The lonely hours passed with both Charrack and John restlessly awaiting news. For Charrack, there was nothing to do but pace the floor aimlessly and count ceiling tiles.
A doorbell chimed in John's suite, signaling the arrival of doctor Newman. She walked in smiling, "How are you finding your accomodations, John?"
John harrumphed, "Much better than Charrack is, I presume."
The doctor caught a glimpse of the shattered lamp and her smile wavered, "What makes you say that?"
John rolled his chair up to the doctor and looked into her face, attempting to read her reaction, "Probably the fact that he was dragged out of here against his will. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Her face showed genuine concern, "I was assured I would be consulted before ary changes were made in containment."
"Oh, so he's in 'containment', is that what you call it?" John mocked.
"Well, you both are under quarantine."
"How silly of me to forget, basic rights and privileges don't apply when you might be sick. He's in perfect condition!" John shouted.
Doctor Newman winced and adjusted her glasses, "To be fare he is an alien."
"And, 'to be fair', he came to earth of his own volition."
"I'll see what I can do about Charrack's situation later, for now I'm supposed to be replacing your missing leg." The doctor pulled out her clipboard and pen.
"Oh joy, now I can pace the room twice as fast." John waved his hands in the air in mock excitement.
"Would you rather have the surgery here or down the hall?" Newman inquired.
John shrugged his shoulders, "I've always been a fan of home visits."
"Then I'll see to it that preparations are made."
Sarah Newman walked off at a brisk pace to take care of issues with Charrack. Rather than head to his cell, the doctor made a beeline straight for general McClain's office.
Without knocking or announcing her arrival with the receptionist, she stormed into his office, "General, I demand an explanation."
McClain deactivated the projector table and eyed here carefully, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this untimely interruption, doctor?"
The general was a stately figure, very broad and tall. His short brown hair was kept tight around the sides of his head, and the baldness on the top left a patch that glistened in the brightly illuminated office.
"Why was Charrack moved without my approval?" Sarah fumed.
The general leaned back in his seat, "The lizard is dangerous, I need him where he can be easily contained, even put down if necessary."
The doctor removed her glaces and leaned over the general's desk, "Don't you understand how much harder that makes my job?"
General McClain steepled his fingers, "No, please enlighten me."
Sarah placd one had on the desk and gestured with the other, "John's presence keeps him calm. If he's in an unfamiliar environment on his own, his behavior will be, erratic at best. I was perfectly content to help you with this experiment of yours, but..."
"The lizard stays in his cage, and that's final." The general spun his chair and grabbed a drive out of a nearby cabinet.
""The lizard has a name,..."
"I am aware of the lizard's designation, Miss. Newman!" The sudden outburst made the doctor flinch, "I'm just not inclined to use it."
The general plugged the drive into his desk and pressed a few keys before directing his attention back at the doctor.
Sarah put her glasses back on her face, "At least let me put John in the same room as him."
The general removed the drive from his desk and twirled it in his finger, "No doctor. John stays where he is. Now, take this to security." General McClain held out the drive to her.
"I'm not your errend runner, nor your secretary." Newman said indignantly.
The general continued to hold his hand out until the doctor thought better of it and took the drive. She spun on her heel and stamped out of his office.
Sarah did as the general demanded and delivered the drive to security before heading to Charrack's cell. Two guards in full padded armor flanked the solid steel door. She looked through the bulletproof glass wall to see the Valk pacing up and down his new cell.
"I need to speak to the prisoner." She said to one of the guards.
"He should be able to hear you through the glass." He answered.
Doctor Newman rolled her eyes, "Just open the door, he's not going to hurt me."
"Sorry ma'am, the doors stays locked, general's orders."
Charrack caught sight of Sarah and leaned up against the glass, "What are you doing here?" His voice was muffled, but clear enough to be understood.
"I'm here to check on you, see how you are doing."
"Good news is they haven't killed me, but they haven't given me food or water either, so you might as well shoot me now."
"Charrack, I'm not here to make your life miserable." The doctor insisted.
"No, really? Task failed successfully. Any more lies you'd like to tell me while I wait to be dissected and interrogated?"
"I want to help you Charrack."
"Save it! All you humans do is lie. You are insufferable, honorless, scum; the lot of you. So leave now before I tare my way out of this cell and rip your pretty little throat out and use it as a drinking straw!"
Sarah waited a moment and watched as Charrack began to pound his fist against the wall and claw deep gashes in it.
"Get him some water." She ordered the guard and turned to walk out of the room to prepare for John's surgery. No matter if the general wanted to make things difficult, she would have to find a way to get things sorted on her own, and she knew just who could help her.
I was time for doctor Newman to let John know the secret of where he came from....