or the doctor?”
“Either would work.”
Arc grimaces. “Doctor Rieper.”
“If you’d like, I can do a quick search for him.”
Cherry gasps. “How?”
“I have my laptop in the car. Want me to get it?”
Arc nods. “Yes please.”
Minerva stands up and heads for the door.
“I’ll just be a moment.”
She leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Cherry calls out to Arc.
“What’s a laptop?”
“Think of it like a smaller version of the computer in the basement. And it’s portable.”
“So she can do whatever it is Viktor does back home?”
“Probably. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Minerva returns momentarily with a laptop under her arm. She sits down at the table as Arc pulls back her plate and silverware.
“Let me pull up the hospital’s website first. See if he’s listed somewhere on there.”
She presses a few keys and looks over the screen for a few minutes.
“Nothing so far.”
Arc frowns. “Any ideas?”
“Well… let me try something.”
Opening a different browser Minerva returns to the hospital’s website.
“Now then… let’s see if we can find a backdoor somewhere.”
Cherry sounds confused. “A what?”
“I believe she’s referring to a backdoor into the hospital’s system.”
“Is that allowed?”
Minerva shakes her head. “Not a chance. Do you still want me to try?”
Arc nods. “Yes.”
“Alright. Here we go.”
Minerva begins typing. A few minutes later she looks over to Arc.
“Okay, I’ve convinced the system to let me in.”
Arc frowns. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but where did you learn to do that?”
Minerva grins. “There’s a little bit of underhandedness in the research of nearly every news story. Now then, where should we start?”
Arc sighs. “How about the staff portal? From there we might be able to find something on our errant doctor.”
“Good idea. Let’s see here…”
Scrolling through the list, she frowns.
“You did say Doctor Rieper, right?”
Arc nods. “Yes.”
“There isn’t anyone by that name listed here.”
Cherry gasps. “So you’re saying he isn’t a doctor there?”
Minerva frowns. “If this list is to be believed, no. Are you completely sure of the name?”
“Yes. Take a look at this.”
Arc pulls the file out of his ring.
“Here’s the hospital’s address.”
Arc covers Frank’s name as he turns the folder to Minerva and points.
“Right there. A man named Doctor Rieper signed off on various so-called treatments.”
Minerva frowns. “Yes, it appear so. The hospital name and address match as well. Let me check something else.”
She continues typing for several minutes.
“I’ve accessed the personnel records. There’s no one here named ‘Rieper’ either.”
Cherry calls out. “How about past employees?”
“Good idea, Cherry.”
Minerva shakes her head. “Nothing. Not even an application.”
Arc sits back in his chair and groans. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
Cherry sighs. “Right. We both saw him last time we were there.”
“Was he going under a different name?”
Arc shakes his head. “I don’t think so. Cherry?”
“No. I saw it written on his badge.”
Minerva looks up. “Are you sure?”
“Completely. I thought his name was very strange at the time, but didn’t think much else of it.”
Arc turns back to Minerva. “Are you completely sure this is the right hospital, Miss Moore?”
“Yes. Like I said, the address checks out with the building name in question. But you two say you saw him face-to-face?”
“Yes.”
“Either you two are mistaken, or someone is trying VERY hard to cover something up over there.”
Arc snaps his fingers as a thought crosses his mind. “The nurse at the desk knew him though!”
Cherry gasps. “Right. She was the one who directed you and… um… you know who to the Records Room.”
Minerva frowns. “Records Room? Why would a patient’s file be there?”
“This was after my friend had left the hospital.”
“How long ago?”
“A couple days I think. Why?”
“The hospital usually keeps records on hand for a couple weeks. They don’t go to the archives until then. It’s in case the patient has a relapse, or something.”
Cherry muses aloud. “Why would they have sent them there so soon then?”
Minerva shrugs. “No idea. Unless…”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Unless what?”
Minerva frowns. “Unless someone was intentionally trying to hide something from prying eyes.”
“Is that normal?”
Arc sighs. “To a degree, yes. Patient/physician confidentiality and all that. But this just seems like far too much.”
Minerva nods. “Or that Doctor Rieper is paranoid.”
Cherry gasps. “Maybe both.”
“I agree on both counts. But this brings us no closer to the truth.”
Minerva sighs. “Agreed.”
They are silent for a time. Eventually Minerva breaks the silence.
“There is something else I could try.”
“Oh?”
“Going to the hospital in an attempt to find this doctor for myself.”
Cherry cries out frantically. “What?! But why?!”
“It’s the only way I’m going to be able to interview him.”
Arc frowns. “You want to TALK to him?!”
Minerva nods. “That I do. If he isn’t a real doctor, the public deserves to know.”
Arc shakes his head. “While I’m all for the truth coming out, that’s way too dangerous.”
“How so?”
“If Rieper really isn’t a doctor, he must have quite the skill set to pose as one. To say nothing for what his real reason is for being there.”
Cherry chimes in. “And if you try to expose him, there’s no telling what lengths he might go to in order to protect his secrets!”
Minerva frowns. “This’ll be no different than you and I sneaking into that old hospital, Cherry.”
“I didn’t like us doing that either! You almost got killed!”
Minerva grins. “But it all worked out in the end.”
Arc frowns. “That’s not reassuring.”
“Maybe not. But this whole thing has given me an itch I need to scratch. Now I won’t do this if you really don’t want me to. However, I’d still like to help.”
Arc sighs. “Fine. Cherry and I will go with you though.”
“Agreed. My editor has been wanting more cutesy stories about local heroes anyways. Police, fire fighters, medical staff… that sort of thing.”
Cherry calls out to her friend. “When should we do this?”
“How about tomorrow morning? Just let me send an email to the office asking them to set it up.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “You can do it that soon?”
Minerva nods. “Of course. Reporting has to be fresh, after all. That means finding a story, researching it, writing something up, and getting it on the air or in a newspaper all before supper.”
Arc picks up his fork. “Well, let’s finish our meal and head home then. All of us will need a good night’s sleep if we’re going to pull this one off.”
“In that case, would you mind if I stayed with Minerva this afternoon, Hero? It’s been a while since we talked.”
“Sure. I can always come get you if something comes up. But for now, let’s finish eating our meal.”
Minerva looks over at Arc’s empty plate. “Are you STILL hungry after all that food?!”
Arc chuckles as he levitates another helping of pizza over from the buffet. “What can I say? I need to keep my strength up.”
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minerva is like a bloodhound xD
yup that also was someting i was thinking about ^^
10672775
She's certainly very... driven.
Minerva's character was a nod to an old favorite of my wife's... Superman.
The best at what she does as well as taking any risk to see to it the truth gets out there. Although I don't believe she quite understands just how much danger she's putting herself in.
Trouble with Minerva effectively thinking she is a Diva, is when she meets the Rieeper and the true Diva comes calling.
10673749
No matter how "big" you get. there's always a bigger fish that can gobble you up in an instant.
10672814
Yeah plus how would she feel about someone trying to dig up her secrets. It doesn't matter how big they are the secrets are hers and nobody should have them unless she agrees to that. She going to pay a heavy price for her inability to stop.